Double Dare (30 page)

The item she had selected was a black velvet dress, corseted and edged with red lace, hinting at the bordello look.

"I never wear red," Abby murmured, her hand automatically going to her hair.

"Ah, but you should, you are strong enough to match up to your hair." Gabrielle spoke with surety.

"She's right," Zac commented. "I'd love to see you in red."

His smile was so intimate and he looked so gorgeous, draped as he was in the chair. Abby nodded. "Maybe."

"I think this might be the one," Gabrielle said as she moved down the rail. Pulling out a second garment, she hung it up alongside the first. It was a corset in black, with red flames leaping up from the bust line.

"Oh, wow." Abby was completely transfixed.

"It's made of the softest leather, so will fit like a glove." Gabrielle ran her hand down one side of the corset, then outlined the detailing with one finger. "The flames are hand dyed in the process of building the garment, and reinforced so that they rise up, just above the bust line."

There was a little bit of red, where the flames leapt out of the black body, and it magnetized her gaze. "It's gorgeous."

Gabrielle smiled and turned the garment on the rail showing the length of lacing on the back. "Would you like to try it on? A fishtail skirt in a more malleable fabric would go well and allow you a certain amount of...accessibility." She reached for another hanger, bringing a long supple skirt out to hang alongside the flamed corset. I think it would be a good outfit for you."

Abby glanced at Zac.

"I'd love to see you wearing that."

It was dramatic, so sexy. And the confirmation she saw in his eyes made her squirm with longing. "In that case, I'll try it on."

Gabrielle collected the two garments and led Abby past the rails of clothes. Pulling back a heavy curtain made of midnight velvet, she ushered Abby inside the fitting room.

Abby went to take the outfit from her.

"
Non
, please. Allow me. I'm here to dress you."

"Right, of course." Abby laughed. Gabrielle was so gentle in her guiding, she felt at ease despite the newness of the situation.

The fitting room was spacious and all three walls were decked with mirrors straight from the baroque age, gilt framed and massive. A tall wooden figurine with outstretched arms provided the place for Gabrielle to put the clothing.

The curtain was slightly open and she could still see Zac. He was glancing around the place then his gaze retuned to her. When their eyes met, her heart leapt.
I can't help myself, he might be a big bad wolf, but I love him.

Gabrielle helped her to undress, unobtrusively. She glanced in the mirror as she moved. "Your lover he likes to watch, yes?"

"Apparently so, yes." Did she know that about him?

"And you liked to be watched."

She said it in such a sophisticated, matter-of-fact way that Abby was inspired to do likewise. "It arouses me, yes. I cannot deny it."

"Ah, you are the perfect match for each other."

Abby smiled. She hadn't thought about it that way, but it was true. Zac caught her glance, and smiled back. Her heart melted.

Gabrielle bent down to move Abby's shoes and as she did she did she caught the curtain, pulling it open so that Zac had more of a view. "We will let him see," she said as she straightened up. "But he will think that I don't know."

Gabrielle stepped in front of Abby, who was now naked but for her lace panties, and her eyes filled with mischief.

Abby looked again, and saw a brooding prince in the chair, the man who called to her essential womanhood. He looked at her with possessive eyes. 'I want you' he mouthed.

'I want you too,' she mouthed back. It was so true. She couldn't deny it, or him. Despite her doubts, he hadn't done anything to harm her. He'd brought her only good things and happiness. Now they were here, and this weekend was about them. Her heart was full of him and her core ached to be so too.

Lifting a large powder puff from a nearby shelf, Gabrielle dipped it into a shell like box and proceeded to dust Abby's breasts, waist and hips with a fine coating of talc. "You must do this before you dress in this outfit. It will make you comfortable and it will be easier to take the outfit off at the end of the evening."

The light touch of the puff maddened Abby's naked skin. Her breasts tingled, her nipples crinkling into peaks, her skin racing.

Zac shifted in his chair, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"The outfit, is it for a private event, or a party?"

"It's for a private event."

"A de Vere's fetish party, perhaps?"

Zac had mentioned that name while they were relaxing on a riverboat cruise along the Seine, earlier that afternoon. Abby nodded. "You are either very good at guessing, or you are psychic."

"The event is held once a month, and it's tonight, it was easy to guess." Her laughter tinkled around them. "I go to the event myself."

"You will be there tonight?"

Gabrielle nodded as she helped Abby step into the skirt and swished it up and over her hips.

Abby smiled, pleased that she would know someone else there.

"It's a sexy time, and I get to see people enjoying my designs."

"You designed these clothes yourself?"

"Many of these outfits, yes. Some of them I have imported to suit the particular fetish of my clients."

She unfolded the corset around Abby and shifted into place. "Bend and drop your breasts into the molded leather cups."

Abby did so, her head turning to watch Zac in the mirror. He was riveted.

"Oh yes, a beautiful fit." Gabrielle stroked her hand over the supple material enclosing Abby's waistline, making eye contact with her in the mirror. "This is one I designed, and it is lovely to see it on so suitable a client."

"It's an amazing design."

