If You Dare - A BDSM Billionaire Erotic Romance Novel (8 page)

She was a vision of exquisite beauty
but Zoe wasn’t confident enough in herself to realize that. The
floor-length figure-hugging sequined red dress she wore
complemented the tone of her skin beautifully, and with her hair up
in a messy but sophisticated bun, the wispy tendrils framed her
face perfectly. The glittering rhinestone choker necklace that she
wore as an accessory automatically brought his eyes downwards and
he visually caressed the fullness of the top of her breasts which
were held in place by the strapless bodice of her gown.

Dawson discreetly adjusted himself
before getting to his feet so that Zoe wouldn’t see the bulge in
his pants. Walking towards her he gave a brief nod of his head and
then said just one word. “Perfect.”

Zoe let out the breath that she hadn’t
been aware of holding and gave a sigh of relief. She had obviously
chosen the right dress because she was sure that Dawson would have
told her otherwise. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going
now?” Her voice was breathless with nervous
anticipation.

“No, I’m not.” Dawson walked back
towards the desk and picked up the telephone, pressing a button and
giving a clipped order to whoever was on the other end of the line.
“Bring the car around now, please.” He replaced the receiver and
Zoe watched as he pulled on the jacket to the immaculate tuxedo he
was wearing. She couldn’t help but make the comparison between him
and a particular movie star, and her heart skipped a beat as she
thought, not for the first time, just how handsome he really
was.

He walked back towards her again and
held out his arm to her and they both walked side-by-side out of
the building. Even though Zoe was wearing three inch high stiletto
heels, Dawson still stood a good six inches taller than her and Zoe
wondered why she had never noticed the difference in their height
before now. It was probably because they had never walked
side-by-side before, she thought.

As they exited the building, a
limousine pulled up to the curb and a driver hopped out to open the
back door. Dawson handed her into the vehicle and then climbed in
behind her, sitting next to her on the luxurious leather seat. Zoe
looked around the interior with interest. She had never been inside
a limo before and she was amazed at how spacious it was. Spotting a
small drinks bar to one side she licked her parched lips and wished
that Dawson would pour her drink, because right now she was in need
of a stiff one.

He showed no interest in alcohol,
however, and instead just turned his head to look out of the
window. Taking the hint, Zoe did the same thing, biting her lips
nervously as she watched the passing scenery and checking her watch
surreptitiously every now and again while she wondered just how far
they were going to travel. The miles passed in complete silence,
and Zoe used the time to give herself a mental talking-to while she
berated herself for going along with whatever Dawson had in
mind.

The drive took them just over an hour
and eventually the car pulled up into the courtyard of a huge
palatial mansion. With her eyes wide, Zoe took in the array of
expensive vehicles that she saw being parked by valets. Aston
Martin’s, Porsche’s and Lamborghini’s, along with a multitude of
limousines were all present, and Zoe felt her nerves hitch up
another notch when she realized that she was going to be in the
company of some obviously wealthy and influential
people.

The back door of the limo was opened
by the driver and Dawson exited first, holding out his hand to help
Zoe alight from the vehicle. Zoe looked around them, in awe of the
grand fountains and the sweet smell from the hundreds of flowers
that perfumed the evening air from the myriad of flowerbeds she
could see. She snuck a look at Dawson and watched as he removed a
masquerade mask from his inside pocket and put it on.

Zoe had never been to a masquerade
ball, and her excitement rose at the prospect. With Dawson’s black
mask firmly in place he now had an air of mystery that went
hand-in-hand with his masculinity and Zoe felt her nipples tighten
in sexual recognition of the breathtaking handsomeness of
him.

“Do I get a mask as well?”

“No, you do not. Let’s go.” He held
out the crook of his elbow and Zoe placed her hand in it and let
him lead her up to the massive doors of the mansion. The muffled
sound of music could be heard from within the bowels of the house,
along with voices and laughter, and the noise got louder as the
door was opened and they stepped across the threshold together to
be greeted by a line of people dressed in Victorian servant
costumes.

Every other servant held a basket in
his or her hands that had a number on the side. A male servant
stepped forwards and addressed Dawson while a female basket holder
stood alongside him and held her basket out towards them. “Your
wallets, purses and cell phones, if you please, Sir.” Dawson nodded
to Zoe to handover her purse, and his wallet and cell phone quickly
joined the item in the basket as the male servant handed him a card
with the corresponding basket’s number on it. “We would also like
to remove your female’s clothing, with your permission,
Sir?”

Zoe’s eyes went wide at the man’s
words and her head whipped around to look at Dawson. Surely to God
he wasn’t going to go along with this?

She was wrong in her assumption and
Dawson nodded his head at the male servant. “Of course.” He then
looked at Zoe and caught her eyes, giving her a look that was easy
to interpret. “Do as he said.”

Zoe felt her spine stiffen and she
squared her shoulders. She had no idea what the evening had in
store for her, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to start it by
pissing Dawson off and refusing to do what he instructed. She too
gave a nod to the male servant, giving him her unspoken consent to
carry out his task. The man walked around behind her and she felt
the zipper of her ballgown come down. Another manservant took his
place in front of her and held onto the bodice, guiding the dress
down over Zoe’s hips while the first man held her hand to steady
her while she stepped out of the garment.

The style of the strapless dress had
meant that Zoe had not needed to wear a bra, and as the dress was
lowered, her tits sprang free and her nipples hardened immediately
in the coolness of the air-conditioned hallway. She had made sure
that she had held Dawson’s gaze while she was being disrobed, and
she couldn’t help the little thrill of satisfaction that ran
through her as his eyes travelled downwards and followed the path
that her dress had taken.

