Burning Bright by A. Catherine Noon Page A

his head toward the bar.
    The sounds of a vacuum powering down came to them, and then Leo appeared, pushing the appliance. The young man had blond hair and looked college-aged, hardly old enough to actually enter the club during the later hours when the restaurant changed over. “Hey, Boss.”
    “Leo, I have someone I’d like you to meet.”
    Leo set the vacuum against the wall and came over, his hand out. “Hi. I’m Leo Voshnoy.”
    Sasha took his hand. “Hi. Sasha Soskoff.”
    “The vet, right?” Leo asked, letting go of him. “It’s nice to meet you.” He turned to Neal. “I’m done down here. What else do you need?”
    “The laundry on the second floor is ready, then the dishes. After that, I think you’re done, but check with Paul.”
    “You need anything else down here?”
    “Not ’til later, thanks.”
    Leo waved and disappeared with the heavy vacuum. Neal walked over to the bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”
    “Some iced tea would be fantastic.”
    They carried their drinks, Sasha following Neal.
    Neal with his chin. “Have you walked the gallery?”
    Sasha sipped his tea. “I didn’t really get to see, it was too crowded.”
    “We put in a low interior wall, creating a long hallway that we turned into a gallery. Come on.”
    Neal reached over and flipped a switch. Lights showcased large, framed photographs tucked into alcoves. Several of the photos featured Neal on stage with Dillon and another young man.
    “Who’s the other bottom?”
    “We have three House bottoms.” Neal pointed at one of the photographs. “That’s Larry. The other one is Andy, but he’s on vacation ’til next week. He’s finally coming out to his family. Poor kid. I suggested he doesn’t share his job, yet, with them.”
    Sasha surveyed the rest of the photographs. Many focused on the bondage scene, but a series of handsome nudes on the end were his favorite. Neal figured prominently in them and Sasha wished he could take one home.
    They finished and returned to the main room. Neal slid into a booth that faced the stage and Sasha joined him, still gazing around the place. It seemed a lot bigger when it wasn’t crammed with people.
    Neal set his drink down and met Sasha’s gaze. “So what are your limits and preferences? I want to know those before we start.”
    “No water-sports or permanent marks. No blood play or forced penetration. No gags yet. I take orders well and I like to watch.”
    “And we’ve already determined that you’re not into exhibition.”
    Sasha glanced at the stage and could not quite repress his shiver. He pushed down the memory of his rape that floated by. His ex, Brock Gary, had taken care of them, and Sasha had dealt with it. Even his therispt agreed.
    Neal cocked his head and cupped his cheek in one hand. “What just happened?”
    “I…” Sasha really didn’t want to kill the moment, but the memory flashed by again.
    “I’m not moving until you tell me what just happened.”   Neal looked stern. “I’m a top, not an idiot. I know when a sub has a ‘moment’. Tell me.”
    Sasha met Neal’s gaze. “I learned the hard way to be careful when I was in college. I liked the idea of a group scene, but the top was an asshole and things got out of control. He was going to share me with a buddy while others watched, but they decided to all take a turn. He let his friends rape me in harness. My regular top was angry at me for not clearing it with him first, but he took care of those guys and made sure they’d never hurt anyone again.” He swallowed. “I ended up in the hospital.”
    Neal stroked his cheek. “Jesus.”
    “That’s why I don’t like public displays. They can get out of control.”
    “Not mine.” Neal’s face was hard. Sasha watched him make a visible effort to relax. “You been to clubs before?”
    Sasha nodded, grateful that Neal was not going to keep focusing on the past. The top just wanted the facts, not all the gory details. “Yeah.