Black Light: Roulette Rematch (Black Light Series Book 20)

by Livia Grant

  “Bullshit. We gotta have the sauna working by Valentine’s Day at the latest. It’s one of the…” He cut off his sentence. The contractor wasn’t a member, and although he’d signed the standard NDA before being allowed in the top secret BDSM club, he didn’t need to know the details. “Just get it fixed before then.”

  “I’ll know more when I get back to my shop. Call you later.”

  After the guy left, Elijah stood in the middle of the empty club, glancing around at the place that now felt like home rather than work. As hard as he tried to tell himself that the bet he’d made with Spencer wasn’t that important in the wide spectrum of life, he couldn’t push down his anxiety. Not only was he competitive, but he couldn’t stand the thought of another year of staff meetings where the asshole in D.C. snuck in digs and insults over their win the year before.

  We won’t lose. Not again.

  Two hours later and things had gone from bad to worse. While his key employees had all shown up eventually, their arrival had only brought one piece of bad news after another until Elijah’s head throbbed.

  “Hey, can you pass over the first-aid kit?” he asked Madison who was sitting at Tyler’s desk in the office.

  “You hurt yourself?” she asked, concern showing in her wrinkled brow.

  “Only with bad news. I have a headache.”

  “Like, you need to chill out. Everything will turn out fine. It always does.”

  Opening the newest email to hit his inbox, Elijah wasn’t so sure. “Dominic just quit.”

  “Dominic? Who’s… Oh, the guy that dresses like Jack Sparrow?” Madison asked in a tone much too lively to suit him.

  “Yes, Dominic who runs our costume department. The guy who is a mission critical member of the team for Roulette. And does he give two weeks’ notice? No! The asshole is leaving for another gig on Friday. Zero notice. Fuck my life.”

  “Hey, at least you have his assistant, Annie. I’m sure she can handle it.“

  “We’re gonna have fifteen couples. That’s the potential for forty-five wardrobe or costume needs in a fucking three-hour period. Annie can’t handle half of that on her own.”

  “So… you have tons of connections in town. I’m sure you can get another costume design person from one of the studios to help out.”

  “In less than two weeks? On Valentine’s Day? That passes all of the background checks?” Elijah’s voice got louder with each question until he ended on a shout that made his head pound harder.

  Madison tried to placate him. “Fine, let me make some calls. I’ll sort it out, but…”

  Elijah used the last swig of his now-warm soda to down two pain killers before pinning Madison with his best glare.

  “But what?”

  “I don’t want to tell you unless you promise to stay calm.”

  “How about I promise not to throttle you?”

  “I guess that could work. It’s just…”

  “Spit it out.”

  “The commemorative glasses we ordered are on backorder. They may not get here in time.” When Elijah stood frozen, taking in the bad news, she added a happy, “If it makes you feel any better, the ones for Runway are late too.”

  “Where. Did. You. Order. From?” he ground out. He’d warned her. She better not say….

  “I know you told me not to, but like the price difference was just too great.” She paused, stopping short until his dominant glare spurred her to add, “I ordered from the company in China.”

  “Madison!”

  The petite Runway manager jumped, apologizing. “I’m sorry! I’ve used this distributor many times. I’ve never had any problems before. I don’t know what went wrong.”

  “I went wrong. The universe doesn’t want me to beat Cook this year. That’s the only explanation for all the bullshit going wrong at the same time around here.”

  Susie, his head bartender, had arrived, but hadn’t noticed until she plunked a tall amber liquid in front of him.

  “Drink. You need it,” she grumbled.

  Tyler added, “Yeah, think of it as medicine. If not for you, for the rest of us.”

  “Ha, ha. I don’t need booze. I need…”

  As one, the rest of the employees added in unison, “To beat Black Light East.”

  “Yes. And not just beat them. Trounce them. Have the best couples. Hottest kinks. Most spectators. Highest profit. Most bids on silent auction items!”

