Page 5 of His Christmas Temptation

“Why don’t you take a fifteen-minute break?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“On second thought…”

Maddie bit back an instinctive moan. She was looking forward to trying out one of the holiday-themed mocktails at the bar.

“If you do me a favor, you don’t need to come back for the rest of the night.”

“I’ll take that deal.”

“At 11:20-ish, will you remind the dungeon monitors that all the walkways need to be cleared?”

And face Master Zander again?Her instinctive reaction was to ask Cece to handle that responsibility.

“Since the parade starts at midnight, you don’t need to come back.”

“That doesn’t seem fair.” Even though she’d had a long day, Maddie had planned to stay on duty until the club closed.

Trinity looked toward Cece, who nodded her assent. “We’ll get an hour break during the parade. And the rest of the night won’t be so crazy. We’ll have a chance to sit down.”

“I—”

“Go.” Cece waved her hand, as if shooing Maddie away. “Seriously.”

Something cool and refreshing to drink appealed to her and so did getting off her feet.

The bell danced with more arrivals.

Trinity laughed. “Escape while you can.”

With her heart beating faster than it had at any time in the previous hours, she did.

The foyer was crowded with people talking and purchasing items at the bazaar. Abigail was cinching a woman into a stunning white corset.

Aware of time ticking, Maddie hurried toward the bar. Mistress Aviana had decorated the place in pure New Orleans style, with LSU pendants, autographed Saints jerseys, hurricane glasses filled with Mardi Gras beads, and paintings of historical landmarks. For the holidays, lights and garlands had been added. Enormous glass ornaments—in purple, green, and gold—dangled from shelves as well as the ceiling.

Hors d’oeuvres were available against the far wall.

Maddie perched on an open barstool facing a window. From her vantage, she had a view of parts of the dungeon and its equipment, including Mistress Aviana’s throne. Additional seating that wasn’t normally there flanked each side. There was also a large velvet-covered chair off to one side with a roped-off area near it.For Santa?

Dominating the area was an enormous unlit Christmas tree with a fanciful, bedazzled glass ornament in Mistress Aviana’s likeness.

“Can I get you something to drink?” The bartender slid a white napkin in front of her.

“I haven’t had a chance to look.”

He offered a specialty menu for her to consider. Because there were so many attendees this evening, no alcohol was being served.

“I’ll give you a minute.”

While he helped someone else, she scanned the holiday menu that was filled with specialty beverages. On the other side were a bounty of choices from power drinks to sodas, even bottled coffee drinks.

When he returned, she pointed to the top choice. “Rudolph’s Nose Warmer.”

“Excellent choice.” First, he rimmed a martini glass with sugar, then he muddled cherries before mixing the beverage in front of her. Lime, a few splashes of house-made grenadine, then a spritzing of flavored seltzer water.

After adding a wedge of lime, he slid the mocktail toward her and waited for her to take a sip. “How is it?”

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