Cirque Du Minuit Read online

  “Unlike you, I don’t plan to die young. I want to live a long time. Have children and grandchildren, and leave behind a legacy.”

  “You think I won’t leave a legacy, girl?” His nose was almost touching hers. Their bodies were aligned, skin to skin. “You, at least, will remember me until you die.”

  Kelsey could barely breathe. He was doing it again, bespelling her, terrifying her with his power to control her, to turn her on. Even now, she felt an overwhelming attraction to him. Not just to his looks, or his body. It was more than that. It was a heated, tingling pulse in her pelvis, a tightening in her breasts, a craving for his domination.

  “Yes, I’ll remember you,” she said, pushing him away. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. Anyway,”--she held up the cigarettes--“thanks for doing this. Even though I only give it, I don’t know...about twelve hours before you give up and start smoking again.”

  “You’re wrong,” he said in a sharp, abrupt voice. “I never give up. Once I decide to do something, I don’t look back.”

  For a weird moment, Kelsey wasn’t sure if he was talking about the smoking--or about her.

  “So,” he said, in another abrupt mood change. “Put on something sexy. For a nightclub.”

  Kelsey blinked. “Wh--What?”

  “You told me you wanted to go to the Citadel. Tonight, we go. We’ll just check it out. We won’t stay too late.”

  Kelsey had no idea what “staying too late” might lead to, or why Theo imagined she would just drop everything after a day like today and go to the Citadel with him. Theo scratched his head when she hesitated. “You don’t have to come. But you will wonder until you know.”

  Which was true, damn it. “But why tonight?” Kelsey asked. “Why right now?”

  “Because tonight Lemaitre will be there. Which means everyone will be there.” Theo ran his eyes over her from head to toes and back again. “And you should be too.”

  Chapter Eight: Citadel

  Theo sorted through her things until he found appropriately tight and sexy black clothing. A tissue top. A sweet short skirt with textured ruching. And of course, all gymnasts had leggings. He discovered she had ten pairs in black.

  Once she was dressed, they set out together. The club was near the residences, undoubtedly by design. It was safer for the performers to stumble home on foot than to risk getting behind the wheel. Theo was in a black shirt too, and dark jeans. As usual, he dressed to exude a combination of sensuality and menace. He had to uphold his reputation. Some of the other performers passed them on the way, gawking. A tumbler he knew, and a couple of trainers holding hands. Lesbians. They looked at Theo and then Kelsey, perhaps gauging if they were a couple. Kelsey was new blood in this game. She just didn’t realize it yet.

  Silly girl. She traipsed down the sidewalk beside him, oblivious to the stares. “So what exactly goes on at this place?” she asked.

  Theo studied her. Even dressed in tight, sexy black clothes, she screamed of fresh innocence. He shrugged. “The typical stuff that goes on at nightclubs. You’ve been to a nightclub before, haven’t you?” At Kelsey’s negative answer, he rolled his eyes. “Well, let’s see. Vampirism. Cannibalism. Human sacrifice and necrophilia.”

  “Theo!”

  He chuckled and took her hand. God, he took her hand. What was he doing? He squeezed it and let it go. “It’s dark there. Loud music. Alcohol. Dancing. In some of the private rooms people make out and have sex. Now and again there are...play scenes.”

  “Play scenes of what?”

  Theo didn’t want to shock her, but she’d see it soon enough. “There are S&M scenes. Like you might see in a dungeon or fetish club.”

  “I’ve never been to a dungeon or fetish club,” she said, sounding bleak. “I won’t be expected to do any of this stuff, will I?”

  “No.”

  “Will you do any of it?”

  Theo took her hand again. “Would it bother you if I did?”

  “You have done it, haven’t you?”

  Theo nodded. “Many times. Me and Minya...” He stopped. “Well. It’s just another form of performance. Many find it a welcome release. Perhaps, one day, you will too.”

  She shook her head hard, and Theo stifled a smile. His strait-laced little vixen would deny it until the end of time, but he knew her desires. He’d felt her tremble under his fingers, her anxious, confused cravings like a drug to him in his jaded torpor. “Tonight...” He kissed her hand and let it go again. “Tonight we will only watch. Both of us. I won’t leave you to the wolves.”

