Replay Book 5: Night Music

by Nia Farrell

  “You,” she whispered.

  Surrendering herself into his care, she let him lather her from the neck down, arching into his hands on her small breasts, jerking when he found a ticklish spot on her ribs, whimpering with need when his fingers threaded through the delta of blonde curls and found the cove of her femininity. He parted her folds and circled her clitoris, teasing, rubbing, finally catching it between his fingers and pinching at the same time his hand pulled and twisted her nipple. She climaxed, shattering in his arms.

  He was still hard. There was no hiding his erection. She pressed against him and wriggled her hips in invitation.

  “Settle,” he growled. “Tease me again, and I will claim that ass of yours.”

  She went still for a moment, then slowly, deliberately pressed her backside into the cradle of his hips.

  Fuck.

  “Cher, non! Je regrette. We cannot. We should not. You must sleep. Rehearsal tomorrow is certain to be even more demanding. Maestro Salieri will want everything perfected before he must yield the space to the production crews.”

  Her shoulders slumped. Her head dropped forward.

  She thought he was rejecting her.

  He wrapped her in his arms and kissed the delicate shell of her ear. “Tomorrow,” he murmured, “if you wish it, I will be more than happy to oblige. But you must trust me to see to your needs, and right now, your body needs rest. Your mind needs rest. As much as I might wish otherwise, I require the same. If I would not disturb you, I would love to share your bed. Long have I dreamed of drifting to sleep beside you and waking up the same.”

  She sighed and relaxed back against him.

  “I would like that, too.”

  Chapter Eight

  Josef slipped into the Versailles Room as the last notes of Mozart’s “Eine Klein Nachtmusik”—“A Little Night Music”—faded and the first notes of his “Sonata for Two Pianos in D” were played. Dressed in period clothes, Luc and Aubrey sat at their instruments, facing each other, filling the space with a duet performed as perfectly as the kiss that the two of them had shared last night.

  Their first kiss, and he had witnessed it.

  Would that he could have stayed for what followed.

  He heaved a sigh and reminded himself that it had been too soon for Aubrey. She needed time to adjust. Time to accept. Time to consider expanding her horizons. Last night, she was not ready for a ménage.

  It was possible that she might never be.

  But he could give Luc what she could not…and he could give both of them what they needed—a Dominant’s guidance and direction.

  Lying on the sofa in his office, Josef had given much thought to the two pianists, and himself, and how the three of them would fit together. From the dinner conversation at Sir Piers’s table, he had found them warm and welcoming, intelligent, with a similar sense of humor and surprisingly eclectic tastes in music.

  Both of them were immensely talented. The student had surpassed the teacher, something that Luc acknowledged with no little pride. Today, though, hearing them play for the sheer joy of it, he understood that Luc was a formidable performer in his own right. He could see why he commanded top dollar for private lessons.

  Engrossed in their duet, Luc did not see him come in. From a darkened corner, Josef witnessed the end of the piece, saw Luc walk over to Aubrey and lift her face for an intimate kiss.

  A lover’s kiss.

  Ja. Yes.

  With the help of an empty beer bottle, he had accomplished exactly what he had hoped to achieve: advance Luc’s suit with Aubrey. While he was pleased with the results, like Cyrano de Bergerac, he wanted his chance with Aubrey—and with Luc. Perhaps he should invite them out to dinner. The area was far from cosmopolitan, given its population, but there were two restaurants in town that catered to the medical, legal, and other professionals who wished to make a statement and could afford the inflated prices not listed on their menus.

  Hoping that he would have guests, he called Chez Cuisine and reserved a table for three at eight pm. With luck, Luc and Aubrey would be free and amenable.

  Luc straightened abruptly when the doors flung open, and the conductor entered the room. Luc stood by Aubrey’s side as they listened to the maestro’s wishes. New sheet music was produced and thrust at Luc, who took it to his piano and played it for Aubrey. The challenge after that was not in her performing it, but in counting the measures of the prelude and joining in at the exact time. Here, too, Luc was able to help, explaining how long she must wait, watching the music and giving her a measure’s notice by tapping on her shoulder.

