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The house lights came up a little, and festive techno music once again blasted through the club.
Various cameras showed the parade beginning, with the royal procession tossing Mardi Gras beads into the crowd as they wove their way through the dungeon, past suspension rigs, Saint Andrew’s crosses, and spanking benches.
On the screen, Aviana finally came into view. Nothing surprising him now, she sat in a sleigh that was pulled by her harnessed slaves.
Bar patrons erupted into cheers.
The rear was brought up by the bastard Evan Frost, dressed as Santa and belting out a hearty, “Ho, ho, ho.”
A woman Hayes didn’t recognize followed behind, dressed as an elf and handing out candy canes.
Still clapping like many others, her enthusiasm contagious, Abigail turned to him. “Isn’t Mistress Aviana something?”
“Oh, she definitely is.”Manipulative. Brilliant. And a damn good friend, even when he didn’t want one.
“When I checked in, I was informed that everyone is invited to visit her once the parade is over, and she’s seated on her throne.”
“Invited?” He allowed the word to linger.
“More of an order, from what I’m told.”
How well Abigail understood the owner’s decrees. Even he intended to follow them.
“Since I want to be sure my friend gets an invite to set up a booth at next year’s event, I intend to stay on her good side.”
“The corset business isn’t yours, then?” He’d wondered if she might use Aviana’s whims as an excuse to get away from him, but she didn’t.
“No. Raven owns the shop. I teach preschool and help her with special events.”
“You seemed to know what you were doing.”
She laughed. “I was petrified. When she left, I’d never even done a credit card transaction. I thought my brain would start short-circuiting on the first couple.”
“No one but you would have known otherwise.”
“Thank you for saying that. Dealing with three- and four-year-olds all day prepares you for anything.”
This was a celebratory evening. And the Quarter offered anonymity to those who wanted it. But it was also a place where people were real and exposed—emotionally as well as physically—in ways they weren’t anywhere else. And he yearned to peel back all of Abigail’s secrets. “Do you have children of your own?”
Pain, like he’d seen earlier, ghosted through her beautiful light blue eyes, leaving a trail of regret behind.
“I thought… I hoped…” She took a sip of her now-cold brew. Then she looked at him and pulled back her shoulders. “But no. At least not yet. The twenty students my aide and I have in class keep me busy enough.”
Did it fulfill her though?
The parade finally stopped. A blanket was removed from Aviana’s lap, and she was assisted onto the dais that held her throne.
Additional seating that wasn’t normally there flanked each side. Members of her court took their places.
A group of elves detached her slaves from their harnesses and moved the sleigh toward Santa’s high-back, velvet-covered chair.
Then a camera zoomed in on the Christmas tree. The enormous thing rivaled anything he’d seen outside of the Rockefeller Center.
“Oh my God.” Abigail gasped and laughed at the same time. “Can you believe this?”
Hayes had been friends with Aviana for too long to be shocked by much. But this…? The branches were decorated with hundreds, if not thousands, of glass ornaments all crafted in her likeness.
“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. Raven is going to be so upset.”
