“That had to be difficult for them.”
“Yes, it was. Fortunately, they were as close as twins and that helped. Eric’s married. His wife’s name is Angie and they have three great kids, all girls, the oldest is heading into the tenth grade next fall, the middle is in eighth grade and the youngest is in sixth. Jacob’s a math and science wizard and is a professor at UNLV.”
“He’s not married?”
“Not yet, dates a lot.”
“What about Eric’s marriage? I’ve the feeling something’s wrong.”
“On the surface, it’s picture perfect. Angie is sweet-natured, beautiful and an excellent mom. She’s on the PTA, takes the girls to soccer and church. They have a big house in suburbia, an SUV in the garage and a luxury sedan next to it.”
“I’m sensing a great big change to that picture.”
“Eric’s seeing another woman.”
“Oh no,” Avery murmured.
“Seems like Eric’s following Mom and Dad’s lead,” Hazard said, not hiding his disappointment. “I told him he’s an asshole for doing that to Angie. She’s the mother of his children. She doesn’t deserve to be treated that way.”
“No one deserves to be cheated on.”
“Can’t agree more, hopefully he’ll come to his senses. I can only tell him what I think. He has to make the decision to stay or not. To drag Angie and the girls down with lies is selfish.”
“It’s not going to be long before his wife finds out. She may already know. When that happens, he’s going to need his older brother’s unconditional love.”
“You’re not mad at Eric?”
“I’m sad for him and his wife. Infidelity hurts more than the marriage. It crushes the kids. They know, just as you knew, as I did. Thinking on it, support your nieces and sister-in-law too.”
“I will,” he promised right as the lighting in the theater begin to dim in warning that the show was about to start.
“There’s something you should know before Gabriel’s show begins. As long as we’re together, I’ll remain faithful,” she promised, hoping it wasn’t too soon to do so.
Hazard looked down at her, sharing a smile that made her hopeful for a very real future with him. They were still so new, but what she saw in his eyes was faith.
“I’ll be true to you too, baby. We do this thing right, we’ll be together for a helluva long time.” He brought her in even closer and touched his lips to hers.
Avery couldn’t be happier, gladly turning toward him so that their kiss was unrestrained and comfortable. He eased back and grinned, the heat in his eyes hinting of the evening they’d have after the show and dancing.
Turning her eyes to the stage, it felt as though the balcony was light-years away.
Older theaters tended to have that larger-than-life appearance, even if the house only seated up to two hundred people. This was an excellent venue for a small community theater and Avery hoped to come back over the summer and catch a show.
It was really nice of Gabriel to come home on occasion and entertain the residents and visitors to Dare. She’d given her rose to Jaxon to hold for her until later. Avery wasn’t about to forget Gabriel’s welcome to Dare gift.
Hazard kept her hand in his and eased back in his chair. The chairs were so plush and comfortable, they could be settling in to watch a four-hour opera and not have to worry about stretching all that much.
They made small talk until two spotlights crisscrossed about the theater, adding to the buzz of excitement within the theater. Finally, the spotlights centered on the curtain. Intrigued by the beginning, she clutched Hazard’s hand.
Piped-in rock anthem music shook the house and the curtain lifted like a veil, revealing a circle of light aimed down at Gabriel Krystiyan, dressed all in black.
Right away, he engaged the audience with a tale of devils versus angels, darkness and light, proceeding to perform stunning illusions by making things materialize or disappear at will. Not a scarf, rabbit or fake flowers, but vices; a deck of cards, a thick roll of cash, jewels, a bottle of Jack, all overcome with a wave of his hand and turned into confetti.
But he warned that such vices were not so easily overcome and that sometimes, sometimes what appears to be light is dark and what is dark is actually good. Just as his warning was made a beautiful female assistant came out wearing a black formfitting corset and skirt, flowing cape and kickass boots, carrying with her a table and a small glass box.
