Second Touch (Emma's Arabian Nights, #2) (17 page)

“Thank you, Mistress.” Gia bent into a graceful curtsey.

The pair went farther down the line and Gia tried to slow her breathing. The redhead in front of Gia turned around and gave her a warm and dazzling smile. “First time?”

“Yes. Is it painfully obvious?”

“Yep. First timers are pretty easy to spot. You’re the only ones who aren’t excited. My name is Iris.”

“Gia. Nice to meet you.” Gia smiled and smoothed her hands against the sheer robe. “I take it by your lack of panic attacks you’ve done this before?”

“Oh, yes. This is my third time.” Iris gave a dreamy smile. “After the first auction, I was bought by a lovely Dominant couple. At the second auction, I met my husband, who is also my Master.”

Gia tilted her head in confusion. As far as she knew, this auction was for single, uncollared submissives. “If you have a Master, why are you doing this again?”

The woman laughed and fingered her collar. “Because he wants to win me all over again.”

Gia couldn’t help a small stab of envy. “That's very romantic.”

A chime sounded three times, silencing all conversation. All of the submissives turned towards the sound, and the redhead leaned over to whisper into Gia’s ear, “Don’t freak out. Whoever you end up with is going to be one of the best Masters in the world. If you click, great. If you don’t, then you will, at the very least, come away from the experience as a better submissive. Besides, all of the Masters have your fantasies available to them, and only a Master or Mistress interested in fulfilling your fantasies will bid on you.”

Gia laced her fingers together, trying to keep her anxiety at bay. She didn’t want to start shaking like a scared puppy. “That’s what worries me.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer to Iris. “I shared a bottle of wine, or two, with my girlfriend before I filled my form out, and I’m afraid the fantasies I submitted are a little more…frank. Let’s just say I was super honest about what my deepest, darkest desires are. Like, embarrassingly honest. When I read what I had already submitted the next morning, I couldn’t look myself in the mirror for the rest of the day without feeling like a pervert.”

Iris giggled. “Oh, that does sound interesting. Care to share what one of those fantasies were?”

A stern man’s voice range out over the crowd. “Ladies, eyes on me.”

They turned and Gia recognized Master Martin, the man who ran the Submissive’s Wish Charity Auction and owner of this elegant mansion. Tonight, the distinguished man wore a dashing black tux with an expertly tied red and black bowtie that nicely set off his greying hair. His presence filled the room and all conversation stopped.

Raising his arms, he smiled. “Welcome to the twenty eighth annual Submissive’s Wish Charity Auction. Some of your faces are well known to me as members, and others are delightful new additions to our evening. Whether new or old, I encourage all of you to make the most of the opportunities presented to you tonight. Allow yourselves to embrace your submission and give yourselves the freedom to enjoy the fantasies your Masters or Mistresses create for you without useless shame or misplaced guilt. For the next week, you will be at your Masters’ or Mistresses’ beck and call. You will find yourself challenged, pushed beyond what you thought you could endure but, in the end, it will all be worth it.”

A nervous giggle came from a few of the submissives and Master Martin smiled, then his expression turned serious again. “Let me take this opportunity to emphasize once again that your happiness is the most important part of this auction. If you are purchased by someone that you do not wish to have sexual relations with you are by no means obligated to do so. The only thing the Master or Mistress that win’s you gets is your company. It is up to them to try to seduce you and make you fall under their wicked spell.”

Barely stifling a wistful sigh, Gia wondered if she was really ready for this. Yes, she’d submitted to Mistress Viola and Master Mark while training, but she’d never managed to achieve subspace. After listening enviously to the way the other submissives talked about it, she really wanted to experience it but, truthfully, didn’t know if she could. She’d tried with a couple of local Doms that she was friendly with back home in Myrtle Beach. While the sex had been great, she’d never even gotten close to achieving that floaty, orgasmic feeling the other submissives described. It made her feel like a failure as a submissive that she couldn’t get into the right headspace for her Dominants.

Hell, if whoever won her here couldn’t top her, maybe she should consider becoming a Domme.

