Black Light: Roulette Rematch
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We Will NOT Lose
Elijah
Black Light West
Tuesday Afternoon, February 2nd
“I have some bad news,” Tyler reported the minute Elijah Keaton walked in the office of Black Light West.
Of course, he does. That’s the only kind of news these days.
“I haven’t taken my coat off yet,” Elijah groused, noticing a new stack of paperwork on his desk that hadn’t been there when he’d left late the night before.
“Sorry, I wasn’t aware your ears didn’t work with your coat on.”
On a good day, Elijah actually appreciated the good-natured bantering he shared with his right-hand man, Tyler Darden.
Today was not that day.
Life wouldn’t be good again until the day after Valentine’s Day. Twelve days. That’s all the time they had left.
I can’t fucking lose to Spencer Cook. Not again.
Already exhausted and his day was just beginning. Elijah threw his leather jacket over the pile of boxes lining the wall under a huge whiteboard before collapsing into his desk chair. He lurched to his left as the seat tipped sideways, reminding him that the chair was just one more item on his long list of things that needed to be repaired in the BDSM club.
Setting the pile of papers aside, he reached for the keyboard to sign-in as he asked, “How bad is it?”
Tyler’s cheery, “We’ve had worse,” helped keep his blood pressure down long enough to login.
“Lay it on me.”
“The one and only gay dom we had sign up for Roulette is backing out. Says he has some business trip or some other bullshit. We have a long waiting list of gay submissives, but we’re short on gay doms.”
Okay, all things considered, this wasn’t the end of the world. With the huge popularity of the event, he was sure he could con another dominant into participating.
“Go through the membership files. See if you can find anyone identifying as bi-sexual and dominant. Maybe we can find someone new to approach that way.”
“Will do. Oh, and Madison called. She’s gonna be late.”
That was worse news.
“Dammit, we’re so fucking behind! Against my better judgement I gave in and gave everyone yesterday off, but why the hell is the parking lot empty? This is a workday.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, but I suspect it’s only because you don’t want me to fire your ass.”
Tyler grinned, chuckling. “I’m not worried about that. You need me too much for Roulette.”
While his second-in-command was right, Elijah also noted, “Roulette ends on the fourteenth. You hoping to be employed on the fifteenth?”
“Jeez, you can’t even take a joke. You’re a real dick to be around lately.”
Elijah countered, “At least I only get this way for a few weeks in February. How’d you like to work for Spencer? He’s like this year-round.”
“True facts. I talked to Owen over the weekend. He says half the DMs are ready to string him up.”
Elijah let his imagination run wild, picturing his counterpart, Spencer Cook, trussed to the St. Andrew’s Cross at Black Light East with his dungeon monitors whipping him. Now that would be a scene he’d pay good money to see.
“Well, if everyone doesn’t step it up around here, I may do my own stringing up. No one’s taking how behind we are seriously,” Elijah complained.
“We aren’t that far behind where we were last year.” Tyler walked to the closet to start pulling boxes down from the shelf.
“Let me remind you. We fucking lost the bet last year. What the hell are you doing, now? We need to go through our to-do list and prioritize.”
Elijah could barely hear Tyler’s response from deep inside the walk-in closet. “I’m pulling down the roulette wheel supplies and the signage. Remember, we were going to go through the kink list and order the new signs so we get them in time.”
Shit. He was right.
Once Tyler was done in the closet, Elijah hit him up with his next question. “When the hell is Jaxson gonna tell us who he picked to do the judging this year? Have you heard anything about who they are looking at?”
A lot of their fate in the competition was going to rest in the hands of random judges that his bosses, the owners, chose to do the judging.
When Tyler didn’t answer, Elijah sighed, looking up to find Tyler glaring at him with concern instead.
“What?” Elijah prodded, clearly missing something.
“He sent us an email with the judging details three days ago. Didn’t you read it?”
Fuck. No.
Reaching for his mouse, he dug into his email, looking for the missing email while making what was becoming his go-to lame excuse, “I’ve been a little busy.”
He almost had to ask Tyler to forward the mail before finally finding it in his trash folder. Not only had he not read it, but he’d somehow managed to delete one of the most important emails he’d been waiting for.
Double fuck.
Elijah quickly scanned the brief message, hoping he wouldn’t hate the judges that Jaxson had picked.
“Shit. So, the overall winners from East last year are coming here to judge us and Jax picked Jack Tanner and his sub from last year’s competition here at West to go out East. Not sure how I feel about this. I was hoping he’d have Cash or maybe Covington judge this year. Either of them would be a friendly for us.”
“Yeah, well Chase told me they wanted to keep things as even as possible so having previous roulette pairs flip flopping clubs helped keep things even.”
“What the hell do we know about this guy, Elliott Wallace? Master Elliott?”
“I pumped Chase for what he knew. He didn’t say much, just that the guy is really into fire play and is a pretty experienced Dom.”
Elijah couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. He switched gears. “When was the last time we saw Jack Tanner in the club?”
He didn’t like the sour look on Tyler’s face. “I don’t remember, which isn’t good.”
Elijah agreed. He didn’t even have to voice his next thought because Tyler had already pulled his phone out of his pocket, adding, “I’m texting him now. Inviting him to come in next weekend cuz we miss him.”
“Don’t lay it on too thick,” he warned, knowing the private investigator wasn’t stupid. He was gonna figure out they were gonna try to woo his support in his upcoming voting.
He changed the subject, “Did the construction crew get here on time today?”
He had to wait for Tyler to put his phone away and answer. “They were here when I got here.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
Tyler looked away sheepishly. “How the fuck would I know? I only got here about twenty minutes before you did.”
Rather than saying something he’d regret, Elijah stomped out of the office, headed out to inspect the two construction projects they had underway.
First stop, the theater. He was relieved to hear the pounding underway right up until the minute he walked into the small space.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Sure, they’d needed better seating for the Roulette pairing ceremony, but what the hell had he done? The room was gutted. Completely and wholly empty. The only thing remaining in the previously elegant theater were piles of rubble from the torn-up walls and flooring. Even the drop ceiling had been removed, exposing plumbing and electrical pipes.
“Who’s in charge here?” he called out to the three men working.
No one spoke up. Not a good sign.
“You,” he pointed at the nearest guy holding a sledgehammer. “Where’s Oliver?”
The guy just shrugged his shoulders and kept tearing up the far wall.
Elijah walked out of the noisy space to the empty bar area before calling the owner of the construction company. After five rings, the call went to voicemail.
“Hey, this is Elijah Keaton over at Black Light and I need you to call me right away. Your crew is completely demolishing the theater. This is not what we discussed. I’ll remind you that we have our biggest event of the year the night of Valentine’s Day and we must have the theater in perfect condition. Call me.”
He had no more than hung up when his phone rang. He answered it on the first ring. “Talk to me.”
“Hey, I’m running late, but I’ll be there soon.” It was Avery, the club chef.
“Christ, not you too. Everyone’s late.”
“Sorry, but we normally have Tuesdays off. I had a hair appointment.”
“Fine but bring down the menu and purchasing orders as soon as you get here. I want to go through everything to make sure we have it all ordered.”
“Relax, this isn’t my first rodeo you know.”
He hung up. He didn’t want to talk about hairdos and rodeos, dammit.
The ping of an incoming text came as he was halfway to the sauna at the back of the club.
It was a text from Madison: On my way. Do you want me to pick up anything on the way?
Elijah tapped out a quick reply: Punctual ppl.
Madison replied almost instantly with a brief: Ouch.
Groaning, Elijah tried to text while he stomped through the curtain to the play area: Gt ur ass here or u’ll have smthng 2 cry bout.
Madison’s next text was so damn sassy he could practically hear her voice: Your texts are getting worse. See you soon.
Despite complaints from his employees, his texts were just fine, and as he tucked his phone away Elijah met the sauna repair guy coming around the pool.
“Get it fixed?” he asked expectantly.
“I wish. The fan’s motor is burned up. I’m gonna have to see if I have a replacement in my storeroom. If not, I may need to order one from the manufacturer.”
Fucking great.
“How much is that gonna set us back?”
“Depends. You have a pretty old system. I think the manufacturer is in the EU. Could take a few weeks.”
“Bullshit. We gotta have the sauna working by Valentine’s Day at the latest. It’s one of the…” He cut off his sentence. The contractor wasn’t a member, and although he’d signed the standard NDA before being allowed in the top secret BDSM club, he didn’t need to know the details. “Just get it fixed before then.”
“I’ll know more when I get back to my shop. Call you later.”
After the guy left, Elijah stood in the middle of the empty club, glancing around at the place that now felt like home rather than work. As hard as he tried to tell himself that the bet he’d made with Spencer wasn’t that important in the wide spectrum of life, he couldn’t push down his anxiety. Not only was he competitive, but he couldn’t stand the thought of another year of staff meetings where the asshole in D.C. snuck in digs and insults over their win the year before.
We won’t lose. Not again.
***
Two hours later and things had gone from bad to worse. While his key employees had all shown up eventually, their arrival had only brought one piece of bad news after another until Elijah’s head throbbed.
“Hey, can you pass over the first-aid kit?” he asked Madison who was sitting at Tyler’s desk in the office.
“You hurt yourself?” she asked, concern showing in her wrinkled brow.
“Only with bad news. I have a headache.”
“Like, you need to chill out. Everything will turn out fine. It always does.”
Opening the newest email to hit his inbox, Elijah wasn’t so sure. “Dominic just quit.”
“Dominic? Who’s… Oh, the guy that dresses like Jack Sparrow?” Madison asked in a tone much too lively to suit him.
“Yes, Dominic who runs our costume department. The guy who is a mission critical member of the team for Roulette. And does he give two weeks’ notice? No! The asshole is leaving for another gig on Friday. Zero notice. Fuck my life.”
“Hey, at least you have his assistant, Annie. I’m sure she can handle it.“
“We’re gonna have fifteen couples. That’s the potential for forty-five wardrobe or costume needs in a fucking three-hour period. Annie can’t handle half of that on her own.”
“So… you have tons of connections in town. I’m sure you can get another costume design person from one of the studios to help out.”
“In less than two weeks? On Valentine’s Day? That passes all of the background checks?” Elijah’s voice got louder with each question until he ended on a shout that made his head pound harder.
Madison tried to placate him. “Fine, let me make some calls. I’ll sort it out, but…”
Elijah used the last swig of his now-warm soda to down two pain killers before pinning Madison with his best glare.
“But what?”
“I don’t want to tell you unless you promise to stay calm.”
“How about I promise not to throttle you?”
“I guess that could work. It’s just…”
“Spit it out.”
“The commemorative glasses we ordered are on backorder. They may not get here in time.” When Elijah stood frozen, taking in the bad news, she added a happy, “If it makes you feel any better, the ones for Runway are late too.”
“Where. Did. You. Order. From?” he ground out. He’d warned her. She better not say….
“I know you told me not to, but like the price difference was just too great.” She paused, stopping short until his dominant glare spurred her to add, “I ordered from the company in China.”
“Madison!”
The petite Runway manager jumped, apologizing. “I’m sorry! I’ve used this distributor many times. I’ve never had any problems before. I don’t know what went wrong.”
“I went wrong. The universe doesn’t want me to beat Cook this year. That’s the only explanation for all the bullshit going wrong at the same time around here.”
Susie, his head bartender, had arrived, but hadn’t noticed until she plunked a tall amber liquid in front of him.
“Drink. You need it,” she grumbled.
Tyler added, “Yeah, think of it as medicine. If not for you, for the rest of us.”
