Read Online Mastered: Ten Tales of Sensual Surrender by Kate Pearce, Portia Da Costa, Opal Carew, Marie Harte, Jennifer Leeland, Madelynne Ellis, Emily Ryan-Davis, Carrie Ann Ryan, Joey Hill, T. J. Michaels, Sasha White - Free Book Online
Authors: Kate Pearce, Portia Da Costa, Opal Carew, Marie Harte, Jennifer Leeland, Madelynne Ellis, Emily Ryan-Davis, Carrie Ann Ryan, Joey Hill, T. J. Michaels, Sasha White
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wasn’t required that he do so.
Pompous asshole.
It wasn’t Jacob’s voice in his head that time, but his own. He’d taken the path never traveled by a vampire, into science and research. While his father had been disappointed that Brian’s interests had lain in promoting the wellbeing of the race as a whole, which meant rubbing elbows with the least as well as the highest ranking of their kind, the credit he’d been given by Council in the past few years, including this research facility, had helped his father reconcile himself to his son’s choice.
Not that that was much of an issue to Brian. He loved and respected his father, but his path had always been clear. He’d sought knowledge and scientific pursuit almost as soon as he was aware of his capacity to think.
So if he’d been that much of a maverick, why was he letting the protocols of a lifetime dictate to him, when it was clear things were changing for vampire-servant relationships?
If he viewed his servant as most vampires did, with fondness and appreciation for their value, but no untoward romantic feelings, it wouldn’t be an issue. But he’d liked her from their first meeting. Had wanted her intensely only a blink later. So ever since the full marking, he’d dedicated himself to shutting down both their responses, making sure everything between them was within the appropriate boundaries.
He’d done the job all too well. Or had he? Did the same feelings seethe inside Debra that seemed to be struggling to break free inside him?
She was so formal with him. It hadn’t always been that way. When they first met at the lab where she worked, before she’d known he was a vampire and even for a while afterwards, she’d laughed around him, blushed, tried flirting with him a little. Spoken her mind. She was well informed on almost everything, his Debra.
With the workload they now carried, there wasn’t much time to socialize, but that didn’t explain it. He thought of the bond shared by pairings like Lyssa and Jacob. As busy as Lyssa was with Council matters, Brian had no doubt she checked on Jacob’s mental state throughout the day, doing what he was doing now, drifting in and out of his servant’s mind to get an honest picture of how she was feeling, how much she was demanding of herself. Servants were notorious for always putting their vampires first, minimizing their own needs. It was part of being a servant and certainly added to their value, but there was a line. Jacob had implied…
No, not implied. He’d stated outright that Brian completely ignored that line.
It mattered to Brian that she was tired, that her back hurt. Yes, Debra was a competent, intelligent woman capable of taking care of herself. She was also a highly-driven, obsessive compulsive submissive to whom serving her Master, never failing his expectations, was paramount. Only since he wasn’t telling her what those expectations were, she was setting them, and putting that bar up on the moon.
As Jacob took his leave and Brian continued to hover in her mind, he was reminded how enchanting it was to watch Debra work. While she studied slides containing thin-sliced tissue preps, she typed in data one-handed and carried on a running commentary with her mice about that data, peppered with affectionate comments about their behavior. As always when doing tissue work, the mice were in their cage and maze tubes, but he noticed they liked to stay near, listen to her voice. He found it pleasing as well.
All those years ago, after he’d given her the first mark, he’d taken a step prohibited by Council. He’d not only let her know what he was, he’d given her a detailed account of what a fully marked servant could expect in his world. The Council overlooked—reluctantly—letting a first mark go only if that person had the vaguest knowledge or none at all of the vampire world. But he’d trusted her. Her intellect was a match for his own, such that he felt like they already stood
Pompous asshole.
It wasn’t Jacob’s voice in his head that time, but his own. He’d taken the path never traveled by a vampire, into science and research. While his father had been disappointed that Brian’s interests had lain in promoting the wellbeing of the race as a whole, which meant rubbing elbows with the least as well as the highest ranking of their kind, the credit he’d been given by Council in the past few years, including this research facility, had helped his father reconcile himself to his son’s choice.
Not that that was much of an issue to Brian. He loved and respected his father, but his path had always been clear. He’d sought knowledge and scientific pursuit almost as soon as he was aware of his capacity to think.
So if he’d been that much of a maverick, why was he letting the protocols of a lifetime dictate to him, when it was clear things were changing for vampire-servant relationships?
If he viewed his servant as most vampires did, with fondness and appreciation for their value, but no untoward romantic feelings, it wouldn’t be an issue. But he’d liked her from their first meeting. Had wanted her intensely only a blink later. So ever since the full marking, he’d dedicated himself to shutting down both their responses, making sure everything between them was within the appropriate boundaries.
He’d done the job all too well. Or had he? Did the same feelings seethe inside Debra that seemed to be struggling to break free inside him?
She was so formal with him. It hadn’t always been that way. When they first met at the lab where she worked, before she’d known he was a vampire and even for a while afterwards, she’d laughed around him, blushed, tried flirting with him a little. Spoken her mind. She was well informed on almost everything, his Debra.
With the workload they now carried, there wasn’t much time to socialize, but that didn’t explain it. He thought of the bond shared by pairings like Lyssa and Jacob. As busy as Lyssa was with Council matters, Brian had no doubt she checked on Jacob’s mental state throughout the day, doing what he was doing now, drifting in and out of his servant’s mind to get an honest picture of how she was feeling, how much she was demanding of herself. Servants were notorious for always putting their vampires first, minimizing their own needs. It was part of being a servant and certainly added to their value, but there was a line. Jacob had implied…
No, not implied. He’d stated outright that Brian completely ignored that line.
It mattered to Brian that she was tired, that her back hurt. Yes, Debra was a competent, intelligent woman capable of taking care of herself. She was also a highly-driven, obsessive compulsive submissive to whom serving her Master, never failing his expectations, was paramount. Only since he wasn’t telling her what those expectations were, she was setting them, and putting that bar up on the moon.
As Jacob took his leave and Brian continued to hover in her mind, he was reminded how enchanting it was to watch Debra work. While she studied slides containing thin-sliced tissue preps, she typed in data one-handed and carried on a running commentary with her mice about that data, peppered with affectionate comments about their behavior. As always when doing tissue work, the mice were in their cage and maze tubes, but he noticed they liked to stay near, listen to her voice. He found it pleasing as well.
All those years ago, after he’d given her the first mark, he’d taken a step prohibited by Council. He’d not only let her know what he was, he’d given her a detailed account of what a fully marked servant could expect in his world. The Council overlooked—reluctantly—letting a first mark go only if that person had the vaguest knowledge or none at all of the vampire world. But he’d trusted her. Her intellect was a match for his own, such that he felt like they already stood
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