“What is this?” I whisper.
Armen steps behind me, hands on my shoulders. “A place where people come to see. And be seen.”
My throat goes dry. “You want me to?—”
“We want you to choose,” he interrupts. Voice low, steady. “If you don’t want this, we leave. Right now. No questions.”
I stare at the glass. At the stage beyond. At the eyes watching from the dark.
I should say no.
But instead, my pulse is racing for a completely different reason.
“They can see us?” I ask.
“Through the glass,” Sting says. “One-way at first. But if you step onto the stage...” He trails off. Lets the implication hang.
Rogue moves to my side. “You don’t have to decide now. Just watch. See how it feels.”
I nod slowly.
Armen guides me to the couch. I sink down, knees weak. He sits beside me, hand resting on my thigh, grounding me. Sting leans against the wall, arms crossed. Rogue kneels in front of me, eyes dark and steady.
Beyond the glass, movement.
A couple steps onto the stage. She’s bare, except for straps of leather across her chest. He’s fully clothed, but his hands are already on her, rough, claiming. He bends her over the edge of the platform, and the watchers in the shadows lean forward.
I can’t look away.
He fucks her right there, hard, public, shameless. She moans loud enough I hear it through the glass. The watchers don’t touch. Don’t move. Just watch with hungry eyes.
My breath comes faster.
Armen’s hand tightens on my thigh. “What do you feel?”
I swallow. “I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do.”
I close my eyes, try to name it. Fear? No. Shame? Maybe a little. But underneath?—
Heat.
Curiosity.
Want.
I open my eyes, meet Armen’s gaze. “I want to understand it.”
His mouth curves, small, approving. “Good.”
Sting pushes off the wall. “Then let’s show you.”
They movewith the same coordinated ease they always do.
Armen stands, pulls me up with him. Sting crosses to the door at the side of the room, the one that leads onto the stage. Rogue stays close, fingers trailing down my arm.
“We’re not asking you to go out there,” Armen says. “Not yet. But we want you to see what it feels like. To be watched. To be claimed where everyone can see.”
