The Consort

by Paige Patton

  “Yes, My lord?” She asked mockingly.

  The title, My lord, was a show of respect to one’s master. It was a title meant for the one true ruler, Kourosh. Throwing this title in his face was like a slap in his face. It was a blatant show of disrespect. Disrespect was his second pet peeve.

  He decided to make her wait until he finished his full hour-long workout before speaking to her.

  Roman was a liberal master, giving his servants the freedom to live outside of his home. He expected them to appear immediately when summoned, ready to serve him without question or attitude. Most masters kept their slaves on lock-down and under spells at all times. Roman never had to resort to such treatment as long as everyone knew his or her place.

  Roman had been a fairly decent master to Ivy over the centuries. Their affair had been the classic triangle love story. Boy meets girl; girl has jealous husband, jealous husband finds out about girl and lover, a fight ensues and jealous husband ends up torn into several pieces.

  Of course, Ivy had no idea that her lover was a vampire during their dalliance. Once the shit hit the fan, Roman could not bear to leave her alone in Portugal to face a death sentence alone, even though his feelings for her were gone. There was only one other solution. To make her his personal slave.

  Ivy spent many nights craving the man she could no longer have. Being his slave had its benefits but the disadvantages were far greater. After centuries of serving him, she had grown to hate him and wanted out.

  Finally, after an hour of running on the treadmill, Roman slowed his pace until he came to a complete stop. He watched as Ivy huffed and puffed with her hands on her hip, letting her irritation show a little too much for his liking. She was once the love of his life, but now she was his slave. She had to act accordingly. He demanded it from all of his servants.

  Roman grabbed a towel from off of a towel rack, wiping the sweat from his face he crossed over to where she stood.

  “Have you forgotten your place, again?”

  His hard gaze and authoritative tone tipped her off. He was in a foul mood, which meant she needed to take out the kid gloves and wear them properly while in his presence. Never before had she come across a vampire who had more mood swings than a woman did going through menopause.

  “No, Master.” She said respectfully. If she had forgotten, she was sure that he had no problem reminding her. “Please forgive my rudeness, master.”

  “Give me one good reason I should, and while you’re at it, give me another reason I shouldn’t have you punished?”

  Oh for goodness sakes, Ivy wanted to scream at him. Get a fucking life. Instead, she lowered her head as she was trained to do as his slave.

  “There is no reason I shouldn’t be punished, master. I am sorry for my rudeness. Please, I beg for your kindness and your forgiveness.” She knew how much he loved it when women begged him for anything. “What would you have me do, master?”

  Roman did not have time for all of this. He had a woman he needed to make his consort in order to gain her powers. Normally he would have had Ivy strung up and whipped for her behavior, but not today. Today he had many important concerns. But he had to do something to remind her of what she was- A slave!

  “Leave. When you return have a different attitude.”

  She looked up at him baffled. What had his briefs in a knot?

  “Are you serious, Master?”

  His silence said everything and Ivy knew better than to upset him any further. Hell, she was getting off light. He always granted her some latitude because they were once lovers, but when he was in a mood like this everyone around him was fair game.

  She vanished. Seconds later, she reappeared with a different attitude. No huffing and puffing and definitely no hands on her hips. She stood there like a servant slave; head bowed and ready to serve her master.

  “How can I serve you, master?” All she wanted to hear was that he had found a woman, any woman to take her place that would free her from his services. Her life as his slave sucked, and he was for sure a certified jerk.

  “That’s much better.” He said lifting her chin to meet his gaze. “This matter is not settled. You will be punished for your behavior.”

  Ivy had no choice other than to obey her master when he looked into her eyes this way. She had to obey him, please him, and even give herself to him if he asked. “Yes, master.”

  “Now,” He said smiling down at her breaking the spell. “There is a woman…”

  Ivy’s heart leaped with joy. She wanted to drop to her knees and raise both hands to the heavens and thank the gods. Could it be true? Did she dare believe that her freedom could be just around the corner? Could he have found the woman that would free her from her bondage? She prayed that this was the case.

  “A woman, Master?” She asked trying to keep the excitement out of her voice, but inside she was jumping up and down.

  Roman closed his eyes. Using his powers, he showed her his encounters with Desiree. Ivy’s excitement peeked. “Is this what I think it is?”

  “That depends on what you are thinking.”

  The man was driving her to the brinks of madness. She took a deep breath and started over. “Who is she, master?” She asked calmly.

  “Her name is Desiree Chase.”

  “Is she human?”

  Roman had to give that some thought. Desiree was a goddess, but, while living here in the human realm, she was human.

  “It’s debatable.” He answered. “She is a descendant of a goddess.”

  “How far down is her descent?”

  Again, Roman had to give her question some thought. Desiree came directly from the womb of the queen who is now a goddess. Delilah mentioned briefly that her father was a god, so, that made Desiree a true goddess. Of course, that meant nothing to him, and it would not change a damn thing according to the laws of the vampires. She would still be his slave and him her master.

  “She is an Egyptian goddess.” He said as if realizing this himself for the first time.

