Waking the Dom Within

By Rayann Kendal

After her night of domination, Stella is hungry for more. Madame Darcel's exclusive play party isn't far away, but her relationship with Dan is on ice, waiting for tensions to thaw. Their role play has seeped into real life, and neither seem willing to give a dominant inch in their own bedroom. With it all hanging in the scales, a free-for-all, no strings attached night at Madame's may just be what they both need.

Stella is confronted with the reality of taking control and faced with choosing between two men. Decisions she is ill prepared to make are thrust upon her from the onset of the party, and the suave, collected figure of Madame Darcel comes to her aide. A wealth of knowledge and experience, Madame guides Stella through what it means to have a man at her mercy, and whether dominance is really what Stella wants.

This is a short story. A quick read. There are naughty people doing naughty things. Read with caution. Enjoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Steamy eReads
• Release date: May 8, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215487853

Book preview

No, really, Chef Collier said. Women need to look after themselves, keep their men interested. You should take some pounds off those hips. Take Miss Fatass here. He motioned to the new girl, who was—for the moment—effectively french cutting vegetables, giving Chef no other venue for critique besides his standby attack on her weight. Chef was thin as a stick.

I’d started hitting the gym to get ready for Madame Darcel’s. The weight wasn’t exactly coming off, but I didn’t feel as much a sense of dread driving to my job when I worked out first. Chef Collier had noticed my better mood and tried to squash it immediately. He smirked at me, knowing I hated his nickname for the new girl. I’d complained to the owner but he, in return, just informed me that you needed thick skin in a professional kitchen.

You’ll have to do something with all your newfound energy. Wouldn’t want to waste such a commodity. Get the au jus simmering. Juarez quit after last night’s service. Not the one I was hoping for. Collier sent a glare in the new girl’s direction, but she was astutely chopping away, and he failed to get a reaction. You’ll need to prep the potatoes.

I have to make the pasta after the au jus.

Yes, of course. Chef squinted at the new girl, never taking his eyes off her, perturbed at her apparent oblivion. And the potatoes. And Juarez had started making the cream too. You’ll have to do that as well.

I don’t have time to do all that, Chef. Literally. Do you even know how many pounds of potatoes we prep? It’s impossible.

You’re a smart girl, full of energy. You can figure it out.

I clenched my fist around the whisk, setting my teeth and skimming through the consequences of sending the au jus pot in a broad windmilling backhand to Chef’s temple. All he wanted to hear was yes, Chef. He’d taken his attention from boring a hole through the back of the new girls head and directed it toward me. His posture and the spark in his eye both challenged and waited for my reply.

My fingers ached from crushing the whisk handle in my grip. Juarez was a good worker. I’d come to rely on him. I relaxed my grip, my stiff fingers aching as I turned to Chef. Without Juarez we’re two down. We only have five for a full prep and service? I jutted the miniature whisk at the workstation across from me. And the new girl doesn’t count.

That got her attention. She looked up from her chopping with a shade of pain on her face before going back to her veggies, moving a little more slowly. Great. Being called Miss Fatass didn’t hurt her feelings, but I could?

Chef Collier raised his voice, looking at me but addressing the kitchen staff at large. If you want to keep your job, service tonight will be flawless. He stepped closer, his breath hitting my face. "You will bust your ass, and you will move plates out—quickly, or you will have the new girl’s fat ass to land on after I kick you both out of my kitchen."

The kitchen was a tomb. Silence. Everyone waited to see if I was going to step into my own personal pile of shit again. That man had a talent for pressing every button I possessed. I didn’t have to think; my response conjured itself all on its own, just like it always did. "You’re not firing anyone tonight. This is you’re problem, not ours. Juarez quit because of you. Just like Shellie before him. You’ll be mashing potatoes by yourself soon."

Collier laughed. A hearty, bent double, eye watering laugh. Spoons clanked against metal and knives sounded on cutting boards. Everyone busied themselves. Chef had never laughed before. Ever. It was not a heartening sound. He stood straight and wiped the corner of his eye, a cruel grin on his lips. I could walk into the back alley and snap my fingers, and I’d have a dozen enterprising sous chef’s ready to take your place. Do you know how many applications we get for one opening? He leaned in and whispered to me. Monkeys can mash potatoes and make au jus. No one in this kitchen means a damn to me. I want prep done on schedule, and none of the staff is leaving this kitchen until the last pot is clean.

I wanted to bite back. After two years, being his longest lasting employee, I was pretty damn sure he wasn’t about to fire me short of a knife in the eye. But he’d fire Fatass—I mean the new girl—or Andy or any one of them just to make