Desired and Dominated (39 page)

“I will.”

“And Nate…”

“Yeah?”

“For the record, I think that you and Sofia were made for each other. I know from experience that dating a Mantovani can be a roller coaster at times, and comes with its fair share of heartache. But, I can also tell you, that when everything finally falls into place, and the drama subsides, it’s so worth it. Hang in there. I don’t care what you’re into, I always knew you were a kinky bastard.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “You’re great for her…when she lets you in. You’re a good man, and I love you to bits. And so does my stubborn ass husband.”

Her tender words are a much needed balm; soothing my anguished crisis of confidence. “Thanks, Jess. I needed that.”

“Thought you might. Now go find her, and tell her I’m going to kick her ass for scaring the crap out of us!”

“It’s a deal! And Jess…”

“Yeah.”

“I love you, too. I hope you know that.”

“I do. You big softy.”

I hang up, feeling a little lighter. It’s comforting to know that someone out there is championing me, willing Sofia and I to succeed and find our own happy ending.

My phone goes off, and yet again, I’m disappointed that the club is calling. I ignore it, and head off in the direction of Julliard. If Sofia has gone anywhere to think about what she’s lost in recent months, it’s there. She lived and breathed that place for years, and it’s where I first saw her perform.

I search every corridor, asking teachers if they’ve seen her, and every one of them wanted to stop and chat, desperate to hear how their favorite student is doing. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that she can’t dance anymore, and I didn’t think she would want them to know. She’s not ready for the barrage of sympathy she would inevitably encounter. She’s so loved, by so many people. I wish she could see it.

I step back out onto the sidewalk, dejected, and running out of ideas. Taking my phone out in defeat, I’m ready to ask everyone that loves her, to help me find her and bring her home, but before I press the call button for Jess, I receive an incoming call from…the club. Again? What the hell is going on there tonight? They’re obviously not getting the hint that I’m not available.

“This better be fucking good. I’m busy and I don’t have time for whatever shit you want me to do.”

“Master Callaghan.” It’s Jacob, the chief of security for Andromeda. He doesn’t sound good at all.

“Jacob. What’s going on?”

“It’s about Miss Mantovani.”

“What about her?”

“She’s here.”

Thank fuck for that! She’s okay. “Did she come looking for me? Show her to my playroom and I’ll be there in ten minutes to pick her up.”

“There’s no easy way to say this. She’s didn’t come looking for you. She came looking for Master Marco. She’s in his playroom…”

I cut him off before he says anything else. “FUCK!” I shove my phone in my pocket and start running in the direction of the club. “FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!!!” I’m smacking into people left and right, sprinting through crowds of angry New Yorkers, cursing and gesturing at me as I weave in and out, looking for any space that will get me there quicker. My brain is going a mile a minute, unable to come up with any scenario where this isn’t exactly what it seems like. How the fuck could she do this to me? After everything we’ve been through. She’s my fucking submissive! MINE!

I run out in front of cars, with no regard for my safety, taxis honking their horns at me to get out of the way, but I couldn’t care less. There’s only one feeling coursing through my veins right now – all-consuming rage. It fuels me; propelling me through the sea of people around me, my legs moving faster than ever before.

When I hit the block that houses Andromeda, I’m filled with dread, at what I’m about to see, and what I’m about to do.

NO submissive, not even Sofia Mantovani can disrespect me like this and walk away unscathed. And as for Marco - he’s a fucking dead man.

I have never felt such anger in all my life. Not when my dream of getting a deal burned to ashes in front of my eyes; not even in Paris. This is something completely different, this comes from somewhere much darker. I feel so overwhelmed by it, engulfed in it, that I can’t even see straight. COLD, ALL-CONSUMING, FURY!

I slam open the doors, and I can sense the change. This isn’t my safe haven anymore.

“Where the fuck are they?”

Jacob speaks calmly, as if that will help me in the slightest. “Master Marco is in his room. She’s in there with him.”

I act on instinct, my fist connecting with his jaw. “Why the FUCK would you let her go with him?”

He slowly wipes the blood from his lip before squaring his shoulders to stand a full four inches above me, but I’m not intimidated. He might be built like a wrestler, but the adrenaline fueling me right now would be more than enough to take him down. He shakes his head. “I’m going to let that one slide, Master Callaghan, but do it again, and I will take you out. You know I have no control over what happens in here, unless someone crosses the line. She came here looking for him. She went willingly into that room. I’m sorry that I’m the one telling you this, but don’t shoot the messenger.”

“FUCKING, FUCK!!! I need to see her. I hope you’re not going to try and stop me. She’s mine. No one touches what’s mine.”

He steps out of my way, letting me pass without another word.

The music and the crowds are white noise in the background. A distant soundtrack to my life falling apart. I feel their eyes on me; they all know she’s here. When I reach the door, I can feel the bile rise up in my throat with the knowledge of what I’m about to see. I don’t knock. I burst the door open and all of my worst fears are confirmed. Sofia is here. My Nyx…with another Master.

“What the FUCK is going on?”

Marco makes his way over to me, dressed in nothing but his loose fitting pants. “It’s not what it looks like, Nate. Let me explain.” He tries to put his hand on my shoulder, but I dodge him and hit him with a jab to the stomach, winding him and knocking him to the floor.

