CHAPTER 13
EDGE
“Before you leave for the evening, I expect to have your limits list,” I informed the group of submissives kneeling before me. “Do not leave until you have it completed. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Master Edge,” they said in unison.
“Good.” I motioned for Cambria to open the door. “I’d like to introduce you to your Masters.”
I paused for a moment as the training Masters walked into the room, my eyes grazing the submissives, ensuring no one looked up. They’d been instructed to keep their eyes down at all times, unless specifically told otherwise.
“Please take your places behind your submissive,” I instructed the trainers. “And place the blindfolds over your submissive’s eyes.”
Do not look at Jamie. Do not look at her. Harder than it sounds, huh?
I ignored the voice, observed everyone except for Jamie.
The eleven trainers—eight assigned to submissives, three on the panel alongside me—made their way across the room, stopping behind the submissive they’d been assigned to.
Gave her to Master Chaos, did you? Safe bet?
There were seven men and four women, all handpicked by me for this session.
While we had more Masters at the club, I tended to utilize the same ones for training.
And once or twice, I would shift them around, remove one, add another.
No one took it personally because they all knew I was catering to the needs of the individual submissive.
As for the panel, I rotated them out every class because I wanted the variety they each brought to the training.
Plus, I respected their opinions, and the panel would be the final decision-maker as to whether a submissive graduated or not, ultimately garnering membership to Dichotomy.
Once the blindfolds were in place, I asked the submissives to stand. Their assigned Dom assisted them to their feet, then turned them so that they were face-to-face.
I walked around the room, observing each person.
“Your first task for tonight is to get to know your Dominant. Not only can you not see them, you’re also not allowed to use taste or sound to identify.
In a few minutes, all of the Masters will line up at the front of the room.
You will be required to pick your Dominant using only touch and smell.
Should you select incorrectly, the Dominant you’ve picked will be responsible for your punishment.
So, I suggest you take your time and think it through. You have three minutes. Begin now.”
I walked through the room as the submissives began their quest to identify their Master by touch and scent alone.
As I expected, most started with their hands, placing them on their Master’s head and working their way down.
Knowing they’d do this, all four women had their hair pulled back into ponytails, and all the men had left their hair unstyled so as not to give themselves away.
“Remember, this is your Master. You’ll be intimately acquainted with them. Do not limit yourself here.”
Hands began to wander lower.
I paused beside Jamie, watching as she leaned in and sniffed her assigned Master. She was very thorough, and I noticed, rather than using her hands, she used her cheek to touch her Dominant’s face. My eyes met Master Chaos’s, and I nodded even though there was a churning in my gut.
Yeah, let’s see how long this lasts. I give it a day, tops.
After my discussion with Cav on Friday, I had decided he was right.
Attempting to manipulate her time here would be a disservice to her.
If she was going to embrace this, she would do so fully.
And that meant she would be assigned to all eight training Masters through the course of the class.
It had killed me to make the decision, but I wasn’t the sort to lead with my heart, so I ignored the pain, pushed through.
And while I’d made that difficult decision, I hadn’t been able to do the same with Cav. So I had assigned Cav to the panel because I wasn’t comfortable with him being intimate with one of the submissives.
Yeah. Perhaps that made me selfish. I didn’t give a shit.
Selfish isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Time’s up,” I commanded. “Do not move.”
While the submissives remained where they were, the Masters came to the front of the room and lined up, along with Cav and Master Harris, both on the panel.
I motioned for Jane to move over to the submissives.
She gently shifted them so that they were facing the Masters in a line.
When she returned to the first submissive, a young woman by the name of Jenny, I nodded.
“Miss Ward,” I began as Jane removed the woman’s blindfold. “Please show me which of these Masters belongs to you this week.”
When she stepped forward, I held up my hand. “Did you ask permission, Miss Ward?”
Her eyes widened and terror flashed briefly. I shot a glance at Jane and gave an indiscernible nod of my head. There was something there I didn’t like.
“May I identify my Master, please?”
Since she didn’t use my name, I shook my head. “No, you may not.”
Jane replaced the blindfold and moved to the next submissive.
