Page 139 of Master of My Heart

He nodded. “He needs to learn a bit, but yes. Just being married will be a significant level of protection.”

“Being married is actually a stronger bond than being an Elder-Mistress,” Tom added. “But Elders have an element of power that a Son doesn’t, so I suppose it evens out.”

Sabrina was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what they’d told her so far. “Would being an Elder-Mistress mean I would be a slave?”

“No, not in the sense that you’re imagining,” Richard answered. “There is a great amount of autonomy with them. On one level, yes, you are a kind of slave because we would be your Masters, to protect you and keep you safe from harm. If we commanded you to do something, you would do it. But we don’t usually do that out of respect for you and the Immortals. We only command if it’s absolutely necessary.”

She pressed her lips together and swallowed. “Would I be able to keep dancing?”

“You could do pretty much whatever you wanted, except when one of us needed you.”

“What if I don’t want either of those?” Neither option seemed very appealing at the moment.

Richard glanced at Chase, a concerned look on his face. “I wouldn’t recommend that, Sabrina. You’re vulnerable without protection. And, to be honest, there’s a lot more at stake than just your desires. You heard Theo. That Master cannot get you back.”

She scoffed. “Or what? The world will end?”

“Yes.”

The expressions on their faces made her skin tingle. She’d meant it sarcastically, but they looked very serious.

“How can I make a decision like this right now?” she whispered. Her mind was about to explode. Chase didn’t seem to want her, and she wanted to cry and scream, then go to sleep. She rubbed her face and bit her lip to keep it from quivering.

*****

Chase watched Sabrina the entire time Richard and Tom spoke. He saw her stress level increasing dramatically. Not that he could blame her. Nobody could absorb everything they were telling her. What distressed him was that she was pulling away from him and he didn’t understand why. He didn’t want to pressure her into choosing him, even though that was what he wanted more than anything else in the world. But maybe it had backfired and she thought he didn’t want her. He’d felt her start pulling away after he’d mentioned she might be comfortable being an Elder-Mistress, which she very well might. That was what she was made for. But maybe she’d interpreted his comments into something along the lines that he wasn’t interested in her anymore.

He needed to fix that, soon, but right now, it looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. He wanted to calm her down.

“She’s been through a lot the last few days,” Chase said, putting his arm around her. He realized his words were the understatement of the century. “Why don’t we give her some time to think things over?”

“Oh, of course!” Richard said, appearing to have suddenly realized she was starting to lose it. “I’m so sorry, Sabrina. I should have been more thoughtful of what you’ve been through.” He smiled gently. “You should have stopped me.”

Sabrina frowned slightly and studied Richard’s face before taking a deep breath and relaxing slightly. Chase pushed aside the twinge of jealousy. “I’m pretty tired.”

Richard glanced at Chase. “Ethan?”

Chase nodded. While Sabrina slept, he’d spoken to Ethan and asked if he’d be willing to watch over her, essentially be her bodyguard, while she thought things over, and probably even after a decision was made. Lucky man, but Chase had a lot of appointments during the week and couldn’t drop his commitments. Ethan’s schedule was more flexible. Besides, it wouldn’t be easy to be around her constantly and keep his hands to himself. Ethan was very professional when he needed to be.

“While you’re deciding, I’d like Ethan to be with you whenever you go out.”

“Like a bodyguard?” Sabrina asked, glancing at Ethan, who smiled warmly at her.

Chase nodded. “Yes. He’s very capable of keeping you safe.”

“What if my Master comes after me?”

“Your Master is still human,” Chase said. “Ethan will shoot anyone who comes near you with malicious intent.” Or beat the shit out of him.

“Okay.”

Chase was pleasantly surprised that she agreed so easily. But when he studied her face, he saw that she was exhausted and would probably have agreed to anything to get them to leave her alone.

He nodded to Ethan, who hopped up and left the room to get his things.

Chase stood and helped Sabrina to her feet. “Let’s get you home then.”

“I can go home?” she asked, looking surprised.

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