  Beyond playing Mozart, she was expected to be part of the chamber orchestra that would perform the soundtrack. Much more demanding, with additional music—some of it original but written in period style—and a conductor who had little respect for her talent and none for her special needs.

  By noon, Luc was exhausted with the maestro’s demands, and Aubrey looked ready to cry.

  Enough.

  As soon as the group broke for lunch, Josef caught Luc and Aubrey before they followed the rest who were headed towards catering, set up in a room across the hall. He asked about their contract, more specifically its terms outlining what Aubrey was obligated to perform, and offered to contact the resort’s attorney Ms. Bryan for a legal opinion if Luc could get him a copy of it. Fortunately, Luc had emailed it to himself. He forwarded it to Josef for printing and examination.

  By midafternoon, the conductor was singing a different tune. Aubrey and Luc would be free at seven, and the two had agreed to dinner at eight.

  “Do they have Braille menus?” Luc asked him. “If not, please see if they have an online menu that I can read to Aubrey before we go. She prefers to not draw attention, if we can avoid it.”

  “Yes, of course,” Josef agreed. Unfortunately, neither Braille nor online menus were available. He did find a sympathetic ear in the owner’s wife, who faxed him a copy to share.

  Sir Piers was waiting outside his office when he went to get it.

  “I told Ms. Bryan to send me the bill,” Josef told him, unlocking his door and inviting Sir Piers inside. “I assume that is why you are here.”

  The British-born Dominant smiled curiously. “Not precisely,” he said. “I received an email, sent early this morning, potential patrons asking to be vetted.”

  Josef pulled the stack of printouts from his fax. “I hope you told them that I am not taking appointments until after filming is complete.”

  “No,” Sir Piers told him. “Eleanor is going to handle it. Marcus has already performed their background checks, and our doctor is coming tomorrow to do what is needed for medical clearance. They want approved for play, even knowing that nothing is scheduled at Replay until the filming is complete. You must have made quite an impression at dinner last night…or after, hmm?”

  Luc and Aubrey asked to be vetted.

  Josef quelled his excitement and met Sir Piers’s gaze, unflinching. “Nothing happened,” he assured him. “I reminded them of the resort’s rules and left them on that note. Forgive me if I sound surprised. They said nothing about it when I spoke to them earlier. I’ve invited them to dinner tonight.”

  He flipped through the stack of faxes and pulled out four sheets. “Chez Cuisine does not have Braille menus. Madeleine was kind enough to fax one over so that Luc could read it to Aubrey privately.”

  Sir Piers nodded sagely. “Your first taste of the challenges they face on a daily basis.”

  “A first taste, yes. You do not seem surprised that they want approval.”

  The Master Dom’s mouth lifted in a knowing smile. “Not after observing the three of you last night. Luc seemed interested, and you seemed…hopeful. Ms. Wolfe remained in question—that is, until I read the email that expressed their desires to proceed.”

  Sir Piers paused, as if hesitant to say anything. “Do be careful, Josef.”

  “I shall,” he assured him. “One favor, if I may. Is Geoffrey free to take
us? If not, I can drive.”

  “I am sorry, but Geoffrey and Lenore both have full evenings of drop-offs and pick-ups. Today’s influx of production crew has proven a challenge.”

  “My apologies, if I’ve added to it.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Nothing that I cannot handle,” he said smoothly. “Enjoy your evening.”

  As soon as Sir Piers was gone, Josef looked at the menu in greater detail. He had asked Madeleine to note dishes made with nutmeg, cardamom, or eggplant, which eliminated one soup, one entrée, and two desserts from Aubrey’s consideration. Overall, he was pleased. He hoped that Aubrey and Luc would be, too.

  Chapter Nine

  Josef knocked on their door at 7:15. The two of them had changed into modern clothes. Luc wore a green suit with a white button down shirt and a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired tie. Aubrey wore a breezy V-necked, mint green mini dress, with a longer sheer overlay and split long sleeves, paired with low-heeled strappy sandals. Her only jewelry was a vintage, open-back V-collar necklace made of four silver bands. From the look on Luc’s face, the necklace was something that he had chosen or had given to her.

