An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication

www.ellorascave.com

Masks

ISBN # 1-4199-0442-6
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Masks Copyright© 2005 Evangeline Anderson
Edited by Shannon Combs.
Cover art by Syneca.

Electronic book Publication: December 2005


This book may not be reproduced or used in whole or in part by any means existing without written
permission from the publisher, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.® 1056 Home Avenue, Akron OH 44310-
3502.

This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales
is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.

Warning:

The following material contains graphic sexual content meant for mature readers. Masks has been rated
E–rotic by a minimum of three independent reviewers.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing offers three levels of Romantica™ reading entertainment: S (S-ensuous), E (E-
rotic), and X (X-treme).

S-ensuous love scenes are explicit and leave nothing to the imagination.

E-rotic love scenes are explicit, leave nothing to the imagination, and are high in volume per the overall
word count. In addition, some E-rated titles might contain fantasy material that some readers find
objectionable, such as bondage, submission, same sex encounters, forced seductions, and so forth. E-rated
titles are the most graphic titles we carry; it is common, for instance, for an author to use words such as
“fucking”, “cock”, “pussy”, and such within their work of literature.

X-treme titles differ from E-rated titles only in plot premise and storyline execution. Unlike E-rated titles,
stories designated with the letter X tend to contain controversial subject matter not for the faint of heart.

M

ASKS

Evangeline Anderson

Trademarks Acknowledgement

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the

following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Jell-O: Kraft Foods Holdings, Inc. Corporation

Jaguar: Jaguar Cars Limited Corporation

Masks

Chapter One

Chloe stared at the large man in the black leather mask standing on the doorstep.

She didn’t know what she has been expecting, but he wasn’t it. He was tall for one

thing. Taller than her, despite the four-inch, thigh-high boots she was wearing. Broad

shoulders strained the fabric of his well-tailored suit and direct blue eyes stared at her

through the eye holes of the mask. The man smiled, revealing white, even teeth.

He didn’t look like a man that wanted to be dominated. Of course, you couldn’t

judge by appearances in this case, Chloe reminded herself. After all, she herself looked

like a dominatrix, but nothing could be further from the truth.

“Mistress Sensua?” The man’s voice was a deep rumble, coming from the bottom of

his chest that Chloe could feel in her bones. “Mistress?” he said again, taking another

step forward.

Chloe stumbled backwards a step before she remembered she was supposed to be

in charge of this situation. Mistress Sensua—that’s me! She had never felt less in charge of

anything in her whole life—including herself.

How was she supposed to handle this? How was she supposed to dominate this

giant when she was shaking in her thigh-high boots? How had she gotten herself into

this in the first place? Oh, right—doing her sister a favor…

* * * * *

“Chloe, I need a favor. I need you to switch with me.”

“Are you insane?” Chloe rolled her eyes at her identical twin sister who was

currently lounging on her expensive memory foam mattress with her injured right

ankle propped on a mound of fluffy goose down pillows. Nothing but the best for

Zoe—somehow her twin always seemed to get what she wanted. But not this time.

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“This is really important. I have a meeting with a client that I can’t miss.” Zoe’s big,

green eyes begged pitifully. “It’s just a little favor.” She twisted a strand of her honey

blonde hair around one perfectly manicured finger and looked appealingly at her

identical twin. Same hair, same eyes, but Zoe’s hair was an artful tumble around her

perfectly made-up face while Chloe’s was up in a sensible ponytail, showing a face that

was bare of makeup.

Chloe sighed. “We haven’t done a switch since high school. And you remember

how that turned out.”

Zoe’s eyes took on a dreamy look. “Of course I remember. I lost my virginity to

Christian Agan in the shallow end of his swimming pool. Most romantic day of my

life.”

“Maybe you’re forgetting what happened to me while you were having the time of

your life.” Chloe frowned in frustration. “I was taking your place in advanced

dramatics and it just happened to be the day that you were supposed to deliver your

monologue in front of the entire school assembly. I’ve never been so humiliated in my

life!”

“Which is why you’ve never switched with me since,” Zoe finished for her. “But

this time it’ll be different, Chloe, I swear. It’s been ten years since high school—just let it

go.” She shifted on her black satin sheets and regarded her twin with a sparkle of

mischief in her eyes. “You might even have fun.”

“How am I going to have fun dressing up in one of your business suits and

pretending to be an investment banker?” Chloe crossed her arms over the sensible, gray

turtleneck sweater she wore. Zoe, of course, was lounging in bed in a black silk teddy,

but she always dressed impractically.

“Well…” Zoe bit her full bottom lip and then patted the bed beside her. “C’mere,

sis, I have something to tell you. Only you have to promise not to tell Mom and Dad. It

would kill them.”

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“What?” Chloe eyed her twin mistrustfully. When Zoe got that look in her eyes, it

invariably spelled trouble. Still, she perched on the edge of the luxurious bed, curious to

hear what Zoe had to say.

“I’m not exactly an investment banker,” Zoe confessed. “In fact, I’m not in any kind

of banking or finance at all.”

“What?” Chloe looked at her blankly. “But you were a business major in college.

What about all the meetings you have with clients, the way you’re always jetting off to

exotic, foreign lands for last-minute mergers? And how do you pay for all this?” She

swept out an arm, indicating the plush luxury of her twin sister’s palatial home.

“I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to be shocked.”

Chloe sighed. “As if anything about you could shock me anymore.” It was true—of

the two of them, Zoe was always the adventurous one. The one always getting into

trouble.

How they’d ended up with such totally different personalities when their faces and

bodies were identical was beyond Chloe, but she was more than willing to let her sister

have her wild life of travel and excitement. Chloe herself was perfectly content with her

own life even if it wasn’t as glamorous as Zoe’s.

She had a neat, little, one-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood and a rewarding

career as a first grade teacher. So what if Zoe always seemed to have the sexiest clothes,

the hottest dates, and the most exotic adventures? That was fine for her twin but Chloe

preferred security and stability to thrills and chills—or so she told herself.

“So what do you do?” she asked, seeing the indecision on her twin sister’s face.

“C’mon, Zoe, you can tell me. You know I won’t tell Mom and Dad.”

“Pinky swear?” Zoe held out her hand, the elegantly manicured pinky finger

extended.

“Pinky swear.” It was a ritual of their childhood. No matter how different they

were, they were still sisters and Chloe loved her twin with all her heart, even if Zoe was

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exasperating at times. She held out her own pinky, the nail painted an innocent pink. It

contrasted oddly with the fire-engine red of Zoe’s when they locked pinkies.

Zoe looked into her eyes. “Chloe, I’m a dominatrix.”

* * * * *

“You’re a what?” Chloe jumped off the bed, staring at her sister as though she’d

never seen her before.

“I’m a dominatrix,” Zoe repeated patiently. “I go by the name Mistress Sensua. And

before you get all upset and excited—”

“Too late,” Chloe interrupted her.

“Before you get too upset,” Zoe uttered. “I just want to make it clear that a

dominatrix is not some kind of high-priced call girl.”

“What is it then?” Chloe demanded. She was pacing the room in long strides, still

unable to quite wrap her mind around what her sister was telling her. She had thought

that nothing Zoe could tell her would shock her—how wrong she had been! She

whirled to face the bed where her twin was still lounging comfortably as though she

hadn’t just dropped a bomb of nuclear proportions. “I mean, you are having sex with

men for money, right? So what else can you call it?”

Zoe looked insulted. “I never have sex with my clients,” she defended herself. “I

dominate them. That’s what they want. That’s how I can afford to pay for all this.” Her

sweeping gesture took in her entire lifestyle. The expensive home, the trips to exotic

lands, the designer clothes.

Suddenly, something occurred to Chloe. The way they had gotten into this

conversation in the first place was because… She looked at her twin, her eyes wide.

“You’re a dominatrix and you want me to switch with you to meet one of your

clients?”

“Well, it’s hard to dominate anyone with a twisted ankle.” Zoe sounded grumpy. “I

mean, how can I walk all over this guy with an ice pack on my leg? My stupid ankle is

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Masks

so swollen—it probably won’t even fit into my thigh-high boots, which was what I was

planning on wearing.”

“Thigh-high boots? Walk all over him?” Chloe felt faint. Could her twin sister really

be serious?

“Chloe, this is a really important client for me—I need you on this.”

“Huh-uh. No way.” Chloe shook her head. “You’re crazy, Zoe. There’s no way I’m

doing this.”

“It’ll be easy.” Zoe smiled the same sweet smile that had landed Chloe up on stage

in front of her entire high school, trying to recite a monologue she’d never heard before.

“Just think of it as a blind date,” Zoe said coaxingly.

“That right there is enough to make me say no, let alone the dominatrix thing.”

Chloe frowned. “Every blind date you set me up on winds up in disaster.”

Zoe blew out a breath in frustration. “That’s because you’re such a stick in the mud!

You never take chances, you never risk giving away even a little part of your heart.

Admit it, Chloe—you’re stuck in a rut and maybe switching with me tonight is what

you need to get you out of it.”

Amazingly, Chloe actually felt herself weakening. It was true that she was too shy

to make much of an impression on the handsome alpha male types that Zoe was always

trying to set her up with. Every date ended with a chaste peck on the cheek, or worse, a

handshake. She just couldn’t seem to overcome her shy, sensible nature long enough to

really cut loose and get to know any of those men. They all seemed so arrogant and self-

assured while she was…not.

But wait a minute, what was she thinking? This wasn’t exactly like the usual date

Zoe always set her up on. The evening her sister was proposing for her was more likely

to end with a boot in the face than a kiss on the cheek. Specifically, her boot in some

strange man’s face.

“No. No, I can’t possibly.” Chloe shook her head, but her sister had sensed the

moment of indecision. Now she moved in for the kill.

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“Yes you can! It’s so easy you won’t believe it—I’ll tell you everything you need to

know,” she promised. “Besides, what else have you got going tonight? A juicy stack of

spelling tests to grade?”

Chloe wavered again. “It’s a grammar test, for your information,” she grumbled.

“And I do need to get it graded before Monday.”

“So you’ll do me this favor tonight and work on it tomorrow.” Zoe was already

getting off the bed, moving surprisingly well for a woman with a twisted ankle. “Come

on, let’s get you dressed.”

