Tethered Trust: Book 2 (Limits of Love Series 3)

by Jade Royal

  “Maybe he will like my Nana. She’s pretty, too.”

  I tried to hold in my laughter as I walked over to her. “Ready to go, kiddo?”

  “Wow, he is pretty,” Emily said as she looked at Master J.

  “My mom says that boys aren’t pretty; they’re handsome,” Angelica corrected her a bit too excitedly.

  “Ok.” Emily spoke to Master J. “You’re tall.”

  “And you’re a cutie.”

  Emily leaned over to Angelica. “Okay, my dad can date Nana instead.”

  Master J laughed as we took Angelica back toward our table.

  “Bye, Emily! See you tomorrow.” Angelica waved.

  “Bye!”

  I shook my head thinking about the match making that the girls were trying to embark upon. I needed to keep Angelica far away from Sampson and Amy because they might all conspire together, creating some ridiculous plan.

  We all headed to the parking lot where we did our hug, kiss, and see you later routine. I had to admit that the love and support that was present was just as much for me as it was for Angelica. It felt amazing to have them all here tonight. This crazy dance troop idea had become one of the greatest decisions I’d made in a long time.

  My quartet climbed into Master J’s truck to head to his house where my car was parked. Angelica was passed out cold by the time we pulled into his driveway. Master J removed her from his car and loaded her into mine. He hugged Mama before making sure that she was safely inside the passenger seat. Finally, he headed to me where he embraced me in a nice warm hug.

  “Thanks for being there for Angelica tonight.” I leaned up and kissed him lightly.

  “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. I know how much you both needed me there. Besides, I wanted to go. It was an exciting play.” Master J looked at my lips and I knew he was thinking something naughty.

  “It was.”

  “It was well worth it, too. I now know that Angelica and her friend think that I’m pretty. I also know that she told you and you corrected her word choice because ‘boys don’t like to be called pretty’.”

  I giggled. “Yeah. That happened.” I shook my head. “I like that she listened and was enthused about knowing the proper fix.”

  “She had a great teacher.” Master J kissed me, and I closed my eyes, enjoying his hand that held my head in place as he took what he wanted. His fingertips danced across my neck relaxing me in his embrace. I don’t know how to describe it. It was toe curling, but it wasn’t sexual. It was more like we were properly enjoying the taste of one another and the intimacy that it provided. It was a kiss that should start any make-out session, and this all occurred with my mother being less than ten feet away. I felt mischievous as we pulled apart.

  “Good night, Sir,” I said lustfully. I began walking toward the car.

  “Good night, sweet girl.” I watched him as I climbed into my car and buckled in. He was gorgeous in his jeans, button down shirt, and sneakers. It worked for him in a way that wouldn’t for the next guy. I waved at him as he stood on his porch, watching me pull away.

  “Don’t forget to text me!” he shouted.

  “I wouldn’t!” As we pulled out, I glanced over to see Mama asleep. I took advantage of the moment that I had alone to reminisce about my kiss. I touched my lips feeling the tingling that Master J’s left behind. I wasn’t ready by any means to admit this to him, but I was falling for him hard. I just hoped that his feelings were following along the same path.

  Chapter 26: Vanessa

  I sat at the bar watching Renee work her magic. She was busy tonight, and since I was only here casually socializing, I was in no hurry to have her come back over. I wore Master Howard’s collar of protection, and it felt good to have that bit of security. I was in a really good mood for no one reason. I wasn’t going to sit and try to figure it out since feeling good felt good. I whirled around and watched all of the activity in the room. There were various public scenes taking place plus the socializing and dancing.

  Sampson was kneeling in front of an older man. He had on a collar and chain but not much else. The man had the chain connected to his wrist as they held a conversation. Sampson’s posture seemed stiff and off-putting, but either the man didn’t know or didn’t care. I watched until Renee leaned on the counter behind me.

  “Who are we stalking?” Renee asked. I looked back and saw her leaning on her hand as she searched for something interesting.

