Marketplace
Page 40
“This... this is...” Terrence cuddled his dog, which energetically scrambled in his arms, trying to get a purchase for her tiny sharp claws, yapping and squirming.
Grendel actually paled; Alex’s eyes narrowed dangerously.
“It’s a miracle!” Terrence proclaimed. “I thought I was impressed by dinner, but my God, Alex... Grendel! This is a damned miracle!”
Alex’s eyebrows shot up and her expression immediately changed to one of slight pleasure. “Oh?” she enquired.
“How could you have known? How could you have fucking known? I was just thinking of having her clipped this weekend. The poor thing is just too high strung for her show schedule; it was making her positively neurotic. And look! She’s cured! Maybe the pressure was getting to her; maybe she knows daddy doesn’t need ribbons to love her to pieces!”
“Undoubtedly,” Grendel said.
“Your slaves are miracle workers. Miracle workers! We definitely need to do more business. I swear, an Anderson slave couldn’t have done this.” He beamed at them and they smiled back. “Yes, we need to do more business. Let’s talk when you’re back from all your travels! Ciao!”
* * * *
“Let’s postpone the review until tomorrow, shall we?” Alex suggested as the last car pulled away.
“Good idea,” Grendel agreed.
“Very good,” Chris said. They all walked away with various expressions of amusement and exhaustion.
* * * *
“We’re all dead tomorrow, you know,” Brian sighed from his bed.
“No kidding,” said Enid.
“It is difficult to imagine any other outcome,” Ramesh groaned.
But as he rolled over onto his stomach, Brian remembered that Chris told him he did well. That felt really good. It allowed him to sleep, dreaming of a soft whumping sound and blue flames flickering over glistening meringue.
* * * *
Chris went back to the kitchen and pulled out a crème brulee and a small propane torch. Carefully, he fired the top, until the perfect caramelized crust appeared. He grabbed a pair of spoons and went up to the media room where he knew Rachel would be curled up watching TV.
She grabbed the dessert and spooned into it with glee, and let him change the channel from sort core cable porn to a recap of the night’s baseball game at Shea. He took one taste of the custard and left the rest to her, and they leaned into each other enjoying the peace. “How did it go?” she finally asked, as she licked the spoon.
“I intend to kill them all tomorrow.”
Rachel giggled.
“And then myself, before Grendel and Alex do it.”
She snorted hard. Chris smiled in the darkness of the room, the flickering of the television oddly restful. He fell asleep there, and Rachel covered them both with an afghan as the rain continued to patter on the roof above them.
Acknowledgments
The new editions of the Marketplace books would not be possible without the support, kindness, generosity, and perversity of many of my friends and professional colleagues. More thanks than these words can express are due to these folks:
For perseverance in the face of very old and repeatedly reformatted text, I need to thank copyeditor Lauren P. Burka and her husband Dan.
For being my sounding board, beta reader, cheering section, and gentle critic, Kim Attica; you did not abandon me when I stopped writing, either.
For my more enthusiastic fans, who delight me with questions, challenge me with puzzles, and make me laugh with amusing anecdotes.
For the cover photo and the honor of having photos shot especially for my books, I need to thank Project Coordinator, Stylist, Artist, and Impresaria Madison Young, and talented photographer (and rigger) Lochai. Front cover models are Minx, Maitresse Madeline, and Maestro Stephanos. Back photo models are Maestro, Joe, and Holly Heart. The evocative set was provided by the Master of the Revels at Kink.com, Peter Acworth and TheUpperFloor.com. I'd go back there any time!
And for Karen, my love.
About the Author
Laura Antoniou’s work has become well-known in the erotically alternative community as the creator of the Marketplace series (The Marketplace, The Slave, The Trainer, The Academy and The Reunion), the first three volumes of which were originally published under the name Sara Adamson. One Marketplace character also appears in her first book, The Catalyst, but she leaves the reader to figure that out. The only independently written Marketplace short story, “Brian on the Farm,” appears in Lawrence Schimel and Carol Queen’s ground-breaking anthology, Switch Hitters: Lesbians Write Gay Male Erotica, and Gay Men Write Lesbian Erotica (Cleis), which has been published in English and in German.
Antoniou has also had great success as an editor, creating the Leatherwomen anthologies which highlighted new erotic work, By Her Subdued, a collection of stories about dominant women, and No Other Tribute, which features submissive women. Her nonfiction anthologies include Some Women and an homage to author John Preston entitled Looking for Mr. Preston. Antoniou’s work has been published in the United States, Germany, Japan, Israel and Korea, to international acclaim.
Antoniou’s short stories also appear in other anthologies, most recently in SM Classics, edited by Susan Wright; Things Invisible To See: Gay and Lesbian Tales of Magic Realism, edited by Lawrence Schimel; The Second Coming, edited by Pat Califia and Robin Sweeney; Once Upon a Time: Erotic Fairy Tales for Women, edited by Mike Ford; Ritual Sex, edited by Tristan Taormino and David Aaron Clark; and Best Lesbian Erotica 1997, edited by Tristan Taormino. Antoniou was also a columnist for Girlfriends magazine from 1995-1997, the submissions editor for Badboy and Bi-Curious magazines from 1995-96, a regular contributor to The SandMUtopia Guardian, and a short-lived columnist for Alt.com. She is a highly demanded speaker at schools, leather/SM and sexuality conferences, and has become well known for her rants, thinly disguised as keynote speeches.
Antoniou is currently finishing the sixth book in the Marketplace series, entitled The Inheritor. She has no intention to stop there.
The Marketplace Series
Now Published by Circlet Press’s Luster Editions
Circlet Press is proud to be returning the entire Marketplace series by Laura Antoniou to print, as well as launching all-new ebook editions. These books are the first in our Luster Editions line of erotic books and books of alternative sexuality that are not science fiction or fantasy.
The Slave, September 2010
The Trainer, November 2010
The Academy, February 2011
The Reunion, April 2011
The Inheritor—in the works!
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