The Plume: The Second Anthology (12 page)

But where? And why?

Mike was prepared to drive to her parents’
place, or interrogate her sister, or force the truth from Louise.
He’d do whatever it took to get to the bottom of Joanna’s strange
evasiveness.

He was afraid he had spooked her by talking
about marriage. It had seemed natural to him at the time, an
obvious development of their relationship, but maybe he’d surprised
Joanna. Maybe she was having second thoughts.

All he had to do was talk to her, he was sure
of it. One conversation – maybe one brunch date at a restaurant
with a big coatroom – and everything could be sorted out.

Except that she wasn’t answering her
phone.

At all? Or was she just ducking him?

And now Rex was practically commanding Mike
to meet him. It was the last thing Mike needed.

He marched into the bar in the hotel Rex had
specified and looked for Rex. He was impatient and not too happy to
have come this far across town. Rex had better have a good reason
for this meeting. He saw Rex immediately, sitting in a booth on the
other side of the bar.

Rex even waved at him, which had to be a
first.

“This better be good,” Mike said as he slid
into the booth. He didn’t take off his jacket and he waved away the
server when she would have taken his order for a drink.

Rex was sipping what must be a Scotch. He
hadn’t taken off his jacket either and there was a small bag beside
him on the bench, like a camera bag or a piece of carry-on luggage.
Was Rex leaving town?

“What’s going on?” Mike asked.

Rex winced. “You know about the show, don’t
you?”

“The photography exhibit, right?” Mike
guessed and Rex nodded. “Isn’t that your dream come true?”

“Something like that.” Rex spoke into his
glass. “A hundred and twenty shots, framed in chrome and matted in
black, just the way I want them to be. A huge opening reception,
with all the glitterati in attendance, all masked as if they were
at the Plume.”

“It’ll be really something,” Mike
acknowledged, pleased for his old friend even in his impatience. He
resisted the urge to drum his fingertips. “You’ll be overwhelmed
with applications.”

“We already are.” Rex fell silent.

Mike cleared his throat. “What exactly does
this have to do with me? Especially right now?”

“Busy?”

“I’m trying to straighten something out with
Joanna.”

Rex looked up then, his eyes very green. “And
I’m trying to help you.”

Mike sat back, not sure what that was
supposed to mean. “I don’t understand.”

Rex put the bag on the table. “I’ve taken
about four hundred shots of Joanna. This is every back-up and every
copy of every file.” He tapped the top of it. “This bag holds every
copy of every image.”

Mike looked between the bag and his friend.
“And you’re giving them to me? Why?”

Rex nodded and sipped his drink. “It wasn’t
my plan. I made a deal with Joanna. She wanted to keep me from
including those images in the exhibition.”

Mike’s chest tightened.

Rex grimaced. “She didn’t know that Julius
demanded an additional waiver from every subject of every
photograph to be hung at the show, and I didn’t tell her.”

Mike understood with sudden clarity what had
upset Joanna. She’d made a deal to protect her privacy and Mike had
a very good idea – given that the deal was with Rex – just what
that deal had been. He could guess where she was and why and he
wasn’t impressed. He opened his mouth to tell off Rex for his
opportunism, but Rex held up a finger.

“Wait, before you say something we’ll both
regret.” Rex reached into the pocket of his jacket and removed a
room key with this hotel’s logo on it. “I couldn’t do it. I
couldn’t break her heart, not even to fulfil my fantasy.” He pushed
the key across the table to Mike. Mike stared at the key,
understanding what Rex was saying but having a hard time believing
it. “Room 2325. She’s there. She thinks I’m coming back but she’s
wrong. Take the bag with you.”

“Rex...”

Rex almost smiled. “She’s not going
anywhere.”

Mike looked across the bar, trying to wrap
his mind around the realization that Rex had tied Joanna up, and
left her for him.

“I’ve put another five hundred bucks on the
room for room service, and you don’t have to check out until noon
Sunday.” Rex threw back the rest of his drink and got to his feet.
“Just a gift between old friends.”

