The Awakening (26 page)

I honestly thought it was safe to enjoy a decent night out.

After coming out of the private area, I ran into a confrontation I didn't expect to find. At the base of the stairs, Ramesses was in an intense discussion with a Dominant I could tell was not thrilled to be in my Beloved's company. But that's nothing new; it's not like we get along with everyone in the community. What caught my attention was the submissive at the Dominant's side.

jamii, our former submissive, stood in the midst of the dungeon, in a heated conversation with Ramesses.

I made my way over, with Kitana and Damian at my sides, to see what the problem might have been.

My Beloved seemed to have his demeanor under control, considering the guests were all around us enjoying the night's festivities. It was this Dominant jamii was with who seemed to be coming unglued.

“Just admit that You weren't man enough to keep this lovely piece satisfied, Ramesses,” I overheard him say as I walked up.

Ramesses felt my presence behind him, but that didn't stop him from firing back, “Just admit that this lovely ‘piece,' as You describe her, is happy with You, regardless of what she might have told You went down within the House.”

“My name is Sir Xavier, Ramesses.”

“Then tell me something, Sir Xavier,” Ramesses continued. “How long have You known our former?”

“About two months.”

“Figures.” Ramesses glared at jamii, but Sir Xavier tried to divert his attention back to the source of the tension.

“What the hell does that have to do with the fact that Your sub-collecting ass can't keep all Your subs happy?”

I started to jump in, but Ramesses grabbed my hand. “Relax, Beloved, it's obvious that our former has been a bit upset about the turn of events of the past couple of months, and she felt the need to have a champion for her cause to teach Me a lesson. Is that about right, submissive?”

“my name is now isis, Sir.” She really was trying hard to disrespect, even when Ramesses was trying to keep his calm. “i would greatly appreciate it if i were addressed as such, Sir.”

“I will address you in whatever manner I see fit, submissive, until you remember your place,” Ramesses bellowed loud enough for a few people to hear him. “I do not care who you submit to now,
WE
taught you better than this insubordination you are showing now. Right now, you're acting like a common trick off the street. Do you really want Me to treat you accordingly?”

“You will not treat her as anything I do not allow You to treat her as, Ramesses.” Xavier tried to step between Ramesses and isis, thinking his chivalry in defending his lady's honor would endear him to the crowd.

Big mistake…

“Oh, don't worry, Sir, I don't think You could treat her as anything she would allow You to treat her as.” Ramesses stared him down, moving into his personal space, challenging him like they were on the street. “Where did You come from anyway; who vouched for you to even be on the grounds?”

“At least I am submitting to a real Dominant…” came flying out of isis' mouth out of the blue. The point of no return had been reached.

The next sound the guests in the basement heard was a loud
THWACK!

The next thing those who bothered to turn around to witness was a sight that even shocked Amenhotep…and it took
a lot
to shock Amenhotep.

isis was on the ground holding her cheek looking up at a severely irritated Lord Ramesses. He stood over her with a scowl on his face that scared the hell out of me and Kitana.

Sir Xavier looked like he wanted to protect what was his, but one look from Ramesses stopped any ideas that he might have had there. Looking down at isis, he still felt the need to make some attempt at protecting her.

He swung at Ramesses, catching nothing but air. The next two punches belonged to my Beloved, catching Xavier on his jaw and the back of his head, dropping him to the floor face-first.

As much as the crowd tried to remain composed, the
oohs
and
ahhs
rained down on the scene as all play scenes stopped in favor of the drama surrounding the new Lord of the Palace.

Amenhotep stepped forward, staring down at Sir Xavier. He shook His head, wondering for a moment what made Xavier try to take things to the next level.

“You, Sir Xavier, are no longer a welcome guest upon these grounds. You and Your property are free to leave on your own, or I can have security escort you from the premises,” I heard Amenhotep say to Xavier amongst the silence. “Understand the events of this evening are of Your doing.”

“You mean to tell me that You are going to allow a Dominant to hit a submissive in Your domain, Master Amenhotep?” isis pleaded, still on the ground nursing the bruise on her cheek.

“you are the last person to question Me, woman,” Amenhotep scolded. “Or would you like for the rest of the guests in here to know the reality of your disrespect toward the House of Kemet-Ka upon your requested release?”

isis looked up at Sir Xavier, who had a confused look on his face, and then at the throng of guests now making their way toward the commotion. In an instant, the leverage she thought she'd had disappeared.

“What is Amenhotep referring to, isis?” He asked of his submissive.

Ramesses saw the result of the misdirection that had befallen Sir Xavier. The flash of anger in his eyes was evident, and almost like someone had flipped a switch, Ramesses calmed down. He realized the woman Sir Xavier thought he knew was nothing more than an opportunist. The confusion over whether to protect her honor was evident on his face.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the interruption in the festivities,” he started. “Would anyone like to vouch for Sir Xavier and isis? It seems that they have managed to attend a private affair without the ability to name the persons who claimed them as their guests.”

Silence for nearly two full minutes.

“Well, since no one wants to claim these two as guests, then I must ask security to escort them from the premises. Ramesses has spoken.” He headed upstairs and out of our line of sight as the security personnel executed his order.

Sir Xavier left his property on the ground like she truly were something he'd picked up last week. isis picked herself off the ground and, without much more word or sound, left the dungeon area after her Dominant, who I suspected no longer wanted to be her Dominant anymore. He'd been embarrassed in front of an
entire group of people within the lifestyle who took honor very seriously.

