“Would you hate me if I said yes?” I responded.
She let out another of those tinkling laughs. “Of course not. We’re both aware this is just for convenience. Neither of us expected love.”
The reminder made my heart ache. The pressure around my cock served as a reminder of who I truly wanted to belong to. I’d loved being caged for Ursuline so far. Even now their presence lingered because of this connection I carried with me.
“Probably due to the disloyalty from the help,” Arielle continued, and I perked up. I’d wondered what happened to Jacques, and no one else on the staff was forthcoming.
“Who was a problem?” I asked carefully.
She glanced at me, a calculating flash in her expression that made me uneasy. Early on, it’d been easy to believe she was this carefree thing, unconcerned about whatever life threw at her. But no one with that many secrets could truly be carefree.
Then she shook her head, letting out another light laugh. “Who isn’t the problem? Have you seen how much they all talk amongst each other? Ursuline’s NDAs are ironclad, though. Somewhat makes up for having their gloomy presence around all the time. If any of the staff tried to reveal our secret, they’d be buried.”
I wasn’t sure what upset me more, the complete disrespect she had for Ursuline or the cheerful way she talked about eliminating the staff. A chill crawled through me. Arielle had been the one member of the Triton family I’d thought I could try to connect with, who I could trust. But she seemed to be as complicit as the rest of them, as comfortable with the same stilted society I wanted to escape from.
“Are we grabbing food before the club?” I asked. “I’m starving.”
“Psh, you don’t want to bloat before going dancing,” Arielle said. “Rookie move, Elrich.”
I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think anyone’s going to be checking me for bloat.”
She shook her head, an ever-present smile on her lips. “Come on now. You’re gorgeous. Of course you’re going to get swarmed on the dance floor.”
My stomach twisted. I didn’t want that, though. And I hated that she wanted that for me. That she searched for any excuse to go pursue her own passions, even at my expense. All I wantedwas Ursuline. The reminder of them was there around my cock, the cage they held the key to.
“What’s your favorite thing about going dancing?” I asked.
“The attention,” she said, preening. “I love having the spotlight on me.”
“Do you not get enough at home?” I asked, the curiosity percolating inside me. I wanted to find depths, still sought them out, some way to relate to her.
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t be depressing, Elrich. You’re going to kill my pre-club buzz.”
The quickness of her reply told me everything I needed to know. As much as she was a daddy’s girl, I hadn’t missed how often her parents were busy with expanding their business. I’d experienced the same neglect.
The car jerked to a stop in front of a club, and the bodyguard in the passenger seat got up, clearly to join us.
Arielle cast a glance at him and heaved a sigh. I could echo the sentiment. At least when I’d lived with my parents, I’d traveled around without a chaperone. When I stepped out of the car, the sight of Velvet Noir greeted me. I’d heard of the club in the past, though it had never been on my radar. As much as I liked being around people, I felt claustrophobic crushed in at dance clubs, and there were too many groping hands.
I craved touch and sex, but I needed an emotional connection, something my peers had never been able to understand.
Something Ursuline seemed to get effortlessly.
The light button-down with rolled-up sleeves and black slacks felt a bit formal for the club compared to the flirty outfit Arielle wore—a tight green bodycon dress showcasing her sloping curves. However, I didn’t want to flaunt anything on the dance floor. No matter what Arielle said, I didn’t want strangers grinding up on me because they found me attractive.
Theboom, boom, boomfrom inside the building traveled all the way out here, to the framework of what looked like used to be a warehouse. Which meant vaulted ceilings, echoing sounds, clusters of bodies. I’d liked my existence better when Frederick ignored what we both did.
I sucked in a shaky breath and glanced at Arielle. She flitted ahead of me, the bodyguard keeping pace in between us. I quickened my own steps, even though I wasn’t eager to go to a dance club. I shot a quick text to Ursuline with the location and a sad emoji. After the way they’d given me release this morning and then caged me, I’d been looking forward to more time with them—whether they were fucking me filthy or swimming in the bay with me.
I craved their presence more than anything.
The moment we entered the club, I wanted to run out again. The heavy thump of the music reverberated in my bones, a chaos I didn’t enjoy, and the air grew thick and tense from the volume of people inside. The place was all flashing lights and shadows, platforms and cages where dancers undulated to the beat of the music. A few people jostled by me, and Arielle plunged inside. The bodyguard went over to the bouncer and pointed to the two of us, clearly handling our entry to the place.
Arielle didn’t even look back for me as she carved her way through the crowds, seeking the epicenter of the noise and bodies. I didn’t want to be anywhere near that, so I gave up on trying to follow. Instead, I navigated toward one of the warehouse walls, where the throngs of people grew smaller. The bar might be a good spot to people-watch if it wasn’t teeming with folks trying to get drinks.
I leaned against the wall, trying to absorb the coolness, and tipped my head back. The lights flashed in every direction, whites and reds that lit up the place. The noise came from so many directions it created a massive hum from all the voices.Maybe I should’ve mentioned to her that I got claustrophobic. That these sorts of places tended to trigger it.
However, the concern remained that at the end of the day, I wasn’t sure she’d even care.
