Hill, Meagan - Master Me [Masterson] (Siren Publishing Classic) (6 page)

After setting several crystals around the bed, mirroring the ones she wore around her neck, Mitch left Mandy to her rest. She would need every ounce of energy she could get in the coming days.

His father answered on the second ring. “Hello, son. Your mother told me to be expecting your call.”

“Hi, Dad. I’m guessing you already know why I’m calling?” Having a precog for a mother was great sometimes and really annoying others. Right now, he was just glad he wouldn’t have to repeat everything Mandy had told him. His mother would have seen it and told his father.

“Yes, she told me about our young Mandy. Are you positive you want to take her on? She’s been badly damaged, and even your mother isn’t sure she can be salvaged.”

“Yes, I’m sure. I won’t know how badly she’s been hurt until after the allegiance ceremony, but I already know she’s worth fighting for. She deserves an opportunity to find some kind of happiness in her life.”

His dad was silent for a moment before commenting, “Son, I hear something else in your voice. What are you not saying?”

Mitch was quiet himself for a moment. “I’m not sure what it is, Dad, but she’s different. She makes me feel different. Our energy melds so easily, but then it grows to be more than what either of us could reach on our own. It’s like my body buzzes when I’m touching her. The urge to protect her is massive, like I would die if I allowed her to be hurt again.”

“Sounds a bit familiar, but it’s not something we need to consider for the moment. Your mother made your airline reservations before she left Texas this morning, and your plane leaves at ten. We’ll have everything set up here by the time you land. Your mother tells me this will not be a simple ceremony. Its success is entirely up to Mandy’s will to change loyalties. Has she been able to tell you who her coven leader is?”

“Yes, it’s Devon Cabela. Their compound is just outside of El Paso. I didn’t even know there was a coven in that part of the state.”

Mitch could hear his father, Malcolm, take a deep breath. “I was afraid of that. We’ve been hearing rumors about a coven that was badly mistreating its members. We hadn’t heard anything specific enough to act on, though.”

“Well, what I discovered tonight is enough for me to consider death too good for Cabela and his main minions. She’s been beaten repeatedly and only given medical care when she would have died otherwise. She has also been raped repeatedly, though I haven’t learned how often or how recently. I do know Cabela rapes his latents immediately after kidnapping them to establish his dominance over them. I’ve never seen anyone act so submissive, Dad. She was on her knees with her forehead to the floor and trembling almost before I’d finished telling her I was a Master. I’ve had to be careful of what I tell her because she takes everything as a literal command.”

His father was quiet again for a few moments as he considered what his son had said. Mitch was his second in command and actually had the most level disposition of everyone in the coven. For Mitch to verbally condemn a man to death was indicative of how badly Mandy had been treated. However Mitch felt about the situation, as leader of his coven, Malcolm was bound by rules made by the Merlin. In order for Mitch, and therefore, Malcolm, to confront and eradicate the evil coven, he had to have approval from the Merlin. The Merlin required that the accusing coven have indisputable evidence against another coven before moving against them. This kept the various covens from fighting over power or territories. Contacting the Merlin was never easy, and if he was going to protect Mandy from her old coven, he needed the Merlin’s permission fast.

“I’ll do what I can to contact Merlin. You know how difficult that can be sometimes. I understand she is on a weeklong task, so we have until Sunday to find a solution?”

“Yeah, I think so. We haven’t been able to talk about what the mission is, other than that she doesn’t want to complete it and that it will likely finish destroying her soul and make her evil. Has Mom told you about her aura?”

“Yes, she did. We’ll work on it while you’re here. Son, your mother also said that Mandy is going to need some physical healing, including some things only the women can do. Apparently, her sexual abuse has caused some severe damage internally. The whole coven will help with her healing ceremony, which we’ll schedule for the day after tomorrow. Your mother is unsure as to what degree we will be able to help her heal. Again, it will depend mostly upon Mandy’s strength and need for the change. You’ll want to explain the ceremony to her so she doesn’t freak out.”

“Good point. I’ll tell her in the morning. Anything else?”

“Son, I’m concerned about how emotionally involved you’ve become with her in such a short time. And beyond that, is she too damaged sexually to even try to see if you’re mated?”

It was Mitch who was silent for a few minutes now. Finally, he answered, “I understand your concern, and I share the same concern. I’m not going to push her into testing us, and not just because of her circumstances. On the one hand, my attraction to her is stronger than any I’ve ever felt, and I revel in just having her in my arms. We haven’t even kissed, though the urge to do so is incredibly strong. On the other hand, I’m not sure how I’ll deal with a failed test and having to be nothing more to her than a friend. I already feel much more for her than that. I honestly don’t know what to do about our relationship, nor do I really know what she wants. She did say she didn’t want to leave me and that she wanted me, but she didn’t exactly expound on what that last one meant.”

Malcolm chuckled before responding, “They never do, son, they never do. I’m over three hundred years old and been married for two hundred fifty, and I still don’t understand your mother, much less women in general. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon. Take care until then. Try not to leave Cabela a trail he can follow. I have a feeling that her showing up at a children’s camp wasn’t just by chance.”

“Okay, Dad. I’ll see you then.” Mitch hung up the phone still feeling conflicted, though the topic of the conflict had changed. How had he gotten in so deep emotionally in less than twelve hours? He could only wonder and hope things worked out well at this point.

