Desire's Awakening (22 page)

“Well, your
source
is apparently mistaken. You’ve been to these parties before. You know the rules…safe, sane and
consensual.
You ignored her safe word. Since you apparently cannot abide by the rules, you need to leave.”

Victor stood and faced his host, straightening his clothing. “Rather possessive for a Trainer, aren’t you, Damien? Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this what we’re supposed to do at this party? Who the hell do you think you are telling me to get out? You should train your girls better to accommodate your guest’s wishes.”

Damien leaned in close to Victor, his face mere inches from the Dom. “Get out, Victor. You’re no longer welcome here.”

Victor’s eyes narrowed. He fisted his hand and lifted it as if ready to throw a punch but lowered it when the crowd moved forward.

“Are you leaving on your own or would you like an escort?” Damien’s voice was deep and dangerous and the look on his face was deadly serious.

The Dom glared at Kaitlin. “We’re not finished yet, whore,” he said, pointing at her.

“I’ll leave because I’m done here tonight,” he spat at Damien, “but you still owe me a replacement sub and I plan to collect!” His face was red with anger. As he left the room, the other Doms stepped back to create a path and to watch his departure. Corinne slipped back out of sight through the same path before it closed again.

“Okay, it’s over, folks. Sorry for the interruption. Go back to partying,” Damien said.

The DJ started playing music again and the guests shook their heads. They resumed socializing and playing, but the mood in the room had changed.

Damien took Kaitlin’s hands in his, turning them over to inspect her reddened wrists.

“Are you all right, girl? Do you want to leave?”

Kat pulled her hands back to look at them. The rope burns were evident and her wrists were a little sore, but nothing she couldn’t live with. It took her a moment to regain her composure and to shake off the disgust and fear that Victor had left her feeling. Her first thought was to throw her arms around Damien’s neck and kiss him in gratitude for coming to her rescue, but that seemed inappropriate. And considering her resolve to distance herself from the Trainer, she decided that was definitely a bad idea.

However, it meant a lot to her that Damien had assisted her. She assumed that he probably would have done the same for any of his subs who had been mistreated so she wasn’t going to read anything more into his actions. Besides, Kat had more important things to do and she had not accomplished her goal of meeting as many Doms as she could. Certainly there had to be nice Doms at the party. She just hadn’t met them yet.

“No Sir, I’m all right now. He scared me. I’ll be okay. I’d like to stay.”

A worried expression crossed Sir Damien’s features. She wasn’t sure whether the concern was for her personally or the fact that one of his subs had been attacked. Perhaps it had even been concern that the scene had interrupted his party.

“Fine. Carry on,” Damien ordered.

She nodded and moved back into the crowd. A distinguished-looking Dom walked up to her and smiled. Deep dimples graced both cheeks and his smile crinkled the edges of his blue eyes. Kaitlin guessed he was in his forties by the touches of silver in his light brown hair and his neatly trimmed mustache. He bowed to her and kissed the back of her hand. He was slightly taller than her by a few inches and rather slender, but he appeared to be in good shape for his age and seemed quite respectful. After what she had just been through, he was a breath of fresh air.

“Hi. My name is Sir David. And you are…?”

“Kaitlin.”

“Kaitlin. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He had a pleasant voice with a slight accent that she couldn’t quite place…French, perhaps? She liked that. He was a sharp dresser, sporting a dark suit of fine material with an open-necked white shirt. It gave him a cultured appearance. She was impressed.

“Would you care to join me on the sofa so we can talk and get to know one another?” He offered her his arm and nodded to an open spot on the couch.

“I’d love to. Thank you, Sir.”

Damien observed Kaitlin’s conversation with Sir David, a Dom who had recently moved into the area from Toronto, Canada. He seemed to be an all-right guy, but Damien hadn’t had a chance to get to know him. If Kaitlin expressed an interest in Sir David, Damien would definitely have to check into the Dom’s credentials.

Doc Fischer walked over and put her hand on Damien’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Damien didn’t look at the doctor because he was too busy observing what Kaitlin was doing. He answered distractedly.