  Not quite an official collar, it would effectually serve the same purpose, marking her as taken, were they to go to a BDSM club or private play party.

  Josef nodded his approval. “I have the restaurant’s menu, as requested, with items marked that should be avoided.” He handed the papers to Luc, who suggested that they sit down. Following them to the davenport, Josef listened while Luc went over the selections with Aubrey.

  After the stressful day that she’d had, particularly before Ms. Bryan had clarified Aubrey’s contract terms with Maestro Salieri, Aubrey decided on French onion soup, pork confit, and a chocolate tart for dessert, if she had room for it.

  She did. Or at least room enough for the chocolate-covered strawberry topping the dessert that the three of them shared.

  Josef took care of the bill, then went to fetch the car and bring it round so that Aubrey didn’t have so far to walk. The restaurant was in the historic district, which featured turn-of-the-century and antebellum houses, limited parking, and uneven sidewalks. She’d twisted her ankle going into the restaurant. A brief examination had eased her mind but left him half-hard, remembering her reaction to his touch. Knowing that they would soon be headed back to Replay, he was struggling to maintain control.

  He opened the rear passenger door of his Mercedes C63 sedan and helped Aubrey into the car, making certain she was buckled before taking his place behind the wheel. Once Luc was settled in beside him and strapped into the front passenger seat, Josef put the car into gear, signaled his intention, and pulled out onto the brick-paved street.

  Now that they were alone, without the ears of others, Luc brought up the subject that they had been skirting all night.

  “Tomorrow is a light day for us,” he told him. “The last before filming begins. We’ve asked Sir Piers to vet us. We have appointments with the resort physician and his wife Eleanor in the afternoon.”

  “That is good,” Josef told him, wishing now that he’d adjusted his rearview mirror so that he could see Aubrey. “Let me know when you are cleared for play, and we can see about that flogging, ja?”

  “Well,” Luc started, rubbing his hands on his thighs. “We were hoping that we wouldn’t have to wait that long. We’ll have to do vanilla if we go back to the resort, but we were wondering—we were hoping that there might be somewhere else we could go, to get things started with the three of us…?”

  The three of us.

  Josef’s cock sprang to attention.

  Fortunately, his other head remained level. “There is a place,” he told them. “My home dungeon. I leave it to Aubrey to choose. Which is it to be, Spätzchen? Does the little sparrow wish to return to a vanilla roost, or are you brave enough to spread your wings and fly?”

  He held his breath, waiting for her answer.

  “Home,” she said. “Please, Sir. Take us home.”

  * * *

  Since Aubrey could not see it when they pulled into his drive, Josef gave them a shortened version of his realtor’s pitch. “The house was built in 1930,” he told them, “for a man who got rich bootlegging during Prohibition and his debutante bride, a blueblood whose family lost everything in the stock market crash of 1929. The 8,000-square-feet French chateau was designed by Maurice Fatio, a famed architect at the time. Needless to say, given his client’s occupation, the house was built with some unusual features, especially in the basement. There’s been some remodeling done, and updates on the heating and cooling system, but the art deco bar is original. There’s a swimming pool out back, a pool house, and a small guest house where my housekeeper Nadine and her husband Jorge, my groundskeeper, live. I’ve texted Nadine to let her know that I will be cooking breakfast tomorrow. If you choose to stay the night, you need fear neither intrusion nor judgment. My lifestyle is far from secret.”

  Looking over Aubrey’s head, he saw Luc’s nod of acknowledgment.

  Josef led. Luc followed him into the marble foyer, with Aubrey on his arm. Instead of heading downstairs, he took them into the living room. It was a large space, well-appointed, with an expansive fireplace at one end and a pair of grand pianos at the other. “Sit.” He remained standing while Luc and Aubrey took a seat on the sofa closest to him. “Before we go further, I need to ask you both some questions. Luc, you will answer first, then Aubrey will answer the same question.”

