Essential Master (Doms of Napa Valley) (7 page)

Davis gave her a strange look. “If Zeb is
Sexy, then yes, that was his boss…or rather his former boss. Dolly, Ethan’s
secretary just called me to let me know he called the house and terminated
Zeb’s employment. I want to take the bastard to court, but Zeb has been
reluctant, considering he just returned to work a couple of weeks ago on a
limited basis. Missing today’s shift because of the incident evidently was the
last straw, and he fired him.”

“Dammit. When it rains it pours. Steph and
I were planning to stop by his place of employment to sample some of his
deserts. From what Ethan was telling me, Zebadiah makes a killer Black Forest
Cake.” Nicky shifted next to her. “We won’t be able to do that now, but perhaps
now he’ll start his own bakery.”

“What bakery?” Her curiosity was pricked.
“Zebadiah didn’t mention he wanted to do that when we were talking to him
earlier today.”

“Ethan told me. Wonder why he didn’t
mention it to us?”

Davis shrugged. “Having his own bakery
would be a perfect solution to this mess, but he’s been reluctant to accept
help from anyone. Allison’s a control freak from hell. What little confidence
he had, she destroyed with her constant criticisms. I think he’s afraid he’ll
fail, even though both Ethan and I can see his passion for cooking.”

Her brow furrowed. “Then why did he stay
with her?”

“His need to serve would be my guess. From
what he’s said, she was his first and only Mistress since moving back here
after culinary school in Chicago.” Davis sighed. “There was a rumor I heard
that when he first returned, he didn’t immediately accept her collar. He tried
to find another Master or Mistress, and Allison ran them all off. Whether it’s
true or not, I have no idea. I didn’t want to prod too deeply into his past
with her after what she did to him, but it’d explain why he stayed with her.”

“I don’t follow. Why would her trying to
run off any other interested suitors cause him to stay with her?” She shoved
down the building anger in her gut. There would be a round with the heavy bag
tonight when they got home.

“I think for him it was a choice of no
submission or submission to her. After so long, I think she finally wore him
down.”

“The bitch!” Her anger exploded to the
surface. “It’d be a cold day in hell before I let another force that kind of
choice from me.”

Nicky’s hand rubbed her neck and gave it a
gentle squeeze. “Shhh, not every submissive is as outspoken or firm as you are,
cara mia.”

Davis chuckled. “Just as a warning, don’t
be surprised if she approaches you, Nicholaus, once it gets out you’re the new
Dom in Zeb’s life.”

Next to her, Nicky’s amber eyes grew cold.
“Just let her try it. It’ll be the biggest mistake in her whole sorry-assed
life.”

Chapter
Six

Following
Nicky into the house, Steph kicked her shoes off by the door as Nicky hung his
keys up and placed his wallet and change in the tray next to the door.

“You need a few rounds with the bag,
Steph?” He didn’t bother to look up at her as he toed off his shoes. “I’ll hold
the heavy bag and maybe you can try teaching me how to hit that stupid little
bag again.”

His attempt at humor wasn’t lost on her and
a chuckle escaped her. Her master could hold his own if it came down to a
fight, but he had issues with the speed bag. “Well it’s either that or a couple
hours with that bitch. I can’t believe a Mistress would do such a thing to her
submissive.” She followed him down the hall towards their exercise/weight room,
an extravagance Nicky had indulged her in because of her constant need for
exercise.

They entered the room and Steph went immediately
to the pegboard on the wall where her boxing gloves hung.

“Most Mistresses don’t - unless that’s the
type of service the sub desires. There are submissives who wish to be
humiliated in such a manner,
cara mia.”

“Well, I’m not.” She shoved her hands into
the gloves, then held them out so he could lace them up. “Do you think Zebadiah
is one of them? I don’t think I could do that to him if he is. I mean I’d love
to tie him up and smack his tight little ass. I want him at my mercy, but if he
needs to be humiliated, I don’t think I could do it. I honestly like him. Once
he forgets to be nervous around me, he’s a wonderful guy.”

Nicky laced up her right glove. “I don’t
think he craves it, or he wouldn’t be trying to get free of her. But before we
even scene together, we’ll definitely be discussing it. Until then we just have
to wait and be patient.”

She growled in her throat as he fussed with
the tie before moving onto her left glove. “I’m really beginning to hate that
word. We have to wait to approach him as a couple, we have to wait to even
breach the subject of having a D/s relationship with him, and now we have to
wait for him to recover from this attack.”

“I know it’s hard but don’t direct your
anger at him. Let’s save it for the bitch who fucked him up. She’s the one who
deserves your fury.”

She immediately deflated. “I’m not mad at
Zebadiah. He hasn’t asked for what’s happened to him. But it truly pisses me
off knowing we’ve found a potential third, and we’ve had nothing but road
blocks thrown up in our faces.”

