“You’re very clever and funny. And you understand the business. Are you an actress?”
“No.” She didn’t need to remind herself on how to answer. She knew full well how Eagan felt about actresses. Plus, it was never her dream to be an actress. Dancing was enough for her. “So does my age bother you?”
He peered at her while still slicing into his meat. “Just like you said. Age is nothing but a number, right?”
She nodded.
“However, much could be said for a woman with some years on her. Wisdom over youth. I’m at an age where maybe I don’t want to train anyone again. I haven’t decided.”
He hadn’t decided? Ananda would have to help him in his decision.
“What you need is a quick study, Master Eagan. In our short time together, I’ve learned to address you properly and to not eat unless given permission.” Both made her stomach turn.
He shook his head at her admission. “Trust me. You still have a very long way to go. Being a submissive is much more than addresses and patience.”
“What makes a great submissive, Master Eagan?” She stared at him intensely to let him know she meant business.
He set his utensils down and returned her stare, matching intensity with intensity. “A strong will,” Eagan began. “A good heart. A good soul. Adaptability. Humility. Strength in character.”
“And flexibility, right?” She smiled.
He offered a smile back and nodded.
“What about sex?”
“You really want to do the whole shooting match tonight, huh?” Despite the fact that Apple and Willow had just brought the meals to the table, Eagan rang the bell until the slight tinkling sounded like a train bell.
“I know you don’t have sex with your slaves. So you would have to have relief in other ways.” Her nipples hardened again awaiting his answer.
This time, she caught his gaze dropping down to her chest for just a brief moment before returning his attention back to her.
“I do share an intimate relationship with my submissive. However, while taping this show, I will not have sex with any of the contestants in the house.”
Apple and Willow cleared the dishes even though Ananda wasn’t finished with her meal.
“Dessert, sir?” Apple asked.
“No.” Eagan stood. “Please retire to your room, Begonia.” He shoved his chair under the table. “Consider yourself lucky that you have immunity for the next competition. I won’t be lenient with you the next time, despite your, um, charming disposition.”
This was lenient? Ananda watched Eagan disappear from the dining room without turning around to say goodnight. What an ass! Then again, he did just call her charming.
“Do you need me to escort you back to your room or are you able to find your way?” Apple asked with an armful of dishes.
“No, I should be okay. I left a trail of breadcrumbs.” Ananda stood.
“You’re funny. No wonder Master Eagan stayed through more than one course with you.” Willow nodded.
“What?” Ananda halted in her steps.
“He likes to eat alone, unless he’s with someone who makes him laugh and who he finds interesting. If you last beyond salad, you’re doing really well with him.” Willow, also carrying loads of dishes, tiptoed over to Ananda. She whispered, “I like you, so I’ll share this with you. You have to learn more about BDSM. That’s a big sticking point with Master Eagan.”
“I see that.”
“Good night, Begonia. See you in the morning with your mask.” Apple winked.
Although running into a few closets along the way, Ananda managed to find her bedroom. When she opened the door, it was full of the other ten contestants. All conversations stopped as soon as she opened the door.
“So?” Freesia asked.
Ananda was not in the mood to play debriefing. “So what?” She slipped on a robe over her thin dress. In front of these women, she truly felt underdressed.
“Don’t be cute,” Daisy said. “What happened at dinner?”
“Did he say anything about us?” Iona asked.
Of course, she would ask that question.
“The dinner wasn’t as revealing as you all think. We ate. We talked a bit. Then he left.” Ananda got into her bed. Although she wasn’t sleepy, she wanted the other women to get the hint to drop the third degree.
“What about the next contest? What will he do?” Lily asked, then chewed her thumbnail.
“I didn’t ask. Even if I did, you know he wouldn’t have told me. He’s keeping a lot of things about this competition close to his vest.” Along with other personal tidbits, she wanted to add. That information she would keep close to her vest.
“And what about you? Did he keep you close?” Meadow pressed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ananda balled her pillow in her fists.
“You have on an interesting outfit. Just wondered what you hoped to accomplish by wearing it?” Meadow, now wearing flannel pajamas, crossed her arms over her ample chest.
“Apple picked this dress out for me. I didn’t. And let’s face facts, Meadow. Eventually all of us will be naked at some point during this competition, so if you’re a prude about nudity, you need to get to stepping right now.” She scanned their faces. Some women carried worried expressions in their eyes. Others, like Lily, continued chewing on fingernails. “Look, I’m tired. I don’t know about you all, but I’m getting some sleep. Who knows what’ll happen tomorrow.” She pointed upward. “Besides, everything we say and do is being recorded for future broadcast. If you want to keep talking about the man, go right ahead. I’m going to bed.”
Before anything else could be said, Ananda ducked under her comforter, still wearing her dress and robe, and threw it over her head. She would see her new roommates in the morning although she prayed that Iona wouldn’t be one of them.
One by one, the women filtered out of the room until only three other roommates remained. In the morning Ananda would check them out and see who she would be stuck with for the duration of the show.
