Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley) (6 page)

“Zebadiah Pellegrino, you worthless piece
of shit, I don’t know what the hell you think you’re doing, but it’s gonna
stop.” Allision Teelen, all five foot three of her, stomped towards the car.
Unreasonable fear had him freezing as Ethan stepped between him and his former
Mistress, blocking the well-dressed woman. If one didn’t know Allison was in
the lifestyle, she’d have easily been mistaken for any other local business
owner in Napa. Her family owned several wineries, and he didn’t have a prayer
in hell of fighting their power and money in court, but he had to try.

“Ms. Teelen, you can’t be here. In fact you
cannot come within five hundred yards of Zeb because of the restraining order.
I suggest you leave before Davis is aware you’re on our property and calls the
police. It’d be shame to be tossed back into the clink as you American’s say,
after you just made bail.”

“You’re threatening me? My lawyers have
assured me that neither my slave’s restraining order nor the charges against me
will stick once I have proof of the contract we signed. Then my baby will be
coming home where he belongs.”

Zeb’s skin crawled as his mouth dried out.
He wanted to protest. He wasn’t her baby anymore. He was Steph’s Sexy, and
Nicky’s little hummingbird. He didn’t want to be her baby.

“Well, until you can provide proof of this
contract Ms. Teelen, I suggest you remove yourself from my property.” Ethan
stood firm in the face of the woman’s fury. Behind him, Zebadiah began to
hyperventilate. All she had to do was step around Ethan, and she’d have the
proof she needed, and he’d have to go home with her.
Dear Lord, she’ll kill me this time.
Dark spots began to dance in
front of his eyes as he swayed on his feet.

“There
is
proof. It was in the safety deposit box he just cleaned out. Imagine my
surprise when I returned to the bank, only to be informed my slave cleaned it
out less than thirty minutes before?”

“It was
his
safety deposit box, Allison. He has every right to it.”

“Only if I give him the right! Which I didn’t.
He’s an idiot when it comes to money!” She tried to shove past Ethan. “You’re
going to pay for that, you worm. You know you’re not allowed access to that
safety deposit box without my direct permission,” she screeched as Ethan caught
her by the waist.

Panic and the need to escape pooled in
Zebadiah’s stomach as he tried to scramble back away from her. “No!” He tripped
over the box he’d dropped and went down. Everything went black as he hit his
head on the open car door.

Chapter
Five

When he
came to, Zebadiah
’s head was pounding and he was in the
hospital, or rather its emergency room again. The white walls, ceiling, and
mauve looking privacy curtain were items he’d hope to never see again in his
lifetime. He turned his head slowly to see the familiar IV drip connected to
his arm. He was truly getting sick of these places.

“Good, you’re finally awake. We were
getting worried. You managed to wallop yourself on the head pretty hard,
Zebadiah.” A familiar nurse appeared in front of him. He squinted as she
blurred a bit before slowly coming into focus. “Amanda?”

“Yep. Good to see you still recognize me. I
caught an E.R. shift and was definitely surprised to see you in here.” She
picked up his wrist, feeling for his pulse. “Can you tell me your full name,
sweetheart?”

He licked his dry lips, his mouth feeling
like Sahara Dessert. “Do I have to? Can’t I have a drink first? I don’t know
why I’m so thirsty.”

She sighed, placing the clipboard next to
him on the bed, still monitoring his pulse. Twenty seconds dragged by before
she released him. After scribbling on his chart, she finally looked up at him.
“That’s because of the side effects of the
lorazepam
.
Tell you what, you give me your name and I’ll get you a big cup of ice chips.”

“Zebadiah Reynolds Pellegrino.” He winced
at his hated middle name, but the promised ice chips were worth it - he was
that thirsty.

“Good.” She shuffled over to the counter
and brought back a Styrofoam cup. Placing it in the hand not hooked up to the
IV, she continued to record his vitals, taking his blood pressure this time as
he sucked on an ice chip. Finally done, she smiled down at him. “Do you
remember anything that happened?”

He frowned. “Yeah. She was there. She
wanted to hurt me.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I panicked, then everything
went black.”

She nodded. “It matches up with what your
friend said when he brought you in. That blackness was you running into an open
car door. You knocked yourself silly.”

“It feels like it.” He lifted his hand to
aching part at the back of his head.

“Whoa, don’t touch that. The doctor just
finished stitching you up fifteen minutes ago. He’ll be ticked if you pull them
out. You caught the latch on the door and had to have fourteen stitches.” She
took out a small penlight to check his pupils. He winced as the light caused
new pain to shoot through his head and down his neck. “Sensitive to light
still?”

“Yeah.”

“Not surprising. You managed to give
yourself a nasty concussion along with your stitches.”

