Page 30 of Lesson In Honesty
Leaning forward, Mack found himself eager to see her face. There was something about her, something compelling, and it was kind of disconcerting to realize her Dom had that same quality.
Shoulders and back rigid, Sierra did as she was told, inching around in a circle to display that beautiful body to the room. Pretty breasts, a tiny paunch around her belly, thighs that wouldn’t snap if she were fucked too hard.
The full extent of the marks on her skin became clear; they were far more noticeable down her front than on her back, and he realized that they weren’tmarksas such. The poor girl was riddled with a skin disorder—eczema, psoriasis, something inflammatory.
“Every body is different,” Liam said loudly, claiming her breast in a big hand, rolling the nipple between thumb and forefinger. “Every face is unique. We all know someone in this big, wide world who faces pain, rejection, harassment because they’retoodifferent,toounique.” He passed a knowing stare around the crowd, landing on face after face. “Where I come from, we welcome the diverse and the unusual. We appreciate a person for who they are on the inside. From what I’ve been told, Serenity is aiming for that same inclusion.”
“Damn right we are!” A woman called from the back.
“Callie,” a deep voiced chastised. “Don’t interrupt.”
Liam grinned. “Thanks, Callie. Love your enthusiasm.”
People laughed, but Mack sensed that Liam’s words were touching them on a deeper level. Probably precisely where he was aiming, because the Master didn’t seem like a hit and miss kinda guy.
“Sierra, show these lovely people the face I love, please.”
She took a huge breath, big enough to lift her chest into her Dom’s hand, and lifted her head. Part of her face was obscured by her hair, but Liam gently gathered the errant strands and drew them away.
Well, shit.
Mack wasn’t alone in his reaction; he stared, silently, at the pelt covering her cheeks, chin, and the underside of her jaws. Seeing as how the rug matched both the carpet and the drapes—not to be crass, he thought, absolutely fascinated by her—she was one hundred percent natural.
One hundred percent perfect.
It was increasingly obvious that she didn’t think so. As the murmurs grew in number and volume, she kept her head held high as color stained her face until the inflamed patches of skin were concealed. But her eyes, big and beautiful and brown, filled with shame and dejection before they lowered to the floor again.
Liam waited until the crowd died down, his hands rubbing up and down Sierra’s trembling arms from behind. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. To me, Sierra is gorgeous, inside and out.” He squeezed her hands. “Minx, go to Master Fordham. Do everything he asks.”
“Yes, Sir.” She moved stiffly now, as though she’d switched over to autopilot.
Fordham didn’t waste any time, Mack noted. As soon as Sierra stopped in front of him, he positioned her arms so her hands were linked behind her head, her elbows pointing to the sides, with her biceps touching her forearms.
Bending down, he pulled a coiled length of rope from the bag at his feet and, with the skill of a man who’d spent hours tying up little submissives, began binding her arms in a simple harness that wrapped around her neck, limbs, and upper chest.
“I’m asking anyone who feels the same way I do to come up and show my sub their appreciation. A touch, a kind word, a simple gesture.” Gray eyes chilling in warning, Liam laid down the rules in a way no one could possibly misconstrue. “This is a privilege, an opportunity to do something positive in a world where negativity takes the win more often than not. Anyone who comes up here with the intent to denigrate my sub will leave the stage looking like they went a round with Master Merrick.”
When a tank of a silver fox raised his hand in acknowledgement, several hoots of laughter sounded. No one in their right mind wanted a round with that guy; Merrick looked as though he could bench press a semitruck with only his fingers.
Fordham tapped Liam’s shoulder. “The gift is wrapped to your specifications, Liam. She’s adorable when she makes those tiny fists as though she’s going to use them.”
“She’s just adorable, period.” Liam gave him a nod. “Thanks.”
All right, so Liam’s gameplan was fairly obvious, Mack mused. Bind the sub, let her topple into submission, then pummel herwith praise and kindness. A good idea if it worked; a clusterfuck waiting to happen if it didn’t.
His hands itched to touch.
Instead of leaping forward to volunteer his services, he bided his time, waiting for Liam to officially start the exercise, to gauge how it would all play out.
Sierra stood with her upper body decorated in pretty blue ropes, shaking like a leaf in the wake of a tornado. The position she was bound in left her open to every eye in the room, but unlike subs who got off on exhibitionism, there wasn’t any sign of arousal.
“At your leisure, ladies and gentlemen.” Liam turned and kissed his dejected sub, murmuring something against her lips before he stepped aside to stand a few feet away, taking up guard with Fordham beside him.
For several long seconds, no one moved.
“Well, this is just pathetic,” a woman stated from behind Mack, somewhere near the doors. The thick Louisiana accent dripped with disdain. “Ladies, we have a job to do.”
Several heads whipped around to watch the newcomers, Mack’s included. He watched a trio of very attractive women stalk through the tables and booths, immediately pegging them as Dommes; no submissive emanated that kind of attitude and power with each stride.