Authors: Bridget Midway
Each one of the eight slaves strolled into the room in a line and took their seats. Although Taren loved seeing these women again, she wanted to see the Dominants, mainly Jace.
“Hi, Taren,” the ladies said in unison.
“Still doing that, huh?” Taren smiled.
“We miss you,” Breeze said first.
“It was great doing breakfast with you after we served the Dominants.” Sandy crossed her legs.
When she tucked her hair behind her ear, Taren noticed the same piece of jewelry that Sire Swift had given her during the show. “You’re still with Sire Swift?”
Sandy looked at her hand and smiled. “Yes. We love this show. It brought us together.” Then she cringed. “I’m sorry. You were supposed to find your Dom, not us.”
Taren put her hand up. “It’s okay. Things happen for a reason.” She looked at Beauty. “Are you still with Mistress Night?”
“Before any more questions about the Dominants get answered, let’s bring them out.” Macabre called for the contestants.
“All of them?” Taren asked as she kept her gaze on the line of contestants.
The ejected Dominants sat in the back row, and the competing Dominants sat in the middle row, all except for Jace.
Taren’s heartbeat slowed down to almost a stop. Wasn’t this what she wanted? She didn’t want to see him again. If she did, she had been prepared to tell him off. Now she wouldn’t have to resort to doing that.
“It’s interesting how you all chose your seating.” Macabre gestured to the Dominants. “Sire Swift, you’ve chosen to sit behind Sandy.”
Swift nodded. “This is my one and only.” He patted Sandy on her shoulder, which made her wince.
The sight of that alarmed Taren. “Sandy, what’s wrong?”
Sandy blinked. “Oh, nothing.” She lifted up her sleeve. “See. I’ve been branded.”
She showed off raised purplish skin in a circular position with what looked like the letters G and H in the center.
“Sorry, dear.” He kissed her cheek. “I forgot that spot would still be tender.”
Taren remembered in Swift’s interview that he liked to brand his slaves. Guess he really meant that.
“Bruiser, you’re behind Breeze. Anything you need to tell us?” Macabre asked.
“Other than I’ve never been happier. Who knew that on a reality TV show I would actually find the woman of my dreams.” He put his hand on Breeze’s shoulder and massaged it.
“Same with you, Mistress Night?” Macabre brought her attention to the woman wearing a three-piece suit.
“I know I was supposed to be competing for you.” Night pointed at Taren. “Like I told you at Club 4400, I connected with Belle.”
“Who’s Belle?” Fear asked as he sneered.
“My slave.” Night put her hand on Beauty’s shoulder. “She wants to be called Belle.”
“Okay, just like Slave Sandy wanted to be called—”
“Watch it, Fear.” Swift cut him off. “I’m not competing anymore. I don’t mind knocking you on your ass again.”
“Sucker punch from a sucker.” Fear chuckled.
“Let’s move on.” Taren smiled when she looked at Bubbles and Lord No. “So are you two still getting married?”
Lord No stood, moved behind Bubbles, fisted her hair, and pulled her head back so that he could give her a rough kiss.
When they broke from the kiss, she sighed and said, “Yes, ma’am.”
He took his seat again.
“Since the show, we have gotten so close. He is there with me and my mama every step of the way. I don’t know if I could be strong enough to go through this without him.” She turned around and reached for his hand. “I love him so much, and I almost lost him by being stubborn and assuming I knew what was best for the both of us.”
“Miss Twist? Bambi? Did you two reconnect after the show?” Macabre beamed as she faced the duo.
Both shrugged and shook their heads.
“No. I liked being a house slave, but her style wasn’t for me,” Bambi said.
“I know. There were some pitfalls to being a house slave.” Slinky kept her stare away from Sire Ball.
“I need to say something.” Ball stood. “What I did to Slinky was inexcusable. I’m used to playing with a regular play bottom who enjoys insertions. I shouldn’t have assumed that the same could be done to her. I hope you’ll accept that as my apology.”
Slinky said, “Yeah. Sure.” She kept her gaze away from him.
“This show could really be called
Slaves to Love
. Seems like a lot of the slaves found their Dominants on the show.” Macabre laughed.
