Chapter 14
Feliks pulls upto the curb, and the engine hums to a stop.
Peering out the window, I can barely make out the club”s entrance. All I see is a large townhouse, its stately fa?ade blending in with the upscale neighborhood.
I have no idea where we are or what we”re doing here, but Kira is adamant about it being a surprise. Her only instruction for tonight was to look hot and leave my inhibitions at the door, whatever that means. I’m curious what she has in store for us tonight, but more than anything, I want our last night here to be special, so I do my best to go along with her plan and act excited, even though my mind is elsewhere. Hundreds of miles east, to be exact.
I don”t know what game Anatoly is playing, but I fear he”s using Sofiya as a pawn in his game of control over me. Anatoly didn’t answer any of my calls today—not to his office, his cell, or even to his home. I know he’s punishing me for going away on this trip, but I can’t escape this nagging feeling that there’s something more. Something I’m not seeing.
I glance down at my phone, scanning the text messages I exchanged with my sister earlier today. It did nothing to put my mind at ease, only opened up the door to a lot more questions, like who are these so-called associates and why he would take Sofiya to dinner with them.
Me: pls call or text when yr up, I need to know you’re OK
Sofiya: sorry was in class! bit of a headache this morning but I’m fine, don’t worry
Me: I can’t help it, what happened last night?
Sofiya: I already told you just a dinner, no big deal
Me: Anatoly had no right to give you alcohol at your age
Sofiya: all my friends drink! I promise, I wasn’t even drunk
Me: that doesn’t make me feel better. Just rest up ok?
Sofiya: sure, sis. Ttyl.
Just reading over our text exchange sets my blood on fire. Sofiya clearly doesn’t see the red flags, and maybe that’s my fault. I’ve sheltered her from who Anatoly really is. She thinks he’s taking an interest in her as his soon-to-be sister-in-law; she doesn’t know the depth of his depravity. The scary thing is, neither do I.
“Better leave that in the car.”
“Huh?”
My head snaps up to find Kira smiling at me.
She gestures to my phone. “Your cell. No phones allowed in the club.”
I shake my head and try to come back to the present moment. “That’s weird.” I smirk and follow her lead, tucking my phone into the center console between us. “I wonder if this place is full of celebrities.”
Kira shrugs. “Something like that.”
I take lipstick out of my clutch and apply it, watching my reflection in a small compact mirror. When I finally look up, I catch Roman’s intense gaze in the rearview mirror. My heart pumps a little faster in my chest.
He’s been awfully quiet today, and I wonder if it has to do with last night, with the charged moment between us when my body confused his comfort with something more. But I can’t deny the sparks that flare in my chest every time he’s close. He poured a cup of coffee for me this morning, and I nearly dry humped his leg. And earlier tonight, seeing Roman in a tux was nearly my undoing.
Two uniformed valets materialize from the night and open our doors, one gently helping Kira and the other assisting me step out of the car.
Roman comes around the hood. With one arm resting against the roof of the car, he lowers his head to have a word with Feliks through the open window. I don’t know what he says, but Feliks nods solemnly and drives off.
Roman straightens and pulls at each cuff of his suit. Tall, dark, and undeniably handsome, he looks like a broody James Bond. It’s going to be a long night.
For once, Feliks and Bogdan aren’t accompanying us inside. Kira said something about security already being very tight and the guest list exclusive. I don’t think Roman is thrilled about any of this, but Kira is convincing when she wants to be.
Kira leads the way into the townhouse. The exterior”s simplicity gives way to a luxurious interior, where burgundy velvet wallpaper lines the walls and crystal chandeliers cast a warm light.
A beautiful woman in a sleek black dress steps forward and takes Kira’s hand. “Welcome back to Sanctuary, Mrs. Belov. Thank you for bringing your friends along.”
Welcome back?
I raise my eyebrows, but Kira just offers me a little shrug.
“I’m Paulina, the club’s manager.” Tall, elegant, and poised, she reminds me of a former ballet dancer. She looks to be in her mid-forties, but I can’t really tell because she’s wearing a Zorro mask.
Interesting.
At the snap of her fingers, two muscular men wearing only leather pants and the same masks as Paulina enter the room to take our jackets.
My mouth goes dry. I mean, the view’s not bad, but spending our last night in London at a high-end male strip club is not exactly what I pictured. I throw Kira a “what the fuck” look, but she doesn’t seem fazed. She responds with a shrug and wink.
My eyes flick to Roman, but he won’t look my way. He stands stock-still, jaw hard, focused on an unknown point in the distance.
