Slave To Love

by Bridget Midway

  Taren jerked her hand away from her. The immediate reaction came from a different place than what she suspected Night must have assumed. In her mind, she still belonged to Jace, to Master. Taren ran her hand over her stomach to feel for the belt again. When she’d worn it, she felt a sense of pride. Jace didn’t put something on her that he didn’t think she could tolerate. She’d done it. She did it for him. She’d done it for herself.

  “Your heart is telling you that you want a Dom.” Night stared into Taren’s eyes.

  Night hadn’t been wrong.

  “You don’t understand. I picked you and Miss Twist for a reason.” Taren continued looking into Night’s eyes to convince her that she told the truth. “I’m new to the lifestyle. I don’t know what my best fit is.”

  “Close your eyes.”

  Taren scanned the place. Although the merchandising half of Club 4400 had no one in it except for Taren, Mistress Night, the camera crew and the club’s employees, Taren felt silly closing her eyes in the place.

  “Why?” Taren took a step back.

  “Humor me.” Night took two steps closer to her.

  Taren closed her eyes and hoped that if Night tried anything extreme that the camera crew would help her.

  She felt and heard nothing at first. Far off in the distance, she caught the sounds of people moaning and crying in the dungeon portion. The cries managed to seep through the walls.

  Like a soft breeze, she felt something light caressing the back of her hand. She didn’t flinch this time. The tickling sensation crept up her bare arm to her shoulder. The feeling twirled around her collarbone and down her other arm.

  The light tickles continued to cover her skin until every hair on her body stood on end and she felt like she’d fallen into a fur-lined dream. Taren tilted her head back to enjoy more of the sensation. As the feeling began to lull her into a dreamlike state, she felt a hard smack on her ass.

  Taren opened her eyes and stumbled backward. “What was that?” She touched her ass cheek that got the rough treatment.

  “Until you opened your eyes, and before the spanking, did you like what you felt?” Night placed something that looked like a fur-lined paddle on the counter. She must have used that to rub over Taren’s skin.

  “Yes. Then you spanked me.” Taren’s ass started to throb.

  “When I did, did you think of me as a man or a woman?”

  Taren started to answer that she thought of Night as a woman, but stopped. The hit she did almost equaled the spanking Jace had inflicted.

  “You did it as hard as a man. But since I knew it was you, I knew you were a woman.”

  Night stood directly in front of Taren. “If you let me, I could be what you want. I could give you the sensations that your body craves. I have no shame in who I am or what I do. Can you say the same thing?”

  Right now, Taren couldn’t utter a word. She hadn’t expected to have her life turned upside down like this. She would have thought finding a Dom would be much easier. She could almost hear Dori in her ear screaming, “I told you so.”

  “What do you know about Beauty?” Night looked over some canes while glancing at Taren.

  “She seems nice. She enjoys serving.” Taren ran her hand over a few paddles sitting on the counter.

  Night nodded. “Anything else?”

  “She would rather be called Belle than Beauty.”

  Mistress Night set a cane down on the counter. “Really?”

  Taren nodded.

  Night touched Taren’s hand and held it. Taren didn’t pull away from her this time. She didn’t flinch.

  Even under her mask, Mistress Night managed to look sincere and serious. “I know you don’t want me. It’s okay. You had to choose between two people. I was the lesser of two evils.”

  Taren started to refute Night’s statement, but Night held up her hand to stop her.

  “It doesn’t hurt my feelings that you don’t want me as a Domme.” Night looked over her shoulder and moved closer to Taren. “Eliminate me next.”

  Taren blinked. “Why would you ask me to do that? You’re a great Domme. Fear is an asshole. I want him gone.”

  Night held up her hand. “You’re right about that. But it’s no use for you to drag out this process any longer than you have to. Plus, I’d like a shot at Belle.”

  “Beauty.”

  Night shook her head. “Belle.” She squeezed her hand, not to scare or hurt her. Night seemed desperate. “Please let me go. Next round. I’ll throw it or something. I could care less about the money. I need my freedom.”