“I didn’t.” Solo crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “But then again, I didn’t come here to find love. I came here to play. I’m a realist. I know you all were freaked out by the trust exercise when Fear cut off my air supply. I wasn’t. It was rough, but I’ve been through worse.” She pointed at Taren. “I told you that you should have stuck to Master Rock.” She pointed at Rock, who sat in the front row alone. “He wouldn’t have broken your heart.”
Taren ignored Solo’s comment. She directed her attention to Sweetheart. “How are you doing?”
As usual, she smiled. Taren knew the pain behind her pleasant expression.
“I’m okay. I returned to Club 4400 as a play bottom. I think I was pushing myself too hard to find someone like Sandy and Beauty, I mean, Belle had. Things happen for a reason.”
“I’m sure you’ll find what you’re looking for.” Taren smiled at her. “We have to be lucky in love somewhere, right?”
Sweetheart smiled.
“Before we talk to anyone else, we need to talk to the people behind this show, the reason we’re all here.” Macabre pointed off camera. “Ananda Morton and her husband, Master Eagan Morton.”
Like royalty, the duo walked in together, hand in hand, both smiling. Eagan helped Ananda sit first on a couch across from the contestants before he sat next to her. He draped his arm around her shoulders.
“Welcome.” Macabre nodded.
The anger Taren thought she would have with the duo vanished after she talked to Ananda. They had both been duped by the same man. She had no reason to carry any animosity toward Ananda or Eagan.
“Thank you, Mackie.” Ananda nodded. “It feels odd to be on camera again, especially in this realm.”
“Why did you decide to do a show like this?” Macabre asked.
Ananda looked at Eagan and smiled before she answered. “I think people now have a misconception about our lifestyle. They think it’s about abuse or humiliation. I wanted to show the true beauty and connections that people can have.” She scanned the group. “I didn’t think this one show would produce so many unions.”
Sire Swift put his hand on Sandy’s shoulder. Mistress Night playfully tugged on Belle’s hair. Bruiser must have hooked his foot around one of Breeze’s chair legs. Suddenly Breeze’s chair jerked back toward him. When it happened, he snickered. Breeze yelped, then giggled.
“I’m also thrilled about the reconnection Lord No and Bubbles made.” Ananda pointed to that duo. She put her hand on Eagan’s leg. “I love this lifestyle as much as I love my husband. I would do anything to show him how much I love him.”
“I was shocked that she’d done this all on her own.” Eagan gave Ananda a quick peck on her lips. “She’s had some ups and downs as a producer. But overall, I’m amazed at this project.” He kissed her again, but with more passion. “I’m amazed about everything you do. I love you.”
“I love you. You are everything I need.” She put her hand on his cheek and stared into his eyes for a beat before turning back to the group. “I’m happy that so many people were able to find that special someone here during taping. I didn’t see that coming.” She looked at Taren. “I was hoping you would find your Dominant. I’m so, so sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Taren took a deep breath. “I can cross this experience off my bucket list.”
Macabre cleared her throat. “Master Rock, you were eliminated in the first episode. You came back as a surprise when Bruiser left. And you made it to the top two. What did you think when you came back?” Macabre asked.
“I was interested in securing a submissive. I thought Taren and I connected well, especially after our day together. The dinner with your parents, I thought, went great. But you seemed upset. I thought maybe we could try this again.”
“You need the money that badly?” Fear snickered.
“No. I don’t care about the money. And since no one won, no one got paid.” Rock directed his attention back to Taren. “I want to train you if you’re interested.”
“I don’t think she wants to be trained,” Miss Twist said. “At least, not by you.”
“How are you doing, Taren?” Fear asked. “You’re looking well.”
“I’m okay.” She smiled to cover her pain. “How are you doing? I see you’re alone.”
“Is that what you see?” Fear peered off to the side where Kitty and the camera crew sat. “Don’t be fooled by what you see in front of you.” He let out a short whistle.
The gesture caused Soneni to come from behind the camera and saunter toward him, still with her headphones around her neck and her tablet in her hand.
“The production assistant?” Mistress Night pointed at the petite woman.
“What can I say? I knew as soon as I saw her.” Fear pointed to the floor next to him.
She kneeled down and bowed her head obediently.
“So I guess you’ve found a person to wash your dick for you.” Bruiser laughed.