  Kelsey shivered at his side, even though the night was warm. “There will be wolves there?” she joked.

  Theo chuckled. “At the Citadel, you never know.” He stretched out his arms, feeling a twinge of craving he knew would grow as the night went on. He’d smoked three final cigarettes earlier in the evening, thinking of her. One for how he’d wronged her, one for how he’d hurt her. One for how he loved her.

  Theo could have quit anytime. He was smoking less than he had in years, preoccupied with Kelsey and their new act. He’d already been down to half a pack a day. But to quit altogether seemed a good gesture of apology. She would find it impressive, important. And he really would quit. Those last three cigarettes would be his last three for life.

  “Ugh,” he growled. “It’s a perfect night to smoke.”

  She looked up at him with an adorable expression of concern. Let her believe he suffered. It served his purposes.

  “They have nicotine patches, you know. To help with quitting.”

  Theo waved her off. “Patches are for pussies. When I quit, I quit. I’ll survive.”

  “You’ve quit before?” she asked with a tinge of accusation.

  “No. I never had a reason to quit before. Never had an obnoxious American complaining about the way I smell, and telling me I’ll die young.”

  Kelsey scoffed. “You’ll live to be a hundred just to spite me, and I’ll probably kick off at thirty-five.”

  Theo stopped outside the nondescript club entrance. A couple of bouncers patted down each arrival, thumbing the approved guests inside. Kelsey flinched as one of them groped over her shirt and ass. Theo couldn’t fault the guy for feeling her up, but he gave him a look that warned him off trying a second time. They were admitted through the heavy steel door into a dark, cramped hallway. The music was so loud in the club the walls seemed to pulse. When they reached the end of the hall, Theo threw the door open and the music hit both of them like a physical wave. Kelsey fell back, but Theo pushed her forward.

  “Here.” He patted her shoulder to get her attention and handed her a pair of foam earplugs from his pocket. He showed her how to twist them and shove them down securely. If she was going to be an aerialist, she needed to protect her inner ears.

  Even with the plugs in, the music was loud, the pounding beats resonating in his stomach, his hands, his balls. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and fabricated smog, and blinking spinning lights caught in the cast of ever-changing shadows. Kelsey sidled closer to him, her eyes wide, taking it all in.

  The main area of the club was dominated by a bar that ran the length of the room. A few curtained booths and tables dotted the walls, filled with people drinking and yelling over the music.

  There was a raised platform on the opposite side, full of writhing, jumping dancers. Beside the platform, a spiral staircase rose to a balcony, and behind the staircase, a hall led to private rooms that Theo knew were furnished with couches, suspension hooks, and dungeon equipment. He’d already scoped out this city’s version of the Citadel. But tonight, Lemaitre would be here.

  He wasn’t here yet. The resonance wasn’t right. People were too relaxed, too drunk. When Lemaitre arrived there would be more tension, more sensuality. More hedonism. Theo planned to have Kelsey good and tipsy by then.

  He led her to the bar and urged her to get a drink. Like the residences and the cafeteria food, the drinks were covered. Theo ordered a beer and Kelsey did
too. He suspected she just didn’t know what else to order. He would bet his life she’d never been drunk in all her twenty-four years. She grimaced as she took her first swig. Strike that. He would bet his life she’d never even had a drink.

  He downed his beer, then downed hers and took her to the bar for something sweeter. He had the bartender mix a powerful but tasty concoction they called Citadel Tea. Like Long Island Tea, only a lot more potent. Theo would only let her have one, but it would take the edge off her nervousness and help her have a little fun. She started to loosen up after just a few sips. He dragged her out onto the dance floor, and she smiled up at him, dancing, drinking.

  People crowded in around them and he danced close with her, grinding on her, enjoying the feel of her tight, shapely body, all her muscles alive under his hands. The green, red, and blue lights played in the highlights of her blonde hair, reflecting with a strange brightness. Soon she’d drained her drink and hopped up on the platform without any urging from him. Still the driving, shrieking beats went on. This wasn’t music for listening to. This was music for losing your mind.

  Theo stayed down on the floor and watched, nursing a third beer. He couldn’t drink any more, even if the nicotine urges were starting to hound him. He had to be sober enough to look after her.

