Jess forced a smile as she looked away. He’s not your Master. He’s just your mentor. Whatever that even means. It’s good like this. It’s for the best. Keep your worlds separate.
“I’m fine,” she said aloud. “Just fine.”
But she wasn’t.
And why was she lying to Cleo?
She was so used to always putting up a strong front, at work and elsewhere, it had become an ingrained habit. Never let ’em see you sweat. But maybe with Cleo, with this kind, open woman who had taken the trouble to offer her aftercare after her debut scene, she could let her guard down.
“It’s just”—she paused, blinking away sudden tears—“Master Cameron. When we met earlier this evening and he reviewed the positions with me, he was so hot. So sexy and masterful. I practically came right then from his hand on me. I thought when we went down to the dungeon that, naturally, Master Cameron would scene with me. But instead, he handed me off to Master Kevin. I did finally see him, toward the end of the scene, but then he…he just vanished.”
Cleo slapped her forehead. “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I saw Master Cameron earlier and he told me he had some kind of urgent business to attend to. He asked me to see to your aftercare. He said he’d be waiting in the auction room for you.”
Jess absorbed this information, relieved. At least he hadn’t totally abandoned her. But she was still irritated. The guy had a reputation as a workaholic, but really, couldn’t he have left his work at the office just this once?
“Hmph,” she sputtered, aware she sounded petulant.
Cleo chuckled, shaking her head. “I’m not going to lie. It is a little unusual for a mentor not to handle a mentee’s initial scene himself. But I wouldn’t stress over his not sticking around. He’s a bit of a strange bird, our Master Cameron. How shall I put this?” She paused, pressing her lips together in apparent thought. “He’s very reserved. His scenes are always intense, but rarely with the same sub twice. You’re the first person he’s mentored in quite a while. That in itself is pretty special.”
She patted Jess’s arm, smiling brightly. “I wouldn’t worry about his leaving at the end of the scene. Master Kevin was clearly very pleased. I bet he’s already found Master Cameron and told him how well you did. In fact,” she added staunchly, as if trying to convince not only Jess, but herself, “Maybe Master Cameron is so pleased with what he’s seen up till now that he didn’t feel the need to watch over you. You flew your first time out of the nest. So maybe he just figures his work as a mentor is done, and he just wants to check in with how you’re doing.”
Jess frowned. “But I don’t want it to be done,” she blurted before she could stop herself. “I want him to scene with me.”
And only me.
Whoa. Backspace. Delete that thought.
But Cleo only laughed. “Don’t we all?”
Chapter 14
Cameron remained in the auction room after Alex took his leave, his brandy snifter still in hand. He stared down into the amber liquid, lost in thought as he waited for Cleo to bring Jess to him.
He looked up at the sound of feminine laughter. Dominique and Grayson entered the room, arm in arm. Dominique was wearing what Cameron thought of as her Catwoman outfit, a slinky red latex jumpsuit with a long silver zipper down its front, stilettos on her feet. Grayson, a big, burly man with a mop of black curly hair, was dressed in caramel-dyed leather that looked as soft as butter.
As Grayson moved toward the bar, Dominique noticed Cameron. She walked toward him, hands on her hips. “What’re you doing in here? Where’s your new mentee?”
Cameron quashed the defensive reaction that immediately tried to rear its head. He smiled. “Good evening to you, too, Dominique.”
“Don’t change the subject,” she retorted, though she smiled back. “Seriously, where is she? I thought you’d be in the dungeon by now, giving her a proper test drive.”
“She shared a scene with Kevin and his girls,” Cameron replied, keeping his tone light and even, like it was no big deal. “Cleo is seeing to her aftercare.”
Dominique perched on the edge of the loveseat, catty-corner to Cameron’s wingback. She regarded him with a thoughtful expression. “Is everything all right, Cameron?”
“Sure,” he replied easily. “Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because you handed off your new mentee to someone else for her first dungeon scene. I would have thought you’d be champing at the bit to test her out.”
Cameron shrugged. “Plenty of time for that. I spent an hour or so with Jess earlier, reviewing her slave positions. When we went down to the dungeon, Kevin needed a third for his scene, and I gave him Jess.” Cameron continued to feign a nonchalance he didn’t feel. “She comported herself well. Cleo is bringing her to me for debriefing as soon as she’s got her cleaned up.”