Queen (Mistress & Master of Restraint) (32 page)

A creak of the front door sobers me a bit. I thought the door was locked.

“Marc, sorry we’re late,” Corte
z’s voice flows from the hall.

“Is the bo
y with you?” Marc shouts back.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t he be? My punishment is babysitting duty, remember?” his voice is closer.

“Get upstairs now.” He whispers hurriedly to the person at my back. I feel them within arm’s reach. I ache for their touch. Their absence leaves me throbbing.

“What a fucking cluster fuck of shit,” Marcus spews out a large string of curses I’ve never heard.
“Cort, escort the PB to the bathroom and comeback to me. Son, you better keep your ass in that room until I get you.” Marcus projects his voice down the hallway.

He gently places me on the sofa. When his fingers leave my jaw I gasp in pain. Blood flows back to my neglected flesh and the bone throbs as if bruised.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Regina. I couldn’t allow you to turn. I didn’t mean to leave a mark. I didn’t know what to do. This meeting didn’t go as planned. Please forgive my negligence. It’ll never happen again.” His voice is soft and his eyes are concerned.

“It’s okay,” I slur in shock. “Who’s here?”

“Cortez will drive you home,” he says calmly while he smoothes my hair back. “This was traumatic for you and I don’t want you to walk home in this state.

“I’m okay,” I try to sit up and my head swims.

It’s like I’ve had a hit of a really strong drug and my body burned its fuel in record speed. I’ve never tried drugs and I’ve never had a drop to drink until a few nights ago. This is a sensation I’d chase to the ends of the earth.

“Well, if it isn’t Queen,” Cort stresses the Queen snidely. “May I call you Regina in private?” He says softer.

“Yeah, sure, I hate the way you say that word. Just don’t fuck up in public, asshole.” I’m mad as hell for Faith or Cynthia, whatever name she is going by this week. You don’t cheat on someone in that manner. It’s disgusting.

“WOW! Marc, you dropped the ball big time.” Cort chuckles and wipes his brow exaggeratingly. “That was fucking close. Way too damned close. The resident hermit was down here I bet and his little friend too.”

Marcus falls back to the sofa with a thump. He heaves in a heavy sigh. “I think I just had a heart attack of epic proportions.” He’s breathless. “It will never happen again. Curiosity is a wicked mistress.”

“Well, you would’ve had three very confused people on your hands. I would have paid to see that. Holy shit, Marc,” he laughs and joins us on the sofa. “So you guys up for some fun?”
I growl at him and pull my legs from under his thighs.

“You test me at every turn. I don’t know what to do with you anymore. Punishment doesn’t work. Don’t test me tonight, please. My old ticker can’t take it.” Marcus practically begs. It’s like he’s a different person around Cortez. The intimacy is staggering. But then again, he would have gained Cortez as a ward when he did Ezra. His wife is Cortez’s guardian.

Cort leans over and kisses Marcus on the lips sensually. “You love it, who are you kidding?” Cortez whispers against the other man’s lips. “And you love me, admit it.”

Marcus kisses the younger man back with equal intensity.

I mouth
Whoa…
silently in astonishment. I’ve never seen two men kiss before. It’s kinda hot and creepy since he’s the kid’s father figure. I’ve just entered a brand new world of
what the fuck
.

“My God, you’re a fucking tease,” he says in amusement with bright, wide eyes. He palms Cort’s chest and pushes him away. “Get outta here. Take Regina home and behave while you’re doing it. I give my permission for her to kick your ass if you try anything. I’ll take the PB back to his kingdom.” He stares the younger man in the eyes for a second and the raw look of devotion trips my heart. I want to bawl from its strength.

“I’ll see you at home unless you’ll be at the apartment,” he says softly with hope lacing his tone. Marc’s fingers weave into the back of Cort’s hair. He controls him with a yank and kisses his forehead. “Behave,” he warns. He crawls out from beneath Cortez and leans down and gives me the same kiss to the forehead. His lips are hot and moist from Cort’s attentions.