“Ha, ha. I don’t need booze. I need…”
As one, the rest of the employees added in unison, “To beat Black Light East.”
“Yes. And not just beat them. Trounce them. Have the best couples. Hottest kinks. Most spectators. Highest profit. Most bids on silent auction items!”
He was yelling and he didn’t even care. If that’s what it took to get their attention, so be it. “What is everyone looking at me like that for? Haven’t you ever seen a man losing his shit before?”
They all looked around until finally Madison spoke softly. “Eh… please tell me that you’re handling the silent auction.”
“What do you mean, me? I didn’t handle…” Elijah’s heart almost thumped out of his chest. “You took care of that last year.”
“I handled them after they all started coming in, sure. I even made a few calls to get some more donations, but you handled the invitations to donate last year. I’m sure of it.”
Elijah’s mind raced. Had he sent the email? If it was on his list, he had. He shuffled a bunch of papers around on his desk until he dug out the legal pad with his to-do list on it.
Whew. ‘Send silent auction invite’ was on the list and crossed off.
“I already sent it out. It’s crossed off my list.”
Everyone except Madison let out a sigh of relief. “So, why haven’t I gotten any emails or mail on it yet? You were going to send that out a month ago before we even started the sign-up process. Who did you tell them to reach out to?”
That was a very good question. Elijah sat in his chair, pulling up his email. “Okay, I sent it out on…”
Elijah searched his SENT folder, but couldn’t find the email. Almost panicking, he remembered he’d used the newsletter mail service to email all of the members. Switching over to that app, he went to the SENT folder again.
Don’t panic. It has to be here.
He checked the DRAFT folder next and it was empty. What the fuck?
Then his gaze landed on the big bright red banner across the top of the screen.
ERROR MESSAGE: There was an error performing the send operation.
His heart thumped faster as he clicked on the error.
The campaign wasn’t sent because you added special characters such as a backslash or quotation mark at the start of the campaign name. Remove any special characters from the start of the name and click Send Campaign.
Elijah dropped his head into his hands, elbows on the desk. He wanted to scream, to throttle someone, only there was no one to blame for this one but himself.
I’m a dumbass.
Madison’s soft touch on his arm as she looked over his shoulder at his computer screen calmed him slightly. The pain meds hadn’t kicked in yet and for a brief moment he thought his head might explode, and honestly, how he felt in that moment, that might be okay with him. He was used to the back pain and knee pain. But this… it was too much.
“Don’t worry about it. Let us work on the list for a while while you go upstairs and lay down in one of the rooms,” she offered.
“I don’t need to lay down,” he mumbled.
Susie shoved the bourbon under his face. “Then take your medicine.”
“I’m not drinking.”
Tyler was farther away, standing with the other dungeon monitors, when he offered up, “I think you need to get laid is what I think. Hell, if I thought it would help, I’d offer to suck you off. Take one for the team and all.”
Despite the heavy weight on his shoulders, Tyler’s smartass remark made him chuckle. Elijah finally looked up to give his second-in-command shit.
“Wouldn’t you be in trouble if I took you up on that offer?”
Tyler’s eyes grew wide before finally bursting out laughing with the rest of the gang gathered around the crowded office.
He was their leader. It was time he started acting like it.
“Okay, first, while I’m not gonna get mushy, I am gonna say I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a sonuvabitch to be around lately, but in case you haven’t noticed, I really want us to win this year. Not only have I had to put up with Cook’s gloating all year, but more importantly, I’m so proud of what we’ve created here at Black Light West, and we deserve to win. I feel lucky every day when I come in and get to work with all of you, helping to give our members the private space they deserve to live out their sexual fantasies.”
Elijah paused. He hadn’t planned on making an inspirational speech, especially with a growing migraine. But he was reminded that they’d been through so much together in the last year since almost losing their good friend, Nalani. All he could do was speak from the heart.
“You’ve all become an unlikely family to me, and as much as I do want us to win Roulette this year, it can’t come at the cost of our relationships with each other. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. Madison, Tyler, and I are gonna regroup on our action item list and then we’re all gonna chip in and divide and conquer. We have a lot of things going wrong, but we are all smart, resourceful people and if anyone can pull it together, it’s us. Together.”
The raucous cheers that erupted in the small space pierced his headache like an ice pick, but Elijah didn’t complain. He was part of a team—a team that had each other’s backs. They’d work their asses off to solve all of the problems they could, and Valentine’s Day would arrive, regardless. If they won, fantastic. But… if they didn’t, they’d still succeed as long as their members had fun and they all stuck together.
Elijah’s shoulders relaxed as he made peace with the challenge ahead.
“Now, let’s get back to work. I’m gonna order in food, and everyone feel free to pour a drink on the house if it will help.”
There’s no ‘I’ in Team
Madison
Runway West
February 14th, 5:45pm
As Madison smoothed out the thigh-high leather boots she’d purchased for Roulette, she pulled in another deep breath, counting to ten before she let it out slowly.
“Stop worrying. You ace the MC gig every year, babe,” Trevor said, grinning over at her from the chair as his gaze slid down her body. “And you look so damn good doing it.”
“You haven’t been under General Elijah’s thumb for the last month,” she replied, rolling her eyes as she turned in front of the full-length mirror, making sure everything looked perfect before she stepped in front of the massive audience Roulette always brought. “You’d be stressed too if you knew how crazy he’s been.”
“You’ve told me all about it.” Chuckling, Trevor pushed himself out of the chair and moved to stand behind her in the mirror. A moment later his hands were on her shoulders, thumbs digging into the knots of tension that felt like a permanent fixture in her muscles. “I think I have an idea.”
“Oh my God that feels amazing,” Madison groaned, eyes closing as his strong hands worked magic.
“Keep making noises like that and I’m going to make you late for Roulette,” Trevor threatened playfully, his voice a delicious growl against her ear that had her contemplating how quickly she could get out of all the leather she’d put on.
Nope. Elijah will totally kill me.
“Don’t tease me right now, please? Tonight has to go, like… perfect. More than perfect. We have to win, and I can’t get distracted or I’m going to totally screw it up somehow.” Shrugging out of the tempting massage, Madison stepped closer to the mirror to check her make-up one more time. She’d put her blonde hair in another high ponytail, wearing a leather corset that showed off her curves, lifted the girls high on her chest, and it matched the leather skirt she’d found like a dream.
Well, she hadn’t found it. Dominic had.
Then Dominic quit, which was just one of a hundred things that had gone wrong in the last few weeks. Elijah felt like the universe was working against them, and while Madison always tried to keep a positive attitude — even she had to admit it seemed plausible.
But they’d come together, worked hard to fix as much as they could, and even though everything wasn’t perfect… they could still win.
“Earth to Madison,” Trevor said, waving his hand in front of her face, and she jerked back.
“What?”
“I asked you if you were ready to head downstairs,” he answered, chuckling and looking too damn handsome with that sly grin on his face. “You do realize that stressing about this shit isn’t going to make the night go any better, right?”
“You pestering me isn’t going to make it any better either!” she snapped and immediately wished she hadn’t. Madison only got a brief glimpse of the wicked flash on Trevor’s face before he caught her around the waist and bent her over. The leather skirt was already short, but Trevor flipped it up onto her back anyway just before he landed the first blistering smack of his palm.
“I know you’re stressed, babe,” he began, delivering another hard swat to her other ass cheek. “But I am not responsible for this shit.”
“I know, but—” Another hard spank cracked against her skin, drawing a whine through her clenched teeth as he repeated it again, and again, and again. “Trevor!”
“That’s not what you call me when you’re a naughty girl,” he said through a laugh, delivering another series of fiery swats to her ass that made her struggle against his hold. He just adjusted his grip, shifting her off balance, which forced her to brace her hands on the wall beside the mirror so she didn’t topple in the high-heeled boots. “Come on, babe, you know what to say.”
“This isn’t helping, SIR!” Madison shouted, but his laugh just rolled out again as he landed another quick series of searing smacks. Her ass was on fire, and she fought the urge to chew all of her lipstick off as she tried to bite back the whines as the pain amplified.
“I’m waiting,” he taunted her, slowing down the pace as he evened out the handprints she was sure he was leaving behind. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear, but something inside her just wouldn’t budge.
“And I’m supposed to be downstairs as Mistress Madison, but someone—” She didn’t even get the chance to finish the sentence before he focused an agonizing set of swats directly on her sitspot. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she tried to wiggle out of his grip, to lessen the burning ache, but Trevor was nothing but hard muscle, and a lot bigger.
“First of all, babe, you’re never going to be Mistress Madison with me. I’m not into getting my ass lit up like this, but you definitely are.” Pushing her thong aside, Trevor plunged two fingers deep, sending her onto her toes with a gasp that ended on a hushed moan. “And whether you think this isn’t helping or not, I’m not letting you go downstairs until I hear what I want to hear… even if that means Elijah himself has to come check on you and find you bent over with a red ass.”
Heat flushed her face at the idea of Elijah walking in on her like this. Sure, there was a BDSM club a few stories under her very stylish boots, and she was about to MC the most intense kink event of the year… but Elijah was still her coworker.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she mumbled, groaning when Trevor pulled his fingers free and spanked her again.
“Want to try that again?”
“I’m sorry, sir!” Madison shouted, whining as she tried to stand upright again and Trevor just leaned into her, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.
“For?” he prompted, and she could hear the damn charming smile in his voice.
“For snapping at you and like… everything else. All the stuff I’ve been doing. Just can we please go downstairs, sir?” she begged, definitely not feeling like Mistress Madison, but then Trevor’s fingers found her clit and all her thoughts went out the window.
“Good girl,” Trevor praised, winding her up with each delirious circle between her thighs. “You like this?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Want more?” he asked with that low rumbling edge to his tone that would have made her wet if she wasn’t already soaking his fingers.
“Yes, please! Please, sir?” Madison shifted her hips, feeling the blur of pleasure winding with the subtle, burning ache that covered her entire ass. He was right, this was exactly what she’d needed. The pressure increased, driving her higher — and then it stopped.
“Then it sounds like you’re going to have to do a good job tonight, babe,” Trevor said as he let go of her, stepping back when she stood upright to stare at him in shock.
“You’re kidding me!”
Raising a finger in the air, Trevor grinned. “Tsk, tsk. Watch your tone.”
“Since when are you into edging me, sir?” Madison asked, knowing her tone was anything but respectful. Fortunately, Trevor just laughed.
“There are some perks to spending as much time around Ryder as I do working for Khloe.” Winking at her, Trevor tilted his chin toward the door of their room. “We better go downstairs. The sooner you get this show on the road, the sooner I can finish what I started.”
“You’re not going to let me come until after Roulette?” Pure disbelief filled her, but Trevor’s wicked grin confirmed it. “That’s so mean!”
“Think of it as… inspiration. You’ve been stressing for weeks over impressing Jaxson, Chase, and Emma, and Elijah, and whoever they sent over from the East Coast.” Stepping closer, he ran his hand over her ass, squeezing hard, which woke up the burn in her skin. “Now you’re going to be thinking about everything I’m going to do to you as soon as we’re back upstairs.”
Holy shit.
As much as she hated it, and as much as she absolutely needed to come… she had to admit he was right. With the lingering throb in her clit, her pussy soaking her underwear, and the simmering heat of her ass — all she could think about was Trevor.
“You know I’m right,” he added, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“I still don’t like it,” Madison whispered, and he chuckled.
“Next time don’t snap at me for something I’m not remotely responsible for.” Winking at her, Trevor let go of her chin to take her hand. “Come on, babe. If I don’t get you downstairs, Elijah will probably threaten to whip my ass.”
