Pepin winced and closed her eyes in frustration. She needed to begin revoking memberships to the club.
She saw Ben step closer to the Baron and hoped for the best. It was out of her hands.
-=-
Ben stood before the shorter man, who seemed to be dressed in some form of period costume. Was he attempting to emulate some level of royalty, perhaps? He seemed to be trying to exude an impression of being worldly and sophisticated, yet, to Ben, he didn’t appear remarkable in any way. He sighed.
“Saying such ignorant and offensive things shines a big spotlight on your sad, pathetic mind. An apology to my friends would be a good start toward developing some character,” Ben said calmly, holding the other man’s gaze.
“Y-you don’t intimidate me!” the man blustered as he shifted closer to Ben, almost leaning against his much broader chest.
Ben snorted in amusement and smirked down at him. “That was never my intent. I’m offering you advice to help you not look like such a tool. I get the impression you’re trying to make people respect you. This isn’t the way to do it.”
“Baron, step back before you embarrass yourself further,” Pepin sighed.
“Why? Is he going to sick his guard bitches on me?” the man said belligerently.
Tatiana took a step closer. “I would welcome a private… conversation with him.”
Ben sent her a back-off look, and she stepped back. He returned his gaze to Baron. “I don’t care what you believe, but if you continue to act rude to the women, I’ll ask the bouncers to expel you from the building like the little turd you are.”
Baron’s bravado overcame his common sense, and he grabbed Ben’s jacket lapels to give the bigger man a rough shove.
Ben seized the man’s wrists, hyperextending them backward just short of breaking, and Baron was suddenly on the floor screaming shrilly as Ben smoothed the wrinkles from his jacket. The smaller man held both hands out before him as both wrists were badly sprained.
Looking over at Pepin with a frown, Ben nodded toward the wailing man. “This wasn’t what we came to do at the club tonight.” He turned his eyes to the others. “Does anyone else feel compelled to attack me or treat my friends rudely?” Silence and shaking heads answered him.
He gestured for the approaching bouncer to collect Baron. “He needs an ambulance,” Ben offered, and the big man in the leather straps nodded and gently lifted Baron to his feet to guide him away. A woman wearing the red and white rings of a sub followed them. Ben felt sorry for her, but he wasn’t getting involved in her poor judgment.
He looked to Pepin once more. “We’re going to dance, and once we’re relaxed and have shaken off this unpleasantness, we’ll rejoin you if anyone feels like talking in a friendly manner.”
She nodded to him, so he walked toward the dancefloor with his entourage following.
The music picked up in tempo as the DJ switched tracks when he saw Ben and the ladies step out onto the floor. The lighting was dim with red and blue spots slowly panning over the floor, with an intermittent sparkle of white light from an old school disco ball suspended high over the dancefloor. This darkness gave the area an intimate feeling and Ben’s inhibitions relaxed.
He gave Tina and Lucy a contrite smile. “So sorry your first visit was marred by that jerk’s poor behavior.”
Tina gave him a sweet smile. “Please do not be concerned. We love being here with you! Seeing you defend us was exciting!”
Ben saw Lucy, the twins, and even Rain grinning happily at him. Apparently, his display of brutish violence was stimulating entertainment. He shook his head and let himself slip into the music and move, the others joining in. Liliya and Tatiana were at opposite sides of them, swaying to the music as well as they scanned the room with their eyes.
The dance floor slowly filled with other people though none encroached upon their space.
They stayed on the floor for a few songs and found a table that could accommodate them when they took a break.
One of the latex-wrapped waitresses arrived at the table and took drink orders. While they waited, Ben took Tina and Lucy back out onto the dancefloor when a slower tune began. Ben was grateful that Liliya and Tatiana remained at the table since they could watch from there.
Once they were swaying to the music, Ben pulled Lucy and Tina close and kissed them. He caressed their lips with his, and once they were gasping, he kissed each of them deeply. They swooned and smiled at him once he pulled back.
“We really have to take more opportunities to go dancing,” Ben said.
“That sounds dreamy,” Lucy sighed, and Tina nodded happily.
They went back to the table once the song was over to take a break and enjoy their drinks. After a quick sip of his water, Ben went back out onto the floor with Rain, and they bumped and ground to a new track he hadn’t heard before. Rain knew some very seductive moves and had Ben stiff as iron well before the song ended. He swept her up against his body as the music wound down, and they shared a deep and hot kiss.
“Damn, Ben! You’re giving me indecent thoughts!” Rain teased as they separated and made their way back to the table.
