Daniel nodded and put the pans away to cool. “How long have you known she’s the one who kidnapped me?”
“Since before I met you.”
Daniel looked at him, shocked.
“I told you that Untouchables are rare, right?” Seldon turned on his chair to face Daniel. “Someone as young as you is usually guarded very well by parents and teachers and stuff. Heimli’s idea for a cover to hunt under isn’t just the best at scouting beautiful humans, but also the one thing that can apparently lure out the young and hopeful.”
Daniel squeezed his eyes shut, his expression a mask of pain. And why wouldn’t it be? Seldon felt like a dick for pointing out the truth, but it was just that—the truth. That he might be an insensitive old Incubus was a different matter. A tear spilled down the boy’s cheek, and Seldon’s heart squeezed.
“I’m sorry for being so blunt.”
Daniel wiped at his eye and turned his back to Seldon, busying himself with the bread even though they cooled fine on the oven grid without his help. Seldon gave him a minute, hearing him draw a deep shuddering breath.
“Should we play pool?” Daniel finally asked and turned around, looking like he found some resolve in the bread pans. Seldon smiled and got up.
Daniel dropped off his soda at the nearest high table and racked the balls.
“Do you want to break?”
“Yes, Master, because I have to learn sometime,” Daniel said and moved to that end. It was an okay break. First game was almost boring because Daniel was still digesting the news of Rosadin coming over.
Next game seemed to go no differently, but it beat sitting around doing nothing.
Seldon leaned in for a shot, and Daniel moved to stand flush to his left. Seldon glanced up. “What?”
“Oh, sorry Master. I was just hoping I could learn something from watching from your side.”
“Okay.” Seldon focused on the cue ball again, calculating the shot. Daniel moved closer again. Close enough behind Seldon to brush his thigh. A tickle of hunger raced over Seldon’s skin, and he had finally gotten rid of the hunger-boner from Daniel’s little ass display in the kitchen. His dick rose again, and Seldon figured it would continue doing that around the boy even though he had fed less than four hours earlier. Problem was, he wouldn’t be feeding again for another twenty four hours.
Seldon couldn’t help the smile as his focus shifted from the shot to where Daniel brushed against him.
Seldon stood. “Daniel.”
“Yes, Master.”
Seldon turned his head and locked gaze with the boy and Seldon’s dick grew to full raging hard at the look in his eyes. Seldon looked away and cleared his throat. God damn, the boy was beautiful. “It’s okay to watch from close by, but crowding the other player is…rude.”
“Oh, sorry Master.” Daniel took a step back and tried to smother a smile. It still made Seldon’s stomach flutter, and he leaned over the table again to aim. And he missed. Not even by a hair but an inch. Seldon turned his head to look at the boy.
“Oh, that’s too bad. And you almost managed all seven on your first run.”
“Shit, boy.” Seldon stood and moved away, glancing at Daniel. By the smile on the boy’s face, he had done that on purpose. Daniel pocketed two in a row and Seldon nodded. He wondered what Daniel would do to distract him this time.
“Dad!”
Seldon looked up at the sound of his daughter’s voice.
“My daughter’s here.” Seldon left the cue on the pool table and met his daughter in the door for a hug. “Thanks for coming.”
Rosadin put her arm around his waist. “Always, Dad. I see you were finally trusted with one.”
“What do you mean, finally?” he asked, draping an arm around her shoulder and leading her toward the pool table.
“You’re a hard-ass with the troublemakers. Guess Lord Caledon wants to grind some of that off you.”
“Really.” It was officially that reason then, if everybody else came to the same conclusion.
“Oh, you got the beauty!” she exclaimed when she saw Daniel. They boy bit down hard and plastered a smile on his face. He was trying to respect Seldon’s guests, meaning Seldon would let the grimace slide.
“Yeah, you did real good, baby girl.” Seldon kissed her forehead before letting go of her. “Daniel, you met my daughter.”
“Yes, you’re…the makeup artist,” Daniel said.
