Madame (Salacious Players' Club, #6)

by Sara Cate

There are people who love me and want to ...

And for some reason, I’ve been living in so much fear that I deprived us both of th...

This has to pass, right? Over time, Clay and I will fall back into the same rhythm we were in before. He makes me happy. I make him happy. I don’t understand how one week with her could ruin all of that.

So we fell in love with a fantasy for a few days. So what? It wasn’t real. She wasn’t real.

But we both freeze at the same exact time. There she is, in our group chat.

And just like that, she’s back in the room.

“Do you believe her?” I ask before biting my lip. “Yes,” he says with conviction.

“So what do we do now? It shows that we’ve read it. Do we just ignore her, or do we respond? I mean, is one I’m sorry really enough?”

What are you sorry for? You didn’t want to be in a relationship, and now you’re not in one. Are you sorry for lying? Or are you sorry for being selfish? If I sound angry, it’s because I am. You thought you were so insignificant in our relationship that you could just remove yourself without breaking our hearts, but you did. You were never insignificant. We loved you. We still do. And yes, we all had our secrets, but we loved each other enough to overcome those. We still trusted you. But you weren’t even willing to try. So if you really are sorry and you want us back, we need more than a two-word text message, Eden. Prove to us that our hearts are safe with you, and they’re yours.

When I hear Clay’s phone chime with the incoming text in our group chat, I wait. His movement in the kitchen stops, and I know he’s reading it. My mouth goes dry as I worry that I was too harsh or too forward.

“I’m proud of you.” With that, he crosses the room and crawls into bed with me. Draping his body over mine, he kisses me, and I hum against his mouth.

“You still make me happy, Jade. We’ll be okay, just you and me. I know you’re worried, but I can try to be enough for you⁠—”

“You are enough for me. More t...

While he fucks me hard and fast, I quiet my mind and focus only on him. At least I’m not alone in this heartbreak. We can go through it together.

I intend to prove it. You should get an invitation this week. Please come. And I’ll make it up to you. With a lot more than two words.’”

Which, considering what Clay and I have done in his office, is fair.

It’s addressed to Mistress Jade Penner, which has me biting my lip and smiling.

You are cordially invited to an exclusive party at the Salacious Players’ Club. Your attendance is personally requested by our new Madame of Operations, Eden St. Claire.

Should you choose to attend, you will have full access to the club, including the VIP suite, voyeur rooms, and all other facilities the club has to offer.

“No, it’s not, Clay. It’s our call. If we go to the club and we hear her out, then it affects both of us. I need to know how you feel about this. If we feel differently, we’ll handle that.”

“No matter what happens, I love you.”

I should feel bad that it took Clay having his heart broken to bring him to me, but in all honesty, I’m grateful for it. Not only did that heartbreak change him into the man I love, but if she had never lost him the first time, he never would have been mine.

No matter what happens, we have each other. Falling back on my bed, I stare at the ceiling as I reply, “No matter what, I love you too.”

“Although to be honest, if I really wanted to punish him, I should have made him mingle at this party with his dad and Charlie.”

“It is so nice to see you, Eden. We should keep in touch more.”

I’d say live and learn, but I know better. Love like that doesn’t come around twice in a lifetime. The three of us were a perfectly timed enigma, and even if I wanted to wait for it to happen again, I know I’ll never feel as safe or as accepted as I was with them.

“It’s been three amazing years, and I owe a great deal to my team here at the club. But we are celebrating more than just the anniversary of our opening. We are also celebrating a new addition to that team.”

“Eden St. Claire has been with us at the club since the very first day. She helped inspire so much of what we do but also what we strive to be. She helped shape our mission of equality and empowerment and has worked tirelessly as Madame Kink to help protect that mission.”

“Quite literally, Salacious Players’ Club would not be what it is without her.”

I remember fondly the meek and nervous girl who looked to me for guidance three years ago. I see Mia clapping next to her and remember the tour I gave her on her first trip to the club. For three years, I’ve been here helping these other women find love, but mostly themselves.

“I want to thank Emerson and his team—Garrett, Hunter, and Maggie for inviting me to be a part of this amazing club⁠—”

Just then, the heavy curtain at the front of the room opens, and they walk through. Jade has her arm looped through Clay’s, and my heart stops. He’s in his dark-gray suit with his perfect hair slicked back like he always used to wear it. She’s in a long, dark-green velvet gown with her hair styled in curls. They came.

Jade smiles but then quickly catches herself and wipes it from her face. I love to see her standing up for herself, just like I taught her to.

“If I’ve learned anything in the past three years, it’s that this place is about so much more than sex and kinks. It’s about love and acceptance and…life. I’ve watched my friends find love here. I’ve watched young people learn to speak up for themselves,”

“I’ve watched friends turn into lovers,” I add, glancing at Drake and Hunter in the back with Isabel in front of them. “I’ve watched my best friend find new meaning in life.” I glance at Ronan and have to quickly look away to keep the tears from returning.

“This club has changed so many lives, and I’ve been so blessed to watch it, but I...

“I’ve learned that people are capable of change, no matter how old they are or what they’ve been through. I’ve learned that no matter how many times you reinvent yourself, you are still the same person worthy of love.

I’ve learned that love has many faces and comes in many forms, and all are equally beautiful and sexy. But mostly, I’ve learned that even a coldhearted Dominatrix can make mistakes.”

“Three years ago, I met a pretty young woman in the bathroom on opening night, and I saw the fear in her eyes because she had stepped foot into a club that could have exploited her. But I knew what she didn’t, that what these owners set out to create wasn’t a place for people to find pleasure or even orgasms.

They created a place for people to find themselves. That’s what Salacious Players’ Club has always been, and that’s what I will work to ensure it always remains. Thank you.”

come face to face with the pair of them staring at me expectantly, I’m so overwhelmed I let out a sob.

“I’m so glad you came, and I’m happy to see you together. I had a whole speech planned, but then I got flustered, so now I don’t know what else to say, but I’m sorry.”

“Eden,” she says, stopping me from talking. “Who’s rambling now?” she asks with a smile.

But something is different about Eden. I’ve never seen her openly cry like that, first of all. And that speech? Judging by the vulnerability in that alone, I’d say she’s changed. At least enough to open up and let us in.

But still…I’m guarded. Because now it’s not just me at risk of getting hurt. I have to protect Jade too.

With her eyes on me, she lowers herself to the floor in front of the throne. Sitting on her knees, she gazes up at me, and I hear an audible gasp from Jade next to me.

“I know now that I was unable to be vulnerable with both of you because I have struggled with trust for so long. The last person I trusted hurt me, but I know with all of my heart that neither of you ever would. So I want to prove to you both just how much I trust you. Tonight, I am yours. Completely and wholly yours.”

For our entire relationship, I was at her mercy. I put my heart and my life in her hands. I trusted her more than I’d ever trusted anyone before. That entire time, she felt out of reach.

They are mine. I am theirs. We are forever.

Watching him take care of her makes me love him even more. Seeing what they have is special. It doesn’t make me jealous. It makes me grateful to have them both.