Ben got ten seconds to sip his water before Lisa and Lori tugged him back out for another slow song. They immediately swayed right up against him, and he slid his fingers into the hair on the back of their heads to pull them close to taste their mouths. They moaned and ground themselves against him while they moved to the music.
He could tell they were quickly becoming excited while they pressed their bodies to his as they panted against his neck between kisses.
When his hands slid down to squeeze their asses, pulling them hard against his legs, both cried out in bliss as they each crested through an intense release.
The DJ slipped them into another fast number, but neither woman had the strength to continue. Ben put his arms around them and gently walked them back to the table.
“That last number looked like it took a lot out of them,” Rain teased, and the twins beamed her blissed-out smiles.
Tina and Lucy were grinning at them as well.
Ben caught Tatiana’s face twisting through a few emotions quickly before she surged to her feet.
“I must do a perimeter check.”
Then she dashed away.
Ben looked to Liliya, who gave him a troubled smile. She couldn’t read her partner when she was in this state.
He went back out to dance again with Tina and Lucy, a fast number this time, and he spotted Pepin and Melody nearby. He shared a nod with the woman and returned his attention to his dance partners.
They alternated between the table and the dance floor, and everyone enjoyed the good music and moving to it.
Ben caught glimpses of Tatiana from time to time as she patrolled the outer boundaries of the large room. She seemed to have an entourage of three men with red and green rings following her. Their expressions seemed desperate. So, she found some victims after all.
Once they’d had their fill of dancing and drinking, they headed to a quieter lounge area next to the bar. Ben saw Pepin and Melody waiting there as others from her club quickly joined them.
Once Ben had ensured his ladies were comfortably seated, he realized they’d sat in chronological order, from Tina to Lucy, the twins, and Rain. Liliya stood with her back to the wall behind them, and Tatiana was… missing. He glanced back at Liliya, who frowned and gestured behind him.
Ben turned and saw Tatiana joining them with a satisfied smile on her lips. There was no sign of the three desperate men.
“Are they alive?” he asked quietly as she approached.
She paused, smiled at him and nodded, then she took her spot by the wall on the other side of their group.
Ben forced his concerns away and smiled at Pepin and nodded. The woman joined him and turned to face her people to address them.
“Our special guest tonight needs no introduction as he gets quite a lot of attention from the media, but most of that is unsolicited and intrusive. So, tonight we will be polite and solicitous in our inquiries as he has been kind enough to accept my request to speak with us.” She looked at Ben. “Would you like to say anything before we open the floor to questions?”
Ben nodded and looked at the curious and, in some cases, cynical expressions. He took a deep breath.
“As you might be aware, I don’t normally share details, any details, of my personal life with anyone outside my immediate circle of friends and family. But Pepin asked me to address her club to explain how it was possible to be in love with more than one person and for those relationships to not self-destruct. I won’t claim to be an expert in love. The secret, if you want to call it that, wasn’t my discovery.”
He glanced at Pepin and saw he had her full attention. When Ben faced the group again, he gave them a serious expression. “The truth of the matter is, I wasn’t looking for a polyamorous relationship, and when I discovered myself in one, I was terrified it would end in pain and disaster. I’d been married, and that failed so badly, I thought I’d never love again. I was afraid to. That’s when my friend and neighbor, Gabriella, explained the true nature of love to me. She proved to me that it was not only possible to love, but I had the capacity to love more than one partner.” He paused to let that sink in.
“She showed me that love is inclusive, not divided amongst those you love. Each partner gets all the love in your heart. Time must be shared, but love must be freely and fully given to all.”
“As for how this translated into my participating in this lifestyle, that happened when I was introduced to it by Tina. At first, I wasn’t a willing participant. She proved to be the wiser and more patient of the two of us, waiting until I finally accepted that I’d let her into my heart. That’s when she showed me I had the ability to be what she needed me to be.” He smiled at her, and she sent him a dazzling smile in return. “When Lucy came to live with us, it was Tina who once more showed me I had the capacity to meet Lucy’s needs too. And it was the two of them who were responsible for making me face the truth about my need for Lisa and Lori.” The twin’s eyes were twinkling with joy as they watched him.
“Gabriella proved to me that I could truly and fully love more than one person, giving all the love in my heart to them. Tina proved to me that love could adapt to fulfill the needs of those you’ve opened your heart to.” He shook his head gently. “I’m not responsible for this miracle. I’m just profoundly lucky to be in love with beautiful souls who understand love far better than me.”