The Darker Side of Pleasure (19 page)

M
ARCUS STALKED FROM THE ROOM, OUT INTO
the wide, cool hallway. Robert followed him.

“Marcus. What happened in there?”

“She’s done.”

“I can see that. Mika and the girls are taking her down. But I meant you.” He could hear fury in his uncle’s voice. “You are far too experienced a trainer to simply walk away and leave her for others to attend to without a word. You want to tell me what the hell that was about?”

Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know.”

Robert was quiet a moment. “You lost control in there.”

Marcus ran a hand through his hair. Of course Robert was right. But he couldn’t explain it to him any more than he could to himself. He said quietly, “Yes.”

“You know as well as I do that we cannot allow that to happen. Control is everything, Marcus. It is our first responsibility.”

“I know that! Don’t you think I know that?”

Robert’s voice was as calm and cool as the ocean one could almost see from his house. “Remember who you’re talking to, nephew.”

Marcus drew in a lungful of air, blew it out. “I’m sorry. Damn it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“Is it her? Cassandra? Or is it something deeper?”

“I don’t know. I need some time to figure it out.”

“I’d like for you not to miss her debut at The Lair next weekend. But you’ve got to get a hold of yourself if you’re going to be there.”

“The Lair? You’re taking her there already?”

“Her needs run deep. And we are here to serve their needs, are we not?”

“But she’s new. She’s not ready.” He was fuming and hot all over. But was it really on her behalf? Or did he simply not want anyone else to touch her?

“You saw for yourself how ready she is, Marcus.”

He paced the hallway while Robert stood waiting patiently. Finally, his uncle said, “Perhaps you need something to distract yourself with. I can send Jacqueline home with you for a few days.”

The petite blonde had served Marcus before, and he had enjoyed her. But he didn’t want her right now. The only one he could think of was Cassandra, and he knew his uncle would never give such an inexperienced girl to anyone else so soon.

But the moment he thought of it, of having her to himself, the idea became all-consuming. To have her in his house. That silken flesh, those incredible, full breasts, that wild red hair in his hand…
his
…

But she was not his. That was the point. And perhaps the problem.

“I won’t need Jacqueline, thank you, Robert.”

His uncle raised his dark, gray brows. “You’re sure?”

“Yes.”

“Do whatever you need to do to get ahold of yourself, Marcus. You cannot let this girl go to your head. Then come to The Lair on Saturday evening.”

But it was too late. She had already gone to his head. She was all he could think about since the first moment he’d laid eyes on her. And that brief exchange, their small conversation about art, that had really gotten to him. That she had a mind under all of that pale, tempting flesh. But she was not his.
Not his. Not for him.

He would have to keep telling himself that. Because deep in his soul, he knew otherwise.

Cassandra had slept hard after the party. She barely remembered the two blond girls taking her to her room, bathing her, putting her to bed. Now, with the morning light filtering in through the wide slats of the plantation shutters, the entire episode seemed like a dream.

Marcus.
That was his name. She savored the feel of it on her tongue as she whispered it to herself.

He was the most fascinating man she had ever met. A perfect example of dark male beauty, and something else, something essential about him…

She loved his commanding presence, something he shared with Master Robert. But with Robert it was cooler, less passionate. Marcus was all fire and heat where Robert was calm, cool control. It was his fire that touched her.

And he had spoken to her. Why did that seem so significant? Despite that she was a slave in this place, he had talked to her. Had recognized her for more than what she offered of her body. She loved the duality of that moment.

She hated that she had no way of knowing when she would see him again.

Mika came in on quiet, bare feet, carrying a breakfast tray.

“Good morning, Cassandra.”

She blinked in surprise. “You…I thought…we aren’t supposed to talk.”

Her voice was soft and sweet. “You go home today. It is part of the transition back to your normal life. You may ask me questions, if you like. But first, sit up and have something to eat.”

Mika plumped her pillows and Cassandra sat upright in the bed. Mika laid the tray over her lap and poured a cup of fragrant tea.

Cassandra sat back against the pillows. “I have so many questions. I don’t even know where to start.”

The other woman smiled. “Start anywhere. We have time.”

“How long have you been here?”

“I have been with Master Robert for three years.”

“And you live here all the time?”