Feeling like she’d been suddenly plunged into the middle of someone else’s dream,

Chloe followed her sister to the large walk-in closet on one side of the room.

* * * * *

“Zoe, I just don’t know about this.” Chloe looked at herself doubtfully in her twin

sister’s full-length mirror. Zoe was still wearing the black silk teddy she’d been

lounging in all evening but Chole had lost her comfortingly bulky gray turtleneck. In its

place she was wearing a black leather bustier that molded her medium-sized breasts

into luscious milk-white scoops of vanilla wobbling on an exotic tray.

The bustier laced up the front with a thick leather cord and dipped down almost to

the top of the short black leather miniskirt she was currently wearing. The miniskirt had

actually been Chloe’s idea. Zoe had wanted her to wear a brief pair of leather panties

that barely covered her crotch along with the bustier and thigh-high leather boots, but

Chloe had point-blank refused. “I don’t care how ‘dramatic’ the look is,” she’d snapped

at her twin. “I want something else between me and this ‘client’ of yours besides a tiny

leather thong.” Zoe had relented and the result was the skintight leather skirt that Zoe

normally wouldn’t have been caught dead in.

Now she stood in front of the mirror, staring at her “new look” and wondering

where the tame and timid first grade teacher she knew so well had gone. “I look like a

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Masks

biker slut from hell,” she said blankly, watching the tops of her breasts jiggle like Jell-O

as she wobbled in the spike-heeled boots.

“You look like a dominatrix,” Zoe corrected her. “At least, from the neck down, you

do. It’s the neck up we’ll have to do something about. You need makeup desperately

and that hairstyle has got to go.”

“What’s wrong with my hairstyle?” Chloe clutched nervously at the blonde

ponytail that trailed down her back.

“It’s the same one you’ve had since high school, for one thing.” As she spoke, Zoe

was ruthlessly stripping the rubber band out of her sister’s hair.

“Ouch!” Chloe protested. “Change the hair if you have to, but I don’t like a lot of

makeup on my face.”

“You don’t have to wear a lot—you just have to know what to wear. Come into the

bathroom and let me work on you.” Zoe smiled excitedly and squeezed her hand. “I’ve

wanted to do this for years, but you wouldn’t let me.”

Chloe felt guilty. It was true that her twin had been after her to spend more sister

time together, but Zoe’s life always seemed so full—so different—and that was before

Chloe had known she was a dominatrix. The older they got, the more they grew apart.

“I guess we should try to keep up with each other a little better,” she said, getting

settled in front of the vast mirror that spanned an entire wall of her sister’s bathroom.

“That’s what I’ve been telling you for the longest time.” Zoe was already heating up

the hot rollers and running a brush through her hair. “But you kept putting me off. I

had to beg you to come over tonight.”

“I just thought you were too busy and you always seemed so successful—always on

the go. I felt…I guess I felt like we didn’t have anything in common.” Chloe admitted.

“Well, after tonight we’ll have a lot more in common.” Zoe was balancing a brush, a

hot roller, and a kit of exotic and expensive-looking makeup all at once.

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Chloe winced as the brush snagged in her hair. “Ouch! Watch it. So this means

you’ll come in and substitute for me the next time I want a day off from teaching first

grade, right?” She was joking, of course. Her twin and a roomful of kids would be a

disastrous combination, she was certain. But Zoe was unperturbed.

“Sure, I’ll sub for you. Don’t forget, I’m good at making people mind.” She winked

at her sister in the mirror and Chloe felt her mouth go suddenly dry. Could she really

do this? Did she want to? The decision was rapidly being taken out of her hands as Zoe

painted and perfumed her and hot-rolled her hair into a luscious tumble of honey-

blonde waves that Chloe was certain she never could have achieved herself.

“You look perfect,” Zoe said at last. “You haven’t looked this good since you let me

do your makeup and hair for our senior prom.”

“You mean the one where Michael Carlson puked down the front of my gown?”

Chloe stared at the exotically beautiful stranger in the mirror.

“Yes, that one.” Zoe grinned at her. “Truly a magical night. Now, just one more

thing and you’re ready to go.”

“What’s that?” Chloe looked at her apprehensively. What other accessory could this

outfit possibly need? A riding crop? A bullwhip?

“This.” Zoe reached into a special drawer and pulled out a mask.

“Oh.” Chloe’s voice was low and breathless. The mask was beautiful. It appeared to

be made entirely of feathers and it was every color imaginable. Emerald green, glowing

gold, deep crimson, and rich, royal blue melted together in a delicate creation. Taking

the offered mask delicately in her hand, Chloe saw that it would cover only the top part

of her face, framing her eyes in the multicolored feathers and leaving her nose and

mouth free. “It’s beautiful,” she said softly.

“It’s magic,” Zoe assured her. The mischievous glint was back in her eyes and she

smiled as she settled the mask gently on her sister’s face. “In a psychological sense,

anyway. When you’re wearing the mask, you can go anywhere and do anything. You

can be the person you always dreamed of being.”

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“I never dreamed of being a dominatrix,” Chloe objected. “That was your dream,

apparently.”

“It’s yours too, for tonight anyway. Now listen up, let me give you a few tips and

then you have to go. The appointment’s at nine o’clock sharp and you still have to get to

my office across town.”

“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—”

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“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.”

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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.

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“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?”

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“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 wondered what

line of work Mark was in. Whatever it was, he certainly kept himself in shape.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Mistress?” His smart-ass tone threw her, breaking her

concentration on his muscled chest.

“I’ll ask the questions,” Chloe snapped, deciding abruptly that it was time to move

on. She still felt a definite lack of control in this situation and it made her nervous,

shattering the fragile self-confidence she’d managed to build. But she couldn’t stop

searching him now or he’d be the winner of this little confrontation.

She let her hands slide lower, past the waistband of his pants to the bulging crotch.

Oh my God, is he for real? She hadn’t been with very many men—okay, two. She’d only

been with two other men. But Mark more than measured up to any other guy in her

experience. In fact, she could barely believe what she was feeling was real. It was a

damn good thing rule number two was “never have sex with the client”. She was pretty

sure she wouldn’t have been able to handle what Mark was packing.

“Uh, Mistress, that’s all me, not a toy.” Mark’s deep voice still held a hint of

amusement though it was sounding rather strained now. “And you might want to think

of it less as a ‘toy’ than a loaded gun. One that’s going to go off if you’re not careful.”

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Chloe felt a deep blush heat her cheeks. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said before she

could stop herself. Then she mentally kicked herself again. A real dominatrix would

never apologize, would she? A real dominatrix would know what she was doing. A real

dominatrix wouldn’t let her client fluster her so much that she lost the upper hand…

Apparently Mark had the same idea. Abruptly, he turned to face her and Chloe

found her wrists caught firmly but gently in his large, warm hands.

“What—?” she began, but he cut her off.

“This is all very amusing, Mistress,” he rumbled. “But it isn’t exactly what I had in

mind when I made this appointment.”

“But…but I don’t understand.” Chloe’s voice sounded weak and indecisive, even to

her. She struggled against his grip, but she might as well have been struggling against a

pair of steel handcuffs. He held her effortlessly, a small smile playing around his full

mouth. But the direct blue eyes behind the black mask were like laser beams in their

intensity.

“There’s nothing to understand.” He started walking through the townhouse that

doubled as Zoe’s office as though he owned it and knew the layout very well. Chloe

had no choice but to follow him since he still had her firmly by the wrists.

Rule number one—you’re breaking rule number one! Quick, say something—get back

control of the situation before it’s too late.

Chloe tried, she really did. “Let go of me!” she fumed in what she hoped was an

authoritative voice. But Mark just laughed at her.

“I don’t think so, sweetheart. I’m through playing things your way. It’s my turn to

run the show.”

“Why you…you…” Chloe couldn’t think of anything bad enough to call him. As

she was being dragged behind him, she noticed that his hair was as black as the mask

he wore and that it was cut short at the nape of his neck. That was nice, she didn’t like

men with hair that was too long. Also, he had a nice, tight ass…

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Wait a minute, what am I thinking? This man, this Mark Jacobs, had completely

turned the tables on her. Zoe’s rule number one was shot to hell and if she didn’t get

control of herself, rule number two might be quick to follow. Chloe’s head was spinning

as he led her down the hall to a door at the far end.

“In here.” His deep voice still sounded amused but his grip on her arms was

unyielding.

Chloe couldn’t help gasping aloud when she saw he had led her to the dungeon

room. She had barely had a chance to poke her head in this room before Mark had

knocked at the front door. Now it looked like she was going to get a much more

intimate view of it.

The floor was carpeted in a deep black and the walls were a stark white in contrast.

They could have been painted fuchsia, though, for all the difference it made. Almost

every square inch of wall space was devoted to different erotic tools and devices.

Everywhere Chloe looked there were whips, canes, paddles, even hairbrushes. There

were also various restraints including masks, ball gags and some things she didn’t even

have a name for.

The sight of so much foreign equipment, much of it obviously used for pain as

much as pleasure, finally broke Chloe’s nerve. “Please,” she gasped, uselessly tugging

at her arms. “Please, what are you going to do to me? Please, don’t hurt me.”

“Oh, hey.” He abruptly stopped dragging her and turned to face her, taking her

shoulders in his hands. He bent down to get a better look into her eyes. “I would never

hurt you, don’t you know that?” he asked, his deep voice a soft rumble.

“I don’t know anything,” Chloe protested. “I don’t know anything about you.”

“That’s all right.” He bent lower and placed a soft, closed-mouth kiss on her

trembling lips. “You’re about to find out. Come on.”

He pulled her towards the large, wooden frame shaped like a capital X which she

supposed must be the Saint Andrew’s cross Zoe had talked about. At all four corners of

the X were restraints made of supple but strong-looking black leather.

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Evangeline Anderson

“Please,” Chloe tried to protest once more as he buckled her wrists to the top part of

the cross. “Please, Mark…”

“No.” He shook his head decisively and stopped for a moment to look into her eyes.

“From now on, you can call me ‘Sir’ or ‘Master’, but my real name is off-limits to you

until I say differently. Understand?”

Chloe looked at him blankly for a moment and he got even closer, so close she

could smell peppermint on his breath and the warm musk of his big body.

“I said, do you understand?” he asked, his voice low and stern.

Slowly, Chloe nodded her head.

