Free Restraint (Mistress & Master of Restraint) by Erica Chilson Page B

and insurance that you will mind my next command performance.”
    On both of my wrists are leather cuffs, just like the ones Fate wears. However, mine have metal bands imbedded into the leather preventing me from cutting them off. I’m sure it’s the same mystery alloy that is unbreakable.
    “I can’t go to work like this. I had a hard enough time hiding the bracelet, let alone two leather and metal cuffs.” My voice breaks and tears stream down my face- tears of frustration. Even if Master Ez is Zeitler, I can’t get away with this. My coworkers and clients would see them, and some may actually know what they mean.
    I am very tenacious. I will find a way to remove them. What’s next, a collar?
    “I will make a deal with you. If you arrive at Restraint tomorrow and obey me, I will remove them. Every time I request your presence I will put them on and take them off at the end of the weekend. Understood?” Master Ez sounds oh-so reasonable, not as if he’s extorting me.
    “Yes, but what about the bracelet?” I whine.
    “No, I told you that will never come off,” he hisses. “If you defy me again I will show up wherever you are and slap these cuffs on your wrists. I don’t care who sees them, because I want the world to know you’re mine.” He sounds crazed.
    Master Ez’s mercurial moods are difficult to keep up with. He is making me dizzy with confusion. Being around Master Ez is like talking to two entities within one body: calm and understanding, and maniacal and amused.
    “You must understand that your punishment will be severe. This game is exciting and fun. But the cuffs and bracelet are NOT part of the game. Have I made myself clear?” His body is vibrating from his authority.
    They aren’t a part of the game bec ause he can control me them. No one can control every aspect of a game and he knows it. But if you can control the player, you can control the game.
    “Yes.” Even as I say the word , ways to remove my new restraints flash through my head. A painful grip on my injured arm releases a blood-curdling scream from my mouth. An iron grip surrounds my injured wrist and painfully squeezes. I don’t know what I’ve done and why Master Ez is punishing me- but it hurts like a sonofabitch. I whimper and writhe through the pain, regretting that I’ve gotten myself into this situation. I don’t know if I can trust this side of Master Ez.
    “You, twit ,” he disgustedly spits out. He twists the word twit like it has some underlying meaning of heinousness. “You may be masked, but I can still see you. I know you’re lying from the expressions that flash across your face. I demand absolute truth between us, just as you want it in return. So far, you’ve lied to me six times today. Not a very good start to our arrangement, now is it? You’ll learn… eventually.” The tone in his voice screams that he’s excited and annoyed at the prospect of teaching me.
    “You speak of truth, yet I know nothing of you- not your name, who you are, how you know me, why you picked me. Nothing,” I hiss defiantly. “You punish me for things I don’t even understand. You pulled me into this without ever explaining a damned thing to me, goddammit,” I rabidly hiss.
    “That’s all the game and you know it. You know all you need to know, that I will keep you safe and that you can trust me. Trust me on this: we know each other very well, and for a lot longer than you think.” His voice softens. “Don’t move. I’ll be right back.” Master Ez’s weight leaves my bed, and my heightened senses pick up the sound of his feet padding across my floor.
    I comply. I’m not in any shape to disobey. My ass still stings. My skull feels like it’s been scalped. I wish my right arm didn’t have a hand. And my mind is jelly. Tomorrow I will plot and get into this game. Master Ez will not play a one-sided game. I won’t let him.
    “Good girl, you obeyed me ,” Master Ez coos. His body invades my personal space again.