  “Is that guy with Sampson Master Aiden?” The guy was attractive, but he didn’t have the ‘God appeal’ that Sampson was always drooling about.

  “Nope. Remember I told you that Master Aiden is away on business. He’s our normal bartender. You’ve never met him?”

  “Nope. I don’t know many of the Doms here. Come to think of it, the only submissives that I know are from the troop.”

  “Well, then you know most of the best. The ‘Sub Club’ as we like to call ourselves, only has a few other members. Let’s see. Ah, there she is. See the submissive sitting on the couch being anti-social as always?”

  I looked over and there was a beautiful caramel colored girl sitting on the couch messing with some kind of tablet. She looked deep in thought about whatever she was doing. “With the tablet?”

  “Yeah, it controls the music in here. Her name is Alisha. She likes to play DJ. Her music tastes are broad so it’s actually not a bad job for her. Well, she used to be Master Howard’s submissive for a long time. They broke up just before he and Zihanna got together.”

  “Are they cool about it?”

  “Abso! They had some problems at first, but the Sub Club fixed that.”

  “Sounds like a story that needs to be told.”

  “It is. I’ll have to tell you when we’re not here.” Renee scanned the crowd, searching for someone particular. “Alright, I found Kennedi. She’s a special girl. You see the girl with the blonde hair and the bright streaks of color?”

  I spotted her immediately. You couldn’t really miss her. She was talking to some guy next to one of the columns near the dance floor. Her hair stood out in a crowd and was super pretty. Man did she have serious curves, though.

  “Spotted.”

  “Kennedi is definitely all submissive, but she’s knowledgeable about various fetishes.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “She knows how to use rope for rope play scenes. She enjoys fire play and can demonstrate it properly. The same with wax, caning, orgasm denial, flogging, whip play, and so on. The girl is bad assed and a BDSM enthusiast, but she’s not Dom. She’s the only 100% submissive that I know that teaches classes to Doms about topping. She doesn’t teach how to dominate a submissive. She teaches dominance over their craft. I don’t know how she managed it, but she’s a role model all on her own. She knows so much!”

  “How does she deal with all of those Doms? It seems terrifying.” I know that it would be for me. I couldn’t imagine trying to teach Master J anything. It wasn’t because I expected that he knew it all. Some of the Doms just have this intense thing that I hadn’t adjusted to yet.

  “She’s more confident now than she’s ever been. She’s teaching a lot more classes now. She’s still subby Kenni to me. Hey look, I found a picture of Aiden where he is actually looking at the camera. He’s actually very camera shy. It doesn’t make any sense because he’s gorgeous.”

  Renee shoved her phone into my face and a very handsome hunk appeared. He had these massive arms folded in front of him, brooding. His hair was long, and his eyebrows seemed to be naturally arched into his expression. He was sexier than I would have ever imagined. Next to his picture the word ‘masculinity’ should have been flashing because he was the very definition of it. All of him that was visible was massive. Massive, massive, massive. It’s the one word that kept coming to mind when I looked at him.

  “Ohmygod he’s hunky.” I responded. “Who’s that guy, then?” I nodded toward Sampson.

  “He’s a poser. I don’t know why Sammi
e continues to play with Xander. He is in love with the guy, but he’s no winner. They never scene here at the club and he takes Sammie to his home to play. He loves to show off Sammie’s body while they’re here, though. I told Sammie that I didn’t like Xander a long time ago. I like him even less because I feel like he’s staking a claim on Sammie that he’ll never cash in. He wants everybody to keep their hands off, but he only wants to play with him on his terms. They don’t negotiate. It’s either Xander’s way or the highway. He’s a POS!”

  “POS?” I frowned at her, afraid of the answer.

  “Piece of shit!” Renee raised her voice as she spit out the words. I snickered as people turned to look at her, but she paid them no mind. “Anyway, how did Angelica feel after her play? Was she still excited when she got home?”

  “She passed out cold. The next day she woke up energetic and wearing her corsage like it was her new accessory. Master J should have never gotten it for her.”

  “Yes, he should have. It’s important that he makes her feel just as important to him as you are. She’s not going anywhere, and he has to be able to accept that.”

