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“The word is,” Abbie continued as if Lainey hadn’t spoken, “that you had a very intense couple of scenes last night, and Cooper is convinced you’re a sub, but you’re not quite so sure.”
“Jesus,” Lainey snorted, not sure whether to be affronted or amused. “Do you have nanny cams in every room or something?”
“We don’t need them,” Tommy replied with a laugh. Tall and slender, he had an angelic face under a mop of curly blond hair. “We staff slaves have secret powers. We see all. We know all.”
“Get used to it,” Skylar interjected. She was a pretty girl with long blond hair and very green eyes. “This place is a small, close-knit community. Tommy’s exaggerating, obviously, but not by much. We staff slaves have our fingers on the pulse of everything that goes on around here. Regarding you specifically, don’t forget that Cooper and Caelan go way back. And men are worse gossips than women,” she added with a laugh.
“Hey,” Tommy protested, but he laughed, too. “Okay, maybe.”
“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” Lainey said uncertainly. She frowned. “Cooper didn’t strike me as the kind of guy to kiss and tell.”
“No, no,” Skylar hastily replied. “It wasn’t like that at all. What happened was, we ended up getting into the elevator at the same time as Cooper, after he said good night to you. The guys got to talking a bit, and when Caelan asked how it was going with you, Cooper admitted not as well as he hoped, as evidenced by the fact he was going up to his room alone.”
“Ha,” Abbie interjected. “Typical guy, right? I think you’re smart to wait a little after an intense scene with someone you just met. A cooling off period gives you a chance to get your bearings.”
“Agreed,” Skylar said emphatically. “Especially if you’re dealing with something outside your comfort zone. I made that mistake when I was first trying to figure stuff out. Before I got here, I mean. I would tumble into situations, carried along by the thrill of the BDSM experience, without really understanding my own motivations or needs.”
“That’s right,” Abbie replied. “I remember when you first got here. You were really conflicted about the whole concept of erotic submission. You weren’t even sure you were a sub.”
“Really?” Lainey was both surprised and intrigued. “You all seem so confident and sure of yourselves. You’re all so comfortable in your own skins. It’s one of the first things I noticed when I started work here.”
Everyone laughed, shaking their heads and protesting to varying degrees. Abbie offered, “Don’t forget, we’ve all been through extensive training. We could talk your ear off with all the mistakes we’ve made along the way, and all the insecurities. If we come across as calm and sure now, you can bet we weren’t always like that.”
“You can say that again,” Tommy added. “More often than not, we were just acting as if.”
“As if?” Lainey repeated, confused.
“Fake it till you make it,” Tommy explained. “You act as if you are a certain way, until it becomes second nature. Say your new trainer orders you to strip and submit to a difficult erotic test. Inside you’re freaking out, but you act as if you can totally do this thing, and pray to the BDSM gods you don’t fuck it up.”
“Exactly.” Skylar chuckled. “You should have seen me when I first got here for training. Abbie wasn’t kidding about me being conflicted. I wasn’t even sure I should be here.”
“What do you mean?” Lainey pressed. “You didn’t always know you were born to submit?”
“Not at all,” Skylar said emphatically. “I was into the scene, sure, but only in a superficial way. I always envied the intense connection I observed in friends who shared a Master/slave relationship, but I never thought I could have that for myself. Then I came here and underwent the training with Master Caelan. It was like this big empty space that had always been inside me was suddenly filled.”
“It didn’t hurt that you fell head over heels in love with your trainer,” Maya chimed in. She was a petite woman with hair so blond it was almost white, her features delicate and pixie-like.
“No.” A dreamy smile moved over Skylar’s face as she stroked the gold heart that dangled from her slave collar. “That didn’t hurt a bit.”
“The cool thing about the scene,” Abbie added, “is that it encompasses a broad spectrum of experience. Take me, for example. I belong to Master Ryan in every possible way. I’m his cherished possession. His word is my law, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. There is nothing I would not do for him, and that works really well for both of us.”
“Same for me and Mistress Ella,” Maya agreed. “She’s my Mistress, first, my wife second.”
