by Vonna Harper
Callie didn’t know or care how much time had passed. She vaguely understood he’d come right before she had, straining over her as if determined to drive her into the bed. He hadn’t immediately withdrawn probably because he was relishing his mastery of her. Finally he did, followed by swatting then patting her buttocks. She needed to ask if he intended to flog her again, but before she could, he hauled her to her feet via her hair.
Now she stood on unsteady legs waiting for the strength to face him.
“I’ve changed my mind,” he said, “about talking to you. Not interested. Get ready. Go to work.”
Nodding might make her dizzy so she settled for aiming her wasted body at the bathroom. She kept the spray at half strength and didn’t let it reach her ass. Pain was a strange thing, a wanted distraction from thoughts she didn’t know how to handle.
After wrapping a towel around herself, she looked for Master but he wasn’t in any of the rooms she felt she had a right to enter. He’d ordered her to go to work so that’s what she’d do. If he hadn’t wanted her to go to her place dressed only in his towel, he should have spelled it out. Right now with her ass throbbing and sensitive, she wanted nothing to do with him.
But later?
Her free hand went to her throat where his collar rested. Yesterday she’d taken a strange pride in wearing it. Then it had served as proof that the man responsible for the preserve’s existence had singled her out for special attention.
She, who her parents hadn’t wanted.
Tears leaked, blurring her vision. She stumbled and nearly lost her hold on the towel. She had to return it to him. Maybe she should wash it first, fold it, and silently hand it to him.
She couldn’t do the same with what was around her neck. Only he had that right.
* * *
Callie’s empty stomach growled. Even though she was alone in the observation tower, she pressed her hand to it as if that would quiet the sound. She’d been watching the pregnant panthers most of the time she’d been up here. The smaller one kept walking about, making Callie suspect the predator was looking for a private place in which to give birth. She didn’t want to tell Mr. Dalton of her suspicions until she was surer. But neither did she want to miss this opportunity to prove her worth to him.
He hadn’t said anything about his plans for the day but surely he intended to be there when the female jaguar arrived. A few days ago she would have barely been able to contain her excitement over Luna getting a mate. Now thoughts of her jaguar warred with her mind’s insistence on reliving the time she’d spent with Mr. Dalton.
She’d called him Sir and Master, the titles somehow more intimate than using his given name. Mister was easier on her nerves, marginally.
She should have told him about her family or rather lack of one, but he was who he was in large part because of his relatives. He would have been a welcomed contributor to the family business if he’d decided to join it. Undoubtedly they’d emotionally and financially supported him while he was growing up, surely loved him in ways she couldn’t comprehend.
He’d risked his life to save his uncle. No one she was related to would have done that for her.
Neither would she have.
“I was a child. I needed them more than they did me.”
But they—whoever they were—had failed her.
“No more.” She slapped the table she stood behind. “You’ve been down that road more than enough. It’s time to think about...”
Her mind went blank. Then Mr. Dalton filled it. She was standing because he’d decided she hadn’t been honest enough, hadn’t exposed every piece of herself to him. Now she was paying the price via an ass that bore the fresh marks he’d placed on it.
He wouldn’t have done that if she hadn’t meant something to him, would he?
She didn’t know, didn’t want to know.
Sick of herself, she again trained the telescope on the panther enclosure. It took a while to find the female that might be close to giving birth. The animal was still on her feet and in the shadows, not moving.
“What’s going on inside you? Are you feeling contractions?”
The panther’s head swung her way. Wondering if the animal had somehow heard the question, Callie smiled. Her cell phone beeped.
THE JAG’S ALMOST HERE. Mr. Dalton had texted in caps.
* * *
The transport truck came into view just as Callie reached the entrance to the preserve. Mr. Dalton, two men, and a woman with long blonde hair were standing in the parking area. A four-wheeler with a cage attached to it waited nearby. Her heart thudded with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Much as she was looking forward to meeting Luna’s mate, she wished she didn’t have to stand close to Mr. Dalton. No matter what he said to her, she’d avoid using his name. The last thing she wanted to have to do with others around was call him Master.
She stopped near the four-wheeler, which gave her a better view of Mr. Dalton’s visitors. She recognized Mr. Rostel from the zoo and his pet Angela. The other man appeared considerably older than her boss.
Mr. Dalton barely acknowledged her so she stayed where she was. After pulling into the parking area, the transport truck driver turned the vehicle around and backed until he was close to the four-wheeler. The cage holding the jaguar was in shadows. The truck went silent. Although she strained to hear, Callie caught no predator sound.
Concern for the jaguar’s well-being sent determination to her legs. She joined Mr. Dalton and the others who were standing near the cage.
“I take it this is your jag specialist,” the man who’d been talking to Mr. Dalton said. “You didn’t mention her gender.”
“I didn’t think it mattered.”
In other words, she didn’t matter to the man she’d had sex with, the man who’d spanked her and called her his pet. Fighting depression, she looked into the cage. Yellow eyes stared at her. Between the bars and shadows, she didn’t have a clear view of the jaguar, but the animal’s constant moving had Callie believing she was healthy.