Maybe he should, Madison thought, but she was smart enough to keep that inside even though the idea had her smiling.
“What are you grinning about?” Trevor asked as he reached into his pocket to pull out their room key and Madison’s employee card before he let the door shut. Tucking them both back into his slacks, he tilted his head at her. “Well?”
“Nothing really. I do feel better though.”
“See? I’m the best boyfriend ever.” He laughed when she rolled her eyes, tugging her forward to land another smack on her ass through the skirt.
“We’re in the hall!” Madison whined, her cheeks burning again as they stopped beside the employee elevator.
“There’s no one out here, babe.” Trevor scanned her employee card on the reader before pressing the call button. “You think I’d ever embarrass you?”
“No,” she admitted, squeezing his hand. “And I’m definitely distracted from the chaos downstairs. For now, at least.”
“You just tell me if you need a refresher while we’re downstairs, and I’ll—”
“Oh my God! No!” Laughing, Madison stared up at Trevor. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”
“Why not? That’s what the club is for after all, and it wouldn’t be the first time I made you come down there.” His grin was positively devious, and she felt her anxiety rising until he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Look, if Elijah’s bullshit starts to get to you, just think about how many times I’m going to make you come as soon as I can get you out of all this leather.”
“Yep, definitely distracted,” she replied, feeling the tingling rush of raw arousal flooding up her chest in a wash of heat.
“That’s what I’m here for. Grade A arm candy and distractions.”
“Arm candy?” she repeated, laughing as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.
Trevor scanned her card again, pressing the unlabeled black button below the number one. “I know you’re only with me for my good looks.”
“Oh really.” Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. Trevor was always able to make her smile — it was one of the things she loved the most about him.
“Why else would you be with me?” he asked, and she knew he was just keeping her distracted from the insanity she was about to walk into.
Leaning up, she pressed a light kiss to his cheek, trying not to smudge her lipstick or leave a mark behind on his skin. “Well, other than the arm candy thing, I think we make a pretty awesome team.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Madison said with a smile. “Or, at least you have been pretty awesome these past few weeks while I’ve been crazy.”
“It’s a two-way street, babe. I couldn’t be awesome without you being awesome too.” Trevor squeezed her hand as the elevator slowed to a stop. “After all, there’s no ‘I’ in team, right?”
***
Black Light West
February 14th, 6:30pm
The mic check had taken longer than she’d hoped, but since the theater hadn’t even existed two weeks before, the fact that the sound system worked at all felt like an absolute win. The expansion of the theater was a smart move. Hopefully, it would mean the audience wasn’t so packed in like they had been in the last two years… but they wouldn’t know that until people started arriving.
Which will be any minute now.
Skimming through her notecards on the participants, Madison double-checked everything on the stage. Roulette wheels ready, popsicle sticks waiting for the dominants to choose their spin order, mic working, and so far, Elijah hadn’t had a nuclear meltdown. Not a bad way to kick off the night, but her stomach was still in knots.
Checking the little digital clock on the table, she felt the tension returning to her shoulders. Every minute passing by brought them closer to the start of Roulette and it felt like the day of a big test in school. Pass or fail, win or lose — and she didn’t feel prepared at all.
“Fuck it,” she muttered under her breath, heading off the stage to get a drink before she was trapped in the theater for the night.
Madison was halfway to the bar when a brightly colored jacket caught her eye, and she froze in place when she realized who it was.
“DOMINIC?” she shouted, hurrying over to where he was standing with Elijah. The costume designer smiled broadly at her as she approached, opening his arms to give her a hug as they came together.
“Oh, Madison, I have missed you! And look at these boots!” Leaning back from their embrace, he looked down at her shoes, smiling broadly at her. “These are on fire. I fucking love them.”
“Thank you! I got them at—”
“Is everything ready on the stage?” Elijah interrupted, and both she and Dominic looked over at him with a sigh.
“Yes, Elijah. Sound check went great, everything is up there and ready to go!” Sighing, she turned back to Dominic with a smile. “So, what are you doing here? Are you here to watch the event?”
“Nope, I’m back here to save the day from fashion disasters across the kink community.” Winking at her, he swished his hand against the edge of her skirt. “Told you this skirt would look amazing on you.”
Stunned, Madison was speechless for a moment. “Um, thanks, but… wait, you’re back? Like really back? Working here again?”
“Oh yes,” Dominic replied, scratching under his chin as he put on a terrible Godfather impression. “Elijah made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“He did what?” she asked, glancing at Elijah, but he just sighed heavily.
“Thanks a lot, Dominic,” he grumbled, staring at the man for a moment before he looked at her again. “For the record, I did not threaten him, no matter what story he comes up with. All I did was pay him what he’s worth and make a few adjustments for him, while also reminding him of the kind of connections he can make here.”
“Whatever,” Dominic said, waving a hand in the air. “The important thing is you need me desperately and I’ve arrived to save the day. Now, I have to go help Annie get organized for the evening, but we’ll see each other again soon, darling.”
Madison accepted another hug from him, along with a quick kiss on the cheek. She was still in shock that Dominic was actually back at Black Light, but she managed a quick, “Okay! Good luck tonight!” before he walked away.
“You too!” he called back, waving one hand in the air. His shimmery purple jacket caught the lights, announcing his presence to every employee still bustling around the club as he passed through the curtain.
“Remind me why he’s so integral to this place?” Elijah muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.
“He’s got some epic sewing skills, makes several of the costumes himself to fill the requests of our members, and everyone adores him?” Smiling at the Dungeon Master, Madison shrugged. “And, really, does it matter? He’s back and now we won’t have to worry about the Costume Shop getting more backed up than usual.”
“True.” He looked like he was about to say something else when his gaze shifted to her right and she turned to see Tyler approaching them with a clipboard in hand.
“Hey, boss,” Tyler said, his eyes glued to the pages.
“What’s the status?” Elijah asked, and she could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
“Lookin’ good. Several guests are already waiting to come in, the play area is almost set up, and last I checked the stage seemed ready to go.” Tyler lifted his gaze from the keyboard to look at her, a slow grin spreading over his face. “But Mistress Madison would know more about that than me.”
“Shut it,” she retorted through a laugh. “Everything’s good on the stage and I still can’t believe the theater looks as good as it does. It was a total pile of rubble two weeks ago!”
“Well, I threatened to skin that contractor alive and then sic our lawyers on him in court if he missed the deadline by even one day,” Elijah replied casually. “It’s amazing what people are capable of with the right motivation.”
“That’s the truth,” Tyler added, laughing as he let the clipboard hang at his side and turned to look out over the club. The additional seating in the bar area would help ease the issues with gathered groups from prior years, but they’d sold out of tickets for Roulette quickly, so Madison knew it would still be a full house.
Black Light looked good though, and there hadn’t been a single hiccup so far. Even Dominic was back, which Madison hadn’t even thought of as a possibility. Smiling, she felt the tension in her stomach ease a little. “Everything seems to be coming together. I think you did it, Elijah.”
“It’s a fucking miracle,” he groused, planting his hands on his hips as he scanned the club.
“Come on, Elijah, take a little credit,” Madison urged, nudging him gently with her elbow. “With everything that went wrong in the last month, this wouldn’t have worked out without you pulling all of us together.”
“All I did was piss you guys off.”
“He’s not wrong,” Tyler snarked, and Madison rolled her eyes at him.
“Well, as someone told me earlier tonight… there’s no ‘I’ in team, and we couldn’t have done all of this if we hadn’t worked together. So, thanks for being a good team player.” Reaching over, she patted his arm, and he glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Did you just pat me and tell me I’m a good boy?” Elijah asked.
“Well, do you think you’re a naughty boy?” Smirking, Madison crossed her arms and put on her best cold, mistress face — although there was no chance her stare could compete with Piper Kole’s. She tried it anyway, and finally the Dungeon Master shook his head.
“First, don’t call me naughty, that’s… weird. Second, I appreciate the compliment, but since the doors just opened I think it might be a good idea for Mistress Madison”—he emphasized his doubt in her title with finger quotes in the air—“to get her ass on stage.”
“I’m grabbing a drink first, but fine. I still think we totally have a chance of winning this thing. We kicked ass!” Madison cheered, and Tyler laughed and reached over to high-five her.
“Fuck yeah, we’re totally shutting down Cook’s bullshit!”
“We’ve done all we can do, that’s for sure. The rest will be up to the wheel,” Elijah conceded, his eyes focused on the trickle of members entering through the door, all of them heading toward the bar. “Tyler, I need you to—”
“And that is my cue to leave,” Madison interjected, waving at the two men as she hurried over to the end of the bar.
Susie was already pouring someone a glass of wine, and Madison caught her attention with a quick psst! Smiling, the short-haired bartender dropped off the drink before coming toward her. “Hey girl, what’cha need?”
“Vodka. And water.” Laughing a little, Madison shrugged. “I’m going to get stuck up there the rest of the night, and I need a drink to settle my nerves. Can I get a double vodka with lime and soda? And then just a water?”
“You want the vodka soda in a tall glass?” Susie asked, walking backward toward the shelves.
“That’s perfect!” Smiling at the other bartender who glanced her way, Madison took a slow breath and looked around for Trevor. He’d volunteered to help the DMs set up as soon as they got downstairs, so he was probably still in the play area. As her eyes trailed back over the bar, she caught sight of two people she absolutely needed to meet. “Oh my God! Master Elliott, is that you?”
The man looked confused for a second, but the blonde woman at his side pointed toward Madison and his dark eyes settled on her.
“I’m Madison, the MC for the night!” she called across the bar, and a small smile moved over his lips before he and his submissive moved toward her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison,” Elliott said, shaking her hand as he tilted his head toward the pretty woman at his side. “And this is Lisa.”
“Right!” Madison shook her head. “You guys were paired during Roulette last year. Seems like things are still going well?”
“I grow on people, it just takes a little time,” Lisa replied, laughing as she reached over to offer her hand as well.
“I get that, I’m totally the same way,” Madison said, shrugging. “People don’t always take blondes seriously, do they?”
“Nope!” Lisa said with a pop of her lips, and the grin she turned on Elliott said that their first night of Roulette must have been an interesting one. Well, interesting enough to win for sure.
“Well, we’re really glad you guys agreed to join us out here on the West Coast and help us out as impartial judges.” Gesturing around the club, Madison felt a sense of pride fill her, even though she technically worked for the Runway side of things. “So, what do you think of Black Light West?”
“The rooms are fucking amazing,” Lisa gushed. “And I love your setup here. We got to walk through on a tour earlier and it’s way different than Black Light back home. You guys have so many different spaces!”
“We’re pretty proud of it,” Madison said, unable to hide the grin on her face. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she waved at Susie who was already walking back down the bar to serve more members. Grabbing the vodka soda, Madison took a long drink before she looked at Elliott. “And Master Elliott, what do you think of our club?”
“I think it’s a beautiful space, but I’m still going to be impartial. Jaxson was pretty clear that he wants me and the other guy to take notes about the scenes we observe and provide feedback on them — not how pretty the club is.” Elliott’s tone was professional and definitely dominant, but Lisa seemed unfazed as she elbowed him in the ribs.
“He likes the club, trust me. He’s just taking this responsibility very seriously.”
“It is an important responsibility,” Elliott said, his voice low as he slid a hand around the back of Lisa’s neck. “And you need to take it seriously as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Lisa answered, and Madison grinned.
“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help you out, just ask any of the DMs. We’re all here to make this night a success!” Picking up her drinks, she took a step back from the bar. “I’m sorry, but I really have to get to the stage. People are already in the theater and Elijah will kill me if I start this late. Make sure you guys get good seats, and stay in town long enough so I can show you around Runway too! You’ll definitely want to see it in full swing.”