“Yeah, I’m fine now. Victor got on my nerves. I was watching him from the other side of the room. I tried not to interfere, but when I saw her struggling and heard her call out the safe word several times and he didn’t back down, I had to act. I couldn’t let that situation get out of control.”

Kaitlin and David had moved to the couch and David had taken a seat a respectable distance from her. Damien watched David say something, then smile and nod his head at something Kat said. Though he didn’t want to appear to be spying on them, Damien wished he was closer to hear what they were talking about. When David’s hand moved to the back of the couch near her head, a nervous tic worked Damien’s jaw.

“Of course you did. She called her safe word and you had every right to respond the way you did. I overheard the other Doms and they all agree with you. It’s a shame that the incident happened because it ruined the party’s atmosphere, but things will go back to normal. Right now, though, you’re being a little too overprotective by watching her every move. You’re going to scare off potential suitors. Come. Let’s visit with my new friend Jeanine, because it appears that you’re jealous of what’s happening.”

Jealous? Damien shook his head. It had nothing to do with jealousy. He was protecting his investment. She had just been attacked and his protective side had come forth.
Why is she placing her hand on David’s knee?
He looked at his friend and shook his head.

“I’m not jealous. I’m just responsible for her until she’s placed with her Dominant, that’s all.”

She arched a brow at him. “If you say so.”

Damien looked back in time to see David’s head move close to Kaitlin’s as if he was saying something private to her. It bothered him that he didn’t know what was transpiring between the two of them.

“Yes, I say so.”

“Good. Because you’re not supposed to get involved emotionally with the girls you train. If the word gets out that you can’t be trusted with the submissives, you won’t have anyone offering to buy your training contracts or asking you to train their owned subs. Your business will go down the drain.”

“I know.”

“And you also know that the only proper way for you to have your own sub is to pay for one’s training package at the auction, just like everyone else. If that’s what you want to do, I say go for it.”

Damien regarded the doctor and shook his head. “You know I really appreciate your friendship.” He patted her on the back. “Thanks, I needed that.”

“You’re welcome. Now let’s get back to the party, shall we?”

“Okay.”

Damien walked with Doc Fischer over to a group of three Dominants and joined in their conversation. In the back of his mind, however, he couldn’t help but wonder what Kat was thinking or feeling.

He observed her several times off and on during the night speaking to other Doms and always remained on guard in case she needed him again. Thankfully, she appeared to be fine. When she left the party around two a.m. on the arm of Sir David, a twinge of something possessive tugged at his heart. Though she was certainly not his and was following the proper protocol in mingling with his guests, an uncomfortable knot twisted his stomach. And when David leaned down to kiss Kat good night, Damien’s fists clenched. He turned away, not wanting to watch her reaction.

The party ended around three a.m. Sir Timothy was the last one to leave. Damien walked him to the door.

“Thanks for coming tonight. It looks like you and Melissa are doing well.”

“Yes. I’m looking forward to bidding on her at the auction in a few weeks.”

Damien smiled. He was glad he had introduced Tim to Melissa. They seemed to be a perfect match. Though he longed to have another relationship like the one he had years ago, he didn’t want another Corinne situation. Once she was out of his house, he hoped life would get back to normal.

“That’s great.”

“What about you?”

Damien shook his head. “I don’t know. After tonight’s incident, I’m considering staying a bachelor for a while.”

“You’re probably right. You’ve got a lot of responsibility here and a woman would most likely bring complications. Well, have a good night, Sir.”

Damien turned off the lights and walked up the stairs to his room. A cool night breeze rustled the sheer, white drapes in front of the French doors. He walked over to shut the doors and saw a full moon shining brightly in the midnight sky. Out of habit, he walked out onto the porch and leaned against the railing, looking up at the moon. Instinctively, he glanced at the pool and his mind conjured a dark-haired beauty standing beneath the waterfall. Damien sighed heavily, shook his head and went back into his bedroom. Sleep would not come easily this night.

