In a panic, I looked for a way out. Conversion in front of so many human witnesses wasn’t an option, so I went to my consistent safety. When Simon answered my silent plea, I whimpered, “I need you. Please. Come take me home.”
Within five minutes, he was by my side. He knelt down so I could be embraced by his familiar comfort and he asked gently, “What’s wrong?”
Zane sensed my emotions and joined us in the outer office. He demanded silently, “Relax. I can’t connect fully.”
I refused to make eye contact and ignored his continued questions. Hiding behind Simon’s massive legs, I pulled his sleeve in an attempt to drag him out the door.
While they tried to figure out what was wrong, Selena came into the room and pointed at me. “It’s still here, Zane. I thought it was leaving.”
Her lean, perfect features hovered over me with an arrogance I could no longer fight. When the mental images of their liaison moved on to a culminating orgasmic connection, I bit her in the thigh. Not hard enough to break her skin, but I made my point.
She screamed, and Zane grabbed me by the collar to pull me away. I took smug satisfaction in her reaction, but anger still interfered with my subconscious and Zane clearly struggled to tie into my thoughts.
With no obvious options, Zane said, “Take her home, Simon. I’ll be there in a few hours.”
My mate and my guard spoke softly, but I made no attempt to read their messages. When we left, I refused to even look back.
When the tinted limo windows were raised, I willed my muscles to change to my human form with a pair of fuzzy pink pajamas. The softness rested against my skin with a warm touch to calm my anger even further, and my emotions quickly gave way to frustrated tears.
Simon simply held out his arms, and I sobbed on his shoulder the whole way home. He never once asked me to explain and just let me cry myself out.
After a quick meal at his nagging insistence, he quietly settled me in bed. I had the suspicion I’d been banished due to Zane’s last-minute instructions, but I didn’t care. Simon sat patiently and patted my back with a gentle touch that came from years of experience.
Remorse over our bickering fought with my frustrated tears for the most miserable emotion. Simon was my rock, my best friend, and my comfort all rolled into one. He loved me for who I was, faults and all.
Raging anger and the still weak tie to my subconscious had left me exhausted. He settled in a soft chair by my side like he did when I was small. “Sleep. I’ll stay here until Zane gets home.”
An uneasy slumber followed, and I felt my master return before I heard his voice. Still eager to avoid the confrontation, I turned my head to the window and feigned sleep. To my surprise, he left me alone.
Breakfast was a quiet affair. The scrambled eggs tasted like cardboard, and I ate like a zombie, one slow bite after another. I was polite and cooperative, but a chilly distance hung between us.
Zane broke the miserable silence. “What happened, Tia? Since when do you bite people?”
Under a horrible set of circumstances, I tried to look mature and met his eye. “I didn’t like her.”
“You don’t bite people just because you don’t like them. You know better than that. What the hell were you thinking?” His voice rose in decibel with every sentence.
I had nothing else to lose. “Did you sleep with the slut, Zane?” There was nothing submissive or childish about my question. I looked him in the eye and met his stare with one of my own.
He looked away first, and I had my answer. The mental images of their liaison were clearly the result of our connection and not my imagination.
I spoke while fighting angry tears. “If you’ll excuse me.” I stood with as much grace as possible while our tie wavered dangerously.
His voice turned chillingly quiet. “You are not excused. You don’t get to speak to me like this. I am the master in this relationship, and you need to remember your place. Tie fully back into my thoughts so we can talk about this.”
Submission dissipated as my temper abandoned the reasoning part of my brain and moved to the primal center that fed off emotion. I lost my tie to Zane’s thoughts completely, but I was too furious to care.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. My place? You’ve messed with my head from the moment you took control. When my parents died, you took me away from everything I knew to play this warlock game with the expectation that I would fall into line with your every word. I’m not your servant, Zane. I’m human and expect to be treated like one.”
“What part haven’t you been listening to? You aren’t human. You are very powerful, and a lot of people would like to see you dead. None of that, however, has anything to do with Selena.”
“But the whole time you were coming to my bed in New York, you were fucking her in Los Angeles. Do you know how that makes me feel? It’s cheap and disgusting. You controlled every date and relationship I’ve ever had, but you slept with her and God knows who else. You even blocked the images of her until I found a way around it.”
“Did you really think I would wait for over fifty years for you to grow up to have sex?” His voice remained chilling. “You were an infant. Selena was meaningless and had nothing to do with our mating. I haven’t been with her since you came of age, and that was four years ago.”
“You haven’t waited fifty years,” I snapped. “I’m only twenty-two.”
“You’re fifty-two. I’ve told you that aging is different for us.”
With the new information, I feared I would lose my breakfast. How could I go from being a sassy twenty-something to a middle-aged frump in the middle of an argument about his former girlfriend?
As I processed, Zane was given a small insight into my thoughts. “You aren’t middle-aged. At fifty-two, you’re still young in our world.”
I paled slightly. “Does that mean I won’t start menopause soon?”
He smiled in spite of the serious conversation. “No, and you won’t have hot flashes, either. You’re young, Tia, but you are still struggling with time. Your parents raised you for many years before they died, and it was even longer before Anna and Owen started you in school.”