  He was yelling and he didn’t even care. If that’s what it took to get their attention, so be it. “What is everyone looking at me like that for? Haven’t you ever seen a man losing his shit before?”

  They all looked around until finally Madison spoke softly. “Eh… please tell me that you’re handling the silent auction.”

  “What do you mean, me? I didn’t handle…” Elijah’s heart almost thumped out of his chest. “You took care of that last year.”

  “I handled them after they all started coming in, sure. I even made a few calls to get some more donations, but you handled the invitations to donate last year. I’m sure of it.”

  Elijah’s mind raced. Had he sent the email? If it was on his list, he had. He shuffled a bunch of papers around on his desk until he dug out the legal pad with his to-do list on it.

  Whew. ‘Send silent auction invite’ was on the list and crossed off.

  “I already sent it out. It’s crossed off my list.”

  Everyone except Madison let out a sigh of relief. “So, why haven’t I gotten any emails or mail on it yet? You were going to send that out a month ago before we even started the sign-up process. Who did you tell them to reach out to?”

  That was a very good question. Elijah sat in his chair, pulling up his email. “Okay, I sent it out on…”

  Elijah searched his SENT folder, but couldn’t find the email. Almost panicking, he remembered he’d used the newsletter mail service to email all of the members. Switching over to that app, he went to the SENT folder again.

  Don’t panic. It has to be here.

  He checked the DRAFT folder next and it was empty. What the fuck?

  Then his gaze landed on the big bright red banner across the top of the screen.

  ERROR MESSAGE: There was an error performing the send operation.

  His heart thumped faster as he clicked on the error.

  The campaign wasn’t sent because you added special characters such as a backslash or quotation mark at the start of the campaign name. Remove any special characters from the start of the name and click Send Campaign.

  Elijah dropped his head into his hands, elbows on the desk. He wanted to scream, to throttle someone, only there was no one to blame for this one but himself.

  I’m a dumbass.

  Madison’s soft touch on his arm as she looked over his shoulder at his computer screen calmed him slightly. The pain meds hadn’t kicked in yet and for a brief moment he thought his head might explode, and honestly, how he felt in that moment, that might be okay with him. He was used to the back pain and knee pain. But this… it was too much.

  “Don’t worry about it. Let us work on the list for a while while you go upstairs and lay down in one of the rooms,” she offered.

  “I don’t need to lay down,” he mumbled.

  Susie shoved the bourbon under his face. “Then take your medicine.”

  “I’m not drinking.”

  Tyler was farther away, standing with the other dungeon monitors, when he offered up, “I think you need to get laid is what I think. Hell, if I thought it would help, I’d offer to suck you off. Take one for the team and all.”

  Despite the heavy weight on his shoulders, Tyler’s smartass remark made him chuckle. Elijah finally looked up to give his second-in-command shit.

  “Wouldn’t you be in trouble if I took you up on that offer?”

  Tyler’s eyes grew wide before finally bursting out laughing with the rest of the gang gathered around the crowded office.

  He was their leader. It was time he started acting lik
e it.

  “Okay, first, while I’m not gonna get mushy, I am gonna say I’m sorry. I know I’ve been a sonuvabitch to be around lately, but in case you haven’t noticed, I really want us to win this year. Not only have I had to put up with Cook’s gloating all year, but more importantly, I’m so proud of what we’ve created here at Black Light West, and we deserve to win. I feel lucky every day when I come in and get to work with all of you, helping to give our members the private space they deserve to live out their sexual fantasies.”

  Elijah paused. He hadn’t planned on making an inspirational speech, especially with a growing migraine. But he was reminded that they’d been through so much together in the last year since almost losing their good friend, Nalani. All he could do was speak from the heart.

  “You’ve all become an unlikely family to me, and as much as I do want us to win Roulette this year, it can’t come at the cost of our relationships with each other. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. Madison, Tyler, and I are gonna regroup on our action item list and then we’re all gonna chip in and divide and conquer. We have a lot of things going wrong, but we are all smart, resourceful people and if anyone can pull it together, it’s us. Together.”

