My Master slid a second finger inside me, thrusting hard and deep just as he caught my clit between his teeth.
That unfurling force inside me burst, releasing a wave of pleasure so intense I was drowning in it. My body jerked with every gush of wetness flowing out of me. I clutched at him helplessly as I came, never imagining that an orgasm could feel this strong. This consuming. This beautiful.
As I drifted into a deep, heavy slumber, I thought I heard my Master whisper in my ears, “This is what I want you to remember when you feel alone, sweet pet. I will come back to you, I promise.”
Such tender words, too tender for a man as private as my Master to speak of.
When I woke up, my Master was gone.
When I woke up, I knew that the words weren’t a dream. My Master was worried about me. My Master cared. The thought had me swallowing. Even though he was as contrary as ever, I knew it was just a front, a way to keep himself apart.
He was a good man, my Master.
But then I saw what he had saved on my phone – a photo of him, naked and holding a piece of paper. A message was written on it—-
My pet told me that if I gave her a hundred photos like this, she would be the happiest pet in the world.
I gritted my teeth. I take it back. He was not a good man, my Master.
Definitely not.
But somehow, I couldn’t make myself delete the photo in my phone.
A bad man, my Master, but he definitely knew how to not make his pet feel lonely.
A knock sounded on the door. “Lady Zari? I’ve been asked to remind you that classes are to start at seven in the morning. Do you need me to help you with anything?”
The words had me reaching for my robe. Today, a brand new chapter in my life would start. Alexandru and even my parents had risked many things to keep me alive, and it was a gift I was determined not to waste.
I glanced at the mirror mounted on the wall next to the bed and practiced smiling. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was so childish and unprofessional, pining away for my Master, even if it was true.
“Lady Zari?”
Tightening the robe’s sash around my waist, I called out, “Coming!”
A voice slipped inside my head, familiar and sly. Coming? Are you really coming, pet? Does that mean you’re touching yourself?
I tripped on my way to the door.
~ END OF PREQUEL ~
Part One
Chapter One
“The best way for a Master to show his or her pet respect is to take the time to know him or her.” Zari read the words from her draft as she paced the length of their bedroom.
“You just want the whole kingdom to know about the time I forgot our anniversary,” Alexandru drawled.
“I do not—-” She stopped talking mid-sentence when she glanced at her Master. He was on his side of the bed, one leg propped up, a copy of her proposal in his hand. He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of loose cotton pants…and glasses. Glasses?
She shook her head in confusion. “Why are you wearing glasses? You’re a vampire. You’ve got perfect eyesight.”
“You asked me to review your proposal, didn’t you?” He flashed her a devastating smile. “I thought I should look the part as your editor.” His eyes took on a knowing look. “I also thought you’d like seeing me with glasses. You do, don’t you, pet?”
Zari’s red face was his answer.
“Stop laughing, Master. It’s not that funny!”
Walking along the empty school corridors, Alexandru enjoyed the brief respite from the obsessive attention of La Scala Legaturia’s giggling students. A hundred years back, this school had been akin to hallowed grounds, a place where young ladies took their studies seriously and were intent on perfecting the art of pleasing their Masters. But now?
He shook his head, remembering the girls he had passed by at the entrance hall and the way they had simpered at him. Did they not know that vampires as old as he had no time for idiots?
Alexandru paused when he reached the back door of the last classroom. Inside, he heard the teacher, Madame Lavinia, asking for a moment of silence. “Ms. Ellen? Would you be so kind as to start today’s reporting?”
As Alexandru listened to the students report one by one, he realized that their homework was all about explaining the bond between Master and pet. His lips curved. This should be good, Alexandru thought.
Inside his mind, he tapped into the blood bond he shared with his own pet. As usual, she remained oblivious to his presence, her full concentration directed at her nonexistent essay.
My name is Zari Baltimore. She was mentally reciting the words as she scribbled them, thus allowing him a glimpse of her thoughts.