“Yes, I remember her.” Jason had trained her a couple years ago, until a man named Theo Zamora had commandeered her for an aerial silks piece in the Marseille show, Cirque de Minuit. “Something happened to Kelsey?”
“Nothing major. A shoulder injury that needed surgery and a few weeks’ rest.”
“So Sara might go to Marseille?”
Lemaitre waved a hand. “That temporary act is already in place. As I said, I don’t know yet where I’ll send her. Or why you’re so wrought up about it,” he added with an assessing lilt to his voice.
Jason looked at the floor, avoiding his gaze. “I scouted her. Why shouldn’t I be concerned about her future?” He quickly changed the subject. “Do you have someone in mind for her new partner? If the old guy doesn’t come?”
“I’m going to get the old guy to come.”
“You won’t be able to.”
Lemaitre shrugged. “I have a way of getting what I want. In the meantime I’ve found her the perfect coach. Trapeze expert.” Michel pushed open the door. Jason saw Sara first, sleek and slender in her Cirque du Monde training uniform. Then he noticed the dark-haired man hanging by his knees above her, offering French-inflected directions.
Jason turned to Lemaitre. “Theo? Seriously?”
“He knows trapeze better than anyone. He’s done aerial work all his life.”
“He’s a performer. He and Kelsey have an act.”
“He’ll be a coach for the next couple months, while Kelsey rests her shoulder. Until the Exhibition, at least. It’s perfect timing, no?” Lemaitre watched as Sara tucked into a tight somersault, then caught Theo’s hands on the downswing. “You see? Timing is everything in trapeze.”
Jason pursed his lips, declining to comment. He respected Theo, but the aerialist had a complicated past. Back in the day, before he’d married Kelsey, Theo had been Lemaitre’s right-hand man at the Citadel in Paris. He’d partied and drank and slept around a whole fucking lot.
He’s changed, Jason thought to himself. Kelsey’s reformed him. It’ll be okay. Sara watched her new coach as he spoke to her upside down, indicating a change in position. When she did what he wanted, he praised her effusively, so her face lit up in a smile. Now Jason remembered why he didn’t like Theo. The ladies always melted for his accent and his dark, brooding eyes.
Theo noticed them then, and lowered Sara to the mat before he flipped down off the trapeze. The two of them walked over, and Theo extended his hand.
“Jason Beck. Long time, no see.”
“Hi, Theo. How’s Kelsey?”
“Ah.” Theo shrugged. “She’s enjoying a little rest. You know, she needed her arm fixed. It’s still tricky, from that one time she—”
Fell. Almost fell. All three men looked at Sara and decided not to continue that line of conversation. Jason greeted Sara next, trying not to be inappropriately familiar. A handshake, a professional nod. The lights and blue mats made her eyes even prettier. She blinked at him. This was awkward, so awkward. I wish I was fucking you right now, Sara. God help me.
“What did I tell you?” he said to her instead, waving an arm around the facility. “Better than Mongolia?”
“It’s amazing.”
He turned to introduce her to his boss. “Sara, this is Michel Lemaitre, Cirque’s owner and director. I suppose you might say all of this is his.”
Lemaitre shook his head. “It’s not mine. It belongs to my performers. Mademoiselle Sarantsatsral.” He said the rush of foreign syllables without a hiccup. “I’m so pleased you’re here.”
“You can call me Sara,” she said when he took her hand.
“Sara, then. All is well? You’re getting along with Theo? We thought you might rest a few days before your training began in earnest. And we must lure your partner here, no? We need both of you together, making your magic.”
As Sara and Lemaitre spoke, Theo leaned toward Jason and raised a brow. “Where did you find this one? Good raw material.”
Jason scowled, recalling Kelsey when she’d arrived at Cirque du Monde. Jason knew too well what Theo had done with that raw material.
“Oh, these frowns,” Theo sniped in French. “You always think the worst of me. I am very much in love with my wife. I won’t pervert your sweet little muffin.”
“She’s not my sweet little muffin,” Jason muttered under his breath.
While he and Theo batted at each other, Lemaitre had drawn Sara away for a more private conference. There was something in the way he studied her, some heightened interest. Just as Jason suspected, she’d caught Lemaitre’s eye. Sara stared at the Cirque boss, blinking, nodding to whatever he was saying. Probably something along the lines of “Would you like to be my sex slave? The position comes with a lot of perks.”
Theo followed his gaze. “It’s not me you have to worry about, eh?”
“She’s too young for him.”
Theo burst into laughter. “They’re never too young for him. As long as they’re legal.”
Jason didn’t find the situation funny. “I don’t want him messing with her. How did you keep him away from Kelsey?”
“Kelsey was mine and I let him know it. If you want to keep him away from Sara, let him know she’s yours.”
“She’s not mine,” Jason said, feeling heat creep along his hairline.
Theo looked at him sideways. “Non? Well. She’s a smart girl. I’m sure she can handle herself with Lemaitre.” He jerked a chin in their direction. “He likes her. It assures her career.”
“Her talent assures her career.”
Theo smirked. “As you say.” He thought a moment. “Now that we’re back in Paris, you’ll have to stop by Rue des Jours and see Kelsey. She’s going out of her mind
with nothing to do.”
He said it in such a way that Jason understood she had plenty to do, all of it involving Theo, sex, and their Master/slave relationship. Lemaitre’s beckoning finger rescued Jason from further conversation. Both men joined him at Sara’s side.
“We were speaking about the act,” said Lemaitre. “Jason, you’ll supervise with Theo? Help develop the performance? Handle the Exhibition side of things?”
His boss wasn’t really asking. He was telling him to do these things. “Of course,” Jason answered. “Maybe Cameron for her partner? He’s done aerial before.”
“But not trapeze.” Lemaitre thought hard a moment, then turned to Sara. “For now, you can train with Theo as a partner. Until I convince your young man to join us here.”
“Do you think you can?” she asked, clasping her hands. “Baat’s very good. He’s only wary of leaving Mongolia. He doesn’t speak French, or English, and he’s never traveled. But if he understood the opportunity here...”
“I’ll do my best,” Lemaitre promised. “But if he won’t come, we’ll find you another partner. We want you to reach your full potential. In the meantime...” He gestured toward her new coach. “You’ll be in excellent hands.”
“I’ll try really hard to live up to your standards, Mr. Lemaitre.” Good God, she meant it. She was so adorably earnest.
Lemaitre stared at her a moment, then turned to Jason and Theo. “I’d like to see preliminary development in two weeks. Ça va?”
“Oui,” Theo drawled. “No problem.”
A few more clipped instructions and Lemaitre walked away. Sara’s eyes followed him, not with lust, but with respect and admiration. Maybe her sweetness would be her shield. Jason could tell Lemaitre didn’t know what to make of her.
After that, Sara and Theo returned to the trapeze. Jason had to admit the man was a skilled coach. Under the guise of playing around, Theo was figuring out what she could do and what she hadn’t mastered yet. They practiced a whole repertoire of trapeze skills, both of them speaking a specialized language Jason didn’t know. He sat on the edge of the crash mat, trying not to be jealous. When the training session was up, Sara walked over and flopped beside him. She was all smiles, her face glistening with a sheen of sweat.