More than a Dare (Masters Club 4)

“It’s anything but boring,” Jess interjected. “A true romance, the way those two finally got together.”

“And a story for another day,” Cleo said firmly. “Or at least not until we’ve had a few more drinks,” she added with a sweet, trilling laugh.

Dahlia’s drink arrived, and the waitress asked if they wanted to order anything to eat.

“They have the best onion rings here,” Jess said.

“And as long as we’re going that route,” Cleo added, “Let’s get the cheesy fries.”

“Sure,” Dahlia agreed, having skipped lunch with all her errand running. “Fine wine and junk food. What could be better?”

At Dahlia’s prompting, Cleo provided a few more details about how she and Master Jack had met and ultimately married many years later, after the death of his first wife. Though she kept it brief, her tone light, it had clearly been a long and difficult path for Cleo, and Dahlia was genuinely glad she’d found happiness.

As Dahlia sipped her wine, she tried to imagine being as immersed in the lifestyle as these two obviously were. Neither of them struck her as passive women who’d abdicated their sense of self to please a man. Both appeared empowered and supremely comfortable in their own skins. Yet, when at home, they both happily gave themselves over fully to their “Masters.” Cleo was even more into it than Jess, abdicating her right to choose for herself in even the smallest details.

So used to constantly asserting herself in her career and always striving to be at the top of her game, Dahlia could see the appeal of dropping all that at the door when she got home. And, she had to admit, so far the time with Hayden had been not only thrilling and deeply sexually satisfying, but also freeing in an odd sort of way.

It occurred to her that Hayden was the first man she’d ever been with who commanded one hundred percent of her attention when they were together. With every other guy she’d been involved with, she’d never been fully present. Even in the middle of lovemaking, her mind might wander for a moment or two, thinking about the charts she had to complete, the emails she needed to answer or the dry cleaning she needed to pick up.

But with Hayden, especially when they were in the middle of a scene, she was fully present in every sense. The rest of the world just fell away, her focus entirely on the man she was with. It was exhilarating in a way she’d never experienced, or even imagined was possible.

But what they’d shared was a far cry from a full-on Master/slave relationship. What would that be like—to actually experience the complete erotic surrender that had fueled her fantasies for so long?

The food arrived, distracting Dahlia from her thoughts. While not exactly heart-healthy, it was as delicious as promised. The buttermilk-battered onion rings were a perfect combination of sweet and salty, the hot, crispy fries thick-cut and slathered in tangy melted cheese.

As they ate, they talked about their respective careers. Cleo was a hair-stylist and makeup artist. Though she’d retired from the workforce, she worked at the Masters Club on an informal basis, grooming the new pleasure subs, sometimes doing positions training, as well as hair and makeup for the slave auctions.

“Slave auctions?” Dahlia asked in surprise.

“Some of the auctions are real, involving highly trained slaves who want to be placed with a full-time Master, but those are private. We also have play auctions that anyone can attend,” Cleo clarified. “It’s a way to raise money for worthy causes. Pleasure subs participate at will. They enter into a contract with whichever Master or Mistress has the winning bid. The contract can be for anything from a few hours of intensive play to a week-long full-on submission.”

“That’s how Jack managed to reclaim Cleo,” Jess added with a grin. “It was Hayden who actually facilitated that whole scheme so Jack would be sure to get the winning bid.”

“Sodding bastards, the pair of them,” Cleo muttered, though her eyes were dancing with mirth. “They had the whole thing rigged.”

As the girls shared the details, it brought home just how little Dahlia really knew about the degree of Hayden’s involvement in the Masters Club. He’d been fairly circumspect about what he actually did there, and she hadn’t pressed, not sure she wanted to know.

They weren’t yet officially a couple, and she’d never been a possessive lover. Yet, while she’d tried to be cool about his rushing off to the club to do who knew what with some potential “pleasure sub,” the fact was she was more than a little jealous and maybe even a tad resentful.

Two glasses of wine had loosened her tongue. “Hayden went to the club today, doing this exam or audition or whatever the heck it is he does there.” She looked from Cleo to Jess, suddenly determined to know, even if the knowledge didn’t sit well. “What does he actually do during these exams? Is he having sex with other women? Am I supposed to be okay with that?”