Page 5 of Silk and Sirens

The chair toppled dramatically as he surged to his feet, only to find Renley waiting. With his startling heterochromia, skinhead, and permanent scowl, he looked every bit as intimidating as he intended to be.

Scott all but snarled when Renley gripped him, hauling him towards the exit. He did not go quietly, only squirmed under Renley’s grip and twisted back, calling me several names over his shoulder that I took as compliments. I turned to the room as he was escorted out, finding more curious looks than concerned.

“Your next drink is on me,” I called, much to the delight of everyone. The piano never stopped playing, the light music enough to ease any tension left from the drama.

Scott was right about one thing—this was a sex club. But it wasn’t some seedy, transactional den where sex workers had no choice because someone held the money. Atlantis was a sanctuary for those who wanted to explore their sexuality in a safe, controlled environment. The main area served as a space to discuss consent and boundaries before members ventured into the themed rooms down the corridor. The themes shifted regularly, making sure the members continued to pay my extortionate fees. There was an in-depth vetting process for entry, and I kept membership intentionally limited for safety, as well as strategy. Why would I let any John, Dick, or Harry inside these walls when they couldn’t offer me something far more valuable than money?

Catching Steph’s eye from across the room, she met me by the door. “Need anything?”

“Inform Albus that Scott’s membership has been revoked. Permanently.”

“He came in with Jonathan Smithers.”

Of course he did.

Jonathan Smithers was the current mayor’s youngest son, a nepo child that believed he was better than everyone because of his father’s influence. Shame I didn’t give a shit who his father was, especially when I knew many sordid little secrets about our supposedly ‘proper’ mayor.

“Remove him too.” I didn’t want anyone to think Scott’s behaviour was acceptable, and I had zero tolerance when it came to unwanted force.

Steph nodded, darting off to my office while I followed the noise, expecting to find Scott fighting Renley at the reception. Imagine my surprise when I find someone else.

“Ah, if it’s not my favourite detective,” I mused, my receptionist looking over with relief when he turned his anger towards me. Renley was nowhere to be seen, so I hoped that meant he was dealing with the other issue. Ideally without his knuckles when there were police on my property. “Do you have an appointment?”

“We both know I don’t need an appointment,” Detective Kane grunted. “I’ve been trying to reach you for over ten minutes, but you seemed too busy kicking out teenagers.”

“They’re of legal age, Detective. You could have checked that yourself if you were so concerned.”

From the tension along his shoulders, he wasn’t impressed with my explanation. “We need to talk.”

“And you couldn’t have called?”

Detective Kane first arrested me almost five years ago, shortly after I opened Atlantis, alleging that I caused and incited prostitution for financial gain. Of course the case fell apart, because I wasn’t a common pimp. I may or may not have humiliated him to his peers, so he made it his life’s mission to ruin me. Which was all well and entertaining, as long as I kept finding it amusing.

“Have you come to accuse me of running an illegal brothel again, Detective?” I purred, smirking at him. “Or do I need to explain yet again that members here at Atlantis are encouraged to explore their desires amongst one another, guided by my Sirens. They are not, and never will be, paid for sex.”

His dark-brown eyes narrowed, his five-o-clock shadow unable to hide the tension along his jaw.

“Now,” I continued, lightly teasing, “if one of my Sirens chose to join in, that would be entirely their decision. Free will and all.”

“I think you’ll want to hear this privately.” His eyes darted to the receptionist, then back to me.

I went to tease again, but there was something about him that gave me pause.

“Follow me.”

I led him behind the reception desk and down a narrow corridor that ran parallel to the main club. It allowed me to conduct meetings in my office without parading guests past overt displays of carnal indulgence. Though I suspected a little release might do the detective some good.

Entering my office, I found Albus frowning down at something on my desk. He looked up, startled when I appeared, pushing his glasses up his nose.

“Aeris, I …” His mouth snapped closed when the detective walked in behind me. With his buttons fastened all the way to his throat and his shirt neatly tucked into his jeans, Albus’s style looked painfully out of place in a sex club. The mere thought of getting naked in public probably gave him hives too, but despite that, he was an exceptional assistant. Plus, he was beautiful. With angled features, green eyes, and dark-brown skin, he definitely fit, despite his aura of awkwardness.

“He’s new,” Kane commented, reaching over to my shelves as if he had every right to touch my things. “What happened to your last assistant? Get bored of working for an urchin like you?”

Albus shot me a concerned look before he grabbed the paperwork in his arms and held it tight to his chest. “I’ll be in my office if you need me.”

I waited until we were alone before I turned to Kane, who was currently flipping through one of my books as if searching for something between the pages.

“You’re not here to talk to me about my assistant,” I said. “And we both know it’s not because you missed my face, either.”