Free Undercover Submission by Melinda Barron Page A

Grace was still at her desk.
    “I’ll come down and help lace you up before the party starts. And I’m warning you, if you lock me out, or refuse to cooperate in any way, I’m sending Toffer down, and you won’t be happy with the way he’ll help. I guarantee it.”
    “Threats from my employer. Interesting.”
    “Threats from your friend,” Grace countered, rearranging things on her desk, a sign she was done for the evening. “I want you to have fun tonight, so be a good girl and play along.”

    * * * * *
Kennedy pressed her hoop skirt to her legs, hoping she wouldn’t hit any table holding food and send it flying. How women in history ever wore these things was a mystery to her.
    Getting into the corset had been torture, with Grace pulling on strings until Kennedy thought she would burst. And then Grace had pulled more.
    She didn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings, but she didn’t plan on staying long. It was hard to enjoy a party when you couldn’t breathe.

    66 Melinda Barron
    Kennedy scanned the crowd to see if she could discern which partygoer was Cedric.
    Since everyone wore a mask, it was hard to determine. There were lots of pirates, witches, and superheroes. There were also famous people from history and mythology. Zeus, Henry the VIII, and Napoleon were all in the running for best costume, as were Helen of Troy and Martha Washington.
    Grace, in her cat suit, looked very impressive. Kennedy felt like a wallflower in the group of mostly couples. She nibbled from some of the treats, and after an hour of feeling as if her breasts would pop out of her southern belle costume, she decided it was time for her to go.
    First, though, she had to find Grace. It would be easier to just disappear, except Grace would be furious with her. She finally found her near the stairs, a worried look on her face.
    Grace and Toffer were the only mask-less people at the party.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I can’t find the prizes Toffer gave me to hold on to for the winner. I think I left them upstairs by the side of the bed. If I leave to look for them, he’ll know I misplaced them.
    Would you go for me?”
    “Sure. It’s the scepters, right? Two of them?” Kennedy thought it had been a good idea for each costumed champion to get a scepter for winning that week. Then, on Halloween, the ultimate victors would be crowned.
    “Yes, thank you.” Grace leaned closer. “Although I love getting spanked, I’d rather not have it happen tonight.”
    Kennedy hugged her and started for the stairs. She didn’t think Toffer would spank Grace with all these people around; then again, you never knew. At the stairs that led to the fourth floor, and Toffer and Grace’s bedroom, a guard stood ushering people back the way they’d come. When he saw Kennedy, he stepped aside and indicated she should go up.

    Undercover Submission

    67
    Interesting. He didn’t even ask her what she was doing, or where she was going. She needed to report that to Grace, let her know the guard would let people pass. As she neared the top of the stairs, though, a nagging doubt tickled the back of her mind. He was turning others away, sending them back downstairs. Why would he let her pass?
    She stepped into the bedroom and stopped near the bed. She’d been in this room before, when Grace had given her a tour. The space was enormous, and the huge bed took up a great deal of one wall. What struck her tonight, though, were the candles. Big, fat white candles set in various points around the room that provided the only light.
    “You know what I always thought Rhett’s problem was?” Kennedy swirled toward Cedric’s voice, her hoop skirt arcing out. “He wasn’t dominant enough. He let Scarlett get away with murder.”
    He sat in a chair, one ankle draped across a knee, with a cheroot hanging from his mouth. His costume was perfect, a man’s suit from the Civil War era, form fitted to his muscular body.
    “Cedric.”
    “Not tonight. Tonight I’m a