Slave To Love (22 page)

“Yeah. She is a screamer.” Bastard turned to Jace. “And she loves to fuck.”

Hearing that ran his blood ice cold. “You know you can’t have sex with her during the show.”

“With who?”

“Madame Macabre or Taren. It’s in the contract.”

Bastard snickered. “Fucking Ego Morton fucked that other bitch all during the other show.”

As much as Jace didn’t like his brother right now, he’d be damned if anyone else got to talk about him. “Easy. Different situation. Besides, the two are married now.”

Bastard laughed this time. “If I’m the winner, I’m not marrying her.” He pointed to Taren. “As cute as she is, I have no interest in tying myself down. I like to do the tying.”

Jace knew Bastard would say that joke.

“I first have to see if she’s down for race play.” Bastard pulled a pair of black gloves from his pocket and slipped them on his hands.

“What?” Jace wanted to be sure he heard the man clearly.

“Race play. Macabre loved it.” Bastard glanced at Fear and leaned in close to Jace. He lowered his voice. “I call Macabre the N-word, and she’s practically gushing, especially while I’m caning her.”

Jace clasped his hands together to prevent himself from knocking this asshole to the ground. “Taren may not be into that.”

Bastard patted Jace on his shoulder. “You never know what they’re into until you try.”

The door to the room swung open. Pleasure Principal waltzed inside and went directly to his luggage.

“Need help getting all of these to your van.” Principal pointed to several of the stagehands in the area.

Jace had spent so much time talking to Bastard that he’d missed Taren’s decision. “She chose you?” He pointed to Twist.

“She liked that I’m into cupping. As soon as I said it, she made her decision.” Twist plopped down on a sofa. “Next.”

As though she cued it, Soneni rushed into the room.

Jace had hoped to be going next, or at least go against Bastard. If Fear and Rock went in together, he’d rather her pick Rock, even though he could be a hard Dom. At least Jace felt Rock could be reasoned with if his style got too intense. Fear looked like he fed off of, well, fear.

“I need Fear.” The assistant pointed to the African-American man.

Please pick me or Rock. Don’t pick that bastard.

“And, um, Sadistic Bastard.” The assistant winced when she mentioned the name.

Bastard cheered and pumped his fist in the air. “I’m ready.”

Fuck. Jace glanced at Rock.

“Looks like we’re the last duo.” Master Rock scratched his dark, neatly trimmed beard. “It’ll be interesting.”

Interesting indeed. Jace paid attention to the screen and listened in on the interview. He noticed right away how Macabre’s posture straightened as soon as Sadistic Bastard walked into the room. Then she crossed her legs.

Christ. Maybe Bastard had a point about Macabre. For that reason, Bastard should own Macabre and not even compete. Why would the man want to do this show if he had a favorite play bottom?

He listened in on the interview. Jace prayed in his head that Taren would go for the best option. At this point, Jace couldn’t discern who that would be, the arrogant jerk Fear or the racist fucker Sadistic Bastard.

“What’s your favorite form of play?” Taren asked both men.

“Come on. Fuck up.” Jace rocked back and forth as he awaited for them to answer.

“I’m into impact play.” Fear drummed his fingers on the table. “I dig the sound when an object hits against flesh.” To punctuate his statement, he slapped his large hands, making both Macabre and Taren jump.

“Oh, okay.” Taren wrote something in her book. Then she turned to Bastard. “And you? What do you like?”

Jace noticed Macabre rub the back of her neck before she brought her hand down to the side, the same place Bastard pointed out that he bit during their play session.

Bastard tapped his finger against his head. “I like getting into your head. The mind is an awesome playground. It has no limits. With a blindfold, I can have you imagining all sorts of things.”

Taren smiled a little and nodded.

No. She didn’t understand the full ramifications of Bastard’s statement. Jace hoped she didn’t think that because he wouldn’t be pushing her body like Fear that a little mind play would be harmless.

“Keep talking. Keep talking.” Jace wanted Bastard to reveal his true self. He only scratched a tiny surface.

“I think I’ve made my decision.” Taren placed her pen down.

“Good. A black bitch who can decide something quickly. I love it.” Bastard laughed until he took stock of the room.

