Page 72 of See You Sometime
Landry’s eyebrow arched skyward. “Did you notjusthear what I said? He’s angry at you.”
“For freaking out?”
“Yes, for freaking out. The interesting dynamic there is that not only does his anger stem from you upsetting Skye with your behavior, you did something much, much worse, in his mind.”
He swallowed. “What did I do?”
“You pissed off Tilly. He is every bit as devoted to her as his Mistress as Skye is to you as her potential Master. He’s very protective. Since Skye is under the protection of this house, by extension, your actions impact him.”
“Tilly’s not going to be here tonight?” He was almost glad she wasn’t, even though he felt more comfortable talking to her than Landry about all of this.
This was obviously the chink in the sadist’s armor. His expression grew wistful. “No, she and our daughter flew out of Orlando this morning for London with Lucas, to deal with a production problem at the studio. I expect she’ll likely be gone a couple of weeks, at least. I asked her to take KC with her this trip. Bob drove them over there early this morning in our minivan, and then picked up Skye on his way back, at my instruction.”
Landry’s gaze lengthened, focusing on a distant point that was nowhere near being located in that office with Axel. “I don’t know if you’re familiar with how we adopted our daughter. Unfortunately, with Tilly’s duties at the production company, her work frequently takes her on location where it’s neither safe nor desirable to take a young child. She’ll be in the UK for this trip. It won’t be long before KC is old enough to attend pre-school and I want Tilly to have as much time with her as possible. Cris and I shall fly over the Monday after next for a stay with them. I was hoping to go next weekend, but I suspect I’ll still be dealing with the fallout from this disaster.”
“Disaster? You mean me and Skye?”
Now Landry laughed, his hands slapping his knees. “How adorably egotistical, self-absorbed, and short-sighted of you, but no. I was referring to work. That co-lo being off-line will potentially cost my company over a million dollars a day.”
Axel’s face heated. “Oh,” he quietly said.
Of course this was far bigger than him.
He had never felt more out of his league than he did at that moment. Not just with BDSM stuff, but with life in general. Tilly worked for a movie production company, for chrissake. Landry and Cris ran a successful IT company. They were fucking loaded.
Why would Skye ever be happy with someone likehim?
Landry tipped his head to the side, studying Axel’s face. “Skyelovesyou, you bloody idiot. She spent fifteen years with a man who treated her like garbage, and yet she stillwantsto submit to you. Wants to beownedby you. Tilly mentioned us possibly collaring Skye ourselves, if necessary, to protect her. So I suggest if you wish to be a part of Skye’s life that you step up before Tilly sets the Frightful Five on Skye to find her someone who will appreciate her gifts.”
“That’s spooky.”
Landry shrugged. “It’s a Dom thing.” He smiled. “Learn to pay attention to your girl’s body cues, and it’ll feel like mental telepathy to you after a while. It’s not difficult. Let her be who she is utterly perfect to be.”
“Isn’t the Master supposed to be in charge?”
Landry leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “The Masterabsolutelyis in charge. That doesn’t equate to simply barking orders. What I learned the hard way is that while the Master is in charge, that doesn’t mean running roughshod over the property. It means giving the property what they need, when they need it, and how they need it.
“My Cristo, for example. When I discovered Tilly, Cristo’s secret life outside of me while we were apart, one he did not disclose to me upon his return, he spent a considerable amount of time being treated by me in a manner which some would find distasteful at best, abusive at worst. Yes, in part, I needed it for myself because I also felt guilty both that I’d pulled him from a woman he’d so obviously loved, as well as I pulled a Master from the side of a very vulnerable slave who might possibly have lost her life by me doing so.
“But I knew my Cristo. I knew he hated himself for what he’d done. He told me he hated himself. He was raised in a strict Catholic family and while he’s not practicing, I never could train unnecessary guilt out of him. He felt a need to atone for what he felt amounted to years of happiness on his part while Tilly suffered, alone. I punished him not just because he violated my rules by not being completely honest, but because I knew if I did not give him that…context, as it were, the chance to have it beaten out of his flesh, he would never forgivehimself.
“And he was given the offer to leave. I did not force him to stay. He was not helpless or forcibly kept beholden to me. He’d walked away from me before. He walked away from his life with Tilly. He was no stranger to starting over. But he feltguilty. He wasn’t just a slave who’d failed his Master—he was also a Master who’d failed his slave.
“Despite all of this, our Tilly did eventually forgive him. Once she did that, instead of him vapor-locking with guilt for earning her forgiveness rather quickly, he was able to release that, set it aside having paid his penance, and move along with our lives together. It also gave my Tilly a chance to see an extreme end of the scale of me and my ethos, and helped her rediscover her compassion and love for Cris.”
Landry examined his fingernails for a long moment and Axel wasn’t stupid enough to interrupt him, sensing the man had far more to say.
“It also has allowed them to find a level of healing together which satisfies me and my…future plans,” he quietly said. “I know that, one day hopefully in the distant future, when nature catches up to me and I unwillingly am parted from their sides, they will be able to lean on each other and survive.”
“With Bob’s help?”
Axel knew he was an asshole for saying it, but there it was.
Landry surprised him by smiling. “Bob, and other friends. Ross and Loren, Abbey and Gilo, and Lucas, Leigh, and Nick, and others we’re close to.” He tapped his temple. “I have finally reached that point in my life where I’m wise enough to plan for the future.”
The smile faded. “I’ve survived two bouts of cancer after a car wreck that rightfully should have ended my life. Luck will eventually run out. Life is one-hundred-percent fatal for one-hundred-percent of the population. The only question is when and how.
“This is one very roundabout way of answering your question. Isn’t a Master ‘in charge’? Absolutely, he is. Or, he should be. A true Master is also wise enough to know when things are beyond his control, and to prepare as best possible. Life is beyond my control.” He pointed at Axel. “Skye isnotbeyond your control. You have a choice to make—”
