Page 3 of Mistress A-0002

“I haven’t forgotten. Nine o’clock sharp.”

Sound rustled off to the side, and I glanced over. Master Eleven was shifting, waiting for the Main Master. Elec didn’t hesitate to head Ethan O’Brien’s way. The anger inside heated as I wanted to continue baiting him, but I’d have time later. A lot later. And he’d pay for putting his focus on June. If she wasn’t somehow immune to me…damn Elec. He had to have something to do with it. She responded to him just fine.

I reached for my phone angrily as an alert sounded from my clutch. The moment I pulled it up and spun for the stairs my smile from the text alert was fleeting. How could joy and impatience keep such good company?

I knew how.

Blood didn’t come without wounds. Plans didn’t evolve without intent. Time. It was the basis of everything, and it was running out for my patient, Braddock Pierce. So many games, but I needed something new. Something better than destroying the last of an elite line. I’d already done that a long time ago, and Braddock had been too easy. Too susceptible to my gifts. Now that I’d destroyed his sanity, my fun was wrapping up.

One more slave for him…

I bit my lip through the smile that came at the thought. One. More. Death. Not for him.For me.It was almost time for another ‘episode’ and when he succumbed to my persuasion, he’d give me what I wanted.He’d do anything for me. Destroy. Decimate. There’d be nothing left of the poor girl when he finished…and then…I’d finish him. But not yet. I had to plan. Ineeded Elec to confirm my findings. Ending bloodlines in our elite circle was not done. Maybe that’s why I wanted this so badly. The first wasn’t intentional. I hadn’t planned it. It just happened like magic. But this was different. I was doing this just to see if I could. To see how far I could get away with destroying a man and making him lose a status so profound that it would never survive.

Kill. Yes. Mind killer. Sanity stealer. That was me. Braddock wasn’t worthy of a bloodline. His father was weak.He was weak. Everyone in our circle was pathetic, except for Elec. But that was thanks to me. No one could hold a candle to my power. Not even the man I trained. But Elec was getting good at bending people to his will and locking their minds from me. I hadn’t taught him that part. He had learned it on his own. He was smart. Too fucking smart sometimes.

I rounded the corner, trying to push away the fact that he was with June and Rhett. He’d pay later. I’d make sure of it. Tonight wasmynight.

“Mistress Two.”

I didn’t make it two steps into the lobby before heads turned my way. Masters stared, waiting for a nod or a bat of my eyelashes. Mistresses smiled, showing me the admiration I deserved. I slowed as Master Two-fifty-eight approached. Adrian Bulvere wasn’t part of our elite circle, but a patient who was handsome and rich, and that was enough for me to pull him into my web. He was hard to crack at first. A challenge, and not an ideal candidate, but I got to him like I knew I would. Not to the degree I wanted, but the extreme lust was enough.For now.

“There you are. I’ve been waiting for you. You’re looking extraordinarily lovely in your silk gown. The ivory looks…exquisite against your pale skin. You are every bit the goddess you portray.”

Light brown eyes were zeroed in on my neck as he breathed heavily, breaking only to travel down towards the modest square neckline. But my dress wasn’t really his focus. Adrian was lowering to fixate on my breasts. On what I wouldn’t give him access to underneath the dress. Withholding had to be done to set my hook deeper. When he took me in, my features wouldn’t appear plain like they had in the beginning. With each meeting, I was more the object of his desire. A tempting woman of perfection. One he thought he was falling in love with. The more I fed his need, the more his want of me grew. The more powerful I became over him. It was a pattern, and given his expression, it wouldn’t be long before we were at the end. Had I won again already?

“You flatter me,Master.”

“What I say is the truth.”

“The truth based on a lie. You want to have sex with me, but that’s where it ends.”

“No,” Adrian said, shaking his head in offended confusion.

I glanced around, coming back to meet his gaze as he let it rise to my lips. “It’s lust. Greed. That’s all you feel. Too bad there’s no respect. Pity, actually. I was really hoping…I mean….”

My bottom lip pushed out the smallest amount as I surged forward. Adrian rushed to keep up, staying at my side as I nodded at Masters and Mistresses I passed.

“You don’t think I respect you?Of course I do. I think of you highly.”

“Highly,” I repeated. “Not good enough.”

“Would you rather me say I adore you? Melissa, if you weren’t married?—”

“But I am. You keep writing these little notes on the gifts you send. If what you wrote was true, it would mean you didn’t care about my husband. You obviously do because you haven’tproved anything to me.Thinking about me. Hoping to see me.” I rolled my eyes. “Friends say that.”

“I don’t want to be friends. I want more. I don’t care that you’re married. I mean, I did, but not anymore. And I know divorce is out of the question. You’ve said that, but?—”

“Don’t.”

I put on a fake mask, dismissing the Master as I flashed a dazzling smile at Mistress Three and her blank slate. They were stepping from the elevator in the distance. The male she held to was covered in tattoos and every bit the killer she’d turned him into. Charlotte Wyce looked happy, and from what I heard in her sessions, she was.

Slowing, I let out a sigh.

“Go back to the auction. I’m busy. I have to deal with something for work. It’s going to take a while.”

“No. Wait.” Fingers added the smallest amount of pressure to my bicep, and I came to a stop just outside the elevator doors, sweeping the empty lobby before pretending sadness. For seconds, I kept my stare down. When it rose, Adrian’s mouth stayed open, lost for words as my doe-eyed stare entranced him, pulling him deeper into my spell.

“Master, I have to go. There’s nothing left to say.”

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