  Taren shook her head. “I can’t. You won. You have immunity.”

  Mistress Night let Taren’s hand go. “I do? I don’t remember hearing Mackie say that at the end of the taping, do you?”

  Taren thought about the shoot. She could have sworn Macabre said something about immunity, but the tapings and challenges all ran together. She couldn’t be sure.

  “You’re smart, and you’re kind. Please figure out a way. I’d hate to quit because I’m not a quitter.” Night ran her hand over her hair. “But I deserve my shot at happiness just like you, you feel me?”

  Taren nodded.

  Night smiled. “Good.”

  “I hope Beauty feels the same way about you.”

  “Guess I’ll find out.”

  A salesperson strolled over to Taren and Mistress Night. “Have you two decided on what you want.”

  Taren looked at Night. At the same time, they answered, “Yes, we have.”

  Night held up a paddle. “I want this.” She looked at Taren. “You know what you want?”

  Taren smiled. “I’d like to see your chastity belts, please.”

  With Night bowing out, she would have half of the contestants left. Taren knew she would be dropping Fear. That would leave her with Bruiser, Lord No, and Jace. Master. In different ways, they all made her nervous.

  “Make a decision.”

  Taren turned and saw the nervous production assistant tapping her foot while glaring at her.

  “Easier said than done.” Taren wished she had listened to Dori.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jace paced in his room, his cell. Taping earlier had gone over well, but what happened afterward had him rattled. He kissed Taren. As hard as he tried to avoid it, he couldn’t help but capture her lips. Now that he had a taste, he wanted more.

  “Stop all that marching.” Fear strolled out of the bathroom. “You act like you’re Taren’s dad and she’s out on her first date.”

  Jace glared at Fear. He wished Sire Swift had kept his cool. Then again, if he had, Jace would have been leaving because he wanted to knock the shit out the arrogant jerk.

  “You’re an asshole. You know that?” Jace sat on his bed as he glared at Fear.

  Fear rubbed the side of his face where Swift landed his punch. “I know that I’m consistent. I didn’t come here to make friends.” He sat on his bed. “I came here to win a prize. That prize is fresh meat.” He reclined back on the bed. “So tell me. What’s your end game?”

  Jace snickered. “Fuck you.”

  “Come on, man. We’re all here for a reason.” Fear looked at Bruiser. “Why are you here?”

  Bruiser shook his head. “Keep me out of your twisted shit, man.”

  “Fine.” Fear turned to Lord No. “This dude here must think Taren is Ursula, and that she has his voice box.”

  “Who?” Jace hated to open up any dialogue with Fear, but he stumped him with that reference.

  Bruiser sat up straight on his bed. “Dude, did you really refer to The Little Mermaid?”

  Jace, Fear, and Lord No turned to Bruiser when he made the comment.

  “What? I have nieces. They love that movie.” Bruiser shrugged. “Besides, I’m not the one who made the comment. I just figured out the reference.” He stood. “Hey, anyone willing to trade rooms with me now since there’s only one person in there with me?”

  “Still a woman.” Fear shook his head.


  “Wasn’t talking to you.” Bruiser stood in between Jace and Lord No. “What do you say?”

  Jace stared at No. If Jace could get away from him and only have one set of eyes on him, he could do more. He could sneak out to the guesthouse to make calls. He could make more time to be with Taren. Plus he would be away from Fear.

  “I’ll do it.” Jace went to the closet to grab his suitcase.

  “Cool. Mistress Night snores like a fucking lumberjack.”

  Lord No walked out of the bedroom. Since he had on a pair of swim trunks, Jace assumed he planned on taking a dip in the pool. Jace didn’t blame him. If he didn’t have his mind on Taren, he would have done the same thing.

  Jace wasted no time in packing up his clothes and toiletries. A knock sounded on the doorframe. Jace peered over and saw Solo standing outside, holding a tray full of food.

  “Enter,” Fear said without looking up at her.

  “Sorry, sir.” She shook her head. “Slaves aren’t allowed in the Dominants’ quarters. We would both be eliminated.”

