The Soprano

Note: Another thank you for the everlasting patience of my readers. This is still not yet the last installment - it's been quite difficult with writer's block and my new job. But! Rehearsal has started up again, so....

On a different note, I am thinking of doing a revision of this story (all 7 chapters) and I would love to get some constructive feedback (via email) from people who liked the story. What would you have liked to see more of, or less of - that kind of thing. Thanks, and hope you enjoy!

-----

A sudden breeze kicked up, blowing wet cherry blossoms and pale green leaves onto the sidewalk. Claire swept her hair out of her face and ducked into the little café nearby. Sebastien was waiting for her already and she went to join him. He stood, embracing her affectionately and taking her coat.

"I took the liberty of ordering for us both; I hope that is all right."

"Sure, you know what I like," she said, realizing her double entendre after she'd spoken. They traded secretive smiles as a waiter strode up with two glasses of white wine and a small plate of potato croquettes. "So...your guest conducting trip is coming up soon, I guess?"

"Yes, next month," he said guardedly.

"You're sure I can't come?" When he frowned she hurriedly added, "I know you said I couldn't because our relationship is still a secret, but...really, how is anyone here going to find out what we're doing over there?"

"You would be surprised, mon abeille, how well word travels."

"Okay, but I don't like it."

"Why not?"

"You know why not. I miss you like crazy when you're gone."

It was amazing to both of them that only a year before she probably would rather have died than admit that she would miss him. What she wouldn't admit to him was that there was another reason that she was bothered. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she felt like he wasn't quite telling her the whole truth. Perhaps it was his evasive attitude when he mentioned his trips, or the fact that there was no record of his guest conducting on the other symphony's calendar.

When she'd mentioned it, he had muttered something about private performances or lax calendaring or some such nonsense. It bothered her, but she really wanted to trust him. Well. She did trust him.

-----

"You asked to see me, Maestro?" Claire stepped into Sebastien's office after rehearsal. It had gotten rather late, since rehearsal had run over and she'd had to wait until everyone else had left.

"Mmm, indeed I did," he said shortly. "I will require your presence in my apartment tomorrow evening, promptly at five o'clock." Claire bristled at the commanding tone, but also felt herself growing warm with arousal. Being told what to do could be such a tantalizing form of foreplay.

"What for?"

"I am having René to dinner and I need you there to serve."

"Hmmph. I don't think –"

"I am not interested in your arguments. If you do not want to do me this favor, I will find someone else who can do the job. Either way, I will have a beautiful servant girl at our disposal for the evening." He slanted her a look and she pursed her lips in annoyance, understanding.

"You could have at least warned me," she grumbled.

"I am telling you now, and you do not even need to get ready before you come over. I have everything you will need at my flat."

"Fine. What's the occasion, if I'm allowed to know?"

"It is his birthday," he replied dismissively, as if she should have already known.

"Why didn't you tell me? I haven't gotten him anything."

"Do not worry, mon abeille," he said with a sly smile, "it has all been taken care of."

-----

At ten to five, Claire was knocking at Sebastien's door. It swung open immediately and she was whisked inside and into his arms for a single smoldering kiss. He pulled back, smiling at her wide-eyed expression.

"Thank you for doing this. René is very special to me and I have never felt adequately able to thank him for the friendship he has given me over the years, and especially since he has been here. What I have planned tonight...well, it has been somewhat of a fantasy for him, but you can imagine how difficult it would be to pull off. It is not something you simply ask of just any girl."

"You could pay a girl to do it."

"It is not the same as having a woman who loves you consent to submit to your will. I want to give René the same feeling that I have every day that I am with you."

"But you said it's not the same as a...woman who loves you." She stopped short. "You think I love him."

"And you do..." he said softly.

"Not like I love you," she protested. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to feel uncomfortable about this or not. Sebastien was the one who kept involving René, after all, even if she was the one who had asked him to stay the night months ago after their evening out together. It didn't feel uncomfortable, though. It just felt like somehow it was supposed to be this way. Sebastien stroked her cheek gently and gave her a little smile.

"No, but you do. Come, this is not really new information. Let us go get you ready for tonight." His smile grew wider and excitement flashed in his eyes as he turned to head upstairs.

