When the handful of candy began to fall apart, but the client was still moaning wordless encouragement, Madison had him tear open the second package, then filled both of her hands with candy. She began to hit him with both handfuls of laces, alternating arms with each slap. Strangely, a Selena Gomez song popped into her head and wouldn't go away, and she found herself slapping him to that imaginary beat as the blood hummed and sang in her veins with excitement, the tiny room's air filling with the scent of strawberries.

  And then she stopped, her shoulder muscles on fire, her breaths sawing in and out of her chest raggedly.

  The client's hips twisted and ground against the table as he repeatedly moaned with every exhale.

  Had she hurt him?

  What was his name again? "R-Ralph? Still okay there?"

  "Yesss, Mistress." Oh, he sounded a bit more than okay.

  She regained control over her breathing as she circled the table slowly, seeing what she'd done, how pink she'd turned his skin from head to toe.

  "Do you think I should punish you more?" she murmured, her shoulder muscles silently screaming at the mere thought of having to swing the candy laces even one more time. But she wasn't here for her pleasure. She was here to do a job. Kate's job.

  "I-I…" he stammered, as if he didn't know how to answer her or what answer she wanted most to hear.

  A thrilling rush ripped through her, making her have to stifle a gasp. She'd never had someone want to truly please her before.

  So much power Kate wielded in this room…

  And tonight, here and now, was Madison’s one chance to have a taste of that power.

  Part of her wanted to take it all to a dark place inside. But she pushed that side of her down, focusing on the here and now.

  One last chance to play with her borrowed power…

  She pulled a single candy lace free from the rest, setting the remainder of the laces down on the side table. With just the one lace now, she took turns lightly dragging it over his back then flicking it against his buttocks…dragging it over the back of one arm, then flicking it against his buttocks. With every touch of the lace on him, he circled his hips.

  He was turned on.

  "Do you want to come?" She had no idea where she got the courage to say that. It was like someone else had temporarily taken over her mouth. She didn't even recognize the husky voice sliding out past her lips.

  She didn't recognize herself at all. But that was the point, wasn't it? To become someone else. Mistress Kat.

  "Yes, Mistress," he whispered.

  "Yes, Mistress, what?"

  "Yes, Mistress, I want to come."

  "Then why haven't you? What are you waiting for?"

  "For…for permission." His voice was breathless.

  She dragged the red licorice down the back of his legs, making little circles on the backs of his knees when she realized he was ticklish there too. She stepped back from the table, somehow breathless again, her chest heaving. He wasn't the only one turned on here. But she wasn't turned on by him.

  She was turned on by what she was doing, the sexy role she was playing. The power she was playing with. Power that this strange man, whom she'd never met and probably never would properly meet, had given to her so happily.

  "Then come," she whispered, flicking the lace against his nearest buttock.

  Instantly, shockingly, the man groaned and pumped his hips repeatedly against the table, hands fisted, neck muscles straining.

  She stood there, staring at him as he came and came and came, half worried he'd die and it would be her fault, and totally shocked that she'd brought him to this point with just some candy and a single command.

  Ho. Lee. Shit.

  What was she doing?

  How in the world had she let Kate talk her into this?

  Whirling around, she dropped the candy and made a beeline for the door. But Madison had only just managed her escape from the room and shut the door behind her when the door to its immediate left opened.

  And out stepped Mr. No Name Stage Performer. With Jamie right on his heels.

  Oh God. She couldn't say anything. What if Jamie recognized her voice?

  "Beautiful work, Mistress Kat," Jamie murmured, his trademark quirk of a smile flashing briefly.

  She frowned at him, clasping her hands tightly together to hide their trembling. What was he talking about? How would he know?

  Wait. The mirrors on the walls…had one of them been a one-way see through?

  How many others had just watched her beat that man in there?

  "Yes, it was beautiful work," the man with Jamie agreed, his facial expression unreadable. She let her gaze drop down to check, but his feet were encased in brown lace-up leather shoes now. He'd also put on a long sleeve button-up shirt, though he wore it half unbuttoned, the tails untucked, and the sleeves rolled up to just below his elbows. "But aren't you forgetting something?"

  She stared back at them blankly. What had she forgotten? There had been so much to try and remember.

  "We never leave our subs restrained and alone in the room," Mr. No Name said.

  Shit. She'd forgotten to unlock the padlocks on the client's cuffs.

  She turned to look at the door, realizing this meant she had to somehow find the strength to go back into that room. The silence in the hall stretched out. She reached for the doorknob, her hand shaking.

  "Tired arms?" Jamie asked.

  Madison nodded. He had no idea. As a college student who never played sports or worked out, her muscles were burning and beyond exhausted. But that wasn't what held her back from reentering that room.

  She was terrified that if she went back in there, she might pick up the licorice again instead of the key.

  "Why don't I take care of it for you this time?" Jamie said, his eyebrows dipping into a frown, but his polite smile in place.

  Hesitantly she nodded and stepped back from the door gratefully. Then she turned for the exit and mumbled, "I should…go. Um, thanks."

  Then she got the hell out of there, hopefully before Jamie figured out who she was.