I release a heavy breath. “The show will start in an hour,” Paulina informs us. “Feel free to head inside, enjoy a drink, and make yourselves comfortable.” A gentle smile grows on her lips. “The rules are simple: no using your real names, no phones, no cameras, and don’t forget to mask up.” She holds up a little black masquerade mask like the one she wears. “The rest is about enjoying yourselves.”
Huh? This is getting weirder by the second.
Paulina, perhaps sensing my nerves, sidles up to me. “Turn around,” she murmurs in my ear.
When I do, she takes the delicate masquerade mask and begins to tie it around my head. Her fingers brush against my skin with a deliberate slowness. I hold my breath as a shiver coasts down my back.
“This must be new for you,” Paulina whispers, her breath caressing my ear as she secures the mask. “My advice is to just let go. You might discover something about yourself here.”
The masks, the half-naked guys, the advice to just let go… I’m definitely missing something here, but there’s no point in asking questions because Kira is already leading the way down a small hallway, which soon opens up into the main space.
Wow.
I stop in my tracks and take it all in. I expected more of an ultramodern club vibe, but no, this place is something different altogether. It’s like stepping back in time to a 1920s speakeasy.
People are chatting at the bar with cocktails or in front of various nooks set up around the room that’s flanked by fireplaces and bear skin rugs. There’s no stage, which I find confusing because Paulina said the show starts in an hour. Like Roman, the men are all wearing tuxedos, though I can confirm that none look as good as him. The women’s dress code is much more varied. Some are wearing dresses, like Kira and myself, but the rest are wearing… Well, not all that much. Fine lace bras, thongs, garter belts, and super high heels.
I turn to Kira. “Is this … a sex club?” I’m worried about the answer because if it is, what the hell is she thinking? I don’t belong here.
Roman lets out a strangled cough, then grumbles something about keeping watch from the bar before he stalks off.
Kira chews the inside of her cheek. “Strictly speaking, yes, but that’s not why we’re here. We’re here to enjoy the entertainment—like live theater, but sexier.” When I grimace, she holds up her hands. “I get it. You’ve never done anything like this before, but it’s just one night of your life. No one has to know. Just one night to see and experience incredible things.”
I’m speechless. “Kira… This is crazy.”
Her gaze sweeps the room and then lands back on me. “Why is it crazy to get a taste of what good sex looks like before you get married and lose your V?”
Jesus. I nearly cough up a lung. “Excuse me?”
“Anatoly will be the only man you ever sleep with for your whole life.” She makes a face, unable to hide her distaste. “You won’t even know if it’s good or, let’s face it, most likely bad. You’ll just think that’s what sex is. At least see what pleasure looks like for yourself, up close and personal.”
Her words bury under my skin. Kira’s heart is in the right place, but knowing what good sex looks like is the least of my concerns. Still, I can’t help but be the tiniest bit curious.
So far, my experience of sex has ranged from okay to terrible. Before Anatoly, I dated a few guys. There was no one I was serious about, but I messed around with a few guys. Hands and mouth. Nothing mind-blowing. I always thought it was a nice idea to save myself for my future husband, which is very old-fashioned, but this was back when I was still a die-hard romantic.
Anatoly ruined that idea for me. The deeper my hate for him goes, the more repulsive it is having to go down on him or jerk him off. I picture a life of blow jobs where he holds my head still and fucks my mouth with no regard for my pleasure. I imagine he’ll roll on top of me, shove himself inside, and roughly take what he wants.
The thought of having to sleep with him, well, ever, leaves me dead inside. But I don’t have to feel dead right now. Maybe tonight, I will do what Paulina suggested. Let go and enjoy myself.
Could I really do that?
Kira’s hand lands on my arm, pulling my attention back towards her. “We can leave if this is really not your thing,” she offers.
I swallow past the tightness in my throat. “I don’t want to leave.”
Her face lights up. “Really?”
“Really,” I confirm.
“It’s not gross. I swear.” She bites her lip. “Maxim and I have been here before. Several times, actually.” Her eyes glint as she links her arm through mine. “The spectacle alone is… Well, I guess you’ll see for yourself.”
A thrill coasts over my skin. It’s one night. One night to be free, to forget the real world and live in the moment.
Heat blooms at the base of my neck, and I turn around to find Roman leaning casually against the bar, a drink in hand. In that split second, something unspoken zips between us—electric and charged.
My heart skips a beat. I can”t read his thoughts, but his smoldering gaze is intense enough to burn right through me.
To hell with it. If this is my one chance to experience something different, I’ll be damned if I’m going to hold back.
I arch an eyebrow, daring him to watch me. Daring him to make the most of tonight.
The lights dim,and the music lowers to a simple electronic beat, indicating the show is about to start. But there’s still no stage and still no clear performance area.