  He went over hard and soft limits. Their general sexual history, including whether either of them had been in a ménage. Luc had experience with two men, as a top, bottom, and middle. Aubrey had been with two men, but not by choice, and not at once, after her date had invited a friend over and they’d taken turns, having her.

  Luc was livid.

  “Ach, Spätzchen!” Josef sat on the other side of her, took her hand, and kissed her wrist. “And you’ve told no one,” he guessed, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

  “No,” she whispered, her face grown flushed with emotion. Embarrassment. Regret. And anger—at herself, as much as the others. Her brilliant blue eyes welled. A single tear escaped and tracked down her cheek. “I don’t know who it was,” she admitted. “Just that they knew each other…and they used condoms. They said it would be their word against mine. That their families would see that I got kicked out of school, or that I’d lose my scholarship and then I’d have to quit. Either way, I’d be gone. I stayed clear of boys after that,” she said hoarsely, pushing the words out, past years of bottled silence. “I only started dating again after college.”

  “And how many partners have you had since then, little sparrow?”

  “Two, besides Luc, Sir.”

  “Sir Josef,” he corrected. “Let me hear you say it, Liebchen.”

  She repeated his name perfectly, softening the Germanic “J” to an English “Y.”

  “Good girl. If you choose to submit, in the playroom and the dungeon, we will be Sir Josef and Luc, Sir. There will be two men to see to your needs, but I will top the both of you. Do you understand, Spätzchen? You have limited experience with fellatio, and you are new to anal sex. You can expect to do both when you give yourself to us.”

  Again, that flood of color. “Yes, Sir Josef.”

  He did love a woman who could blush.

  Except for Aubrey’s refusal to be blindfolded, their hard limits were fairly predictable. “When you and Luc submit to me, I will expect obedience. I am firm, but fair. I prefer rewards as incentive, over threats of punishment if you fail. But as a Dominant, it is my job to help you achieve your full potential, to find and test your boundaries. Some lessons will be easier than others. If you absolutely cannot continue, one word from either of you stops the play. Now, I need your safewords,” Josef told them. “One to slow the scene. Another to stop it.”

  Luc caught Aubrey’s hand and squeezed it. “We’ll be using the same words, Sir Josef. Adagio to slow and caesura to stop.”
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  “Aubrey, I want you to repeat them for me. What is your word if, for any reason, we need to slow things down?”

  “Adagio.”

  “And to immediately stop a scene, what will you say?”

  “Caesura.”

  “Sehr gut. Luc. Aubrey. Before we go downstairs, do you have any other questions or concerns?” Both of them sat, silent. Trusting. “Nein? Then let us adjourn to the playroom.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Luc, you will undress yourself, then undress Aubrey. There are hangers in the closet to use.”

  Not having been given permission to speak, Luc nodded respectfully and obeyed, hanging up his suit and shirt and placing his shoes, socks, and briefs on the floor beneath them before returning to Aubrey.

  “Good man,” Josef hummed, appreciating the view. Luc’s rope-veined erection had to be nine or ten inches, with a thick, meaty girth that Aubrey’s small fingers would be challenged to wrap around. “Now, Aubrey, before Luc helps divest you of your clothing, I want him to kiss you. And then I want you to kiss me.”

  She shivered in anticipation.

  Framing her pale face with his dusky hands, Luc bent down and kissed her, a slow, sensual mating of mouths, lips, and tongues. He moved to stand behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, and urged her forward, until she and Josef were toe to toe. Sliding his fingers down her arms, Luc caught her wrists and lifted her hands to Josef’s shoulders. She felt the fabric of his jacket, felt the muscled wall of his chest beneath it, found the tie he still wore, and pulled herself up to meet him.

  So shy. So sweet. So very brave, to do this. Wishing to see where she was willing to go, Josef let her take the lead. Whatever she did, he matched, until she parted her lips and he followed suit. Taking control once their tongues met, he claimed her mouth in a passionate kiss that left Aubrey breathless and Luc thoroughly aroused.