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“Oh, come on, Jack,” Hayden chided good-naturedly. “Since when are you such a negative Nellie?”
Jack laughed in spite of himself. “Negative Nellie? What the hell is that?”
Hayden shrugged, grinning. “I don’t know. It’s something my grandmother used to say.” He leaned forward, pinning Jack with his gaze. “Let me ask you this. If this week could go exactly as you wished, what would the scenario be?”
“Why? You got some secret powers I don’t know about?”
“I’m a Head Master, don’t ya’ know. That comes with its perks. There are all sorts of strings I can pull, for the right price.” Holding up his hand, Hayden rubbed his index and middle finger against his thumb to indicate the money Jack would need to pay for the favor.
Jack laughed, relaxing for the first time that morning. “Okay, Mr. Fixer.”
“That’s Master Fixer.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jack snorted. Turning serious, he leaned forward, placing his palms on the table for emphasis. “My goal is to spend every minute I can with Cleo. I need to know if the passion from last night was just something I imagined. Was she simply a pleasure sub submitting to whatever Dom commanded her, or was there more there? I want to test her and use her in ways we were never able to do in the past. I want to claim her, Hayden.”
He groaned. “After the way she shut down last night, I’m not even sure another dungeon scene is in the cards.”
“You’re giving me an idea.” A slow smile moved over Hayden’s face. “A delicious, diabolical idea. Head Master Hayden to the rescue. Wait’ll you hear this plan. It’s guaranteed to work.””
Jack chuckled. “Uh oh. Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
Hayden held up a hand. “Just hear me out. This could be epic. There’s a play auction tomorrow evening. A charity thing. You can bid on a contract for one, two, even up to five days. What if”—he paused dramatically before repeating—“What if I were able to get Cleo into the lineup? You could bid on her and we could make sure you win.”
Jack’s heart gave a leap, even while his analytical brain instantly weighed the pros and cons. “Hmm,” he said slowly, pondering. “I have to admit, the idea’s intriguing.” He frowned. “But what if she refuses? A pleasure sub always has the right of final refusal. That would totally suck.”
Hayden shook his head emphatically. “Won’t happen. Not in this case. Don’t forget, Cleo isn’t a pleasure sub anymore. She’s a slave, and different rules apply. If her owners command her to participate and to submit to whomever wins the bidding, she’ll do it. It’s not in her nature, or in her contract with Grayson and Dominique, to refuse. And from what you’ve told me about those scenes last night, a part of her at least doesn’t want to refuse. However things shake out, at least you’ll know.”
A grin slowly spread across Jack’s face as he considered the possibilities. “You think it’ll work? Seems like a lot to coordinate.”
“Leave it to me, pal,” Hayden replied with an answering grin. “By this time tomorrow night, you’ll have bought yourself a lovely slave girl for the week, and contributed to a worthy cause. It’s a win-win, no matter how you slice it.”
Chapter 5
“Cleo, can I speak to you for a moment?”
Cleo, who had been cutting roses from the back garden for the house, looked up to see Master Grayson standing nearby.
Cleo at once lowered her clipping shears. She set them and the flower basket on the grass so she could kneel properly in front of her Master.
“It’s about the auction tonight. I have a favor to ask.”
“Of course, Sir. I’m yours to command,” Cleo replied deferentially, instantly curious.
There were two types of auctions at the Masters Club. The serious auctions involved trained slaves who were seeking a permanent placement with a Master. The contract was binding, the terms negotiated by the pair. More common were the play auctions, which were as much theater as anything else, though the terms of the contracts were just as binding as with bona fide auctions. The real difference was the timeframe. In general, when a Master bought a slave during a play auction, it was only for a night, or at most a few days.
Tonight’s auction was a hybrid. The contracts were for play, but the cash exchanged was for real. Six pleasure subs had signed up to participate, with the contract term for as little as an evening, all the way up to five days. Normally during a cash auction, the proceeds were divvied up between the trainer, the club and the slave. That night, however, was one of the club’s periodic fundraising efforts. All bid money would go directly to a local shelter for abused women and children, a cause close to Mistress Dominique’s heart.
