Chapter 3

A shower was in order after the long strenuous night she'd had, even if it was mostly pleasurable. It wouldn't always be like that with the Ministry of Darkness. Mideon would pay for leaving her high and dry at the arena, a wicked smirk curving her lips. How to pay him back she would have to mull over. Stripping out of her clothes, Tahlia pulled out a small radio she carried with her and opened the bathroom door to set it up, already having it programmed to her favorite rock station. Standing in just her black bra and panties, Tahlia started the shower sprays and ripped the bandage off of her hip, hissing at the slight sting. She ran her fingertips over it, softly smiling and looked in the mirror, not believing the drastic changes she'd made to her appearance in the last month. It was all worth it though, she was finally where she belonged and would never be able to repay the Deadman.

He was in the shower as well, and apparently the bathrooms shared the same wall because he could hear music and then singing. It wasn't bad singing, but loud and he was tired. When he was done and out of the shower, towel wrapped firmly around his muscular waist, the music was still on and his fresh headache was now throbbing in time with it. Taker checked the time, realized how late it was, and contemplated if he was getting any sleep tonight. Sighing, he walked to the door and opened it. He stepped through, feeling and hearing the door slamming behind him and frowned. This was not the hallway.

Metallica was currently on the radio and she'd cranked it up because it was a great song. The Unforgiven, one of her favorites. Tahlia didn't hear the connecting door to her hotel room open while she continued dancing around, the night being her time to shine. She was nocturnal, a full-bred night owl and embraced it. So when she turned around, wearing just a pair of cotton white panties and a matching white bra, Tahlia nearly jumped out of her skin, letting out a squeal. Scrambling to cover herself up with the comforter from her bed, Tahlia stumbled over to turn the radio all the way down and looked up at the master through wide amber eyes.

"Oh my god, I-I didn't know you were here…" How the hell did he get in her room?! Her eyes looked past him at the connecting door and Tahlia shut her eyes, knowing exactly what sent him in here. "Umm…" Another apology wouldn't cut it, she had to think fast and lowered her head in shame in front of him, knowing she royally screwed up.

"Your taste in music is excellent, the volume however…"

It was incredibly loud or the walls were really thin; some combination of both. Taker had not missed the way she had scrambled to cover herself up and honestly, when she had scrambled, all she had done was give him a more interesting view of her body in action. She was freaking out over her bra and panties, and he was standing here in just a towel. His emerald green gaze surveyed her, knowing mixing business and pleasure was a bad idea, but he'd still enjoy the view she had given him; that comforter was very unnecessary.

"I will keep it down, sir."

Tahlia could not help giving him a onceover of her own, admiring a beautiful man dripping wet and half naked in front of her. Hell, without that towel she knew for a fact nothing else was beneath it. Dear Lord, he was quite the specimen and Tahlia had only covered herself up because he'd scared the daylights out of her being in her room. However, it wasn't his fault she couldn't hear the door open while she danced her heart out to one of her favorite rock bands. The grip on the comforter softened as Tahlia realized just what she did, scoffing at herself for being foolish. She'd been in bra and panties matches, so he'd probably, most likely, already seen the goods, so to speak.

"It won't happen again."

He had, but there was no reason to point it out and embarrass them both by making this situation more uncomfortable or awkward then it already was. "Good." Taker reached for the door handle and went to open the door, cursing under his breath when it didn't open. Apparently, it had latched properly this time. "Great." He would have to go down to the front desk to get a key. And then his towel just fell off and he banged his head against the door, not bothering to turn and face her. She could have a good look at his bare, pale ass. "Even better."

Wow…just wow…Tahlia had to pry her eyes away from that gorgeous pale white backside of his, noticing the muscle definition his body had. She had to do something to rectify this situation before she either burst into blames from her own embarrassment or said the hell with business and jumped him. "Let me get dressed and I'll go down to the front desk to get a spare key for you." She offered, tossing the comforter aside and stood up from the bed to walk toward him. "It's my fault you're in here in the first place. Just…relax for a minute, have a drink if you want." Pulling on a black tank top and matching cotton shorts, Tahlia grabbed her own keycard and license, starting for the door. She froze when his hand wrapped around her upper arm and slowly turned her head until warm gold met intense emerald stones.

