In the Zone Read Free Page A

told her during her last review that he was pleased with her performance, but that was before she’d started faking it.
    Master Marcus hadn’t invited her to sit, and he hadn’t instructed her to kneel, so she stood there, her hands folded at the small of her back, waiting.
    He didn’t stand, and she struggled not to squirm beneath his direct appraisal. She hadn’t been this uncertain since the day she’d interviewed for the job.
    He folded his hands behind his neck and leaned back in his leather chair.
    Rules of decorum dictated that she didn’t speak first. But this wasn’t a scene. And she was nervous. “Yes, Sir?”
    “Sit,” he instructed.
    Two chairs faced his desk. His framed business degree hung from the wall. A decorator-inspired silver vase sat on top of a credenza.
    The space could belong to a banker, lawyer, or oil executive in a downtown Denver skyscraper. On her first visit, it had shocked her that this professional-looking office was in a BDSM club in a renovated Lower Downtown warehouse.
    The room seemed to radiate its own energy, as if it had been branded by masculine power. And she was enough of a natural sub to find it intoxicatingly arousing.
    She sat on the sleek modern chair, the metal cool against her bare skin. She kept her back straight and crossed her legs. She tugged on the hem of her skirt in a futile effort not to reveal bare skin, and then she finally sighed and folded her hands in her lap.
    “Finished?”
    The man missed nothing. “Yes, Sir.”
    “Tell me what’s going on, Alani.”
    “I’m not sure I understand the question, Sir.” Stalling was always a good tactic.
    “I told you to meet me in five minutes.” He glanced at the wall clock. “It’s been closer to fifteen.”
    “There was a patron in the dressing room. It was her first visit to the club, and she thought she wanted her boyfriend to spank her until he actually did. She didn’t handle it well. I thought you would want me to stay with her until I could get her calm enough to turn over to a monitor. I apologize for being late, Sir.”
    He nodded. “You did the right thing."
    “Thank you, Sir.”
    He allowed the time to drag, and each moment made her stomach tighten. Stalling was fine if she did it, not so great if someone else were doing it, she realized.
    “Master Nathaniel has been to see me.”
    There’d been no reason to tell on her. “Even before he came to see me, I’d been planning to have this discussion with you.”
    She lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry I’ve disappointed you, Sir.”
    “I know Master Richard can be a pompous ass. But you’ve had scenes together before without rolling your eyes and yawning.”
    Master Nathaniel had even seen her roll her eyes? Just how long had he been watching?
    “We’ve had no complaints about your performance from your doms. But I’ve noticed your lack of attention. Until recently, you were our best professional sub.” He leaned forward and dropped his hands to the desk. He looked at her intently. “I’ll ask you again, and I expect an answer. What’s going on, Alani?”
    She forced herself to meet his gaze.
    Master Marcus’s jaw was set, and his brows were drawn together. Apparently he was angry, but he seemed more curious than anything.
    “I love to be spanked and punished,” she said. “But all of my transgressions have been fake.”
    “Until now,” he said drily.
    She thought for a moment he might be teasing. But his eyes contained a lethal amount of power, and he wasn’t smiling.
    While Master Marcus wasn’t as tall as his two partners, he was broader, a testimony to his construction background and hours in the gym. His blond hair had been permanently streaked by the sun.
    More than once she’d wished he weren’t in a permanent, committed relationship. She’d participated in a few demonstrations with him on one of the club’s stages, and she’d enjoyed every scene. He wielded a wicked crop, and his open-handed slaps to her butt took