Free Lyon on a Leash by Erosa Knowles Page A

She seemed pleased he didn’t say anything more.
    “Well, well, well!” Madame Bree’s voice boomed as she walked toward them. “Did you have to make the rest of us look bad?” she asked, looking at his Mistress with a frown.
    Marcus tensed, prepared to step between the two women.
    His Mistress’ eyes lit up. “If taking what belonged to me is all it takes to make you all look bad, you’ve got a serious problem.” She stood and embraced the woman. “How the hell have you been, Bree? It’s been years since I’ve seen you.”
    Marcus relaxed his shoulders. He watched with pride and amazement as his young Mistress interacted with Madame Bree. He’d been concerned the loud woman had offended his Mistress. Instead, they appeared to know one another. His heart warmed as he watched the easy camaraderie flow between his Mistress and the other Dommes.
    My Mistress .
    Those two words chased away the chill of failure that had threatened to paralyze him earlier. Ada had predicted this time would be different and it was. Normally after the auctions, the Dommes held court in various sections of the room. He was curious how things would fall today. Already, his Mistress and Mistress Em held a joint court with their submissives.
    “I see you bought the pick of the litter.” Madame Bree looked at him. “He’s one of the good ones, Rose. Take care of him.”
    Warmth radiated through him from the compliment. Since he’d never been chosen before, he’d assumed he hadn’t measured up in some way. Hearing both Mistresses compliment him soothed his bruised self-image.
    “I intend to do that.” His Mistress’ fingertips ran up his arm as she smiled at him. “Bring me some water and something sweet.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” Nodding, he smiled and rising, hurried for the buffet table where a few other submissives were filling plates.
    “So you’re the one who got the prize?” the black guy with the long dreadlocks asked Marcus as he reached into the ice bucket for a bottle of water.
    “Hmm?” Marcus frowned, turning toward the guy. He wasn’t surprised the man wore a gold collar, given what he was advertising. But Marcus was surprised the guy was asking about his Mistress instead of serving his own Domme.
    “Your Mistress. The pretty, young, rich one.” The guy’s voice hardened toward the end. “Everybody knows in order to even participate in these auctions the Dommes have to make at least six figures. It was one of the reasons I participated.”
    Marcus wasn’t about to get into this type of discussion. “She’s my Mistress and I’m lucky she picked me.” He moved to grab a plate as another male walked up. He was the one with the dark hair and green eyes Michelle had pointed out earlier. Not surprising, he also wore a gold collar. For a brief second, Marcus wondered who had bought him, then dismissed it. He really didn’t care. Instead, he wondered if there’d be a repeat of his earlier kiss with Mistress. Her lips had been firm with determination and soft with desire. He scoffed at the poetic words.
    “What I want to know is why you? What’d she see in you that was so special she paid the highest amount?” The green-eyed guy asked this as though Marcus was required to answer him.
    Young and dumb . Rather than react to the insult, Marcus recognized the jealousy for what it was. He had been there so many times and asked himself the same question when he’d been overlooked. But he wasn’t about to disclose what he and his Mistress had discussed. At least these guys had been chosen this time. Back then he hadn’t.
    After placing the final pastry on her plate, he looked at the four collared, half-naked men who stood by, waiting for an answer. “I don’t know why. I’m just happy she did. Excuse me, gentlemen.” He walked around them and headed back to deliver his Mistress her food. For the first time since he’d begun attending these events, he was the center of attention and he didn’t like it. There