“Sure thing!” Lisa said, and Elliott nodded.
“Of course, thank you.”
Turning away, she didn’t even make it to the entrance of the theater before she heard Jaxson’s distinct voice call out, “Madison!”
Seriously?
Holding a glass in each hand, Madison followed the sound of his voice and found the infamous trio chatting with Elijah near one of the new couches. Chase waved her over, and she slapped a smile on her face as she approached.
“You look gorgeous as always, Madison,” Chase said, and it looked like he thought about leaning in for a hug before he noticed her hands were full.
“Thanks! Just trying to keep up the persona for the MC gig, you know?” Laughing a little, she tried to adjust her fingers, lifting them one at a time from the freezing glasses. “Are you guys excited about being here for Roulette this year?”
“I’m just glad I have both my husbands with me for Valentine’s, and we get to be together for Roulette,” Emma answered with a kind smile.
“Having a night away from the twins is also a relief. Everyone keeps telling us that the threes are harder than two, but… I’m not sure how that’s possible.” Jaxson glanced at Emma when she smacked his arm, and he shook his head, whispering, “Naughty girl.”
“Sorry, sir.” Pink rushed into Emma’s cheeks, but Jaxson’s gaze returned to Madison a moment later.
“We just wanted to thank you for continuing to handle the MC role here at Black Light West. It’s your third time, right?” Jaxson asked.
“It is!” Chase confirmed for her, and she nodded.
“Yep, it’s year three.” Madison’s fingers were going to freeze off if she didn’t set these damn drinks down soon, but she couldn’t exactly walk away from the owners of the clubs she worked for.
“Time really does move faster once you have kids,” Jaxson said, chuckling softly. “It feels like no time at all since we opened the clubs on the East Coast, but that was five years ago.”
“We’re all really glad you did!” Madison made herself smile through the chill soaking into the bones of her hands.
“My family and I are just glad that it gives people a safe place to be themselves,” Jaxson replied. “I’ll make sure to say that during my little intro, but I won’t talk long. I definitely want to welcome everyone, but then I plan to spend the evening with my husband and wife.”
“Just us. It’s going to be wonderful,” Emma added in a dreamy tone.
“You know, Madison, if you ever get tired of being the MC, or just want to spend some time enjoying the event yourself…” Chase grinned. “We can find someone else, all you have to do is speak up.”
“I appreciate that, but I swear, I totally love it! It’s fun to be involved, and I like getting to know the members who spend more time at Black Light than Runway. It helps me recognize them upstairs.”
“How does Trevor feel about you spending every Valentine’s Day working?” Emma asked, and Madison immediately looked at Elijah who carefully avoided making eye contact as he pretended to watch the members hovering around them.
“Trevor is fine. He’s helping the DMs get everything finalized in the play area, and he keeps me company up on the stage when there’s a lull between spins.” Turning to look over her shoulder, she felt the anxious tension returning as more and more members continued filing into the theater. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I should probably get on stage.”
“That’s a good idea, Madison,” Elijah said, a smirk tilting the edge of his mouth as he leaned past Chase to pat her arm. “You’re such a good team player.”
Glaring at him, she shook off his jab and slapped a smile back on her face. “I hope you guys have an amazing night!”
“We will! See you soon!” Chase called out, and she walked as quickly as seemed appropriate toward the theater.
There were more people than she thought inside, some were already seated while others were still milling around, but luckily there was still plenty of room for her to walk up the side to the stage. When she finally got to set the drinks down on the table, she had to fight the urge to shove her hands between her thighs to try and warm them. Instead, she brushed them off on her skirt and rubbed them together as casually as possible.
People were already watching, and the digital clock propped against the back of a roulette wheel told her it was almost seven o’clock.
Talk about cutting it close.
***
Valentine Roulette Begins
Black Light West
February 14th, 7:15pm
Members were still filing into the theater when the little clock finally showed the official start time. The noise in the room seemed even louder than last year, and maybe it was because of the changes Elijah had made, or maybe it was just that many people… but it was start time no matter how many members were chatting in their seats or strolling through the doors with drinks in hand.
Moving to the edge of the temporary stage, Madison raised her voice, the sound system amplifying it perfectly. “Good evening and happy Valentine’s Day! Who’s ready to get started?”
The crowd cheered, whistled, their applause like a rushing wall of sound that hit the stage and boosted her energy as she smiled out at them.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Spreading her arms, she looked from the waiting doms on one side to the submissives on the other. “First, I want to welcome all of you to Black Light! Tonight is the third annual Valentine Roulette here at Black Light West, but it’s the fifth year for our friends on the East Coast!” More cheers and applause cut her off, and Madison waved her hands to quiet them down as she saw Jaxson making his way to the bottom of the stairs amidst the other dominants.
“I can tell you’re all excited, and you have good reason to be! For those of you joining us again, welcome back, and for all of you Roulette virgins out there — get ready. Tonight will be thrilling, entertaining, and totally HOT!” Madison laughed as the crowd responded with shouts and whistles again. “But, before we can get to the fun stuff, there’s a few things we have to cover, and we’re very lucky to have the owners of Black Light celebrating with us tonight! Jaxson, Chase, and Emma Cartwright-Davidson will be here enjoying Roulette with you, and I’m going to let Jaxson officially kick us off. Let’s give him a round of applause!”
Looking over at him, she clapped along with the audience as he climbed the stairs, raising a hand to wave at everyone while he moved toward her. She stepped back to allow Jaxson to take center stage at the microphone stand, laughing a little as he tried — and failed — to get the crowd to quiet down.
“It seems like Black Light West is ready to get started!” Jaxson said, chuckling as they cheered even louder, but he continued talking over them. “Chase, Emma, and I are very happy to be here tonight. Last year we didn’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day together, or enjoy Roulette with each other, and I have to admit it just wasn’t the same.”
“You got that right!” Chase shouted from one of the seats near the front and Madison spotted him in the crowd beside Emma.
“Honestly, I can’t believe tonight is five years of Roulette. When we first decided to open up the clubs on the East Coast we were looking to build a place that we would want to go. A place that valued privacy, that protected its members from the press, and ultimately offered a world-class space to explore our desires.” Jaxson paused to look at his husband and wife, and the beaming smile on Emma’s face said it all. They loved each other hard, and Madison felt lucky to know them beyond the stories that still randomly appeared in the tabloids. “I don’t think any of us were prepared for the journey Runway and Black Light would become, but we’re proud of this place. The sanctuary it provides us, and all of you.
“When we came up with the idea for Valentine Roulette, we had no idea if anyone would enjoy it, but each and every year our members have continued to impress us with their bravery, their creativity, and their love of BDSM. And, on that note, I want to thank our participants this evening for making this event possible, and all of you for joining us. Enjoy your evenings, and I hope you’re all still here when we hit ten years!” Raising a hand to wave at the crowd, he turned to smile at Madison and she clapped along with the audience as he beckoned her forward. “Now it’s time for me to turn the stage back over to your MC for the evening, our very own Mistress Madison!”
“Thank you, Jaxson!” she called out as she joined him at the front of the stage.
Jaxson clicked off the mic before stepping away from it, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “Trevor is a really good guy, and I can tell he cares about you a lot. Give our offer to find another MC next year some thought, okay?”
Nodding, Madison felt heat in her cheeks as Jaxson turned back to the crowd, waving as he walked off stage.
Did Trevor say something to them?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Get back on track, Madison.
“Let’s talk about Valentine Roulette!” she called out, trying to get her thoughts organized again as she walked over to the roulette wheels. “In just a few minutes our devious dominants for the evening will join me on the stage to draw for the order they’ll go in. When it’s their turn, they’ll spin this wheel here and find out which lucky submissive they’ll be playing with for the evening!”
Reaching over, Madison spun the wheel, letting the clatter of it continue in the background as she looked at the gathered group of submissives.
“The submissive will then spin the second wheel to discover their first kink! As always, there’s a lot of fun and exciting things on this roulette wheel, and it’s up to the whims of chance what they get.” Smiling, Madison spun the second wheel, feeling a little more confident as the audience cheered and she fell into the language she’d practiced. “Our participants for the evening were allowed four limits, but only four, and I can tell you there’s some things on this wheel that will definitely draw a crowd!”
A few of the submissives looked around nervously, whispering to each other, but Madison had attended Roulette for two years, and if they didn’t read what they were signing up for… it was definitely too late now.
“Don’t worry though! Even if one of our dominants gets something new to them, we have Dungeon Monitors spread throughout the club tonight ready and willing to help our participants out and keep the scenes safe.” Moving closer to the dominants’ side, she grinned at them. “Of course, we all still have some rules to follow, but it’s worth it to pay attention because Valentine Roulette ends at eleven o’clock tonight, and any of our participating couples who are still together will receive a free month of membership! That’s twenty-five-hundred dollars back in your pocket, just for having a bit of fun.”
Whistles rang out from the crowd, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the cocky, over-confident looks some of the dominants shot her way.
“Calm down, boys. Mistress Madison is talking.” The audience laughed and she looked out at the sea of members. “As usual, to help keep things safe, we’re using the club’s traffic light system for safe words tonight. Using ‘red’ means all play stops immediately, no matter which participant uses it, and use of the safe word will disqualify the couple from winning their free month. What does that mean?” Madison asked, glancing over at the dom that gave her the biggest asshole vibes.
He crossed his arms, lifting his chin like a challenge, and she tried to place his picture from the list of participants as she continued.
“Dominants, it’s your responsibility to stay attuned to your submissive. Everyone is here to push their limits a little, but it’s your job to pay attention to how your sub is handling it and not push too far — or you both lose.”
The man looked a little more subdued as she flashed a smile and strolled across the edge of the stage toward the submissives.
“Now, no matter what our wicked wheel hands them, all participants are required to spend at least thirty minutes in their scene. Then they can either keep going or come back to me to play the game of chance again for another kink!” Offering some of the nervous submissives a warm smile and a quick wink, Madison remembered the next item on the list of rules. “Of course, with all these incredibly sexy scenes going on, you might be tempted to join in… but Valentine Roulette means all equipment inside Black Light is reserved for participants only! We still have plenty to keep you busy though. Not only do you get to watch our participants try out a variety of kinks tonight, but our bar is open and our audience members are not limited to two drinks. There’s also plenty of snacks, a fantastic silent auction with some really amazing things to bid on, and you will get to be a part of the fun in one way. All of our audience members tonight received a card to vote on their favorite scene or couple of the evening!”
Turning around, Madison scooped the example card off the table and held it up for the crowd as she planted her boots on the stage and propped her other hand on her hip.
“Why is this little piece of paper so important tonight? Well, the winning couple gets an additional free month at Black Light. You heard that right! A five-thousand-dollar value, and that puts quite a bit of power in your hands,” she said, pointing out across the audience. “So, have fun, look for the most adventurous couple, the wildest scene, the kink that just makes you want to go home and try it yourself — and then make a note of it, so you can drop your vote in the box near the entrance to the co-ed locker room before you head home!”
Beckoning the group of dominants onto the stage, Madison dropped the card back on the table and scooped up the popsicle sticks. After a quick check to make sure all the numbers were safely hidden in her hand, she moved toward them.
“Now, it’s time to find out which of our doms for the evening will meet their submissive first!”
Elijah
Black Light West
Tuesday Afternoon, February 2nd
“I have some bad news,” Tyler reported the minute Elijah Keaton walked in the office of Black Light West.
Of course, he does. That’s the only kind of news these days.