  “Accept what?” I turned to see Lynn standing with some model looking girl. She was definitely beautiful but hearing something out of her mouth could change things entirely; especially since she thought that keeping Lynn around was good company.

  “None of your business, Lynn.” Renee threw in. “Did you need something?”

  “No, I just thought I would let the little psycho know a little something.” Lynn looked my way. I tried to ignore her altogether, but I knew she wasn’t going to go away until she’d spoken her piece.

  “Her name is Vanessa. Nobody around here is psycho but you.” I looked behind Lynn to see Amy standing there with her arms folded. I had no clue when she’d walked up, but her timing on reading Lynn the riot act was priceless.

  “Nobody was talking to you, Amy.” Lynn didn’t bother to look her way.

  “What do you want besides Jamar, Lynn?” I spoke to her, ready for the moment to be over with.

  “I hope you don’t really have your sights on him. His charity with you will run out. It’s growing thin and you don’t even know it.”

  “What exactly are you referring to?” I asked, annoyed with this whole situation. The woman beside her smiled at me.

  “Tell her, Naomi.” Lynn was smiling a bit too much for my liking.

  “About which part? The one where I tell her that Master Jamar and I are sleeping together? Or the part about me being pregnant with his child?” Naomi smacked her lips in accomplishment.

  “Something that happened months ago isn’t a concern of mine.” I chose not to comment on the pregnancy but Oh... My... God! I was boiling on the inside but had to make sure that I kept it off my face.

  “Months ago? I was just at his studio a week and a half ago.”

  “For what?” I asked.

  Renee jumped in. “Just because you model for Master J’s studio sometimes, doesn’t mean that there’s anything there.”

  This was all news to me. I knew that he used models but the fact that one of them was friends with his ex didn’t sit well with me. I did recall him saying that he’d done a shoot around that time. Did that mean that he had sex with her afterwards? That was the case when we scened, so I couldn’t exactly say that it wasn’t the case for them. The only thing he promised is that we could be exclusive AFTER I said yes. He didn’t say anything about now.

  “I do more than model for him.” Naomi boasted.

  “Is that all that you wanted to brag about?” I asked.

  “Yes,” Lynn started. “You can go back to talking about your daughter. I hope that she isn’t nuts like her mother. Who would procreate with a whack job that preyed on men with big hearts?”

  “Does she ride the short bus to school or even know English?” Naomi asked sarcastically.

  I jumped up and got in Lynn’s face. Amy pulled Naomi’s head back by her hair and punched her twice in the face. Playing nice wasn’t in my demeanor right now either.

  “Bitch!” Amy said as she let her go. Naomi fell backwards onto the floor.

  Lynn backed up, intimidated by the situation. “Don’t ever say anything about my daughter. She’s smarter than the two of you combined. Let this be the last time that you let psycho come out of your mouth or anything negative about my daughter. I will cause serious bodily harm with no regard to how little you mean to Jamar.”

  A tall black man with broad shoulders and a “will spank you” attitude walked over and looked around. “What in the hell is going on over here?” He helped Naomi to stand.

  Amy fidgeted and looked at me for help. She looked more nervous than I’d ever seen anybody. What in the hell was wrong with her?

  “Lynn and Naomi were causing problems as usual, Master Marcus.” Renee supplied. “This is becoming a regular occurrence for them, Sir.”

  “Renee, get back to work. You must be Vanessa, Master J’s girl.” Master Marcus turned to address Amy, but she’d disappeared. “Where did that girl go?”

  We all looked around, but she’d disappeared. I turned to look at Renee and she was smiling as she wiped the bar top off. I had a feeling this was yet another story I’d hear about.

  “You two, get out of here. Don’t come back until after you’ve spoken to Master Howard.”

  Naomi started to walk off but lost her footing. Lynn caught her, and they stumbled out of the main room. Master Marcus turned to me. “Before you go assuming the worst, you need to talk to Master J. Renee’s right. Those girls are trouble but, unfortunately, there is usually some truth to what they go gossiping about. But that needs to be handled outside of the club.”

