Free Claimed by Jaymie Holland Page A

banter in
front of Rick.
    “Have you seen Christy or Roni tonight?” she
asked Garth before he could get anything else in. “Are they
here?”
    He gestured toward a group of tables on the
south side of the house. “Saw them over there with their Doms.”
    Leslie raised an eyebrow. It had been a while
since she’d had a chance to speak with either of them. She knew
they were in committed relationships, but neither woman had
referred to her man as a Dom. Curiouser and curiouser.
    “Good to meet you,” Garth said to Rick as he
took a step back.
    Rick gave a nod. “Likewise.”
    Leslie gave Garth a little wave then took
Rick’s hand and they walked toward tables with kerosene lanterns on
them for light, each one turned low so that it was a more intimate
atmosphere.
    Laughter and voices came from outside and
inside of the farmhouse. Rick might have lacked enthusiasm about
coming, but she was sure that once he was here for a while that he
would fall into the spirit of the event.
    The farmyard was extensive with a huge barn
that they could see outlined in the lighted yard as well as what
looked like pens for animals and out buildings.
    Leslie swept her gaze over the yard. There
had to be close to a hundred partygoers participating in various
activities outside and probably another fifty inside. She
recognized a lot of the partyers. The same people tended to attend
various events, some more than others.
    People they passed were in various stages of
dress and undress, but all of them with some form of clothing on,
no matter how scant.
    Women in latex cat suits; men in black
leather; women with pasties on their nipples and tiny skirts; men
with bare chests and leather straps across their bodies; corsets
and bustiers; chain and leather outfits; fishnet and thigh-high
boots; and any other possible form of what might be considered to
be clothing.
    There were pony girls pulling carts and puppy
boys on all fours walking with their Doms holding their leashes.
Some women were dressed like schoolgirls and others in French maid
costumes. There were men dressed like women, same sex couples, as
well as heterosexual and bisexual couples.
    Leslie tugged on Rick’s hand as they walked
through the rows of tables. He looked around them and seemed to be
analyzing everything as they went.
    As they walked, female and male subs and Doms
waved to Leslie or stopped them to say hello. Each time Leslie
smiled and said it was great to see them and then she and Rick
moved on. She did her best not to take the time to make
introductions or they would be there all night.
    “You sure know a lot of people here.” Rick
looked at her.
    She shrugged. “There are a lot of good people
here, but when I think about it, my reasons for coming were pretty
shallow.” She moved her gaze over the activities and felt a little
like an outsider looking in for the first time ever. “I don’t need
to be here for the same reasons.”
    “What’s that?” Rick said.
    “My friends and I would go trolling for guys,
trying to make the right connections.” She spotted a couple of her
former subs and the males waved at her. She gave them a little wave
back. “They never measured up to what I really wanted in a man. I
wanted a male I could control. Thing was if the male wanted his
life directed, I would lose respect for him and it was over.”
    “What were you looking for in a man?” Rick
asked.
    She looked up at him. “I guess in many ways I
didn’t know. I just knew when it wasn’t right and I would move
on.”
    Then she heard a familiar voice. “Les.” Roni
called out “Over here.”
    Leslie smiled and squeezed Rick’s hand as
they walked toward Roni and the dark, mysterious man who had won
her at the auction. Beside her sat Christy and the very hot man who
had bid on her. After the auction, Leslie had learned from Roni
that Christy and the man had shared a past together.
    The men stood and shook Rick’s hand as Leslie
hugged Christy and Roni.
    “So good to