Lyon on a Leash (8 page)

“Yes, ma’am.”

She pulled out her iPhone and checked her messages. Marguerite had followed up their earlier conversation with more suggestions.

“Sit on his lap….”
That is not happening in this dress
.

“Feed him from your plate….”
Uh, no. Maybe from his plate
.

“Dance for him. Make him hard.” She laughed.
Now that’s just mean
. What’s a hard, collared dick going to do for release? Nothing unless I give it to him.

“Mistress, may I ask a question?”

“Yes.” She glanced at him and then back at her device.

“You are a beautiful, intelligent, and sexy woman. Are you married?”

Is he serious
? She looked at him. “No. Why?”

“Just curious. Divorced?”

“No. There’s no man in my life right now.” She turned toward him in the chair, realizing that while she knew quite a bit about him, he knew next to nothing about her. And considering he had to feel comfortable enough with her to move to Atlanta, she needed to fill in a lot of blanks in the next few days. But first, she was curious about the types of questions he would ask.

He nodded. “How many submissives have you had in the past?”

She crossed her arms and sat back. “None. I’ve been involved in the lifestyle off and on for over five years, but you’ll be my first submissive. Is that a problem?” She didn’t mean to sound defensive, but after her conversation with Marguerite on her lack of experience, she was a tad raw.

“No, ma’am. It’s just hard to believe you’re single and paying to find a submissive like this. I understand why the men do it: there is a small pool of Dommes. But looking at you and listening to you, it’s hard to believe you’re real and that you picked me.”

If only he knew. “First off, I’m real. Secondly, do you think submissives are the only ones looking for reliable partners for D/s relationships?” She didn’t allow him to answer. “No, we look for good men just like you look for a Mistress. It takes a lot of time and energy to cut through the bullshit. What I paid to participate in this auction is small compared to the amount of time I would have spent to put all the information together for myself. There are forty men here.”

He nodded. “Yes, I know.”

“All different. Different personalities, different needs, and different appearances. Without all the information Madame Chertier provided on each submissive, there’s no way I could make a good decision, the right decision, in so little time. I might have been swayed by the hunky bodies and stuffed packages.” She grinned at his narrowing eyes, but he didn’t respond to the dig. Instead, he grunted his acknowledgement.

“For me, this is a pick-a-partner event, no different from a lot of vanilla dating services. With the exception that I don’t have to explain my need for kinky play to you. Or worry that you’ll be offended by my giving instructions, or running things. You expect it.”

“Looking at it from that point, it makes sense. It’s part of the reason I kept coming back. This is my third auction.”

“Now that I didn’t know. What made you keep returning?”

He gave her a wide grin. “Would I get extra points if I said I was waiting for you?” he asked.

She laughed. “Corny and not totally false, so yeah, you get cool points. You served your last Mistress when?”

He sobered. “Two years ago. She moved to California to take care of her mother who had been in an accident. She lost her father and younger sister. It was a very hard time for her and her family.”

Although Vera felt bad for the woman, she knew she couldn’t handle him being emotionally tied to anyone else. “Do you still talk to her?”

“No. She was supposed to marry some guy last year. We haven’t spoken since she told me about their engagement.”

“Are you still in love with her?” The program claimed he’d served his last Mistress two and a half years. The woman had even written a brief reference. There was no doubt they had been close.

His head tipped to the side as he contemplated her question. “In love? No. I was when we were together and for a while after she left. But time and her decision to move on cured me of that. Don’t get me wrong, I wish her the best and appreciate the experiences we shared. They changed my life, helped shape me to who I am today. But I wouldn’t take a chance with her again. On one level, I understood the need to leave right away, but she left me in flux, with half-promises and no direction. It was hard getting through that. I won’t ever do that again. To answer your question, no, I’m not in love with her.” The decisive tone he used convinced her to ease off that avenue of discussion for now.

Listening to him talk about his former Mistress, she prayed she’d do a better job. Her mentor was right. She needed an experienced sub who’d be patient with her as their relationship developed.

“Do you believe in poly relationships?” he asked a moment later.

Vera tensed. She hadn’t wanted him to discover all her little quirks so soon and thought to sugarcoat her challenges. “I believe that everyone should engage in the type of relationship that works for them. I have no problems with relationships involving more than two people. A lot of folks are happy in them.” Unsure how he’d respond, she exhaled. “However, I have a few issues that don’t work well with poly relationships. For one thing, I lived with my grandmother out in the country most of my life. The house was old and far out of town. Most of all, it was quiet. I’m still a country girl at heart and don’t care for crowds, or a lot of noises. Growing up, I learned early to leave other people’s things alone. It wasn’t worth the arguing or fighting.” She shook off the bleak memories. If she wanted him to share a future, she needed to answer his question and leave dreary lane. “Bottom line, I don’t share well.”

Brow raised, his gaze intense. “You don’t share? That means?”

“As long as you serve me, I’m the only woman you’ll have sex with. Any kind of sex. That is not-negotiable.” She spoke slowly so there’d be no misunderstanding.

“Yes, ma’am.” If his dopey smile was any indication, he was on board with her decree.

“I don’t allow others to play with my toys or go ga-ga over my most valuable possessions. Your profile didn’t mention exhibitionism, but I won’t allow you to expose your naked bits to other people. I can’t do it. You have no idea how happy I was that you had on clothes when you walked up. I appreciate it.”

He grinned. “My pleasure, ma’am. Do you consider me your toy or your most valuable possession?”

