Cirque Du Minuit (Cirque Masters 1)

Jason put out a hand to halt her speech. “I don’t want to be the person who made you doubt yourself. Look, Kels. I know you can do this. You can do any fucking thing you want because you’re strong and you’re smart. It’s actually good to try your hand at a lot of things when you get into the Cirque.”

“So...” Kelsey said. “It’s only Theo you disapprove of.”

Jason looked down at his lap and thought for a moment. “Okay, listen. I’m just going to come out and say this. There are things that go on inside the Cirque you have no idea about. And you don’t...” He looked up at Kelsey in entreaty. “You don’t have to get involved in them. A lot of people don’t, and go on to have perfectly successful careers.”

Kelsey was confused. “What are you talking about? What kind of ‘things?’”

“Parties, private events.” He swallowed and looked her square in the face. “Wild sex stuff. There are clubs the performers go to in the various towns. They’re all called le Citadel. There’s one here, there’s one in Vegas, there’s one in New York and L.A., there’s one in Moscow and Bucharest. There’s already one in Marseille, open and active.”

“Does Mr. Lemaitre know about all these sex clubs?”

“Kelsey, they’re his clubs. He’s the proponent of all this. He chooses performers who attract him, or performers he senses will be open to it…”

Kelsey thought about the funny feeling she’d gotten at the meeting, when Lemaitre seemed to be sizing her up somehow. Maybe he hadn’t been sizing her up as a performer. Maybe he’d been sizing her up for this. She didn’t know if that flattered or disturbed her. “I always thought there was something freaky about him.”

“Something freaky?” repeated Jason. “I'll put it this way. Michel Lemaitre will stick his dick in anything that moves. You wouldn’t believe what goes on at the parties and club nights.”

“And Theo goes?”

Jason seemed to consider his words for a moment. “Theo comes very close to being Lemaitre’s right hand man. There’s a reason Michel is sending him to Marseille, above and beyond you and the act. Some of Lemaitre’s favorite...pets...are slated to be in the new show.”

Kelsey let all of it sink in. It was upsetting, but beyond that...there was the shock. “He... Theo... What do you mean, right hand man? Does he have sex with Lemaitre’s pets?”

Jason snorted. “Your Theo is another one who will fuck anything that moves, as long as it’s female. However, no one touches Lemaitre’s pets, not sexually. Not unless they’re invited to.”

Kelsey went hot and cold. Theo is another one who will fuck anything that moves. She’d had unprotected sex with him less than a week ago. She could never have revealed that to Jason, but a hot flush of panic rose in her cheeks. God, she could have any disease now. Why had she trusted him? Why had she assumed he wouldn’t lie? It was hard to keep her facial features composed, and her throat felt really tight.

“So...but... These ‘pets’ you’re talking about. They’re people, right? Not...real animals?”

Jason’s somber face finally cracked into a small smile. “Yeah, they’re people. Lemaitre’s a pervert, but he doesn’t swing quite that wide on the perversion scale. Lemaitre’s current favored pets are a pair of handsome acrobats from St. Petersburg. White blond like yourself.” Jason reached out and handled a dangling lock of her hair. “There are others, of course, always. Men and women. All ages, all types. Whoever catches his fancy and is willing to submit to his whims.”

Submit to his whims. She thought of Theo choking her, subduing her, locking her hands in the silks. “So all this...this activity that goes on at these Citadels, it’s dominance and submission stuff?”

Jason’s eyes widened slightly. “You know about D/s?”

Her blush, by now, had probably deepened to epic proportions. “I know a little. Yeah.”

“From Theo? He said he hadn’t taken you to the Citadel.”

“You talked to Theo?”

“A couple days ago,” Jason said. “I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. But I wanted to tell him to protect you from all the Citadel stuff. I thought you were too straight and innocent. But you and him...?”

The moment was excruciating. Kelsey didn’t know how to explain any of it, but another part of her realized Jason already knew.

“I don’t trust him,” she said. She felt ashamed, gullible. “Believe me, I’m going to protect myself.”

“He’s stronger than you,” Jason said bluntly. “You think you can protect yourself, but you can’t. He’s a master of manipulation. From what I gather, you’re already along for the ride.” He took her hand in an impulsive grasp. “You can still say no to all this. I’ll stand by you if you want to extricate yourself from the situation. You can stay here, stay and replace Marisol. Continue with the acrobat act.”

“The thing is...” Kelsey curled her hand uncomfortably in his. The thing is, it’s too late to save me. The thing is, I want to go to the Citadel and see what that’s all about.

The thing is, I want to submit to Theo.

I already have.

Kelsey cleared her throat. “The thing is, I really feel like I want this challenge right now. I mean, it’s not like...”

She was going to say, “It’s not like this will kill me,” and then she thought of Minya, and her heart thumped hard in her chest. But that was only an accident. A trapeze accident that could have happened to anyone.

Kelsey looked at her coach, at his earnest blue eyes, and wondered just how much safety she was leaving behind. He seemed to relent then, accept that he would not be able to change her choice.

“Okay, Kelsey. I just wanted you to understand. Forewarned is forearmed.”

When he stood abruptly to go, she stopped him. “How do you know about all this?”

She saw a cloak of dissemblance fall over his face. He wasn’t going to tell her the truth. “I’m one of the coaches here. It’s my job to know.”

“You go to the Citadel.” She could see it in his expression. “Were you one of Lemaitre’s pets once? Are you now?”

Jason’s face twisted into a tight smile. “Hardly. You’ve got me on the wrong team.”

Kelsey felt a spark of ir

ritation. “So you came to warn me off something--someone--who’s just like you?”

Her irritation was answered by Jason’s own pique. “Oh, no. Never say he’s like me. I would have protected you at the Citadel. He won’t. If you take one thing away from our conversation today, let it be this: Theo Zamora only looks out for one person--himself.”

Kelsey saw her coach in a whole new light. Yes, she saw the same dominance, the same capability she saw in Theo, only in Jason it was tightly leashed. But what if she’d known? What if he’d known? “Would you have wanted to look out for me at the Citadel?” She asked it even though it had her flushing hot again.

Jason turned toward the door, blowing out his breath. “It’s a little late for that now. But no, I try to avoid getting entangled with performers I’m supposed to be helping. Too much potential for disaster.”

With those words, Jason turned back and clasped her close. His hair brushed across her cheek. “I can’t look out for you as well in Marseille. But I’m always here, a phone call away. Be careful, Kelsey.”

With those heartfelt words, Jason Beck walked out her door.

Chapter Six: Marseille

Theo came banging on her door at eight in the morning.

He and the hirsute, silent driver helped her carry her four boxes and three suitcases down the stairs to the trunk of the Cirque-owned passenger van. She couldn’t help noticing Theo had packed much less than her. One big suitcase and some books thrown in a wicker basket. When she looked at him, he shrugged.

“What about all the stuff at your house? Your furniture? Your car?” she asked.

“If I need it I’ll send for it. And the car belongs to the Cirque.” Again, the careless shrug. He winced a little and rubbed his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. All trapeze artists have bad shoulders. Maybe you can massage it while we’re on the road.”