At 35, Jade was hardly as old as he pretended to be, but he'd done more than enough living. Like many bored, wealthy men, he'd quickly exhausted his appetite for normal entertainment and moved on to greater thrills. But while most men simply indulged in horse racing or threesomes in the bedroom, Jade had turned to forbidden magical rituals. To each his own, he supposed.

"Perhaps you're right. Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately, for my back - I can't have you bringing any of those dominatrixes on board unless they're official military personnel. But I think we can manage the wine, and perhaps a buffet table... the men tire of military rations, especially when I make curry. You really don't want to know what I put in it."