“But what? She made her bed, now Tina’s not hers to worry over.” Kit said as her head snapped from side to side.

“Um-hmmm,” Ivan mumbled noncommittally. “Maybe so, but I think Bette’s
gonna make a scene. We need to get in there and try to head it off.”

“You think so?” Kit asked with a half smile, batting her eyes, comforted and aroused by the thought of Ivan to the rescue.

“Yeah, I do,” he said softly, letting his blue eyes lower.

Kit looped her arm through Ivan’s and sighed, “Well, my man, lead on
then. Let’s try to keep my sis from makin’ a fool of herself. Again.”

Ivan let the last parenthetical comment go. He knew how Kit felt about
Tina, how she felt about her sister’s affair with Candace. But after
the initial and very intense reaction, she’d calmed down to a state of
acceptance. ‘Jus’ workin’ the program,’ she’d said. He guided her down
the stairs and into the Lost ‘n Found.

Bette and Candace had been seated at a booth with a full view, a very
full view, of the main room as well as the Consortium. Bette’s face was
flushed, her lips drawn to a thin line; Candace was holding her hand
and speaking softly. Bette was shaking her head, negating whatever
Candace was trying to tell her.

Kit thought she was prepared for what she would see, but she quickly
found out otherwise. The states of near nakedness in public bothered
her. Ivan could see it in her eyes, as they roamed over the scenes in
front of them. If the dress, or lack of, made her uneasy, the public
whippings made her squirm a little. He hugged her reassuringly, led her
to the booth, and seated her.

“I’ll order drinks, if you like,” he offered, trying to be helpful.

But the offer was a split second too late. A server, collared and
strapped into painfully tight leather bindings across her chest and
through her legs, approached the booth. “Mistress Tina bids you welcome
to the Lost ‘n Found. What would You like this evening?”

Bette clenched her jaws, the muscle working beneath her smooth mocha
skin, warmed in the torchlight. “I would like to see Mistress Tina,”
she practically choked in the attempt to keep her voice level and not
gag on the words. This pathetic creature in front of her was not to
blame.