“And she does a great job at it.” Fear rubbed Soneni’s back, which caused the woman to release a sigh and relax deeper into her pose. Then he peered at Taren. “You could have had this if you simply wanted to play.”
“I think I’m doing just fine. I’m happy with the outcome of this experience.” Taren smiled to sell her story. She couldn’t lie to herself that seeing Fear find someone during the show didn’t eat at her a little bit.
“Even though you almost got tricked by one of the Morton boys?” Fear shook his head.
Taren noticed Eagan starting to stand.
“Men. There are no boys here.” Jace strolled into the room wearing a suit without a tie. He left the top two buttons unbuttoned.
Even though Taren wanted to be upset, she secretly cheered in her head that Jace had arrived. He didn’t take a seat though. He remained standing like he’d planned on leaving soon. Taren would have to strike now before he could hurt her again.
She stood. “You have some nerve coming here.” She wouldn’t be running away from him.
“I knew you wouldn’t be happy to see me. But I’m prepared.” He put his shoulders back. “Ask me anything. I promise you I will answer you honestly.”
“Too little, too late, don’t you think?” Master Rock said.
“Let him talk.” Eagan sat on the edge of his seat, looking like he wanted to fight.
Taren crossed her arms as stared at him. Jace didn’t blink. He didn’t move.
“Why didn’t you tell me when you first saw me at the house who you were?”
“I didn’t want any part of this show. I hadn’t expected to see you here. I was going to keep myself away from you the entire time. But I couldn’t.” A smile started to form but he cleared his throat and straightened up. “When you showed me how much you were into
Love My Way
, I really didn’t want to tell you then because I didn’t want you to want me because of who I’m related to. I wanted you to like me for me. I think that happened.”
Taren didn’t answer him. She kept on with her questions. “Why did you ask Vern to get the roughest Dominants out there?”
“To take down the show. I was angry with Eagan over some old personal matter. You didn’t deserve that. I had expected you to quit. You didn’t. You’re very strong. I love—”
Taren stopped him before he could say anymore. “Did you have sex with me to throw me off my game?”
“Wait. They had sex during the taping?” Bruiser asked.
Jace kept his stare on Taren. “I had sex with you because you’re gorgeous and sexy. I love you.”
She shook her head. “Why did you—”
“I’m sorry for how I’ve treated you. I know you’ve been hurt in the past. I know your parents wouldn’t tell you bad news from doctors when you were younger, and that bothered you. For that, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stir up those feelings. I love you.” He took a step closer to her.
“That’s fine. Thanks to you, I’m shutting down all my feelings. I’m staying away from men, keeping away from this lifestyle, and I don’t want to see you anymore.”
Jace shook his head. “Don’t do that. That’s exactly what I did when Eagan disappointed me. Because of you, I regained my love for BDSM again. Because of you, I opened myself up. Taren Kerrigan, I love you.” He stood directly in front of her. “Don’t be afraid. You won’t be seen as a failure if you love me back. No one is perfect. I made terrible mistakes that I will spend a lifetime making them up to you. Forgive me.” He framed her face. “Love me. Please love me.”
She tried pulling back from him, but he maintained his hold. “Saying you love me won’t fix things. This isn’t a movie or romance novel. You can say it as many times as you want. I still know what kind of person you are.”
“And I know you.” He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her forward. “Remember when we met the very first time at the Cavalier? I looked at you and I never got to finish my statement. I was trying to say that you would make a great submissive. I knew it then before you knew about the show and before I was asked to open my house to it. I knew you before I knew myself.”
“Stop. You don’t know me.” She gripped his arm and managed to push it off her neck.
He moved it down to her shoulder. Although she wanted to scream for him to stop touching her, her body thanked her. He nurished her like a thirsty plant in need of water.
He lowered his voice. “Do you remember what you said to me the first time we had sex? You asked me why couldn’t I be your Dom. You asked me to teach you about BDSM. I wasn’t ready then. I’m so ready now. I want to be that man for you. I want you. It has nothing to do with this show or these cameras or who I’m related to.” He pressed her hand against his chest over his heart. “I love you.”
Taren tried staying strong until he had her feeling his pounding heart. Then her tears flowed down her face. She nodded. “You disappointed me. I hated not being able to trust you.”
He nodded. “I know. I swear to you. I will always be honest.”