Gabrielle was pleased with her remark, a hint of color rising on her cheeks. "It is perfect for you. Do you have heels?"

Abby nodded.

"Good, and you must wear your hair up on the crown, spilling down."

"I should be thinner," Abby said, looking at her breasts squeezing up between the flame tips with a sense of misgiving.

Gabrielle's slim eyebrows lifted in alarm. "Oh no, a corset looks best on a woman who is shapely." She began to tug in the laces, her arms flying, her concentration fully on the job.

Abby's breath caught in her throat as the leather tightened into a vice-like grip. She breathed high and shallow, then got used to the strange tightness and breathed easier.

"You are just right," she added, as she tied the laces. "As the leather warms it will fit closer still, like a second skin. The corseting will apply pressure to your womb and to your breasts. It is very arousing, yes?"

"Yes," Abby murmured as she wavered slightly, heady from the odd but stimulating sensations the article had on her.

Gabrielle pulled the curtain fully aside and gestured for Abby to step out. As she did, she found that everything she needed to know was written on Zac's face. Awe, desire, love and pride.

"It was made for you," he murmured, eyes shining.

She nodded, noting the bulge in his jeans. She glanced at Gabrielle. "I've got one question."

"Yes?"

"How do I put it on, without you to assist me?"

Gabrielle glanced at Zac with amusement. "Your lover will be there to help you. I'm sure he can manage a few laces."

Zac smiled his wolf-smile. "We may never reach the party."

Inside a heartbeat, Gabrielle responded. "That's why you must start early, and with plenty of champagne."

* * * *

Zac lifted Abby's jacket from her shoulders and handed it to a hovering doorman.

"
Amusez-vous bien
," the man said as he gestured down the hallway and into the crowded area beyond.

They emerged into a club zone, which was already humid despite the air conditioning. The atmosphere was charged. Energizing industrial dance music and beneath it the buzz of chattering voices filled the room. A background lightshow spangled the place in alternating pools of color. The dance floor was thronging with scantily clad partygoers. A mezzanine bar swept up on one side, overhanging the floor at one end, like something from a sci-fi movie.

"Oh look," said Abby, laughing, "it's a yellow brick road."

Zac followed her nod and saw the path paved with yellow bricks that led up to the mezzanine level. "Nice touch," he agreed. He tucked his arm around her waist, drawing her up for a kiss. The leather cinched her so perfectly, he wanted to keep his hands on her, stroke her outline through the soft yet rigid containment. "Are you ready to party?"

Her eyes sparkled, assuring him that she was indeed ready. "Yes, but tell me quickly, who is the guy rushing this way as if to talk to you?"

Zac smiled to himself. She was so canny. "Jacques de Vere, the owner. He also owns the biggest alternative venue in Paris. I flagged up that I'd be interested in working with him, maybe using the new club as an overflow or associated venue, just to get it started."

Jacques, a lean type with short spiked and bleached hair, had made his way through the crowd and put his hand on Zac's shoulder in greeting, glancing over Abby with interest. "Zac,
bienvenu
. I'm so glad you could be here with us tonight." He was dressed in black leather jeans and a tight transparent shirt that revealed his nipples were pierced. While he talked to them, he still moved with the dance music, at one with his party.

"
Belle, tres belle
," he said when Zac introduced Abby. He lifted her hand and breathed against her inner wrist, as if scenting her out. He growled, baring his teeth.

Abby chuckled. His animalistic charm seemed to make her glow. Zac also noticed that she looked regal with her hair spilling down, her leather corset and skirt outlining her figure so dramatically.

"Please, allow me to show you around the play rooms." He carved a path through the dance floor and led them on a circuit through adjacent rooms, some smaller, some just as large. In one a bevy of half dressed women gossiped, eyeing them as they walked through.

"The play rooms will be more active later," Jacques explained. "People like to relax first, dance, have a few drinks."

Much like any other party
, Zac thought to himself.

Some rooms were well lit, others were dark caves with walls of black, soft furnishings and ecstatic moans emerging from the hollowed recesses. Zac tried to gauge which appealed to Abby and saw her looking with interest at a room with mirrors and oddly placed chairs. It was lit with hazy purple light.

Jacques turned to them. "We don't allow any photographers or press, so you are free to relax and enjoy the surroundings without concern."

The last space they entered was adjacent to the first, and boasted a large Jacuzzi with a poolside bar. Several partygoers were swimming naked whilst watching the dance floor beyond.

Jacques gestured at the bar and joined them for a round of tequila slammers. He told the barman they were complimentary guests for the evening, then left them.

"Let's dance," Abby said, as soon as he'd gone.

Zac held her close against him in the crowd, and when she danced she moved like a sexy cat, sidling in and out of his arms, her body so seductive in its movements.

After a while she locked her arms around his neck and nodded over to one side, to where Jacques was chatting with guests. "I can't help teasing you over this, but I thought you weren't letting business intrude on this weekend."

She looked at him with a half smile and a curious glance.

"We aren't. This is for you, really. I found out about his side interests when I was doing research on potential audiences. He seems willing to work with me, so I took advantage of the situation by expressing curiosity about his exclusive events."