Beyond Eden (48 page)
He eyed Circe, who was dressed to impress, looking extra dangerous this evening wearing a red corset and black leather miniskirt. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, her makeup dark and forbidding. Her high heels put her almost eye level with him and she used that to her advantage as she turned to look at Paul reprovingly.
“I’m not dying to please you, Circey.” Paul laughed in amusement, shaking off her look of disappointment easily. “But I will say that you look lovely this evening.”
Circe pouted, sticking out a full, red bottom lip. “Rebellion doesn’t suit you,” she said sullenly. “But you look sweet. The suit makes me want to corrupt you.”
“Okay,” Paul said, reaching out to push Circe away. “Aren’t there other slaves to torment in this gallery?”
“You’re more fun,” Circe said, letting her eyes roll lazily to one of the paintings hanging on the wall behind them. “Look at all the people here. Thanks to Eve you two are like little deviant celebrities. If I can get you to do a demonstration at the club, I’ll be independently wealthy.”
“You’re already independently wealthy,” Danny said as he arched a dark eyebrow at her. “All this money has made you greedy.”
“It’ll be fabulous. I’ll advertise for weeks. Sinners everywhere will come to see you.”
“Others exist to amuse me, not the other way around,” Danny said dryly. “I’m not performing for you. Find someone else to do a single-tailed whip presentation. I’m not the only one who knows how to use one.”
“Yes, but you’re the prettiest,” Circe said huskily, eyeing Danny, who was wearing a pair of tight leather pants and a long, black poet’s shirt. “If I advertise you two being
there the whipping will just be the icing on the cake.” She turned to Paul, letting her eyes run over him appraisingly once more. “Of course, the suit has to go.”
Paul laughed. “Of course.”
“I know you want to make me happy,” Circe said in a husky voice as she stared at Paul keenly. “You’d show off all those pretty muscles for me, wouldn’t you? Tell Danny you’re dying to be beaten for my pleasure.”
“Don’t you have a slave of your own?” Danny asked, turning around to scan the room. “Where’s your husband? I’m going to tell him you’re getting into trouble.”
“He married me because I’m trouble,” she said with a laugh. “He loves it. He lives to please me.”
“That’s a job that’s never done,” Danny said tiredly. “I’m not saying yes—go find trouble somewhere else.”
“Where’s Eve?” Circe pouted and then raised her eyebrows when she spotted Eve talking with a large group of admirers across the room. “Ah, lovely, pets are sweeter than slaves. I’m done with you, Paul, you’re dead to me.”
“Sure I am,” Paul said with a shake of his head as he watched Circe glide across the room in four-inch heels. “We need to try and find some normal friends.”
“Normal is overrated,” Danny said with a shrug. “You know she’s going to pester Evie into making us do that stupid demonstration.”
Paul considered that and then admitted, “I really don’t mind doing the demonstration.”
“I don’t either, actually,” Danny said, but turned to give Paul a devious smile. “But I figure a few more glasses of wine and I can get Circe on her knees.”
“That’d be terrible. Everyone who is anyone is here. They’ll talk about it for weeks.” “I’m definitely doing it now,” Danny said with an evil laugh. “Watch me.”
Paul gave him a mischievous smile. “I’ll look forward to it. Watching you be evil is one of my favorite things.”
Danny reached out, cupping Paul’s chin possessively, and then stared down at him with dark eyes that swirled with hunger. He leaned down and kissed him lightly and then whispered against his lips, “I love you.”
“Okay, whatever, I love you too,” Paul said, pushing him away playfully. He didn’t really care about Danny kissing him. They were standing in a gallery featuring art of the two of them doing worse things than kissing, but he could tell when Danny had had one too many. “But no more wine or
you’re
going to be on your knees.”
“Nah, I’m just buzzing nicely.” Danny took another drink of wine pointedly, and then raised his eyebrows as Eve made a beeline toward them. “Told ya.”
Paul snorted as he watched Eve walk across the marble floor of the art gallery. She was wearing her black leather with her rainbow scarves tied into her long, thick pigtails. The only difference in her attire from the first time he’d seen her wear leather was that the collar around her neck was decorated with genuine rubies, sapphires and
emeralds. It was a three-year anniversary gift Danny had bought her and she rarely took it off. If made no difference if she was going to the movies, a club or an art exhibit, she wore it proudly. Eve had turned out to be far more deviant and rebellious than Danny or Paul could ever be.