Mike got up, still surprised and uncertain.
This wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. He didn’t know what to
think. He understood why Joanna had made the choice she had, but he
wished she had talked to him. He wanted to be angry with Rex, but
Rex was doing him a favor. It was too much too fast.

“Don’t know what to say?” Rex teased.

Mike shoved a hand through his hair, then
smiled. “Thank you,” he said, hearing the emotion in his own
voice.

“Take care of her,” Rex said gruffly, then at
Mike’s nod, he strode away.

The bartender nodded at Rex, so the bill was
paid. Mike felt as if the weight of the world had fallen from his
shoulders. Joanna was all right. And she wasn’t angry with him. He
grabbed the bag and the room key, then strode from the bar with new
purpose.

It was going to be a really good weekend.

* * *

Joanna stiffened when she heard the door to
the hotel room open again. It closed quietly, but she heard the
deadbolt turn. She quivered, wondering what Rex had planned.

His footfalls weren’t as quiet this time, as
if he was in a hurry. He didn’t hang up his coat because she didn’t
hear the closet door. She heard something fall, maybe his coat
being tossed on the couch.

She heard him come into the room and catch
his breath. She felt his presence as he looked at her. She opened
her mouth, then closed it again, not wanting to antagonize him.

She felt the mattress dip as he sat down
beside her and trembled when his hand slid from the bow at her
waist to cup her breast. His thumb slid across the nipple, tempting
her body’s response.

“Rex really does know his way around forty or
fifty yards of ribbon, doesn’t he?” Mike said with admiration.

Joanna gasped. “Mike!”

“Alive and well and reporting for duty,” he
replied, amusement in his tone. He bent and kissed her, leaving her
breathless. “You really do get yourself into a bind sometimes,
don’t you?”

“It’s not funny! He has the pictures...”

Mike’s finger landed across her lips. “No.
I
have the pictures. All of them.”

Joanna exhaled in relief. “Really?”

“Really. He said he couldn’t hurt you, even
to have what he wanted.” Mike kissed her again and this time,
Joanna responded with more enthusiasm. “And here I thought I’d
spooked you by talking about marriage.”

“No!”

“No trouble with ties that bind,” Mike
teased, sliding his fingertip under a ribbon. Joanna wriggled,
wishing she could see him. She was sure his eyes were twinkling and
his hair would be tousled. Her heart pounded with love.

“None,” she said, emphatic.

“Best news I’ve heard all day.” Mike said. He
stood up then, because Joanna felt the mattress move once more. She
heard him walk around the bed, assessing. “We’ve got the room until
noon Sunday and a bunch of credit for room service. It might just
be enough to see you properly punished for not talking to me in the
first place.”

“But Mike, I...”

“Silence, sweetheart.” Mike’s tone was stern
and a bit rough, just the way Joanna liked it. She shivered in
delight. “I’m not ready to gag you yet and this room probably isn’t
as soundproofed as our dungeon.”

“Yes, Mike.” That sweet inevitability flooded
through Joanna, making her feel powerful even in her
helplessness.

“Now, struggle while I decide just what to do
to you first.”

Joanna writhed, fighting against the satin
strength of her bonds, already yearning to find out. “Mike, I love
you,” she whispered and he laughed.

“Naughty Joanna,” he whispered, his lips
close to her ear. “It’s going to take me a lifetime to punish you
for that.”

Joanna sighed contentment as he kissed her.
Then she moaned aloud as Mike’s hand closed over her aching sex.
She lifted her hips against his fingers and let her tongue tangle
with his, wanting more and more and more.

Forever.

* * *

Rex strode back into the Plume, in a bad
mood. Even though he knew he’d done the right thing for the right
reason, he felt cheated. He
wanted
, and he was afraid that
no one but Joanna would satisfy him.

He had the show he’d always wanted, but the
victory felt empty to him.

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t right.

He couldn’t even bring himself to choose
photographs for the exhibition.

Not tonight.

Rex found his steps turning toward the bar,
and the persistent thump of the music. Even this early, it was
getting busy, and Tony had a line of patrons waiting for
drinks.