Claire followed, beginning to wonder if perhaps this was as much his fantasy as René's. He led her into the bathroom, where a hot, foamy bath had already been drawn. When she went to disrobe he placed his hands over hers, stilling them. Then he started unbuttoning her shirt. It was all part of the game.

Sebastien looked her over when she was finally naked, probably weighing whether he had time to ravish her before she bathed. Apparently deciding against it, he held out his hand and helped her into the bathtub. It was pleasantly warm and smelled of vanilla and spices. Sebastien removed his shirt and leaned over the side of the tub, shampooing her hair gently. Claire shivered under the attention of his fingers, feeling goose bumps breaking out all over her skin.

He slicked her hair up with thick, sweet-smelling conditioner, pinning it up on the back of her head while he washed her head to toe. Then he rinsed out her hair again in fresh warm water before helping her back out of the bathtub and drying her off with a fluffy towel. He braided her hair deftly and intricately, keeping it up against her scalp and out of the way.

Finally, his eyes lit up as he grabbed a small glass bottle of amber liquid. He poured a pool of it into his palm, rubbed his hands together, and began sliding them over her skin. From the tops of her shoulders to the tops of her feet, he smoothed the thick, spicy oil until her skin was glistening and fragrant.

The look in his eyes and the touch of his hands had definitely turned her on, so when he at last slid his fingers between her legs, her hips bucked forward as she moaned softly. Sebastien tapped the pads of his fingers against her rapidly and she leaned forward to grasp his shoulder for support. Her lower abdomen was tightening, she was getting closer, closer...then he stopped.

"No!" she gasped.

"Do you want to come, mon abeille?" he asked slyly.

"Yes, yes please, Maestro, please." Sebastien trailed his fingertips down between her legs again and she whimpered.

"No, I am afraid not. It is nearly six. Come, we need to dress you."

Claire followed him back into the bedroom on shaky legs. She didn't see any clothes laid out for her, only a suit for him to wear. Sebastien was picking up a long, thin chain from the bed. Asking her to hold one end up behind her neck, he carefully wound it around her breasts, belly, and hips before running it up her back to fasten it. It was a pretty golden chain glittering with sparkling crystals.

He clasped smaller chains around her wrists, clipped together by a chain about ten inches long, and then repeated this with her ankles and a slightly longer chain so that she could walk without too much difficulty. A slim chain collar went around her neck that nothing was attached to. Just for show, she supposed. Finally, Sebastien produced a small length of chain with clips at either end that he attached to her nipples – as gently as possible without sliding off. It pinched slightly, but wasn't too bad. Standing back, he surveyed his work.

"There," he murmured. "Quite nice."

"Nice?" she echoed softly, dropping her gaze down to the floor as she knew she should.

"Sexy, alluring, and perfect, already with the right attitude. I know this will be an evening to remember. Undress me, please."

"Undress...?"

"Certainly, I must get dressed for this evening." Claire kept her eyes down and trailed her fingers down the center of his button-down shirt, already rolled up at the elbows from washing her. She unbuttoned the buttons one by one, slowly, her fingers trembling as she pushed the sleeves down his arms. She fumbled slightly with the zipper of his pants, but was at last able to slide them down his long legs with shaking hands.

She couldn't understand why it was affecting her so much. He was naked, and she was essentially naked, and yet there was nothing exactly sexual about what they were doing. She was just undressing him. Still just the sight of him made the arousal blow through her like a warm breeze. On impulse she knelt down, kissing his soft cock and nuzzling the hollow in his hipbone.

"Claire," he breathed, swallowing his words as she took him into her mouth. She ran her tongue up and down his rapidly thickening length and he let out a soft breath above her head. Sebastien slid his fingers down her hair, pulling her gently away from him with an obvious sigh of regret.

"Dress me, please." Claire nodded, retrieving his clothes and dressing him piece by piece. She moved methodically, smoothing down each crease as she went. Really, she should do this more often. At last he was dressed in charcoal grey slacks and jacket with a deep burgundy shirt open at the neck. She went to draw her hands behind her back and found herself tugging at the chain between her wrists. Her hands dropped down in front of her and she threaded her fingers together, unsure of her next move.