  “A goddess?” Ivy asked incredulously, her excitement dwindled. Shit! She should have known that it was too good to be true. All Egyptian goddesses lived in Nirvana, the land of spirits. They were all glorified deities. “Is she a spirit, master?”

  “She is more alive than either one of us. I must make this goddess my consort and I will need your help in making it happen.”

  Ivy could smell the sweet scent of freedom once again. She would do anything to make it happen if it meant getting away from him. She wanted to get started right away. She wanted to find this woman, hog-tie her, and drag her home to him. She would lie, cheat, steal and oh hell, yes; she would even kill to make sure things went according to plan.

  “Why isn’t she here with you now? Shall I go and drag her here for you, master?” Roman shot her a look. Her acting did not fool him. He knew how badly she wanted her freedom. It didn’t make him happy that she felt that way, but he understood.

  “Calm yourself, slave.” He growled at her. “It is not that simple. She must agree to take me as her consort and submit to me freely.”

  “I can make that happen, master.”

  “It must be of her free will. Her acceptances must be genuine and heartfelt with no magic involved.”

  Ivy’s excitement took another dip. No human woman would ever do such a foolish thing. Giving herself to her husband, it just did not happen. From what little she saw she didn’t see it happening, not with Desiree. There was nothing demure about the woman. What she saw was a modern day confident diva who looked like she was fully capable of taking care of herself.

  “I will do all I can, master. But if you’re telling me that this woman is to be your consort then you might want to consider not being yourself when pursuing her. Humans are emotional creatures. Their feelings are easily bruised.”

  “Whatever it takes, just do it. I have no time to deal with such trivial matters. Kourosh has sent for his blood demons. I don’t have time to play the dating game.
”

  He disappeared into the hallway and headed up the staircase. Ivy followed close behind. She had to make him understand that getting a woman to commit to him would be just as hard as fighting one of Kourosh’s blood demons- If not harder.

  “If you want this woman you must court her, master. I cannot do that for you. And it is far from trivial.”

  “When do you think I will have the time for courting?” He asked spinning around to face her. “I have companies to run and let’s not forget the mutiny I’m plotting against a mad man. I have no time left for dating.”

  “Might I respectfully suggest you put just a little effort and planning into this woman as you do with everything else, at least until she is yours.”

  Ivy opened her mouth to say more, but quickly shut it.

  “What?” He snarled in frustration.

  “Nothing, master.”

  “What?” He yelled, demanded an answer.

  “It’s just that once she is yours, it will not end there. She will require much of your time and attention. The same love and attention you once gave me. Women need that, master.”

  Roman was not the same vampire he was centuries ago. Back then, he was wild and free, fucking anything that passed by him wearing a skirt. It was a way of life then. After the romance had ended with Ivy, no other woman could match the feelings he had for her, so he stopped looking for romance. His interest lay elsewhere. Matters of the heart became less important to him. He vaguely remembered the process of dating a woman. He didn’t have the slightest clue where to begin.

  “Leave instructions for courting modern woman for me. I will look them over and follow the ones that suit me.”

  Ivy shook her head wondering when and how had he lost his ability to swoon a woman. She remembered how romantically charming he was centuries ago, how he didn’t need to cast a spell to make a woman fall deeply and madly in love with him. Now he showed very little interest in women at all. Power had become his mistress. He took it to bed with him at night and woke up with it. Kourosh was the nightmare that kept him awake.

  “It’s not that simple.”

  “Then it is your job to make it simple.”

  Ivy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. The man was a hopeless case.

  “You really need to get out more.”

  “And what does that mean?”

  “It means that you have your work cut out for you with Desiree Chase.”

  Roman disappeared and reappeared in his shower. As the hot water ran down his naked body, he knew that Ivy was right. He would have to put forth some effort into capturing Desiree Chase. He was a man who immersed himself in the things he desired. Conquering the throne had become his greatest desire. It was his new mistress. He took it to bed at night and he woke up with it in the morning. It was a passion that stayed with him day and night, and haunting him to no end.

  He always knew that he would make a better ruler than Kourosh. He vowed that if he ever got the chance he would prove it. He would start by showing mercy to those who deserved it, and he would rule with fairness versus fear. The true test of a man’s character was when he had power. He wanted nothing more than to test that theory.

  Chapter Nine

  Desiree sat behind her desk with her cell phone to her ear. She was beginning to see what Camille meant about Noland and his odd way of conducting business. Apparently, he did not understand the meaning of the word, ‘No’. It was also becoming painfully clear that he damn sure was not going to accept it for an answer. He used money as a motivating mechanism to get whatever he wanted. When that didn’t work, he resorted to coercion. Having gobs of cash thrown her way was not the problem. No one in their right mind would turn it down; it was what he requested in return that gave her the willies. To her, it seemed a little unorthodox. He wanted Camille. Now, that just did not seem right.

  “Yes, Mr. Bauer. The investigation is going very well. We spoke with all of Grace's friends, and I personally spoke with each of her teachers.” She added rolling her eyes as she listened. “We are looking into every possibility. I assure you that we are doing everything humanly possible to find her, sir. Yes, I will make sure that Camille is on time for her lunch date with you.”