Continuing his theme, he waved his hand and a black cat appeared on the assistant’s shoulders. The cat meowed on cue, the echo caught on a microphone hooked to the woman’s corset. Purring commenced when Gabriel stroked the kitty’s scruff, and then he carefully placed the cat in the glass box.
The assistant showed everyone that the black cat had breathing holes and could be seen from all angles. Gabriel made some flashy movements, again drawing attention as the assistant draped the box with a white cloth.
In a stunning flourish, Gabriel turned the white cloth black, flicked it away and the cat inside was white. Where the black cat went, Avery had no idea. How the illusionist did it, she’d never dare ask because it would spoil the moment. That was amazing.
Mastering illusion was no easy feat. Gabriel had crafted his skill to an art form that left the audience in stunned awe.
Completely taken in, Avery pressed Hazard’s hand to her heart and sighed. She was with her favorite man and watching a friend take the crowd by storm.
Before the next trick began, Hazard shifted in his seat, bringing Avery’s hand to his lips to kiss the backs of her knuckles before placing her hand on his thigh. “Hazard,” she uttered as softly as possible. “What are you doing?”
“Seducing my girl.” Freeing her hand, he gently gripped her knee, using his thumb to caress her sensitive skin.
From there on, she lost focus on the stage. She knew the white cat was safely removed from stage and out of nowhere, two violinists stood upon the stage.
The violinists switched from some classical piece to The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band, complete with a backup of musicians appearing behind them.
All the magic on stage was orchestrated by Gabriel, but Avery’s concentration had shifted to Hazard, who’d already slid his hand up along her outer thigh to her inner thigh.
Loving his slightly abrasive touch, she followed his lead by running her fingers to Hazard’s zipper. From there, she slid the zipper down. He slid her short skirt up, up, farther, exposing her lacy panties. She teasingly worked his fly open, pushing her hand inside.
“We shouldn’t do this,” she whispered, even though she knew she wouldn’t stop him.
“Live your sex-in-public fantasy with me, baby. Be impulsive,” he dared just as quietly, continuing to caress her inner thigh and onward to her panties.
At first she thought he’d tear the thong’s string. He didn’t. Hazard kept caressing her through the damp silk, pushing and pressing exactly where she liked it.
Biting her lip to keep from sighing or calling out, she took hold of his impressive cock and teasingly stroked his ball sac with her pinky. The most impressive part of a man, where he was both strong and vulnerable, was within her control to use at will. He parted his thighs some, giving her freedom to play at will, not once showing any concern for whether she might hurt him.
Emboldened, she stopped teasing and stroked his satin-over-steel-hard cock. Loving the feel of the rigid veins and smooth crown, she got totally into the moment. Nothing else mattered, not Gabriel, not magic, not the crowd filling up every single seat in the theater.
Even though anyone seated in the boxes at stage right and left of the house could stare into their private box and see them, their hands were well out of sight. Relaxing, Avery slid her thighs apart right as Hazard’s index finger slid beneath the waistband of her panties.
His thick, slightly rough finger brushed her crease, finding her clit with unerring accuracy. Applying the lightest of touches, he teased her, delighting h
er all over.
Stroking Hazard’s erection as he caressed her engorged clitoris, they easily worked each other until it became apparent that only a good hard fuck would do. It didn’t surprise her when he gripped her panties in his palm and pulled them down.
“A little help,” he said quietly when the thong got stretched to the point of ruin.
Avery awkwardly managed to squirm enough to help slide the panties down and off. Only Hazard had the skill to resume his claim on her pussy as he used his free hand to remove a condom in his pocket.
He must have been a Boy Scout to be so prepared. It didn’t take more than a minute for him to tear open the packet with his teeth. Together, they rolled it onto his cock.
With silent communication, he guided her out of her chair and into his lap, still facing the stage. Strong hands spanned her waist, carefully raising her up and easing her back down, the tip of his cock spearing into her so slowly that he made certain she felt every thick, long veined inch filling her completely.