  Fear slammed the magazine he had been reading on his bed and stormed over to her. “I’ll be glad when I finally win this goddamn show.” He grabbed Solo’s arm and pulled her down the hallway, probably to the dining room.

  After Jace finished his packing, he loaded himself down with his bags. He made it two steps out of the room when he felt a tugging on his shoulder bag.

  “Excuse me, sir.”

  He turned and saw Sweetheart behind him. Today she wore a deep purple dress that had a plunging neckline and went all the way down to the floor. When she smiled, he couldn’t help but stop and listen.

  “Are you leaving?” Her full lips pressed together in a tight line.

  When Jace saw her chewing on her lower lip, he had to put her out of her misery. “Switching rooms. Balancing out the space.”

  She nodded. Relief swept over her face. “Good. May I help you with your bags?” Sweetheart tried removing a bag from his shoulder.

  “Thanks, but I have it. Besides, you all can’t go into our rooms.” He traveled down the hallway to the room next door.

  Bruiser walked by Jace and Sweetheart with his bags. Breeze stumbled behind Bruiser to help him with his bags. He, too, turned down her offer.

  Jace would never get used to the house slaves camping outside of their bedroom doors whenever taping ended. He’d never had a slave. With her independent spirit, he couldn’t imagine Taren being a slave. Submissive? Definitely.

  Jace started to unpack but noticed Sweetheart standing outside of his room each time he walked by. He abandoned the project to address her.

  “I’d like some tea.” He strolled out of the room, knowing Sweetheart would follow.

  “Yes, sir.” She managed to get by him to rush to the kitchen.

  “I’ll take it out by the pool.” He sauntered through the dungeon to get to the back door.

  As soon as he opened it, he heard splashing. Lord No did laps from one side to the other while Bubbles stood off to the side. She watched Lord No. At one point, it looked like she licked her lips, a strange reaction considering the hard time she’d been giving him since the start of filming. At one point during his swim, No sprang up on the same side of the pool where Bubbles stood. He stared at her for a moment before flicking pool water on her.

  Bubbles wiped the water from her face. For a split second, it looked like she wanted to smile. As soon as her gaze landed on Jace, she straightened up and moved further away from the pool.

  Jace took a seat at the same table he and Taren had had dinner. He ran his hand over the tabletop as he remembered that meal. He recalled how he’d had her on her knees. She’d depended on him for food. He would love to do that again, but this time finish off the night with a hard play session or sex, or both.

  It didn’t take long for Sweetheart to bring him a tall, frosty glass of iced tea.

  “Here you are, sir.” She stood by the table as he took a sip.

  “Sit down.” He pointed to the chair across from him.

  “On the ground?” Sweetheart started to lower herself.

  Jace shook his head. “At the table with me.”

  She almost looked disappointed as she scooted the black wrought-iron chair back and plopped down in it.

  “I have to say that you ladies are the most dedicated slaves I’ve ever encountered, and I’ve played in a lot of dungeons.” He took a sip of his tea.

  “Thank you.” Sweetheart dropped her gaze.

  As long as he had time, he might as well get to know the woman assigned to him until Taren came back home. He glanced at the guesthouse and wondered if he could get Taren anywhere near it now. He directed his attention back to Sweetheart. “How did you get into the lifestyle?”

  “Like a lot of people, I was curious about it.” Sweetheart started to smile. “I started off as a submissive. I learned from Master Do. Have you heard of him?”

  Jace nodded. “He’s known for his rope skills.”

  Sweetheart smiled. “He would use me as a demo sometimes.”

  “So is he your Dom?”

  She shook her head. “One of his main subs came back to him after she was on the first show.”

  Jace blinked. “She was on Love My Way?”

  “Yeah. She backed out of doing a challenge because she was so devoted to Master Do. After that, he didn’t play with me as much. So I bailed.” Sweetheart snickered. “No one likes to be thought of as second best.”