“She’s wonderful,” Callie whispered.
“That didn’t take long,” Mr. Dalton’s companion said. “Don’t you want to give her a physical or something before you let her loose here?”
Thinking to respond, she faced the man. His left arm ended a little below his elbow. Uncle Clark.
“It’s all right.” He held up his stump for her to study. “I’m used to that reaction. I don’t mind telling you what happened.”
“She knows,” Mr. Dalton said.
“She does?” Uncle Clark addressed his nephew. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Yeah, well, shit happens.”
“Speaking of shit happening,” Mr. Rostel said, “it didn’t take you long to put a collar on Callie. Even I don’t move that fast.” He patted his pet’s head.
“Give it a rest. I didn’t invite you and her here so you could go off on that. Do or don’t you want to see the jaguar?”
“Of course I do.” Mr. Rostel shrugged. “But it’s hard not to notice what’s changed about my former employee.”
Being the subject of conversation between two Elites made her uncomfortable, but she had no choice except to stand and wait. Fortunately Mr. Dalton’s uncle pointed out that the jaguar had been locked up a long time and deserved better.
After agreeing, Mr. Dalton climbed onto the four-wheeler and backed it until only a few feet separated the two cages. The truck driver did something that caused a ramp to extend from the truck’s back. When the jaguar’s cage started rolling down the ramp, Callie noted it had wheels.
“Here’s where it gets tricky,” Mr. Dalton said when the two cages were together. “Callie, this is what took place when we moved Luna here. You and I’ll handle the empty cage’s sliding door. Dominick, do you think you can help my uncle do the same?”
“The question is,” Dominick said, “Clark, can you do your part?”
“Watch me.”
The thought of working side by sid
e with Mr. Dalton made her uncomfortable until she realized they’d each stand at opposite sides of the door with him pushing and her pulling. The truck driver was at the part of the cage that was closest to the truck. He held a long, thick stick.
“Let’s do this,” Mr. Dalton announced when everyone was in position.
Between assuring herself Mr. Dalton was doing fine on his own and willing the truck driver not to hurt the jaguar, she barely breathed until the snarling predator entered the previously empty cage.
“Now,” Mr. Dalton snapped.
She threw her weight at the door. It closed just in time to prevent the jaguar from escaping the cage that hopefully would soon take her to her new home.
“That was fun,” Mr. Rostel said. “Now to get a good look at her.”
Instead of getting closer to the cage, Mr. Rostel wrapped his arm around Angela and dragged her within inches of the bars. Judging by her expression, she didn’t want to do this but knew she had no choice. She wore a collar, a wide, red one that showed off her long throat. Callie felt sorry for her until the beautiful woman’s trepidation changed to contentment. Mr. Rostel’s hand was on her ass as it had been almost every time she’d seen the two together at the zoo.
The jaguar let loose with a low rumbling growl Callie felt in every cell of her being. Wishing the sound was for her alone, she came as close as the bars allowed. The jaguar was smaller than Luna, and her coat wasn’t as bright. She could turn around but not much more. She sniffed at the bars in front of her. Then, her muscles rippling, she whirled and faced Callie.
“It’s all right,” Callie crooned. “You’re finally home. You’ll feel free, be safe. No more being forced to go where you don’t want to. Looking at the moon and...”
“Go on. Hopefully she understands.”
It took a moment to recognize Uncle Clark’s voice. She wished she knew his last name so she could address him as Elites expected. “She will in time.”
“Because you’ll make sure she does.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “Darek told me why he hired you, at least some of the why.” He touched the collar. “I understand you hand-raised her mate.”
“Luna? Yes.”
“Luna means moon. I say Sol would be fitting for her.”
Sol, another word for Sun. Although she liked it, she wished she had the right to name this creature.
When Uncle Clark’s hand slid off her, she carefully didn’t look at where his other hand should be.
“This is a test for me,” he said. “Closest I’ve been to a predator since the attack.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. It’s something I needed to do but...” He stared at the jaguar.
“You don’t have to. People will understand if—”
“This is for me. I’m incredibly grateful to my family for being there when I needed them. My wife never left my side and our kids—if what I look like repulses them they haven’t shown it. They all knew, without my saying a word, that I was having a hard time emotionally.”
“Of course you did.”
“Still am in some respects. What did my nephew tell you about our misadventure?”
“Enough that I think I understand.”
“Have you seen what the cougar did to him?”
“Yes.”
“Not many people get the opportunity. Unlike me—” he held up his stump, “most of the time Darek can hide his scars.”
“If you don’t want to talk about it—”
“No. It’s all right. In large part because I have a loving support system, I’m a lot better than I was right after it happened. That said, it’s a work in progress and probably always will be. I’ll never be the man I was before a cougar gave up her life trying to protect her young because she saw me as a threat.”
She’d never had such a personal conversation with an Elite, maybe with anyone.