Master Martin’s deep voice interrupted her dark thoughts. “You will soon be blindfolded and ear buds will be put into your ears so you cannot hear. We want you to focus on yourself, on your goals, on what you hope to gain from this experience. Not on what is happening around you.”

Gia shifted nervously and the air around her became charged and crackled with tense energy.

“Don’t worry about how you’ll walk or move around while blindfolded. You will each be escorted onto stage by an experienced submissive.” He looked up and down the line. “Any questions? No? Such a quiet and trusting group of submissives we have here tonight.”

Everyone chuckled, then a curvaceous dark skinned Dominatrix towards the back of the line raised her hand. “Master Martin?”

Master Martin smiled. “Our lovely Mistress Vivienne. What is your question?”

Mistress Vivienne smiled. “This girl,” she pointed to the petite woman with a riot cute dark curls in front of her, “is worried she may end up with some serial killer.”

The submissive flushed beet red and seemed to sink in on herself. Gia felt sorry for her, but she’d been wondering about that as well. Of course, this auction had been running for twenty-eight years without incident, and everyone had been highly screened, but all it took was one bad apple to end her life. Great. Now she was nervous and scared. It seemed like her brain would never turn all the way off and let her relax.

She liked being in control of her life, leaving nothing to chance or fate, but being constantly on her guard was mentally and emotionally draining. She hated not having control over what was happening to her, which was probably why she had such a hard time submitting. It took trust in the unknown to let someone truly inside your mind and heart during a scene and to totally let go. So far, no one had managed to breech the walls around her soul. That was fine, she was in no hurry to get serious…though it would be nice to have someone to cuddle with at night and wake up to in the morning. Someone to share holidays with and someone who would not only satisfy her physically, but also intellectually. She thought about being in some faceless man’s arms as they watched the sunrise over the Atlantic ocean together and let out a sigh.

Master Martin cleared his throat and her attention returned to him. “As we have a larger than usual number of visiting submissives for this auction, I will reiterate what our members already know. There is not a single Master or Mistress out in the audience tonight I wouldn’t trust my own submissive with….though I doubt any of them could actually handle Mrs. Martin.” He waited for the polite laughter to die down before continuing. “Every single one of our bidders has gone through extensive background checks and have been members in high standing of their local clubs for a minimum of five years. While nothing in life is ever guaranteed, I take the safety of every man and woman here very seriously. Does that answer your question, darling girl?”

The blushing woman dipped into an elegant curtsey and said in a lightly accented voice, “Yes, Sir. Thank you, Master Martin.”

“You are most welcome. Anymore questions?”

“Sir?” A willowy woman with short blonde hair held her hand up.

“Yes.”

“Will I have access to my luggage at all times? I’m a diabetic and will need to be able to get to my medication.”

“Of course. The suitcase we asked you to bring has all of your important identification, including your passports, and medication inside along with a change of clothes. We’ve also included two thousand dollars, cash. If you feel uncomfortable and you’d like to leave you can do so without having to rely on anyone to help you.” An uneasy murmur went through the submissives and he gave them a bemused smile. “We haven’t had a single submissive leave before their time was up, but we like to make sure that you feel as comfortable as possible.”

“Any other last minute questions?”

Silence blanketed the room and Gia laced her fingers together again. Her background check had taken six months. By the time it was done, they knew everything about her—from who her best friend had been in elementary school to her preferences in food. She hoped the Dominants had to go through background checks as thorough. This whole experience was so outside her comfort zone that it was quickly turning into something surreal, like a confusing dream where the scenes changed too quickly to really get a grasp on what was happening.

If it wasn’t for the fact the money raised from her auction would go directly to her charity of choice, she’d be tempted to pretend to be sick and run as far and as fast as she could. Then she’d probably spend the rest of her life kicking herself in the ass for missing the opportunity to serve a true Master, however temporarily. No, she wasn’t going to chicken out. She wasn’t quitter and she certainly wasn’t going to let her fear rule her now. Though the thought of hiding in a bathroom with a fifth of tequila to gain some liquid courage seemed like a great idea.