“I can’t hear you,” her new master said softly. “Answer me out loud.”

“Yes,” Chloe whispered.

“Yes, what?” he prompted.

“Yes, Master,” she said, her voice shaking.

* * * * *

Chloe could scarcely wrap her mind around the predicament she currently found

herself in. She was no longer even remotely in control of the situation. Zoe had sent her

into the lion’s den and she had no idea if she would come out again in one piece.

He said he wouldn’t hurt me. Yes, but she didn’t know anything about him. How did

she know he could be trusted? He was a strange man and he had her chained to a

wooden whipping post. At least he had chained her facing the room instead of the wall

so she could see what was going on, but that was a very small comfort indeed.

The only person who knew she was here was Zoe, who was probably propped up

on her satin sheets reading the latest cheesy romance and eating bonbons. I should have

known better than to do this, should have known better than to switch with her tonight! Chloe

had to admit that the situation she found herself in now was infinitely worse than being

up on stage in front of the entire student body trying to recite a monologue she didn’t

know.

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Masks

“There.” His voice woke her from the almost trancelike state that had taken hold of

her mind and Chloe realized he had just finished buckling her ankles to the cross with

the soft leather restraints. He’d been kneeling by her feet and she should have taken the

opportunity to kick him in the head and scream for help, but she’d been too caught up

in her thoughts to notice and she had missed her chance. Great going, Chloe. Just let the

guy strap you in while you do nothing to prevent it!

“Relax.” Mark stood and dusted his hands together briefly, as though finishing a

hard job and then smiled at her. He stripped off the black suit jacket along with his tie

and the crisp, white dress shirt which Chloe herself had already unbuttoned. He hung

the jacket, tie and shirt neatly on a peg that also housed a long, wicked-looking riding

crop and turned to face her, bare-chested.

“Now what…Master?” Chloe was quick to add when she saw the slight frown on

his face.

“Now you’ll get a taste of your own medicine, sweetheart.” He came closer, and

Chloe thought he looked even larger now that he was wearing nothing but the black

dress pants and the black leather mask. The muscles in his chest bunched and flexed as

he moved and she could see that she had been wrong—it wasn’t completely smooth

after all. There was a light dusting of coarse, black, curling hair between the flat copper

disks of his nipples. It led down his flat stomach in a narrow trail, past his abs and

disappeared into the waistband of his pants.

“Do you like what you see?” He stepped forward, giving her that white, frightening

smile. “Because I know I do.”

“Wait!” Chloe said desperately as he stepped even closer. “Wait, you don’t

understand. I’m not supposed to be here! This is all a big mistake—”

“Shh.” He placed a warm finger against her lips and shook his head slowly. “No

more talking unless I tell you to. Not unless you want me to use a gag. And you don’t

want that, do you, sweetheart?”

“N-no,” Chloe stuttered. “I mean, no, Master.”

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Evangeline Anderson

“That’s better.” He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and for some

reason the gentle touch sent a shiver down her spine. To her surprise, Chloe could feel

her nipples hardening inside the black leather bustier. Surely this wasn’t turning her

on—was it?

“This is the way it’s going to be,” Mark continued, still stroking her cheek. “We’re

going to play a little game, have a little fun together. But I’m not going to hurt you, and

I’m not going to make love to you unless you ask me to.”

“M-make love?” Chloe actually felt faint. Rule number one was down the drain and

now he was talking about rule number two. What was she going to do?

“That’s right, make love.” He traced a slow, ticklish line of warmth down her cheek

to the sensitive side of her neck. “Maybe you think of it differently, I don’t know. But

I’m not here for a quick fuck.” His hand slid lower, caressing the heaving tops of her

breasts and Chloe felt like he was trailing a line of fire over her exposed flesh.

“If I take you,” he continued in that deep, maddeningly reasonable voice. “It will be

long and slow and utterly unstoppable.” He bent to brush a kiss against her neck,

sending warm shivers down her back. “I’ll spread your legs and fill you. Pin you to the

bed and ride you until you come all over my cock.”

She wanted to tell him to stop and to never stop. No one had ever talked to her like

this before—she’d never dreamed she wanted anyone too. And yet…suddenly she was

melting inside. He was telling her he wouldn’t take her unless she asked him to, and

telling her exactly how he would do it when she asked him at the same time.

“I…I don’t…” she started to say, but he stopped her with a kiss. This time his

mouth wasn’t as gentle and chaste as it had been before. He was firm but insistent,

seeking entrance until she opened her mouth to him, giving him what he wordlessly

demanded.

Standing with her hands raised helplessly above her head and her legs spread,

wrists and ankles fixed immovably to the cross, Chloe had never felt so helpless or so

hot. As yet, Mark had done nothing but caress the tops of her breasts and kiss her

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Masks

senseless, but she felt like she might melt into a puddle on the black carpeted floor if the

wrist restraints weren’t holding her up. Does this mean I’m some kind of pervert that likes

being tied up? she thought hazily as the kiss went on and on. Or did it just mean that she

liked Mark? His dominant but gentle ways, his hot words interlaced with promises not

to hurt her. His hands and mouth on her body…

He pulled back at last and placed a final sweet kiss on the corner of her mouth.

“That’s good, sweetheart,” he whispered, his breath barely stirring the hair at the nape

of her neck. “That’s very good. I think you’re ready to play.”

“Play?” Chloe looked at him, wishing she had a hand free to touch the feathered

mask she still wore for a boost of confidence. What did he mean by “play”?

Mark answered with actions instead of words. He reached for the front of her

bustier and began unlacing the leather cord that held it in place. His hands were warm

on her skin as he bared her breasts to his gaze.

“Please…” Chloe bit her lip, unable to stop the small, helpless cry from escaping.

The other times she’d had sex had been in the dark. Sweaty fumblings that were almost

anonymous because of the lack of light. She’d never had a man undress her before.

Never had a man look at her so hungrily, as though she was a work of art, the most

beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Shh,” Mark told her again, softly. He had stepped back for a moment to admire his

handiwork. “Do you know how gorgeous you are, standing there like that? How

absolutely unbelievably beautiful you look?” He stepped forward again and cupped

both her breasts in his large, warm hands. Chloe shivered helplessly at the sensation of

his calloused palms against her erect and sensitive nipples.

“Oh God,” she whispered softly. “What are you going to do to me?”

“What do you want me to do?” he teased gently. He seemed to have forgotten

about his command that she call him Master, which was a good thing. Chloe could

barely remember her own name at this point, let alone anyone else’s.

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Evangeline Anderson

Mark pinched her nipples gently, twisting the sensitive points until she moaned at

the cruel pleasure. He released her gently. “Did that hurt?” he asked, softly.

“A…a little,” she admitted.

“Would you like me to make it better?” The deep voice held a sensual promise she

couldn’t ignore…couldn’t resist.

“Yes,” Chloe breathed. The next moment his hot mouth was sucking her, taking as

much of her right breast inside as he could at once while he continued to pinch and

twist her left nipple without mercy.

“Please… Oh God, please!” Chloe found she was thrusting her chest out, trying to

give him better access to her bare breasts. His mouth on her was hot and wet and

utterly right. She could feel the heat and moisture gathering between her spread thighs

as he worked on her relentlessly. Over and over, from right to left and back again he

teased her with his tongue and teeth, gently nipping at her sensitized nipples as she

writhed against the smooth wood of the Saint Andrew’s cross at her back.

Finally, when she thought she could stand it no longer, he pulled back. “Is that

good, sweetheart?” His voice was low and needful as he looked into her eyes.

Chloe moaned in frustration. Of course it was good! Why had he stopped?

“How good was it? How much did you enjoy it?” Piercing blue eyes behind the

black leather mask searched her own and Chloe found she couldn’t look away. Mark’s

hands were on her waist now, traveling slowly down her hips over the black leather

skirt. He leaned forward and whispered his last question in her ear. “Are you wet for

me, sweetheart?”

Chloe looked at him, unable to answer. The question was so shocking in its

intimacy that she couldn’t begin to formulate a reply. No other lover had ever asked her

anything like this before.

“If you don’t answer me I’ll have to find out for myself.” Mark’s hands traveled

lower, playing with the bottom hem of the short, black miniskirt which had somehow

risen to the tops of her thighs. “Do you want me to find out for myself?”

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Masks

He was giving her a choice and Chloe knew she ought to say no or at least shake

her head. But somehow she just couldn’t.

Mark leaned closer, his breath warm in her ear. “If you want me to touch you,

spread your legs for me.”

With a soft little moan, Chloe did as he said. Her legs were already spread wide by

the position of her ankles at the bottom of the cross, but now she spread her thighs even

wider, welcoming him in.

“That’s right, spread wide for me, sweetheart.”

She felt his hands raising the hem of her skirt past the tops of her thighs, leaving her

with nothing but the brief, black leather thong between them. Then Mark was pulling

the thong aside, baring her sex to the cool air and his hot gaze. Chloe gasped as he

cupped her mound in his hand, pressing upwards to increase the contact and grind his

palm against the sensitive bundle of nerves at her center.

Then he was spreading the lips of her pussy, rubbing blunt fingertips lightly over

her throbbing clit, testing her heat and moisture as he explored her wet cunt.

“God…!” The sound was torn from Chloe’s throat as he touched her. Her knees

buckled and she might have fallen if it wasn’t for the cross’s restraints.

“Do you like that, sweetheart? Do you like it when I pet your sweet, wet pussy?”

Mark’s voice was low and hot. His gaze burned into her as two long, strong fingers

entered her and began to fuck into her wet depths.

Chloe threw back her head and moaned. The sensation was so intense. It was almost

too much and yet she knew she didn’t want him to stop.

“Beautiful.” Mark was watching her hungrily as she gasped and moaned and

writhed on his fingers. “So beautiful when I touch you like this. I wonder if you taste as

good as you look?”

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Evangeline Anderson

His words barely registered with Chloe. In fact, they didn’t really penetrate her

brain at all until he was on his knees in front of her, raising her skirt even higher and

pressing his face between her thighs.

“Wait a minute!” she gasped, trying to draw back. For the first time she would have

stopped him if she could. This was something else outside her limited realm of

experience. It came to her again that she barely knew this man, this Mark, whoever he

was. Why did he want to do this?

