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Plume’s bar turned to look
and the music was silenced.
    The Count saw four of the Plume’s hooded
guards closing in on them. The kitty cat paled. She removed the two
clamps from her nipples, then turned to run. The Count set her
leash on the table and folded his arms across his chest to watch.
He knew she wouldn’t get far, and was curious what Athena would do
to her.
    The four guards surrounded his kitten and
snatched her up. One guard, to the Count’s surprise was a woman.
One had a remarkable set of tattoos, the ink flowing over all of
his exposed skin. A third had nipple piercings, which always made
the Count wince.
    As he watched, the four guards held the kitty
cat captive and stripped her of her costume. The members of the
Plume jostled for a better view, hooting and clapping at the show.
Her ankles were bound as well as her wrists, despite her struggles.
Then she was carried to Athena like a prize.
    “So much energy,” the Count said with a sigh,
regretting the waste, and sipped his drink.
    Athena must have heard him because she
sniffed.
    “Who are you?” she demanded of the woman.
    “Tess. Tess Martin.”
    “Liar!” the cowboy said.
    The woman gave him a considering glance then
lifted her chin. “What if I’m not? What if I just wanted to
experience the Plume?”
    “Then you should have applied, like everyone
else here,” the cowboy retorted.
    The woman’s eyes flashed. “Rex would never
have let me in.” The Count sensed Athena’s surprise that this woman
even knew Rex.
    “Where’s Tess?” the cowboy demanded.
    “How should I know?” the woman was
unrepentant, which the Count admired. “I just took her phone. Even
it’s at the hotel lost and found if she wants it back.” The woman
sighed and looked unhappy. “Now you’ll throw me out and none of you
will ever let me back. All I wanted was to see what it was
like.”
    The mood of the crowd shifted in favor of the
calico pussycat who wanted to visit the Plume.
    Athena must have noticed the change of mood.
She was good with such details, the Count remembered. She smiled
and leaned toward the woman. “Then beg me to make your wish come
true.”
    The woman blinked. “Really?”
    “Rex isn’t here. I’m in charge. You want to
try the Plume? I can give you two hours in the Dungeon as
punishment for tricking us.”
    The woman’s eyes danced with pleasure.
“Excellent! I’m in!”
    Athena arched a brow.
    The woman squirmed free of the guards and
fell to her knees. Despite her bonds, she did it with a certain
grace. She let herself fall forward and kissed Athena’s boot.
“Please, mistress, please. I beg of you to send me for two hours
punishment, if not more. I’m your possession. Do with me whatever
you will.”
    Athena exchanged a smile with the Count. “She
has promise.”
    “I pick the best,” the Count said modestly,
surprising Athena into a smile.
    “Take her to the Dungeon,” she instructed the
guards. “You all deserve a plaything tonight. Put her on the cross
for two hours and enjoy her.”
    A roar of approval came from the guards and
was echoed by everyone else in the bar. The four guards carried off
the woman, who made a show of struggling. The cowboy glared at her
as she was removed from the bar, and the Count noticed the frisson
of excitement among the membership. The music began again, but the
talking was louder than it had been. A few slipped after the
guards, undoubtedly to watch the proceedings.
    There were those who like to dominate, those
who liked to submit, and those who simply liked to watch. The Count
enjoyed that the Plume had a place for all of them.
    “You enjoyed that,” the Count said to
Athena.
    She eyed him, her expression assessing. “Just
doing my job,” she said lightly, then opened her eyes wide. “Why
would I find any pleasure in denying you something you
desired?”
    “I can’t imagine,” the Count replied. “But
you routinely deny me, so surely it must give you pleasure to