"Are you hungry?" Sebastien asked.

"No, Maestro. I ate early tonight."

"Good, good. Everything for our meal will be prepared and ready for you in the kitchen. You will be responsible for keeping our glasses filled and anything else we might need. Just like a good hostess, but silently, eyes down. Please refer to René as Sir, respectfully, if spoken to. Understand?"

"Perfectly, Maestro."

"Then we shall go downstairs and await our guest." He gestured for her to lead, and she preceded him downstairs, noticing for the first time a soft satin cushion near the front door. Without being asked she knelt on it – a bit awkwardly with her ankle chains – and bowed her head. Sebastien gave her hair an affectionate stroke and then disappeared toward the back of his flat, flicking on the stereo and checking that the table was set. Soft, exotic-sounding music floated from the speakers and Claire let her mind wander blankly.

Before too long there was a knock at the door and Sebastien came back out to open it. Claire stayed on her knees, unsure of her responsibility but fairly certain that a show of quiet docility wouldn't be displeasing. Two pairs of shoes soon appeared in her field of vision, and she heard René speaking softly above her.

"Mon ami, I think you have outdone yourself," he said breathlessly.

"Indeed, I was just thinking that I should have her do this every time I host a dinner party." Both men laughed softly and Claire frowned inwardly. Though she knew he never really held dinner parties, it simultaneously annoyed and aroused her that he would even consider it. "Come, girl, take our guest's coat."

Claire stood silently and tugged gently on René's jacket, pulling it off and going to hang it up in the closet. René and Sebastien headed for the little dining room in the back of his flat and she followed along, detouring into the kitchen to pick up bottles of wine and water to fill their glasses with.

For an hour she stood in the corner of the dining room dressed only in her chains in front of the wide window. She filled their glasses and brought them plates of food and was otherwise completely ignored. Astonishingly, she found that she loved every minute of it. Her whole body was hot and primed for whatever might come next as she cleared away the last of the dishes. When she returned to the dining room, René beckoned to her and she approached timidly.

"Sir?"

"Sit on my lap." Before she could even answer, René had grasped her waist and pulled her smoothly onto his lap. He continued talking to Sebastien in French as he held his wine glass up to her lips and bade her drink. She sipped the cool, sweet liquid, her breath hitching as he tugged gently on the chain that connected her nipples, sending sparks of pleasure through her.

This time, Sebastien refilled René's glass. René took a drink of wine and then turned to kiss Claire, sharing the liquid with her. Some droplets spilled out and dripped onto her breasts, beading up on her oiled skin and rolling down onto the carpet. He took another sip, and then another, passing each to her until the glass was empty and her head was starting to swim. Sebastien refilled the glass again and before long her head was buzzing.

Claire shifted in his lap, suddenly feeling him against her, hard and ready. She let out a soft gasp, turning to him without thinking and looking him in the eyes. Before she dropped her eyes again she saw the dark excitement in his. He lifted her to her feet and without a word walked toward the guest bedroom, flicking his hand behind him to summon her. She glanced behind her at Sebastien, who nodded.

What, he was leaving her to go in and be alone with René? That hadn't been part of the plan, had it? She hesitated and he came to stand beside her, bending his head down to her.

"I shall be there in five minutes, no longer. Now go, and be a good girl," he said, emphasizing this with a gentle tug on her nipple chain. Claire turned obediently and followed after René, who was waiting for her. He beckoned to her and she stepped over to him, melting into the kiss he gave her.

"Undress me," he whispered against her lips, and she shivered. For the second time in one night she was sliding clothes off a man, piece by piece, leaving him naked before her. But this time, she thought with hot cheeks, sex was definitely on the agenda, as evidenced by the hard cock bobbing gently at her eye level as she bent over to remove the last of his clothing.

"Go on, cherie, onto the bed," he said, his voice soft and seductive. Claire crawled into the center of the bed, unnerved by the feral look in his eyes. He had always been the easygoing, relaxed one, and she wondered vaguely if he would be irritated when Sebastien at last returned. But she was distracted when René knelt in front of her and unclipped her wrist and ankle chains before pulling her legs apart.