The bartender took one look at Rex and
abandoned the line to pour Rex a double of his favorite single
malt. “Bad night?”

“Bad enough,” Rex said and turned away. He
sipped his drink, trying to find pleasure in the array of beautiful
bodies before him, in the masks and the color and the laughter. He
felt a presence beside him, knew from the perfume that it was
Athena, but wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“Sulking?” Athena asked lightly.

“Pretty much,” Rex admitted.

“Good.”

He turned to his partner in surprise and saw
that she wasn’t alone.

“That makes this the perfect time for a
surprise,” Athena said.

Rex stood straighter as he surveyed the
gorgeous woman who stood slightly behind Athena. She was petite and
more than a foot shorter than him, but had magnificent full
breasts. Her skin was golden and her areoles were so dark that they
were almost burgundy. Her hair was black and glossy, cut so short
that the style only emphasized her femininity. She was finely
boned, so delicate that his throat tightened, and she wore a black
mask edged in peacock feathers. Through the slits he could see the
gleam of her dark eyes.

The most remarkable thing, though, was that
she was naked. Or nearly so – she was painted, embellished with
patterns traced in gold, like tattoos. Her entire body was covered
in interlacing whorls of gleaming gold.

As if she was a gem, mounted in a setting.
She wore golden bracelets and anklets so thick that they could have
been manacles. Her fingernails and toenails were painted the same
burgundy as her lipstick, but those spirals of gleaming gold
fascinated him. Her feet were bare, which made her look even more
naked.

And she was watching him, a smile curving her
lips as he looked.

She was a visual feast, exactly the treat Rex
needed on this night.

This was what he understood. Pure eye candy.
Emotional engagement was not for Rex. It was the thrill of the
visuals that worked for him, and he needed to make his peace with
his own inclinations.

“This is Leya,” Athena said. “The Count sent
her.”

“Where is the Count anyway? I haven’t seen
him for a few days.”

“No idea,” Athena said, turning away. Her
tone was curt. “He disappears like that. You’ll get used to
it.”

“You had an interest in coming to the Plume?”
Rex asked Leya.

She smiled. “You could say that.” Her voice
was low and melodic.

“Leya is a specialist in Japanese binding
techniques.”

“Shibari?” Rex asked, his interest
doubling.

“I specialize in safe suspension,” Leya said,
her smile sending heat through Rex. “There is nothing like a
captive thoroughly bound in jute rope.”

Athena laughed. “You won’t have to make that
argument here. Rex likes to make tidy packages of his slaves.”

“To give them as gifts?” Leya asked with a
smile. “Or to savor them yourself?”

“Both.”

“So do I,” Leya admitted and Rex felt a heady
sharpening of interest and awareness that he hadn’t felt in a
while. She watched him, smiled secretly, then looked at Athena.

Rex stared at her, awed by the visual display
she made.

Then something clicked in his mind. He
remembered the reputation of a shibari master, one whose work had
been extensively photographed.

Although she herself had not been.

“You’re not from Osaka, are you?” he asked
with excitement. “Not that Leya?”

Leya smiled up at him. “
That
Leya.”

“The Count suggested that Leya’s techniques
might offer some new stimulation to the membership. He introduced
us online and I invited her to come.” Her eyes narrowed slightly.
“Of course, the final decision is up to you.”

“It’s a good idea,” Rex said. “You’re welcome
to look through the member files, and choose an assistant...”

Leya shook her head. “No need. I’ve chosen my
new slave.”

He had time to wonder who she would choose
from the dance floor, or whether she desired Athena before she
drove her fingertip into his chest.

“You.” She smiled, her eyes gleaming with
anticipation. “I’ll hang the great master of the Plume helpless
right in front of everyone.”

Rex’s mind nearly snapped at the notion. Him?
Helpless? Bound by this small, gorgeous woman?

Leya ran a proprietary hand down his chest
and lowered her voice to a purr. “Don’t worry, Rex - there won’t be
a thing you can do about it.”

And from the glint of determination in her
eyes, Rex was sure of that.

* * *

Exhibition

One

Come Incognito...

To a V.I.P. Preview and Reception for