It wasn’t a cool night at all, but Sara took the blanket and headed toward the porch. Her and her big mouth. Now Theo was sad, and a million questions swarmed in Sara’s head, questions about relationships and depression, and circus superstitions. When she opened the door, Theo turned to her and all the questions fled. All she could think was, this poor man.
She held out the blanket. “Kelsey sent this for you. In case you were cold.”
He turned his head a little toward her, then away. She didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know if he was irritated, or sad, or whether he wanted company right now. She stepped outside anyway and stood beside him, and waited for the appropriate words to come. But the only words that came were, “I’m sorry.”
Theo grunted, his noise that meant I don’t know what to say right now. He opened the blanket and wrapped it around Sara’s shoulders. “You don’t have to be sorry.”
She tried to hand it back to him. “It’s supposed to be for you.”
After some repositioning, they stood within the blanket shoulder to shoulder, each clutching one end. “I don’t know what to say, Theo,” she began. “Except it wasn’t your fault.”
He gave a short, bitter laugh. “Everyone says that, but it was partly my fault. I wasn’t attentive. I didn’t care for her feelings. I was too much her Master and not enough her friend.” He drew in a great, halting breath. “That is the thing, you know, with power exchange. You can’t wander too far from the heart. People try, but...” He squeezed her hand under the blanket and let it go. “I doubt you’ll get to stay in Paris, ma brillante. It’s not meant to be.”
“Why do you call me that? Ma brillante?”
“Because of your eyes. They are brilliant blue, non? So unexpected.” He blinked at her, then looked away. “You remind me so much of Minya sometimes. You look so much like her, but she didn’t have your eyes. You are happy, Sara?”
“Yes.”
“Jason makes you happy? If he doesn’t, you have to tell him. Don’t be so submissive that you lose yourself.”
She made a sound of agreement past the tightness in her throat. “I won’t lose myself.”
“You know, you must follow your own path. Make your own way. Jason will come to you. He’ll come to Vegas, or wherever you end up. He won’t mind leaving his job.”
“He shouldn’t have to,” she said with an edge of impatience. “Maybe it’s time to let go of this tragedy. Time to let Minya’s ghost rest. I’m here, and you, and many trapezists who could delight Paris for years to come. Because of her, we can’t go up there?”
Theo gazed at her, his eyes liquid dark in the night. “Really, you are not very much like Minya. You are stronger than she was. Stronger here.” He touched a finger to her heart. “You came out of Mongolia all alone, with nothing, to join the biggest circus in the world. You put up with your unpleasant trapeze partner, day in, day out, and choose the most rigid Master to serve. And you are not afraid of Lemaitre, are you?”
“No, I’m not afraid of him. But I don’t think he likes me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Whenever I see him, he frowns at me. He frowns when he watches our act. He never talks to me. I wonder sometimes if he’s disappointed he asked me to come.”
“He’s not disappointed, I promise. He just knows you belong to Jason.” He chuckled. “He has an affinity for exotic young beauties, so be careful. Stay close to Jason when we’re at le Citadel.”
She turned to Theo in surprise. “We’re still going?”
“Of course we are. Do you think I haven’t noticed you fidgeting out of your skin with anticipation? Just because you ask rude questions about my past and depress everyone, it doesn’t mean we can’t still go out and have fun.”
She’d been prepared to go home with Jason and endure a punishment for ruining the dinner. Going to the club would be so much better. “Thanks, Theo,” she said. “I’m glad you’re my coach. I’ll miss you when you go back to Marseille. Kelsey too.”
“Oh, we’ll be around,” he said, waving a hand. “Sometimes we come to Paris only to visit the original Citadel. It’s the biggest, best one. There’s dancing and lights, music, free drinks, and an entire back hallway of special, private rooms.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And they are for exactly what you think.”
* * * * *
Jason tried not to be exasperated with Sara. He understood that a lot of her missteps were due to cultural reasons. In Mongolia, people got in each other’s business. Whole families lived in one-room structures, so they watched out for each other, and demanded explanations when things were off.