He must have felt the tension in her thighs and heard the reluctance in her voice.

Looking up, Mark met her eyes with his blazing, piercing gaze. “Trust me,” he breathed

softly. “You know I won’t hurt you. Just spread your legs for me and let me taste you,

sweetheart.”

“But…but I don’t…”

His breath on her cleft and his warm fingers on her thighs were melting her

protests. Feeling like she was drowning and burning at the same time, Chloe allowed

herself to relax and let him in.

“So beautiful,” she heard him murmur again from his position on his knees before

her. “So hot and sweet.” And then he was spreading her lips again and pressing a long,

hot kiss to her open cunt, tasting her as she had never been tasted before.

“Oh God!” Chloe’s hips bucked in reaction to the kiss and the hot, wet suction he

applied directly to her swollen clit. He was pressing his face between her thighs, urging

her to open even further for him, tonguing her sensitive folds, kissing her sex the way

he had kissed her mouth moments earlier. Then she felt his tongue inside her, pressing

deep as his fingers had moments before. He had his arms locked around her thighs,

surging forward as he ate her, tongue-fucking her pussy as though he would never be

able to get enough of her sweet, salty taste.

Chloe heard soft, breathless moans coming from somewhere and realized she was

making them herself and she couldn’t stop. She had never felt anything like this. The

sensation of being spread and feasted on was utterly new and utterly addicting.

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Masks

He pulled back long enough to whisper, “Delicious. You taste so damn good,

sweetheart.” Then he was pressing back between her thighs, spreading her even wider.

He sucked her clit into his mouth again and Chloe could feel his long fingers entering

her once more, pressing upwards as he ate her. She was close, so incredibly close… The

hot sensations of his mouth on her clit and his fingers inside her were shoving her over

that divine edge she had experienced only rarely before.

Then his fingers moved suddenly, withdrawing from her cunt and pressing further,

entering her back hole with the moisture he’d collected from her pussy to ease the way.

It was the hottest, most shameful thing anyone had ever done to her and Chloe

didn’t know if she loved it or hated it, but the unexpected action sent her flying over the

edge of orgasm, helplessly calling his name.

“Master…Mark…oh God…!”

At last, he looked up from his place between her legs. He was panting slightly and

his mouth was wet with her juices. Chloe could feel the wanting that burned in his eyes

reflected in her own.

“Please,” she whispered brokenly. “Oh, please…”

“Please what?” he asked, his deep voice tense. “What do you want me to do,

Chloe?”

It didn’t even register with her that he had used her real name. The only thing she

could think of was her need—the overwhelming need that was pushing her to do what

she knew she shouldn’t. The second rule is never have sex with the client…a voice

whispered somewhere inside her head. But Chloe couldn’t care less for rules at that

point—she only knew about hunger. The hunger she felt in her own body and the

hunger she heard in her lover’s voice.

“Please,” she whispered. “Please, Mark. Make love to me.”

* * * * *

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Evangeline Anderson

The next thing she knew, he was unbuckling her wrists and ankles from the cross’s

restraints.

“What—?” She tried to make sense of his action with her lust-hazed mind.

“Can’t make love standing up,” he replied, finishing one wrist restraint and moving

on to the next. “You can fuck, but that’s not quite the same thing. Besides,” He stopped

a moment to look her in the eye again. “I want you under me. I want to feel your long,

pretty legs wrapped around my waist while I thrust into you. While I make love to

you.”

He finished unbuckling the last restraint and dipped his head to kiss her again. This

time Chloe could taste herself on his lips, sweet and salty and hot. It was unbelievably

erotic. She felt a new surge of need wash over her as he fed her the taste of herself on

his tongue, sharing his pleasure in her feminine flavor with her.

Then Mark was swinging her up into his arms and carrying her from the mostly

untouched dungeon room to another room she’d barely gotten a glimpse of—the

bedroom.

For all that Zoe claimed not to sleep with her clients, the room certainly looked like

a set for seduction. The king-sized bed was draped in red satin sheets and the lighting

was low and romantic.

Mark laid her on the bed and began pulling off the rest of her dominatrix outfit,

making her nervous all over again.

“Wait a minute…what…?” Chloe attempted to cover herself with her hands,

suddenly shy despite everything he’d just done to her. The red satin felt cool against her

back and thighs and a small shiver of goose bumps ran over her skin.

Mark stopped what he was doing and stroked her cheek, looking into her eyes. “I

want to feel your skin against mine, not all this leather. I want to completely see your

beautiful body while I touch you—while I enter you. Is that all right, sweetheart?”

“I…” She looked back at him, meeting his gaze. It was unnerving to feel such

intimacy with a man she’d only met an hour before. “I guess so,” she said at last. But…”

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Rule number three… Never take off the mask. She reached up to touch the cool feathers that

surrounded her eyes. “But not the mask,” she said. “All right?”

“If that’s how you want it.” He sounded a little sad for reasons she couldn’t define

or explain. Maybe it was just her imagination. “I’ll leave mine on too,” he said, going

back to work on her skirt.

“All right.” She felt both relieved and disappointed. But it was important to

preserve her anonymity, wasn’t it? After all, it wasn’t like she would ever see him again

after tonight.

Her worried thoughts were swept out of her head as Mark finished undressing her

down to the last boot. She was completely nude except for the mask she still wore and

then he started pulling off his own clothes.

His body was magnificent, the broad chest and shoulders tapering to narrow hips

and long, muscular legs dusted with the same coarse black hair that grew on his chest.

But it was his cock that caught and held Chloe’s attention. Her earlier assessment of his

size and length while she had been frisking him turned out to be right on the money.

He was big—maybe too big. She felt her eyes widening and her breath coming short.

God, he would tear her apart with that monster!

Mark’s gaze followed hers to the thick shaft nodding between his legs and he

seemed to understand her fear. “Hey, sweetheart,” he whispered softly, stroking her

cheek. “It’s all right. I’ll make sure you’re wet enough to take me and we’ll go nice and

slow. I promised not to hurt you, didn’t I?”

Slowly, Chloe nodded. “It’s just…” Her voice felt lodged in her throat. “It’s just that

I haven’t been with that many guys and you’re really… It’s just a little scary,” she

finished softly.

“You don’t ever have to be scared of me.” His deep voice was caught somewhere

between sorrow and tenderness. “I’ll never, ever hurt you. Here.” He produced a

condom from somewhere and tore open the small foil wrapper. “Why don’t you help

me with this?”

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Evangeline Anderson

Shakily, Chloe rose from her supine position and took the condom he was offering

in one hand. Then, hesitantly, she reached for him.

“It’s all right—go ahead,” Mark urged gently. “Let me feel your hands on me.”

Feeling as if her heart was beating in her mouth, Chloe did as he said. His shaft was

warm and satiny smooth in her hand. It seemed to pulse in time to his heartbeat as she

caressed its length with growing courage. She reached lower and cupped the tight,

lightly furred pouch that hung below his cock, learning him with her fingertips as he

knelt above her.

“Oh God…” His low, appreciative groan startled her and Chloe realized she had

been stroking him for more than a minute when she was supposed to be putting on the

condom.

“Sorry,” she whispered, beginning to fumble with the small latex coin. “I just…”

“No, don’t apologize.” He stroked her hair gently. “Your hands are so small and

soft—feels wonderful. But I need to be inside you, now.”

“All right.” Chloe finished with the condom and lay back on the bed. Her heart was

pounding so hard it felt like it was trying to batter its way right through her ribs. Every

beat seemed to shake her entire body. She tried to keep her thighs from trembling as she

spread her legs for him, wondering what it would feel like to have that thick shaft

inside her.

But instead of shoving into her at once, Mark began to kiss her again. He trailed

warm kisses along her neck and down between her breasts to her sensitive nipples once

more. His hot, wet tongue glided over the quivering plane of her belly and dipped into

the rounded cup of her navel before reaching her sex once more.

“Spread a little wider for me, sweetheart,” he whispered, his warm breath puffing

against her inner thighs. His large, warm hands caressed her legs as he spoke. “I want

to taste that sweet pussy one more time and make sure you’re ready for me.”

The hot, erotic words undid her and Chloe felt her thighs relaxing once more under

his touch. His mouth was softer this time, more gentle and less demanding, as though

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Masks

he realized that she must be sensitive from his earlier attentions. Chloe moaned,

helpless to hold back the soft sound as he worked on her. His hot tongue explored her

thoroughly once more, tracing magical figure eights around her sensitive clit and

pressing deeply into the entrance to her cunt as though he was reaching for her heart

with every thrust.

Slowly, she felt herself climbing the peak of pleasure once more. Her thighs

tightened involuntarily around his head and she reached down to feel the cool leather

of his mask and the warm silk of his thick black hair as he ate her gently but

relentlessly.

Just as she thought she was going to explode once more, Mark drew back from her,

panting. “Oh…why…?” She couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. She had

been so close.

“Because I want to feel you come all over my cock,” he said, answering her half-

articulated question. “You’re ready for me now and I need you, sweetheart. Can you

spread yourself for me and let me in? Let me all the way into that sweet, wet pussy?”

Chloe bit her lip. “Yes,” she whispered, not trusting herself to say anything else.

God, she’d never been touched this way, tasted and stroked and made love to so

sweetly and relentlessly. She wanted him inside her more than she’d ever wanted

anything. All the fear she’d felt was washed away with the need he’d built inside her

with his hands and mouth and tongue.

“All right.” She felt the large, plum-shaped head of his cock find its way to her

quivering sex and lodge securely in entrance to her body. There was a feeling of

pleasurable pressure as he slipped inside her, making her gasp a little at his size.

“All right?” Mark said again and this time it was a question. He held steady with

just the head of his cock inside her, waiting to be sure he wasn’t hurting her in any way.

Chloe felt her heart swell even as she nodded. She had never had such a considerate

lover before and it made her sad to think that after tonight, she probably never would

again.

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Evangeline Anderson

“Good.” He nodded when he was sure she was all right and continued his slow

slide into her body. Inch by thick inch he filled her, pressing deeper and deeper into her

sex, joining them completely. At last Chloe felt him bottoming out inside her, the thick

head of his cock kissing the mouth of her womb and she knew he could go no deeper.

Mark looked down at her, his blue eyes filled with need. “All the way in you now,

sweetheart. All the way in your tight, little pussy.” He leaned down and captured her

mouth, holding still inside her as he kissed her thoroughly.

