Masks Read online

  “What?” Chloe looked at her through the beautiful mask’s eye holes. “I thought everything was going to happen here.” In fact, she’d been counting on it. She’d had the idea that if she got into trouble, she could always make some excuse to leave the “date” for a moment and run find Zoe who could tell her what to do next. The idea of going off to a strange location to meet with a strange man and “dominate” him with no backup was absolutely terrifying.

  “Here?” Zoe obviously found the idea laughable. “I don’t think so. This is my home—I never mix business with pleasure.”

  Chloe wanted to protest that her twin’s business was pleasure, or something like it anyway, but Zoe was already pushing towards the front door and shoving the keys to her Jaguar and directions to her “office” into her twin’s trembling hand.

  “Now this should be very easy,” she was saying. “The client doesn’t want too much rough treatment—I know because I screened him on the phone. All you have to do is chain him to the Saint Andrew’s cross and make him call you ‘Mistress’.”

  “Chain him to the what?”

  “Then just tease him a little,” Zoe went on, ignoring the question. “Use some feathers or maybe one of the lighter whips. Don’t worry,” she said, before Chloe could protest again. “Everything is hanging neatly on pegs in the dungeon room. And yes, you’ll figure out what room that is the minute you get there. If you hurry, you’ll have a little time to get acclimated before he arrives.”

  “But…but…” Chloe was suddenly realizing that she was committed to doing this crazy thing and she didn’t know the first thing about how to go about it. “Wait a minute, Zoe, I just don’t know—”

  “Don’t wimp out on me now—you promised.” Zoe glared at her. “Now listen, I’m going to give you the three rules of being a dominatrix—follow them faithfully and you’ll be fine.”

  “Three rules?” Chloe was halfway out the door, wobbling crazily on the high boots and feeling more exposed than she could ever remember being in her entire life.

  “One,” Zoe said, counting them off on her long, scarlet-tipped fingers. “Don’t lose control of the encounter. You’re the boss and you better damn well let the client know it the minute he walks in the door.”

  “But how do I—?” Chloe protested.

  “Two,” Zoe continued relentlessly, cutting her off. “Don’t ever have sex with the client, no matter how tempted you are.”

  Chloe shuddered. “You don’t have to worry about me breaking that rule. But how—?”

  “Three.” And now Zoe was actually physically pushing her out the door. “Don’t take off the mask.”

  “Why not?” Chloe finally managed to get a word in edgewise, just as the door was almost closed in her face. Zoe peered at her through the crack in the door with an impatient frown.

  “Just don’t. The mask lends distance and gives you authority. If you take it off, you’ll be giving up your psychological advantage—giving him the upper hand. Getting too close. Remember, this is a professional encounter, not a romantic interlude. He’ll be wearing one too, by the way.”

  “One what?” Chloe asked stupidly, feeling like her mouth was too dry to talk.

  “A mask!” Zoe said and slammed the door in her face. Then she opened it a tiny crack to say, “You’d better hurry, you know. It’s eight forty-five and you can’t be late if you want to keep the upper hand—Mistress Sensua.”

  Chapter Two

  The upper hand! I’ve got to keep the upper hand, Chloe remembered. Rule number one was never lose control of the situation. But in order to lose it, she’d have to get it in the first place, she reminded herself.

  “Good evening, Mister Jacobs, um, I mean, Mark.” She drew herself up to the full height afforded by the boots while mentally kicking herself. A frantic cell phone call to Zoe during the drive to the “office” had gotten her the client’s name, but she wasn’t sure if a real dominatrix would have used it or not. Should she have called him “slave” instead?

  Luckily, the client didn’t seem to mind her little informality. “Good evening, Mistress,” he said softly. “I’ve been looking forward to this for a very long time.” He stepped forward, crowding her, getting in her space.

  Chloe could smell his aftershave—something spicy and dangerous, just like the blue eyes that stared down at her from the black leather mask. The mask covered his eyes and the sides of his face, but left his mouth and nose free, as the one she was wearing did.

  “So, how exactly is this supposed to go?” he asked. He was looking at her and Chloe had the feeling he was raising one eyebrow sardonically behind the black leather. Suddenly she knew what he was doing. He was taking control of the situation away from her before they even got started. Rule number one was about to be broken and they hadn’t even gotten through the door yet!

  She lifted her hand and felt the cool brush of feathers against her fingertips as she straightened her mask. It seemed to give her courage. Chloe took a deep breath and stepped forward, looking the client in the eye.

  “I’ll tell you how this is going to go,” she said in a low, stern voice she barely recognized as her own. “It’s going to go exactly how I say it should go. So get inside and…and assume the position!” She didn’t know where she had gotten that—maybe Clan of the Cave Bear? But it seemed to have the desired result.

  “Yes, Mistress.” The deep voice was a little more respectful this time. Chloe felt a surge of triumph as she slammed the door shut. She turned to see the large man—she supposed she might as well keep calling him Mark—leaning with his hands against the wall of the front hallway. He had his arms and legs spread like a man waiting to be frisked by the police.

  Abruptly her triumph turned to despair. Now that she had him in this position, what in the world was she supposed to do with him? Mark seemed to be wondering too. He turned his head to look at her and his direct blue eyes seemed to ask, Well?

  “Face the wall!” Chloe barked, feeling like a twisted sort of drill sergeant. She could see this client was going to be a lot more trouble than Zoe had foreseen. If she gave him any room at all he was going to ride roughshod over her, exactly the way all of the other blind dates her twin set her up on had. Just the thought of all those alpha male assholes gave Chloe a shot of much-needed confidence. This time she had the upper hand. It might even be fun—if she could figure out what the hell she was supposed to do.

  Well, she decided, staring at the broad shoulders of the man currently spread against the wall, he was in the position to be frisked, so she might as well frisk him. Would that establish her authority? She certainly hoped so.

  She stood on her tiptoes to reach him, starting at the firmly muscled arms and working her way down. She could smell his aftershave again, along with a natural musk that must be just him. Was he nervous enough to sweat? If so, she might be doing better than she’d thought.

  “So,” she said, hoping she was doing a thorough job of searching him. “Did, uh, did you bring any toys with you tonight, Mark?”

  “If I did, I’m sure you’ll find them.” His low voice still sounded a little too amused for Chloe’s taste. If he was still making wisecracks, she wasn’t in control of the situation.

  She tried to think what Zoe would have done. Maybe if she couldn’t scare him into submission, she could get his attention some other way.

  Chloe stopped the brisk patting search she has been doing and let her hands linger on the broad chest in front of her instead. She wondered briefly if Mark had a smooth or hairy chest. Why not find out? A good question—wasn’t she the one in charge here?

  Since his back was to her front Chloe had to practically plaster herself against his wide back in order to unbutton his crisp dress shirt, but somehow she didn’t mind. From his low, masculine groan that her action had elicited, she assumed Mark didn’t mind either. His spicy, dangerous scent filled her head as she spread the shirt to find a smooth, muscular chest leading down to powerfully sculpted abs. She wonder