  “Yes, Sir.” I wanted to hit him for obviously taking Master J’s side. I knew my anger was fueling my thoughts but that didn’t change anything right now.

  “I think you should go and blow off some steam before you do something stupid.” Master Marcus insisted. “I’ll walk you to your car.”

  I sighed. Not only were those two girls trying to ruin my relationship, they were messing up my girl time too! I didn’t try to hide my inner brat as she surfaced full force. “I like how I’m being put out because they don’t know how to act in public.”

  I stomped over to the bar and hugged Renee. “I’ll call you later.”

  “Abso!” Renee didn’t say much more as she went back to work.

  I grabbed my purse and walked out of the club. Master Marcus was on my heels the entire time. I got in my car and a tear slid free. I wiped it quickly and sniffed as I started the car. There was a knock at the window and I looked up at Master Marcus.

  “Roll down the window.”

  I sighed, hoping that this night would end already. I rolled down the window and waited. He leaned down to rest his arms on the edge of the window.

  “I heard most of everything that was said and done. I think you need to talk to Jamar before you go getting all emotional. This could turn out to be no big deal.”

  “Is that all, Sir?”

  Master Marcus raised his eyebrow and backed away. “Have a safe trip home.”

  I drove home in tears. A lot of what she had said made sense with what I knew. About two weeks ago, Master J did say that he had a special shoot for a collector. He’d said that the shoot had gone exceptionally well. I guess I knew why that was the case. Master J had grown a bit distant too, but I’d assumed it was because I hadn’t given him an answer. We hadn’t really talked in the past week, but he texted me steadily. The reasons could have easily been that he was tired of waiting for me or that he was really busy with work like he’d expressed. I’d figure it out tomorrow when I saw him. For now, I was hurting, and I didn’t want to be anywhere near him.

  I walked into my house and straight into my room. I lay on the bed, not bothering to undress. My cell beeped, and I ignored it. If it was Master J and I read it, I was obligated to either respond or lie. My phone began beeping nonstop. What the hell was going on? I
grabbed the phone and opened up the message.

  Sampson: Group text, bitches!

  I opened the contacts tagged and saw that Sampson, Renee, Amy, Carmen, and I were all in. I went back to the messages and began reading and laughing.

  Renee: I’m mad at you, man whore.

  Sampson: Why?

  Renee: What were you doing with Xander?

  Sampson: He came to see me. Is that why I heard you shouting Piece of Shit across the bar?

  Renee: You know it!

  Sampson: Better question is why did Nessa G get kicked out of the club tonight?

  Carmen: Sam, I thought you were done with Xander! OMG Vanessa got kicked out?

  Renee: No, Marcus told her to go cool off. He thought she was going to murder the traitor bitches.

  Carmen: Lynn?

  Sampson: And Naomi.

  Me: Thanks for filling her in guys (sarcasm).

  Sampson: You took too long!

  Me: At least I didn’t punch out Naomi.

  Carmen: Naomi got punched?

  Amy: Yeah, that bitch talks too much.

  Carmen: AMEN!

  Sampson: Car, you should have seen Naomi hit the floor. She looked like a fish searching for water.

  Renee: Why’d you leave, Amy?

  Me: Right, you could have sucked off Master Marcus to keep me out of trouble.

  Amy: If I would have stayed, he would have walloped me good. I’m PMSing and didn’t want to go through all of that.

  Me: If you would have just kneeled and sucked you wouldn’t have to worry about “all that”.

  Carmen: She’s got a point!

  Renee: He wouldn’t be supervising me like a hawk right now.

  Amy: Is he pissed?

  Renee: Understatement, how are you going to explain yourself?

  Amy: Should I come back?

  Renee: If you want to die, sure!

  Sampson: You could just call him and apologize.

  Me: Yeah, he heard the whole conversation so he’s probably more pissed that you left without talking to him.

  Amy: How do you know that?

  Renee: He was at the bar talking to Master Cee when it all happened. That’s why I was amazed that you chose then to deck her ass.