“Yeah. My name is Rosadin. And I brought it,” she said, holding up the bag for Seldon to see. “What’s your plan, Dad?”
“Teach him. Help him find his style.” Seldon hopped up on a high chair, noticing Daniel glance at him out the corner of his eye. “You can use the vanity table in the bedroom.”
Daniel put his cue in the rack. “Yes, Master.” The boy looked nervous as hell and not very pleased at seeing Seldon’s daughter again. Well, she did steal him, so he hadn’t expected anything else. Now he just hoped the warning of her arrival had given him time to adjust a bit. By how bravely Daniel had ruined Seldon’s strike, he hoped it was the case.
* * * *
Daniel followed Seldon’s daughter to the bedroom, fuming at seeing her again. Heimli, Chas, and this woman, Rosadin, were three people he had hoped never to meet again. Why did something new come along every time he thought he had just gotten used to things? Seldon and him had made strides the past few days and the old Incubus could be fun. Like the baking and when he had taught Daniel to play Ludo and Risk. Daniel knew Risk and beat Seldon at it, but Ludo was new to him.
And playing pool today had been fun, despite the anticipation of Rosadin’s arrival hanging in the air. At least Daniel had learned he could play with the Incubus’ hunger and the big man didn’t seem to mind it. That smirk on his face—he had known exactly what Daniel tried to use against him to not lose the game.
“So, did my dad get this idea all on his own or did you help him arrive at it?” Rosadin asked, pulling out the chair by the vanity table.
“We just talked a bit about it. That magazine cover.”
“Wish I’d seen it. You do have beautiful eyes, so let’s teach you to accentuate them a bit.” She motioned for him to take a seat, and he did, reluctantly. How could she be so indifferent around him? How could she pretend like she hadn’t kidnapped him and like everything was just fine and dandy?
She opened her bag and looked through it, pulling out makeup and placing it on the vanity table. “How are you settling in with him?”
“Do you honestly care?” Daniel snapped, turning to look at her. How dared she? “You fucking steal people and have them sold into fucking slavery, and you wanna know how I’m settling?”
“Listen!” she said firmly, her eyes growing hard.
“That didn’t take long,” Seldon said, stepping out of nowhere and Daniel gasped. Holy shit, he heard. “Go on, Rosadin, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” Seldon looked absolutely pissed—never taking his eyes off Daniel whose palms began to sweat.
“No. Please, Dad.” She stepped back, crossing her arms over her chest, looking at least as pissed as her dad. She even looked like him.
“I asked you to respect her, at least for coming here to help you. You will never disrespect anyone in my house, doing so is disrespecting me,” Seldon said taking a step closer and Daniel slipped to the edge of the chair. “I don’t let anyone come in here and disrespect you, not even the fucking cleaning lady, so why do I not deserve the courtesy of you not disrespecting me?”
“She stole me,” Daniel said, pointing an accusing finger at the woman. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. The good natured expressions he had seen on Seldon’s face the past few days were almost difficult to remember as angry as he looked now—even his eyes glowed more brightly. Daniel was fucking afraid, and he backed to stand behind the chair and grabbed the back of it. Then let go because he didn’t want Seldon to think he was going to try anything stupid with it like that other breeder.
“I don’t care. You’re in my ho
use. Did you disrespect your parent’s guests?”
“No!” But he had. He remembered that now. He remembered his parents having said something in the lines of what Seldon was saying now.
“Did you just lie to me?”
“Yes, Master, but…I remember doing it now.” What made Daniel stop in wonder was that it was so humiliating to admit. He’d even yelled at his parents and blamed them for putting him in a position where he felt the need to disrespect their guests because he felt they had disrespected him.
“I decided to take it easy on you because of the rough start you and I had, but I will not let something slide that even my kids would get punished for doing, so I will punish you like I would her. At your age.”
Daniel cut a glance at Rosadin who looked at Seldon, surprised.