“Shhh, come over here and work some of that
anger out.” He guided her towards the bag. Moving around the other side of it,
he stood as she had taught him, legs shoulder length apart, one leg slightly
behind the other and held the bag. “Ready, Steph.”

A hiss passed her lips and she attacked the
bag, throwing punch after punch at it. Evenly using her thighs and knees as
well as shoulders, arms and hands on it, she worked through her frustration
until a cool sweat broke out all over her body. Each time she landed a punch,
she imagined it being this mysterious Allison. Not that Allison would be able
to sustain the blows Steph was landing. One or two good hits to the face and
the woman would be on the ground bleeding and begging for mercy. She wanted to
hurt the woman just as badly as the woman had hurt Zeb. Steph wanted to kill
the bitch for possibly ruining such a beautiful submissive, that he’d never
want to submit to Steph.

“That’s it, work it out. Get it out of your
system.”

Nicky’s words were a blur as she continued
to work through the turbulent emotions which nearly had nearly torn her apart
in the hospital. If the woman were here, she wouldn’t leave the room breathing.

* * * *

Ethan
joined Davis in their shared office. He
’d
been reluctant to leave Zebadiah at the hospital, but the doctor had wanted to
keep the other man for observation, for not only his concussion, but the high
amount of sedative in his system required constant supervision. Davis and he
couldn’t give Zeb that kind of care because it was Subbie Night at New
Beginnings. They couldn’t cancel the night on such short notice, nor did they
have the staffing to cover one or the other off. Toby, Davis’s cousin and
sometimes Dungeon Monitor/security was out of town for his mother’s surgery and
Kaleb had an art exhibit going on at the youth center where Bella worked.

“Shit, I can’t believe the dumb bitch tried
coming here and attacking Zeb again.” Davis tossed his attaché case on the
desk.

They’d barely had time to get back to the
house, grab a bite to eat and change into their leathers before coming down to
the club. The fact Davis had brought is work with him wasn’t surprising. The
first couple of hours of the night, Ethan would be able to handle the club with
the help of a few of the house Doms who volunteered their time in exchange for
reduced fees.

“She’s obviously not all there in the head,
Davis. I’ll warn the rest of the staff to be on watch for her when they arrive.
You have the pictures right?”

Davis had printed out Allison’s mug shot
for Ethan to give to all the staff. They hadn’t wanted a slip like what had
happened the night of Zeb’s original attack. One of the new house Doms hadn’t
recognized Allison and had allowed her and Zeb in with disastrous results.

“Yep, right here.” He opened his case and
pulled out a stack of black and white pictures. Davis handed them to him. “God,
I don’t want to do this tonight when Zeb is in the hospital. He’s a club
favorite and some of the regulars are sure to ask. Especially Tianna. They’ve
gotten close over the past few weeks since we’ve let Zeb work in the bondage
room as a D.M.”

Ethan smiled at the mention of one of the
regular subbies who attended every Friday night. She was unattached but very
curious.
And one of the reasons we decided
on having Subbie Night. A safe environment for inquisitive beginners to find
out about the lifestyle.
“Yes they have. She’s been good for him. While not
dominant in the least bit, Zeb told me she reminded him of himself when he
first started out, curious as a kitten and with as little regard for her
safety. Thank heaven Lauren took her under her wing and brought her to us. I
shudder to think what would’ve happened if she hadn’t.”

Predictably Davis growled at his mention of
Lauren. Ethan sighed. His partner had been lusting after the little blonde
since the first time she’d crossed the threshold at New Beginnings nearly three
years ago. “Davis, when are you going to move on and find another submissive?”

Davis rubbed the back of his neck and threw
his feet up on the desk in front of him. “When she doesn’t make my dick hard
just by breathing. I have patience, Ethan. She’ll eventually get tired of
playing her games and then I’ll have her. She’s been warned.”

The dark promise in his friend’s voice had
Ethan pausing. He’d never heard such a tone from Davis before. Maybe he should
talk to Lauren and warn her that Davis’s patience was wearing thin. Something
had changed between the two of them since the night Davis had carted a pissy
Lauren out of his dojo when she’d confronted Ethan, thinking he’d done
something to Bella. He’d never asked Davis what had happened after he carted
Lauren off to his private rooms. Perhaps he should’ve.

“Then go and find another sub and at least
get laid, so you don’t scare her when she finally submits to you. Call up
Eileen.” Even as he gave Davis the advice, he knew the man wouldn’t be calling
his friend with benefits.

“Nope, I’m waiting for Lauren.” Davis
cracked his knuckles. “Everything else seems hollow.” Then he reached for his attaché
case and pulled out a sheaf of papers. “Don’t you a have a staff meeting to
tend to?”