“EXPLAIN??? Explain the fact that you are in here with MY submissive? How could you do this to me, Marco? I looked up to you. You’re my mentor. You trained me to be a Master. You
know
what that means, better than anyone. SHE’S MINE. NO ONE FUCKING TOUCHES HER BUT ME!”

I turn to Sofia. She’s shackled to the St. Andrew’s Cross at the far end of the room. Metal restraints holding her arms and legs spread wide…for
him
. She’s dressed only in her underwear, her head hung in what I can only hope is shame. She’s sobbing, and all I want to do is comfort her, but the sight of her makes me feel physically sick.

I turn my attention back to Marco, who’s picking himself up off the floor. “Why, Marco? She’s mine.”

He’s angry that I got the best of him, I can see it in his eyes, and I watch as he changes into someone I don’t even recognize. “She was mine first. Who do you think trained her to be a submissive?”

This can’t be happening. Not Sofia.

“That’s right, Nate. I’ve claimed every single inch of that beautiful body of hers. You can’t really blame me for wanting to revisit when she offered herself to me on a plate.”

I hear Sofia’s voice slicing through the pain that is threatening to break me. “That’s not what happened, Nate. Please. Let me explain.”

I slowly turn my head towards her. My voice cold, calm, and devoid of any emotion as I respond. “Do not…
ever
…address me as anything other than
Master
Callaghan. You do not
speak
unless I give you permission. You will not even so much as lay eyes on me until I tell you otherwise. I can’t stand the sight of you. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME…Ms. Mantovani?”

I can see how much my words are hurting her, but it’s nothing compared to how I’m feeling. She drops her head, her voice a broken whisper. “Yes, Master Callaghan.” She continues to cry, tears streaming down her soft, flawless skin as I force myself to look away.

“I want the truth, Marco. Start talking NOW, or I will drag you out of here by your balls and beat the shit out of you in front of every submissive in this place. No woman will ever want such a pathetic excuse for a Master.

“That’ll make two of us.”

“You’re right. I probably can’t show my face in here ever again, but the difference between us, is that I don’t give a shit. The woman you decided to chain up in here tonight is mine. She’s the only woman that will ever be mine. I won’t let you or anyone else take her away from me.”

“Then you’re a fool, Nate. Look at her. She came here willingly. You deserve better than that from your submissive.”

“I know that.” Sofia’s sobs intensify at my words, but I can’t risk a glance in her direction. I failed her in some way, or she wouldn’t be here. “The question is, do you want to suffer the same fate, Marco? Do you want to be able to show your face in here? If you do, then you better tell me the truth. What happened tonight?”

“Okay, okay.” He sits down on the couch behind him, his head resting in his hands, deflated. “Firstly, let me start by saying, I consider you a friend, and I was planning to explain everything to you, until you punched me. I was angry that you did that in front of her. She was important to me once…she still is.” I flinch at his admission. “She called me today and said she needed to talk. She sounded distraught. I was worried, so I told her to come. When she arrived, she was almost hysterical, begging me to punish her. Asking for the hard stuff.”

I don’t know how much more I can listen to.

“She said straight away that she didn’t want anything sexual. That she belongs to you, and that she would never have sex with another man. She kept saying over and over again that her pleasure belongs to you. It was clear that she was unhinged. I told her that she should be speaking to you. She started shaking, telling me that you can’t know about it. That she doesn’t want you to know how bad she is. How broken and twisted she is. She wasn’t making sense. I know she’s been through a lot, but I also know you. You would never hold it against her. I can see how much you love her.” He sees my confusion. “She hasn’t told you has she? What happened when she was young?”

She begins to thrash around, struggling against the restraints. “NO! Don’t. You can’t. He can’t know. I love him. I don’t want him to look at me that way.” I’ve never seen her like this before; so out of control, so scared.

“Nate, you need to talk to her. You need to know, otherwise you’ll never be able to be the Master she needs.” I don’t know what to do with the anger I’m feeling right now. It’s suffocating me. “Nothing happened. I didn’t touch her. I thought about it. I really fucking wanted to, and she really seemed like she needed the release; the pain. But, I saw the disgust in her eyes as I tightened the restraints, and felt her flinch when my hands brushed against her skin. I knew it wasn’t me she wanted. She wanted to hurt herself, and I was her way out. I couldn’t do it. You’re not the only one that fell in love with her. That’s when I told Jacob to call you.” His revelation hangs heavy in the air. “I never wanted her to leave. When she found out that I was your mentor, that I trained you, she said she couldn’t be my submissive anymore. That was two years ago. I never got over her. You know how easy she is to love. Problem is, she never loved me back. I was only ever a coping mechanism for her. I see now that she told me everything, not because she loved me, but because she didn’t. She wasn’t worried about how I would look at her, or if my opinion would change.”

Her cries are burning a hole in my chest. The howls of a broken, vulnerable, animal. A primal cry for help.

“She’s different with you. You’re good for her.”

“Obviously not, or I wouldn’t be standing in here with you.”

“Nate. This isn’t a reflection of your skill as a Master. She has chosen to hold back a major part of who she is from you. Until she relinquishes that, and lets you in, you can’t help her. I know you’re strong enough for this.”

I hang my head, weak, broken and completely lost. “I don’t feel it.”

“I’m not your mentor anymore. You surpassed me a long time ago. You were born to be a Master. Everyone at this club knows it. You need to own it. You’re letting your feelings for Sofia get in the way of your basic nature. And ironically, that instinct is exactly what she needs from you right now. You need to let go of the anger and talk to her.”