“I haven’t taken my coat off yet,” Elijah groused, noticing a new stack of paperwork on his desk that hadn’t been there when he’d left late the night before.
“Sorry, I wasn’t aware your ears didn’t work with your coat on.”
On a good day, Elijah actually appreciated the good-natured bantering he shared with his right-hand man, Tyler Darden.
Today was not that day.
Life wouldn’t be good again until the day after Valentine’s Day. Twelve days. That’s all the time they had left.
I can’t fucking lose to Spencer Cook. Not again.
Already exhausted and his day was just beginning. Elijah threw his leather jacket over the pile of boxes lining the wall under a huge whiteboard before collapsing into his desk chair. He lurched to his left as the seat tipped sideways, reminding him that the chair was just one more item on his long list of things that needed to be repaired in the BDSM club.
Setting the pile of papers aside, he reached for the keyboard to sign-in as he asked, “How bad is it?”
Tyler’s cheery, “We’ve had worse,” helped keep his blood pressure down long enough to login.
“Lay it on me.”
“The one and only gay dom we had sign up for Roulette is backing out. Says he has some business trip or some other bullshit. We have a long waiting list of gay submissives, but we’re short on gay doms.”
Okay, all things considered, this wasn’t the end of the world. With the huge popularity of the event, he was sure he could con another dominant into participating.
“Go through the membership files. See if you can find anyone identifying as bi-sexual and dominant. Maybe we can find someone new to approach that way.”
“Will do. Oh, and Madison called. She’s gonna be late.”
That was worse news.
“Dammit, we’re so fucking behind! Against my better judgement I gave in and gave everyone yesterday off, but why the hell is the parking lot empty? This is a workday.”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, but I suspect it’s only because you don’t want me to fire your ass.”
Tyler grinned, chuckling. “I’m not worried about that. You need me too much for Roulette.”
While his second-in-command was right, Elijah also noted, “Roulette ends on the fourteenth. You hoping to be employed on the fifteenth?”
“Jeez, you can’t even take a joke. You’re a real dick to be around lately.”
Elijah countered, “At least I only get this way for a few weeks in February. How’d you like to work for Spencer? He’s like this year-round.”
“True facts. I talked to Owen over the weekend. He says half the DMs are ready to string him up.”
Elijah let his imagination run wild, picturing his counterpart, Spencer Cook, trussed to the St. Andrew’s Cross at Black Light East with his dungeon monitors whipping him. Now that would be a scene he’d pay good money to see.
“Well, if everyone doesn’t step it up around here, I may do my own stringing up. No one’s taking how behind we are seriously,” Elijah complained.
“We aren’t that far behind where we were last year.” Tyler walked to the closet to start pulling boxes down from the shelf.
“Let me remind you. We fucking lost the bet last year. What the hell are you doing, now? We need to go through our to-do list and prioritize.”
Elijah could barely hear Tyler’s response from deep inside the walk-in closet. “I’m pulling down the roulette wheel supplies and the signage. Remember, we were going to go through the kink list and order the new signs so we get them in time.”
Shit. He was right.
Once Tyler was done in the closet, Elijah hit him up with his next question. “When the hell is Jaxson gonna tell us who he picked to do the judging this year? Have you heard anything about who they are looking at?”
A lot of their fate in the competition was going to rest in the hands of random judges that his bosses, the owners, chose to do the judging.
When Tyler didn’t answer, Elijah sighed, looking up to find Tyler glaring at him with concern instead.
“What?” Elijah prodded, clearly missing something.
“He sent us an email with the judging details three days ago. Didn’t you read it?”
Fuck. No.
Reaching for his mouse, he dug into his email, looking for the missing email while making what was becoming his go-to lame excuse, “I’ve been a little busy.”
He almost had to ask Tyler to forward the mail before finally finding it in his trash folder. Not only had he not read it, but he’d somehow managed to delete one of the most important emails he’d been waiting for.
Double fuck.
Elijah quickly scanned the brief message, hoping he wouldn’t hate the judges that Jaxson had picked.
“Shit. So, the overall winners from East last year are coming here to judge us and Jax picked Jack Tanner and his sub from last year’s competition here at West to go out East. Not sure how I feel about this. I was hoping he’d have Cash or maybe Covington judge this year. Either of them would be a friendly for us.”
“Yeah, well Chase told me they wanted to keep things as even as possible so having previous roulette pairs flip flopping clubs helped keep things even.”
“What the hell do we know about this guy, Elliott Wallace? Master Elliott?”
“I pumped Chase for what he knew. He didn’t say much, just that the guy is really into fire play and is a pretty experienced Dom.”
Elijah couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. He switched gears. “When was the last time we saw Jack Tanner in the club?”
He didn’t like the sour look on Tyler’s face. “I don’t remember, which isn’t good.”
Elijah agreed. He didn’t even have to voice his next thought because Tyler had already pulled his phone out of his pocket, adding, “I’m texting him now. Inviting him to come in next weekend cuz we miss him.”
“Don’t lay it on too thick,” he warned, knowing the private investigator wasn’t stupid. He was gonna figure out they were gonna try to woo his support in his upcoming voting.
He changed the subject, “Did the construction crew get here on time today?”
He had to wait for Tyler to put his phone away and answer. “They were here when I got here.”
“That didn’t answer my question.”
Tyler looked away sheepishly. “How the fuck would I know? I only got here about twenty minutes before you did.”
Rather than saying something he’d regret, Elijah stomped out of the office, headed out to inspect the two construction projects they had underway.
First stop, the theater. He was relieved to hear the pounding underway right up until the minute he walked into the small space.
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Sure, they’d needed better seating for the Roulette pairing ceremony, but what the hell had he done? The room was gutted. Completely and wholly empty. The only thing remaining in the previously elegant theater were piles of rubble from the torn-up walls and flooring. Even the drop ceiling had been removed, exposing plumbing and electrical pipes.
“Who’s in charge here?” he called out to the three men working.
No one spoke up. Not a good sign.
“You,” he pointed at the nearest guy holding a sledgehammer. “Where’s Oliver?”
The guy just shrugged his shoulders and kept tearing up the far wall.
Elijah walked out of the noisy space to the empty bar area before calling the owner of the construction company. After five rings, the call went to voicemail.
“Hey, this is Elijah Keaton over at Black Light and I need you to call me right away. Your crew is completely demolishing the theater. This is not what we discussed. I’ll remind you that we have our biggest event of the year the night of Valentine’s Day and we must have the theater in perfect condition. Call me.”
He had no more than hung up when his phone rang. He answered it on the first ring. “Talk to me.”
“Hey, I’m running late, but I’ll be there soon.” It was Avery, the club chef.
“Christ, not you too. Everyone’s late.”
“Sorry, but we normally have Tuesdays off. I had a hair appointment.”
“Fine but bring down the menu and purchasing orders as soon as you get here. I want to go through everything to make sure we have it all ordered.”
“Relax, this isn’t my first rodeo you know.”
He hung up. He didn’t want to talk about hairdos and rodeos, dammit.
The ping of an incoming text came as he was halfway to the sauna at the back of the club.
It was a text from Madison: On my way. Do you want me to pick up anything on the way?
Elijah tapped out a quick reply: Punctual ppl.
Madison replied almost instantly with a brief: Ouch.
Groaning, Elijah tried to text while he stomped through the curtain to the play area: Gt ur ass here or u’ll have smthng 2 cry bout.
Madison’s next text was so damn sassy he could practically hear her voice: Your texts are getting worse. See you soon.
Despite complaints from his employees, his texts were just fine, and as he tucked his phone away Elijah met the sauna repair guy coming around the pool.
“Get it fixed?” he asked expectantly.
“I wish. The fan’s motor is burned up. I’m gonna have to see if I have a replacement in my storeroom. If not, I may need to order one from the manufacturer.”
Fucking great.
“How much is that gonna set us back?”
“Depends. You have a pretty old system. I think the manufacturer is in the EU. Could take a few weeks.”
“Bullshit. We gotta have the sauna working by Valentine’s Day at the latest. It’s one of the…” He cut off his sentence. The contractor wasn’t a member, and although he’d signed the standard NDA before being allowed in the top secret BDSM club, he didn’t need to know the details. “Just get it fixed before then.”
“I’ll know more when I get back to my shop. Call you later.”
After the guy left, Elijah stood in the middle of the empty club, glancing around at the place that now felt like home rather than work. As hard as he tried to tell himself that the bet he’d made with Spencer wasn’t that important in the wide spectrum of life, he couldn’t push down his anxiety. Not only was he competitive, but he couldn’t stand the thought of another year of staff meetings where the asshole in D.C. snuck in digs and insults over their win the year before.
We won’t lose. Not again.
***
Two hours later and things had gone from bad to worse. While his key employees had all shown up eventually, their arrival had only brought one piece of bad news after another until Elijah’s head throbbed.
“Hey, can you pass over the first-aid kit?” he asked Madison who was sitting at Tyler’s desk in the office.
“You hurt yourself?” she asked, concern showing in her wrinkled brow.
“Only with bad news. I have a headache.”
“Like, you need to chill out. Everything will turn out fine. It always does.”
Opening the newest email to hit his inbox, Elijah wasn’t so sure. “Dominic just quit.”
“Dominic? Who’s… Oh, the guy that dresses like Jack Sparrow?” Madison asked in a tone much too lively to suit him.
“Yes, Dominic who runs our costume department. The guy who is a mission critical member of the team for Roulette. And does he give two weeks’ notice? No! The asshole is leaving for another gig on Friday. Zero notice. Fuck my life.”
“Hey, at least you have his assistant, Annie. I’m sure she can handle it.“
“We’re gonna have fifteen couples. That’s the potential for forty-five wardrobe or costume needs in a fucking three-hour period. Annie can’t handle half of that on her own.”
“So… you have tons of connections in town. I’m sure you can get another costume design person from one of the studios to help out.”
“In less than two weeks? On Valentine’s Day? That passes all of the background checks?” Elijah’s voice got louder with each question until he ended on a shout that made his head pound harder.
Madison tried to placate him. “Fine, let me make some calls. I’ll sort it out, but…”
Elijah used the last swig of his now-warm soda to down two pain killers before pinning Madison with his best glare.
“But what?”
“I don’t want to tell you unless you promise to stay calm.”
“How about I promise not to throttle you?”
“I guess that could work. It’s just…”
“Spit it out.”
“The commemorative glasses we ordered are on backorder. They may not get here in time.” When Elijah stood frozen, taking in the bad news, she added a happy, “If it makes you feel any better, the ones for Runway are late too.”
“Where. Did. You. Order. From?” he ground out. He’d warned her. She better not say….
“I know you told me not to, but like the price difference was just too great.” She paused, stopping short until his dominant glare spurred her to add, “I ordered from the company in China.”
“Madison!”
The petite Runway manager jumped, apologizing. “I’m sorry! I’ve used this distributor many times. I’ve never had any problems before. I don’t know what went wrong.”
“I went wrong. The universe doesn’t want me to beat Cook this year. That’s the only explanation for all the bullshit going wrong at the same time around here.”
Susie, his head bartender, had arrived, but hadn’t noticed until she plunked a tall amber liquid in front of him.
“Drink. You need it,” she grumbled.
Tyler added, “Yeah, think of it as medicine. If not for you, for the rest of us.”
“Ha, ha. I don’t need booze. I need…”
As one, the rest of the employees added in unison, “To beat Black Light East.”
“Yes. And not just beat them. Trounce them. Have the best couples. Hottest kinks. Most spectators. Highest profit. Most bids on silent auction items!”
