Blue (Darkness Falls #3) (2 page)

“Ooh I’ve never heard of it. Sounds exciting!” He could tell she was really pleased and filed it away for future
reference – she liked the theatre.

“Good. We could always make a night of it.
” He suggested. “Why don’t I book us in for a late dinner at that little Italian place you like?”

“Are you sure? Don’t you have a morning client tomorrow?”

“No.”
Thank god.
“She cancelled yesterday so I asked Chloe to keep it clear for me. We can stay out as late as we like and maybe have a glass or two of wine with dinner if we feel like it.”

“What about this afternoon?” Why was she asking so many questions?

“No, I haven’t got anyone this afternoon.”

“Then come over for afternoon tea.” She offered. “I was baking this morning and if dinner is going to be late, we might as well fill up on cake.”

“I love the way you think.” He grinned. “I’ve got a couple of things to do here so I’ll come to yours around three.”

“Perfect.”
He could almost picture her smiling, surrounded by the scent of fresh baking. How could someone so wicked be so wholesome all at once? “That’ll give me some time to find a dress. We are dressing up, right?”

“Of course.” He smirked. “You know I don’t need much of an excuse to bust out my tux. I’ll bring it with me and we’ll go from yours.”

“I can’t wait!” He pictured her bouncing with delight as she hung up and it made him smile. It was nice to hear her sounding happy. There had been so many people over the last few years that he’d wanted to kill for upsetting her, but she’d taken it in her stride, just getting a little paler and thinner with each hit. The media had been unbelievably cruel, but with a little practice she’d even let that slide. He’d thought she might fall apart over the protestors that were picketing the club, since they seemed to be especially vicious where she was concerned, but she’d just shrugged. Losing Gabriel might have broken her, but it had also given her steel-plated emotional armour.

At three on the dot, he rapped on her door and wasn’t particularly surprised when Thomas answered it.

“Hey Thomas.” He smiled. “How are things?”

“Wonderful, thank you.” The younger man smiled up at him. “The Mistress will be with you shortly. She just had a call about the house. Can I fetch you tea or coffee?”

“Coffee, please.” Still a little unsure about Thomas’ new role, Blue cleared his throat. “Thomas, it’s good to see you so calm. How are things at work? Are you this calm all the time?”

“Work is a thousand times better.” Thomas shrugged, unable to really explain it. “I feel more in control. I can focus for much longer periods of time so my creativity
has almost tripled. We’re producing things now that I couldn’t have dreamed of a year ago.” As though he’d suddenly realised they were still standing in the hall, he shook himself. “Can I take your suit?” He accepted the suit carrier and headed in the direction of the kitchen. Blue didn’t need to ask to know that he’d probably iron the shirt and air the jacket before it was time for them to change.

“Are you grilling my sub?” Noelle sounded amused as she came down the stairs.

“Not really.” Feeling a little sheepish, he followed her through to the lounge. “I was just curious about the effect on his work. He seems so much calmer. I wondered if inventing stuff was harder when you’re serene as opposed to totally wired. I thought the jitters were part of his creative genius.”

“Quite the opposite.” She smiled. “He’s producing more than he has in years.”

“That’s what he said.” Taking a seat in the armchair opposite her, he relaxed. “When does filming start?”

She made a face. “Monday. I still think it’s a really bad idea. My life isn’t that interesting. I can’t understand why Cal wants me to do it.”

“Blah blah ambassador for kink blah blah forcing a glut so the journalists will leave you alone blah blah improving public perception blah blah.” She burst out laughing at his impression of the older Master. “Seriously, why did you agree to it?” He’d often wondered since Cal had informed him that Noelle had agreed to let cameras follow her around for a few weeks to film a reality show. It really wasn’t her style. She was normally shy of public interest and fiercely private.

“Cal made it very clear he wanted me to accept the offer.” She said simply. “I didn’t want to let him down. Besides, he’s right on some levels. Kink is massively misunderstood and if I can
help alter the negative public perception in any way, it will be totally worth doing. I’m a much gentler mistress than most out there. I guess I’m socially acceptable enough to be the face of kink.”

“And what about the guys?” He asked, ignoring Thomas who had returned with their drinks and a plate of assorted cakes and finger sandwiches. “What are their thoughts on appearing in your show?”

“They thought it was pretty funny.” She shook her head, still a little bemused by that. “They even agreed to letting the cameras come to our Monday night dinners.”

“Even Jax?” He knew things had been difficult between them since she’d chosen Sean over the lead guitarist, but lately it seemed that
things had been settling down.

“I think John had words with him about how it was good publicity for the band.” She flushed slightly, probably uncomfortable that the band’s manager had stepped in because Jax was still upset with her.

“And what’s happening with Thomas? Is he going to be in it?”

“He’s already signed the disclaimer as long as they disguise his face and voice.” She shrugged, still uncomfortable. “They promised no-one would recognise him and they can’t film anything other than restraint and service so he’s cool with it.”

He smiled, changing the subject to something he knew she’d be more comfortable with. “How are your rope classes going with Cal?”

“Great!” She grinned. “I’m learning a new tie every week and did a full suspension on Monday!”

“Who are you practicing on?” He didn’t even know she’d been at the Manor on Monday.

“
It was Chloe in my class, but mostly whoever will let me.” She sniggered. “I conned Keys into letting me truss him up last weekend. It was hysterical.”

Blue just shook his head.
She seriously didn’t get it. He doubted there had been much conning at all on her part. She just had to ask for something with that sweet voice and sweeter nature and guys wanted to bend over backwards for her. Actually, that was a disturbing thought. He hoped to God she never asked him if she could practice on him. He’d never live it down if he said yes, and he knew he would. There was something disturbingly appealing about being at her mercy.