He dipped his head down to kiss her as he rubbed the head of his cock against her entrance, coating himself in her wetness. Thrusting his hips forward, he plunged deeply inside, making her cry out beneath him.

"Alone with you...I never thought it to happen," he said softly. "I want to hear you call out my name."

"René," she whispered out.

"Louder," he said, sliding in and out of her and tugging on the chain that connected her nipples. He leaned down to nip along the top of her shoulder and she whimpered helplessly. Slipping his fingers between them, the sudden pressure on her made everything tighten inside her and she knew it would not be long before she came. René's eyes lit up and he began pounding into her powerfully. "When I make you come, I want you to be screaming my name," he murmured.

After a few more thrusts, he suddenly pulled out and ducked down between her legs to lash against her with his tongue. She threw her head back in pleasure, but was jerked back down when he tugged against her chain again more cruelly. She understood; he wanted her to watch him between her legs. The sight of his blond waves and the intense look in his eyes threw her over the edge and she came, calling out his name.

He scrambled up the bed and grasped her to roll her over on top of him. Just before he did, she caught a glimpse of Sebastien leaning against the doorjamb, watching with an inscrutable look on his face. The feeling of René's cock entering her again from below tore her attention back to him as sensations shivered over her skin.

But then she felt movement on the bed behind her and it was Sebastien's fingers encircling her hips and touching her, vaulting up toward another orgasm. Almost before she could catch another breath she was twisting her hips against him, crying out wordlessly as he strummed his fingertips against her. René was gripping her upper thighs tightly, lifting her off him before he, too, succumbed to the rush of feeling.

She knelt over his legs, trying to catch her breath as Sebastien began talking behind her. At first the words completely escaped her but soon she was able to focus on them, looking curiously at the objects he'd brought with him: some leather straps with an attached rubbery protrusion. When she recognized it, she blushed and shook her head. Oh, geez. But at the same time, she wondered why they had never tried it before.

Sebastien threaded the leather straps around her, and she grinned despite her embarrassment at the firm silicone cock jutting from between her legs.

"Now I understand why you didn't tell me about this ahead of time," she said to him.

"Hmm?" he asked distractedly, still tightening the straps.

"Because I would have wanted to practice on you."

Sebastien looked up at this, frowning, and she knew she was right. Too bad, because it would have been fun. Wordlessly, he handed her a bottle of lubricant, and she knew what to do. She glanced at René, looking for all the world as if his wildest dream had just come true, and she guessed it was about to.

She slicked up their new toy, using the excess to work one of her fingers inside him to prepare the way. His hips lifted reflexively and he sighed out softly. Finally, she gripped his hips and pulled herself close to him, watching the excitement mount on his face.

Claire moved forward slowly, watching as the toy was buried inside René inch by inch. He moaned out blissfully below her, and it was a very odd sensation indeed to be the one doing the penetrating for a change. It was a sensation she found quite pleasing, though. She pulled her hips back out slowly and thrust in a bit harder, then repeated it, enjoying herself and the effect it had on René.

She was able to keep up a fairly steady pace, but before long a slow ache began in her thighs. She just wasn't used to this kind of motion. Looking behind her at Sebastien, she shrugged one shoulder, silently asking for his advice. His lips twitched in amusement, but he leaned over as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

"I can help you out with that," he said.

"Mmkay, good," she said, not connecting the very obvious dots. When he was naked, Sebastien knelt behind her and thrust his cock into her without warning. She was so wet, but still very sensitive and gasped with the rush of feeling. He cradled her in his arms protectively as his hips bumped against hers, helping her to slide in and out of René, who was looking very pleased indeed at the new arrangement. He wrapped his long legs around them so that they were all connected somehow.

Claire reached down with her still-slick hand and grasped René's cock, stroking it in time with Sebastien's thrusting. It had never felt so big in her hand, and it was hard as a steel rod. His hips bucked beneath her and Sebastien sped up behind her, gripping her hips almost painfully to drive her into René, who was cursing softly in French. She added a second hand, twisting them both around his cock and he let out a low moan as he came suddenly.