5. My Lord

The thing I noticed as I stood there in that sitting room, was the absence of the noise of rain. It had cleared up it seemed as if only the moon was to be seen. I saw in the distance the last few clouds drifting away when I heard a snap.

My eyes shot right back at the person in front of me. I had no idea why my mind got distracted by something so silly as the weather. Maybe because he was silent for a while.

“I appreciate it when my pet only focuses on her master, only her master. Do you understand, pet?” Dimitri repeated.

My eyes snapped to his figure. He looked refreshed after I saw him earlier this evening. His hair was styled back, and his slight stubble was gone. He wore a three-piece set suit in a dark grey color with a black dress shirt under it with a matching black tie. It was clear to me that there was a preference for dark colors in this household.

Now in front of me and better clothed his beauty became only more prominent. I couldn’t stop staring as I never had seen such a handsome man.

“Yes,” I managed to utter in a whisper.

“It’s ‘yes, my lord’ or ‘yes, master’. Now try again and don’t disappoint me, pet,” The constant use of my title, or well, horrible nickname, felt like a stab into my ego. “And lower your eyes!” His voice boomed and he threw some ornament my way. If I hadn’t ducked it would have hit my shoulder.

“Yes, my lord,” I whispered.

“Louder!”

“Yes, my lord,” I said louder.

Dimitri settled his back to the chair and became visibly more relaxed. “Better,” He muttered. “Now, onto business.”

He swirled his whiskey glass and took a moment to look at me, and I mean really look at me. I saw how his eyes scanned my body and how a tiny smirk settled on his lips.

“What I am about to say, you can’t repeat it to anyone else. You are my pet for one thing, so talking is not much required, but it’s also dangerous for you and others if this information lands in the hands of someone else. Am I clear?” His eyes snapped to mine and I lowered mine immediately to the ground.

“Crystal, my lord.”

Dimitri took a prolonged sip of his drink as I heard him slightly slurp. I started to dislike his pauses, recognizing for what they were. It was a powerplay, the same behavior the rich families displayed to our cleaners. I had to be at their back and call, but they could let me wait for half an hour before they had finally chosen what they wanted for their groceries (my job was on paper only cleaning so they could pay me less, but actually I was their maid).

“Good, good. You are learning fast. First I will tell you about my – how should I call it? Occupation? Job? Or lifestyle? Well let’s say how I like to occupy my time in your puny little human world.” Another sip.

“The names for what I do differ and there are many out there, but to put it simply I am the head of organised crime. Now, of course, this mustn’t frighten you. You know your father got into trouble with bad people, right?”

I didn’t know if it was a rhetorical question, so I carefully looked up and when I saw him waiting I stammered quickly, “Y-Yes, my lord.”

“But to put it bluntly they call me The Mafia Lord. It’s a funny title, but it’s scares you humans enough so I let them have it,” Dimitri chuckled darkly.

I had to suppress a startle. I did know my father had wound up with the wrong people, but with the mafia? I didn’t know he had stooped so low, or high?

“There is another thing you should now, my pet, and if my hobby scared you, this might really scare you,” Dimitri stood up from his chair and walked up to me. I saw how his dress shoes appeared in my sight, my eyes glued to the ground.

Suddenly I felt his presence near me, his lips close to my ear. Tingles spread through my body as his whispering tickled my ear. “My true nature is not that of a human, it’s why I can handle you humans so well. I am strong and fast, a master in manipulation and my diet consists of one liquid substance, guess who I am?”

I couldn’t answer, his near presence made me lose my concentration for anything. My mind was foggy. The tingles felt now like sparkles and I didn’t know if it was caused by fear or in some fucked up way by desire. I didn’t have a ton of experience with men as I was either too busy or too tired to even wiggle my way into the dating market.

After five sloppy kisses on the dancefloor in some cheap club of which two of them ended up in hookups, my experience was incredibly limited as you can see.

Dimitri grabbed my chin and cooed in a belittling way, “Oh come on, my pet. You were doing so well, answering all my questions. Humor me, my pet. Take a guess,” I looked into his eyes, their bright magenta color mesmerizing me and then it hit me. Somehow my mind went straight to it, even if I wasn’t a Twilight fan. The scene in the throne room confirmed it.

Dimitri could see on the look of my face that I cracked it. He showed me a flashy grin, two sharp teeth stood out. “Vampire,” I whispered.

“Well done, I am happy I have a decent-looking pet as a smart one… Now that’s out of the way I have company today and you are to be by my side.” His tone was strict and curd again. “You are untrained so it’s a risk, but a risk I am willing to take. So don’t disappoint me or there will be consequences. Let’s see how quick you learn the rules.”