“You will learn from this, Daniel. I’ve been very lenient with you this past couple of days, but you just stepped too hard on toes this time. And once the punishment has been dealt, I forget all about it. It’s out of the world. I will no longer be mad at you, but if you disrespect her again today, we double this. Now, what did you say? Ever word of your disrespect to her?”
Daniel tried to remember, but his brain derailed his focus by guessing at what Seldon would do. Daniel backed up and found himself cornered by the bed and panorama windows and no way around Seldon or Rosadin.
“What did you say? Every word. Count them.”
“Yes, Master.” But Daniel couldn’t—he was too afraid. “I don’t remember,” he finally admitted.
“You don’t remember? Let me help you out. You started out snapping do you honestly care. Remember that part?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Continue.”
“I said…” Daniel tried to remember and finally the wording came back to him. “That she steals people.”
“There were a few fucking in there, too. Word for word. Count them. What did you say when disrespecting her?”
Daniel looked at his hands to count the words on his fingers, but seeing his fingernails sent something in him reeling. Oh shit. He’s not gonna do something like that. He promised. Maldon said so, too. He still curled up his fingers and hid them against his body.
“That will not happen, Daniel. You will get spanked for this, though, and you’ll get one for every word. Now count.”
Knowing what the punishment was helped Daniel a bit, and what he feared most wasn’t even the sting of the slaps but the humiliation. She was probably even going to watch since Seldon had no problems with public reprimands, and that horrified him even more.
“My advice,” Rosadin said. “Fess up to what you did and take responsibility for it.”
“Do you even…honestly care,” Daniel began and counted the four words on his fingers. You steal people—”
“Fucking,” Seldon added.
“Sorry. You fucking steal people and have them sold into fucking slavery, and you wanna know how I’m settling.” Daniel looked at his fingers and counted again. “Twenty-two,” he finally croaked and looked up. Seldon went to sit on the edge of the bed and patted his thighs, looking at Daniel expectantly. Daniel took a step toward the big man, looking at his hands. They were actually kind of huge—strong and shaped from years of physical labor. This was going to hurt like hell, but at least it wasn’t a whipping. But the humiliation of lying over his lap burned in Daniel’s chest.
“Take off your pants,” Seldon said, and the humiliation kicked up about ten notches. Daniel glanced at Rosadin, hoping she’d leave. “Yeah, she’ll watch. Pull up a chair, baby girl. Once I’m done with him, he’s going to give you a genuine apology for disrespecting you.”
Rosadin sat while Daniel forced his fingers to open his belt and pull his pants down to his thighs. Seldon sat back a bit to make room, but Daniel couldn’t make his body move. Seldon finally reached out to grab his arm and pull him to lie face down across his lap. He barely found a comfortable position before the first blow landed across his ass cheeks and he yelped in shock. Then the sting set in.
“Why am I punishing you?”
“Because I disrespected your daughter.”
“Correct.” Seldon’s hand landed on his ass again, and the sound of skin meeting skin was loud in the room. “What will you never do in my house?”
“Disrespect your guests.”
Another slap landed, and Daniel jerked under the onslaught.
“Why?”
“Because…because it’s the same as disrespecting you.”
Another slap and this one landed on an already sore and burning spot making Daniel cry out. He hid his face in the cover, fisting the fabric.
“Exactly,” Seldon said, and Daniel waited for the next slap and question, but that didn’t happen. Seldon delivered the rest consecutively, and Daniel cried out from the intensity of the pain as the burning and stinging built to unbearable heights.
“Please, Master, I’m sorry,” Daniel screamed and writhed, but Seldon held him down without a lot of effort. Daniel even lost count and focus on how humiliating this was because the Incubus sure knew how to dish out an ass-whooping. Daniel had never had one so he had no idea just how painful it could be. He’d been slapped in the face before he met this guy, but never as hard. That was from a girl at a party he had…been disrespectful to.