  The raucous cheers that erupted in the small space pierced his headache like an ice pick, but Elijah didn’t complain. He was part of a team—a team that had each other’s backs. They’d work their asses off to solve all of the problems they could, and Valentine’s Day would arrive, regardless. If they won, fantastic. But… if they didn’t, they’d still succeed as long as their members had fun and they all stuck together.

  Elijah’s shoulders relaxed as he made peace with the challenge ahead.

  “Now, let’s get back to work. I’m gonna order in food, and everyone feel free to pour a drink on the house if it will help.”

  There’s no ‘I’ in Team

  Madison

  Runway West

  February 14th, 5:45pm

  As Madison smoothed out the thigh-high leather boots she’d purchased for Roulette, she pulled in another deep breath, counting to ten before she let it out slowly.

  “Stop worrying. You ace the MC gig every year, babe,” Trevor said, grinning over at her from the chair as his gaze slid down her body. “And you look so damn good doing it.”

  “You haven’t been under General Elijah’s thumb for the last month,” she replied, rolling her eyes as she turned in front of the full-length mirror, making sure everything looked perfect before she stepped in front of the massive audience Roulette always brought. “You’d be stressed too if you knew how crazy he’s been.”

  “You’ve told me all about it.” Chuckling, Trevor pushed himself out of the chair and moved to stand behind her in the mirror. A moment later his hands were on her shoulders, thumbs digging into the knots of tension that felt like a permanent fixture in her muscles. “I think I have an idea.”

  “Oh my God that feels amazing,” Madison groaned, eyes closing as his strong hands worked magic.

  “Keep making noises like that and I’m going to make you late for Roulette,” Trevor threatened playfully, his voice a delicious growl against her ear that had her contemplating how quickly she could get out of all the leather she’d put on.

  Nope. Elijah will totally kill me.

  “Don’t tease me right now, please? Tonight has to go, like… perfect. More than perfect. We have to win, and I can’t get distracted or I’m going to totally screw it up somehow.” Shrugging out of the tempting massage, Madison stepped closer to the mirror to check her make-up one more time. She’d put her blonde hair in another high ponytail, wearing a leather corset that showed off her curves, lifted the girls high on her chest, and it matched the leather skirt she’d found like a dream.

  Well, she hadn’t found it. Dominic had.

  Then Dominic quit, which was just one of a hundred things that had gone wrong in the last few weeks. Elijah felt like the universe was working against them, and while Madison always tried to keep a positive attitude — even she had to admit it seemed plausible.

  But they’d come together, worked hard to fix as much as they could, and even though everything wasn’t perfect… they could still win.

  “Earth to Madison,” Trevor said, waving his hand in front of her face, and she jerked back.

  “What?”

  “I asked you if you were ready to head downstairs,” he answered, chuckling and looking too damn handsome with that sly grin on his face. “You do realize that stressing about this shit isn’t going to make the night go any better, right?”

  “You pestering me isn’t going to make it any better either!” she snapped and immediately wished she hadn’t. Madison only got a brief glimpse of the wicked flash on Trevor’s face before he caught her around the waist and bent her over. The leather skirt was already short, but Trevor flipped it up onto her back anyway just before he landed the first blistering smack of his palm.

  “I know you’re stressed, babe,” he began, delivering another hard swat to her other ass cheek. “But I am not responsible for this shit.”

  “I know, but—” Another hard spank cracked against her skin, drawing a whine through her clenched teeth as he repeated it again, and again, and again. “Trevor!”

  “That’s not what you call me when you’re a naughty girl,” he said through a laugh, delivering another series of fiery swats to her ass that made her struggle against his hold. He just adjusted his grip, shifting her off balance, which forced her to brace her hands on the wall beside the mirror so she didn’t topple in the high-heeled boots. “Come on, babe, you know what to say.”

  “This isn’t helping, SIR!” Madison shouted, but his laugh just rolled out again as he landed another quick series of searing smacks. Her ass was on fire, and she fought the urge to chew all of her lipstick off as she tried to bite back the whines as the pain amplified.