His face flushed. “I was scared. I
obviously underestimated my own strength.”

“Fear can be a powerful motive. No worries,
however as the woman was carted back off to jail, from my understanding for
breaking the restraining order. Probably a good thing considering the size of
the guys out in the waiting room. Your lawyer is freakin’ huge and the other
guy with him isn’t a small man by any stretch of the imagination.”

“Yeah, Davis is huge, but…Ethan may be
shorter but he can kick some serious butt, if you know what I mean?”

“Oh yes, he’s one of those silent but
deadly types, but I was talking about our local celebrity author, Nicholaus
Tarquinio. I stopped on my lunch hour earlier today and had him sign my copy of
His Reluctant Desire.
Nice man, but
the woman…she scares me. She stood behind him and dared anyone to even think
about touching her man.”

“Stephanie,” he croaked out, his scrambled
brains trying to make sense of Steph and Nicholaus being here. Ethan must’ve
called them after the attack. He wasn’t sure if he was happy or pissed his
friend had done so.

“Yep that’s her name. You think Mr.
Tarquinio was pissed about you being hurt, she was seething with fury.”

“She was?”

She nodded. “Okay, if you don’t have any
more questions, your doctor will be in to see you in just a bit.” She moved to
leave, when he shifted and pain shot up his arm as he inadvertently pulled on
the IV.

“Actually I do.” He lifted his arm. “Why
the hell am I hooked up to an IV if all they did was put stitches in me.”

“Because they had to sedate you in the
emergency room. You tried to stab the doctor with a pair of medical shears.”

Shock washed over him. “I did
what
?”

Her face expression softened. “No harm
happened. You were upset when you first came to. The drip is giving you a light
but steady dose of
 
lorazepam
to
keep you on a steady keel. You had a very traumatic experience.” A light knock
on the door had her turning. “Yes? Let me see if he’s up to company, Mr.
Tarquinio.” She pivoted towards him with a question in her eyes.

“I guess.” He toyed with the blanket
covering his legs as Nicky walked into the exam room.

“How are you feeling,
il mio colibrì?”
Nicholaus came to a stop next to the bed.

“My head hurts like a bastard.”

“I imagine it does.” He pulled up the
plastic chair and sank down into it. “I hear you had a visit from your ex?”

Zebadiah nodded, and then winced as more
pain shot through his head.

“Hey, no more nodding if it hurts.”
Nicholaus picked up Zeb’s hand, but kept his voice soft.

“Yeah, I’m figuring that out. Man it feels
like someone took a pick ax to my head.” Zebadiah relaxed back against the bed.
“I was surprised when Amanda told me you and Steph were here.” He yawned. “Did
Ethan call you?”

“We came because Bella called us.”

Another mystery solved, Zebadiah thought as
his eyes grew heavy once more. Whatever was in the sedative was making him
sleepy. He was drifting when a thought occurred to him. “Where’s Stephanie?”

“She decided to wait with Ethan and Davis
in the waiting room. She’s pretty upset about the attack.”

Unable to open his eyes, he mumbled. “No
attack…I was clumsy…no need for her to be upset…” Darkness consumed him once
more.

* * * *

“And her being upset, is like you being
clumsy - nothing is further from the truth.” Nicholaus watched the man, who
he’d just begun to get to know, drift back to sleep. Zebadiah had been so
scared he’d tried to run, and Steph was pissed to the point she thought it
might scare Zeb even more if she’d come in. Both he and Steph were falling fast
for Zebadiah, but it didn’t surprise him. He was a romantic at heart and
believed in love at first sight. It’d taken only ten minutes in Steph’s company
before he had fallen and he had never regretted it. She completed him in ways
he hadn’t expected. Her sassy mouth kept him on his toes, her sexy body fit up
next to his nearly perfectly, and her love for life in general kept him from
becoming too set in his routine.

Tracing his fingers across the calloused
palm he was holding, he idly wondered what part of their lives Zebadiah would
fill. He longed to feel the man in bed with them. He loved nothing more than
being sandwiched between two people he loved. He froze. Had it happened
already? He studied Zeb’s sleeping face as he tried to examine his feelings.
Worry and concern about his
il mio
colibrì’s
physical and mental well-being, anger at the woman responsible
for putting Zebadiah back in the hospital, and fear this would drive the man
away from him and Steph. Yep, he was screwed. He’d fallen lock, stock and
barrel for the man just as he had Steph. Now he’d have to hope Steph felt the
same way towards Zebadiah, and they would be able to work past this newest
wrinkle. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever be able to do anything the easy
way.

A light knock proceeded Ethan slipping into
the room. The other man looked none worse for the wear from his encounter with
Allison.

