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My smoky eyes and stained red lips only add to my allure, making my signature blue eyes pop. Since I’m still trying to go under the radar, I used concealer to hide my beauty mark on the top of my cheek and pulled it all together with my new bubble gum pink fuck-ass bob.

I stand back to admire myself…and goddamn, I hate to admit it, but Greer was right about everything—from the hair and makeup to the lingerie.

I catch the sparkle of my ring in the mirror’s reflection, a tiny reminder that I can’t exactly look like the picture of sex while I’m wearing a flashing I’M MARRIED sign on my finger.

I slip the ring off my finger and set it on the counter, then snap a quick photo to send to my sister.

Her reply is instant.

Greer

You are so getting laid tonight.

Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!

I heart her message, then tell Matilda goodbye. “Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

She gives me a judgmental huff, then rolls onto her back to go back to sleep.

I’m going to choose to interpret that as a…sounds good! Have fun!

Feeling knocked down a peg or two, I make my way to the elevator, where I have to swipe my key card before I can access the bottom floor.

As I descend, I can feel the bass from the music vibrating through the walls. My heart pounds in my chest with nervous energy. The elevator doors open, and I drag in a breath, willing my feet to move.

At first glance, it looks like any normal nightclub. I’m cautious as I shoulder my way through the crowd, weaving between the bodies moving to the pounding electronic music. The strobe lights flash in time with the beat, and I use each burst of light to guide my next step.

Unlike the clubs I’m used to, I don’t notice a single phone. No one’s taking pictures or videos. They just seem to be enjoying themselves, fully present in the moment.

Once I’m through the dance area, I come into a larger room. A wall of windows reveals several smaller rooms with a bed in the center. It seems like a voyeuristic and exhibitionist room of sorts. Rows of spectators watch, paired off into couples. Some of them are engaging in their own sexual acts, right there in the middle of the room.

Greer…what the hell have you gotten me into?

I take in the scene before me, how everyone seems so free in their sexuality, like they know they’re in a safe place to let their guard down and relax, knowing they won’t be judged for the things they want.

It seems so foreign to me that places like this exist. Meanwhile, I feel like I’ve been living in a fishbowl my whole life. Everything I do, say, or wear is picked apart and analyzed. And here I was, worried I’d be recognized. Meanwhile, no one here has even given me a second glance. I could walk in here dressed as Demonatrix, and somehow, I don’t think they’d give me a second look.

I feel myself begin to relax as I make my way into the next room. Relief floods me when I notice the bar in the center of the room. Maybe a drink will calm my nerves.

Thirty minutes later, I’m sipping a dirty martini, feeling much more in my element without the overstimulating flashing lights and EDM.

My eyes are locked on the main stage as I watch a woman bound in ropes, suspended from the ceiling as her male partner uses the ropes to contort her body.

It looks almost painful, but the woman doesn’t seem to mind. If anything, she seems to be enjoying herself, fully trusting her partner with her body and her safety.

What must that feel like?

I couldn’t even trust my husband to give me an orgasm, and this man’s got his woman tied up and suspended from the ceiling. The way he’s looking at her makes me feel like I’m witnessing a private moment. You can feel the intimacy between them, the adoration and trust.

I try to imagine trusting Augustus to do something like that and burst into laughter, nearly spitting out my drink.

“Something funny?” A deep voice says from behind me.

I wipe my mouth and shake my head. “I was just thinking about how you couldn’t pay me to do something like that,” I say with a chuckle, my eyes still fixed on the couple as he lifts her higher into the air, seemingly admiring his work.

“No?” He sounds surprised. I guess it’s probably a lot to take in considering where I am right now.

“No offense, but I don’t think there are many men in this world I’d trust coming at me with that much rope…” My words die off when I spin around to face him, and I come face-to-face with the most perfect male specimen I’ve ever seen.