Still, if she didn’t let the trapeze thing drop, he was going to beat her naughty little ass until she couldn’t sit for a goddamn week. Hashing over the Minya thing made everyone unhappy, and each time she talked about staying in Paris to do trapeze, the scab was torn off anew.
At least Theo didn’t hold a grudge. By the time he and Sara returned to the kitchen, he was smiling and Sara was out-of-her-mind excited to leave for the Citadel. It was hard to stay mad at her when she was so enthused. Jason, Theo, and Kelsey were hardened attendees by now, but it was fun to see it through a newbie’s eyes. As Kelsey said, they all remembered their first times. Kelsey’s first time, she’d gotten so drunk she went up to Le Maître—while he was in full character and fetish gear—and flirted with his “pets.” She’d cooed over them and scratched behind their ears like they were really pets, while Theo looked on in horror.
They told the story to Sara on the way over, painting a picture until she doubled over with laughter, tottering on her heels.
“I’ll try to remember not to do that,” she said, taking Kelsey’s hand. “Just stay by me, and tell me if I’m about to mess up.”
The two girls walked hand in hand the rest of the way. It was sweet. Kind of hot, although he knew Sara did it in complete innocence, because Kelsey was easy to talk to and because they were close in age. Sweet, happy women, and behind them, their perverse other halves dreaming of sexual bedlam.
“They’d be pretty in bed together, eh?” said Theo under his breath.
“Or tied to a bed together.”
“Or put in a cage together. Have to give each other orgasms before they could come out.”
Jason laughed. “You always have to one-up me. Anyway, I thought Kelsey was straight?”
“She’s as straight as I want her to be. She’s been with women.” His perverse grin deepened. “She does what I like, which is why I love her so much. Is Sara bisexual?”
“We’ve never talked about it, but she’s generally open to new things.”
“Nice to have those types of slaves.”
“Yep.”
“But also dangerous, at a place like le Citadel. Don’t give her too much to drink this first time.”
Jason had no intention of letting Sara get shit faced, and he wouldn’t be drinking much either. Drinks were free because no one went overboard with them. Most people didn’t go to the Citadel to get shit-faced. When you stepped through the doors, it was all about the rush of sensual, hedonistic physicality. So many bodies, all of them healthy and athletic. So many creative, unfettered minds. It was a heady combination...and it was Saturday night.
The doorman waved them in, and Sara accepted earplugs from Theo and Kelsey as they navigated through the crowds outside the coat room to the pounding, smoky heart of the club. The bar was on one side, and a raised platform dominated the other. The evening’s festivities were already in full swing. Revelers writhed and jumped on the dance floor amidst the fake smog and lights, many of them barely dressed. Clothing grew more optional as the night wore on. When Le Maître arrived, people would move to the back rooms to play, although you only entered the Back Room—the main dungeon—at his invitation.
Later on, Jason would take Sara back and show her the tamer play rooms, maybe even scene with her a little. He was eager to show off his beautiful slave, in her ivory corset that complemented her skin tone to
perfection. He preferred her naked in his bedroom, but here, he wanted to let her shine.
As Jason expected, Sara took two sips of her drink and lost interest, distracted by all the activity going on around her. “May I go dance? Please?” she asked.
The four of them headed to the dance floor in a group. Jason saw women he knew, women who’d submitted to him before, but the company rumor mill had done its work connecting him with Sara, and none of them approached him. Theo and Kelsey were an established couple and they stayed in each other’s arms, tuning out everything else. Sara was less focused, but that was okay.
She leaned close so he could hear her over the music. “Thanks for bringing me here.”
He ran his fingers up her waist, tracing the bones of the corset beneath her dress. “It’s my pleasure. Are you having fun? You look happy.”
She glanced beside them, at a towering, powerfully built leather-sub and his pink-haired mistress. Beside that couple, a threesome was alternately dancing and locking lips. Jason pulled Sara closer, running his fingers up and down her back, over her hidden lacings. Even in the darkness, her blue eyes stood out like glittering jewels. Eternal eyes. “I’m so happy,” she yelled over the music. “I love this. I loved dinner with Kelsey and Theo too. I feel so...included.”