  Even now, he could see other men, other dominants he recognized, sizing her up. If she’d come with him, they would know her for what she was...a submissive female. And her alluring naïveté and vulnerability--well, that spoke for itself. Her anxious smile, her laughter, her awkwardness. It charmed and slaughtered him at the same time. She might as well have “gullible target” tattooed across her forehead. And because of that, he wouldn’t get drunk.

  Damn. Golden Boy was here. Wayne pushed past Theo to climb up on the platform. Kelsey greeted him, throwing her arms around him in a huge hug. They started to dance, caught up in the press of bodies. Theo watched a while, noting every one of Wayne’s flirtations, every seductive touch.

  A friend from one of Theo’s previous shows clapped him on the shoulder and he turned, glad for the distraction. Let Wayne have his shot at Kelsey. Theo wasn’t threatened by his wholesome California charm. He already knew that wasn’t Kelsey’s cup of tea.

  Theo moved to a quieter corner to chat with Hovik, an Armenian best known for creating breathtaking balancing acts. As it turned out, Hovik had made the unusual move into dance. Dance acts weren’t common, but Theo could see Lemaitre commissioning an especially erotic one for Cirque du Minuit. He became engrossed in Hovik’s description of the developing act and his sexy Russian partner, Svetlana, who was apparently already in one of the private rooms. With a start, Theo realized he hadn’t checked on Kelsey in ten or fifteen minutes. A scan of the platform told him she was gone.

  He made some quick apologies to Hovik and frantically searched the room. Theo would kill Wayne if he’d taken her to one of the back rooms. He started for the hallway only to glance over and locate Kelsey’s towhead at the bar. Jesus, she’d ordered another Citadel Tea, and had already downed a good part of it. It wasn’t exactly the drink to use for thirst-quenching purposes.

  When he reached her side, he took it away. “Slow down there. You weigh what? A hundred-ten soaking wet?”

  “What does that matter?” Kelsey laughed, grabbing it back.

  “Let me explain to you about metabolizing alcohol.”

  Wayne butted into their conversation, greeting Theo like they were old friends.

  “Hey, guy. Settled into the house yet?”

  Theo gave him a look meant to freeze. “Yeah, guy. I’m settling in okay. Thanks.” Theo turned back to Kelsey to find her draining the rest of her potent cocktail. “Okay, enough,” he said. “No more alcohol for a while.” God, he’d wanted her buzzing, not passed out.

  “It tastes good, Theo,” she said brightly. “I’ve only tasted a few drinks here and there, but I never really liked them. This tastes kind of like...” She sucked on one of the ice cubes. “Party punch.”

  Oh my God. Party punch. He’d brought a woman with the social age of twelve to the Citadel. He deserved everything he got.

  “Let’s go sit down a while,” he said. “Let that drink settle.”

  They went over to one of the tables. Theo sat in a deep chair and Kelsey collapsed on top of him, curling up like a kitten. She blatantly rubbed her ass against his crotch. Oh great, she was one of those drunk girls. He needed a fucking cigarette. He let himself get hard, ground against her as he watched the dancers. After a few minutes, Kelsey turned in his lap until she was straddling him. Out of the corner of his eye, Theo saw Wayne watching them. Theo put a hand on the back of Kelsey’s neck and kissed her. A real fervent, hot kiss. The other hand slid down to her ass, guiding her erotic movements. Silly little drunk girl. She wouldn’t remember any of this tomorrow.

  Theo didn’t care. He kissed her, on and on, and thrust a hand up her shirt to squeeze her breasts. She was so lovely, so delicious. He lost himself in her, feeling drunk even though he wasn’t. Then he became aware of a stillness in the deafeningly loud room. Lemaitre had arrived.

  When Theo broke the kiss to scan the room, Kelsey turned too. Lemaitre was in fetish gear--a latex shirt and leather chaps. He had his two striking male pets on a leash at his feet. Already, clothes were coming off. The frenetic dancing of moments before turned into a more sinuous slide of movement. Lemaitre scanned his domain, his staff, his performers.

  “Look who’s here,” Kelsey marveled. “Wow, he looks incredible.”