  Desiree hung up just as Camille sashayed into the office carrying two-venti cups from Starbucks. Half the morning was gone, but who could be mad at anyone who came bearing gifts of freshly brewed coffee.

  A caffeine fix was just what Desiree needed. Her head was throbbing from the hour-long conversation with a raving mad man and from all the alcohol, she had consumed the night before. There were so many weird things rolling around in her head from last night that had her wondering what the fuck was happening. Like how did her favorite party dress end up in the trash? She could not remember how she made it home. And where the hell was her car? To make matters worse, they didn’t have a single clue as to the whereabouts of Grace Bauer, not a lead, a hunch, or a good guess. Considering everything a coffee break seemed appropriate.

  Desiree jumped right in before Camille had a chance to say good morning. “The man is out of his mind rambling on about something evil having his daughter.”

  Camille laughed as she handed Desiree her midmorning fix. She couldn’t blame her for being frustrated. She was feeling nauseous just by thinking about him.

  “He seemed pretty spooked about something when I was there. I think we should do a thorough background check to be sure who we’re dealing with.”

  “You think he’s legit or cray-cray?” Desiree asked taking a sip of her drink.

  Camille took a seat at her desk and removed the notepad from her purse. She took a moment flipping through the sheets until she found the page she was looking for.

  “Well, let’s see. He referred to demons, and someone called Kourosh. He swore that thirty percent of the population was made up of vampires. Ten percent werewolves, something call hybrids live on the next block and who could ignore the witches that own the restaurant across the street?” She paused for dramatic effect. “I’m leaning toward cray-cray.”

  They both broke out laughing so hard it brought tears to their eyes.

  “I’m sorry but I have to admit that you were right. The man is out there. Listen to this,” she said grabbing a tissue to wipe the tears from her eyes. “He’s got a house full of wolves that follow him around like they’re in heat and he’s the only piece of ass left. He talks to them as if they’re people. Girl, if I didn’t know better, I’d swear that they understood everything he was saying. It was like Cujo central up in there.”

  Camille kicked back in her chair and propped her feet up on the desk.

  Desiree stopped laughing and cleared her throat. She sat there silently for a while thinking about how she was going to tell her that she had to go back to Cujo central.

  “He told me that they are a rare breed of German wolves. He swears that they are harmless.”

  Camille shot Desiree a look. She had a funny feeling that something was coming and already, she did not like it. “He likes you Cami.”

  “Really?” Camille answered flatly.

  “He said you two bonded. He even said the dogs liked you.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me? It’s a freak show out there. The elephant-sized mutts would like anything that had meat on their bones.”

  Desiree tried to remain calm, but Camille wasn’t making it easy.

  “He invited you over for a late lunch today.”

  “Sorry, can’t make it. I’m not eating lunch today.” Camille couldn’t have been more flippant if she tried.

  Desiree took a deep breath before speaking again. She knew what was going to happen once she told Camille that she had accepted his invitation. She was going to flip out and cause a big scene, but in the end, she would go. She always did.

  “I accepted the invitation on your behalf.”

  “Really, Desiree?”

  “He wants you to take a look around the house.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me
?”

  “Come on, Cami. Maybe you can find something in Grace’s room that could help.”

  Camille was pissed. She never wanted to step back into Noland’s home. She would much rather spend the day at the wild animal park than to spend a second with that crazy man.

  “You know how I feel about dogs. How can you send me back over there?”

  “You’ll be fine. He won’t let them hurt you.”

  “I hate you sometimes. You know that, right?”

  “Yes, I know, but you agreed to handle him if I took on everything else.”

  “I was wondering when you would throw that one back at me.”

  “Listen, I got my ass spanked by the nutty professor, so don’t give me your sad story about…,”

  “Oh, please! Don’t act like an ass spanking is something new. Knowing you, you probably deserved it.”

  “What the hell does that mean?” Desiree asked not liking her implication.

  “It means you don’t know when to keep your fucking mouth shut. It means that you have finally met someone who unlike me won’t tolerate your shit!” Camille yelled. Oh, she had much more to say. For starters, she was sick and tired of getting into trouble because of her unfiltered words. And just how many times did she wanted to shove a sock in her mouth and call it a day.

  Desiree couldn’t argue because she knew that her friend was right. She did have a way of blurting out the first thought that came into her head, and yes, she was guilty of getting them both into trouble, but dammit, it wasn’t her fault. People should stop pissing her off. It wasn’t her fault that they forced her to say things.

  What seemed like a lifetime went by before another word was spoken between them. They drank coffee and messed around on their laptops one just as pissed as the other. Finally, Desiree could not take it anymore. Two o’clock was approaching. If Camille didn’t leave soon, she would be late. Noland did not seem like the type of man who would appreciate tardiness.

  “I just think that since I took one for the team you could certainly have lunch with the man. Look around the house for a fucking clue.” Desiree said without looking up from her work.