Chloe gasped. “I know.” She could feel him pulsing inside her, stretching her even

though he wasn’t moving an inch. Feeling daring, she leaned up and stole a kiss of her

own. “I thought you were going to make love to me.”

He groaned softly. “I am, sweetheart. Wrap you legs around me now. I want to feel

you all around me while I fill your pussy.”

Chloe wrapped her legs around his narrow, muscular hips, welcoming him fully

into her body. She was still trembling on the edge of orgasm and his slow entry had

done nothing to diminish her desire. When Mark pulled back and pressed forward

again, a low moan was drawn from her lips. Oh God… In me so deep… He thrust again

and again and then Chloe bucked her hips to meet him.

She could feel the need building inside her, relentless and deep, pushing her

steadily towards the edge of orgasm as he filled her over and over with his cock. She

closed her eyes at the intense pleasure, unable to look at him while he took her so

intimately.

“No.” Mark’s deep voice was hoarse. “No, Chloe, look at me. I want to see it in your

eyes when you come.”

Her eyes flew open behind the feathered mask and she felt herself drowning in his

piercing blue gaze as he thrust into her over and over, taking her, making her his. The

intense way he held her gaze was unnerving but undeniably erotic. That he should care

so much about her pleasure was a revelation to Chloe—was something she had never

had with any man before.

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“Oh God…oh God!” Someone was moaning out loud, shamelessly announcing her

pleasure and Chloe realized it was her. She’d always been quiet during sex before, but

now she couldn’t help herself. Mark wasn’t letting her help herself. He kept pounding

into her, forcing the shouts from her lips, causing the incredible pleasure that was

building inside her to the inevitable conclusion. After a moment, Chloe realized he was

talking to her as he thrust into her body.

“That’s right, Chloe, come for me, sweetheart. Want to feel you coming all over my

cock. Give it up to me. That’s right…give it up.”

His deep voice urging her to let go released her orgasm almost as much as his thick

cock pounding inside her. Losing herself utterly in the pleasure he was giving her,

Chloe threw back her head and sobbed breathlessly as she came.

“That’s right… Oh God, I can feel you coming all around me. Oh, sweetheart,

you’re so beautiful when you come.” Mark rose to his knees and grasped her thighs,

thrusting as deeply as possible inside her until Chloe thought she would die from the

added sensation. She felt a deep pulsing inside her as he pulled her tight and close,

pressing into her sex and she had the brief, crazy wish that there was no condom

separating them. She wanted to feel him coming inside her, filling her unprotected cunt

with his hot cum.

Then Mark collapsed gently on top of her, breathing deeply in her ear. She wrapped

her legs even more tightly around him, unwilling to lose him, unwilling to lose the

connection she had felt between them as he rose above her, filling her with himself. It

was the most intense and intimate sex she’d ever experienced and she found it difficult

to believe that it had been with a total stranger.

“Don’t want to crush you,” Mark said at last. As he slipped from her body to lie

beside her on the bed, Chloe felt a sadness she couldn’t explain.

* * * * *

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“Mmm.” The deep voice in her ear was contented but still interested. “That was

wonderful, sweetheart.”

“It was, wasn’t it?” Chloe rolled over to face him, feeling the feathers of her mask

tickle her face as it pressed against the goose down pillow. She supposed she should get

up and get dressed and send Mark on his way now that the encounter was over, but

somehow she couldn’t bring herself to do that. As silly as it sounded, she had felt a real

connection to the man beside her and she was reluctant to let it go.

He smiled at her, the blue eyes warm behind the black leather mask. “You’re

beautiful, you know that?”

Chloe blushed with pleasure. Actually, she didn’t know it. People were always

saying how gorgeous Zoe was, but somehow her twin seemed to know how to make

the most of their honey blonde hair and dark green eyes. Chloe tended to fade into the

woodwork, too shy to go out and demand attention the way her twin did. Although she

hadn’t been acting very shy tonight, she reminded herself.

“You’re not half bad yourself,” she said softly. She moved a little closer and the

feathers of her mask tickled her again, making her itch. Impatiently, she rubbed the side

of her face. “Tell me about yourself,” she said, before she thought about it. “I mean,”

she backpedaled hastily. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind, but it’s getting cold in here. Hang on.” He reached down to the foot

of the bed and pulled up the red satin sheets and a matching red and black comforter.

“There, better?”

“Much.” Chloe snuggled under the covers grateful for their warmth.

“If you’re still cold, you could come over here.” He patted the side of his chest and

smiled at her invitingly.

Feeling a little awkward, Chloe snuggled next to him, laying her face against his

broad chest as he wound his arm around her shoulder. But the feathered mask got in

the way again.

“Hey,” he protested as she moved against him. “That tickles!”

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Chloe looked up at him. “I’m sorry—it’s bothering me too. And yours must be

getting hot, huh?” She looked at the black leather mask that framed his eyes and

covered the sides of his face.

He shrugged noncommittally. “I can stand it.”

“Well, I can’t.” The third rule is never take off the mask! her sister’s voice whispered

inside her head. But she had broken all the other rules and besides, she felt like taking a

chance. A chance on herself and on the man lying beside her in the bed. Chloe had told

herself she felt a real connection to him—but how would she know unless she revealed

her true self and asked him to do the same?

She sat up in bed abruptly and looked down at him. “Let’s take them off, what do

you say?” Her fingers were already tugging at the band that held the beautiful

feathered mask in place as she spoke.

Mark’s blue eyes were doubtful. “I don’t know…”

“Oh.” Chloe stopped pulling at the mask abruptly. How stupid she had been! Of

course he didn’t want to take off his mask—this was supposed to be an anonymous

encounter. Zoe’s voice rang in her head again. This is a business transaction, not a romantic

interlude, her sister had said.

Chloe wrapped her arms around herself, covering her breasts protectively. “I’m

sorry, that was a stupid suggestion. I…I just didn’t think.” Just because she had felt a

connection didn’t mean that Mark had, she told herself.

He picked up on her mood immediately. “Hey, no, it’s not like that,” he protested,

sitting up as well. “It’s just that…well, if I take off the mask, you might not like what

you see beneath.”

Chloe frowned. “Are you speaking literally or metaphorically?”

“Whoa.” He grinned. “You must have been an English major.”

“Elementary education,” Chloe said, feeling herself beginning to relax a little.

“What about you?”

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“Computers and communication.” He grinned at her. “I’m a complete geek.”

Chloe allowed her gaze to travel the length of his body, lingering appreciatively on

the well-muscled chest and arms. “You, uh, certainly don’t look like one.”

He laughed. “What can I say? I’m a geek that likes to work out. As far as that goes,

I’ve never seen an Education major that looked quite like you, either.”

Chloe blushed and looked down. It was true she kept in shape, she just didn’t wear

provocative clothing to show it off the way Zoe did. “I jog,” she said. “Usually in the

morning before I go to work.”

He groaned. “A morning person! Here I was halfway in love with you and you tell

me you’re a morning person.”

His words were obviously joking but Chloe’s heart skipped about half a beat

anyway. “Yup, just can’t help myself. I’m up with the sun.” She tried to keep her words

light. She was waiting for him to ask how an Elementary Education major had become a

dominatrix in the first place and then she would have to tell him everything. But the

question didn’t come. Instead, Mark tilted her chin to look into her eyes.

“I’d like to see you up with the sun sometime. I bet you look even more beautiful

with sunlight on your hair.”

His words decided her—she was going to take a chance. She looked up at him.

“Look, do you want to take off the masks or not? I mean, I’ll understand if you don’t—

this is supposed to be anonymous and all that but I thought…”

“I thought so too,” he said quietly. “All right, I guess we’d better before this goes

any farther. You first.” He propped himself up on one elbow and nodded at her.

Feeling self-conscious, Chloe reached up and slipped off the feathered mask,

shaking her hair free. She looked at him, completely bare for the first time, the last rule

broken. “Now you,” she said bravely, gesturing at the leather mask.

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His deep blue eyes looked suddenly sad. “All right, you asked for it,” Mark said at

last. He reached up and slipped off the black leather mask, his gaze never leaving her

face. “Well? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Chloe bit back a little gasp as she realized for the first time why the mask had

covered so much of his face, leaving only his nose and mouth free. The entire left side of

his face was a twisted mass of red and white scar tissue, from his high forehead to the

bottom of his square jaw.

“Well?” he asked as she studied his face. The right side was completely normal—

handsome, even. But the scars on the left were dramatic and hard not to look at. They

looked old, as though they had happened a long time ago in a very painful accident.

“I knew this was a bad idea.” Mark frowned and turned away from her when she

didn’t answer him. “It’s always the same,” he muttered. “Don’t know why I thought

you’d be any different.” He sat up abruptly and threw back the covers, obviously ready

to go.

“No—no, wait!” Chloe put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back around to face

her. “Please,” she said softly. “You just…surprised me, that’s all.”

“Yeah, it’s surprising all right, isn’t it?” He laughed bitterly. “Look, maybe I should

just go.”

“Please don’t.” Chloe moved closer to him, not wanting to lose him, especially over

something as petty as this. “Stay,” she said softly. “I know we don’t have much in

common, what with me being a morning person and all, but I want to get to know you

a little better.”

“Well, technically, we already ‘know’ each other in the biblical sense.” He laughed

at her gently when she blushed. “C’mon now, that’s not exactly a bad thing, you

know.”

Chloe smiled at him, glad that her small joke had lightened the mood. “Come back

to bed and let’s talk,” she urged.

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“You sure you want to?” There was hope in his deep blue eyes that almost broke

her heart.

“Of course I’m sure.” She scooted closer to where he was sitting on the side of the

bed. “How did it happen?” she asked, sensing that they needed to get his history out of

the way before they could go into anything else.

Mark sighed heavily. “Fire when I was a kid. I was the only one home and it was

some kind of electrical thing that started it—they’re still not sure what exactly. Anyway,

I was trapped under a burning beam for a while—thought I was going to die. My

clothes mostly protected my body, but my face…” He shook his head. “A fireman got

me out just before the whole place collapsed.” He frowned. “I was grateful that he

saved my life but at the same time, sometimes I wished he hadn’t.”

“Why?” Chloe frowned. “How can you say something like that?”