I took the opportunity to examine my arms and breasts for any signs of sagging or age, and he continued with another chuckle. “We age much more slowly than humans. You were taller than most of your friends in grade school, but by high school, they’d passed you. Don’t you remember?”
Those fuzzy, isolated years in Ohio before I’d started the local schools seemed like a long period of time, but I’d always thought it was just the trauma of my parent’s deaths.
“So exactly how old are you, Zane? I mean, come on. You really need to tell me.”
He sighed. “I’m a hundred fifty-four. I’ve worked at this job for the last twenty years but have been with the company since before the First World War. Everyone thinks that I am just a relative from another generation in a family-owned business. My father ran it before he became king.”
I pushed my luck but had to ask. “How long have you known Selena?”
“She’s worked as my assistant for fifteen years. We had a relationship built on simple sex that meant nothing else to either of us. She’d started dating somebody months before your birthday, and we were both ready to end it.”
It wasn’t exactly the way the bimbo secretaries recalled it, and Zane read my thoughts with a silent scowl. He’d wanted to know where I’d gathered my insight, and I figured they would be scolded for gossiping if he could figure out a way to reconcile his dog’s bite with their careless words.
“So, you haven’t slept with Selena in over four years?” I summarized hesitantly.
“I stopped sleeping with her before I came to your bed.”
As I relaxed, connecting to his subconscious became easier, and I knew he was telling the truth.
He allowed my intrusion with a warning. “How often do you plan on reading my thoughts, Tia?”
I stuck my lip out with more than a li
ttle attitude. “As often as I need to, Master.”
He smirked before he pulled me to his side. “Now, let’s talk about the consequences for biting.”
****
The extra years to my life didn’t affect me, but the realization that Zane would listen to serious concerns lessened overt resistance to my crazy submissive world. I was still expected to obey him when he drew the line, but his commands became easier.
I did receive another long lecture. “Remember, Tia. None of that would have happened if you had just stayed tied to me. I would have been able to read your emotions and helped you process them long before you bit anybody. Don’t lose track of the power behind our mating.”
I also made plans to return to work with him a few mornings a week, but Zane forced me to rehearse with Simon playing the part of Selena.
We’d started off having fun in my human form. “So, Selena,” I asked the pretend whore. “How long have you been opening your legs for your boss?”
With a serious look, Simon changed to a high falsetto voice. “As long as he needed me, sweetgums.”
Zane was not amused. “I can paddle both of you,” he said dryly.
When the day finally came, I was welcomed to his office as a hero. Cynthia whispered, “Good for you, Little Tia. I’d bite her myself if I could.”
When Selena came into the office, she complained bitterly about my presence, but Zane was in complete control. I still hated her and couldn’t fake friendly, but didn’t feel the need to bite her in the ass.
I obeyed when he ordered me to lie down in an act of submission. With my tie to Zane firmly reestablished, obedience was a gift to my mate and not a loss of self-respect in front of Selena. My response seemed to pacify her, but I was relieved when she didn’t try to pet me.
She sat next to Zane to review some paperwork, but I moved between them and rested my head on his foot. I glared at the bitch with a challenge to lean those boobs in a little closer, and she took my message and moved back. She was smart.
Zane gently rubbed my head. His claim to me was clear, and Selena’s presence drew farther away from our growing connection.
Chapter Twelve
A few days later, I nestled in front of the television in a rare moment of relaxation. After an early morning run that brought many politically incorrect references to his Japanese heritage and the Bataan Death March, Kiyo had given me a few hours off. I’d taken full advantage with an old vampire movie, a tall soft drink, and a plate of pilfered homemade chocolate chip cookies from the kitchen.
Emily wandered to the couch and helped herself to a cookie with a dramatic sigh. “I’m surprised Zane let you out of jail. He was pretty pissed off.”
There were no secrets in my world, but an urge to defend my mate dictated a grumbled response. “Well, I was pretty obnoxious about it. I mean, I did actually bite somebody.”
“Yeah, but he should have warned you about his old girlfriend. None of this would have happened if he’d just told you. Zane takes his control to an extreme, and you know it. He practically keeps you a prisoner.”
The conversation was clearly going badly, so I mimicked my master. “Because it isn’t safe. I saw the demon in New York. Something wants to kill me, and Zane’s just protecting me.”
She looked nervously around the room. “You can’t repeat this. We’ve been ordered not to speak honestly with you…Can you block Zane and your staff for a second or two?”
I hesitated but decided to give it a try. If I was lucky, nobody would notice a few minutes.
Assured of our privacy, she whispered, “Everyone thinks Zane is the one who set up the demon just to scare you and his father. Quinn was going to make him wait another year to come for you, and we all know that Zane gets what he wants. When you were attacked, Quinn had no choice but to let Zane take you right away.”
After months of hearing a different version, skepticism came easily. “Are you saying there isn’t a danger?”
“Of course not, Tia. You’ve met dozens of us. We’re a peaceful people. Zane is just using all this to control you.”