In her ear, he said, “Don’t move. Don’t call out. Let me do you just like this.”
Avery shook her head. Everything that made her female demanded that she ride him. Having his cock in her was the most amazing thing. He was so big that it didn’t seem possible that her pussy could take him.
Yet she felt wonderfully full and deliciously fucked. To double the sensation for him, Avery clenched her Kegels, working him without moving too much or too fast. If she started hopping up and down, someone would notice.
Hazard’s left hand swept from her belly to her center, finding her clit with ease. Without letting her move one little bit, he stroked her, setting up a deep, inescapable need within her that promised to be explosive.
The reality of fucking right there in public heightened her arousal, creating a challenge she’d never expected. Remaining seated, she reached out in front of her to grip the wall and Hazard began rocking and rolling his hips.
Hazard began to gently roll his hips in time with her Kegels routine. At the same time, he stroked her clit so beautifully that she was mesmerized. A pinch of his thumb and index finger set her off, orgasm storming through her with such force she was stunned when Hazard freed her waist to place a hand over her mouth to keep her from shouting.
“Hell, yeah,” he uttered in her ear, remaining very still even as his erection pulsed within her pussy. “Your orgasms get me off like nothing else. Fantastic.” Placing a kiss at the back of her ear, he lowered his head to her shoulder, his breathing harsh, erratic.
The strong arms of her lover came about her, holding her tight, assuring her that nothing could hurt her and nothing could take away the magic of this clandestine moment even as the magician on stage stunned the audience.
It took several minutes to mentally come back to earth. Only after her after-climax trembles eased did Hazard help her up off his lap and into her chair. He quickly discarded the condom in a plastic-lined wastebasket sitting in a corner and fastened his pants.
Avery was a little slower finding her panties and putting them on. Back in their own seats, they held hands and watched the rest of the show unfold.
One by one, Gabriel’s all-female black-clad crew of gorgeous assistants were sent through a flame-red doorway and reappeared wearing white corsets, skirts, boots and capes, as if they’d gone through a fire and come out clean.
The climax came with a return of the black cat perched upon Gabriel’s massive bare shoulders. Facing away from the audience, he revealed an enormous set of fallen angel’s wings tattooed in an iridescent glow from shoulder blade to shoulder blade, the intricacy and glow strong enough to be seen from the distance of the balcony.
One moment the wings were hanging down along his spine, the next, the cat jumped to the stage, his shiny diamond collar and leash reflected by the stage lighting as the illusionist himself went through the flame-marked door and came out wearing white pants and white wings that were real and in full flight. Several white feathers cascaded to the stage as the curtain fell.
“Wow,” she crooned in awe.
“How much of the show did you see?” Hazard asked.
“The beginning and end,” she admitted. “I was being fucked by my guy in the middle, not that I’m going to complain. I’d far rather be fucked by you, Hazard, than worry about what I missed on stage.”
“Thanks for going with me on this one. I couldn’t resist our chance to scratch a fantasy off your list.”
“I loved it. Thank you,” she said, moving close to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You’re an amazing man, know that?”
“Some of the things I’ve done before you came into the picture could be a deal breaker, baby.”
“No, they’re not. You’re human. Even great big linebackers, entertainers and metrosexual Doms make mistakes.”
“You’re right.”
“Thank you. Don’t freak out, but I’m getting attached to you. You’re way more than a crush to me now.”
“If I said ditto, would that mean anything?”
“It means everything.”
“Then we’re on an even playing field. Maybe later tonight, you can teach me how to tackle and bring down a two-hundred-plus-pound six-six man whenever I want. I’d like nothing more than to take advantage of every inch of you, head to toe.”
“Baby, go down on me whenever you want,” he countered, hugging her close and nipping at her ear.
“That’s not exactly what I had in mind.”
“Show me later,” he said. “By the way, I’m six foot seven.”
“Aren’t you the man,” she teased.