When all of the lights were turned off in the room, Ananda curled her legs closer to her body. Yes, it was a very good thing she got a bed closest to the door. Even though Eagan was done eating, Ananda wasn’t, and she wanted whatever dessert hid in that kitchen. Once she was sure everyone in the room was asleep, she planned on making her escape. She would sneak into the kitchen. Who would catch her?
Chapter Six
“How did it go tonight?” Eagan asked as he paced in the spare bedroom they made into a makeshift control station for the show.
“It lagged in some spots and hit a couple of high points. Over all, you did a pretty good job.” Phil patted Eagan’s back.
“Nice to hear. But you know what I was asking. What do the numbers look like so far?” The great thing about producing a show in this day and age was getting instant feedback. Nielsen ratings were nice. Public opinion fared much better.
Phil sighed. Not a good sign. Eagan stood up straighter and braced for the news.
“The main theme on the message board is that you’re an overbearing asshole.” Phil stared at Eagan straight in his eyes as he dispensed the news.
“Go on.” No use tiptoeing around the bad news. “I’ve heard worse.”
“The women don’t find you attractive.” Phil turned to the nineteen-inch flat screen monitor. “Let’s see. Lorna69 said, ‘Why did he wait so long to come downstairs? Was he scared?’”
Eagan chuckled, but Phil didn’t share in the merriment. “I told you not to play that prima donna stuff.”
“Glad someone else supports your I-told-you-so argument. Keep going.” He paced the room, listening to each word intently.
“‘I can’t believe he was going to beat that woman with the whip. What year does he think this is?’”
Eagan stopped. “I didn’t touch her.”
“I know.”
“I just snapped it around her.”
“I know.”
/>
“And if I did touch her, she would have enjoyed it.”
“And when will we see that?” Phil swiveled his chair around to face him.
“What?”
“We introduced this as a BDSM show. You’re supposed to be looking for your perfect submissive. So why not start this show with a bang instead of a whimper? If all of the other shows are going to be like this, you’re going to have a flop on your hands.”
Hearing the word “flop” made Eagan cringe. The last thing he needed was to have another failure under his belt. If he wanted to stay in this business, which he did, he had to come back with something spectacular.
“What did the guys say?” he asked and slowed his pacing a bit.
Phil turned back to the screen. “Uh, let’s see. ‘Why can’t we see any of the chicks’ faces?’ ToughTimmy asked if you were gay since you had Begonia take off her dress but didn’t ask her to turn around to look at her tits.”
“That guy is a real gentleman.”
“Says the man who whips women for fun.”
Eagan cocked his head. “Keep reading.”
“Fine. One guy asked why you have that has-been Tony Artini as the host.” Phil looked up. “That is a good question. I had that industrial metal singer with the hit song about spanking all set to be your host and you pull this guy from out of nowhere. How the hell are viewers supposed to take us seriously with that guy as host?”
Eagan shook his head. “That’s one thing that’s not negotiable. Tony is fine and will be fine for the show. That’s one guy’s opinion.”
“It’s a topic in the forum with one hundred-thirty-five amen posts after it. Even that dinner you just had was a dud, although I must admit, I do like Begonia.” Phil smiled the same kind of smile that he had when he’d told Eagan how much he liked the woman who was now his wife.
“She’s okay.” Okay? As soon as Eagan’s gaze connected to hers, he’d felt this instant spark of electricity shooting through his body. He hadn’t felt anything like that since Ophelia.
“Okay? When she cocked her leg up straight, I thought my eyes were going to roll out of my head.”
“You saw that?” Eagan had to admit. Even that impressed him.
Her graceful stance and logic-bending flexibility stirred his cock and jumpstarted his heart. Whatever exercise class she took to learn to do that, she needed to keep up with it.
“Although there weren’t cameramen in the room, we still have the cameras and mics all around. We picked up everything. Just have to edit it down for next week’s show.”
Eagan nodded. Cameras, of course. How could he have forgotten that everything about his life for the next few weeks would be on display? After all of this, he had better find that perfect woman, that one submissive.
“So any frontrunners you see already?” Phil gathered his things.
“Too hard to tell right now. If Sunny can learn some discipline, she could win this thing. I also like Meadow. I want a submissive with a mind.”
“What about that Venus chick? Did you notice the rack on that one? Christ, it’s like she’s smuggling cantaloupes under her dress.”
“Don’t you have a wife and children to go home to right now?”
Phil huffed. “You take the fun out of everything. I’m living vicariously through you. Just promise me you’ll tell me when you do one of them so I can be there on taping day.”
Eagan shook his head. “No sex. I’m not having any sex with any of the women until I find my one submissive.”
Phil’s mouth hung open until Eagan thought the bottom half would completely unhinge. “You’re killing me, Eagan.”
“While you’re shocked, I’ll break this news to you. Begonia is not going to make it.”
Phil set his bags down and crossed his arms over his chest. Now, he looked like he was in all business mode, which meant he would be serious.
“Why not? She’s funny. She’s willing. She has a killer body.”
“It’s not about physical appearance.” Too bad Eagan’s dick didn’t get that memo. As soon as her leg went up, so had his cock. “She knows nothing about the Lifestyle.”