"Or perhaps, you could allow me to use your room phone to call down and request they come up?" Taker suggested, noticing she was staring very intently at his face. He didn't blame her; he was naked, facing her in all his pride and glory. "This is their mistake."

He knew he had specifically requested a room in a corner, with nothing adjacent, and they had told him everything was good on their end. Only to receive an unlatched door between two rooms, booked by two people; the hotel owed them something. Like another damn towel.

"Your face is red, Tahlia." Taker pointed out the obvious, a slow wicked edge appearing in his tone. "I know you're not embarrassed…you haven't looked. Yet."

Drawing her bottom lip between her teeth, Tahlia had to choose her words carefully and could feel his hand searing the bare skin of her arm. "I'm trying not to and you're not making it easy, Taker." She replied truthfully, her voice low and calm, just as it'd been earlier during Mideon's mini-freak out before the initiation happened. Calling him sir was NOT an option right now. "If you insist on calling them, be my guest. They have 5 minutes and then I'm going down there to rip them a verbal asshole for not following your orders." Her eyes flashed momentarily at the thought of someone disobeying what her master wanted. That's who this man was – her Lord and master and she would do anything to make sure he was healthy and happy. "Use whatever you want, my room is your room."

It was like she was pricking at his evil side, however unintentionally, drawing that out and to the surface. His headache had receded and he was waking up as he studied her thoughtfully, wondering if he should play a little game or not. Could be fun. Could lead to problems down the road. She was always so composed, so unruffled, but tonight she had shown her game face could slip.

"Whatever I want, Tahlia?" He would just test the waters and see what happened.

"Yes." She answered without hesitation, refusing to pull away or not answer any questions he asked. "I made a vow to you tonight and I meant it. Whatever you need or want, all you have to do is ask and it's yours. Anything, just name it." Tahlia was an honorable woman, poised for the most part, but she did enjoy letting her hair down and getting crazy once in a while. She did not catch the meaning under his deep voice or else that question might've been answered a lot differently.

Taker raised a slow black brow, wondering if she realized the weight her pledge was going to carry. He could have ordered her to kill someone; would she do it? Fetch him a coffee? Give him a blow job? He stepped away from her, turning to retrieve his towel, which required him bending down to pick it up and he'd bet money she hadn't averted her eyes quick enough because he heard her fidget behind him.

"In the bathroom." He ordered, wrapping the towel back around his waist and tucking it tighter this time, figuring he probably shouldn't be sexually harassing his Ministry members. "I want to see your hip."

Yes, she'd snuck a quick peek at his backside again and had to swallow down the hunger her body suddenly felt. If he asked her to kill someone, Tahlia would do it because it was part of her vow she'd made to serve him, to do his bidding. Of course, she didn't think Taker was capable of cold-blooded murder, so that thought had never crossed her mind. She blinked at his request and followed him inside the bathroom, not questioning what he wanted. Hopping up on the bathroom counter, Tahlia lifted her tank top enough to reveal his symbol blazing back at him against her skin. It was still red and somewhat swollen, but the more air got to it, the better off it'd be. She'd made sure to pour more peroxide on it and added Neosporin to prevent infection further, knowing how to take care of a wound. Tahlia shut her eyes momentarily as his finger grazed across it to check it out and looked down at him just as his eyes rose to meet hers.

"It's healing quickly." She murmured softly, not moving away from him and knew they were in close proximity to each other due to how small the bathroom was with Taker's large frame taking the majority of the space.

"Not really." He countered, studying it thoughtfully.

The dagger had been cleansed prior to doing Dennis and he knew Paul had wiped it down quickly with an alcohol wipe before doing her. However, she had been wearing clothes, before and after cleaning it; it was going to get rubbed and perhaps stuff in it. Without asking permission, he pulled a fresh washcloth from the towel of clean linens that she hadn't used, ran it under hot water with soap, and scoured the area, waiting until it bled clean before taking a hand towel to apply pressure.

"I have salve. Keep it covered for the night with the salve and tomorrow, it'll be scabbed over." Then the trick was not plucking at the scabs. "If you wish." He was naked, in her bathroom, and now standing between her legs with his palm separated from flesh by a piece of towel.

His night was interesting.

