“I’m fine.”
“You sure? You look like you want to murder someone.”
I smile weakly. “Just thirsty.”
She pours me a water without asking. I drink half before I realize I’m shaking. I shouldn’t care. Idon’tcare. It’s just—he shouldn’t have come here. He doesn’t understand the rules. And watching someone mishandle him makes me… itchy.
I spin my glass slowly. “Did Gideon or Silas come in tonight?”
Hadley shakes her head. “Nope. You’re flying solo.”
“Figures.”
I push off the stool, heading toward the side hallway that leads to the rooms. Maybe I’ll find someone to play with. Maybe I’ll just lie on the bed and breathe until my head stops spinning.
I turn a corner and nearly crash right into Talon.
His shirt’s buttoned wrong, his hair a mess, his token gone. There’s a faint red mark on his jaw where Clara probably got carried away.
He smirks, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “You came to watch.”
“I came to make sure you didn’t forget your words.”
“Jealous?” he teases.
“Annoyed,” I say. “She didn’t ask about your limits. Didn’t ask your color. She’s lucky the DM stepped in.”
He shifts, like he’s about to apologize, then doesn’t. “You’re the only one who gets under my skin like this. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone.”
I cross my arms. “That’s not a compliment.”
“It was supposed to be.” He leans in a little. “You know, I thought about you the whole time. I couldn’t even?—”
“Don’t.”
He stops, searching my face. “You’re shaking.”
“I know.”
“I could?—”
“No.” My voice breaks a little. “You could make it worse.”
He lets out a breath and nods slowly. “Then I’ll see you Monday,” he says finally.
I blink. “For class.”
“For whatever you’ll let me have,” he says.
I step aside and let him pass. He doesn’t look back, and somehow that makes it worse.
For a moment, I stand there staring at the hallway that leads to the private rooms. That had been the plan—let someonedistract me, let someone touch me until my brain shut off. But now? The thought of going to a room makes my stomach twist.
So I turn back toward the bar instead, just to see if anyone interesting is around. Maybe I can flirt. Maybe I can pretend for five minutes that my stomach isn’t doing acrobatics. But the second I step through the threshold, the atmosphere feels louder. The music thuds too deep in my bones. I’m tired.
I tell Hadley I’m done for the night, and she just nods, the kind of understanding that doesn’t need words.
I head for the back hall, where the VIP locker rooms sit behind the club’s library on kinks. It’s quiet here. I slip inside one of the small changing stalls and peel out of the corset, sliding into my jeans and hoodie. The fabric feels too normal after satin and skin, like wrapping yourself in reality again. I pull my hair into a messy bun and wipe off the smudged liner under my eyes.