What the hell
.
I may as well get it all out on the table
. “Both. You should also know I have trust issues that go way back to my childhood. It’s boring. Maybe one day we’ll talk about it. I’ll have you wash your hands a million times a day in the beginning, when dealing with my food or body. You’ll have to stay really clean, and exercise to stay in shape.” She waved away his questions. “Again, I had weight issues growing up and now stay on top of that like a demon.” His eyes swept over her as he nodded.

“I don’t allow visitors to my house, so you’ll need to clear your friends with me. Sorry about that. I’m working on being more open but it’s been a challenge letting folks close. For the most part, my life is streamlined and simple. It has to stay that way or I become uncomfortable. Things must be in their correct places or it throws me for a loop.” In retrospect, hearing her requirements didn’t sound too bad. More like she lived a cautious life.

With a pensive look, he nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I took the three-day-class option.”

“You did?” He sounded surprised.

“Yes, like I said, you’re my first submissive. I don’t want you to move without us taking the time to get to know one another better. The program Madame Chertier has in place will work well and anything we miss now, I’m sure we’ll cover by the time we complete those sessions.”

“That sounds good. I’ll probably have more questions once we get away from this place.”

Vera nodded. “That reminds me, where are you staying?”

“Gilson’s, downtown.”

She tossed the idea back and forth of him moving into her hotel that night and decided against it. She was tired and didn’t want to talk or explain anything. “Okay. When I pick you up in the morning, have your things packed so you can move into my suite at my hotel. I have a driver until I leave so that way we can do whatever the Madame has outlined for us fairly easily.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She watched him look around the room and liked what she saw. He exuded competence with a relaxed demeanor. Ada and Francis liked him. He had an easy smile, which put her at ease.

“The buffet has opened, Mistress. Please excuse me while I get a plate.” Marcus strode off. Once again she admired his walk. There was something inherently sexy about a bow-legged man that made her breath catch. She took another swig of water and watched him return. Her stomach growled.

“That smells good. I’m going to see what’s up there.” She went to the buffet and picked up a few things to nibble on. She’d eat more with the other Mistresses later.

“I could’ve gotten that for you, ma’am.” Marcus stood, trying to assist her.

“Marcus, sit and eat. You’ll be running your ass off later.”

Blunt fingertips popped a chunk of cheese into his mouth. As soon as he swallowed, he chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

Under her watchful eyes, he polished off two full plates. When he was done, he drank a bottle of water and cleaned the area around them. A few minutes later, the DJ started playing music. A look of horror crossed his face at the idea of the entertainment part of the social. He’d forgotten.

“Do you dance?” she asked him.

He swallowed hard before he spoke. “Very badly, ma’am.”

Marcus took his place, standing behind his Mistress. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected the sexiest woman in the room to purchase him. For a horrible moment, he’d thought Mistress Angel would win the bid. Relief had threatened to cripple him when she lost to his Mistress.

He leaned forward and asked softly, “Mistress, may I ask your name?”

“Mistress Rose.” Her eyes searched his, he wasn’t sure for what, so he remained still. “My given name is Vera Knight.”

His cock had been at half mast since she’d walked into the room before the auction. The husky cadence of her voice went straight to his shaft, causing it to rise. He glanced down at the tops of her full breasts and then at her toned thighs. If she’d been overweight before, she’d done a great job creating a curvy package. In his mind, her hourglass figure was damn perfect. His mouth watered as her dress inched up while she crossed her leg. Yep, her body was perfection.

The fact that she’d actually read his profile and researched his work shocked him senseless. She was the first ever to talk to him about anything not kink-related. She’d even seen the graphic novels he and his college roommate had put out a few years back. He’d only added that nugget of information because Ada had cautioned him to be as transparent as possible. He owed her for that bit of advice.

As far as he knew, his Mistress was the only one to have ever checked him out to that degree. Her thoroughness impressed him. He was certain she was a powerhouse in the courtroom.

His chest rose and stuck out a tad. She had chosen him before they had met. He couldn’t believe those programs actually worked.

“Hello, Mistress Rose, I’m Mistress Em, a friend of Marguerite.” She took his Mistress’ hand and pumped it before turning her attention toward him.

“Congratulations, Marcus.”

He nodded. “Thank you, ma’am.”

“That was quite a stunt you pulled off back there. I bid on him myself. There are a few jealous gents and Dommes.”

His Mistress shrugged, unconcerned. “I wanted him. I bought him.”

He couldn’t suppress his grin.

Em burst out laughing. “Just like Marguerite. I like that. Still, I feel pretty good about my boys. I’m taking Michelle and Henry back to Virginia with me. Henry is the sweetest pain slut. He took to the rope and then the lash so well last night, I knew I had to have him. Michelle rounds out my house. He is a marvel in the kitchen. I can’t wait to get my hands on him. He made a lot of the food on the buffet.” She waved Michelle over; he held a plate in his hand. “Michelle, this is Mistress Rose.”

He nodded. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.” He looked at him. “Marcus.”

“Congratulations, Michelle,” Marcus said, glancing at the gold collar around his friend’s neck.

Michelle’s gaze swung between Marcus and Vera. “Congratulations to you as well.”

Em stretched her legs and began eating. A male approached, one on the shorter side, and sat on the floor next to her. Em ran her fingers through his hair and then grabbed his gold collar, pulling his head up for a quick peck on the lips.

“Rose, this here is my new baby, Henry.”

She nodded. “Henry.”

“Nice to meet you, Mistress Rose. You’re very pretty.”

“Thank you. This is Marcus.” She tipped her head in his direction.

“Hey Marcus. Everybody was talking about how your Mistress paid top bucks for you.”