I give Kira a curious look.
She gestures all around us. “Just watch.”
The lighting stays low except in a few places where a gentle spotlight falls, creating a halo effect on the floor and drawing all eyes to select areas around the room. The music changes to a hypnotic, sensual beat that pulses through the space, making the room feel alive.
Then everything happens at once.
Topless women in black tutus materialize from nowhere, spinning in pirouettes. As they whirl through the space, a white canopy bed suddenly appears as if it sprouted straight out of the floor. A handful of people are on the bed—both men and women in various states of undress, all wearing masks and undulating to the beat. There’s no touching … yet. But just the hint of what’s coming next heats my cheeks and has my breath coming a little faster.
It”s hard to pin down my emotions: nervousness, excitement, embarrassment, arousal. They all play a symphony along my skin.
I can feel Kira’s eyes on my face, and when I look over at her, she leans in and whispers, “It’s about to get a lot wilder.”
A rush of arousal pools between my legs, and I’m acutely aware of the warm air on my skin—like my body has tuned into a new frequency.
A full-on orgy is taking place on the bed. One woman is lying in the middle, her legs spread wide as a woman and man take turns fingering and licking her pussy while another applies clamps to her nipples, sucking and licking her neck. Her small breasts are turning red and swollen, but there’s no question that she’s having the time of her life as she writhes and moans with pleasure. She comes hard, but it’s just the beginning. Her partners keep going, delivering orgasm after orgasm.
This is what true sexual pleasure looks like, and I want in on it.
I turn, stealing a look at Roman.
Holy shit, he”s all coiled muscle and intensity. Despite everything going on in the room, his eyes are on me. He’s leaning forward, both of his elbows on the bar as he runs a thumb over the cleft of his chin. I suddenly feel breathless as he raises an eyebrow, as if to ask, What do you think? I give him the barest of smiles.
On the other side of the bed, two men wearing only briefs are kissing and grinding into each other. The sight is more erotic than I ever imagined. A woman dressed in nothing but a white Venetian mask slips in between them, and then it’s t hree bodies writhing and rubbing together, oblivious to everyone else in the room.
Behind me, Kira’s breaths come faster as well; even with her experience, she’s not unaffected.
I turn in place to find a woman being bound to a chair with her legs spread open by rope, the knots intricate and precise.
My eyes must nearly pop out of my head because Kira leans over and explains, “It’s called Japanese rope bondage.”
After tying her up, he flicks a toy teasingly between her open legs, drawing the attention of partygoers who whisper and watch as her pleasure peaks. There’s a smattering of applause when she throws her head back and cries out her release.
My heart beats in my throat.
Would I want to be touched like that? Certainly not by Anatoly, but… Would I want Roman to touch me like that? The thought sends a rush of moisture between my legs.
“Look around. Explore,” Kira encourages me in a hushed tone. “I have to run to the ladies.”
I nod but don’t take my eyes off the spectacle. My guess is she’s giving me space to experience the room on my own, without the awkwardness of a friend by my side.
But I’m not alone. I’m joined by about a hundred strangers and one man in particular, whose presence I am distinctly aware of.
The expression on his face is unreadable. I can’t tell if he’s aroused, angry, or something else entirely. The only thing that’s clear is that he’s not watching the show. He”s watching me.
When he sets his glass down on the bartop island and strides towards me, I turn back to the performance, the pulse in my neck pounding. He stops barely an inch from my back. The heat from his body radiates over my skin, teasing a shiver down my spine.
He draws a single finger down the bare skin of my back, and I nearly arch and cry out. His touch sends a rush of nerves throughout my body.
“You gonna stand here all day or make the most of your time?” His warm breath brushes against my overly sensitive skin.
Trembling, I close my eyes to bask in his nearness. His heat. His smell. I don’t turn around because just his insinuation sends a bolt of pleasure to my clit.
He wants me to explore. He wants to see what turns me on.
It’s reckless to be playing this game with Roman, my fiancé’s business partner. A man I want but can never have.
I’m too far gone to pull back now.
I swallow and nod, unable to make eye contact with him as I slowly make my way closer to the performers.
I’m drawn to a young woman who stands against a wall in nothing but white panties, illuminated in the crimson wash of a floor lamp. A stunning older woman dressed in a black corset and fishnets administers flicks to the other woman’s breasts with a leather flogger. She picks up speed, focusing on the woman’s nipples until both breasts look pink and sensitive, much to the crowd”s delight.
Roman’s eyes follow as I make my way towards a willowy blonde in bondage lingerie who’s mounting something that looks like a carousel horse, but with a huge dildo where the saddle would be. She lowers herself on the plastic cock, writhing, rocking back and forth, and getting herself off as the crowd softly encourages her to keep going.
