Free Reading Friday: Believe it or Knot

[image error] "Believe it or Knot", my contribution to the Sextet's fourth anthology, Entanglements, comes out on Monday 11/21.

Here's the blurb and a little sneak peek:


When Las Vegas magician's assistant Hannah Dunn convinces her boss and long-time crush Marcus Lorenzo to try a dangerous new act involving a bed, a blind fold and razor sharp throwing knives, she learns that losing control can have dangerous—and extremely erotic—consequences.

EXCERPT:


A folded sheet of paper fell out of the book as Marcus was talking animatedly about being chained in the bottom of a big glass aquarium and something having to do with piranhas. Hannah bent to pick up the paper. She opened it and her breath caught.
It was a drawing of a woman—her, actually—tied to a bed. She was wearing a skimpy red negligee that appeared to be see-though, and black stiletto heels. Marcus was standing to the side wearing no shirt and no shoes, just a flowing pair of black trousers.
Marcus had stopped talking, but Hannah couldn't take her eyes off the page. Of herself bound to Marcus's bed. Even if it was a stage prop. Heat radiated outwards from her core and she suddenly needed another very large drink of water. Marcus was an excellent artist. "What's this?" she managed to get out after a moment.
Marcus leaned in and spoke softly, almost hesitantly. "Something else I've been working on."
Hannah looked over at him, but he was staring at the paper. "The assistant—you—would be tied down to a giant wheel that looks like a bed."
"So I see," Hannah said. She was suddenly aware that her bare were legs were  just inches from his hands.
"Once you're strapped down, the bed raises so that you're vertical." He flipped the page over to reveal the wheel, with her still tied to it. "After that, it's basically a knife trick," he said. 
Hannah could imagine the effect on stage with the lighting, the wind machine and the fog rolling, along with some sensual music with deep bass undertones and a rhythm over top that suggested the act that would be on every one's mind.
God. She was getting hot just thinking about it. Thinking about his hands sliding over the curves of her taught body, securing her wrists and ankles down tight to the bed so that she was completely at the mercy of his amazingly talented hands. And his mouth. And his body.She cleared her throat. "Why haven't we tried this?"
"Too dangerous," he said, his voice sounding huskier than usual. He took the paper. "It's a veiled knife throw. See?"
The knife thrower was to be blindfolded and upon closer inspection the wheel was to turn, making it almost impossible for anyone to hit the target without impaling the woman strapped to it.
"So? You've been throwing knives since you were 14."
Marcus shook his head. Only three other acts have ever tried this, and the assistants always get hit at one time or another."
"I trust you."
"It's not a matter of trust. It's a matter of safety."
Hannah thought of the picture again, imagined the binding around her wrists and ankles, of the hours of practice it would take, just the two of them, to perfect the trick. Time Marcus wouldn't have to chase supermodels. And once they performed the trick, Marcus would never again have to worry about copycats. This wasn't illusion. It was real and depended on Marcus's dedication and skill. 
 "I want to do it," she said, impulsively.
"What?"
"The trick. The veiled knife-bondage  thing. I think we should do it. It will totally shake up whoever is snooping around, and as you said, only three other performers have ever done it. There's no way anyone who doesn't have your skill with knives can even think about stealing this trick. It'll be yours and yours alone. Your audience will love it."
Hannah looked at him, and their eyes locked. "We need to do this."
"Once we do it, we can't go back. You know that, right?"
Hannah blinked.
"Once it's in the act, I mean. If it works and it's a success, you'll be stuck getting tied to the bed every night. Several times a night, sometimes."There was no mistaking the heat in his eyes now, or the way his voice had taken on the deep, raspy quality of a man in need.
"And hours of practice." Hannah squeezed her thighs together against the sharp burst of red- hot need that erupted deep inside her. Years of longing, shone in her eyes, too., Sshe  was sure of it. 
"Every spare hour we have."
"I think I can handle it."

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