Mark gave her a crooked smile. “You sound like my mom now. I wished he hadn’t

because of this, of course.” He gestured to the left side of his face. “I was just getting

into high school and you know how kids can be.”

“I know,” Chloe said. “I know I don’t have anything like…what you have, but high

school wasn’t the best time for me either. See, I have this sister who’s always been the

most popular and the best at everything. It was hard being in her shadow all the time. I

guess I felt…invisible, most of the time.” She bit her lip after she said it, realizing that

she had never admitted that before, not even to herself.

“Yeah.” Mark sighed again. “I guess high school’s hard on everyone, huh? Anyway,

they tried skin grafts and everything.” He gestured to his face again. “But nothing

worked. Apparently I’m a ‘poor candidate for facial surgery’. So the surgeons told me

I’d just have to live with it. So I do,” he said simply.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” Chloe said. “I mean, it doesn’t bother me.”

“No?” He turned to face her fully, showing both sides of his face, both ruined and

handsome at the same time. Blue eyes searched hers, looking for the truth.

“No,” she said firmly. “Can…can I touch it? Can I touch you, I mean?”

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“Do you really want to?”

“Yes.” Hesitantly, Chloe reached for him, cupping the left side of his face in her

hand. The scar tissue was warm and rough against the palm of her hand, like melted

wax, but she didn’t find it repulsive. Mark closed his eyes while she touched him,

letting her fingers explore both sides of his face as she had explored his shaft earlier.

Chloe thought she had never been shown such trust before by anyone and it touched

her deeply.

“You’re very gentle,” he said at last, opening his eyes to look at her.

“So are you,” Chloe told him. “You know, I’ve never had anyone make love to me

the way you did,” she said, surprised that she had the nerve to say it. “It was…really

special, Mark. I just…I want you to know that.” She leaned forward and kissed the

scarred cheek gently, putting her heart into the gesture.

“I think you’re special too.” His deep voice was low and appreciative. “In fact,

you’re nothing like what I expected at all.”

“I thought the same thing about you when you showed up on the doorstep.” She

grinned at him and then shivered. “I’m cold, can we get under the covers again?”

“Don’t have to ask me twice.” He got back into bed and pulled her close again,

sliding the sheets and comforter up to cover them both.

“Mmm.” Chloe snuggled close, enjoying the heat of his big body. She rubbed her

face against his lightly furred chest, glad that the feather mask was no longer in her

way. She took a deep breath of his spicy scent, enjoying the feel of being held in a pair

of warm, masculine arms. How long had it been since she’d been held like this? Too

long, Chloe decided. She was glad she’d decided to take a risk and break the rules.

“You know,” she murmured, rubbing a hand lazily over his chest and abs. “This is

really nice.”

“It’s going to get more than nice in a minute if you don’t stop stroking me that

way.” Mark’s deep voice was only half joking and Chloe felt a little shiver of sexual

excitement along her spine.

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“More than nice is good.” Daringly, she ran her hand lower, stroking his thighs

teasingly, not quite touching his shaft.

“That’s the way you want it, huh?” Mark rolled on his side and began caressing her

back and shoulders with large, warm hands.

“Mmm, that’s exactly the way I want it.” She reached down to stroke his shaft,

surprised all over again at her own bravery, but Mark didn’t seem to mind. His cock

throbbed in her hand, giving her a new idea. She thought of the way he had tasted her,

slowly and relentlessly pushing her to the brink with his lips and tongue. Suddenly, she

wanted to do the same to him.

“Lie back for a minute.” She pushed against his broad chest, urging him to lie flat

on the bed.

“Why?” he asked, even as he complied.

“You’ll see.” Chloe rose to her knees and knelt over his sculpted torso. She shook

out her hair and let it trail in a silky mass down his abdomen to the hardened club of his

sex. Mark groaned aloud as she caressed his pulsing shaft with her hair, teasing him by

winding the long, silky tendrils around his cock and balls.

“God—that’s amazing. Where did you learn that?”

“I made it up,” she said, feeling sexy and naughty at the same time.

He reached for her but she took his hands and put them firmly on his chest.

“Uh-uh, I’m in charge this time.” She couldn’t believe she was saying it, but for the

first time she thought she might understand how Zoe could do something like this for a

living. It was kind of fun being in charge. Besides, she wanted to pleasure Mark the way

he had pleasured her.

She unwrapped her hair from him and leaned closer to grasp his cock at the base of

the shaft. Teasingly, she blew a cool stream of air over the broad, mushroom-shaped

head.

Marked groaned again. “You’re killing me, sweetheart!”

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“Just wait,” Chloe teased. “It only gets better.” Suiting actions to words, she placed

a wet, open-mouthed kiss on the head of his cock, tasting him for the first time. He was

delicious, hot and salty and spicy, and his scent was stronger here too. Chloe had never

realized how intoxicating the raw odor of masculinity could be—warm musk filled her

senses, earthy and clean with just a hint of sweat.

Wanting to taste more of him, she opened her lips wider, taking the entire head

inside and allowing her tongue to explore the sensitive slit at the top. Mark gasped at

the tiny, delicate movement and she felt him bury his hands, large and warm, in her

hair.

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Let me feel your lips around me. Let me

feel your tongue.”

This wasn’t something she had done very much but those hot words spoken in his

deep, sensuous voice gave her confidence to go on. Chloe dipped her head to take even

more of his shaft into her mouth, using her tongue on him as though he was the world’s

most delicious lollipop.

Mark moaned and she could feel the big muscles of his thighs tensing as she

increased her gentle suction. His hands in her hair urged her on without forcing her in

any way. Although there was no way she could take even half of him into her mouth,

Chloe found she enjoyed trying to take as much as she could. She grasped his shaft with

one hand and cupped the sensitive sac between his legs with the other, tickling gently

with her fingertips.

“Oh God, sweetheart…you’re so good at that!” His words gave her confidence,

making her feel sexy and competent at the same time. Chloe had never considered

herself “good” at anything that had to do with sex but now she felt like a goddess.

At last, just when she was wondering what his cum would taste like, Mark pulled

her gently but firmly away. “No,” he said, his deep voice hoarse when she looked at

him questioningly. “That’s not how I want to come, as wonderful as it is.” He smiled at

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her, a lazy, sensual smile that seemed to turn over her insides. “I want to come inside

you,” he told her softly.

Chloe smiled back at him. “I like the sound of that.” She was glad again that they

had discarded their masks. Without the black leather to get in the way, she could see

the warmth on his face and the heat in his eyes so much more clearly.

Mark rolled over to snag another condom and she started to lie on her back again,

but he stopped her. “Want you to be on top this time.” He stroked a stray wisp of hair

out of her eyes and kissed her mouth hungrily. “I want to watch your breasts bounce

while I fuck up into you,” he said.

Chloe had tried this position once or twice with one of her previous lovers, but it

had been a fumbling, not very enjoyable experience. She’d felt somehow like she was

riding an untrustworthy horse that might buck her off at any moment. Despite her

misgiving, Mark’s hot words convinced her to give it another try.

“All right,” she said softly, kneeling beside him. “Show me how you want me.”

“Like this.” He got her into position, straddling his narrow, muscular hips while he

held her by the waist. Looking down, Chloe could see the broad head of his cock just

brushing the soft, downy, blonde fuzz that covered her mound.

“Just lower yourself down and let me slide into you.” Mark’s voice was a little

strained and she could tell that he wanted her badly but he made no move to rush her.

Taking his shaft in her hand, Chloe rubbed it first against the sensitive bud of her clit,

enjoying the slick sensation and the sharp, tingling pleasure it created. But she was

ready for a deeper pleasure now.

Biting her lower lip in concentration, she positioned the head of his cock at the

entrance to her sex and began to press down. He slid into her more easily this time but

the feeling of being filled by him was still incredibly intense. They both gasped as he

reached the end of her channel, the head of his cock almost kissing the mouth of her

womb.

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“God!” Mark’s strong hands tightened on her waist, holding her in place for a

moment. His blue eyes blazed and Chloe could feel every muscle in his big body tense

beneath her in anticipation of their mutual pleasure. Unable to wait any longer, she

made a small motion with her hips, feeling his shaft slide just a fraction of an inch out of

her set sex and then back in.

Her movement seemed to unleash something in Mark. He grasped her hips more

firmly and began to move in her—long, deep, deliberate strokes that seemed designed

to drive her out of her mind with pure pleasure.

“Oh…oh!” Chloe heard herself gasping. She could barely think around the liquid

silver sensations that were running along her spine. It felt right to have him lodged so

deeply within her, to feel the relentless stroking of his large shaft into her wet cunt.

“Lean down,” Mark growled softly, motioning to her as he thrust. “Want to suck

your sweet, ripe nipples while I pump your pretty little pussy, sweetheart.”

Chloe leaned over him and he captured one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking

hard as he continued to grind into her heated, open sex. It seemed impossible that she

could come again after the way he had eaten her and made love to her earlier, and yet,

she felt her orgasm building like a tidal wave inside her.

“Mark!” she gasped. “Think I’m going to…so close…”

“Sit back then, sweetheart,” he said, understanding her at once. “Lean back and let

me get really deep inside you. Let me watch the expression on your face when you

come on my cock.”

Chloe sat up straighter, looking for balance, but Mark grabbed her hands,

intertwining their fingers to give her support. She watched their fingers squeezed

tightly together, hers small and slender interlaced with his, large and blunt. Trusting

him to hold her, she leaned back completely, allowing him to fill her as he hadn’t quite

been able to before.

“Oh God, yes!” The words broke from her lips as he stroked deeply into her,

holding her steady as he fucked hard and deep into her cunt. She began to feel that the

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approaching orgasm was going to be the most intense of all—that it might drown her in

its fury when it came—but she didn’t care.

“That’s right, sweetheart, work for it.” Mark’s voice was a low growl and his gaze

met hers and held. “You’ve earned it, let go. Come for me. Let me feel you come.”

Chloe felt the wave breaking over her at last. With a long, low moan she gave him

what he demanded as he stiffened beneath her, allowing her orgasm to trigger his own.

When it was over she collapsed on his chest, enjoying the rise and fall of his

breathing as he held her tight. Trying to catch her breath after the intense pleasure,

Chloe couldn’t get over the feeling that this was something special. With Mark, she had

been able to let herself go as she never had before. She barely knew him but she felt

instinctively that he was a man she could trust—maybe even love, if she gave herself

time.

