Page 32 of His Master

He meant it as a joke, I was sure, but as soon as he tapped on a few things, he snapped straight, and his relaxed expression turned into a thundercloud of emotion. Worse still, after reading a little more of whatever was on his phone, his gaze shifted to me.

“Master?” I asked, fear of a whole different kind gripping me.

“You’re Simon Kipling?” he asked. “You’re Hayden Kipling’s brother.”

I froze, panic hitting me. I didn’t know which was worse, the realization that Victor hadn’t noted me or recognized me at Hayden and Mason’s pool party the way I’d noticed him, or the guilt and worry in his expression as he looked at me now. He wasn’t looking at me like I was his cherished slave anymore.

I had a horrible feeling everything I’d fallen so quickly in love with was about to end in disaster.

CHAPTER TEN

Victor

The text from Uncle Vincent turned what had started out as a fantastic morning into a nightmare.

“I guess kidnapping Kipling omegas runs in the family. Have fun playing with your boy, and thank you for giving me exactly what I needed.”

The text came with a random article about the Kipling family with a picture that identified Simon.

I couldn’t breathe for a second. About a dozen things slammed into my brain, all at the same time.

Simon Kipling. The image of him watching me from the other side of the pool at Mason Canton’s pool party was suddenly vivid in my mind. I hadn’t just seen Simon there, I’d nearly walked into him. I could remember everything about that now. I even remembered Simon’s apricot and orange blossom scent.

Fuck. Why hadn’t I connected the dots when we’d been emailing, or when I’d seen him for the first time in the Dark Fantasies Club office?

Because context played a huge role in how we remembered people, that’s why. I wouldn’t have expected to see Simon again in a million years, let alone play with him.

Hayden Kipling’s brother. Christ.

That was the other thing that hit me hard, right on top of realizing I’d met Simon before. Uncle Vincent had never admitted he had a hand in Hayden Kipling’s kidnapping, but I’d discovered his involvement in other ways. He’d denied it at the time, and I’d told Mason he hadn’t sanctioned it. I’d learned otherwise after the face, but this text was the first time Uncle Vincent had even skated close to admitting he’d played a part. But why?

Hard on the heels of those thoughts came the worst realization of all. Uncle Vincent knew I had Simon Kipling with me, and he knew we were playing. That was way more than I wanted anyone to know, least of all my uncle. And even though it wasn’t explicit in his text, there was a sinister feel to it, like Simon might be in danger.

All those thoughts happened in a flash. Simon’s gentle plea of “Master?” shook me out of the stupor they’d caused.

“You’re Simon Kipling?” he asked. “You’re Hayden Kipling’s brother.”

The questioning look in Simon’s eyes turned to heavy guilt. It was entirely different from the play guilt he’d confessed to me last night.

“Yes,” he answered on a hard exhale, glancing down.

My insides tightened as he failed to add “Master”.

I didn’t know what to do. Questions assailed me, cutting my dominant confidence to shreds.

That feeling only got worse when another thought crashed through the others making a mess of my brain.

“Did you know who I was when you signed up for this fantasy?” I asked, my voice harder than I wanted it to be.

Simon raised his glassy eyes to me again, and he swallowed. The movement brought my attention to a small sore on his neck where his collar must have rubbed him in the night.

My overriding instinct was to take care of that, take care of him, and protect him at all costs.

“Yes,” he answered in a whisper. “But I didn’t know you were part of the Dark Fantasies Club when I made an account. I didn’t create my fantasy request to entrap you,” he rushed on, his voice dry. “Hayden has been urging me to sign up for years, but it took me a good year to gather the courage to do it. And once I posted that fantasy, I had over two dozen alphas who applied to play with me. I didn’t seek you out specifically, I swear.”

He dropped his head again, which pulled hard at my heartstrings.

“When I saw that you had applied to play with me, I knew it had to be you,” he went on, head hanging like he thought I was angry with him or that I believed he’d stalked me and coerced me into our fantasy. “I recognized you at once from your pics. I…I don’t know what it was. Maybe because I saw you at Mason and Hayden’s party. I just…knew.”

---