  He did. Woman or man, gay or straight, you would have to be blind not to admire him. A bartender approached him with a drink on a tray, a wicked beer shot Lemaitre preferred called an Irish Car Bomb.

  Without warning, Kelsey was on her feet and reeling Lemaitre’s way. Theo watched in horror as she almost tripped over one of his pets. The blond stud shot her an aggrieved look, but Lemaitre greeted her with a smile as she stumbled into his arms. Lemaitre righted her and they exchanged a few words while the music pounded on and Theo’s heart galloped in his chest.

  Well, he’d told her she’d have to make an impression on Lemaitre. She was making an impression all right. Theo was debating whether to go rescue her and call even more attention to her when Lemaitre dropped the shot in his Car Bomb and offered it to her.

  “Kelsey, no!” Theo stalked over but it was too late. At Lemaitre’s urging she was pounding the drink. Thank God she only got halfway through before the disgusting taste registered with her. Theo glared at Lemaitre as he took Kelsey’s arm.

  “I see you have brought out your new ingenue for our pleasure,” Lemaitre said to him in French with a true smile. “She is delightful.”

  “She is drunk,” Theo corrected over the pounding music. “But she seems to have taken to le Citadel.”

  “They all take to le Citadel,” Lemaitre mused. Kelsey still stared at him in drunken wonder. “You will have to bring her back again another night. Bring her into the back room. Have you trained her at all?”

  Theo frowned. “Not precisely. We’re easing into it.”

  “She is a handful, no?” Now Kelsey was patting one of Lemaitre’s blond toys on the head as if they were really pets. A curious crowd gathered around them. Theo glared at Kelsey, willing her to stop. No one touched Lemaitre’s pets, ever. At least not until now. Oh, God, now she was scratching the other guy behind the ears.

  “Eh bien, Theo. Go enjoy your little girl. Next time, perhaps, do not let her drink so much.” With a comic raise of his eyebrows, Lemaitre nudged Kelsey away from his charges and proceeded past them on the way to his own private space. Theo yanked Kelsey over by the wall.

  “You are so drunk.” He shook his head at her when she tried to snake her hands around his neck. “And that Bomb you pounded isn’t going to sit well with the cocktails you drank earlier.”

  Kelsey rolled her eyes. “Again, you should have told me this. You never tell me anyshing-- any--” She stumbled over the word. “Anything I really ne
ed to know.”

  “Bravo,” Theo yelled over the music. “Finally, my English is better than yours. Here’s what you need to know. You don’t mix beer and spirits. You don’t pet Lemaitre’s boys. And you’re lucky the only thing he asked of you was to share his drink.”

  “It tassted nasssty,” slurred Kelsey. “And it’s not really sitting right with me.”

  She gripped her stomach and Theo steered her toward the bathrooms. He barreled into the men’s room with her since the line was shorter, and since gender was never a big sticking point at the Cirque. The revelers within took one look at Kelsey’s green face and gave up the next stall. Kelsey looked at Theo with pleading eyes. “I feel really, really sick.”

  “I know,” he said. “I’ll hold your hair for you.”

  “I can’t be sick in front of you.” She shook her head. “Please--leave--” That was all she could get out before her body took over. He couldn’t even hear the sound of her being sick over the blare of the music. But she was definitely sick. Really sick.

  Poor thing.

  *** *** ***

  The first thing Kelsey thought when she woke up was, This is not my bed. This is not my room.

  The second thing she thought was, Oh God, please let me die.

  Her head ached so bad--a throbbing, knifing pain in her brain. Her mouth felt too dry to swallow. Everything hurt, even her skin. She saw a dark blur in the dim room and then Theo was there, leaning over the bed, brushing her hair back from her face. It was a gentle touch but it still hurt. “Ouch,” she said, but it came out a dry, shapeless rasp. “Theo...”

  He shushed her and shoved a glass against her lips. She pushed it away in a panic. “No more. No.”

  “It’s just water.”

  She managed a sip or two before the tremors overcame her. She was so cold. Theo tucked the blankets closer around her and the softness of the sheets and the warmth almost made her cry. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Theo slid into the bed beside her. More soothing warmth, and a solid wall to rest against. She wanted to sleep but her head hurt too much. “I’m never drinking again.”