  ***

  When Madison returned to the apartment, Kate was passed out on the couch, a half-empty bottle of cherry-flavored Nyquil on the coffee table beside her. Madison tiptoed through the living area and made it all the way to her bedroom door before Kate woke up.

  "How'd it go?" Kate slurred, sounding drunk. Maybe she was, thanks to the Nyquil.

  "Um…fine."

  "Client happy?"

  “Oh yeah.” Madison nodded, keeping her back to Kate.

  Kate sighed. "Good. Thank you. I owe you. I won't forget that."

  Madison hurried into her room, shut the door, stripped out of the blood-flow-restricting bondage wear then sank down on the edge of her bed in just her panties and old, comfy, fluffy pink robe.

  Images of what she'd done flashed through her mind. She gripped her knees, but her hands only wanted to remember how it had felt to hold the licorice, to swing it through the air again and again. She could hear the sounds of the laces whispering through the air, then the slap of them against skin. The room had smelled so strongly of strawberries, as if someone had sprayed strawberry body spray or something.

  She hadn't just done Kate a favor tonight. Hadn't just performed her job for her.

  She'd loved it—beating and teasing and stroking objects over a stranger's body. Making him moan and groan and writhe.

  Madison had been completely and totally in control of everything that happened in that room.

  And that's when she realized…

  She was seriously screwed up in the head. And she hadn't even known it before now.

  She was just like him after all.

  And here she’d thought she'd avoided turning out like her father.

  Noticing the bunny mask on the bed beside her, she picked it up and chucked it at her closet door as hard as she could. It flopped against the white paneled door with a barely discernible thud before landing on the ground.

  Silly rabbit.

  CHAPTER 3

  Connor

  "Beautiful work?" Connor muttered as soon as the hall door shut behind the girl.

  Jamie sighed. "Yeah, well, I had to say something to cheer her up. Did you see her eyes? The way she was shaking? She looked…shell shocked."

  Almost like it had been her first time in there.

  "Her form and pacing were all off," Connor muttered more to himself than Jamie. "It's like she didn't remember a thing from her training. We taught her how to not wear herself out like that. What was she thinking tonight?" He scowled at the hall door. "She won't be fit to see anyone for days after a session like that. What if the client wanted to see her again? Tomorrow night even? She wouldn't even be able to pick up a flogger, much less swing one."

  "Agreed. Should I have the office call her and schedule another training session? Maybe this time with us for closer supervision?"

  He imagined the two of them in a room with her, showing her exactly how to keep a sub in line yet simultaneously taking care of their deepest needs.

  The blood started running dangerously fast towards his cock.

  He gave a single terse nod. Then, as Jamie started towards the hall door, he said, "But maybe you should let her sub go first?"

  Jamie flashed a quick grin, one of the first things that had attracted Connor to him. "Right. Nearly forgot."

  While Jamie was in the playroom freeing the client, Connor leaned against the wall, arms crossed over his chest. He kept seeing Mistress Kat's trembling body in that black leather play bunny outfit. What a ridiculous outfit for a Domme. It said sub more than anything, with that strapless top and all that vulnerable skin left exposed. Even the lacy tights all but begged a Dom to rip them off her long legs.

  The sound of the red playroom's doorknob turning prompted him to head for the main area to give the client privacy for his exit. But he took a seat at one of the empty tables at the back of the floor, keeping one eye out for the hall door.

  The client looked happy but slightly confused as he exited the hall. He scurried out of the club.

  Hmm.

  When Jamie exited the hall a few minutes later, Connor flicked two fingers to call him over.

  Jamie's long legs carried him over to Connor's side in just a couple of seconds. He squatted down to Connor's height so they could whisper easily.

  "Schedule that retraining session with Mistress Kat," Connor said.

  Jamie nodded.

  Connor shook his head. "Client seem upset? Disappointed?" At Jamie's raised eyebrows, he added, "He ran out of here pretty fast."

  "No. Actually, he said it was his favorite session ever with a Domme. Said, and I quote, 'that girl's got a way with candy.'"

  Connor allowed a small smile. "Good." He stared unseeing at the stage, empty for now. But finally it had to be said. "That wasn't Mistress Kat with that client.”

  Jamie's eyebrows shot up then pinched in a frown. "Not that I'm all that close with Mistress Kat to know for sure one way or the other, but… Same outfit, same mask. Seemed like about the same hair color."

  And then it hit Connor. "Different eye color. Different body. Same height but…curvier. More tits and ass."

  Jamie turned his head towards the club's exit, his frown deepening. "Something about her was familiar, though. Her voice… Her eyes… Something familiar about them…"

  "But not Mistress Kat's."

  "No. No, now that I think about it… No. Not Mistress Kat."

  Conflicting emotions competed inside his gut at the confirmation. If the client had been pissed, there'd be no conflict at all.

  But what kind of impostor pleased a client more than the person she was pretending to be?

  And who the hell would fake being a Dominatrix in a bondage club anyway?

  He sighed through his nose, rubbing his chin with an index finger while he considered the possibilities…and what to do in case of each scenario playing out.

