Far from Blind (3 page)

It
read “Master Marcus” in red embroidery, clear as day over his heart. It was a
sign. She’d be just fine. A smile warmed her from head to toe. She’d never met
Master Marcus, but had heard enough about him to know he was the best of men.
Heat flushed through her as she walked past him and climbed the stairs. He’d
been Ivy’s trainer before she met Mr. Marsh.
Shit.
She pinched her thigh. Upstairs Mr. Marsh needed to be called
Master Seth. Ivy warned her a few times. Any show of disrespect could earn her
a spanking or worse.

Dang.
What would a spanking feel like? It made no sense that what was known as a
punishment would turn her on. A million little things were keeping her thoughts
off center. She felt like she was riding a Lazy Susan and the trip was making
her dizzy.

Now
that she thought about it, Master Marcus’s shirt was the same one he had on
earlier. She hadn’t even noticed. Normally, she regarded herself as quite
detail oriented, but not since she decided to attend tonight. Her thoughts had
only been scattered, part on her task at hand, part on her infatuation with
Brad that she still couldn’t let go of, and part on Mistress Charlie’s match.
The more she thought about the match, the more it bothered her. Sure, the
Mistress thought they’d be great together, but this man hadn’t picked her,
hadn’t had the chance to say she was the one.

Regardless,
tonight was a new beginning. She needed to take back control of her life and
move forward. If her first encounter with Charlie’s match showed a glimpse of
her future, it would be delicious.

Damn,
she was about to see him. She walked in a haze through the last door and into
the club. This was her moment to ruin. Whoever her match was they clearly had a
physical connection … in the dark. What if that disappeared once he saw her, when
he realized that she wasn’t some kind of unique beauty?

Master
Marcus waited until the last of the group had left the stairwell. “Follow me
and keep close.”

The
vibrations in the room were heavy. Loud music filled the room and sent a pulse
along her legs through the floor. Distractions were everywhere, from the striking
dance moves on her left to the intensity from the stations holding several
different scenes to her right. The smell of sex hung thick in the air. The room
was alive.

Candy
returned her concentration to Master Marcus, knowing she’d have plenty of time
to explore the club in the weeks ahead. Right now, she needed to stay focused
and prepare for what was about to happen. It was time to meet her date. The
whole night was so backwards.

Chapter Three

In no time, they were across the room and
into another hallway. Mistress Charlie held her arms open and the three of them
ran to her.

“It’s
so good to see you ladies again.” She kissed each of them. “So, tell me. How is
it going so far?”

“It
was too quick,” the woman on her right said.

“It
really was.” Candy agreed.

“That’s
good to hear.” She backed up a step. “Come and practice your kneeling position
for me. Take the moment to center yourself and open a space for the next step.”

Candy
and the two other girls spaced themselves evenly, like Mistress Charlie had
taught them. Then Candy knelt down, keeping her knees spread, she sat back on
her heels. A slight pull stretched along her thighs as she took a deep breath
and rested the backs of her hands on them. Additional slow deep breaths calmed
her raging nerves.

She
was here in this moment.

“Well
done, my dears. I’m quite impressed. Not only with this proper display but also
with the first impressions you’ve made on the gentleman waiting for you. They
are all eager to continue the night. Take another deep breath.”

In
and out, she let her shoulders fall.

“Do
you have any questions?” Charlie walked behind them, taking a moment with each.
She tucked Candy’s hair behind her ear.

“I’m
ready, Mistress,” they each said.

“Good.
Stand up for me then.”

Candy
raised up to her knees and, as smoothly as she could, she raised herself back
to standing. All the practicing was starting to pay off. She still needed to
work on keeping her back straight though. It wasn’t quite right, yet.

“Very
good, Candy. Your rise continues to improve.” Mistress Charlie took hold of
Candy’s hand and tugged her forward. “You’re in this first room.” She stopped
before Candy could see her date. “I’ll be here all night if you want to talk
and I’ll see you at brunch tomorrow. Go on in when you’re ready.” Mistress
Charlie left her side.

Candy
didn’t look back. She kept her eyes forward. No one was going to make her go
into the room and meet this guy. She was going to need to make it happen. With
her focus on the floor, she walked through the doorway.

“Hello,
Candy.” His deep tone met her ears and heat flashed across her senses.

“Brad?”
Her gaze shot to the man sitting inside and met the cool blue eyes that had
been keeping her up at night. “Brad.” She took a step farther into the room and
gripped the back of a chair. “It’s you.”

“Yes,
it’s me. Are you okay?” He got up out of his seat. “You should sit.”

“I’m
fine.” She slid into the chair and knocked her knee into the table leg. “Shit.”
She squeezed her lips closed and rubbed her knee as she centered herself in her
seat. “Is this some kind of joke?”

“Why
would it be a joke?” He looked at her like she had a third eye.

“I
don’t know. You’re just the last person I expected Mistress Charlie to match me
with.”

“I
see.” His head cocked back and his expression turned stone like.

“What’s
that supposed to mean?” Her whole world swirled around her. How could he be
here? He didn’t want her, not in this way. “I’m sure I wasn’t who you expected
either.”

“No,
not what I expected, but…” He seemed to study her for a minute. “You can’t say
our time together wasn’t fantastic.”

“True.”
She rubbed her neck and her pussy warmed at the memory of how his mouth and
fingers had sent her roaring through one of the best orgasms of her life. The
man she’d been lusting after for months was the one who’d just sucked on her
breasts and her pussy. She cleared her throat. But he didn’t really want her,
she knew that. “Well, what now?”

“From
what I understand, we have a few options.” He sat back in his seat. “We could
continue where we left off.”