“I’m your man.” He laughed and helped her stand up, smoothing his hands over her clothes to smooth out any wrinkles.
“Think the cleaning crew will notice the condom?”
“If they do, it won’t be the first time they’ve come across one up here.”
“I should be embarrassed.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I’m so happy I could fly right up to the catwalks right now.”
“Being daring gets you off. With me, you’re safe to explore even the raunchiest of fantasies. If someone had noticed us, would you have made me stop fucking you?”
“If you’d stopped for any reason, I might have screamed loud enough to wake the dead. I’m looking forward to crossing off the rest of the list, minus one.”
“What have you crossed off?”
“You already know,” she said.
The lights came up slowly, brightening Hazard’s handsome face. “No extra lovers in our bed.”
“That’s right. I might not mind the illusion of a threesome, but if we did it for real, it’d feel like a betrayal of what we could have together after we leave Dare.”
“The rest of the list is still on? There are ways to create that illusion for you.”
“The rest is on. Hopefully we’ll relive each one over and over for a long time to come. What we just did was exciting. It might become a kink.”
“Kink, I can get into.” Hazard drew her close and kissed her.
The curtain parted behind them, startling Avery. “Mr. Osbourne, Ms. Grant, you’ve been invited backstage by Mr. Krystiyan,” the balcony attendant told them.
They joined the man and followed him down a narrow hallway. A minute later, Avery and Hazard were escorted down a back stairwell to the predominately black-draped area behind the stage.
“Dressing room is this way,” the attendant said, leading them around the back where there were shelves of props, two-by-fours, wooden platforms, table saws, handsaws, hammers, Makita screwdrivers and any power tool a hardware store would sell.
At the dressing room marked with Gabriel’s name, the attendant knocked and waited for the magician’s deep-voiced, “Enter.”
Inside, the dressing room was enormous. Gone were the wings, but both the black and white cats were side by side in small carriers and Gabriel was gently stroking them through the slots in the doors.
When they
walked all the way into the dressing room, Gabriel faced them. “Glad you guys could make it.” He wore the same clothes he’d had on at the fondue restaurant. “What’d did you think, Avery?”
“I still can’t figure out how you switched the cats or quick-changed and got the wings to become so realistic,” she confessed.
“Then I did my job,” he said without divulging his secrets.
“Do you always use the kitties? May I pet them?”
“Sure, they’re my boys, Michael and Selaphiel. The Vegas show has big cats, a wolf and birds of prey that I’ve rescued.”
“You don’t mean big house cats, do you?”
“No. One’s a black tiger. The other’s a white lion. Both are named after archangels, like Sela and Mike, here.”
Avery smiled at the archangels’ nicknames. “The tiger is all black?”
“That’s right. Black tigers are extremely rare and much like you can see a black leopard’s spots, you can still see his stripe-pattern. Niko was emaciated when I learned about him and about to be euthanized by authorities, who’d raided the illegal compound he’d been in.”
“Oh, poor Niko,” Avery murmured, wondering why people were so cruel to animals. Hazard’s arm came around her shoulders, hugging her for moral support.
“Those cats have it great with Gabriel now, baby. They’re treated with respect and never harmed during an illusion. He never forgets that, no matter what, the big cats are wild animals.”
“Have you seen them, Hazard?”
“Yes, they’re beautiful, but vulnerable to cruelty by humans and animals due to their coats.”
“Color mutations would be seen as a weakness to other lions and tigers in the wild,” Avery said. “What happens to them when you’re here in Dare, Gabriel?”
“They’re transported to a small exotic animal park that I’ve funded. It’s equipped with the safest environment possible for them and visitors. Only the best medical attention, trainers, food and toys are provided.”
“I hope I get the chance to visit the animal park,” she said, already longing to see the great cats.
“Given the way Trevor’s holding on to you, beautiful, it’s likely that’ll happen sooner rather than later. So how was the show, really?”
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