He was yelling and he didn’t even care. If that’s what it took to get their attention, so be it. “What is everyone looking at me like that for? Haven’t you ever seen a man losing his shit before?”
They all looked around until finally Madison spoke softly. “Eh… please tell me that you’re handling the silent auction.”
“What do you mean, me? I didn’t handle…” Elijah’s heart almost thumped out of his chest. “You took care of that last year.”
“I handled them after they all started coming in, sure. I even made a few calls to get some more donations, but you handled the invitations to donate last year. I’m sure of it.”
Elijah’s mind raced. Had he sent the email? If it was on his list, he had. He shuffled a bunch of papers around on his desk until he dug out the legal pad with his to-do list on it.
Whew. ‘Send silent auction invite’ was on the list and crossed off.
“I already sent it out. It’s crossed off my list.”
Everyone except Madison let out a sigh of relief. “So, why haven’t I gotten any emails or mail on it yet? You were going to send that out a month ago before we even started the sign-up process. Who did you tell them to reach out to?”
That was a very good question. Elijah sat in his chair, pulling up his email. “Okay, I sent it out on…”
Elijah searched his SENT folder, but couldn’t find the email. Almost panicking, he remembered he’d used the newsletter mail service to email all of the members. Switching over to that app, he went to the SENT folder again.
Don’t panic. It has to be here.
He checked the DRAFT folder next and it was empty. What the fuck?
Then his gaze landed on the big bright red banner across the top of the screen.
ERROR MESSAGE: There was an error performing the send operation.
His heart thumped faster as he clicked on the error.
The campaign wasn’t sent because you added special characters such as a backslash or quotation mark at the start of the campaign name. Remove any special characters from the start of the name and click Send Campaign.
Elijah dropped his head into his hands, elbows on the desk. He wanted to scream, to throttle someone, only there was no one to blame for this one but himself.
I’m a dumbass.
Madison’s soft touch on his arm as she looked over his shoulder at his computer screen calmed him slightly. The pain meds hadn’t kicked in yet and for a brief moment he thought his head might explode, and honestly, how he felt in that moment, that might be okay with him. He was used to the back pain and knee pain. But this… it was too much.
“Don’t worry about it. Let us work on the list for a while while you go upstairs and lay down in one of the rooms,” she offered.
“I don’t need to lay down,” he mumbled.
Susie shoved the bourbon under his face. “Then take your medicine.”
“I’m not drinking.”
Tyler was farther away, standing with the other dungeon monitors, when he offered up, “I think you need to get laid is what I think. Hell, if I thought it would help, I’d offer to suck you off. Take one for the team and all.”
Despite the heavy weight on his shoulders, Tyler’s smartass remark made him chuckle. Elijah finally looked up to give his second-in-command shit.
“Wouldn’t you be in trouble if I took you up on that offer?”
Tyler’s eyes grew wide before finally bursting out laughing with the rest of the gang gathered around the crowded office.
He was their leader. It was time he started acting like it.
“Okay, first, while I’m not gonna get mushy, I am gonna say I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a sonuvabitch to be around lately, but in case you haven’t noticed, I really want us to win this year. Not only have I had to put up with Cook’s gloating all year, but more importantly, I’m so proud of what we’ve created here at Black Light West, and we deserve to win. I feel lucky every day when I come in and get to work with all of you, helping to give our members the private space they deserve to live out their sexual fantasies.”
Elijah paused. He hadn’t planned on making an inspirational speech, especially with a growing migraine. But he was reminded that they’d been through so much together in the last year since almost losing their good friend, Nalani. All he could do was speak from the heart.
“You’ve all become an unlikely family to me, and as much as I do want us to win Roulette this year, it can’t come at the cost of our relationships with each other. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. Madison, Tyler, and I are gonna regroup on our action item list and then we’re all gonna chip in and divide and conquer. We have a lot of things going wrong, but we are all smart, resourceful people and if anyone can pull it together, it’s us. Together.”
The raucous cheers that erupted in the small space pierced his headache like an ice pick, but Elijah didn’t complain. He was part of a team—a team that had each other’s backs. They’d work their asses off to solve all of the problems they could, and Valentine’s Day would arrive, regardless. If they won, fantastic. But… if they didn’t, they’d still succeed as long as their members had fun and they all stuck together.
Elijah’s shoulders relaxed as he made peace with the challenge ahead.
“Now, let’s get back to work. I’m gonna order in food, and everyone feel free to pour a drink on the house if it will help.”
There’s no ‘I’ in Team
Madison
Runway West
February 14th, 5:45pm
As Madison smoothed out the thigh-high leather boots she’d purchased for Roulette, she pulled in another deep breath, counting to ten before she let it out slowly.
“Stop worrying. You ace the MC gig every year, babe,” Trevor said, grinning over at her from the chair as his gaze slid down her body. “And you look so damn good doing it.”
“You haven’t been under General Elijah’s thumb for the last month,” she replied, rolling her eyes as she turned in front of the full-length mirror, making sure everything looked perfect before she stepped in front of the massive audience Roulette always brought. “You’d be stressed too if you knew how crazy he’s been.”
“You’ve told me all about it.” Chuckling, Trevor pushed himself out of the chair and moved to stand behind her in the mirror. A moment later his hands were on her shoulders, thumbs digging into the knots of tension that felt like a permanent fixture in her muscles. “I think I have an idea.”
“Oh my God that feels amazing,” Madison groaned, eyes closing as his strong hands worked magic.
“Keep making noises like that and I’m going to make you late for Roulette,” Trevor threatened playfully, his voice a delicious growl against her ear that had her contemplating how quickly she could get out of all the leather she’d put on.
Nope. Elijah will totally kill me.
“Don’t tease me right now, please? Tonight has to go, like… perfect. More than perfect. We have to win, and I can’t get distracted or I’m going to totally screw it up somehow.” Shrugging out of the tempting massage, Madison stepped closer to the mirror to check her make-up one more time. She’d put her blonde hair in another high ponytail, wearing a leather corset that showed off her curves, lifted the girls high on her chest, and it matched the leather skirt she’d found like a dream.
Well, she hadn’t found it. Dominic had.
Then Dominic quit, which was just one of a hundred things that had gone wrong in the last few weeks. Elijah felt like the universe was working against them, and while Madison always tried to keep a positive attitude — even she had to admit it seemed plausible.
But they’d come together, worked hard to fix as much as they could, and even though everything wasn’t perfect… they could still win.
“Earth to Madison,” Trevor said, waving his hand in front of her face, and she jerked back.
“What?”
“I asked you if you were ready to head downstairs,” he answered, chuckling and looking too damn handsome with that sly grin on his face. “You do realize that stressing about this shit isn’t going to make the night go any better, right?”
“You pestering me isn’t going to make it any better either!” she snapped and immediately wished she hadn’t. Madison only got a brief glimpse of the wicked flash on Trevor’s face before he caught her around the waist and bent her over. The leather skirt was already short, but Trevor flipped it up onto her back anyway just before he landed the first blistering smack of his palm.
“I know you’re stressed, babe,” he began, delivering another hard swat to her other ass cheek. “But I am not responsible for this shit.”
“I know, but—” Another hard spank cracked against her skin, drawing a whine through her clenched teeth as he repeated it again, and again, and again. “Trevor!”
“That’s not what you call me when you’re a naughty girl,” he said through a laugh, delivering another series of fiery swats to her ass that made her struggle against his hold. He just adjusted his grip, shifting her off balance, which forced her to brace her hands on the wall beside the mirror so she didn’t topple in the high-heeled boots. “Come on, babe, you know what to say.”
“This isn’t helping, SIR!” Madison shouted, but his laugh just rolled out again as he landed another quick series of searing smacks. Her ass was on fire, and she fought the urge to chew all of her lipstick off as she tried to bite back the whines as the pain amplified.
“I’m waiting,” he taunted her, slowing down the pace as he evened out the handprints she was sure he was leaving behind. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear, but something inside her just wouldn’t budge.
“And I’m supposed to be downstairs as Mistress Madison, but someone—” She didn’t even get the chance to finish the sentence before he focused an agonizing set of swats directly on her sitspot. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she tried to wiggle out of his grip, to lessen the burning ache, but Trevor was nothing but hard muscle, and a lot bigger.
“First of all, babe, you’re never going to be Mistress Madison with me. I’m not into getting my ass lit up like this, but you definitely are.” Pushing her thong aside, Trevor plunged two fingers deep, sending her onto her toes with a gasp that ended on a hushed moan. “And whether you think this isn’t helping or not, I’m not letting you go downstairs until I hear what I want to hear… even if that means Elijah himself has to come check on you and find you bent over with a red ass.”
Heat flushed her face at the idea of Elijah walking in on her like this. Sure, there was a BDSM club a few stories under her very stylish boots, and she was about to MC the most intense kink event of the year… but Elijah was still her coworker.
“I’m sorry, sir,” she mumbled, groaning when Trevor pulled his fingers free and spanked her again.
“Want to try that again?”
“I’m sorry, sir!” Madison shouted, whining as she tried to stand upright again and Trevor just leaned into her, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.
“For?” he prompted, and she could hear the damn charming smile in his voice.
“For snapping at you and like… everything else. All the stuff I’ve been doing. Just can we please go downstairs, sir?” she begged, definitely not feeling like Mistress Madison, but then Trevor’s fingers found her clit and all her thoughts went out the window.
“Good girl,” Trevor praised, winding her up with each delirious circle between her thighs. “You like this?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Want more?” he asked with that low rumbling edge to his tone that would have made her wet if she wasn’t already soaking his fingers.
“Yes, please! Please, sir?” Madison shifted her hips, feeling the blur of pleasure winding with the subtle, burning ache that covered her entire ass. He was right, this was exactly what she’d needed. The pressure increased, driving her higher — and then it stopped.
“Then it sounds like you’re going to have to do a good job tonight, babe,” Trevor said as he let go of her, stepping back when she stood upright to stare at him in shock.
“You’re kidding me!”
Raising a finger in the air, Trevor grinned. “Tsk, tsk. Watch your tone.”
“Since when are you into edging me, sir?” Madison asked, knowing her tone was anything but respectful. Fortunately, Trevor just laughed.
“There are some perks to spending as much time around Ryder as I do working for Khloe.” Winking at her, Trevor tilted his chin toward the door of their room. “We better go downstairs. The sooner you get this show on the road, the sooner I can finish what I started.”
“You’re not going to let me come until after Roulette?” Pure disbelief filled her, but Trevor’s wicked grin confirmed it. “That’s so mean!”
“Think of it as… inspiration. You’ve been stressing for weeks over impressing Jaxson, Chase, and Emma, and Elijah, and whoever they sent over from the East Coast.” Stepping closer, he ran his hand over her ass, squeezing hard, which woke up the burn in her skin. “Now you’re going to be thinking about everything I’m going to do to you as soon as we’re back upstairs.”
Holy shit.
As much as she hated it, and as much as she absolutely needed to come… she had to admit he was right. With the lingering throb in her clit, her pussy soaking her underwear, and the simmering heat of her ass — all she could think about was Trevor.
“You know I’m right,” he added, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“I still don’t like it,” Madison whispered, and he chuckled.
“Next time don’t snap at me for something I’m not remotely responsible for.” Winking at her, Trevor let go of her chin to take her hand. “Come on, babe. If I don’t get you downstairs, Elijah will probably threaten to whip my ass.”
Maybe he should, Madison thought, but she was smart enough to keep that inside even though the idea had her smiling.
“What are you grinning about?” Trevor asked as he reached into his pocket to pull out their room key and Madison’s employee card before he let the door shut. Tucking them both back into his slacks, he tilted his head at her. “Well?”
