The waiter placed
their drinks in front of them, giving Nikolas a saucy come hither wink before
leaving the table. He picked it up and took a healthy swallow, reveling in the
burn. It was the most expensive Scotch money could buy. When it came to his club, Dominique spared no
expenses.
“My guess is as
good as yours, old friend.”
“Lighten up, Nikolas.
Maybe it’s a date. Someone has taken a great interest in you and I’d say it’s
about time.” Master D waved a hand around the room. “Many submissive men in
this room, this club specifically, are willing to be mastered by you, to kneel
for you, take the whip you wield to bring them to the height of pleasure with
its sting upon their tender skin, hear your voice as it commands them to come
or not to come, to beg for you to put them through their paces.” Dominique sat
back and sipped his Merlot, scrutinizing Nikolas’s reaction. “You know where
I’m going with this?”
“Yeah, and all the
thoughts you originate are further from the truth. Don’t you have work to do?”
Looking into his glass, Nikolas put it aside with disgust. Maybe coming here
had been a mistake.
“In a minute. I’m
not trying to make you mad. I’m just pointing out that you’ve been edgy the
last half year ever since… Throw caution to the wind and meet this man.
Frankly, my boy, you have nothing to lose.” Master D observed the shadows under
Nikolas's eyes and the stress lines around his mouth. His friend looked tired.
“Why?” Nikolas’s
voice went on, quiet and intense. “You know I come from time to time, do a
scene and always leave here alone.” His voice dropped a pitch. “I don’t do long
term and I have nothing to offer. My job sucks up most of my time leaving room
for no one. Hell, D, I don’t even own a pet because if I had one it would
starve to death from lack of nourishment and neglect. I couldn’t add the guilt
of that to what already lays heavily on my shoulders.” There. He’d said it. No
taking the words back now.
“I’ll get to that
in a minute, but there’s something I need you to see first.
Nikolas looked
down as Master D slid a paper under his nose. Glancing at the letter, he
suddenly felt his gut twist. He wasn’t smiling, let alone laughing. “Who gave
you this?”
“I found it under
my office door.”
“Why would someone
give this to you.” Nikolas asked.
“I am not here to judge.
What has happened is in the past and so it will remain in the past. By this
someone’s holding a grudge against you and this is not a threat to be taken
lightly.” Dominique’s eyes strayed around the room, as he expected to find
strangers listening.
That wasn’t
exactly news to Nikolas, but he was too close to finding out who had it in for
him to be backing out now. Ever since the burial of one of his men, someone had
it in for him, so he’d been doing some investigating of his own. Whoever was
behind it had covered his or her tracks well. He’d come up with nil for his
efforts. With the confirmation of this being placed under the other master’s
door, without doubt it had to be a man. If he didn’t know better, he’d believe
it to be someone with high ranking or intelligence enough to pull the hood over
his eyes.
“I tried to save
him. I did everything in my power to protect him. It wasn’t enough. I failed
him, Dom.”
“You didn’t fail
him! I believe that when it’s your time, it’s your time. Your date of death is
set in stone, pardon the pun, and set in motion from the moment you’re born
into this world. It was his time, that’s all. You can’t hold yourself
accountable for that. It’s going to eat you from the inside out. But there’s
the chance that this person and their idle threats will slip and make a mistake
if he suspects you’re on to him.”
“I saw and heard
things… I should have known. I was their leader! I was their eyes, their ears.
They relied on me!” Nikolas looked away. “I’m at the point where I don’t know
who I am. Where the real me begins or that other Nikolas ends. These missions
are more dangerous than you think. Before they kill you, they’ll expose you to
how empty your life is that leaves you empty inside, without hope. I know this
first hand, Dom. As much as I hate to be the one to say this, there’s no room
in my life to take on another Sub or have anyone in my life, so I ask myself
again: why am I even here.”
His friend smiled.
“I once believed and said those very same words.”
With a tight
smile, Nikolas changed the subject. “How is it with you and Angelo, anyway?”
“A bossy little
bottom, and mischievous as ever. Most days I believe he acts up just to enjoy
the punishments.” Dominique chuckled lightheartedly “Just when you think things
can’t get any worse… but I do love my boy.”
“Look, if anyone’s
asking for me? Give my apologies and tell this man something came up. I’ll take
your advice under advisement, but I don’t think I can bring myself to go
through with it.” It was shit on his part; yet he knew he was doing the right
thing by bailing out of this so called date.
Master D shook his
head. “I’ll make sure to pass on the message and have Stevie offer the room to
another Dom.” Master D rose and patted him on the shoulder. “In the meantime,
mind what I say about watching your back, and I expect you not to stay away so
long this time.”
Without further word,
finishing the rest of his drink Nikolas got to his feet. Gathering the paper,
he folded it length wise and slid it into the upper pocket of his coat, turning
to leave. What happened next was either the beginning of the end or the end of
the beginning. Nikolas didn’t know then how these next turn of events would
change the course of his life.