“Neither do half the women here. Well, less than half. The one you got rid of tonight was a virgin to the Lifestyle. That was another comment on the board. How could you get rid of that hot contestant and kept the hefty one.”
“I’ve heard that argument before. I believe the terms used before were ‘gazelle’ and ‘horse.’”
Phil blinked. “What? You think I wrote that comment? Give me a break. I’ll just tell you face-to-face what I think.”
“And what is it that you think?” Eagan glared at his friend, waiting for his response.
“I think that if you don’t get your ass in gear that you could ruin what could be a very, very good thing. This show has loads of potential and you’re driving it to the ground. I thought you were in with this plan. What’s going on with you?”
Whatever was going on with Eagan, he certainly didn’t feel like discussing it with Phil. Besides, how could Eagan talk about Ophelia, a part of his problem, when he didn’t fully understand what went wrong in that relationship?
“Maybe you would feel more comfortable talking about what ails you with Christian.”
At the sound of his brother’s name, Eagan bristled. “He’s not in town, is he?”
Phil raised his eyebrows. “Don’t think so. What? You don’t want to see your brother now?”
Phil, the family man, wouldn’t understand. “I’ve got a lot of work to do. I don’t have time to entertain.”
“Not even your own family?”
Eagan turned from Phil. He already knew his family judged him beyond just his predilections. He didn’t need their take on how he was a shitty son and a rotten brother.
“Shit! I still have the teaser promos to cut.” Phil shot out of his chair and darted to the other control panel.
“That’s why you have an assistant director.” Eagan put his hands to his hips.
“I let him go home early. His wife is due any minute now. He should really be with her.”
“If he truly wants to be with her, I can make sure that happens on a permanent basis.”
Phil rolled his eyes. “Christ, Eagan, what crawled up your ass and died? Not everyone is a workaholic like you.”
“I take pride in my work and making sure that people follow rules.” He also took pride in being able to avoid his family for all this time. Family. Who needed them? Eagan would create his own family, one that he could rely on and that could rely on him. Start over. Start fresh.
As Phil sat down at the other set of boards, Eagan noticed something in one of the monitors. A woman crept through the dimly lit halls. He couldn’t see her face, but it didn’t matter. Whoever she was would be going home soon. “I have no tolerance for those who think they are above the rules.”
“Blame me for letting Scott go.”
Eagan headed to the door, when he noticed the unknown woman tiptoed into his kitchen. “Cutting those promos will be your punishment. Be right back.”
“Where are you going?”
Instead of answering, Eagan went straight to the kitchen. Rules were rules. The contract clearly stated that the contestants were to stay confined to their bedrooms after hours unless retrieved for the show. From the silhouette in the darkened hallway, it was impossible to tell who this wayward woman was.
Eagan stood outside of the kitchen door, his hand against it. He thought about slamming his fist on the door, scaring her, and telling her to take her ass home. His need to play mind games won over. He pushed the door open, making sure it didn’t creak.
When he had it opened all the way, he saw a woman bent over looking into his refrigerator. The light from inside of the fridge illuminated her shape. She had on a T-shirt and her hair looked like it was in a bun.
Eagan crept into the kitchen and stood a foot away from her. As she bent lower her shirt rode up over her backside. Her firm, rounded ass peeked
from underneath, showing off her naked cheeks through her thong.
His heart pounded as he watched her. He placed his hand on the counter and touched something. Lifting the item in his hand, he saw it was her mask, a pink-black-and-white mask with sequins.
Begonia.
Deciding to go for the scare tactic, Eagan slammed his hand down on the counter. Begonia screamed and jumped.
“What the hell are you doing in here?” he asked.
He heard her muttering curses under her breath. With her back to him, her hand reached onto the counter in search of her mask. Each time she got close to it, Eagan pushed it back out of her reach. She used her other hand to cover as much of her face as possible.
“Begonia? Is that you?” He already knew the answer, but he enjoyed watching her squirm.
“Yeah. I mean yes. I mean, yes, Master Eagan.” She swept her hand over the counter. “Shit!”
“What are you doing out of your room? You know the rules.” Eagan snatched the mask off of the counter and hid it behind his back.
“I know, sir. I was still hungry after dinner. I wanted some dessert.” She gave up on the mask search and backed into a darkened corner. “Am I in trouble?”
“Yes.” He walked toward her voice.
“Am I getting kicked off the show?”
He heard a tone change in her voice. Desperation replaced the naïveté she exuded during dinner. Was this really what she wanted? Could Eagan handle her remaining in the competition?
“What do I have to do to stay?” she asked, when he didn’t answer her last query.
Eagan inhaled deeply.
On his exhale, she asked, “Is there a punishment I could endure?”
He blinked. “You want to be disciplined in order to remain a contestant?”
A pause lingered before she answered. “Yes, sir.”
“So you’re serious about being my submissive? You want to win this competition?”
She didn’t hesitate to answer this time. “Yes. I want to stay, Master Eagan. I want to win.”
He hadn’t expected her to answer that way. He thought for sure she would have walked. “If you’re able to withstand what I’m going to do to you, I’ll allow you to stay. If not, you’ll pack your things tonight and leave. Understand?”
Love My Way Page 9