“Nothing really. I do feel better though.”
“See? I’m the best boyfriend ever.” He laughed when she rolled her eyes, tugging her forward to land another smack on her ass through the skirt.
“We’re in the hall!” Madison whined, her cheeks burning again as they stopped beside the employee elevator.
“There’s no one out here, babe.” Trevor scanned her employee card on the reader before pressing the call button. “You think I’d ever embarrass you?”
“No,” she admitted, squeezing his hand. “And I’m definitely distracted from the chaos downstairs. For now, at least.”
“You just tell me if you need a refresher while we’re downstairs, and I’ll—”
“Oh my God! No!” Laughing, Madison stared up at Trevor. “Please tell me you’re not serious.”
“Why not? That’s what the club is for after all, and it wouldn’t be the first time I made you come down there.” His grin was positively devious, and she felt her anxiety rising until he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Look, if Elijah’s bullshit starts to get to you, just think about how many times I’m going to make you come as soon as I can get you out of all this leather.”
“Yep, definitely distracted,” she replied, feeling the tingling rush of raw arousal flooding up her chest in a wash of heat.
“That’s what I’m here for. Grade A arm candy and distractions.”
“Arm candy?” she repeated, laughing as the elevator doors opened and they stepped inside.
Trevor scanned her card again, pressing the unlabeled black button below the number one. “I know you’re only with me for my good looks.”
“Oh really.” Rolling her eyes, she couldn’t help but laugh. Trevor was always able to make her smile — it was one of the things she loved the most about him.
“Why else would you be with me?” he asked, and she knew he was just keeping her distracted from the insanity she was about to walk into.
Leaning up, she pressed a light kiss to his cheek, trying not to smudge her lipstick or leave a mark behind on his skin. “Well, other than the arm candy thing, I think we make a pretty awesome team.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” Madison said with a smile. “Or, at least you have been pretty awesome these past few weeks while I’ve been crazy.”
“It’s a two-way street, babe. I couldn’t be awesome without you being awesome too.” Trevor squeezed her hand as the elevator slowed to a stop. “After all, there’s no ‘I’ in team, right?”
***
Black Light West
February 14th, 6:30pm
The mic check had taken longer than she’d hoped, but since the theater hadn’t even existed two weeks before, the fact that the sound system worked at all felt like an absolute win. The expansion of the theater was a smart move. Hopefully, it would mean the audience wasn’t so packed in like they had been in the last two years… but they wouldn’t know that until people started arriving.
Which will be any minute now.
Skimming through her notecards on the participants, Madison double-checked everything on the stage. Roulette wheels ready, popsicle sticks waiting for the dominants to choose their spin order, mic working, and so far, Elijah hadn’t had a nuclear meltdown. Not a bad way to kick off the night, but her stomach was still in knots.
Checking the little digital clock on the table, she felt the tension returning to her shoulders. Every minute passing by brought them closer to the start of Roulette and it felt like the day of a big test in school. Pass or fail, win or lose — and she didn’t feel prepared at all.
“Fuck it,” she muttered under her breath, heading off the stage to get a drink before she was trapped in the theater for the night.
Madison was halfway to the bar when a brightly colored jacket caught her eye, and she froze in place when she realized who it was.
“DOMINIC?” she shouted, hurrying over to where he was standing with Elijah. The costume designer smiled broadly at her as she approached, opening his arms to give her a hug as they came together.
“Oh, Madison, I have missed you! And look at these boots!” Leaning back from their embrace, he looked down at her shoes, smiling broadly at her. “These are on fire. I fucking love them.”
“Thank you! I got them at—”
“Is everything ready on the stage?” Elijah interrupted, and both she and Dominic looked over at him with a sigh.
“Yes, Elijah. Sound check went great, everything is up there and ready to go!” Sighing, she turned back to Dominic with a smile. “So, what are you doing here? Are you here to watch the event?”
“Nope, I’m back here to save the day from fashion disasters across the kink community.” Winking at her, he swished his hand against the edge of her skirt. “Told you this skirt would look amazing on you.”
Stunned, Madison was speechless for a moment. “Um, thanks, but… wait, you’re back? Like really back? Working here again?”
“Oh yes,” Dominic replied, scratching under his chin as he put on a terrible Godfather impression. “Elijah made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
“He did what?” she asked, glancing at Elijah, but he just sighed heavily.
“Thanks a lot, Dominic,” he grumbled, staring at the man for a moment before he looked at her again. “For the record, I did not threaten him, no matter what story he comes up with. All I did was pay him what he’s worth and make a few adjustments for him, while also reminding him of the kind of connections he can make here.”
“Whatever,” Dominic said, waving a hand in the air. “The important thing is you need me desperately and I’ve arrived to save the day. Now, I have to go help Annie get organized for the evening, but we’ll see each other again soon, darling.”
Madison accepted another hug from him, along with a quick kiss on the cheek. She was still in shock that Dominic was actually back at Black Light, but she managed a quick, “Okay! Good luck tonight!” before he walked away.
“You too!” he called back, waving one hand in the air. His shimmery purple jacket caught the lights, announcing his presence to every employee still bustling around the club as he passed through the curtain.
“Remind me why he’s so integral to this place?” Elijah muttered, rubbing a hand over his face.
“He’s got some epic sewing skills, makes several of the costumes himself to fill the requests of our members, and everyone adores him?” Smiling at the Dungeon Master, Madison shrugged. “And, really, does it matter? He’s back and now we won’t have to worry about the Costume Shop getting more backed up than usual.”
“True.” He looked like he was about to say something else when his gaze shifted to her right and she turned to see Tyler approaching them with a clipboard in hand.
“Hey, boss,” Tyler said, his eyes glued to the pages.
“What’s the status?” Elijah asked, and she could hear the exhaustion in his voice.
“Lookin’ good. Several guests are already waiting to come in, the play area is almost set up, and last I checked the stage seemed ready to go.” Tyler lifted his gaze from the keyboard to look at her, a slow grin spreading over his face. “But Mistress Madison would know more about that than me.”
“Shut it,” she retorted through a laugh. “Everything’s good on the stage and I still can’t believe the theater looks as good as it does. It was a total pile of rubble two weeks ago!”
“Well, I threatened to skin that contractor alive and then sic our lawyers on him in court if he missed the deadline by even one day,” Elijah replied casually. “It’s amazing what people are capable of with the right motivation.”
“That’s the truth,” Tyler added, laughing as he let the clipboard hang at his side and turned to look out over the club. The additional seating in the bar area would help ease the issues with gathered groups from prior years, but they’d sold out of tickets for Roulette quickly, so Madison knew it would still be a full house.
Black Light looked good though, and there hadn’t been a single hiccup so far. Even Dominic was back, which Madison hadn’t even thought of as a possibility. Smiling, she felt the tension in her stomach ease a little. “Everything seems to be coming together. I think you did it, Elijah.”
“It’s a fucking miracle,” he groused, planting his hands on his hips as he scanned the club.
“Come on, Elijah, take a little credit,” Madison urged, nudging him gently with her elbow. “With everything that went wrong in the last month, this wouldn’t have worked out without you pulling all of us together.”
“All I did was piss you guys off.”
“He’s not wrong,” Tyler snarked, and Madison rolled her eyes at him.
“Well, as someone told me earlier tonight… there’s no ‘I’ in team, and we couldn’t have done all of this if we hadn’t worked together. So, thanks for being a good team player.” Reaching over, she patted his arm, and he glanced down at her with a raised eyebrow.
“Did you just pat me and tell me I’m a good boy?” Elijah asked.
“Well, do you think you’re a naughty boy?” Smirking, Madison crossed her arms and put on her best cold, mistress face — although there was no chance her stare could compete with Piper Kole’s. She tried it anyway, and finally the Dungeon Master shook his head.
“First, don’t call me naughty, that’s… weird. Second, I appreciate the compliment, but since the doors just opened I think it might be a good idea for Mistress Madison”—he emphasized his doubt in her title with finger quotes in the air—“to get her ass on stage.”
“I’m grabbing a drink first, but fine. I still think we totally have a chance of winning this thing. We kicked ass!” Madison cheered, and Tyler laughed and reached over to high-five her.
“Fuck yeah, we’re totally shutting down Cook’s bullshit!”
“We’ve done all we can do, that’s for sure. The rest will be up to the wheel,” Elijah conceded, his eyes focused on the trickle of members entering through the door, all of them heading toward the bar. “Tyler, I need you to—”
“And that is my cue to leave,” Madison interjected, waving at the two men as she hurried over to the end of the bar.
Susie was already pouring someone a glass of wine, and Madison caught her attention with a quick psst! Smiling, the short-haired bartender dropped off the drink before coming toward her. “Hey girl, what’cha need?”
“Vodka. And water.” Laughing a little, Madison shrugged. “I’m going to get stuck up there the rest of the night, and I need a drink to settle my nerves. Can I get a double vodka with lime and soda? And then just a water?”
“You want the vodka soda in a tall glass?” Susie asked, walking backward toward the shelves.
“That’s perfect!” Smiling at the other bartender who glanced her way, Madison took a slow breath and looked around for Trevor. He’d volunteered to help the DMs set up as soon as they got downstairs, so he was probably still in the play area. As her eyes trailed back over the bar, she caught sight of two people she absolutely needed to meet. “Oh my God! Master Elliott, is that you?”
The man looked confused for a second, but the blonde woman at his side pointed toward Madison and his dark eyes settled on her.
“I’m Madison, the MC for the night!” she called across the bar, and a small smile moved over his lips before he and his submissive moved toward her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison,” Elliott said, shaking her hand as he tilted his head toward the pretty woman at his side. “And this is Lisa.”
“Right!” Madison shook her head. “You guys were paired during Roulette last year. Seems like things are still going well?”
“I grow on people, it just takes a little time,” Lisa replied, laughing as she reached over to offer her hand as well.
“I get that, I’m totally the same way,” Madison said, shrugging. “People don’t always take blondes seriously, do they?”
“Nope!” Lisa said with a pop of her lips, and the grin she turned on Elliott said that their first night of Roulette must have been an interesting one. Well, interesting enough to win for sure.
“Well, we’re really glad you guys agreed to join us out here on the West Coast and help us out as impartial judges.” Gesturing around the club, Madison felt a sense of pride fill her, even though she technically worked for the Runway side of things. “So, what do you think of Black Light West?”
“The rooms are fucking amazing,” Lisa gushed. “And I love your setup here. We got to walk through on a tour earlier and it’s way different than Black Light back home. You guys have so many different spaces!”
“We’re pretty proud of it,” Madison said, unable to hide the grin on her face. Movement in the corner of her eye drew her attention, and she waved at Susie who was already walking back down the bar to serve more members. Grabbing the vodka soda, Madison took a long drink before she looked at Elliott. “And Master Elliott, what do you think of our club?”
“I think it’s a beautiful space, but I’m still going to be impartial. Jaxson was pretty clear that he wants me and the other guy to take notes about the scenes we observe and provide feedback on them — not how pretty the club is.” Elliott’s tone was professional and definitely dominant, but Lisa seemed unfazed as she elbowed him in the ribs.
“He likes the club, trust me. He’s just taking this responsibility very seriously.”
“It is an important responsibility,” Elliott said, his voice low as he slid a hand around the back of Lisa’s neck. “And you need to take it seriously as well.”
“Yes, sir,” Lisa answered, and Madison grinned.