“Right
here?” She took in the room for the first time. She’d been so occupied with him
that she hadn’t noticed anything about their surroundings. There was a filing
cabinet on the back wall and a typical office plant in the corner. They were
sitting at a table she’d scene in the office furniture catalog. Quotes for
inspiration and success hung on the wall. “What the…”

She
turned in her seat, taking in the room as a whole. It was a room where the
occupants would talk about serious things, where they could be taken seriously.
When Mistress Charlie asked her to envision where she’d feel the most inspired,
the most confident, where she’d feel empowered to awaken her whole sexual
being, she’d imagined a place where she wanted to feel equal to Brad.

Hundreds
of times now she’d been in a conference room with powerful people and she’d
held her own. She’d worked hard to develop a respectable reputation, one that
left the opposite impression of what she gave off back when she had no respect
for her life.

The
framed poster on the wall caught her attention.
You’ve got what it takes.
She wanted to believe she had what it
took to obtain everything she wanted, but the man in front of her was simply not
to be hers. She’d worked to come to terms with it.

“Yes,
right here.” Brad tapped his fingers on the table. “Well, maybe they’ve set up
this room to resemble my fantasy more than yours. Although it’s not quite
right.”

“Is
that so?” She shook her head. She was a damn fool for ever thinking they’d have
a chance. It was a fantasy alright. He may have enjoyed her body when the
lights were off, but now it was clear he didn’t see anything to entice him.

“Anyways,
we could move our date to the main part of the club.”

“And
how do you suppose that would go?” She may not know him well, but she could see
a courteous shove off coming a mile away.

“We
could get a drink at the bar or take a turn on the dance floor.”

“Right.
You can stop with the polite act.”

“Okay.
How about I take you to the spanking benches and crack a paddle over your ass
until it’s bright red?”

“You
wouldn’t dare.” She stood, pushing back her chair.

“Unfortunately,
I don’t think you’re going to find out tonight.” He forced back his own chair,
got up, and walked toward her, stopping once she had to arch her head back to
look up at him. “I’m getting the sense tonight hasn’t turned out as you’d
hoped.” The same cold expression she’d noticed early blanketed his expression.
“I propose you take some time to think about what’s happening here, and I’ll
schedule a session for us with Mistress Charlie.”

“Why
bother?”

“Because,
the night hasn’t turned out as I’d hoped.” He leaned down and kissed her. His
lips were strong like steel and soft like feather pillows.

She
leaned into him as an unfamiliar feeling sent a storm of longing swirling
around her. A moment later, he walked out the door, leaving her standing there
wondering.

****

Brad walked straight out of the room,
knowing if he stayed he wouldn’t be able to keep his feelings in check. Seth
had told him time and again that the submissive deserves a man in control and
nothing less. If he couldn’t keep his cool for a single, simple conversation,
how in the world was he going to keep his cool through a scene?

He
should have known. After all, he hadn’t much nerve to talk with her all those
times he waited for Seth in Ivy’s lobby. As he closed the door to their
observation room behind him, he remembered the first day he’d ever seen her.
She’d been waiting for Ivy to come out of Seth’s office and he’d been about to
leave a conference room across the hall from where she sat. The silkiness of
her creamy skin drew him in and the richness of her blushing cheeks reminded
him of sweet cherry blossoms. At first he thought her hair was dark brown. That
was until the light of the setting sun kissed her lovely locks and revealed the
lively red hues.

He’d
watched her for about fifteen minutes that evening. She’d crossed her legs at
first before stretching them out and crossing them again. He could have watched
her all evening, but Ivy came out of Seth’s office and the two walked out.

“Brad,
where are you going?” Mistress Charlie said.

“Mistress.”
He lowered his eyes. He’d promised her he’d trust her and follow his training throughout
the evening. “You warned me tonight would test my training, but she hasn’t
accepted me as I’d hoped.” He reached back and pressed his fingertips into the
door.

“Are
you ready to give up?”

“No.”
He stood tall and focused directly on her. “I won’t give up on her until she
tells me to directly.”

“Good.”

“I
don’t think she’s ready.”

“Is
that code for you’re not ready?” She took hold of his hands.

He
shook his head back and forth. He’d told her on his first day of training, he
had his sights set on one submissive. He’d been clear. When Charlie had asked
him to trust her this week with her match, he’d almost backed out. Back in Club
Blind, when his touch ran over the first mole, his heart almost stopped until
he brushed over the second. Those two tiny brown marks he’d know anywhere.
Apparently, he didn’t even need light to know the woman who’d captured his
heart. “I am glad I trusted you. You’re a brave woman, Mistress.”

“I’ve
heard that before.” She squeezed his hands. “I had a feeling you’d figure my
plan out before we got up here for round two. So, tell me. Did she feel right
when she was with you?”

“Her
taste will keep me up at night. I knew she was amazing, but I had no idea just
how good. But she’s so different from all the people I’ve known. She’s a
tougher cookie than any of my dad’s fortune five hundred friends. She’s extra
special, and I don’t know if I have what she needs.”

“At
this point, I can only tell you what I sense from knowing the two of you and
from what my analysis tells me. Tonight was no experiment, Brad. The two of you
are quite capable of making a lasting match. Whether or not you’re successful
depends greatly on how open the two of you are.”

“I
was afraid you’d say something like that.”

“What
do you think should be your next step?”

“I’ve
told her I’d set up a session for us with you.”

“Perfect.
That’s my thought as well. I have an opening for tomorrow afternoon or would
you like to wait a week?”

“I’ve
waited long enough. I’d prefer tomorrow.”

“Excellent.”
She walked him toward the end of the hall. “I’ll confirm the time with Candy
and email you tonight with the details. I already have everything I need at the
B&B.” She opened the door.

“Thank
you, Mistress.”

She
cupped his cheek. “You’re most welcome. Now, go on and get a good night sleep.
Many things will change tomorrow one way or another.”