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Chapter Three

“I’m hungry,” he said two hours later while they were cuddled in bed, enjoying the

second afterglow of the evening. After making love a second time they had cuddled

under the covers and talked and talked. It turned out they had a lot of mutual interests.

They both loved science fiction, though Chloe preferred to read it and Mark liked

his in cheesy, summer blockbuster movies. They both loved jazz and both hated Thai

food. Neither one of them could dance worth a damn, as Mark put it, but Chloe had

almost persuaded him to take a salsa class with her to learn. He was a night owl and she

was up with the sun, but they were both “cat” people. They both loved to play games,

though Chloe was better at cards and Mark preferred chess. He admitted to having a

large collection of chess technique books at home and was already talking about

teaching her to play.

Chloe couldn’t remember when she’d ever been this happy. When was the last time

she’d had a first date that turned out half as well? Only it wasn’t really a first date—

eventually she knew she’d have to tell Mark the truth about herself but she wasn’t

worried about it. For once she had taken a chance and made a connection on her own

without Zoe’s interference or help. She could just imagine the look on her twin’s face

when she told her that her “business transaction” had turned into a romantic interlude

after all.

“Hey, did you hear me?” Mark looked down at her, grinning charmingly. Already

Chloe found she barely noticed the scars on the left side of his face. They were just part

of him, like his slightly hairy chest and his amazing blue eyes.

“Mmm?” she said, smiling back at him.

He laughed. “I guess you didn’t. I said, I’m hungry. Let’s go see what your crazy

sister has to eat in this place.”

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His words were like a cold splash of ice water down the back of her neck. Chloe sat

up abruptly and pushed back from him. “What did you say?”

He looked at her strangely. “I said, let’s see what Zoe has to eat in this place, okay?”

“You…you know about Zoe? You know I’m not her…I mean, that she’s not me…I

mean—”

“Of course I know,” he cut her off. “She’s the one that set this whole thing up, how

could I not know?”

Chloe felt like someone had suddenly sucked all the oxygen out of the room. So this

was why things had gone so well. It was her sister setting her up on a date all over

again. Only this time she hadn’t taken any chances on Chloe screwing it up. She’d

probably told Mark everything—how shy Chloe was, how socially inept. She probably

told him to take the upper hand right from the start. And all those rules she told me…

Chloe shook her head. The rules had been because Zoe knew her twin sister couldn’t

help but screw up. The rules were meant to be broken.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Chloe? You okay?” Mark was looking at her, a line of worry

forming between his brows but all Chloe could see was that she’d been set up, again, by

her sister.

“Chloe?” he said again and it finally registered with her that this wasn’t the first

time he’d said her name. Why hadn’t she realized the first time she heard it that he was

in on the horrible joke Zoe had played on her? Because you were out of your mind with lust

at the time, she berated herself. Well, this was what she got for following her heart and

breaking the rules.

She untangled herself from his arms and stood to collect the leather skirt and

bustier, wondering how she was going to squeeze herself back into it. The boots she

would carry, she’d be damned if she put them on again when she could barely walk in

the damn things…

“Chloe, hey, Chloe! What’s wrong with you?” Marked grabbed her by the upper

arm and spun her around to face him.

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“What’s wrong?” Chloe felt like crying and screaming at the same time. “What’s

wrong is that is was all a setup—right from the start,” she snapped at him, pulling away

from the hand on her arm. “What did Zoe tell you anyway? That I was a spinster

schoolteacher that needed some attention? That I was so shy I couldn’t connect with any

guy on my own? Maybe she even paid you to service me—knowing Zoe, I wouldn’t put

it past her.” She finished getting into the leather gear, leaving the feathered mask on the

black carpet and headed for the door.

“It wasn’t like that at all! Sweetheart, if you’d just let me explain…” Mark wrapped

himself in a sheet and followed her to the door, trying to talk. But all Chloe heard was

betrayal of the worst kind.

“Chloe, please,” he was beginning again as she slammed the door in his face. Then

she got into her sister’s expensive car and put the pedal to the metal. She unrolled the

windows as she drove well over the speed limit, letting the cold evening air dry her

tears.

She hoped she never saw him again.

* * * * *

“Chloe? Chloe, I know you’re in there, you can’t hide forever, you know.”

Chloe hit the volume button on her remote, trying to drown out the sound of her

sister’s voice. It had been two weeks since what she had begun to think of as “the

dominatrix disaster” and she was pretty much determined never to speak to her twin

again.

“Chloe? At least answer my phone calls, even if you don’t want to talk face-to-

face!” Zoe was still pounding on the front door.

Her cell phone started ringing and Chloe shut it off without even looking at the

caller ID. Face-to-face, ha—that was a laugh. Every time she looked in the mirror she

saw her sister’s face—saw the way Zoe had made her up to look just like she did so that

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she could borrow her sister’s life for one night. One night of passion, one night of

excitement, one night of breaking all the rules. One night of heartbreak.

The worst part was that she knew, in a way, that her sister was right. There was no

way she could have acted the way she did without the clothes and the mask. But while

Zoe had only intended for her to have a fling, Chloe knew she was incapable of

separating love and sex the way her twin could. She had given more than her body that

night two weeks ago—she had given her heart and now it was breaking with the

knowledge that instead of a genuine connection, she and Mark had only shared a single

night of great sex, never to be repeated.

“Chloe, I’m not giving up on you! You’re acting like an idiot.” Zoe’s voice was so

loud she had to turn up the TV again. Chloe concentrated hard on the screen. It was one

of those reality shows where the contestants had to eat live bugs and jump from

helicopters into speedboats to win thousands of dollars.

Chloe had a lot of sympathy for the people on the screen—her stomach felt as

though she’d just eaten about a pound of writhing, crawling bugs and her heart felt like

it had been dropped from an eighty-story skyscraper to splat on the concrete below.

Trying to tune out her sister’s voice, she wondered why they didn’t make a show

where you had to dress up like a call girl and risk your heart instead of your life. In her

opinion it would have been a lot more interesting—not to mention more relevant to her

situation.

“Chloe! I just wanted you to have a good time for once. I knew Mark was a nice guy

and that he wouldn’t hurt you. You were never in any danger.”

Except in danger of losing her heart. Chloe gave up on the reality show and went

upstairs to bed. She put a pillow over her head and tried not to wish for a warm, broad

chest to rest her head on and strong arms to hold her tight.

No matter how real that night had seemed, it was only a fantasy and she knew she

should just forget it. Mark had probably moved on to something and someone else by

now. He had been doing a favor for Zoe, that was all. A favor that just happened to

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include making the girl he was supposed to be showing a good time fall in love with

him.

Stop being so stupid, Chloe told herself. It was just one night and you barely got to know

him at all. It was just that the sex was best you’d ever had. You’ll get over it.

But as she drifted off to sleep with Zoe still knocking on her front door, she couldn’t

help wondering if she ever would.

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Chapter Four

“Miss Chloe, there’s a funny man outside in the hall.” Michelle Weaver’s eyes were

as wide as saucers as she pointed to the classroom door and tugged at her teacher’s

sleeve.

“Michelle, I don’t want to hear any more stories.” Chloe heard the weariness in her

own voice and tried to soften her tone. She didn’t want to take out her personal pain on

the kids in her class. “Listen,” she said more gently to the little girl. “Just go have a seat

and finish your spelling test, all right?”

“But he said he wants to talk to you!”

“I’m sure he does.” Chloe patted her on the head. Michelle had been known to

make up all kinds of things to avoid tests, including talking giraffes and purple

unicorns, all of which desperately needed Chloe’s attention. Actually a “funny man”

was a pretty tame creation for a child which Chloe was sure was going to grow up to be

a writer of fantastic fiction some day.

“Go sit down and finish your test,” she told Michelle again. “And no more water or

bathroom breaks until you do. You’re distracting the rest of the class.”

Michelle sighed audibly, causing snickers from her seated classmates. “All right,

but he gots a funny face and about a bizillion roses and he said he wants to talk to you!”

“What?” Chloe felt her heart skip a beat, but she told herself firmly that she was just

being foolish. It was just Michelle’s overactive imagination trying to get her out of a test

again—wasn’t it? Her mind started working overtime. Should she go outside and check

just to be sure? But she didn’t like to leave her class alone, even for a moment. The

amount of trouble they could get into the minute her back was turned was staggering—

teaching was not for the faint of heart.

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Looking around she saw that Lisette Gonzales, one of her more mature students,

was already finished with her test and looking bored. With lips that felt numb and cold,

she called Lisette forward and gave her the coveted job of classroom monitor for five

minutes. The little girl sat proudly behind the teacher’s desk at the head of the class and

Chloe walked on legs that felt like rubber out of her classroom and into the hall.

“Hi.” Mark looked just as she remembered him—well, except for the black leather

mask, of course. He was indeed holding, as Michelle had reported, about a bizillion

long-stemmed red roses.

“Hi.” Chloe felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed her heart.

She didn’t know what to say. Emotions swamped her at the sight of him—anger, need,

desire, lust, pain… She decided to go with anger—it was definitely the least pathetic

one of the bunch.

“I don’t know why you’re here, but I really can’t talk to you right now.” She used

her coolest voice, hoping he would get the point. “I can’t leave my class alone.”

“Don’t worry about that, I’ve got it covered.” The voice came from right behind her.

Chloe jumped in fright and turned around just in time to see her twin, dressed in a

brown dress and sensible black heels identical to her own with her hair in a tight twist

at the back of her neck, entering Chloe’s first grade classroom.

“Zoe, no,” she hissed, horrified.

“Don’t worry.” Her twin’s green eyes sparkled. “I’m good at making people mind,

remember? Besides, I owe you a favor.” The door snicked closed and Zoe’s voice could

be heard saying, “Pencils down, class, and pass your papers forward.”

“Well, I guess that takes care of that.” Mark grinned at her and Chloe had a brief

moment of blinding panic when she realized she was alone in the hall with the man

she’d had extremely kinky sex with only two and a half weeks ago.

“Listen, I really can’t—”

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“Just give me five minutes,” he said, thrusting the roses at her. “Five minutes is all I

ask and then I’ll leave you alone forever—if you want me to.” His deep blue eyes

pleaded with her and Chloe found herself melting despite her inner resolve to be angry.