“You lived.” The others were listening but what she hoped she could tell him was more important. “We all experience things that deeply impact who we are or become.”
“You’re right.” He held out his hand. She took a chance on placing hers in it. “I’m Clark. I know you’re Callie.”
“I can’t call you by your first name.”
“Yes, you can. We aren’t that different.”
“But—”
“But nothing. Your relationship with my nephew is what it is. I’m not going to pass judgment. And I know what the Society says about relationships between so-called Elites and Others, but I don’t give a damn.”
“Watch what you say,” Mr. Rostel said. “You want to get yourself written up for breaking the rules?”
Clark laughed. The jaguar responded with another dry growl. “See, she knows what I’m getting at. When you’ve faced death, priorities change. Certain shit no longer matters. Some of the blood transfusions I received came from Others. Guess that makes me a hybrid.”
She liked this man, liked that Mr. Dalton was related to him.
“What about you?” Clark whispered near her ear. “If your relationship with my nephew is what I figure it is, you have or had something of him inside you. Kind of levels the field, doesn’t it?”
“Maybe.”
“No maybe to it, if you’ll allow yourself to think about it. However—” He gave his nephew a thumbs up. “This isn’t the time or place for me to expound on my theories about the state of the world. We have a jaguar to take home.”
Chapter Twelve
“Sol,” Callie said. “What do you think of the name?”
Instead of giving an indication she’d heard, the female jaguar, her heavy tail swishing, stared at Luna. Luna was equally interested in the newcomer.
“You’ll have to ask her later,” Clark said. “She obviously has other things on her mind.”
Callie indicated the solid mesh fencing separating the two predators. “This is good. It gives them time to get used to each other without risk.”
“Yeah. Hard to put a bandage on a big cat. Darek, this is good, damn good. For me.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I wasn’t sure you were ready.”
“We’ll see how the night goes.”
Thinking he was talking about nightmares, she wanted to say something encouraging but didn’t know what or how. This caring about an Elite, especially one she’d just met—she’d never expected it to happen.
Neither had she thought she’d become her employer’s pet.
“Bring the kids one day,” Mr. Dalton said. “You and I can check our calendars and decide on a day that’ll work.”
“Maybe later for all of us.”
As the conversation shifted to the jaguars in their enclosures, Callie thought about what Clark had just said. She suspected he wasn’t yet ready to share all of his emotions with his family or at least with his children. It wasn’t her business to say anything and yet—
“How old are your children?”
Clark faced her. “Ten and twelve. Girl then boy.”
“Are they interested in wild animals? Maybe they’ve never seen one in the flesh.”
“Their mother took them to a zoo when I was in the hospital. So much for our thinking they needed the distraction. The big cats terrified them.”
“Because they knew what had happened to you?”
“Callie,” Mr. Dalton warned. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“Don’t tell her that,” Clark countered. “She and I can have a conversation and she’s entitled to an opinion. What do you remember of being a pre-teen?” he asked her. “Were you brave or timid?”
“Lost,” she whispered.
“What did you say?”
“I was—there was a lot of uncertainty in my life.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. That was years ago.”
As an Other, she was the one who was supposed to apologize except when Mr. Dalton ordered her not to. Confused by the change, she looked from one man to the other. Mr. Rostel and a mostly silent Angela had
left shortly after Sol had been released from the cage and had started to explore the expansive enclosure. It was both easier and harder to be alone with the man she’d called Master and his uncle.
“I get it,” Clark said. “You don’t like people expressing sympathy or words, pity.” He held up his stump. “Believe me, I get my share of that.”
“What do you say when you suspect they don’t really want to know the details?”
“Good question. Mark my words, Darek, she sees beneath the surface when it comes to people.”
“I get that,” Mr. Dalton said. “She’s also occasionally compulsive, doesn’t follow my rules.”
“Maybe you need to lighten up on them. Give people credit for thinking.”
“Most people haven’t lived through what you and I did.”
“You’re right. And I have no business trying to tell you how to run this operation. I’m just suggesting you acknowledge the brain that goes with her lovely body.”
With no idea how the conversation had shifted to being about her, she desperately tried to come up with a way to change it.
“About your children—have you asked how they’d feel about coming to the preserve? They might give you different answers.”
“Yeah, they probably will. What do you think, Darek? Is Wes ready for this?”
“I’d be cautious with him. He’s still learning how to express himself.”
As Mr. Dalton slid his fingers through spaces in the fencing, she recalled how intently he’d studied Sol earlier. He seemed more relaxed than he had then, a man coming to grips with the moments that had changed his life. If she was complex, he was twice as much. Both nephew and uncle were.
“I’ll talk things over with Mern,” Clark said. “See what she thinks. Lisa tells her mother everything.” Clark gave Callie his full attention. “What about you? Were you a mama’s girl?”
“No.”
“What about being close to your father or another relative?”
“I wasn’t.”
“And you don’t want to talk about it, right?”
She shook her head.
“Unfortunately, I pretty much figured you’d say that. Have you ever opened up with anyone?”