My tie to Zane was stronger than a little gossip, and I responded, “That doesn’t make sense. He has me now. Why keep me locked up? It seems like a lot of useless effort.”
She spoke softly, “It’s your real parents. Zane isn’t telling you everything, and he can’t afford to let you talk to too many people. That’s why he keeps everybody away.”
Before I could answer, Simon came into the room. “Tia, did you shut me out?” he asked suspiciously.
I quickly opened all my portals. “Of course not, stupid. I’m right here.”
His glare turned on both of us. “Don’t you have some work to do, Emily?”
“Actually, I’m off tonight, Simon. I’m just keeping Tia company. Unless, of course, Zane has a problem with that, too?”
I tried to assert some control. “Leave us alone, Simon. Zane doesn’t mind if I talk to Emily.”
A stern gaze moved from me to Emily for a long few seconds before he grumbled, “Not today, Tia. Emily…get lost.”
“Hey, wait. She doesn’t have to leave. Drop it, Simon.”
He crossed his arms, and Emily tensed under his glare. With amazing insolence under his firm presence, she snapped, “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Tia. I’ll be here by breakfast.”
I had to force myself to relax. Simon still represented comfort, and she’d left me with a whole lot of uncertainty. Getting mad at him was pretty much a waste of time, but he could prove to be a valuable source of unbiased information.
He moved to the couch and snatched the plate of cookies. “Hand me the remote. I want to watch the sci-fi channel.”
I gave it to him but spent the next hour thinking of a question that wouldn’t raise suspicion. “Were you there the night my parents died?”
He tensed with a scowl. “No. You didn’t need me when you were with them. Why are you asking?”
So much for not raising any suspicion. I shrugged and let the matter drop.
The next morning, Emily was nowhere to be found, and Jeanne answered my questions with quiet resolve. “She’s gone, Tia. Some disagreement with Simon, and Zane fired her.”
I was floored. Zane had already left for work, but I called him out with fire in my eyes. There was no hiding my anger. “She was my only true friend. Wasn’t it enough that you manipulated Kim? You had to destroy this, too?”
To his credit, he tried to explain. “Simon wasn’t getting a good feeling about her. I trust his judgment.”
I started to argue, but he interrupted, “I’m being patient. I know it’s hard, but don’t push me. You have to let me make the call on this one.”
Emily’s accurate summary of Zane’s character actually blurred his physical image. He was controlling, domineering, and incredibly bossy. I’d spent many years being manipulated before I’d come to live with him, and the thought that I was still being managed was maddening.
Careful not to cross any lines of disrespect, I stewed in silence for days. His probes into my subconscious were met with subtle power blocks without closing his portal. I was not even sure that he totally comprehended the depths of my displeasure or my control.
A few nights later, Zane announced, “I have a late meeting downtown, pet. Do you want to come as your symbol?”
“I have a headache,” I complained with a sigh. “I think I just want to go to bed early.”
His eyebrow raised in suspicion, but he gave me a gentle kiss. “Okay, little one. I’ll see you when I get home.”
Simon left me as well, and I settled in bed with an unread magazine. Without Zane’s calming presence, Emily’s words about a second childhood conspiracy gained merit, and my headache became real.
Working easily in both worlds at once, I looked for Zane out of habit, but it was clear that he’d blocked me. The realization added to my frustrated anger, and all I could picture was he and Selena groping each other in some magical bed. I replayed the
bite in her thigh just to make myself feel better.
Deep in my own misery, my inner attention turned to small sounds at a new window. Warnings about unknown dangers lasted for a second or two, but my present foul mood made opening the portal an easy choice.
Emily’s grin was a welcome gift. “Oh, Tia, I’m so glad I finally caught you alone. He keeps you on such a tight leash.”
“I’m really sorry that you got fired,” I responded quickly. “I…I shouldn’t have pushed Simon.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m happier working in the human world, anyway. I’ve gone back to New York with my old job.”
Guilt still lingered, but before I could ask another question, Emily went on. “We don’t have much time. You should block Zane’s portal to make sure he doesn’t see you talking to me. He’d punish you if he found out. His temper is legendary. Some people don’t even think he’s fit to rule.”
I guaranteed our privacy with a grumble. “I shut them all out. He’s not the only one who can block his mate. We probably have five minutes before Zane even notices. More if he’s on top of Selena.”
She spoke quickly. “Kim wants to tell you that she misses you. She’s still in your apartment here in New York. She’d love to see you and isn’t mad at you for staying away. She knows Zane’s controlling you.”
“How do you know Kim?” I asked tentatively.
“We went to school together. When she got the job protecting you, she had to leave her friends, but we’ve stayed in touch. I even came to New York a few times. Don’t you remember?
I couldn’t come up with Emily’s presence at all but figured she just hadn’t left a lasting impression or, more likely, Zane blocked that memory, too.
She wasn’t done. “About Selena. I’m sorry, but he’s with her tonight and that’s why he’s blocking you. It wasn’t his fault. She’s very forceful, and guys can’t say no to a beautiful woman.”
Training Tia Page 15