  Jace studied Sweetheart’s face. Her beautiful dark skin and magnetic smile hid some pain. In this lifestyle, she should have expected pain. Unless she had it in a contract, nothing could be seen as a guarantee. When Sweetheart wiped under her eye, he felt a need to correct her perception.

  “You know you can’t go into this lifestyle thinking you’ll fall in love. It may not happen.” He sounded like a broken record.

  First Taren and now Sweetheart.

  “I know. I’ve only been doing this for five years. I just keep hoping that—”

  Jace cut her off. “You agreed to do a show where a submissive will choose one Dominant.” He had to bring her down to earth.

  “I know.” She chewed on her lower lip.

  “She could choose me.” He didn’t want Taren to at first. He didn’t even want to be a part of this show. Now he hoped he could be the last man standing.

  Sweetheart gazed up at him. “Would you want that?”

  He could have crushed her and told her the truth. “What I want and what could happen are two separate things. The fact of the matter is that you may leave this experience without a Dominant. Did you come here expecting to find someone?”

  Sweetheart remained quiet for a moment. “Sandy got Sire Swift.” She moved her chair closer to him. “If you get eliminated, I mean if we get eliminated, you would be free to choose a submissive or slave for yourself.” She placed her hand on the table. “I’m so tired of people giving up on me so easily when I’m prepared to commit.”

  Jace sat up taller. He knew what he had to do. His Dominant side told him not to touch her, don’t give her any false hope. His compassionate side refused to let anyone under him falter. He reached across the table and held her hand.

  Sweetheart gasped at the connection and stared at him with her mouth agape.

  “Nikki.” He used her real name to pull her out of the BDSM world for a moment. “I like you. You’re attentive, willing, and attractive.”

  She squeezed his hand at the last compliment.

  “You deserve to be someone’s first choice. If I don’t win this show, I don’t want you to get comfortable with the idea that you’re some consolation prize. You be the prize.” He patted the back of her hand. “I’m sure you will get a lot of recognition from this show. You’ll have your pick.” He leaned forward. “If you need a friend, I’m here for you.”

  She chuckled. “Thanks. I needed that.” She kissed the back of his hand. “Will you please promise me something?”

 
“I’ll try. What did you need?”

  “I know you Dominants can switch contestants around. Please hold onto me.”

  Before he could respond to her request, the back door to the house opened. Mistress Night stepped through first before Taren followed behind her.

  Jace stood. “I’ll do what I can.”

  Sweetheart started to get up with him.

  “No. Stay out here and enjoy the sun. I’ll be fine. I’ll be unpacking my things.” He strolled to the door, passing Taren in his trek.

  He gave her a pointed stare before ducking back into the house. On the way to his new bedroom, he felt something brush by him. He peered down and caught Taren going to the front door. She looked back at him as she made her way out of the home.

  Jace recognized a hint when he saw one. He followed her out of the house. Instead of being on the porch like before, he saw her closer to the road by the fence.

  “Enjoying the scenery?” Jace sidled up next to her.

  On a day like that day, he wanted to ditch the mask. He already felt sweat rolling down the sides of his face.

  “Now I am.” She rested her hands on the top fence railing and looked up at the sky.

  “Did you enjoy your shopping trip?” Curiosity plagued him. He wanted to know what she got.

  “I did.” She stayed quiet before she turned to him. “You want to know what I picked?”

  “Unless you want another spanking right here.”

  She sighed. “Oh, don’t do that.” She gripped the fencing. “I ended up with a nice paddle. That was after I checked out their entire line of chastity belts.”

  “So you are into being disciplined, huh?” He stepped closer to her.

  “That and some other things.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out something black and slender.

  “Did you get a TV for your room?” Jace didn’t slip this time and called it his bedroom.

  Taren shook her head. “No.” She handed him the item. “You are right. It is a remote.”

  Jace accepted the item and peered down. It had a red indicator light at the top. A power button sat under the light, and a speed button finished its functionality.

  He stared at Taren, whose breathing now increased. She shuffled in her spot as though waiting for him to make the next step.