The rain of slaps stopped, and Daniel hitched, trying to catch his breath. On top of that, his nose was blocked from crying, but he dared turn his head to look at Seldon, finding the big man looking at him with a blank expression. Seldon finally stood, helping Daniel to do the same, but he stopped Daniel from trying to pull his pants up. Instead, he raised Daniel’s chin to make him meet his eyes.
“You took that well. You took responsibility for what you did wrong. Did you learn from it?”
“Yes, Master,” Daniel said, feeling a tear escape and run down his cheek.
“What did you learn?”
“Never to disrespect anyone in your home,” Daniel said, looking down. Seldon applied a bit more pressure under his chin.
“Look at me when you’re telling me this.”
Daniel looked up and repeated loud and clear.
“Good. Actions reflect back on me and this house. If you disrespect people out there, it’s the same as saying that I’m incapable of training you and did a shitty job. Everything you do reflect back on me and my abilities. You understand?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Very good. Now. One thing is taking your punishment. It’s like putting up a marker in your mind to help remind you that it’s not right to treat people disrespectfully. Taking responsibility for what you did wrong and fessing up to it comes from righting a wrong.” Seldon pointed to his daughter, still sitting on the chair. She didn’t look as unfazed by this as Seldon did. Daniel wondered whether she had ever been bent over her dad’s knee like this and disciplined for something similar. He certainly wasn’t going to ask.
Seldon turned Daniel to face her, still with his pants around his knees. At least she was looking at his face. “I’m sorry I spoke to you so disrespectfully.” And he really was. Didn’t mean he had to like her or what she did, but he was certainly sorry he had snapped at her like that. She was here to help him.
“Certainly don’t want to hear something like that ag—”
Seldon cleared his throat theatrically and glared at her.
“Sorry Dad. I accept your apology, Daniel.” She sounded sincere.
“What did I teach you, Rosadin?”
“That when things are over, they’re over, and we’re not to bring it up again or stay mad.”
“Because.”
“Because holding a grudge leads to pettiness.”
“And where did you just take this?”
“To pettiness. I’m sorry, Daniel.”
“Do you accept her apology, Daniel?”
“Yes, Master.”
“Good. Then this is now water under the bridge. But remember the lesson.”
“Yes, Master.”
Daniel pulled his pants up and went to the bathroom.
“You use eyeliner sometimes,” Rosadin commented.
“Yeah, but I never applied it while I had puffy eyes,” Seldon said, chuckling. Daniel pulled the door slightly closed before he went to the mirror and pulled his pants down again to see what his ass looked like. It was fire-hydrant red with a few blue stripes going across. No wonder that had hurt like a son of a bitch. But Seldon had to have held back considering how strong he was. Or he just really knew what he was doing. The best trainer in House three? The latter was probably it.
Daniel pulled his pants up, hissing at the material scraping over his battered ass. The fact that Seldon had insisted upon Rosadin being nice to Daniel after the disciplining put him and his methods in a new light. He was actually kind of happy about that, but he fucking hated him for having beaten his ass like this. It was an unfair punishment. Why wouldn’t it be allowed to tell people they had done something shitty? She had done something shitty to Daniel, she had kidnapped him. Humiliating him like this was so not called for.
Daniel washed his face with cold water, noticing how warm his cheeks and eyes felt. He turned off the faucet and leaned over the sink, letting the water drip from his face. The silence let him hear them talk on the other side of the door.
“I was just surprised,” Rosadin said.
“But you just admitted to wishing I’d get him.”
“Of course, I wished you’d be shown that honor, Dad, but let’s face it, you’re a very strict guy, and Daniel is younger than those you usually meet. He might need a gentler hand from you.”
Did she just defend or try to help Daniel with her sadistic dad?
“I know he’s young and not as troublesome as someone attacking me with a chair.”
“A chair?”
“Yeah, notice the one you’re sitting in doesn’t fit the table? A breeder cracked it over my back the first night Daniel was here.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, well, it certainly put what the boy needs into perspective. Seeing that breeder receive corrective treatment sent him into a few days of absolute deep-seated fear of me.”
Untouchable Beauty Page 18