“Of course you’re included.” Kelsey’s voice rang out while Theo bumped them, interrupting their kiss. Soon all four of them were dancing together and laughing. Sara reached out to stroke Kelsey’s hair.
“It’s so pretty,” she cried. “So light and beautiful. I’ve wanted to touch it all night.”
Kelsey seemed delighted to let Sara stroke her hair, and Jason and Theo were both delighted to watch. “When are you going to start kissing?” Theo asked in his usual blunt style. “That’s what everyone wants to see.”
“When we go to the back rooms, maybe,” said Kelsey with a gleam in her eye. “We are going to the back rooms together, aren’t we?”
“We’ll see,” Jason answered, bemused by Kelsey’s hornified enthusiasm. He and Kelsey were friends, nothing more. He’d be able to tease her about this later, whether they only played BDSM games, or went all the way, having sex between the four of them. Since she was currently, actively kissing Sara, Jason guessed there was a good chance of sex.
“I should never give her alcohol,” Theo said to Jason.
“Or maybe give her a little more.” Jason watched Sara for signs of distress, but she’d abandoned herself to Kelsey’s embrace.
“Back rooms?” asked Theo.
“Back rooms,” agreed Jason. He took hold of Sara’s hair and drew her attention from Kelsey. “Do you want to go play?” he asked. “Exchange power with Theo and Kelsey? There may be other people there.”
“Other people we’ll play with?” she asked.
“Probably not. You never know, when things get rolling. But listen.” He took her face to be sure she heard him. “We don’t have to do anything. We can just hang out and dance.”
He liked to push her to try new things, but public, group play was one of those things a submissive had to choose for herself. There were rules at the Citadel to protect everyone who played there, and everything was consensual. All the sex was safe. The emotional part of it was harder, accepting that you could be part of a very happy couple and still play with outside partners. “Did you like kissing Kelsey?” he asked, staring at her lips. “It looked so pretty. What if Theo kissed you? Would that turn you on?”
She looked shocked at the suggestion, but also curious. “I don’t know. I’ll try anything you like, Master. I want to see what happens in the back rooms. You said I had to see it for myself.”
“So I did.”
He beckoned Theo and Kelsey, and the four of them headed down the hall to peek into the various private spaces. The walls were stone and the doors heavy, age-scarred wood. Even over the music, you could hear impact and screams, and thrilled shouts. Halfway down they encountered a cluster of people watching a scene. Jason heard Lemaitre’s voice, Lemaitre’s laugh.
They tried to move to the side, but the revelers saw them and parted. Le Maître was tormenting a slave at his feet, a cowering, willing beauty, probably testing her limits before he invited her to his private play space. He was shirtless, his low-riding leather pants revealing his enviable physique. Sara gaped at him, never having seen Michel Lemaitre outside his crisp, bespoke CEO suits. Jason barely heard her gasp, but Le Maître heard it. His eyes locked on Jason first, then Sara.
He hauled his slave up and shooed her down the hall, then grabbed Theo and barked in his ear in French. Theo jerked away, gone white and grim. He turned to Jason and spoke to him, also in French.
“He says Sara has to go.”
“What? Why?”
“He won’t say why, but he means it. He said not to bring her back again.” Theo looked furious, but at le Citadel, Le Maître’s word was law. “Come, let’s go,” he said to Sara and Kelsey in English. “There’s no room for us back here tonight.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Sara. “We have to go? Now?”
“We have to leave,” said Jason, taking refuge in activity. If he didn’t stay busy, if he didn’t concern himself with bundling Sara up and getting her out of there, he’d go after Lemaitre and punch him in the face. Theo seemed to understand that. He stood between Jason and Lemaitre until the scowling Master of the Citadel turned on his heel and stalked back down the hall. The door to his inner sanctum slammed.
“Nice,” muttered Kelsey under her breath. In the end, she was the one who calmed Sara, who hugged her and said, “Come on, we’ll find something else to do.”
The four of them left the club and clustered together outside the door. Jason seethed as he watched a lackey deliver a note to the doormen, probably an edict that Sara wasn’t to be re-admitted. Fucking Lemaitre. Sara wasn’t underage, she wasn’t in disgrace, and she was in an active Master/slave relationship. She was beautiful and daring and she belonged in le Citadel with her colleagues and fellow pervs.
