Master (12 page)

Daisy had smiled and shrugged before she'd answered him.
"Well, remember the offer is there."

Cade
scowled as he scrolled down
his list of appointments. At least she'd stopped trying to pair him off. Just
because Daisy was all loved up with Marco, her new Dom and partner, she thought
everyone should be the same. It had taken his threat of telling Marco she was
being bratty to make Daisy promise to back off and leave him to sort his own
sub, or lack of sub, out. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he had no
inclination to do either. He couldn't remember the last time he'd demonstrated,
apart from his guest visit to
Glasgow
.
For the first time since he'd chosen the lifestyle and practiced his craft,
Caden
wasn’t
practicing. What worried him more was that he
wasn't
worried.

Now he decided there was nothing important to do until his
initial meeting with—he squinted at the screen—a Ms. Taylor, at four p.m. Under
it Daisy had added, 'Nervous, needs pampering, I suggest the spa.'

Not going to happen.
The spa held too many
memories for him. He pulled up the details Daisy had left him. It seemed Ms.
Taylor wasn't sure if she'd make a good sub or not, but knew she wasn't a
Domme
. She wanted to explore her inclinations.
Caden
snorted, as he read the full and informative document
Daisy had asked Ms. Taylor to fill in. If she had actually read all the form
he'd be surprised. There was no photo, no physical details, and a very brief
appropriate yes or no to the medical questions. Not only that, there were an
awful lot of maybes on it. Damn the woman, he foresaw a good few sessions of
finding out just what she meant by maybe. He glanced farther down the sheet and
bit back an epithet. Good lord, she didn’t even understand safe words, thought
she might like to be spanked but hated pain in any form. Wasn't prepared to
strip off unless no one was able to see her—how could he work with her and not
see her naked if he'd demanded she strip, he had no idea—and didn't think she'd
want to watch anyone else doing it. But she would submit maybe. What the hell?
It was a joke. Not only was the woman a mass of contradictions, she sounded as
if she was taking the
mickey
. The sad thing was if
Daisy had signed her up,
Caden
was bound to at least
go through the motions. It sounded like he was going to have a fun time—not.
And no respite in sight.

Caden
had taken a step back from
being hands on in the club after his first visit to
Glasgow
, and to his inner amazement, he
hadn't missed it. The joy of teaching had left him, and he rarely
scened
at all. He'd honor his commitment to
Linsey
and
Dommissima
, but then
Cade
had decided he needed to take a long, hard look at
where he wanted his life to go. Truth to tell, since his last meeting with
Anna, the look on her face had haunted him. How could he live with the way she
had lost her vibrant spark? Was it him who'd turned her from a feisty,
gorgeous, vivacious girl into a shadow of herself? He'd done a lot of
soul-searching in the middle of the night when he couldn't sleep. Although
Cade's
rational side knew it wasn't all down to him, his
emotions weren't so easy to appease. Domination was as necessary to him as
water to a fish, but could he temper it? Even if he did, would it be enough for
Anna? And it wasn't as if he could half tie her, or stop the wax just before it
touched her skin.
Hell.
He grimaced,
why was he wondering? Anna had said in no uncertain terms they were over, so
maybe he needed to accept that.
But, she
hadn't said she didn't like those things, just where they happened.

 
Cade
rolled his shoulders under the fine grey linen shirt he wore. It was
hypothetical anyway. Anna wasn't his, and it seemed she never would be. He made
a mental note to contact his solicitor and start the long overdue divorce
proceedings. It was time he admitted defeat, let Anna go and move on. With an
impatient gesture, he checked the clock and calculated there was more than
enough time to have a coffee and something to eat before his meeting with Ms.
Taylor. Nothing would happen today even if he did agree to tutor her. There was
a lot of information to be exchanged before he made a commitment like that. Not
for the first time he wondered why Daisy had decided this person was one he
should consider to teach. Generally, the other Masters who worked at
Serendip
performed teaching and mentoring.
Cade
was much more of an overseer nowadays.

He pulled a box of sushi out of the fridge and smiled as he
remembered the last time he'd bought sushi, and not eaten it. He didn't think
Daisy was going to forget that in a hurry.

Two hours later, he'd put on his other hat, the one few
people knew about, and was concentrating on a proposal for new affordable homes
to be built in an inner city housing scheme.
Caden
had backed schemes like that for many years. He'd reasoned that he had more
than enough money to live on, so why not help other people to improve their
lives. His concentration was so absolute that the buzzer from his phone made
him jump and type a jumble of letters over his proposal. He wrenched his
thoughts back to the here and now to lift the receiver and hear the deep voice
of Stefan, Daisy's second in command, announcing Ms. Taylor was waiting for
him.

He stood up and checked his appearance in the mirror.
Cade
knew he had a bad habit of running his hands through
his hair when he concentrated, and it ended up looking like a bird’s nest on
many an occasion. Satisfied he looked in control and a true Master, he replied
to Stefan.

"Thank you. Could you bring her in please and arrange
for refreshments?"
And bring me a
mug of enthusiasm as I feel about as interested as I do in cold porridge.

 
The door opened, and
Cade
looked up. The ready—and he admitted, false—smile on
his face froze, as the door swung closed behind the person who'd walked in.

"Anna?"

****

It seemed Daisy had kept her word, and not divulged just
whom
Ms. Taylor was. The startled look on
Cade's
face was all Anna could wish for. His rapid change
of color alarmed her, as he went ashen, red, and then chalky white. The speed
at which he recovered his aplomb impressed her. Then, as a Master, shouldn't he
be able to control his reactions fast?