“Hey, Ethan.” He continued to hold Zeb’s
hand. “Did the war council get too bloody for you?”

A smile tugged at the other man’s mouth.
“Your sub is quite blood-thirsty. I dare say that bitch should be glad she’s in
jail at the moment for breaking the restraining order.”

“Yeah, she is.” He gave a mock shudder.
“You should’ve seen what she did to the deranged woman who was stalking me when
we first met. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything as terrifying in my life as
seeing her go medieval on the poor woman.”

Ethan came to a stop next to the bed. “I’m
just glad he didn’t reinjure his knee again in the fall. He’s already had two
surgeries and massive amount of rehab. I don’t think he could handle another
round.”

Nicholaus stared down at Zeb. “Somehow I
think he’s a lot stronger than we give him credit for, Ethan. How long was he
with Allison?”

“About two years.” Sinking into the other
plastic chair, Ethan sighed. “I don’t know how he handled it. I suspect it was
his cooking that saved him. He loves to bake. I’m surprised I haven’t gained
ten pounds since he moved in. He’s constantly baking breads, sweets and cakes.
His Black Forest Cake is to die for. I can understand why he wants to open his
own bakery and coffee shop.”

Nicholaus cocked his head. “He wants to
open his own shop?”

Ethan nodded. “Yes. He’s been saving for
several years since he finished culinary school. He even has a piece of land
his grandmother left him, which would be ideal for the type of bakery he wants
to have. It’s on the edge of town right off of Highway 12. With his skills and
the really good location, it could be a success. I’ve even offered to back him
financially, but so far he’s resisted.”

“I wonder why? If he loves baking as much
as he says and has a willing backer, I don’t understand why he hasn’t…”

“I suspect pride. He’s offered several
times to pay room and board until I told him I’d paddle him if he offered
again. His baking more than covers anything I’d even dream of accepting from
him.” Ethan’s eyes glazed over. “He has the best damn bread I’ve ever tasted.
We haven’t had store bought bread once since he got back on his feet. If I
could afford to keep him on as a full time baker, I’d tell him to quit his job
and come to work for me.”

“I knew you kept me around for a
reason…you’re after my bread…” Zebadiah whispered, his eyes barely open a
crack.

“Did we wake you? Are we being too loud?”
Ethan asked softly.

“Naw…head hurts. Just…drifting in …and
out,” he slurred, his eyes closing once more.

There was another soft knock and the doctor
entered, surprise on his face as he saw the two men surrounding his patient.
“Which one of you is Ethan Tremaine?”

Ethan rose. “I am.”

“I’m Dr. Sanderton. As you’re Mr.
Pellegrino’s representative, I need to go over a few things with you. Can we
talk privately for a moment?” Nicholaus’s skin prickled as the doctor gave him
a pointed look. Gently untangling their hands, he rose. “I’ll just step outside
and see how Steph and Davis are doing.” As he walked out of the room, it was
all he could do to not argue with the doctor. Damn H.I.P.A. laws.

* * * *

Steph
was deep in discussion with Davis about what might hopefully happen to Allison
when Nicky strode back into the room, heading for the vending machines. Her
eyebrows rose. Between the frustrated look on his face and his pursuit of
caffeine she knew he
’
d reached the end of his tether. The only
time he drank soda or coffee was when something hadn
’t gone his way. Obviously some doctor had kicked him out of
Zeb’s room. She interrupted Davis when her Master stopped in front of the
coffee machine.

“Just a second, Davis. Gotta check on
Nicky. A ‘strung out on coffee author’ is never a good thing.” Rising, she
joined her Master. “Nicky?”

He was shoving coins into the machine.
“Yeah?”

“Are you sure you want the coffee?” She
kept her voice low and non-threatening. Sometimes it worked. He looked over his
shoulder at her.

“Relax,
cara
mia,
I’m only going to have one cup. My nerves are shot.” He pulled her to
him after he made his selection. She sighed in relief as she noticed he’d
selected decaf. As the machine hissed and spit, she stood in his embrace,
allowing him to hold her. Sometimes a good hug helped.

Once the coffee was done, he released her to
grab the small cardboard cup. Then they rejoined Davis, who was now on his cell
phone. If the look on his face and tone of voice he was using were any
indication, he obviously wasn’t happy with the person on the other end of the
call.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this. I can
sue your ass off for breach of contract and violating Zebadiah’s civil rights.
The F.M.L.A. act covers this type of thing, Harmond.” He paused as she and
Nicky settled onto one of the uncomfortable hospital couches. “I understand his
absence has left you short-handed, but he has no control over the actions of
others…” A scowl crossed Davis’s face before he snapped the phone shut with a
growl. “That son of a bitch hung up on me.”

“I take it that was Sexy’s boss?”