“All right,” she said, taking the huge bunch of roses which were wrapped in

crinkling green tissue paper. “But we can’t talk out here.” She looked around and

spotted an empty classroom down the hall. “Here,” she said, leading him inside it and

shutting the door. “But make it quick—I can’t leave my class alone with Zoe for too

long, no matter how good she is at ‘making people mind’.” Then she blushed, realizing

what she’d just said.

“You weren’t half bad at it yourself if I recall correctly.” Mark grinned and moved a

little closer. His dangerous, spicy scent filled her head just as it had that night in Zoe’s

“office” and Chloe felt herself blushing harder than ever. Still, she was determined not

to let him get the upper hand this time.

“Is that why you took control so quickly? Because I was doing such a great job? Or

was it just that Zoe told you what a shy little wallflower I am and the only way you’d

ever get anywhere with me was if you took matters into your own hands?” She was

trying to sound snarky but the words came out wounded instead.

“Chloe, please, let me explain. It wasn’t like that.” Mark’s deep voice was pleading

and he stepped forward and put one large hand over hers. Chloe felt her pulse

skyrocket at his touch but she refused to show it.

“You’ve got about three and a half minutes left and then I’m going back to my

classroom before the kids kill Zoe. And I’ll only be rescuing her because I want to kill

her myself,” she warned him. “So you’d better get talking. How did the two of you cook

this up? Or was it just Zoe’s idea?”

“It was her idea but I went along with it.” The look on his face was shame now,

shame and regret so profound that it threatened to melt her heart again but Chloe was

determined to be strong.

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“So, let me guess, you were one of her clients?” she said, putting the roses down on

a nearby desk and crossing her arms over her chest.

Mark gave a short, startled laugh. “Hell, no! She was one of mine.”

“Excuse me?” Chloe raised an eyebrow at him in disbelief.

“I told you I’m a computer geek, right?”

She nodded.

“Okay, so I have my own company—computer installation, troubleshooting,

repairs. It’s called ‘Geeks for Hire’.”

Chloe’s jaw dropped despite herself. “You’re that Mark Jacobs? But…I see your

billboards driving home all the time and I’m always humming that stupid jingle you

have for your TV ad…”

“Yeah, yeah.” Mark looked pained. “Think your computer has a leak? Time to call the

computer geek. Computer crashed or you lost a wire? Better call the geeks for hire,” he sang, in

a surprisingly melodious baritone. “Don’t get me started on that.” He grimaced. “That

was the ad people’s idea. But anyway, one day while all my guys were out, your sister

called because her computer had crashed—the one in her townhouse, you know?”

Chloe nodded stiffly, wondering exactly where he was going with this. She was

almost afraid to find out.

“So,” Mark shrugged. “I ended up taking the call myself, though I mostly run the

place behind the scenes. When I got there, I saw her ‘dungeon’ room and couldn’t help

asking what in the world she did for a living.” He laughed. “Man, was I surprised.

Never met a real-live dominatrix before. Your sister’s really something.”

Chloe could just imagine what had happened next. “So you went to her ‘office’ and

had a ‘session’ with her and then you decided you’d like to try the other sister too, is

that it?”

Mark looked shocked. “Of course that’s not it. Look, if that’s the problem, let me

assure you right now that Zoe and I have never been anything but friends.”

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Evangeline Anderson

“Is that right? And why should I believe you?” Chloe tapped her fingernails against

her arm impatiently. After all, what man wouldn’t want to have sex with her exotic, free-

spirited twin?

“Look,” Mark spread his hands in front of him. “I think your sister’s great, don’t get

me wrong. But she’s definitely not my type. Call me old-fashioned but my idea of a good

time isn’t being tied up and flogged or having someone walk all over me in spike-

heeled boots.”

“No, but I guess you don’t mind tying other people up, do you?” As soon as she

said it, Chloe wanted to take it back. But it was too late.

“Honestly, that was the first time I ever did anything like that.” Mark reached for

her hand again and this time Chloe let him hold it. “I swear to you,” he continued, in a

low, earnest voice. “I didn’t mean for it to go as far as it did. The idea was just to get to

know you a little. See…” he cleared his throat self-consciously. “It’s hard to meet

women sometimes, looking the way I do.”

Chloe wanted to say she thought he looked fine—very handsome in fact, but she bit

her tongue and let him continue.

“It’s hard until they find out who I am and what I do.” Mark sighed. “Then they’re

all over me because, well, my company’s been doing okay lately. But that seems to

attract all the wrong kind of women.”

Chloe knew his company was doing more than “okay”. Geeks for Hire had recently

been named one of the most successful new companies of the year in a prominent

financial magazine. Mark was probably worth millions—no wonder the wrong kind of

women were attracted to him.

“Anyway,” he continued after a moment. “I got to talking to your sister and told

her my predicament. I just wanted to meet a woman who wanted me for me and for

once I didn’t want to have to deal with this.” He motioned to the left side of his face.

“She told me all about you—how sweet you were and how totally different the two of

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you were and it sounded like a perfect match.” He shrugged unhappily. “So I agreed to

be set up on a blind date.”

Chloe looked down at the strong hand holding her own. “Well, you knew more

than I did. Zoe told me she needed me to do her a favor and meet with a ‘client’ she

didn’t want to lose. I had no idea about you being a friend of hers or being set up or any

of it.” She frowned.

Mark groaned and covered his face with his other hand. “I thought you knew—that

you were just playing along. Zoe told me to call you ‘Mistress Sensua’ and that you’d be

wearing a mask too.” He moved his hand and looked at her. “But I never meant for

things to go the way they did but when you started acting, well, the way you were

acting—the way you were touching me…”

He shrugged and Chloe felt herself blushing again, remembering the wanton way

all the wild things she had done. Things she never would have done under normal

circumstances.

“I was trying to act like a dominatrix,” she admitted, looking down at her shoes. “I

didn’t have any idea what I was doing, though—Zoe threw me in the deep end to sink

or swim. To tell you the truth, I was terrified.”

Mark laughed gently. “I could sorta tell that. ‘Assume the position!’” he imitated, in

a mock stern voice. He lifted Chloe’s chin so she had to look him in the eye. “That’s why

I took over. Because I thought you wanted what I wanted but weren’t quite sure how to

get to it.”

Chloe pulled away from him, blinking back tears. “I guess I wasn’t sure what I

wanted until…until we were actually…” She shook her head, unable to continue.

“Stupid, huh?” she said with a little sob. “I can do it but I can’t say it.”

“Look, it was my fault—all of it. I never should have assumed that you…” Mark

broke off, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter now anyway.” Chloe pulled her hand away and used it to swipe

the tears from her cheeks angrily. “It was just a one-time thing, wasn’t it? I guess Zoe

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Evangeline Anderson

thought she was doing us both a favor. No-strings-attached, anonymous sex with a hot

stranger—that’s everybody’s fantasy, right?”

“Not my fantasy.” Mark’s voice was quiet and sad.

Chloe looked up at him through her tears. She saw such a mixture of pain and

misery on his face that it stopped her from saying anything else.

“My fantasy was to meet a woman who wanted me for who I was, despite this,” he

gestured to his face. “And not because of my company’s net worth. I wanted a woman

who liked science fiction and jazz and hated Thai food and wanted me to take dance

lessons with her. One who was a cat person and a morning person and was willing to

let me teach her how to play chess.” He cupped Chloe’s wet cheek in his large, warm

hand and smiled at her sadly. “Sound familiar?”

“Mark…” She looked at him, uncertain of what to say. Could he really mean all of

this? Was he for real?

“Look, all I’m saying is, can’t we give this a chance? You’re the woman I want,

Chloe, and I’ve been looking for you a long time. I know we started backwards but—”

But she cut him off with a kiss. Grasping a thick handful of his black hair she pulled

him down and took his mouth the same way he’d taken hers on that first fateful night

when they met. Before she knew it Mark was kissing her back, holding her close in

those warm, muscular arms she’d been dreaming about for the last two and a half

weeks.

When they finally came up for air he grinned at her. “I guess that means you’re

willing to give it a try?”

All Chloe could say was, “Yes.” And then she kissed him again.

* * * * *

“So, I’m forgiven?” Zoe smirked at her over her steaming mug of hot cocoa. They

were both lounging in their pajamas on Chloe’s small but comfortable living room

couch, having what Zoe had dubbed as a “sister day”.

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After the near disastrous last time they’d gotten together, Chloe had decided it

would be a good thing if she and Zoe spent more time with each other and kept up on

each other’s lives. If her sister wanted to become, say, a parachute tester, Chloe wanted

to know it before she herself ended up ten thousand feet in the air about to be pushed

out of an airplane.

Now she frowned at her twin and took a sip of cocoa herself. “Yes, you’re

forgiven,” she said. “For now anyway. But only because things worked out in the end.”

Zoe sighed dreamily and batted her long lashes. “I just love happy endings. Now if

only I could find a nice, submissive man to settle down with myself.”

Chloe swatted at her. “You’re incorrigible!”

Zoe grinned back. “I know it. Aren’t you glad?”

Chloe looked at the familiar, mischievous twinkle in her twin’s green eyes and

couldn’t help laughing. “Yes, I guess I am. But, Zoe?”

“Hmm?” Her twin looked up from taking another sip from her mug.

“Do me a favor, okay?” Chloe leaned over and gave her sister a quick peck on the

cheek. “Don’t ask me for any more favors.”

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About the Author

Evangeline Anderson is a registered MRI tech who would rather be writing. She is

thirty-something and lives in Florida with a husband, three cats and a college-age sister

but no kids because enough is enough already. She had been writing erotic stories for

her own gratification for a number of years before it occurred to her to try to get paid

for it. To her delight, she found it was actually possible to get money for having a dirty

mind and she has been writing steadily ever since.

Evangeline welcomes mail from readers. You can write to her c/o Ellora’s Cave

Publishing at 1056 Home Avenue, Akron, OH 44310-3502.

Also by Evangeline Anderson

Secret Thirst

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publisher Ellora’s Cave. Whether you prefer e-books or paperbacks, be sure to visit EC

on the web at www.ellorascave.com for an erotic reading experience that will leave you

breathless.

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