Amenhotep looked at Kitana and me, saw the expressions on our faces, and He calmly spoke. “Do not fear, My dear ladies. Ramesses is fine; He unfortunately had to revert to someone you both may not recognize. Go to Him now; He will need you to balance Him again.”

While Amenhotep attended to the guests to calm them down and get them back to the festivities of the evening, I sent Damian to assist Him while Kitana and I searched for Ramesses upstairs. We finally found him in one of the guest bedrooms, trying to regain his composure. He rocked back and forth at the edge of the bed like he wanted to shake something off him.

Kitana immediately fell to her knees at his feet, trying to get him to look at her. I sat on the bed next to him, rubbing his back to let him know what he did, he had to do.

“Daddy…we're not afraid of You, so please don't think that.” Kitana stayed on her knees, head bowed, as she talked to him. “she left you no other choice. she was not acting as a submissive should act.”

“Our little one is right, baby. We need You here,” I told my husband. The only thing we could do was stay with him until he could snap back out of it. As long as we'd been married, been a part of this lifestyle community, Ramesses had never lost his composure. It was a source of pride for him, and he had to be reminded his honor was still intact.

He finally rubbed his hands together, a sign to both of us he was starting to balance out a little. Ramesses finally opened his palms to us, and we each placed a hand in his and watched our hands get swallowed by his long fingers.

I saw Kitana shudder. Hell, I couldn't help it myself. I felt his
electricity course through me, and I could tell it affected Kitana as well. It's funny how that works out sometimes.

“Alright…we still have guests to attend to, ladies. Let's make sure they are well taken care of so we can keep our circles intact, shall we?”

Moments later, Ramesses was back to his usual flamboyant self.

32
NEFERTERRI

I awoke the next morning completely refreshed and still high from the night before.

I guess that's what happens when a small fortune has been placed in your lap to control and maintain. Waking up in the Palace as the new owner was still something I wasn't used to, but I had to get used to the idea quick because it was something I had to help promote and maintain. So, I got a pen and paper and began jotting down my “to do” list.

The first things on my mind were tying up some loose ends on a variety of fronts, now that I no longer had to work, per se. So, I called my boss to inform him I would be putting in my notice of resignation. Needless to say, he wasn't entirely thrilled with the idea of his right-hand person leaving him, but I kindly reminded him it was the slow season heading into the new year, and I would be able to have a suitable replacement at his disposal before I left him. I told him I was still working for the next month to ensure my replacement would be up to speed, and the transition would be near seamless.

He kind of relented at my exit strategy, but he was still upset I was leaving him. For the past five years, he had been trying to get with me intimately. He knew I wasn't exactly into white men on a sexual level. Well, that, and I don't mix business with pleasure. If
that were the case, I would have sampled every one of the dancers at my club. He was a cutie pie no doubt, just not my cup of tea, so, he unfortunately would not be able to sample this particular dessert before I departed. So, when I flipped through my possible replacements I had been considering, I made sure to find ones I knew would be able to handle the fringe benefits he was willing to give me. Not to mention having the ability to do her job as well as keep her mouth shut about the perks she was getting.

I finally settled on jezzabelle, Blaze's pet. She had the proper credentials to be able to do the job, and the appetite to give my now former boss everything he could handle and then some. A quick call to Blaze to let her know her pet had a new job and a better rate of pay, and it was on to the next thing on my “to do” list, which was taking care of the club.

I called DeAngelo to find out from him if he wanted to buy me out or not. He had this perplexed sound in his voice, like he didn't expect to hear those words come out of my mouth. To be honest, I didn't expect them to come out, either. But right then, I had a different path to follow, and that path was leading to the Palace.

“Are you sure you want to do this, cuz?” he asked me one final time, trying to talk me out of it. “It's not gonna be the same without you, and you know the girls are gonna be pissed they don't have you as a boss anymore.”

“Yeah, I know, and I still might change my mind, D. But I'm on the verge of something big, and I know Kane; he's gonna want my undivided attention.” I wasn't lying about that. Knowing my husband, he had some big plans, and now that we had the cash flow to get it done, the sky was the limit.

“I hear you, cuz. Tell Big Game I said congrats and I wish you two the best,” he replied. “I guess there's nothing left to do now but
figure out the dollars to make this buyout work for the both of us. I'm not trying to slight you, and I know you don't want to sound like you're selling yourself short.”

I had to admit, I wasn't sure if I was ready to give up my baby just yet. After all, D and I had built her from the ground up, gone through those years in the red, sinking hard-earned money from our full-time jobs, sacrificed what had to be done to get it off the ground to being successful. Now that it was, was I ready to leave? I really wasn't sure about it, which was quickly leaving me quite torn. Could I juggle two businesses at the same time? Could I be the power player I dreamed about being when Kane and I were younger?

“D, wait a minute, I'm not ready yet. I thought I was, but…” I really heard myself hesitating, and it was killing me.

“Talk to your husband about it, cuz,” he reassured me. “He might not want you to give up. That is what you're thinking, right?”

I hate it when family knows you so well sometimes.

On the way home from my soon-to-be old employer, I was trying to figure out in my head what conversation I was going to have with my husband. In my heart, I wanted to keep the club. After all, it suited a lot of purposes, including a central location to be able to handle meet-and-greets without having any issues pop up. Not to mention the money the club would generate to open up the possibility of opening other businesses.