“I don’t understand,” she said, burying her face in Jason’s shoulder. “What did I do? Why does he hate me?”
“He doesn’t hate you, baby.” He tilted her face to his and gave her a kiss. “I’m sure this is a misunderstanding. I’ll make him explain tomorrow. But yes, this sucks donkey balls.”
“It’s outrageous,” said Theo. “Completely outrageous.”
Kelsey beckoned to her husband and whispered something in his ear. He listened a while, nodded, then turned to Jason. “Come back to our place? Kels says we can do as well as Le Maître. Even better.”
Jason thought she was probably right. He looked down at Sara, smoothing the miserable lines from her forehead.
“Don’t worry. You’re going to have your Citadel experience tonight, little one,” he promised. “Or as close to it as we can get.”
Chapter Nine: Even Better
For some reason, the Zamoras had a disco ball mounted over their bed.
“I’m not going to ask,” said Jason, holding up his hands. “I don’t want to know about your freaky sex life. It’ll be a nice touch with the Christmas lights, though. Almost like the real thing.”
Sara was warmed to the bottom of her soul by the effort they were putting into this, all to make her feel better. It took fifteen minutes for Theo and Jason to crawl into the attic and find some holiday lights, and fifteen more minutes for them to hang them in the Zamora’s bedroom. In the meantime, Kelsey browsed her mp3 files and put together a sultry, sexy play list, playing snippets of songs for Sara’s opinion. Setting up “Club Zamora” almost, almost helped her forget the look on Mr. Lemaitre’s face when he’d kicked her out of the Citadel.
She couldn’t understand it. Why?
Jason said they could figure it out tomorrow. He was certain it was all a mistake, but Lemaitre’s anger hadn’t seemed like a mistake to Sara. Didn’t she have a right to be there, just like everyone else?
“Are you still thinking about the Cita
del?” asked Kelsey as she arranged candles around the bed. “Because we’re going to have fun, tons more fun than we would have had there. I’m sure the guys will make us orgasm a zillion times.”
Sara smiled at her friend, curious how everything would play out. Did the Zamoras play harder or softer than her and Jason? Would they all have sex together, or would they trade partners? Would she and Kelsey kiss some more? Sara wouldn’t mind that. Or would there be no sex at all?
“Is that for the smoke?” Jason coughed as Kelsey lit the candles, one after the other. “This doesn’t have to be exactly like the Citadel.”
“Ma chère,” Theo said to his wife. “Go get some wine. It’s time to set the mood.”
Sara moved to go too, but Jason stopped her. “Not you.” He eased her dress up and off, so she only wore her corset and stockings. Then he pointed to the floor. “Right there.”
She swallowed hard, sinking to her knees. Jason stared at her until she assumed the correct position: legs spread, back arched, eyes on him. Theo glanced over, still rearranging the lights, and she flushed with a delicious kind of embarrassment. She knew she was dressed in a way that pleased Jason, and that she had a strong, attractive body. She knew they were all about to do a scene together but she still felt pangs of shyness. Theo wasn’t her partner. He was her coach.
“Très jolie,” he said, nodding at her. She didn’t know if he meant her appearance or the enticing way she was posed, but his approving smile made her feel warm inside. At last Theo arranged the strands to his satisfaction, and strode to the wall to turn off the overhead light. The blinking, twinkling colors gave the room an otherworldly air. As if on cue, Kelsey returned with goblets and a bottle of wine. She set them on a side table and then Theo and Kelsey started to undress each other.
Sara wasn’t sure where to look. Was it okay to stare? They were beautiful—both their physiques and the tender way they interacted. Theo was so dark and Kelsey so pale and light, and both of them had amazing bodies. Theo stripped Kelsey of everything, even her pretty black bra and panties. She had tight pink nipples and a little patch of blonde fuzz over her pussy. Sara wanted to check out Theo’s cock but wasn’t certain about matters of etiquette. Jason knelt behind her and nudged her face in their direction when she tilted it away. “Go ahead and look at him,” he said with a hint of laughter. “See what you’re in for.”
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