Chapter Fifteen

Kaitlin was too depressed to participate in the volleyball game on Sunday. She made an excuse that she wasn’t feeling well when Dolly invited her to join the game. Though it was a free day, she couldn’t get motivated to do anything. The run-in with Sir Victor last night hurt her pride more than anything. But she worried that the spectacle they caused might have done harm to Sir Damien’s reputation. She kept replaying the scene over and over in her mind, wondering if she could have done something different that would have changed the outcome.
Too late to worry about that now.

Another thing weighed even heavier on her mind. With a little more than two weeks to go until the auction, she’d still have to interact with Sir Damien. It would be difficult to be so close to him and pretend she didn’t feel that strong attraction to him. If he hadn’t been so wonderful to her, she might not have fallen for him. She had no one to blame but herself for she had been warned. Now she’d have to distance her heart from him and perhaps feign interest in Sir David. She hoped Damien wouldn’t invite her into his room any more for that was when her heart was most vulnerable. The downside to her plan was that she would miss his wonderful kisses and the way he looked at her.

* * * * *

Damien sat at his desk flipping through paperwork. He had been working all day long, trying to keep his mind busy. Last night’s party had almost been a disaster. The incident with Victor was unfortunate. Thankfully, his mingling with the crowd after Victor left renewed their interest in his work. He had been a gracious host and showed them his professional side. Among them were some repeat customers and he was pleased to note quite a few new acquaintances from Club Exotica. They were very impressed with his girls and indicated an interest in bidding on their training packages at the next auction.

The apparent connection between Victor and Corinne bothered him. Though Victor hadn’t directly indicated her involvement in that little scene last night, he did give the impression that he had “insider” information and winked at Corinne. Damien had to be sure, so he scheduled an appointment with Corinne for a heart-to-heart conversation. When he heard her knock on the door, he took a deep breath.

“Come.”

“Sir, you wanted to see me?” Corinne played the submissive role very well this time.

“Yes. Sit.” He motioned to the chair in front of his desk and watched her walk demurely to the chair with her head bowed.

“Look at me. So what did you think of the party last night?”

Bright green eyes met his. He noticed she had taken extra measures to make them look bigger by applying light green eye shadow and heavy mascara on her lashes. Where once he found it attractive, he now thought it was an intentional distraction.

“Sir, it was…interesting.”

“Yes, it certainly was. Especially the incident with Victor. What do you think gave him the impression that he could violate the rules of safe, sane and consensual with any of my subs?”

Corinne’s eyes shifted to the bookcase behind him. She couldn’t look him straight in the eyes while answering his question.

“I don’t know, Sir. But you know Victor’s a bit of a rebel. He never was one for formality, Sir.”

He banged his fist on the desk and stood over her. She jumped in her seat and lowered her eyes.

“Don’t give me that crap. You’ve been here six months and have attended many parties. Victor has been here before and never acted that way in public. I suspect he had some prodding. He believes Kaitlin is a pain slut. Did you tell him that when you two were talking at the bar?”

Her gaze flew back to him, eyes wide and startled. “Me, Sir? Why would you think that? I would never do something like that.”

“Then why did he wink at you?”

“I don’t know. Perhaps it’s because he thinks I’m cute.”

Damien studied her carefully. Though her words said one thing, her body language told him another story. She twisted her hands in her lap and bit her lip. Sweat beaded on her forehead even though the room was quite cool. This was not the self-assured woman who had been running the household for the past six months. This was a devious and scared Corinne. She was too clever to admit anything to him that would only incriminate her further and bring forth his ire. But he didn’t need to ask her anything more. He had enough information. She was guilty.

“I see. All right, you are dismissed.”

He resumed writing notes on the files on his desk.

“Sir?”

He lifted his head to regard the penitent look on her face. Then she dropped her head as she spoke.

“I’m sorry if I’ve angered you in any way. Would you please reconsider your decision to sell my training package at the auction, Sir?”

“No. I won’t change my mind. But I will respect your wishes when it comes to the highest bidder. If you feel uncomfortable with the choice, I won’t accept his offer and will place you on the auction block for another.”