She swallowed rapidly and wiped her hands on her
conservative skirt before she walked across the deep carpet toward him. As she
held her hand out in greeting, all Anna hoped was that she conveyed confidence,
because she didn't feel any. This was one big gamble, and she had no idea how
things would end up. In fact she had no idea just what she wanted the outcome
to be. She took a quick glance around the room. No photo. Then she saw the back
of a frame on his desk. Was that it? There was no way of telling, and judging by
the look of impatience on his face, no time either. She rushed into speech.

"Mr. McCourt? I'm Anna Taylor." It wasn't a total
lie, as
Taylor
was her middle name. She'd just omitted any surname. "It's a pleasure to
meet you."
I hope.

He raised one eyebrow in a gesture she decided was meant to
intimidate. It might have done if Anna hadn't seen the tiny pulse that beat out
a rapid tattoo in his neck. It was evidence he wasn't as calm as he wanted to
project, and it helped her.

"Master to you."
His tone was deep, crisp and
even.

Anna bit her tongue to stop a giggle slipping out. Her
imagery brought on snow and Christmas Carols.

"Sorry, Master." She stumbled over the title. This
was what didn't sit happily with her.
Stop it, keep an open mind. No point being here otherwise.
Her hand tingled
as he shook it.

Caden
dipped his head. His dark
hair glistened in the sunlight that filtered though the windows. "Sit
down." His voice conveyed no recognition. "There on that low stool.”

Well, isn't that what you
want?
To start over as strangers?
Anna walked to the seat he'd
indicated. It was, as she feared, almost impossible to sit on it elegantly and
retain some dignity. Presumably that was his idea. She was relieved she'd got a
skirt with a little side fan of pleats. It might show her thighs but in her
mind that was better than baring her
all,
and she'd
followed the introduction details regarding
that
to the letter.

"Shoes off and put them in the corner."

Bastard, why didn't he say
that before I sat down?
Anna stood up, walked across the room, and kicked her shoes into the corner.

"Ms. Taylor. Please pick them up and stand them side by
side. Make sure you bend from the waist. Elegance at all times please."

Anyone who knew her, and he did, even if not as well as he
had once, would recognize her smile as false.
"Sir."
She would choke on Master if she said it again. By the gleam in his eyes, and
the faint smile playing in his lips, the bugger knew it.

"For now."

She wasn't even going to reply to that. As far as she was
concerned any salutation had to be earned. Nothing had happened to make her
decide it had been.

However, she did as he asked and was pleased her practicing
over the past few weeks had paid off, and that she had an ally in Daisy. That
first initial email to Daisy where Anna had bared her soul had been the hardest
thing she'd ever written. Thankfully, Daisy had replied promptly and offered
her help. It had been the start of several emails, including the information
sheet they had concocted between them. The only thing Daisy had been adamant
about was the criteria regarding dress and personal grooming. She'd warned Anna
that those things were non-negotiable. As she remembered several lost battles
in the past, where she'd been desperate to find something she could do and not
cringe too much, Anna had grit her teeth. Then she'd taken herself to a
beautician friend and ignored Debbie's laughter as she asked Debbie to help her
have all her pubic hair depilated.

"You with a Brazilian?"
Debbie had sniggered.
"Hell’s bells. Anna, you'll be asking for a tattoo next." Anna hadn't
shown Debbie the tiny
Shibari
-rope tattoo hidden
under her left breast. It had been her reminder to herself why she loved
Caden
and feared his ideals. In a strange way it had been
her comfort once she left him. Even though he didn't know it, she still held
something of him close to her heart.

Anna straightened up and glanced at
Caden
.
The gleam in his eye told her he knew exactly why she moved as she did. Well,
sod him, if they were playing cat and mouse she'd be damned if she'd be easy to
catch. It had taken all her courage to come here, and if she had to try then by
god so did he.

 
"So, Ms. Taylor,
be seated again, and tell me. Why are you here?" It seemed he was prepared
to play along, at least for the time being.

Anna took a deep breath. His anticipation was palpable. She
fancied even the room waited for her reply. Her senses went into overdrive, and
she could smell his cologne, a mixture of spice and fresh cut grass. It was so
personal to him it evoked sweet, and not so sweet, memories. Her fingers
tingled.

"I need to discover who I am, what I am, and what I
could be."

 
He stared at her so
long,
Anna was hard pressed not to fidget.

"Elucidate."

She waited for him to say more, but he crossed his ankles and
leaned back on his desk, his hands loosely touching the leather top. His
fingers splayed out and stroked the material in such a way that Anna could
imagine it was her skin he fondled. Her mouth went dry.

"Oh, sorry."
She realized he was waiting
for her to speak.
Damn it, this is hard.
She'd known it was going to be. Why should he give her any quarter? She'd left
him, and then not been prepared to meet him halfway when they'd met again. Why
should he play
nicey-nicey
now? His eyes narrowed.
Damn, I keep forgetting.
"I beg
your pardon, Sir. Well, many years ago, I loved a man."

 
"Loved?" A
tic in his left eye flickered so briefly Anna almost missed it.

"Loved.
But as time went on, I found
that our ideas on what love meant weren't the same. We had…" She hesitated,
worried how to explain herself and not cast blame. "I guess you could say
we wanted different things.
Needed to show our love in
different ways.
I was stupid and young, and instead of trying to talk to
him I ran. I didn't want to watch his love die, you see. And it would, because
he needed to be who he was, and no way could I take that from him, but nor
could I do as he wanted."

There was silence. Anna couldn't tell what
Cade
was thinking. His face had no emotion showing, and his
body was still. Even his hands weren't moving.