Revealed (2 page)

He pretended to be absorbed in an examination of the seams and the quality of the leather. “I’m impressed. They’re beautiful. The best I’ve ever seen.”

“Irresistible,” Athena said, giving one boot a little caress with her fingertips. “Soft as butter, but strong.” She leaned on the desk, giving him a view of her cleavage. “And you ducked the question.”

“She loves it,” he lied. It was the lie Michelle told him, after all, and the theory was that he believed her. Rex understood people too well for that. “Who wouldn’t?”

“And how is fatherhood suiting you?” Athena’s eyes were dancing wickedly, as if she’d read his thoughts. “Never mind always dining from the same dish.”

Trust her to figure out the truth.

And to be unashamed to needle him about it.

“We’re talking about Windswept here,” Rex said, trying to be stern.

Athena laughed. “Which would be why I’m talking about sex.” She eyed him, so obviously waiting for a confession Rex knew he had to say something.

Maybe Athena wanted to be convinced that her own decision to not have kids was the right one. It
was
the right one for her, and he could reassure her about that.

He put the harness down and pretended to make a reluctant confession. “Okay. Trevor is amazing, but it’s great to get away and actually sleep the whole night through.”

His partner, sadly, wasn’t fooled. “Don’t give me that shit, Rex. You’ve never slept a full eight hours in your life, and you’re too pumped about the launch to be sleeping with her.” He might have argued, just for the sake of his pride, but she glared at him. “I hear you pacing.”

Athena threw herself back in her chair and sipped her latte, her expression pure devilry. “Maybe I should ask the real question,” she purred. “How’s the sex?”

He gave her a look that should have shut her up.

Being Athena, she didn’t. “Just what I thought. There isn’t any.” She shuddered, then sipped, her confidence making Rex resent how well she knew him.

Better than Michelle did, apparently.

Or maybe they were just lying to each other.

That realization sent a pang through him and made him wonder for the thousandth time whether his partnership with Michelle was doomed.

Then he felt like a disloyal rat for even having such a thought.

Meanwhile Athena watched him, probably not missing a thing. “You aren’t cut out for monogamy, Rex, let alone abstinence.”

“I made a promise,” he insisted.

“And it’s going to kill you.”

“It’s the principle…”

“Fuck principle. Know thyself and all that.” She finished her coffee triumphantly. “I, on the other hand, have promised nothing and am absurdly happy. There’s a principle for you.”

“And Julian knows?”

“Julian likes the spice. It’s not as if he doesn’t know what I do.”

There was that.

“The man is no starry-eyed innocent, expecting true love and happily ever after.” She came back to his side, absently picking up the harness. She was unusually sober when she spoke. “The thing is that if it was just the two of us, all cozy couple, it would have been over ages ago. I actually think he likes it this way. I know I do.” Athena smiled and shook her head in reminiscence. “I nearly killed him when I was interviewing stable hands, grooms and servers for Windswept. What’s not to love about that?”

“Nothing,” Rex acknowledged, his voice tight.

Athena flicked him a look. “Let me guess: you delegated all quality control for Escape?”

Rex grit his teeth because he had. “Volunteering to run more than Windswept?”

She gave a little shiver. “I have to say, Rex, the place is working for me. All that Gothic splendor perched on a cliff, filled with luscious servants, all willing to be used at a moment’s notice? Never mind the stables. I might have to visit regularly to check out the horses. Isn’t this incredible?” She indicated a boot that would rise to the knee and was fastened with ten silver buckles up the outside of the leg. There was a brace in it to make the wearer walk on the ball of his or her feet, and a silver horseshoe on the underside of the toe. The human foot would look more like a horse foot in this boot and the print it left would be remarkably similar to one left by a horse. The leather was black as night and as smooth as butter.

Rex was sure there were guys who would get hard at just the sight of these boots. He wasn’t even into the pony scene and he found them alluring. Athena was right: they were too perfect
not
to be ordered for The Phoenix, regardless of the cost. “So, the human pony fantasy just got more expensive.”

“And they’ll be gorgeous.” She tapped on the invoice. “Remember when you’re pricing that the boots have to be made custom for each pony.”

“They could take them home afterward.”

Athena shook her head. “Forget it. Some jerk will copy them and sell cheap repros online. No, I paid for an exclusive and modified the design to make it better.” Her eyes took on a familiar glint. “These are
ours
.”

Rex thought about it for a moment. “That’s not to say they won’t get more use. I have to believe that anyone into this scene would come back for more.”

“Absolutely.” Athena snapped her fingers. “Maybe we should sell timeshares. Get your annual fix and all that.”

They laughed together, but it wasn’t a bad idea. Rex made a note. “I’ll look at the math. They might want that fix more than annually.”

“If they could afford it.”

“There are probably some who would sell their souls for that.”

Athena winced. “We don’t get a good exchange rate on souls, though. Cash is better.” They shared a smile over an old joke before she shook her head. “It’s amazing how many we have who want to be ponies. Did you see that I’ve got teams booked through the end of the year?”

Rex nodded. “Never mind mistress and lord of the manor.”

“Maids and butlers and thieves in the night.”

“Windswept is going amortize within two years.”

“How about Escape?”

“It’ll be even faster, given the linked vanilla resort and the lower associated costs with the island itself.”

“Stroke of brilliance, there,” Athena said with a nod at Rex. “Tease the happy couples with the possibility of games, have fresh eye candy in the bar, find new clients and sell lots of merchandise. It works beautifully.”

Rex had bought an existing couples-only vacation resort in the Caribbean with a long stretch of beach, then built a private BDSM club next door. Those at the main resort could shop in the store featuring Plume gear, or could visit the neighboring bar for a little vicarious thrill. They could also sign up for more, and a surprisingly high percentage had done so.