“The panties as well, Sir?” The first
male servant addressed Dawson with a respectful tone, and Dawson
gave a nod of assent in reply to the question. Zoe’s panties
quickly followed the fate of her dress and were removed without
preamble before both items of clothing were picked up off the
floor, folded neatly and placed on top of the other items in the
basket.

As she took the arm that Dawson held
out to her and let him lead her deeper into the mansion, Zoe
couldn’t help wondering why on earth he’d instructed her to buy
such an expensive and beautiful gown if she wasn’t even going to
wear it. It seemed like such an awful waste of money to her. Oh
well, at least it wasn’t her own money he’d expected her to spend,
she thought.

It was obvious that Dawson had been
here before; he knew exactly where he was going as they walked
towards a set of double doors. As the doors opened, Zoe felt a
mixture of surprise and relief when she noticed that she wasn’t the
only woman being paraded around naked. Everywhere her eyes went she
saw a naked female accompanying an obviously wealthy and
well-dressed male. And while all the males wore masks similar to
Dawson’s, the females wore nothing at all, except in a few
instances where Zoe saw a couple of women wearing some kind of
collar necklace.

Her eyes got wider still when she saw
how the room was set up. Directly in the center of the ballroom was
a circular bar, which didn’t really surprise her. But, on the very
far wall, there was what looked to be a small stage set up like a
luxurious open planned bedroom, complete with a huge bed, a couch
and some shelving units. In fact, the whole ballroom seem to be
staged as that of a multitude of separate smaller rooms; each with
no walls, and most with some kind of bed, table or seating area;
and in some cases, both. Each room was alight with candles, and
most of the rooms had a degree of sexual activity occurring within
them.

Zoe didn’t even notice when Dawson
lifted two glasses of champagne from a naked female servant’s tray
as they walked past. She was too busy trying to take everything in
and letting her brain adjust to the knowledge that Dawson had
obviously brought her here for more than just a regular masquerade
ball.

Dawson nudged her arm to get her
attention and handed her a glass, which she gratefully took and
quickly downed the contents, feeling the fizzy bubbles tickle her
nose. “What is this place?” She didn’t look at Dawson as she spoke
to him because her eyes were still too busy scanning the room and
taking in everything that was going on.

“It’s exactly what it looks like.” At
the amusement she heard in his voice, Zoe’s eyes finally looked at
him in time to see him unsuccessfully smother a smile. “In light of
our last two meetings, I thought that this might actually interest
you.” His arm came out to sweep around the room, encompassing
everything that was going on within it while he spoke.

Zoe looked around again, shaking her
head slowly while she replied. “Why should it interest
me?”

“It interests me, and as such it
should also interest you.” Dawson’s voice had resumed its air of
curtness, and Zoe was under no illusions that she was being tested
in some way.

“I’m not sure what I should be doing,
Dawson. This is totally beyond anything I’ve ever done before, you
know that.” Her voice was quiet but he could hear the unmistakable
nervousness that she was feeling.

Zoe felt his hands touch her shoulder
and he gave her an encouraging squeeze with his fingers. “I want
you to do whatever feels natural to you, Zoe. I want to see if
you’re capable of losing your inhibitions and following your inner
submissive self.” He paused slightly before continuing, “I want to
see just how far you’re willing to go to please me. I want to see
if you meant it when you said that you wanted to go further in the
company and not just be a glorified coffee maker.”

Zoe cringed at his use of the
terminology she had used on the evening she had arrived at his
office to blackmail him into giving her a severance package. Was
this really what she’d meant when she’d told him that she wanted to
make amends? He had shown her on the last two meetings that she did
indeed have a submissive side, but allowing that side to come out
while she was alone with him, and allowing it to emerge when she
was in a room full of strangers were two different things
entirely.

Dawson waited quietly while she
thought about his words and he watched as Zoe looked around the
room once more. He could see the battle she was having within
herself and he could also see that she was dying to join in and
experience some of what she was looking at.

Dawson realized that she needed a
little motivation if she was going to be able to do as he’d asked,
so he leaned his head down to talk into her ear and grinned at the
visible shiver she gave at his proximity. “Let your hair down, Zoe.
Let me see you have some fun. Let me see if you’re someone I can
work with.” He deliberately paused for a second. “That’s if you
dare to, of course.”

Zoe’s eyes flashed fire at his last
words and she took a step back from him so that he couldn’t touch
her anymore. With a defiant look in her eyes she held his gaze and
brought her hands up to her head, removing the barrette that held
her bun in place and shaking her hair free so that it tumbled down
around her shoulders in waves.

“Let my hair down, huh?” She grabbed
another drink from a passing servant and deliberately turned away
from him, her curvy hips swaying while she started to walk towards
a certain cubicle that had caught her eye a few minutes earlier.
“If I dare! Of course I bloody dare.” Dawson chuckled as he caught
the words she flung at him over her shoulder and his cock gave a
twitch of desire as he watched her pert ass move deliciously in
time with her steps.

Zoe’s bravery lasted for as
long as it took her to reach the cubicle, but then it abandoned her
and disappeared into the ether when she realized that she had no
clue what she was supposed to do next. She noticed that there were
a few people sat in the chairs that were dotted around the large
bed in the center of the room and she decided to follow suit and
took up residence in one of the free ones, making herself
comfortable and sitting back to watch the very obvious show that
was taking place in front of her.

Chapter Five