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me.”
    “Maybe you got lucky. He left early tonight
and Athena’s in charge.”
    “So, she can kill me instead. That’s not much
consolation. I think she’d actually enjoy it more.” Amanda sucked
back the rest of her drink. “You know how they are about security.
How could I have fucked up so badly?”
    “You just made a mistake. Everyone does
sometimes.” Tex tried to cheer Amanda up by teasing her. “What is
this, the first mistake of your life?”
    “So I make it a really good one. Shit. Best
case I’ll get fired.” Amanda looked as if she would be sick. “I
love this job, you know. I love this place. I can’t believe I did
this.”
    The crowd moved and Tex caught a glimpse of
Athena on the other side of the dance floor. She was watching the
Count with obvious disapproval. “I’ve got an idea,” Tex said.
“Maybe Athena will go for it.”
    “What?”
    “Nobody can lie without expecting
repercussions,” Tex said, glaring at the calico pussycat.
“Curiosity isn’t going to kill this cat, but maybe we can teach her
to think twice about tricking us.”
     
    * * *
     
    The Count was watching Athena.
    It was amazing that the years hadn’t
diminished her appeal to him at all. She had little in common with
the innocent schoolgirl he had once seduced and trained to his
pleasure, except for her red hair and her beauty. He would have
liked to have taken credit for awakening her to passion, but the
Count suspected that Athena would have become the woman she was
even without his influence. It was in her blood, after all. She was
a thousand times more alluring now, a rose in full bloom as opposed
to a tender, tightly furled, bud.
    And she was disgusted with him. He didn’t
blame her really. He hadn’t been kind. But he hadn’t felt that he’d
had a choice.
    And he’d never imagined that he’d see her
again.
    Much less that she would haunt his every
waking moment – and his dreams – with the promise of what might
have been.
    She should wear gold more often, he decided.
On this night, she wore a metallic gold leather bustier and
matching thigh-high boots, along with a rustling taffeta skirt that
brushed the floor as she walked. The front of the skirt was split,
the way she favored it, and all that gold fabric and leather simply
drew the eye to her naked cunt.
    At least it drew his.
    And that made him not only remember the times
he’d had her, but to want her all over again. It made him want to
unclip this metallic gold collar and leash from this kitten and
lock the collar around Athena’s neck for good.
    Or even let her fasten it on him.
    The idea nearly made him come in his
pants.
    Athena turned in that moment, almost as if
she’d heard his thoughts, and cast a glance across the bar at him.
It was a cutting look, filled with the disdain and fury she seemed
to reserve for him.
    He was so desperate for her attention that
even her displeasure thrilled him.
    She was talking to one of the Plume’s
cowboys, or more accurately, listening to him. She nodded
understanding, her gaze fixed on the Count and his willing little
pussy, then her full lips tightened.
    To the Count’s joy, Athena pivoted and
marched across the floor toward him, eyes flashing. She was
magnificent. It had been years since he had let a woman enslave
him, but in that moment, if Athena had asked, the Count would have
fallen at her feet in surrender.
    And then he would be very, very bad.
    Her perfume filled his nostrils when she
stopped in front of him and the gleam in her eyes made his pulse
quicken. “How unfortunate for you that it’s my turn to deal with
trouble,” Athena said. She smiled coolly, raised a hand and snapped
her fingers.
    “Trouble?” the Count echoed. “What kind of
trouble?”
    “An imposter,” she said with satisfaction and
the little calico cat jumped in alarm. “Guards!” Athena shouted and
pointed a finger at the woman, her long satin gloves the same
golden hue as the rest of her costume.
    Everyone in the