He changed the subject and they talked about the house and what she was going to do with the camera crew until it was time to change. The show was on early and it was the other side of the city. As Blue followed her up the stairs, he felt himself getting hard again. When had she learned to walk like that? It was almost feline, the way her hips swayed from side to side as she rose up each step. He was so mesmerised by her ass that he totally missed the fact that she was speaking to him.

“Blue?” She stopped at the top of the stairs, turning around. “Are you okay?”

“Uh...” He blinked, snapping out of it. “Sorry, what?”

“Were you staring at my ass?” High spots of colour appeared in her cheeks and he fought the growl rising in his throat.

“It was kind of hard not to. It was right in my face.” He shrugged, unrepentant. “Besides, I have fond memories of that ass. You’re lucky I didn’t just grab it.”

“Blue!” She squeaked, the blush covering her whole face. “You can’t just bring that up!”

“Why not?” He smirked. “The sight of it certainly brought me up.”

“Oh my god!” She slapped his arm, torn between laughter and horror. “You’re horrible!”

“I’m not.” He said gravely, fighting down his own laughter. “I’m just honest. I could have lied and said that I wasn’t staring at it, but you’d have known I was lying. What’s the point?”

“Well you could have said yes and left out that part about how you have a hard on because I let you fuck it once!”

“Um...not helping.” He shifted his weight and she threw her hands up in defeat.

“You’re changing in the guest room!” She declared, storming off. Blue couldn’t help it, he roared with laughter, leaning against the wall for support. After all this time in the business it was so sweet that she was still so prudish about things.

He took a quick shower and changed into his suit,
mussing his hair artistically with a quick glance in the mirror. Was it really vanity when he had a lady to impress? Stepping across the landing, he knocked on her door.

“Are you decent?”
He called through and he heard her laugh.

“Define decent.” She jokingly replied and he took that as an invitation, pushing through the door. She was right – decent probably didn’t cover the fact that she was standing in her underwear, stockings and heels, but at least all the important bits were covered.

“Nice.” He smiled with appreciation. “I see my life lessons about maintaining lingerie in a state of newness have stuck.”

“What can I say?” She shrugged gracefully. “It’s a new passion. You haven’t been underwear shopping with me in ages.”

“Why don’t we go on Wednesday?” He suggested, after a rapid mental flick through his appointments for the week. “We could do coffee.”

“With the camera crew in tow?” She asked dubiously and he nodded.

“Why not? We could go out to the leather place. It would be great publicity for them.”

“I guess.” Undecided, she sat at her dresser. “Thomas, my hair please.”

Blue hadn’t seen the younger man kneeling by the bed; the sub had been so still and so low down that he hadn’t been visible from the door. As he rose to his feet and began carefully teasing out Noelle’s curls, Blue came all the way in and sat on the edge of the bed.

“We don’t have to go.” He reminded her and her shoulders slumped.

“No, I want to. I feel like I’ve hardly seen you these last few months with all the appointments and the house and everything else. You know I like shopping with you and I think it’s great that we can bring in some publicity for one of our best suppliers. It’s just the thought of being followed everywhere with cameras.” She looked at him in her mirror. “It just seems so intrusive into the time that we spend together.”

“It’s only for a few weeks. We can go shopping any time.” He pointed out. “Don’t let it get you down.”

“I’m trying.” She forced herself to smile and began applying her make-up as he watched. “How long have we got?” She asked after a few minutes and he glanced at his watch.

“We need to leave in about ten minutes.”

“That soon?” With a less than ladylike swear word, she applied the rest of her make-up, quickly spritzed perfume and then sent Thomas to the wardrobe for her dress.

“I love that one.” Blue said without thinking when Thomas returned with a midnight blue velvet evening gown.
It had a low cowl neck, diamante straps and a slit to the thigh. She looked exquisite in it.

“You should know.” She gave him an odd look. “You picked it.”

“How much of your wardrobe am I actually responsible for?” He asked, guessing he was going to be amused by the answer.

“I don’t know.” She stepped into the pool of shimmering fabric. “Maybe sixty percent? More than Sean was happy about anyway. Especially since Storm picked out most of the other forty percent.”

“He should have thanked us.” His eyes followed the velvet up her body. “We’ve picked you out some really beautiful things.” Thomas carefully slipped the straps over her arms and zipped up the back, cinching it in to her hourglass waist.

“His loss.” She shrugged but there was pain in her eyes. She’d really wanted it to work with Sean. It wasn’t surprising, given what she’d walked away from. Giving up Jax with all of the excitement and chemistry that would have come with him to be with a regular guy that worked in a coffee bar had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done. It had been obvious to everyone that loved her.

“And totally your gain.” He tried to make her smile. “It hurts, but things happen for a reason. You know that. I’d like to think time out with me is a big part of the good stuff in that reason. Thomas is another part. Not many ladies have a live in guy that likes to brush hair and make coffee. It’s a win-win situation.”

“If you say so.” She smiled and this time there was less pain in it. “If you could get my coat please, Thomas.”

“Yes Mistress.” He left the room and she moved towards Blue, stepping between his legs and pulling him close for a hug.

“Did I leave you out while I was with
Sean?” She asked. “I feel like I’ve been missing you.”

He wanted to say yes, but there was no point making her feel worse than she already did. “I’m here now.” He was proud of his diplomacy. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

They left Thomas at the house and drove into the city. It was a warm summer evening and Noelle went silent as she gazed out at the lights but Blue didn’t mind. He was just glad that they were spending time together. They arrived at the theatre only ten minutes before the show started, so by the time they’d checked their coats and got drinks, they barely had time to make their seats before the curtain went up.