“Please do the damn demonstration for Circe.” Eve stopped in front of them and brushed at the fine red hairs that had escaped her pigtails off her forehead in annoyance. “She is driving me crazy.”
“No, I’m not agreeing to that,” Danny said lazily as he stared down at Eve with a glowing look of possessiveness and love. “Not even if she begs me.”
“You’re being a pain in the ass,” Eve said with a frown as she stared up at Danny. “Are you drunk?”
“Yes,” Paul said with a laugh. “He wants to make her drop to her knees.”
Eve winced. “Oh, Danny Boy, that’s awful. She’ll never live that down. Don’t do that to her.”
“Sometimes I’m awful,” Danny said with a dark smile. “All work and no play makes Danny a dull boy. Allow me my amusements where I find them.”
“All work and no play?” Eve repeated skeptically. “You work at a coffeehouse two days a week. You don’t exactly have your nose to the grindstone.”
“True,” Danny admitted with a reluctant shrug. “Like Circe, I’ve found handsome slaves and pretty pets who keep me in the style to which I’ve become accustomed.”
Eve laughed. “You like being a kept man?”
“Sure,” Danny said as he gave her a smile. “I do laundry and everything.”
“That’s true,” she admitted as she turned to Paul and eyed him. “Are you going to keep him out of trouble? I need to get back to what I was doing.”
“Easier said than done,” Paul said as he smiled at Eve endearingly. “But for you, I’ll find a way.”
“Thank you.” Eve leaned up on her toes, putting her hands on Paul’s shoulders and placing a long, lingering kiss on his lips. “I love you.”
“Love you too,” he whispered against her lips. “Are you selling anything?”
“Why, yes, I am,” Eve said with a naughty smile as she pulled away from him. “Keep this one out of trouble for a few more hours and I’ll be taking both of you to Paris to perform for my amusement in a penthouse suite.”
Paul raised his eyebrows in surprise. “That good?”
“That good,” she said with a wide, excited smile. “I’m being serious, you know, I really want to take you to Paris. You know I love it there.”
“Sounds fun to me,” Paul said softly as he admired the way Eve’s face glowed in excitement. “Maybe you can bat eyelashes at my boss to get me the time off.”
“No problem, your boss loves me,” Eve said, her eyes wide as she stared up at him in amusement, making it obvious she was harboring a secret. She put her hands to her mouth and giggled, “Carl bought one of the paintings.”
Paul gaped at her in horror when he realized she was being serious, his boss really had bought one of Eve’s paintings. “Tell me it wasn’t one of me.”
“No, it was one of Danny,” she said with a laugh. “You really can tell which way someone swings by what painting they buy. You are most certainly not the only slave who ended up a lawyer.”
“Very true,” Paul agreed with a sigh. “Carl is not going to own a picture of Danny Boy, that is horrifying. This is what I get for using Circe as a connection to get a job. Does it really make a difference that I’m making three times more money than I did in Tampa if I have to look at my boss every day and know he owns a half-naked picture of my boyfriend?”
“You really can’t blame Carl.” Danny shrugged lazily. “I am dead sexy. What slave wouldn’t want to own a picture of me?”
“Oh God,” Eve said with another laugh. “Really, Danny Boy, don’t drink any more.
I wanted to celebrate tonight.”
“I’ll be fine,” Danny assured her as his gaze ran over her hungrily. “We’ll celebrate.”
“He won’t drink any more,” Paul assured her. “I’m proud of you. I want to celebrate too. I’ll keep him in line. I promise.”
Eve smiled, her green eyes full of adoration as she stared up at Paul lovingly. “I believe you—always.”
A freckle-faced redhead born and raised in Hawaii, Kele Moon has always been a bit of a sore thumb and has come to enjoy the novelty of it. She thrives on pushing the envelope and finding ways to make the impossible work in her story telling. With a mad passion for romance, she adores the art of falling in love. The only rules she believes in is that, in love, there are no rules and true love knows no bounds.
So obsessed is she with the beauty of romance and the novelty of creating it, she’s lost in her own wonder world most of the time. Thankfully she married her own dark, handsome, brooding hero who has infinite patience for her airy ways and attempts to keep her grounded. When she leaves her keys in the refrigerator or her cell phone in the oven, he’s usually there to save her from herself. The two of them now reside in Florida with their three beautiful children, who make their lives both fun and challenging in equal parts—they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Kele welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her
author bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
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