Taren stared at him with her mouth agape. Macabre bowed her head. Fear looked like he wanted to rip the man’s head off his shoulders. Jace couldn’t have been happier that the idiot slipped up like that.

“I choose Fear.” Taren stood right away as though to signal that she needed both men to leave.

Bastard stood and looked like he wanted to head toward Taren until Fear grabbed his collar.

“The door is that way.” Fear pushed him toward the door.

“Get your fucking hands off me!” Bastard straightened out his clothes. “I’m not a racist.” He volleyed his attention between Macabre and Taren. “Mackie, tell her.”

Macabre shook her head. “This isn’t the club. Not every person likes all things deviant. Just a few.” She exhaled.

Jace did the same.

“What a dick.” Rock shook his head as he walked away from the TV screen.

Jace remained glued until he watched Fear shaking Taren’s hand before leaving.

“Okay, gentlemen. You two are the last ones.” Soneni pointed to the door. “You ready?”

“Sure.” Rock headed to the door first. He passed Bastard and purposely knocked his shoulder into the man.

“Hey, unnecessary.” Bastard swung around and yelled at Rock as he walked out of the room.

Jace passed Fear when he walked out of the room.

“Told you she would pick me.” Fear winked at Jace.

Jace would have one opportunity with Taren. He couldn’t mess this up.

Both men stepped into the dining room area at the same time. Jace connected his stare to Taren immediately. The air felt charged and thick. A buffer existed between their bodies that he felt compelled to sit in one of the chairs down at the end of the table away from her.

Rock sat across from him. He, too, kept his stare on Taren. Jace noticed Taren’s full attention remained on him.

“Um, thank you, gentlemen,” Taren said. “I know it’s been a long day. You’re the last two I get to interview.” She smiled. “Looks like they saved the best for last.”

Jace sat up taller.

“And someone smells really good.” Taren tucked her hair behind her ear as she dropped her gaze to her paper.

“Let’s get started on the interview.” Macabre nodded toward the men.

“Yes. Please introduce yourselves.” Taren glanced at both of them.

Master Rock started first. “I’m Master Rock. I’ve been in the lifestyle all of my adult life. I’m a sadist. I enjoy impact play, but I’m also into other forms of physical play like kidnapping and interrogation.”

Taren kept quiet and nodded as she scribbled some notes.

“One thing that I enjoy most is after every play session, I love doing aftercare. There’s something so personal and intimate about holding a person that you’ve pushed to the absolute limits and have her draped in your arms feeling appreciative and thankful.” Rock held up his hand. “I sometimes put my hand on her chest over her heart to feel her heartbeat slowing down. If she falls asleep, I know I’ve done my job.”

Taren smiled at Rock’s answer. It took her a moment to turn to Jace. When she did, she reconnected her stare with him like she had when he’d first arrived. “And you?”

Jace thought about his answer. He recalled how he first got into the lifestyle and the first time a whip he wielded connected to a submissive’s skin.

“My name is Master. My favorite play is whatever makes my submissive react the most.” Jace’s chest opened up as he revealed himself. “If she likes to be spanked, I’ll do that. If she’s into caning, I’ll get a good one and wear her out. I’ve found that getting her reaction fuels me. I can do anything with the right woman.”

Taren gasped after he answered. To Jace, it looked like her breathing had increased, and not in a good way. If didn’t know any better, he would swear she appeared panicked. She picked up a glass of water, and Jace noticed her hand shaking.

“Do we need to stop?” Jace asked.

Taren shook her head. “No. I’ve made my decision.” She stared at Rock for a while before she brought her attention to Jace.

Now Jace noticed she glared at him.

She turned to Rock. “I’m so sorry, Master Rock. I’m choosing Master.” Taren lowered her head as though she regretted her decision.

Rock stood. “No apologies necessary.” He walked over to her.

This time Taren didn’t stand. She almost seemed exhausted.

Rock leaned over and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks for the opportunity.”

As soon as he walked out of the room, Jace stood. He started to walk toward Taren to thank her, but she leapt to her feet and left the room.

“And cut!” Kitty exclaimed. “Taren, are you okay?”

Taren didn’t answer as she raced up the stairs to the master bedroom.

“Can someone tell me what the hell is going on?” Kitty jumped from her director’s chair.