“Miss Jordan, take your turn,” I instructed as Jane removed the blindfold.
“Master Edge, may I please have permission to identify my Master?”
“You may.”
Kelly Jordan, a petite young woman with short dark hair and soulful eyes, had attempted my submissive training class once before.
She had left halfway through the course, unable to complete it due to personal reasons.
I’d informed her she was welcome back at any time.
I was glad to see she’d decided to return.
Kelly wandered up to Cav first, her hands sliding over his cheeks.
She quickly dropped them, then moved to the next in line.
She skipped past the two Mistresses who were next.
She stopped in front of Liam Murphy. It took her only a few seconds to determine the big man was, in fact, her Master.
Without a word, she lowered herself to her knees before him and bowed her head.
Silently, Liam placed his hand firmly atop it, accepting her as his submissive for the week.
“Thank you, Miss Jordan, you may come stand over here,” I called out.
When Kelly was standing behind the line of submissives, Jane moved to the next.
“Mr. Baker, your turn.”
“Master Edge, may I identify my Master?”
“You may.”
Drew Baker, twenty-two and eager, stepped forward, making a beeline for Mistress D.
The handsome young man leaned in, inhaled her briefly, then stepped back.
He did the same with Mistress X before walking down the line to Mistress Cameron.
When he lowered himself before Mistress Cameron, she didn’t move.
I addressed him. “I’m sorry, Mr. Baker. That’s incorrect. Your punishment will be determined and applied after everyone’s completed their turn.”
Appearing rather disappointed in himself, Drew marched over to the opposite side of the room. Cambria placed his blindfold over his eyes, then had him kneel on the floor.
I ran through the line, allowing Raine and Yazmin to go next. They identified Master Kaylen and Mistress D, respectively. I had them move to stand with Kelly since they’d identified them correctly.
Next in line was Jamie. When Jane removed her blindfold, I watched as she squinted to adjust to the light.
“Miss Lautner, it’s your turn.”
Without looking my way, Jamie gave a nod. “Master Edge, may I please have permission to identify my Master?”
There were two things in that statement that turned my stomach. First was her calling me Master Edge. I much preferred her calling me Professor. It was far more intimate. Second was her asking to identify her Master, who I knew was not myself.
“You may,” I managed.
“Thank you, Master Edge.” She strolled over to the line, starting with Cav, who was at the beginning of the line.
She moved past him quickly, skipping over the two Mistresses with a polite smile.
She paused at the next trainer but didn’t stop.
She offered him an impish grin, then stopped in front of Timothy Triton, a.k.a. Master Chaos.
Jamie touched his face briefly, then moved down the line, taking a moment with Ransom, Kaylen, and Nash. She returned to Master Chaos before lowering herself to her knees before him. He gently placed his hand on her head, accepting her as his for training.
If you were smart, you’d put an end to this nonsense now.
I fought the urge to look at Cav, not wanting to see his expression.
I had Jamie move over to the others, then called on Miles Holloway.
“May I select my Master, Master Edge?” he asked, his tone curt, lacking even an ounce of respect.
I didn’t like his tone, nor the phrasing of the request, but technically it was appropriate, so I gave him my permission.
He walked right up to Mistress X and placed his hands on her neck. “I would like to select you as my Mistress for training.”
Considering his Master was male, there was no mistaking his error. Then again, I didn’t think it was an error. It had been his intention.
Mistress X was shooting daggers from those near-black eyes. “Remove your hands, sub.”
Miles dropped his hands, but didn’t move, and the smirk on his face was not going to be tolerated.
“Mr. Holloway, please move to the other side of the room. Immediately.”
Without making eye contact, he marched toward the door. “No, I think I’ll make the decision. No way will I let some man put his hands on me. I didn’t sign up for that, so I’m out.”
Cambria, who was standing beside the door, stepped aside, then followed him out of the training room. She would be calling one of the available Masters to escort him out of the club. He would not be returning.
In an attempt to keep the class on track, I motioned for the last submissive.
“Miss Wheeler, it’s your turn.”
Maeve peered over at me. “May I please have permission to step forward and identify my Mistress, Master Edge?”
“You may.”