Again, another surprising response from the Phenom and Tahlia sat there taking the brunt of the pain, not showing any sign it bothered her. Honestly, she thought it was taken care of, but if Taker didn't think so, she would not question his judgment. He knew better than she did, being in this business nearly 9 years gave him a lot of stroke. Tahlia trusted his judgment and nodded, watching him the entire time while he tended to her. This was supposed to be Paul's job, but she'd been stubborn wanting to do it and made a mental note to simply let the man tend to her from now on.

"Yes, sir." Her voice remained a soft murmur and Tahlia gently placed her hand on top of his, their eyes once again meeting. "Thank you for helping me with it." Given how close he was, she should've been uncomfortable, but Tahlia remained content and mildly curious about the man standing before her. He really was shrouded in mystery.

He just grunted, nodding once to acknowledge her words before walking out of the bathroom. She really was a curiousity. No signs of pain. No fear. Would do anything he asked. Taker made his way to the bedside phone and called down to the front desk, explaining what had happened, their screw-up and demanded someone come let him back into his room in 3 minutes or less. He was giving them 2 because the woman who had answered sounded terrified when he informed her who he was. Taker also needed to retrieve said salve. When the maid appeared, in 2 minutes, he slipped into his room and shut the door in her face. He quickly pulled on black drawstring bottoms and retrieved the salve, figuring the towel and his nudity wasn't overly bothering Tahlia, but…he wasn't about to put either of them in any more interesting predicaments.

Not tonight.

While Taker busied himself in his room, Tahlia continued pressing the towel against her wound and left the bathroom to make herself more comfortable on the bed. She merely sat there, pulling the towel away to study the wound and noticed he'd dug a little deeper with the dagger than he probably should have. Oh well, nothing to do about it now. Tahlia wasn't upset; only a few chosen were branded with his symbol and she felt privileged to be among them. Looking up when he entered through the connecting door, Tahlia set the towel aside since the bleeding had stopped and watched her master lower to his knees in front of her with a jar in hand. Her tank top was removed for the time being until she could cover the wound up with a bandage, then she would put it back on.

"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" She asked after he applied enough salve to the wound and placed a bandage on it. "I mean, besides keeping my music down." Tahlia smiled at him to show she was genuine in her offer, wanting to repay him somehow for being kind to her.

A black brow rose as he met her stare, trying to decipher if she was serious and unaware of just how vulnerable she made herself…if she was some kind of psychopath, who kept it hidden quite well when he had been scouting her. "Not tonight." He answered finally, deciding he would keep an eye on her, just in case, and then come back to test his theories another time. "Loosely covered tomorrow when you're wearing clothes…" Taker's gaze roamed up her body, the corner of his lip tugging upwards into the barest hint of a smirk. "Unless you prefer to go around as is." That would not elicit any complaints from him.

Finally, her cheeks turned crimson and Tahlia couldn't meet his eyes, clasping her hands tightly in her lap. "Not particularly. Bad enough I've shown the world almost all of me. I shouldn't be self-conscious, but…I'm a little more conservative than that."

Not that she wouldn't mind walking around in her bra and panties around him privately because that was actually a delicious thought. What the hell was wrong with her?! Tahlia slipped her tank top back on and stood up from the bed, gently rubbing the bandage with her fingertips while finally looking back up at her master again.

"If you need anything, you know where to find me."

"Right through that door." Taker gestured to the door that attached their rooms, wondering who had made that screw-up and if he should thank them or choke them to death. "Get some sleep, Tahlia."

He reached out to run a finger just underneath her eye, taking her face in. She had a very busy last month, he was surprised she wasn't sleeping, unless she had insomnia like he did. In fact, now that Taker recalled, she spent most of her nights awake in that cell and slept throughout the day. She was nocturnal…definitely could be fun.

"Tomorrow, the fun starts."

She shivered at his tone, the smile widening on her face and couldn't wait to see what was in store for the Ministry now that she was a full-fledged member. "Looking forward to it." Not pulling back from his touch, Tahlia accepted it and leaned into him. "Good night, sir."

Amber eyes watched him disappear through the connecting door, closing it almost silently behind him and Tahlia blew out a breath. He wanted her to sleep, which meant tomorrow would start early in the day more than likely. Tahlia stretched carefully, not wanting to widen or irritate her wound and decided it was time for bed. Turning the radio completely off, Tahlia pulled the comforter back and slid into bed, the room blanketing in darkness moments later. More tired than she thought, she was out like a light almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, the adrenaline gone.