  “I’m waiting,” he taunted her, slowing down the pace as he evened out the handprints she was sure he was leaving behind. She knew exactly what he wanted to hear, but something inside her just wouldn’t budge.

  “And I’m supposed to be downstairs as Mistress Madison, but someone—” She didn’t even get the chance to finish the sentence before he focused an agonizing set of swats directly on her sitspot. Shifting her weight from foot to foot, she tried to wiggle out of his grip, to lessen the burning ache, but Trevor was nothing but hard muscle, and a lot bigger.

  “First of all, babe, you’re never going to be Mistress Madison with me. I’m not into getting my ass lit up like this, but you definitely are.” Pushing her thong aside, Trevor plunged two fingers deep, sending her onto her toes with a gasp that ended on a hushed moan. “And whether you think this isn’t helping or not, I’m not letting you go downstairs until I hear what I want to hear… even if that means Elijah himself has to come check on you and find you bent over with a red ass.”

  Heat flushed her face at the idea of Elijah walking in on her like this. Sure, there was a BDSM club a few stories under her very stylish boots, and she was about to MC the most intense kink event of the year… but Elijah was still her coworker.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” she mumbled, groaning when Trevor pulled his fingers free and spanked her again.

  “Want to try that again?”

  “I’m sorry, sir!” Madison shouted, whining as she tried to stand upright again and Trevor just leaned into her, keeping her exactly where he wanted her.

  “For?” he prompted, and she could hear the damn charming smile in his voice.

  “For snapping at you and like… everything else. All the stuff I’ve been doing. Just can we please go downstairs, sir?” she begged, definitely not feeling like Mistress Madison, but then Trevor’s fingers found her clit and all her thoughts went out the window.

  “Good girl,” Trevor praised, winding her up with each delirious circle between her thighs. “You like this?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Want more?” he asked with that low rumbling edge to his
tone that would have made her wet if she wasn’t already soaking his fingers.

  “Yes, please! Please, sir?” Madison shifted her hips, feeling the blur of pleasure winding with the subtle, burning ache that covered her entire ass. He was right, this was exactly what she’d needed. The pressure increased, driving her higher — and then it stopped.

  “Then it sounds like you’re going to have to do a good job tonight, babe,” Trevor said as he let go of her, stepping back when she stood upright to stare at him in shock.

  “You’re kidding me!”

  Raising a finger in the air, Trevor grinned. “Tsk, tsk. Watch your tone.”

  “Since when are you into edging me, sir?” Madison asked, knowing her tone was anything but respectful. Fortunately, Trevor just laughed.

  “There are some perks to spending as much time around Ryder as I do working for Khloe.” Winking at her, Trevor tilted his chin toward the door of their room. “We better go downstairs. The sooner you get this show on the road, the sooner I can finish what I started.”

  “You’re not going to let me come until after Roulette?” Pure disbelief filled her, but Trevor’s wicked grin confirmed it. “That’s so mean!”

  “Think of it as… inspiration. You’ve been stressing for weeks over impressing Jaxson, Chase, and Emma, and Elijah, and whoever they sent over from the East Coast.” Stepping closer, he ran his hand over her ass, squeezing hard, which woke up the burn in her skin. “Now you’re going to be thinking about everything I’m going to do to you as soon as we’re back upstairs.”

  Holy shit.

  As much as she hated it, and as much as she absolutely needed to come… she had to admit he was right. With the lingering throb in her clit, her pussy soaking her underwear, and the simmering heat of her ass — all she could think about was Trevor.

  “You know I’m right,” he added, holding her chin between his thumb and forefinger.

  “I still don’t like it,” Madison whispered, and he chuckled.

  “Next time don’t snap at me for something I’m not remotely responsible for.” Winking at her, Trevor let go of her chin to take her hand. “Come on, babe. If I don’t get you downstairs, Elijah will probably threaten to whip my ass.”