Giving up on his compulsion to try to figure out the issues before him, he decided to go check on Mandy a last time before settling onto the couch. It wasn’t going to be comfortable, but he needed to recharge as much as he could. Mitch walked back to his room, opening the slightly ajar door gently. He was startled to find Mandy curled up into a tight ball pressed into the upper corner of the bed. He could tell she was still asleep, but her posture and whimpers told him that even in her sleep, her abuse haunted her. Moving entirely on instinct, he crept to where she lay, taking care to not make any sudden noises or movements that might awaken her. Keeping his touch featherlight, he placed his hand on her shoulder. She shuddered at his touch before relaxing toward his hand, pushing up toward it. Apparently, her body had recognized his touch as safe and wanted more. She allowed him to gently uncoil her, letting her stretch her body out on the bed again. This worked so long as Mitch was touching her, but as soon as he took his hands away, her frown would return, and her body would start to curl back up on itself.

It didn’t take Mitch long to come to the conclusion that the only way she was going to get any real rest, and therefore, the only way he was going to get rest, was to lay with her. As if that was a hardship. Mitch lay down beside her, still being careful not to startle her. As soon as he was comfortable, she turned over toward him, digging her head into his chest as she pressed her body to his before draping a leg over his. Mitch’s physical response was immediate. His body ignited with a desire he’d never experienced in over 150 years of life. Ignoring the hunger drumming inside him, he merely wrapped his arms around her and settled in to, if nothing else, lay there for the rest of the night watching over her. He knew if they ever explored each other sexually, it would be when she was ready and not a moment before.

“I’m here now, Mandy. You don’t have to be scared or hurt anymore. I won’t let anyone ever touch you again. I promise.”

Mandy sighed deeply, tightening her arms in a hug as if acknowledging what he’d promised even in her sleep. Mitch lifted his head and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head before relaxing back. He continued to think about her and soon found himself asleep.

* * * *

Mitch could hear the crashing of waves and smell sea air as he became aware of his surroundings. He took a moment to take in everything his senses were telling him. Besides the sea sounds and scent, he could feel a faint breeze brushing across his body, offering coolness in respite of the warm air that pressed down upon him. Beneath his back, something incredibly soft and relaxing supported every curve of his body. When he was ready, he slowly slid open his eyes, blinking several times as he became accustomed to the light. He was lying on a large bed covered in the softest linens he’d ever felt. Examining the room around him, he concluded he was in some type of beach house. French doors were open to the beach beyond. The finely grained sand was bleached white while the water beyond the shoreline was a piercing blue that was so brilliant it almost hurt to look at. He could see a couple of palm trees off to the left, their leaves swaying in the wind. What captured his attention, though, was the brightly colored beach umbrella stuck deeply into the sand, shading the brilliant sun from the beautiful woman sitting on a white slatted lounge chair. He couldn’t see much of her, only from the tops of her shoulders up, but he recognized her hair.

Mitch got up, making his way quickly toward the lounger. She turned a page in a book as he came up behind her. The sand had cushioned his footsteps, so she was unaware she was no longer alone. Not wanting to scare her, he softly cleared his throat. She startled badly anyway and swiftly jumped up from her chair, only to lose her footing in the shifting sand and fall directly into his waiting arms. His heart jumped in his chest when he saw she was wearing an ice blue bikini under a white overshirt. Her body was filled out as it should be if she was getting enough to eat. Her breasts had filled out a bit with the extra weight and were the perfect size to fit into his hand. Her waist was still slim, tapering into rounded hips and ass, giving her a perfect hourglass figure. Her legs were lean and well-muscled, looking just long enough to wrap around his waist.

Mitch had to shake himself from his perusal of her body before his interest became embarrassingly visible. “Mandy, it’s okay. It’s Mitch. Calm down.”

“Mitch? What are you doing here?” Mandy asked, clearly confused by his presence. She looked back at the house before focusing on the man standing before her. His chiseled chest was bare, beautifully muscled and lightly scattered with hair that trailed down the center of a perfect set of abs. She could see that he had an eight-pack, something she’d never cared about before. The tops of his hips peaked out above the top of his white cotton sleep pants, just showing the beginning of his men’s “V” that led down to a rather large bulge. As she stared, he grew harder, and she had to force herself to look away from his body so she could concentrate on his answer.

“I don’t know. Where is here? It’s beautiful.” The timbre of his voice belied the rest of his sentiment. “You’re beautiful.”

“It’s my current happy place. Actually, the scenery changes often depending on my mood and how hot it is outside, but there have never been any other people here before. It’s where I go when I can’t stand to be in the real world anymore.” Mandy still looked shaken as she sat back down on her chair, her face still a bit pale, and her eyes wide. Mitch began to look around for something else to sit down on, not really wanting to get sand all over his pajama pants, which he was relieved to discover he was wearing, when he was startled by the appearance of another chair behind him. At the disconcerted look on his face, Mandy began to giggle, morphing quickly into a low-pitched laugh that had need tightening low in Mitch’s belly. He sat down as her laughter began to wind down. “Sorry, the look on your face was priceless. It’s my dream, so I can do anything I want in it.”

Mitch considered her statement a moment. “You have lucid dreams?”

“What does that mean? I didn’t exactly get to finish high school, remember?” Her tone was teasing, though Mitch could detect an underlying bitterness.

“It’s where you’re aware that what you are experiencing is a dream, which gives you some control over the dream itself.” He’d heard about the phenomenon and had tried it on multiple occasions, but while he could become aware he was dreaming, he never could control what was happening.

“Oh, yeah. I’ve done that for years. It started with nightmares. I always felt so helpless, with no control over what was happening to me. Too much of that crap happens in my real life, so I started fighting back the only way I could by creating a safe place for me to escape to. I visit at least once a night now while I’m sleeping, in addition to any time I need to pull my mind away from my body. Like I said, it’s my escape.” Mitch understood her unspoken words. She mentally escaped here when she was being raped, escaping from the moment the only way she could. He was impressed by her mental strength and ability to focus despite the interference around her.