He’d also bought an undeveloped island just offshore: close enough to see from that beach but too far for swimming, especially with the fierce current.

“Finally, everything is arranged for the smaller island,” Rex said. “I’m going to book the first fantasy there.”

Athena clicked through the pictures. “Forty acres of impenetrable jungle, surrounded by perfect beach.”

“A little rustic for you,” he teased.

“Absolutely. Not so much as a rough cabin, no escape and no chance of being saved by anyone.” Athena shivered elaborately. “Sounds primal.”

“And ideal for our first fantasy.” Rex smiled as Athena gave him an enquiring glance. “She wants to be hunted.”

“And probably caught.” Athena shook her head. “I prefer the urban jungle, ideally with room service, but there you go. It’s not
all
about me.”

The front door bell rang. Rex looked at his watch as Athena got up to close the office door. It was still before nine. Still, a murmur of voices carried from the hall beyond. “Rick will deal with it,” Athena said, returning to her chair.

She’d barely spoken than there was a rap on the door.

“A young woman to see you both,” Rick said after Athena replied to him. Although her fair-haired manservant was impassive, his disapproval was more than clear. It was a gift of British staff, in Rex’s opinion, to convey emotion with no apparent expression at all. “She’s quite insistent…”

“I am, because I’m right,” a woman said, appearing beside Rick. She stepped past him, even as he turned to block her path. “You need me, Rex,” she said, speaking directly to Rex.

Rex was startled that she knew his name and that he was at Athena’s house. Not only was the new arrival gorgeous, but she was audacious. Her dark raincoat didn’t hide the slender curves of her figure. Dark wavy hair hung past her shoulders, perhaps more curly due to the rain. She was resolute, her blue eyes filled with conviction, yet she exuded a vulnerability that twisted Rex’s guts. That mix of sweetness and bravado was always dangerous for him.

Maybe he
wasn’t
made for monogamy.

He certainly wasn’t made for celibacy.

“I am sorry, madam…” Rick apologized, pulling the door to the office closed. His voice became stern. “You, miss, will have to leave…”

The new arrival didn’t move, but instead raised her voice. “Your computer systems are shit, Rex!” she called and ice closed around his heart. “You’ll get hacked, taken down, and The Phoenix will end up trashed, just like The Plume.” There was a sound of a scuffle, as Rick forcibly ushered her to the door. “I build firewalls!” she shouted. “Good ones!”

Rex exchanged a look with Athena, who looked as shocked as he felt.

“We hired those experts,” she began quietly.

“How does she know who you are, what you do and where you live?” Rex replied just as quietly. “How does she know my name and that I’m here?”

Athena’s eyes widened and she got up, spinning toward the door in one fluid movement. “Rick! A moment, if you please. We would like to talk to our caller.”

“Of course, madam.”

Rex couldn’t see Rick but his disapproval had become audible.

“Please bring tea.”

The sound of Rick’s sharp inhalation was almost enough to make Rex smile.

Then he didn’t care. The woman appeared in the doorway again, her eyes shining that she was being given a chance. She was wet from the rain, Rex saw now, her shoes soaked through. She looked both tired and determined, that little edge of desperation enough to make his mouth go dry. She stepped into the room, fumbling with the clasp on her laptop bag, and he realized there was something faintly familiar about her.

Athena was watching him the way a cat watches a canary.

“Do I know you?” he asked and the new arrival smiled quickly.

“No, but you know my older sister, Joanna.”

Never mind the twist in his guts that could have been a knife. Rex had been smitten with Joanna since high school. He’d begun to train her as a submissive, only to have her fall in love with Mike and leave Rex. She and Mike had married just after The Plume had been destroyed, and apparently
were
made for monogamy.

He’d checked.

“And you are?” Athena asked, her tone glacial.

“Amy. My degree is in computer science. I need a job, and you need someone better at protecting your data than whoever you’ve got.” She lifted her chin. “It’s a match made in heaven. You need to hire me today.”

Athena’s eyes narrowed slightly. She was too much of a dominatrix to take well to being told what to do. At her changed posture, Amy took a step back and cast her gaze downward.

Submissive but defiant. Rex liked that.

More than was good for him.

There was nothing more rewarding than training an audacious sex slave to perfect compliance. He hadn’t done it in a while, and was more than ready to do it again. Michelle was beautiful and he loved her, but she was so compliant that he feared sometimes she was disinterested.

Instead of passionately fascinated with the nuances of BDSM like he was.

“I’m not sure that we’re interested in hiring someone fresh out of school,” Athena said smoothly.

“Maybe you should be,” Amy replied. Her voice rose a little as she spoke, as if she knew instinctively that she was pushing too hard. It had been a while since Rex had seen a submissive fight her instincts so hard. “I know what happens at your clubs. I’m not
that
innocent.” She swallowed and blushed a little bit, just enough to send a jolt of desire through Rex. “Mike’s friend Eric trained me as his submissive,” she admitted, almost as if she’d guessed Rex’s thoughts. She shrugged with a casualness that seemed forced. “I’ve been there and done that.”

Her confession gave Rex a mental image that was impossible to shake. He remembered Eric well, and not just because his need to dominate completely had gotten the other man expelled from The Plume. The other man had bound his subs thoroughly, even excessively, and there had been something raw and exciting about the result—when the victim in question was excited by it. It was a distinction important to Rex, but less important to Eric.

Still, he was enticed by the idea of Amy roughly bound like that.

In fact, he had a difficult time shaking the mental image.

“Are you still with him?” Athena asked, her voice soft.

“I got bored with his rituals.” Amy’s lips set. “I want to explore more.”