She was such a basket case.

When no one spoke up, Mr. Martin gestured toward the back of the room. “Let me introduce you to the men and women who will help you navigate the stage.”

Laughter rang from the doorway at the back of the room, and a steady stream of elegantly dressed men and women came to stand before them. A lovely Latina wearing a golden cat mask that matched her elaborate gown stopped before Gia with a friendly smile. Taking a closer look at the gown, Gia was pretty sure she’d seen it on the cover of this month’s edition of
Vogue
. A diamond collar with a small gold owner’s medallion glittered around her slender neck.

“Good evening. My name is Harper and I’ll be taking care of you, Gia.”

Giving the other woman a tentative smile, Gia almost held out her hand in the traditional ‘nice to meet you’ handshake but remembered where she was and who she was with. While shaking hands might be the proper thing to do in the outside world, the BDSM community had its own rules on what was proper. In this case, she didn’t know if Harper was allowed to touch another submissive without her Master’s permission. Gathering herself, she smiled back.

“Thank you. If I throw up on you or pass out, I apologize in advance.” Gia flushed in embarrassment at how uncouth she sounded compared to this elegant and sophisticated woman.

Harper giggled and pulled a black blindfold out of her elbow length white silk gloves. “I’ll make sure to aim you in the other direction at all times. Now take a deep breath before you pass out.” Gia did as she was told and took another, which seemed to help clear her head.

The tall female submissive attending the redhead next to Gia smiled at Harper. “Did you hear? The European delegation is in the audience tonight. Yummy.”

Gia blinked. “The Europeans?”

Lifting the blindfold, Harper smiled. “Bend down a bit so I can tie this.”

The cool cloth slipped loosely over her eyes and the other woman said, “The Europeans are here as part of a…well kind of like a cultural exchange program. They send their top Dommes and Masters over here for training and we send our best Dommes and Masters over there for the same thing. I’ve heard they’re strict, but amazing.”

“And they are soooo hot,” Iris said with a purr. “I love my Master more than anything in the world, but if I was single I’d be begging any one of them to take me like the willing slut that I am.”

All three women laughed, then hushed when Master Martin looked their way a raised brow.

Harper adjusted the blindfold until Gia couldn’t see anything and said in a softer voice, “Okay, the ear buds are going back in. I can tell you from experience, once they’re on, you won’t be able to hear anything. I’m going to hold your hand the whole time so, if you start to get a little anxious, just give me a squeeze. Got it?”

“Yes, ma’am, I mean Harper.”

The beautiful woman’s laughter was the last thing Gia heard before Harper placed some ear buds in her hand and Gia put them in her ears. A gentle, classical piece of music played from the tiny speakers, but the soothing melody did nothing to calm her nerves. Feeling suddenly very alone and vulnerable, a wave of distress tightened her muscles and she reached out. Almost instantly, Harper’s hand grasped hers, the smooth satin of Harper’s glove giving Gia something to focus on. No wonder men liked the feeling of a woman wearing gloves. It somehow accentuated how much smaller a woman was, how finely formed.

Harper squeezed her hand twice and began to lead Gia forward then stopped again. With the ear buds in place, Gia couldn’t have a conversation with the other woman and was left with her own thoughts. Once again, they moved forward, and then stopped. By Gia’s estimate, each time they paused they waited a good five to ten minutes. She should be using this time to think, to compose herself so she presented the best image possible. After all, she only had one chance to make a positive first impression on some of the best Dominants in the world. Unfortunately, her mind refused to stay on one topic for more than a few seconds.

Her thoughts were chaotic, jumping from concern about her appearance to wondering if she needed a breath mint. A fine tremor went through her hands and she worried that she’d be shaking like a frightened animal on the stage. Mixed in with that was the reoccurring fear that she’d sweat through her deodorant before they made it through the door and that she had some toilet paper stuck to her sheer robe. Opening herself to the potential, very public rejection of nobody bidding on her was so far out of her comfort zone that she didn’t know how to cope with her rising panic. This was like stage fright times a million.