“Eight sharp tomorrow night. I promise it won’t be as hectic. Welcome to crazy-
ville, Regina. There’s no backing out now.” He swaggers from the room and captivates both Cort and me. A billionaire shouldn’t wear worn-in denim that molds to his perfect ass- it’s criminal.

“Is my little shit misbehaving? I hear you and I have something to discuss. Did you honestly think I wouldn’t find out? When will you learn that I’m omnificent?” He cackles down the hall towards his next
victim.

Chapter Seven

“Who’s he talking to?” I ask as I stand. I feel more comfortable around him after all the craz
iness of the past few minutes.

“If he wanted you to know, he’d tell you. And the other trainee wouldn’t be locked in the bathroom like a naughty pet. You just met him. It will take a bit to make it into his inner circle. Hell, I don’t think Ezra’s there yet. I know things that he has no clue about.” I chew that over for a minute as he escorts me to his car.

“Yours?” I ask of the artwork saddled up to the curb. I stare in awe at a brand new, shiny black
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
.

“Compensate much? Did Marcus buy this for you?” I glide my hand down its s
leek lines and I want to purr.

“I ask and he gifts- Ezra, not Marc. I’m doing pretty well. I married into money after all,” he smiles at me and buffs his nails on his leather jacket.  “The wife likes to keep the husband in the style in which he’s accustomed. And I have no need to compensate. Just ask your roomie. She liked what I had to offer and I was just a young’un. I wasn’t at full capacity yet.” He says cockily. His gunmetal-gray eyes compliment the car. I decide they fit each other perfectly. 

“How ‘bout I ask our Master if you’re compensating. I bet he knows the answer.” I tease him back.

“He’s seen, but not touched,” he says wistfully. “It’s not like that. I mean- fuck, I can’t explain it to myself, how can I explain it to you?” He opens the passenger door and lets me into the dark, cavernous car. Its dark gray interior matches Cortez’s eyes and personality. Maybe I need to upgrade a bit. This car is more of an investment- it wou
ldn’t be a luxury, not really.

“So you’re teasing to pleasing?” I chuckle at his expression.

“Regina, are you joking with me? I’m beside myself with joy. I’ve annoyed you since we met. You took an instant dislike to me, if I remember correctly.” His voice is serious, but his tone is light.

“No, I didn’t,” I defend.

“I’m just picking on you,” he says with a smile in his voice. “I tease him because I have to for some reason. I don’t even know what I’d do if he took me up on the offer. He did once and it’s more of a punishment now.” He shudders next to me while he traverses through traffic. “A never ending punishment that’s as pleasurable as it’s painful,” he says to himself.

“What is it?” Man, the expression on his face is unfathomable. What does Marcus do to him? I watch as the lights of oncoming cars highlight his features. He did grow up to be a devastatingly handsome sonofabitch.

“Nah- not answering that; some secrets are meant to be kept. Ezra doesn’t even know about what little we do. Master must trust you or he wouldn’t have kissed me back in front of you. He could have punched me instead. I was testing him and he knew it. So… how’s my partner’s bitch doing?”

“Excuse me?” I know he’s speaking of
Ade and I’m instantly pissed.

“Yeah, like I’d forget who your best friend is. She’s been
preying after him since we were kids. I guess she’s getting her wish now. Sorry, but she rubs me the wrong way.” He doesn’t sound sorry at all.

“Maybe you rub her the wrong way. And you’re one to talk; yo
u’re married, why can’t Ezra?”

“Because I love my wife, as does Ezra. We’re family. I don’t fuck my wife as an experiment. I threw up after I found out he’d laid with her.”

“So you think it’s cheating? You run around town with your cock in every available cunt and Ezra can’t be with his fiancée? You sound hypocritical to me. Are you really saying you’ve never slept with your wife? You expect him to never touch her. You’re a fool.”

