Page 209 of Well Played

FLYING HEARTS

BY GABBI BLACK

Yasmine

I've trusted Kaden with my life on the trapeze since we were fourteen, and with my heart since we became lovers at eighteen. People give us odd looks when we say we're in an open relationship, but I've never been concerned about Kaden’s other partners. But then Nick lands in my life, and suddenly Kaden's not the only man I can see.

Kaden

I’ve had a super partner in Yasmine—both on and off the trap. I assumed she was happy with our open relationship. She’s got her studies, and I have my…temporary bed partners. All is going well until a domineering rigger arrives. Suddenly, everything changes.

Nick

As a professional rigger, I know rope. I’ve worked in the entertainment industry for almost fifteen years, keeping people safe in front of audiences and in private. Rope is not just my profession, it's my pleasure. Yasmine intrigues me, and when Kaden tries to interfere between her and me, it’s going to be a competition to see who comes out on top.

Flying Heartsis a 15k steamy BDSM short story about a couple who didn’t know they needed more, and the man who’s tying them in knots.

1

Yasmine

I gripped Kaden’s hand tightly and met his gaze.

He nodded and hefted me up

I spun in the air twice before catching his hand.

He winced.

Not good.

Still, he hung on tight.

As the trapeze swung in the air, I prepared for the next release. His grip of my hand held me safe, which reassured because this next maneuver always?—

The trapeze unexpectedly dropped several feet.

Compensating took focus, and the sheer panic on Kaden’s face offered exactly zero reassurance.

He nodded.

I nodded back.

He tugged me back, and I landed on my ass on the bar at his feet.

Quickly, he sat next to me. We each gripped the rope beside us with one hand and the bar with the other. Whatever had justhappened wasn’t supposed to, and now, thirty feet above the floor, we had no confidence in our equipment.

That terrified me. I never worried Kaden might drop me. Eight years as a partner, and that had never happened. Also, in eight years, our equipment had never failed. We didn’t have a net to catch us if we fell.

“What the fuck is going on?” Kaden roared the question, directed toward the ground and anyone who might be there to hear it.

Rehearsals sometimes had hiccups, but we’d never encountered this.

“I’m going to lower you.” A disembodied voice carried from offstage. Near where our rope was tethered.

“That would be a fucking good idea.” Kaden bristled.

“Babe, being angry won’t get us down safely or get us answers about what happened.” I bit my lower lip as I shifted a fraction of an inch on the bar. I wore my leotard, not my costume. I should’ve been comfortable, but sweat dripped down my back at the thought of our near-catastrophe.

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