Page 7 of Nightmare's Dance

He reached for the silks and danced his way down, ending on the ground on his knees at my feet.

The audience cheered as the music ended.

I held out my hand to my knight and raised him to his feet before we both bowed and left the stage.

The show had other acts to entertain people and after a break, we were supposed to help serve drinks and stuff. Basically, fancy props. I didn’t mind. The gig paid well, and we’d be out of here in another couple of hours and on our way home.

“Brilliantly flown, my spark,” Geraint whispered in my ear as he wrapped his arms around me backstage.

“You as well, my knight.” I grinned up at him. “Let’s get changed and finish the night.”

He nodded. Robby would be busy closing up the stage and taking down our gear so we could get out of here on time.

We hurried into the spare bedroom we were using as a changing area and switched into costumes more suited to handing out drinks. My knight was still shirtless, but I’d changed into a slinky dress covered in bling.

A quick kiss, some water, and a snack, followed by another slightly lengthier kiss, and we headed back out to circulate amongst the people.

***

Though being a fancy serving girl was my least favorite type of gig, I’d enjoyed the actual performance earlier. Geraint balanced on a trapeze we’d rigged for the purpose, and people came to him for champagne. It kept him a little farther away from the random grabby hands of inebriated partiers. He didn’t mind a little random petting, but sometimes it got excessive. This group was remarkably well behaved, though the kink community tended to be respectful, even drunk.

I stayed close to the bar in case I needed to help Geraint out, but he was currently laughing with a couple of ladies and didn’t look like he needed saving. The bartender changed out my spent bottle of red for a fresh one, and I moved back into the crowd.

“Your performance was so amazing,” a woman dressed in a black catsuit said as I topped off her glass.

“Thank you.” I smiled graciously, genuinely appreciating the compliment, but even after all these years, not sure what to say when given one.

“Yes, quite remarkable. You must have been practicing for years to get this good,” a man said, coming up behind me.

I twisted around and held my hand out for his empty glass.

After a quick hesitation, he handed it over, and I filled it before answering. “Yes, since I was a child. My parents were gymnasts and my mother also got into aerial. She has a school.” Probably more information than the guy needed, but something about the calculating expression in his eyes freaked me out, and I over explained to hide my reaction.

After a brief hesitation, he smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. I shivered and looked away. There was nothing overtly threatening about him. He was just your average white guy, average brown hair with a nondescript cut, though his eyes were a smoky gray that reminded me a little of Geraint’s. Maybe it was the way he moved? He seemed to flow through his motions a little unnaturally.

“Tell me, do you like hiking, or…?” He hesitated again, as if looking for a word. The man didn’t have an accent that I could detect, so if English wasn’t his primary language, I couldn’t tell. “Playing, I suppose, in the outdoors.”

What a weird-ass question for the circumstances. “Yeah, I suppose.” I didn’t want to tell him how much I like the outdoors. Suddenly, I didn’t want to tell him anything at all.

I turned away, glancing for my knight. He’d slipped down off the trapeze and was already heading my way.

Geraint reached my side, though he didn’t put his arm around me as I’d hoped.

“Knight,” the creepy man said, making it sound more like a title than Geraint’s stage name, or last name.

Geraint’s jaw clenched and his skin paled before he took a deep breath and inclined his head politely. “Can we help you with something?” He offered the bottle of champagne he held.

“Ahh, your partner already filled my glass.”

A few of the women Geraint had been talking to earlier came over, giggling drunkenly. Two draped themselves on my knight, and one put her arm over my shoulders. They all tugged us away from Mr. Creep, laughing the entire time.

That Geraint let it happen, made me believe they were purposefully saving us, not being excessively handsy. Fortunately, the creep left the room. As soon as he was gone, the women released us, sobering a fair bit. “Looked like you two needed saving,” one of the women, a cute-as-a-button blond, said. Her cornflower blue eyes were kind, and I wanted to hug her and cry, though I had no idea what provoked that amount of emotion. I really felt like we’d been saved from something terrible.

“Do you know him?” I couldn’t help shuddering.

“No. He’s not a regular. No idea how he got an invite, or slipped past the bouncers. We’re an exclusive group.” Wrinkles marred her pale brow as she stared where the creep had retreated to. “Oh, well. He’s gone now. You two are fabulous.” Her exuberant grin returned, and the other two women showered us with praise.

Blushing, I glanced at the floor.

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