Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 82746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Sometimes the Master you think you want isn’t actually the one you need,” Danielle said.
Ellen regarded the beautiful blonde thoughtfully. During her time at The Enclave, she’d wondered what Danielle saw in Master Lawrence. It wasn’t only his average, even forgettable, looks or the fact he was easily a decade her senior. Master Lawrence could be so abrasive. And, in her experience at least, he was nearly impossible to please. Yet Danielle was clearly fulfilled as his slave. Apparently, she had found what she needed with him.
Lucia, Master Anthony’s slave and one of Ellen’s favorite people at The Enclave, offered Juliette a reassuring smile. “Trust the process,” she said. “The purpose of these binding auctions is to help take the guesswork out of finding the right partner. The participating Doms know they’re getting highly trained submissives. You guys have the assurance that every participating Dom has been thoroughly vetted to make sure they have clean bills of health, in-depth experience in the scene, and are good potential fits for our valued slave trainee graduates. Remember, The Enclave Masters have the final say in the pairings, and they have your interests first and foremost in their minds. This should free you up to really give your all to the process.”
“And the odds of making a real connection are a hell of a lot better than what you’d find at your standard BDSM meet-and-greet,” Jaime added.
“Not a high bar,” laughed Juliette.
“What I don’t get,” said Amira, a tall, willowy redhead with a ready smile, “is how it works for the Doms. I mean, there’s only three of us and six of them. So, half the guys are going to go home empty handed.”
“That’s because our main focus is on you, not them,” Lucia replied. “The goal here is to help our trainee graduates and other submissives in the BDSM community who are seeking a Master/slave match. The Enclave Masters have already been hard at work behind the scenes, carefully reviewing everyone’s profile, taking into consideration the top three choices of each of the bidding Doms along with all participants’ stated goals and objectives. They were also observing each scene with an eye to who seemed to click with whom. In the morning, they’ll get together and compare notes and make their decisions.”
“So, it’s not actually a real auction then, is it?” Amira said. “The Enclave Masters are behind the scenes pulling the strings.”
“No, you’re right,” Lucia agreed with a serene smile. “It’s not a classical auction where money changes hands. But it is an auction in the sense that the Doms are all vying for a limited number of subs. We call it a binding auction to distinguish it from our charity auctions, and also because the pairings are binding for the one-week term of the contract. The participating Doms are able to rank their choices but, in the end, it’s up to our Enclave Masters to decide.”
“It’s way better that way,” Danielle added. “When you think about it, even one week can be a very long time with the wrong Master. This way it’s less random and more controlled.”
“And you know we subs are all about control,” Jaime added with a laugh.
They headed toward the communal bathroom to freshen up before joining the Doms upstairs. As Ellen was washing her face, Juliette, facing the mirror as she applied dark red lipstick to her mouth, said conspiratorially, “I don’t care if we’re not supposed to rank the Doms. I did it anyway, at least in my head. Just based on the profiles, I picked Master Tom, Master Jake and Master Damon. Tom and Jake are local, which is a definite plus, and they both checked a lot of my submissive boxes. Master Damon lives in Charlotte, which isn’t impossible, but who wants to commute to play? Still, not even taking into account how fucking gorgeous he is, Master Damon intrigued me because of his professional background—special ops military and all that. I like the cool biceps tat, too. A guy like that has to be physically and mentally tough, which is a definite turn-on. And that scar on his cheek. That’s proof he’s seen combat. Sexy.”
Ellen wasn’t sure she agreed combat was sexy, but she couldn’t deny she was intrigued as well by Master Damon’s military service. And she did wonder just how he’d gotten that scar.
“But after sceneing with Damon, I think I’ve changed my mind,” Juliette continued. She hugged herself and shivered melodramatically. “There was something, I don’t know, dangerous about that guy.”
“Dangerous?” Ellen echoed, her hand fluttering to her cheek, the memory of Master Damon’s hard palm sending a rush of desire through her core. Those cool sea-green eyes looking directly into her secrets, those muscular thighs, the scent of leather and lust, the heady pleasure of that intense spanking.