I notice that the room has thinned out. Couples, throuples, or various combinations of people slink off towards the area cordoned off for private rooms.
While classical music fills the air, two women clad in short black bobbed wigs and high heels lie down on a huge table. Select members of the audience step forward and cover the women”s bodies in whipped cream, hot fudge, and ice cream—anywhere goes—before licking and sucking the sticky dessert straight off their flesh. The women scream out their delight, clearly enjoying the sensation of many mouths on them at once.
Out of everything I witnessed tonight, somehow this makes my clit throb hard, and my nipples tighten to sharp peaks. I’ve never had anyone lick me out like that, and frankly, I don’t think I ever will. For the first time tonight, something like sadness weighs me down.
I’ll never experience anything like this. I’ll never know what it feels like to be with someone I desire. Who desires me for the right reasons. Someone who would take pleasure in my pleasure.
Someone like Roman.
“You can do more than watch. You can have a taste.” Paulina’s voice is a low murmur in my ear. She appears beside me, her eyes glued to the show but all her attention on me.
I let out a sigh. “I don’t think that’s for me.”
“You never know until you try it,” she purrs. Her eyes travel up and down my form, drinking me in. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to guess you haven’t experienced much. That this world is new to you. Sex is new to you.”
I hide my grimace as shame slides between my shoulder blades. “Am I that obvious?”
Paulina lets out a small laugh. “It’s not a bad thing, love. I doubt it’s obvious to most, but I have a trained eye.”
I can’t help but look over at her now. What the hell does that mean, a trained eye?
She cocks her head to the side. “Despite being stunningly beautiful and well over eighteen… I think you’re a virgin. Am I right?”
My cheeks flame red. I don’t know why she’s asking me this, but there’s no point in denying it.
I nod and bite my lip. “My life is complicated.”
“Oh, I’m sure. It always is.” She takes a breath and skims her hand down my arm. “Please forgive me for being so forward. We rarely recruit for this sort of thing, but you’re an exquisite beauty that our elite members would appreciate. I’d kick myself if I didn’t say something.”
I gesture to the women splayed out on the table. “I’m sorry, but I can’t do… do that.”
Her lips tip up at the corners. “Not that, exactly. We conduct auctions here, where women sell off their virginity to the highest bidder. It’s very, very lucrative. It’s not unheard of for a woman as lovely and innocent as yourself to take home a number close to six figures. American dollars, that is.”
My mouth falls open. Auction my virginity? That’s depraved … even if she’s offering up a mind-blowing sum.
I shift uncomfortably. “I couldn’t do that.”
She huffs out a breath of amusement. “Everyone says that… at first. But I’ll tell you this. We have a rigorous screening process; we’ve never had a problem with any of our patrons. The act happens here, on-site, immediately after the auction, with very strict safety measures in place. We’ve never had a complaint. And we wire the money to you that very night.”
My heart pounds fiercely in my ears. What she’s suggesting is unfathomable, but so is the money she’s offering.
Money that would be available immediately.
Money I could grow quickly through day trading.
Money I can use to free Sofiya and myself from Anatoly, and if need be, my parents as well.
It’s a crazy prospect. In no other circumstance would I be considering this, but if I do this right, this could be my ticket to freedom.
From the corner of my eye, I see Kira enter back into the performance space.
“I’ll think about it,” I say to Paulina.
I mean it. I don”t know if I could actually go through with it, but it”s an opportunity I need to consider at the very least.
She drops something that feels like a business card into my hand. I quickly slip it into my clutch.
“I know this is happening very quickly, but there’s an auction at midnight. You have my number. Call me when you’ve made your decision.” Paulina starts to turn away but then pauses. “Just so you know, I’ll reserve the prime slot of the night for you. I think you’d fetch a very pretty penny, my dear.” She saunters off, leaving me to pick my jaw up off the floor.
My eyes scan the crowd, landing on Kira heading towards me, and Roman in the distance. I try not to read too much into it. Even if he saw me and Paulina talking, he has no idea what was said.
Kira approaches me, giving Paulina a quick glance as she makes her way around to the other patrons. “What was that about?” she asks..
“Oh, nothing.” I pray that I have a decent poker face. “She just wanted to make sure I’m enjoying myself.”
Kira raises her eyebrows. “Are you?”
“It’s wild.” I grin. “But no complaints.”
“Good. That was the point of tonight. The point of this whole trip.” She gives my arm a squeeze and drops a kiss on my cheek before wandering off to take in the show.
A shiver coasts down my back when I hear the familiar deep rasp in my ear. “Want to tell me what that was about, milaya?”