AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shaking her head, she snuggled in closer to Atticus and felt her eyelids grow heavy. Whatever came next, she would deal with. It was how she'd always survived in the past, keeping her head above water, pushing through hardships. As the murmur of conversations around her continued, she listened to the slow, steady rhythm of Atticus's heart beat beneath her ear, and wondered if Jasper was thinking of her.
*
Friday night.
Jasper pulled his truck into Avalon's parking lot at nine o'clock and glanced around at the cars already parked up. It looked like it was going to be a busy night, but the number of patrons held no concern for him. He was here on a mission, bound and determined to succeed.
He'd had a few issues to deal with upon his return from Virginia. Apparently, everything that could go wrong in his absence hadgone wrong. While he'd fixed ninety percent of the problems, there were a couple of outstanding matters he'd decided could wait until Monday. Like the messages his father had left on his voicemail—all fifteen of them.
How the old fuck had gotten Jasper's number, he didn't know. Normally, he wouldn't care and would just delete the messages and block the number, but something in those voicemails had wormed under his skin and raised his suspicions. He was too well trained to ignore the warning—the threat—in the short but intense recordings.
The house is feeling rather empty with so few children beneath the roof.
The fucking house would remain empty, Jasper vowed, and no more children would ever suffer in that place once he figured out how to destroy it down to the foundations and beyond. Some well-placed C4 or a gas leak, and the mansion would be little more than rubble. The ghosts could be set free once and for all.
But tonight was for better, more hopeful things. He'd already swung by Anarchy's apartment and gotten no answer from his repeated knocks on the door. Disheartened, he'd called Braun and discovered his little kitten was camping out in the Avalon owner's spare bedroom, but that was all the information Braun would offer. Of course, had their conversation been face to face, Jasper might have been tempted to coerce a few more tidbits of data from his friend.
He climbed out of his truck and slammed the door, stretching as he watched the doors of Avalon. They were open, light spilling out. The night was cool, so he pitied whoever had drawn the short straw to man the reception desk for the evening. He reached into the bed of the truck and grabbed his toy bag, hefting it over his shoulder as he strolled toward Avalon and the submissive he'd spent the last three weeks thinking about.
The submissive he was here to claim.
His boots crunched on the gravel path, then thudded up the deck steps and into the reception area. He'd missed the sound; he liked knowing the subs recognized the rhythm of his footsteps. When he stepped inside, he was surprised to find a young male submissive in the sign-in chair, one he didn't recognize.
"Good evening, Sir, can I..." The sub trailed off. Jasper might not know him, but the sub obviously knew who he was. "Oh shit. I mean, I'm sorry, Master Jasper." The poor boy's tongue was turning into a knot by the second. "I wasn't expecting you this evening. Can I, uh, can I get you anything?"
Jasper lifted an eyebrow. "Which Masters are in residence?"
"I, ah...Masters Braun, Liam, Atticus, and Mistress Connie are already here, Sir. I believe Master Loki is unavailable."
Loki was working, Jasper translated, which meant he likely wouldn't be seen all weekend. Bet that pissed the prankster off. "Anarchy?"
The boy swallowed hard enough his Adam's apple nearly popped. "She's with Master Atticus, Sir."
Not for much longer. Jasper reached into his jacket and withdrew his wallet, plucking out his membership card and handing it to the sub. No point getting the lad in trouble, was there? He didn't know why Braun had suddenly changed his policy on only allowing Dominants to man the desk, but Jasper didn't have the time or inclination to argue.
When the card had been scanned and passed back to him, Jasper set his toy bag on the desk. "See that this gets to the right place, would you?" He had plans for it later. Oh yes, indeed he did.
"Absolutely, Sir. Jonah is at your disposal, however you need him." The sub gave him such a look of adoration, Jasper realized he was probably dealing with a masochist. One who had most definitely heard of Avalon's resident sadist. "Do you need me to do anything else, Sir?"
"No." Returning his wallet to his inside jacket pocket, Jasper rolled his shoulders and walked away. The double doors leading into the club proper waited for him, and he didn't hesitate to push through them.
Tonight wasn't for hesitation. Tonight, he was back in his element, his confidence was borderline arrogant, and there was no fucking way he was leaving without his submissive by his side. He was prepared to counter every argument she had, take control of any resistance that arose, and soothe her hurts...until he gave her some new ones.
Jasper stopped as the doors swung lazily at his back and let his gaze sweep across the busy social area. Part of him sighed and relaxed into the atmosphere of home. His eyes skipped from person to person, gathering to gathering, ignoring the surprised stares as people noticed his entrance.
No doubt his sudden disappearance from the club on the heels of the fiasco of his last night there had been a fervent topic of conversation during the last few weeks. This was a community, after all, and when one of the original members vanished from the group, it wasn't something people let slide without a question or two.
"Where are you, kitten?" he muttered to himself.
Ignoring the hails from around the room, he looked around again, focusing on the seating pit where his tribe usually gathered. No Loki, obviously. Liam was in his element behind the bar. Braun sat in the pit, in the spot he claimed every time, facing the stage. His sub, the little sweetheart with a bum leg, wasn't by his side tonight, but curled up on his lap.
Connie stretched out along the seat, her fingers tapping on the back. No sub for her tonight, Jasper mused, which wasn't concerning. A few months ago, she'd juggled two male submissives with ease, often dominating both of them at the same time. But since she'd taken Bodie's handicapped sister under her wing and her roof, the Mistress had released both subs and only scened with those looking for one-night opportunities.
Where the fuck was Atticus?
Movement on the dimly lit stage dragged Jasper's attention in that direction. His stomach dropped as though it had been kicked off a cliff, but his temper ignited. He strode across the room, stripping off his leather jacket as he went. He tossed it onto his seat in the pit as he passed, storming toward the stage steps.
"Hey, Jasper...oh fuck. Jasper's back."