Ethan sighed. “Yes. Remember to holler if
you need me or if the hospital calls.” He grabbed several small clipboards each
D.M. carried while in the club. Sticking a photo of Allison with a couple
others already on the clipboards, he checked to make sure the list of rules
were on top, covering the banned members names.

“I won’t forget. Go get through getting the
troops ready. I need to check out this contract Zebadiah signed with Allison,
and see if there’s any way to get him out of it.”

“Good luck. I’ll be on the floor. I’ll send
up one of the house Doms to monitor the security cameras after the meeting.”
Then he slipped out of the office and headed towards the bar inside in the main
part of the club. He had a feeling tonight was going to be a zoo.

* * * *

Zebadiah
was watching the small television in his hospital room wishing he was anywhere
but here. He couldn
’t believe the damned doctors had made him
stay at the hospital. He could’ve been home watching TV, even if Ethan wouldn’t
let him go to the club, or talking to Nicky and Steph on the phone. His head,
while it still ached, was the least of his worries at the moment. After
speaking with Ethan and giving permission to the other man to give Davis the
contract he’d signed with Allison, he couldn’t help but think about the
confrontation earlier in the day. He’d thought Ethan and Davis’s protection
would be enough, that Allison wouldn’t dare come after him, especially if she
knew he was always surrounded by his friends. He should’ve known better. He
truly wished he’d never met the woman. Not only had she hurt him physically,
she’d also cost him his job, or so he’d found out when Davis had spoken with
him before leaving. Not that he’d miss the arrogant Harmond, but he’d enjoyed
his position creating lavish deserts and baked goods. His future looked bleak
without a job. He’d have to dip into his savings to live until he could find
another job. And in Napa with Harmond black-balling him, he might have to move
someplace else to find work.

The phone rang on the table next to him,
drawing him out of his morbid thoughts. Reaching for the receiver he picked it
up on the third ring.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Pellegrino? This is Arnold Rathowitz,
I’m council for Allison Teelen. Could I have a moment of your time?”

His mouth dried out. “I won’t answer any
questions without my lawyer present, Mr. Rathowitz.”

“Relax, Zebadiah. All you need to do is
listen. My client has a very convincing case. In fact, I’d have to say most of
the facts are on Ms. Teelen’s side. But even if they weren’t, you had a loving
relationship with my client once upon a time. Do honestly want to drag her name
through the mud because of a lover’s quarrel?”

Zebadiah clenched his jaw as the man
continued to ramble on and on. Incensed at the idea the man thought the attack
was nothing more than a lover’s quarrel, he had to bite down on his tongue
hard. He knew what the man was attempting to do. He wanted to get him to confess
to something he could use in court, and he wasn’t going to oblige him. Finally
unable to stand anymore, he interrupted him. “Enough! If you want to talk to
me, contact my lawyer. His name is Davis Clayton and he has an office downtown
off of Jefferson Street.” Then he hung up on the sputtering man.

A few seconds later, the phone rang again.
Pissed, he yanked it off the hook. “What part of I don’t want to talk to you,
don’t you get?”

“Sexy?” The female voice had him pausing.
“Has something changed? I thought we agreed Nicky and I would call tonight?”

“Steph?” he croaked, holding the phone
tight. “I wasn’t expecting you to call now that I’m in here.”

“We promised you we’d call,
il mio colibrì.
Did you expect us not to
honor our word?” Nicky’s voice was a pleasant sound in his ear. They either had
him on speakerphone or were using two extensions. Either way, the last thing he
wanted them to think was that he doubted their word.

“It honestly never crossed my mind you
wouldn’t. I just assumed it wouldn’t happen…”

“It’s dangerous to assume, Sexy. It’ll get
you in trouble every time.” Steph sighed. “And Lord, don’t I know it.”

A bubble of laughter built inside of him.
He could only imagine what kind of trouble she got into. Despite being Nicky’s
sub, she was probably one of the most assertive women he’d ever been around.
“Point taken.”

“Don’t do it again.” Nicky’s warning
settled over him like a heavy blanket. “If you have doubts, we’re just a call
away. We put our numbers in your cell before we left the hospital. I hope you
don’t mind.”

They’d gotten into his phone? He glanced at
his cell sitting on the bedside tray. Not that there was anything on his phone
he didn’t want them seeing but…

“Davis insisted, in fact,” Steph added. “He
wanted you to be able to contact us if you weren’t able to get a hold of him or
Ethan tonight - because of Subbie Night.”

He relaxed. “It’s fine. I was just
surprised you wanted me to have your numbers is all.”

“Of course we want you to have our numbers,
Zebadiah.” He could hear her frustration. “Even if you didn’t need us for some
emergency, you can always call us to talk. How else are we going to get to know
you better?” Her reasoning was logical and even he had to admit it.

“I’m sorry, Steph. I don’t mean to
frustrate you. I’m stuck in a hospital I don’t want to be in, and my head still
aches. I’m probably not thinking real clearly right now.”