“The difference is that I’m not fucking men. Ya feel me?” He looks at me pointedly trying to get me to understand.

“I forgave him for cheating on me with a man. He’s never had a problem with me sleeping with women. My drive is huge and he likes that. We have rules and he’s broke them twice. Divina was part of the rules. I do make love to my wife; she’s my wife for Christ’s sake. Being with her isn’t the same as sex because it’s not about sex. I’ve never broken our trust. He has. Sorry if Adelaide makes me see fire. Sorry if the mention of her name makes me want to commit murder. But he didn’t negotiate for her. He just did it and told me after and then did it again while I waited at home. Yeah, he and I aren’t getting along real well right now. I’ve been with him since the cradle. I think that’s what fuels my need to tease Marc. I want him to have a taste and then I want to flaunt it in Ezra’s face. I want him to feel the deep-seated pain of betrayal. At the same time I love him so much that I can’t hurt him that way. Why didn’t he love me enough? That’s the question I ask myself every damned day. Why wasn’t I worthy of him?” He rests his face on the steering wheel and I realize we’re sitting in my driveway.

“How the hell did you know where I live?” I say with suspicion. My mind conjures up
where I will move us all next.

“Our Master trusted me to take you home, don’t ya think he told me where you lived first. I know a lot about you, Regina. More than you’d like, I bet. I’m sure he kept some of your secrets to himself. I’ve been naughty, so he’s punishing me. I’m his assistant until he tells me otherwise. Basically I wipe his damned ass constantly.”

“What did you do?”

“Of course it’s
all my fault. It’s always my fault. It couldn’t possibly be Ezra. Precious Ezra does no wrong.” The animosity is strong in his voice. Remorse flashes across his features.

He turns to me and makes air-quotes and mimics Marcus’ voice. “Cortez, your attitude is atrocious. Until you can keep your venom to yourself and move back home to the apartment with Ezra, you’re my bitch.
End-quote.” 

“Oh, he doesn’t like your discord?”

“That’s an understatement. Don’t ever piss him off, Regina. You wouldn’t like being his bitch.” The glint in his eyes says that he may enjoy being his Master’s bitch.

“I’m sorry, Cort. I think we’ve had a misunderstanding.
Truce?”

He flashes me a wicked grin.

“Put that smile away. That’s a dangerous smile, man. You’re thinking nefarious things.” I laugh at him and it feels damned good.

“I’m sorry. I know that she’s your friend and she’s probably really nice, maybe even cool, but you have to see it from my point of view. There’s nothing on this earth that will make me like that woman and it’s Ezra’s fault, not hers. Do you understand?”

“I know pain better than anyone. It hurts like hell and all you can do is get up and live through the ache. I’d love to say it gets better, but that’s a lie. You just have to find things to divert your attention. You have one thing going for you, though. He’s still alive. You can fix this after the betrayal fades. Allow him to re-earn your trust. And I get it about Ade; she’s an acquired taste, even for me.”

He moves slowly allowing me time to push him away. His lips flutter against mine and he breathes, “Truce.”

His taste is subtle, a complete contradiction- smoky and sweet. My eyes bulge when he traces my bottom lip and I give him access. I part my mouth under his and slip my tongue between his supple lips. He groans into my mouth and I unhinge. My fingers seek his hair and pull him closer. I eat at his mouth with my lips, tongue, and teeth. He growls and takes as much abuse as I can give.

My curiosity gets the best of me and my hand finds its way to the bulge in his jeans. I grab him forcefully and he pulls me over the stick-shift into his lap. I hit my head on the ceiling and break out into a giggling fit. He allows me to laugh as he bites my neck and heads south.

The entire time that we kiss, I keep repeating in my head
Ade’s kiss is a snack- Cort’s is a feast
.
The
Godfather
theme song breaks into our private world and we ignore it while we tear off clothing in our way. That’s until it goes to voicemail, hangs up, and replays.

“It’s Marc. He’ll keep doing that until I answer,” he says breathlessly.

