Page 56 of Various Intentions

Charles squirmed and coughed as Vincent fought a smile. He knew how it felt to be in such a state of pent-up desire that mere words could cause waves of delight.

“Thank you, Sir,” Charles said, breaths coming fast. He managed to stand and take Juno’s hand before being led up the staircase.

Vincent and Matteo and I exchanged a glance.

I shrugged. “Well, that shouldn’t take long, at least. The poor kid is ripe for it.”

I turned to Taylor, who had observed everything without a remark. He knew about this stuff, of course. You couldn’t live in this house without being exposed to all the trivialities of various BDSM practices. “So, the Go Fund Me campaign for Juno’s project is going well?”

Taylor grinned. “Yeah. I knew it would. They have so much support within the community, and sharing it this way, it’s very easy for people to donate.”

“Hmm. I would never have thought of it.”

“Okay, Boomer.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not a Boomer. You take that back.”

“Not officially, no. But the term has come to represent anyone older than forty.”

I narrowed my eyes even more. “Taylor, I’m not—”

He shook his head. “Age doesn’t matter, in fact. It’s more of an…attitude.”

I glared at him, prepared to argue, when Matteo and Vincent closed in on each side of me and kissed me sweetly on the cheeks.

“Never mind,” Matteo said.

“Taylor, why don’t you go check on supper?” Vincent suggested.

“Whatever.”

Taylor made a gesture of futility and headed for the kitchen.

* * * *

At supper, Taylor refrained from further references to my age and relevancy. Charles and Juno seemed to share a silent secret, except that we all knew what it was.

“Now,” I said, when we’d mostly finished eating. “We have to finalize the plans for ourElectric Dreamsextravaganza. It’s only two weeks away.”

“Shouldn’t Daphne be here?” Juno suggested. “She was going to handle some of it.”

“The catering has been put in place, as well as a sushi bar ordered for our slaves to display on their naked bodies,” I said, gesturing to Vincent and Charles with a smile. “Daphne arranged all that.”

Juno clapped their hands. “Excellent.”

“Have you delivered all the artwork to the venue?”

“Yes, except for a couple of pieces I’m working on. But they will be ready.”

“How many do we have?”

“Fifty pieces, in a range of sizes and prices. Mostly paintings but a few sculptures as well.”

“Great!” I’d seen a couple of Juno’s sculptures. They were original, with subtle erotic overtones, and vibrant, like their paintings. I was absolutely certain our event would be a success.

My cell phone rang just then in Daphne’s exclusive ring tone.

“Hey, we’re just going over the final details for the—”