“I’ll go up and check.” Soneni ran up the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door.

“Mackie, you can rest in your room if you want. The next thing will be the dinner with  the Doms and Dommes Taren just picked.” Kitty looked at the dining room. “We’ll need to redo the room and prepare the food, so you have time to rest up if you want.”

Macabre stood. “Good. Time to get out of this corset and lie naked on the bed.” She laughed as she sauntered out of the room.

The production assistant who ran up the stairs flew down them in the same speed. She whispered something in Kitty’s ear as she glanced over at Jace. A tickle ran over his stomach at the suspicious look.

“Get this room set up.” Kitty clapped her hands, which made people move. Then she pointed to Jace. “You. Come with me.”

Kitty stomped up the stairs with Jace following behind her. She opened the door to the bedroom and allowed Jace to go through first.

Taren wrung her hands together while she paced back and forth in front of the bed. She barely looked at Jace when he walked into the room. When Kitty came in, she closed the door behind her.

“What’s this about?” Jace asked.

“Take off your mask.” Kitty crossed her arms over her chest.

Jace looked at her, then Taren. “I thought I couldn’t take off my mask unless I was in the bathroom.”

“No cameras in here. Take it off. Now.”

Jace winced at the demand. He didn’t like being spoken to like a commodity of the show. “No.” He pointed to Taren. “If she sees my face, I’m automatically out of the competition.” Although he’d wanted that at first, now that he’d gotten this far he wanted to stay. “I want to know what the hell is going on.”

Taren turned to Kitty. “He can’t be in the show.” She shook her head. “We had sex.”

Shit.

Chapter Fifteen

Taren had suspicions as soon as she saw the last two men entering the room to be interviewed. Master’s eyes caught her attention first. Her heart pounded and her insides churned as soon as she spied his body, although the hood frightened her. She had to admit that Master Rock also captured her interest. Once she smelled Master’s scent, she knew him.

“Take off the goddamn mask so that she can confirm this and we can keep Master Rock if he hasn’t left yet.” Kitty grabbed Master’s arm. “I can always edit you out.”

Master pulled her hand off him. “Before you go through the trouble, I want to hear what she has to say.”

Taren shook her head and started pacing again. “I had sex with a guy who came here about a week ago. The eyes and the way you smell. I knew it had to be you. Your voice was muffled under the mask, but I could tell it was you.”

Kitty stood in front of Master. “Is this true?”

Master regarded Kitty for a moment before addressing Taren. “Go get Vern.”

Kitty pointed at him. “Stay right here.” She left the room.

Being left alone with the man she knew had to be Jace had Taren wishing she had a buffer. “You lied to me.”

Master shook his head. “No, I didn’t.” He took a step closer to her.

She moved away. “I asked you several times if you were a part of the show. You could have told me.”

“At the time, I wasn’t.” He lowered his voice. “That doesn’t change the fact that you picked me. You wanted me here.”

Taren stared at him until Kitty and Vern burst through the door.

Master towered over the associate producer. “Vern, when did I sign the contract to be a part of this show?”

He shrugged. “A few hours ago. Right before we did hair and makeup.” He looked at the three of them. “Is there a problem?”

Master turned to Taren. “There’s no way I had sex with her
after
I joined the show. The contract states that once we sign the contract, we cannot have sexual relations with anyone associated with it.” He addressed Kitty and Vern. “We’re still in compliance.”

“Oh, my.” Vern covered his mouth.

Taren felt heat radiating throughout her body. She couldn’t tell if it stemmed from anger or sexual excitement. “Is that true? He signed a contract to be a part of the show before taping today?” She kept her voice low, almost inaudible.

“That’s true.” Vern held his hands up.

Master clasped his hands together. “One of the original sixteen Dominants backed out at the last minute. I agreed to fill in, thinking she wouldn’t pick me.”

Kitty shook her head. “Fuck.” She moved past the men and stood in front of Taren. “How do you feel? You did pick him over Rock, and he did sign the contract after you two connected.”

“Allegedly.” Master wagged his finger in the air. “I’m not admitting to anything.”

Kitty shook her head. “He’s compliant with the contract. You still haven’t seen his face. Technically, he can still compete. What do you think? Do you mind if he stayed?”