I’ve always had this need to have power over someone. Restraint gave me that. It was a high no other experience could touch, and I’ve hada lotof experience. A therapist once tried to unpack it as childhood trauma. I laughed, and then didn’t go back.
Why couldn’t I just like what I like without someone slapping a label on it?
Catching up to Violet at the door, I watched as it slid open automatically, darkness spilling out only to be brokenup by quick flashes of red light. The woman at the reception desk glanced up immediately, recognition flickering in her eyes before she gestured toward the lockbox in front of her.
“Welcome to Atlantis, where your darkest desires are met with discretion.”
Violet frowned as I dropped my phone inside. The receptionist, who I squinted at because I was almost certain I’d fucked her before, snapped the box shut and handed me the key with a smile that bordered on invitation.
“Anything you need, sir,” she purred, gesturing toward the thick curtain that hid the main room beyond. “I’ll be here all night.”
Yep, I’ve definitely fucked her before.
If Violet picked up on the strange sexual atmosphere, she didn’t acknowledge it. Which was a shame, because I loved it when she was jealous.
Slipping past the curtains, I immediately scanned the room. It looked nothing more than a piano bar, including a small stage where the host would usually sing.
Except she wasn’t there.
Shit.
Violet hovered close beside me, probably surprised by the lack of whips, gimps, or whatever else she’d imagined went on in a place like this. Instead, the room was elegant, with velvet booths, low circular tables, and a long, polished bar. No poles or spectacle. This was the place where boundaries were agreed on first before anyone ventured into the rooms beyond.
One of the waiters passed us, topless with his dark chest covered in blue glitter. “Hey there, pretty lady. Can I get you anything?” he asked Violet, completely ignoring me.
Rude.
“Is Aeris in?” I asked him, rolling my eyes.
The waiter lifted his head, his smile trained but sincereenough. “In her office. It’s down the corridor, but your friend is welcome to stay with me.” He winked at Violet, so I grabbed her hand, ignoring the way my body instinctively stiffened when she tightened her grip in return.
Nodding my thanks, I had to force myself to relax before gently tugging her down the first corridor.
We were greeted with cries, moans, and the rhythmic slap of skin on skin. Muffled, but unmistakable. The corridor was dark, nearly pitch black save for the lights coming from behind the floor-to-ceiling glass panels on the walls. Which just also happened to be where the sounds were coming from. Each window offered a different scene of unapologetic acts of depravity. A delicious gallery of sin, built to tempt and seduce.
Violet slowed behind me, and I turned to find her watching a man fuck a woman’s throat almost violently. She probably hadn’t even realised she’d stopped, almost mesmerised by the way the man’s hips moved brutally as the woman gagged, tears wetting her face.
“Like what you see?” I whispered against her ear, keeping to the quiet rules of the corridor. “You cried prettier.”
Violet jerked to the side, eyes colliding with mine with a look of startling panic edged with… was that desire?Interesting.
“Come on, you can explore your voyeurism kink on the way back,” I teased, and Violet blinked, her eyes narrowing. Pulling her hand from mine, she stormed ahead, and all I could do was follow her as she tried not to look towards each window.
Aeris’s office was through a heavy wooden door, and after a single knock and no response, I opened it up.
“I told you to be careful,” a familiar voice growled.
I muttered a curse under my breath as Caden-fucking-Ackworth loomed over Aeris, Beast’s personal enforcer, gripping her jaw and angling her face toward the light.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Violet snapped, pushing past me into the room. “Get off her!”
I could practically hear my eyes roll. Violet saw violence; I saw foreplay. My point was proven when both of them turned toward her, looking like they’d been caught doing something naughty.
Aeris wasn’t afraid of Caden. Not even close. But the moment she realised she had an audience, the sincere heat in her eyes vanished, replaced by that polished seduction she wore like armour. She became the siren she was known for.
Caden stiffened, dropping her jaw like she’d burned him. They traded a few quiet words I couldn’t make out before he turned and stormed for the door.
I stepped aside, bracing for some kind of hostility, but he brushed past me without a glance. Like I didn’t even exist.