“Well, if there’s anything we can do to help you out, just ask any of the DMs. We’re all here to make this night a success!” Picking up her drinks, she took a step back from the bar. “I’m sorry, but I really have to get to the stage. People are already in the theater and Elijah will kill me if I start this late. Make sure you guys get good seats, and stay in town long enough so I can show you around Runway too! You’ll definitely want to see it in full swing.”
“Sure thing!” Lisa said, and Elliott nodded.
“Of course, thank you.”
Turning away, she didn’t even make it to the entrance of the theater before she heard Jaxson’s distinct voice call out, “Madison!”
Seriously?
Holding a glass in each hand, Madison followed the sound of his voice and found the infamous trio chatting with Elijah near one of the new couches. Chase waved her over, and she slapped a smile on her face as she approached.
“You look gorgeous as always, Madison,” Chase said, and it looked like he thought about leaning in for a hug before he noticed her hands were full.
“Thanks! Just trying to keep up the persona for the MC gig, you know?” Laughing a little, she tried to adjust her fingers, lifting them one at a time from the freezing glasses. “Are you guys excited about being here for Roulette this year?”
“I’m just glad I have both my husbands with me for Valentine’s, and we get to be together for Roulette,” Emma answered with a kind smile.
“Having a night away from the twins is also a relief. Everyone keeps telling us that the threes are harder than two, but… I’m not sure how that’s possible.” Jaxson glanced at Emma when she smacked his arm, and he shook his head, whispering, “Naughty girl.”
“Sorry, sir.” Pink rushed into Emma’s cheeks, but Jaxson’s gaze returned to Madison a moment later.
“We just wanted to thank you for continuing to handle the MC role here at Black Light West. It’s your third time, right?” Jaxson asked.
“It is!” Chase confirmed for her, and she nodded.
“Yep, it’s year three.” Madison’s fingers were going to freeze off if she didn’t set these damn drinks down soon, but she couldn’t exactly walk away from the owners of the clubs she worked for.
“Time really does move faster once you have kids,” Jaxson said, chuckling softly. “It feels like no time at all since we opened the clubs on the East Coast, but that was five years ago.”
“We’re all really glad you did!” Madison made herself smile through the chill soaking into the bones of her hands.
“My family and I are just glad that it gives people a safe place to be themselves,” Jaxson replied. “I’ll make sure to say that during my little intro, but I won’t talk long. I definitely want to welcome everyone, but then I plan to spend the evening with my husband and wife.”
“Just us. It’s going to be wonderful,” Emma added in a dreamy tone.
“You know, Madison, if you ever get tired of being the MC, or just want to spend some time enjoying the event yourself…” Chase grinned. “We can find someone else, all you have to do is speak up.”
“I appreciate that, but I swear, I totally love it! It’s fun to be involved, and I like getting to know the members who spend more time at Black Light than Runway. It helps me recognize them upstairs.”
“How does Trevor feel about you spending every Valentine’s Day working?” Emma asked, and Madison immediately looked at Elijah who carefully avoided making eye contact as he pretended to watch the members hovering around them.
“Trevor is fine. He’s helping the DMs get everything finalized in the play area, and he keeps me company up on the stage when there’s a lull between spins.” Turning to look over her shoulder, she felt the anxious tension returning as more and more members continued filing into the theater. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I should probably get on stage.”
“That’s a good idea, Madison,” Elijah said, a smirk tilting the edge of his mouth as he leaned past Chase to pat her arm. “You’re such a good team player.”
Glaring at him, she shook off his jab and slapped a smile back on her face. “I hope you guys have an amazing night!”
“We will! See you soon!” Chase called out, and she walked as quickly as seemed appropriate toward the theater.
There were more people than she thought inside, some were already seated while others were still milling around, but luckily there was still plenty of room for her to walk up the side to the stage. When she finally got to set the drinks down on the table, she had to fight the urge to shove her hands between her thighs to try and warm them. Instead, she brushed them off on her skirt and rubbed them together as casually as possible.
People were already watching, and the digital clock propped against the back of a roulette wheel told her it was almost seven o’clock.
Talk about cutting it close.
***
Valentine Roulette Begins
Black Light West
February 14th, 7:15pm
Members were still filing into the theater when the little clock finally showed the official start time. The noise in the room seemed even louder than last year, and maybe it was because of the changes Elijah had made, or maybe it was just that many people… but it was start time no matter how many members were chatting in their seats or strolling through the doors with drinks in hand.
Moving to the edge of the temporary stage, Madison raised her voice, the sound system amplifying it perfectly. “Good evening and happy Valentine’s Day! Who’s ready to get started?”
The crowd cheered, whistled, their applause like a rushing wall of sound that hit the stage and boosted her energy as she smiled out at them.
“That’s what I like to hear!” Spreading her arms, she looked from the waiting doms on one side to the submissives on the other. “First, I want to welcome all of you to Black Light! Tonight is the third annual Valentine Roulette here at Black Light West, but it’s the fifth year for our friends on the East Coast!” More cheers and applause cut her off, and Madison waved her hands to quiet them down as she saw Jaxson making his way to the bottom of the stairs amidst the other dominants.
“I can tell you’re all excited, and you have good reason to be! For those of you joining us again, welcome back, and for all of you Roulette virgins out there — get ready. Tonight will be thrilling, entertaining, and totally HOT!” Madison laughed as the crowd responded with shouts and whistles again. “But, before we can get to the fun stuff, there’s a few things we have to cover, and we’re very lucky to have the owners of Black Light celebrating with us tonight! Jaxson, Chase, and Emma Cartwright-Davidson will be here enjoying Roulette with you, and I’m going to let Jaxson officially kick us off. Let’s give him a round of applause!”
Looking over at him, she clapped along with the audience as he climbed the stairs, raising a hand to wave at everyone while he moved toward her. She stepped back to allow Jaxson to take center stage at the microphone stand, laughing a little as he tried — and failed — to get the crowd to quiet down.
“It seems like Black Light West is ready to get started!” Jaxson said, chuckling as they cheered even louder, but he continued talking over them. “Chase, Emma, and I are very happy to be here tonight. Last year we didn’t get to celebrate Valentine’s Day together, or enjoy Roulette with each other, and I have to admit it just wasn’t the same.”
“You got that right!” Chase shouted from one of the seats near the front and Madison spotted him in the crowd beside Emma.
“Honestly, I can’t believe tonight is five years of Roulette. When we first decided to open up the clubs on the East Coast we were looking to build a place that we would want to go. A place that valued privacy, that protected its members from the press, and ultimately offered a world-class space to explore our desires.” Jaxson paused to look at his husband and wife, and the beaming smile on Emma’s face said it all. They loved each other hard, and Madison felt lucky to know them beyond the stories that still randomly appeared in the tabloids. “I don’t think any of us were prepared for the journey Runway and Black Light would become, but we’re proud of this place. The sanctuary it provides us, and all of you.
“When we came up with the idea for Valentine Roulette, we had no idea if anyone would enjoy it, but each and every year our members have continued to impress us with their bravery, their creativity, and their love of BDSM. And, on that note, I want to thank our participants this evening for making this event possible, and all of you for joining us. Enjoy your evenings, and I hope you’re all still here when we hit ten years!” Raising a hand to wave at the crowd, he turned to smile at Madison and she clapped along with the audience as he beckoned her forward. “Now it’s time for me to turn the stage back over to your MC for the evening, our very own Mistress Madison!”
“Thank you, Jaxson!” she called out as she joined him at the front of the stage.
Jaxson clicked off the mic before stepping away from it, leaning close to whisper in her ear, “Trevor is a really good guy, and I can tell he cares about you a lot. Give our offer to find another MC next year some thought, okay?”
Nodding, Madison felt heat in her cheeks as Jaxson turned back to the crowd, waving as he walked off stage.
Did Trevor say something to them?
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Get back on track, Madison.
“Let’s talk about Valentine Roulette!” she called out, trying to get her thoughts organized again as she walked over to the roulette wheels. “In just a few minutes our devious dominants for the evening will join me on the stage to draw for the order they’ll go in. When it’s their turn, they’ll spin this wheel here and find out which lucky submissive they’ll be playing with for the evening!”
Reaching over, Madison spun the wheel, letting the clatter of it continue in the background as she looked at the gathered group of submissives.
“The submissive will then spin the second wheel to discover their first kink! As always, there’s a lot of fun and exciting things on this roulette wheel, and it’s up to the whims of chance what they get.” Smiling, Madison spun the second wheel, feeling a little more confident as the audience cheered and she fell into the language she’d practiced. “Our participants for the evening were allowed four limits, but only four, and I can tell you there’s some things on this wheel that will definitely draw a crowd!”
A few of the submissives looked around nervously, whispering to each other, but Madison had attended Roulette for two years, and if they didn’t read what they were signing up for… it was definitely too late now.
“Don’t worry though! Even if one of our dominants gets something new to them, we have Dungeon Monitors spread throughout the club tonight ready and willing to help our participants out and keep the scenes safe.” Moving closer to the dominants’ side, she grinned at them. “Of course, we all still have some rules to follow, but it’s worth it to pay attention because Valentine Roulette ends at eleven o’clock tonight, and any of our participating couples who are still together will receive a free month of membership! That’s twenty-five-hundred dollars back in your pocket, just for having a bit of fun.”
Whistles rang out from the crowd, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the cocky, over-confident looks some of the dominants shot her way.
“Calm down, boys. Mistress Madison is talking.” The audience laughed and she looked out at the sea of members. “As usual, to help keep things safe, we’re using the club’s traffic light system for safe words tonight. Using ‘red’ means all play stops immediately, no matter which participant uses it, and use of the safe word will disqualify the couple from winning their free month. What does that mean?” Madison asked, glancing over at the dom that gave her the biggest asshole vibes.
He crossed his arms, lifting his chin like a challenge, and she tried to place his picture from the list of participants as she continued.
“Dominants, it’s your responsibility to stay attuned to your submissive. Everyone is here to push their limits a little, but it’s your job to pay attention to how your sub is handling it and not push too far — or you both lose.”
The man looked a little more subdued as she flashed a smile and strolled across the edge of the stage toward the submissives.
“Now, no matter what our wicked wheel hands them, all participants are required to spend at least thirty minutes in their scene. Then they can either keep going or come back to me to play the game of chance again for another kink!” Offering some of the nervous submissives a warm smile and a quick wink, Madison remembered the next item on the list of rules. “Of course, with all these incredibly sexy scenes going on, you might be tempted to join in… but Valentine Roulette means all equipment inside Black Light is reserved for participants only! We still have plenty to keep you busy though. Not only do you get to watch our participants try out a variety of kinks tonight, but our bar is open and our audience members are not limited to two drinks. There’s also plenty of snacks, a fantastic silent auction with some really amazing things to bid on, and you will get to be a part of the fun in one way. All of our audience members tonight received a card to vote on their favorite scene or couple of the evening!”
Turning around, Madison scooped the example card off the table and held it up for the crowd as she planted her boots on the stage and propped her other hand on her hip.
“Why is this little piece of paper so important tonight? Well, the winning couple gets an additional free month at Black Light. You heard that right! A five-thousand-dollar value, and that puts quite a bit of power in your hands,” she said, pointing out across the audience. “So, have fun, look for the most adventurous couple, the wildest scene, the kink that just makes you want to go home and try it yourself — and then make a note of it, so you can drop your vote in the box near the entrance to the co-ed locker room before you head home!”
Beckoning the group of dominants onto the stage, Madison dropped the card back on the table and scooped up the popsicle sticks. After a quick check to make sure all the numbers were safely hidden in her hand, she moved toward them.
“Now, it’s time to find out which of our doms for the evening will meet their submissive first!”