At His Mercy (Masters Club 1)

The sound of the door opening caused her to whip her head forward. She adjusted her position, hoping she had remembered everything correctly. She kept her eyes on the floor as people entered the room, their shoes echoing on the wood. In her peripheral vision, she could see Mistress Dominique’s high black mules, the hem of her beaded dress swaying at her ankles.

There were two more pairs of feet, both booted in black. Which one was Master Cameron? Was he dressed in sexy black leather and silk as he had been at Spankees? She resisted the nearly overwhelming urge to look up into their faces. She was quite pleased with herself at her control as the three people took their seats, Mistress Dominique in the center.

The fourth chair remained empty. Jess glanced surreptitiously through her lashes at the closed door, wondering when or if a fourth person would enter.

“Jess Cooper,” a deep voice intoned, not Master Cameron’s. “The audition begins now. We will put you through a series of tests. If, at any stage, we find you lacking, or if you wish to call a halt to the proceedings, the audition will end and you will be driven home. If you pass the audition and wish to continue, we will continue moving forward. Regardless of which decision you make, you will be strictly bound to the terms of the non-disclosure agreement, which you have signed.”

As the man hadn’t asked a direct question that required a response, Jess said nothing.

“Lift your head and face us,” the deep voice continued.

Jess did so, barely able to breathe from excitement and nerves. She looked from one face to the other, her brain not quite computing. The man who had been speaking was older, maybe fifty-five or so, with thinning blond hair and a graying goatee. The other guy was younger—maybe mid-thirties, with light brown hair, brilliant blue eyes and a hard mouth.

“I am Master Stephen,” the older man continued ponderously. “You have already met Mistress Dominique. The man to her left is Master William.”

Jess tried to swallow her dismay. Where the hell was Cameron Lord?

Chapter 4

“First, we’d like to ask you some questions,” Stephen said. “You will look up at us when you answer and then lower your gaze again when you are silent.”

Cameron turned up the audio, his eyes focused on the scene beyond the glass wall that separated the two rooms. He almost wished he were on the judge panel, so he could see Jess’s face and honest reactions. But it was better this way. Whatever decision was reached, it would be based on her merits, rather than his own desire to strip her naked, strap her into a bondage rack and use his favorite cane.

For now, he contented himself with the view of her from behind. She looked very pretty in the satin corset. It stopped just above her small but nicely rounded ass, which rested on her heels. Her head was slightly bowed, as befit a sub who waited on her knees.

“You will answer promptly and honestly,” Stephen continued. “There is no right or wrong answer.” He paused a moment, and then asked, “How old were you when you first realized you were submissive? Was there a specific event to trigger those feelings?”

Jess started to speak and then cleared her throat. Beginning again, she replied, “I was six, Sir. The kids were playing a game on the playground. A boy was chasing me and he caught me. He threw me down and straddled me and told me I was now his slave and he could do anything he wanted to me. I just stared up at him, unable to say a word, but I felt like I was in heaven.”

Dominique laughed, her voice trilling up a musical scale. “How delicious,” she said. “What happened next?”

Jess shrugged. “He got off me after a minute or so and ran away to chase another girl. I was left lying there, wishing with all my heart he would come back and claim me again.”

“Was your feeling sexual in nature?” William interjected.

“I don’t think so, Sir,” Jess replied. “I was too young to process whatever I was feeling as sexual. But it was as if something inside me opened, like a bud suddenly unfurling. I knew then this was something I had to find again, to try to recapture.”

“A natural,” Cameron murmured softly to himself. “A born submissive.”

“When did you have your first orgasm?” William asked next.

“Um.” Jess paused a moment before replying. “I was about twelve, I think. I was just lying in bed one night and I felt this weird pulsing between my legs. I started rubbing at it and it felt good and…” She trailed off.

“What did you fantasize about while you were masturbating?” Dominique queried.

“Oh, gosh,” Jess replied with a nervous laugh. “I don’t remember the specifics of that one time. But my fantasies have always centered around a strong, sexy man taking full control of me in every possible way, leaving me with no choice but to submit.”