  First thing tomorrow, they needed to talk to the real Mistress Kat, see if she had any idea who the hell that vixen had been tonight.

  And then, depending on who the woman really turned out to be, he just might have to offer her a job.

  Either that or call the cops on her.

  CHAPTER 4

  Jamie

  It hit Jamie like a fucking ton of bricks.

  He'd just undressed and fallen into bed sometime around four a.m. He closed his eyes.

  And then an image of a woman straddling him, lips parted, gray eyes so conflicted beneath her wild curtain of reddish brown hair…

  Madison.

  Same gray eyes tonight. Same reddish brown hair below the mask.

  But where the fuck had that dominatrix been when we were dating?

  The memory of her as he'd seen her tonight in that playroom, all those curves just bursting out of that stupid bunny costume, while those arms of hers just swung away…

  Beating the client with fucking candy.

  Jamie’s hand slid down to his already hardening dick, and he slowly stroked himself, remembering.

  Madison had really made him think for a while there that she might be special. He'd tried to guide her past her artificial boundaries, to find her real limits. But she was so damn repressed she'd gotten shaken up just by riding on top a couple of times.

  Connor had that kind of patience. And when he was around, Jamie found a shit load more patience of his own than he usually had. It was probably habit from being topped by Connor so much. As a sub, you learned to be patient quick. Just part of the territory of being a sub.

  But something about Madison pushed at him like nothing else.

  She rattled him. Too serious. Too…deep to be just a play buddy.

  He'd thought she could make an amazing Domme if she could just find her way into it.

  Tonight, she'd blown the damn doors completely off the girl she'd shown him before.

  Who the hell was Madison? The girl she'd shown him before or tonight's version?

  He grabbed his phone and fired off a quick text to Connor.

  Just figured out who our mystery bunny is. My EX, believe it or not.

  Connor’s reply came a couple of minutes later.

  Great.

  Two minutes later, another reply came in.

  Thinking about offering her a job. Any objections?

  Objections to seeing Madison again on a semi regular, professional basis?

  Jamie blew out a long breath, considering. He highly doubted she'd take the job offer.

  Then again, before tonight he never would have believed she had the balls to pose as a Domme with a client through an entire session, either.

  If she worked at Masquerade, he'd get to see this secret side of her all the time. Maybe even test it out for himself.

  In a professional training capacity, of course.

  Hire away, was his reply a minute later.

  ***

  Madison

  Kate burst into Madison’s room the next morning. But she was coughing so hard Madison couldn't understand her at first till she got her breath back.

  "What…happened last…night?" Kate finally managed to gasp out before launching into another coughing fit.

  Wincing, Madison laid her head back down on her pillow and closed her eyes. She tried to reach up to brush loose hair out of her face, but her arms didn't want to move, forcing a groan out of her.

  Kate ignored the groan and gave Madison the look, the one where her eyes went wide and round and her eyebrows shot up sky high. Her ultra-demanding give me answers NOW look.

  Madison sighed. "After the…you know…"

  "Session?"

  "Yeah. After the session ended, I ran into two guys in the hallway outside the…you know…the room."

  "The playroom. Okay. And these guys were?"

  "Well, one of them I actually knew. Dated briefly, even. His name's Jamie McCallister."

  "You dated Jamie?"

  Madison shrugged one shoulder. "Didn't last more than a month or two. We weren't…compatible in bed."

  "Cock too big?"

  Kate always did have a potty mouth. She still managed to shock a gasp out of Madison now, though. "What? Geez, no! I just didn't…do it for him, I guess."

  God, it hurt to say that.

  Madison had to remind herself that last night, at that club, she'd more than done it for one man at least. And she hadn't even had to get undressed or touch him directly.

  "Did Jamie recognize you?"

  Madison tried to shrug, but that made her shoulder light up like a small bonfire. She just managed to bite back a groan. "No. I don't think he recognized me. I made sure not to talk much. And I had the mask on…"

  Kate frowned and rubbed her forehead. "Then why'd I get a call to schedule another training session, and to bring my ‘stunt double’ with me?"

  It was Madison’s turn to frown in confusion. "Then they know it wasn't you last night."

  "You said there was a second guy with Jamie after your session?"

  Madison swallowed hard. "Yeah. You know the guy that performs on stage a lot?"

  Kate's eyes widened even more. She clutched the door jamb. "Connor? You spoke with him too? Shit!"

  "I'm sorry, Kate. I didn't mean to get you in trouble. I thought I did a good job." Clearly, Madison should definitely avoid any career opportunities after graduation that included the words spy, undercover, or espionage in their descriptions. Then she realized what else she'd said. "Wait. You said they want me to come in with you? For what? Some major confrontation?" She hesitated. "Is what we did last night a crime or something?"

  Kate's expression turned bewildered. "Hell if I know. I mean, it shouldn't be." She pressed a shaky hand to her forehead.

  Sighing, Madison used her abs to pull herself up into a sitting position. Since it hurt too much to move her arms, she jerked her chin at her bed to indicate Kate should come sit down.

  Kate sighed and walked over to sit beside her, then fished out another tissue from her robe pocket and blew her nose.

 

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