He grabs the phone off the dashboard and groans.

“You called, Master.”
Speakerphone now
blares from the tiny speaker. Cort flicks a button and replies, “Yes, Sir.”

“My children are being naughty. No sex in expensive sport’s cars while sitting in Regina’s driveway. I didn’t give permission for you to play and Cortez is under punishment. That means no Regina as a reward.” I can hear hi
s amusement through the phone.

Cort says, “You’re fucking kidding me.” Just as I say, “Wait a minute, how
do you know what we’re up to?”

“I’m sure he has the car wired for sound. The price of his trust is that he tests you for a very long time. I just got rid of the last fucking transmitter. When did you replace the bitch?” Cort sounds more impressed than angry.

“Last night while you were busy breaking my rules. It’s one of your punishments. Lovely conversation you’ve both had. It’s so nice that you’re bonding. I was patient until I heard fabric rip. I thought I better end it before you reached the point of no return.”

“Oh, how thoughtful, Marcus, thanks a fucking
lot,” Cort says sarcastically.

“Good night, Regina,” Marc’s smooth voice purrs through the speaker.

“Judging by your conversation, I’ll see you at home, Cortez. You have fifteen minutes to meet me in the sitting room. Your activities ramped up my need to turn you into my bitch.” The tone in Marc’ voice has Cort blazing red in a fraction of a second.

A flick of his finger and the phone call is disconnected.

“So… um-yeah. See ya around, Cort.” I crawl from the car in amazement.

“Told ya I wasn’t compensating.”
He smirks at me and his eyes glitter with barely contained lust.
“It was the car- it was all the car,” I lie. Holy fuck it wasn’t the car.

I walk to my door in a daze. I shut it behind me and lean against it. I smile and put my fingertips to my swollen lips.

“Where have you been?” Three pissed off females glare at me. Shit I went for a walk, turned off my phone, and was gone for hours.

“I just made out in an
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
with Cortez Abernathy and it wasn’t because of the car. And I kind of liked it,” I giggle like a school girl.

Chapter
Eight

I stroll through the house to the kitchen and pull Kristal’s bottle of Jack from the cabinet above the refrigerator and take a draught of it.

“Rough night,” Kris asks and throws me a saucy smirk.

“I don’t remember him being bad enough to r
equire a drink,” Fate replies.

“Is there anyone here who hasn’t fucked that asshole, Cortez Abernathy?” Adelai
de asks in a pissed off voice.

“Nope, I don’t think so. That man’s got some major sexual mojo. The way I see it, Ade, you’ve fucked him by default. I haven’t had the pleasure yet, but damn that boy is hung. I take it Kristal’s had the pleasure since she hasn’t denied it.” We turn as one to our partner in crime.
She swallows a few times and grabs the bottle from my hand. “Um- yeah- like a whole lot.” She nervously laughs. “More than is humanly possible. If you get the chance- take it. He does this thing with his tongue; you’d swear he had a vibrator in his mouth. Fan-fucking-tastic.”

I laugh and take another drink. They look at me as if I sprouted an alien from my head.

“Labor Day’s resolution: loosen up, have some fun, and relax. I want to add get fucked to that list. I want to enter oblivion and feel something while I’m there. I’m sick of being numb.” I smirk and wait for them to go ballistic.

“Where were you?” Fate asks.

“How did you meet up with that dickhead?” Ade wants to know.

“I’m jealous- it never went to the point I got brui
sed up. You have hickeys. Did he attack you?” Kris whines.

“I bet you secretive bitches would love to know. I should punish you for keeping secrets from me.
Yeah… I’m gonna do just that,” I taunt.

I walk out the French doors, bottle in hand, and curl up on the chaise lounge. I stare at the pool wishing it was a roaring ocean- that would be excellent ambiance. I add get piss roaring drunk to the Labor Day Resolution list. I guzzle the toxic liquid. Yuck, but effective. I want something fruity and blue. I wonder if they make anything like that.