“Yes, all the time. I have given myself into his service.”

“But do you never go out?”

Mika laughed, a gentle sound. “Of course. I go to the market, and to take care of whatever other errands Master has for me. And Laura and Jacqueline and I go to the beach sometimes.”

Cassandra sipped her tea. “Laura and Jacqueline? They are the others?”

“Yes. They both live here, also. Laura is the taller of the two. Jacqueline, the girl with the piercings, goes to college part-time.”

“It’s so strange to be here and to think of the outside world at the same time. It’s as though the two exist on different planes.”

“This is why you will be treated as a guest here before you leave today. It takes some time to switch gears in your head. Being back in the world often comes as a shock, especially when you’re new to this.”

“I can’t even bear to think about leaving.” Tears stung her eyes and she set her cup down on the tray.

“You will be back next weekend, yes?”

Cassandra nodded.

“You need time in between your visits here to decide if this is what you really want, and how far you want to go with it. Living as a submissive is very different from visiting this lifestyle, Cassandra. You need time to figure out what will work for you. Master Robert spoke with you about these things at your first meeting.”

Cassandra nodded. “But talking about it and living it are two different things.”

“He knows. That is why you will only come on the weekends for a while. Is there anything else I can tell you?”

“Mika…do you…do you ever feel this sense of sort of falling in love with whoever is dominating you?”

She shrugged. “We all do. I think it has to do with our innate desire to please. The dominant is meeting a need in us no one else can meet, both physically and emotionally.”

“It’s overwhelming.”

“It can be. This is one of the reasons why it is so important that you play only with people who are well-known and respected within the BDSM community. But you are in Master Robert’s care now. You won’t need to worry about that. He will only give you to those people he trusts utterly.”

“And Marcus?” She shivered at the sensation of his name coming from her lips.

Mika nodded. “Marcus di Sante. He is Master Robert’s nephew. He is young, but he is very good at what he does. Master trusts him as he would his own hand.”

She thought of Marcus’s hands on her and trembled, her sex clenching. She wanted to ask more about him, but she didn’t dare. And she would have so much to think about all week as it was. But she knew Marcus’s face wouldn’t leave her thoughts until she saw him again. No, she corrected herself. His face would be in her thoughts always.

Coming back to her apartment in Santa Monica was a shock. She almost felt as though she were sneaking through normal society, just walking through the underground parking garage and taking the elevator to her floor. She was relieved to slip into her apartment and shut the door behind her.

It was the same place she’d lived in for five years. All of her belongings were there: her red velvet sofa, her antique lamps, the tall wooden shelves overflowing with the books she loved. Yet it all seemed alien to her, as though she’d been gone for months instead of three days.

Her high black heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she wandered into her bedroom to unpack her small bag. She set it on the antique Victorian dresser and caught sight of herself in the oval mirror above it. Her hair was a bit wild, the dark red curls falling around her shoulders in a state of disarray. She moved closer. Her eyes were huge, luminous. Did she see something in them that hadn’t been there before? Or was she imagining it because she felt so different? She was not the same person who had left this room last Friday. She’d experienced so much in the last few days, she knew it had changed her forever.

Every single fantasy she’d ever had had come true. And a few she didn’t even know had existed: being touched, stimulated, by women. The heightened excitement of being watched by the crowd while Mistress Delphine had played her. And while Marcus had played her, but she had been far too focused on the fact that it was
him
to be more than marginally aware of anyone else.

A small rush of heat flooded her body as she thought of him. Of the way he had touched her. His hands had been like fire dancing over her flesh. And when he had spanked her…

The insistent ringing of her telephone brought her head up and she grabbed the receiver from her nightstand.

“Hello?”

“Cassandra?”

A deep voice, familiar somehow…

“Cassandra, it’s Marcus.”

She was too stunned to speak. Could it really be him? Her body instantly went warm all over, her sex clenching with damp heat.

“Do you remember me? From Master Robert’s house.”

“Yes, of course.” Remember him? She had thought of little else since the first moment she’d seen him.

“I wanted to talk with you.”

“What about?” Her pulse was speeding, pounding. She wanted to drop to her knees.

There was a pause, then, “I want to know what you’re thinking, feeling, about all of this.”