Page 179 of Easy
Luke shakes his head, whispering a no that’s barely audible.
‘My mask,’ Dan continues, pressing their joined hands to his own cheek. ‘IsLa Bauta.La babau: I’m the fear lurking in your dark consciousness, the monster beneath your bed.Se non stai bravo viene il babau e ti porta via. As Venetians would caution their children; if you don’t behave, the bad man will come and take you away.’
Turning his head, Dan’s gaze pinions mine.
‘I’m the bad man,’ he says. ‘Just the way you like it, darling. I do believe Mr. Smith would enjoy the experience, too.’ He steps away leaving Luke’s hand hanging in the air. ‘I wonder if your choice of mask is in any way prophetic, Mr. Smith.La Ganga, your mask this evening, was worn by cross-dressing prostitutes.’
From those at the doorway comes a collective sharp intake of breath.
‘Shall we continue?’ Dan asks neither of us in particular. ‘Of course, we will.’
My hands are still behind my neck as though shackled there. The button is so tiny and slippery, I can’t seem to work it loose. It doesn’t help that I can now feel the heat of Dan as he stands at my back.
‘Help, darling?’ Without waiting for an answer, he brushes my fingers aside. ‘Are you enjoying this?’ As his breath brushes the back of my neck an electric pulse skitters across my skin. A beat later than would be appropriate, I shake my head.
‘Then let’s dismiss the audience. Send the other players home. Ask me nicely, Louise. We can give up this charade. You didn’t come here to play. You came here to punish me. Let’s hear the truth of it.’
I sense my button loosening, his thumb stroking the slash of exposed skin. My body begins to quake from the connection, from missing his touch.
‘Ask yourself, is it courage or foolishness that brings you here dressed like this?’
I glance down at the clothing I’d thought bold; and outfit that pushes against my comfort zone.
‘What did you see in the mirror this evening?’ His words curl around my ear with a softness I find hard to reconcile. ‘What was it you were trying to portray? A touch of daring or devil-may-care?’
‘Did he . . . the devil, I mean?’ I hadn’t meant to speak, didn’t want to turn my head over my shoulder and look at him. ‘Did he ever care?’
He doesn’t answer, though a flash of something crosses his gaze. Hurt? Anger? Whatever it was, it doesn’t stop him from widening the neck of my blouse to slide it from my shoulders.
‘Bravery is more than a skin you don, more than an armour of leather or lace. Courage can be found in the defiant lift of your chin or the catch in your breath.’
If he’d hoped to evoke memories, he has. Memories I choose to ignore. To refute.
‘Fuck you.’ My voice carries across the room, stern and full of denial.
‘You’re not an exhibitionist. You just like the idea of being caught. Sex in dark corners, straightening clothes not a moment too soon... Looking flushed and deconstructed somehow as we’d walked from that bathroom.’
‘No. You don’t get to do this,’ I answer, my molars gripped tight. Tears teeter on the edge of my lids as I refuse to give in. ‘You just get to watch the girl you loved, the girl you lied to, be screwed by another man.’
Shock hits his eyes first, followed by the grip of determination in his jaw.
‘Only if theMaster says,’ he returns. ‘Your cue, Mr. Smith, I believe.’ His voice carries across the room as he steps away. ‘The lady requires help with the rest of her clothing.’
Behind him, Luke blinks quickly but doesn’t move, his shirt open and his trousers loose.
‘The Master says.’ Dan’s addition is quick, his expression under his mask pained, but maybe I’m the only one here to know him well enough to tell.
At this second direction, Luke makes short work of his clothing, and wearing only black boxer briefs, kneels on one knee behind me, a hand on my hip to balance himself.
‘Are you sure you’re okay with this?’ he asks quietly.
Suddenly crushed by his kindness, I turn my head to look down at him. Can I really do this?Hope, expectancy, and desire shine in his gaze as Dan’s voice cuts in again.
‘Did I say you could touch her, Mr. Smith?’ His tone is even, but I can tell he’s pissed.
Luke’s hand moves as though my skin is suddenly hot to the touch. He returns, touching only the zipper, drawing it from the back of my knees up.
‘You do surprise me, darling.’ I try to ignore Dan’s voice. His amused and satisfied tone. ‘Did you visit a fetish shop or buy online?’
