7. First Sight
I called Gina.“Are the virgins assembled?”
“Yes, Mr. Blackwood,” she said primly.
“We’ll be downstairs momentarily.” I hung up and nodded to Sterling and Rhodes. “Bring the necklaces. It’s time to introduce ourselves.”
“I’m actually a little nervous.” Rhodes grabbed the boxes, a baffled expression on his face. “Since when was a Blackwood brother nervous to meet a bunch of attractive young women?”
Sterling snorted. “Since he was about to open a sex club and knew he would be banging every attractive young woman he was about to meet.”
“Not the virgins,” I reminded them sternly. “The virgins are ten million apiece—and that goes for us, too. If you want one, you’re going to have to pay for her.”
“You’re going to have to pay for her, big brother,” Rhodes said, eyes twinkling. “We all know that you’re obsessed with virgins.”
“I’m not obsessed.” I scoffed as I straightened my tie. “I just enjoy them.”
“Just remember the three-time rule,” Sterling chimed in, a mocking tone in his voice. “You can enjoy your virgin all you want, but only three times in a row.”
I narrowed my eyes at my youngest brother. “I know the rules. I wrote them, dumbass.”
“Let’s stop arguing,” Rhodes instructed. “We have virgins to meet.”
The three of us took the elevator to the lower level. On the outside, I was perfectly composed. As the eldest brother, it had always been my role to maintain control. My younger siblings looked up to me; it was my job to lead. So it was with a cool authority that I entered the club.
But inside, I felt a tremor of excitement. Because tomorrow night, one of these virgins would be mine. I would pay my ten million, and I would take her. However I wanted. Wherever I wanted. I would be in complete control. I’d been waiting for this for a long time—too long.
Exploding inside of my virgin would be well worth it.
Gina and the five young women were seated on the couches, expectant expressions on their faces. Gina had obviously been judicious in the selection of our staff. My gaze swept over the five virgins; each of them was gorgeous, perfect. But it was the last girl, seated at the edge of the group, that held my attention.
She had long, flaxen hair, pale skin, bright, nervous eyes, and full, luscious lips. She wasn’t the most striking of the five virgins; her beauty was more subtle. Still, something about her drew my attention. I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
She frowned when she saw me staring.
“Cassius?” Rhodes cleared his throat. “Do you want me to begin?”
I glanced sideways at my brother. I felt like he was speaking a language that I didn’t understand, but I quickly recovered. “Of course.”
Rhodes gave our little audience a megawatt smile. My brother was extremely good-looking, tall with broad shoulders, dark hair, the Blackwood square jaw, and blue eyes. “Good afternoon, ladies. I’m Rhodes Blackwood, and these are my brothers, Sterling and Cassius.” He motioned to each of us, then the three of us sat down. “Welcome to our club. We’re extremely pleased that you’ve joined us.”
There were murmurs of excitement and approval from the girls, except for the flaxen-haired beauty. She was still frowning.
“I’ll take it from here,” I said gruffly. It was time for me to clear my head; these virgins needed to know who was in charge.
“I’m Cassius Blackwood, the president and CEO of Club 444,” I stated. “My brothers and I wanted to introduce ourselves and to welcome you. The club opens tomorrow night, and we are thrilled to have you onboard. This club is a passion project of ours, something we’ve been dreaming of for years. Our members are so excited to attend the opening tomorrow night, and I hope you are, too. Club 444 is a very special place, a private club for billionaires only, a sanctuary where our patrons can relax and enjoy the best things that life has to offer.”
The virgins listened with rapt attention, eager to hear more.
“The five of you are special,” I continued. “You’re different from the other girls who are joining our staff.”
Murmurs broke out amongst the virgins again, but the frowning young woman didn’t join them. She simply stared at me, blue eyes wide in her face.
“You represent a premium offering here because your purity is intact,” I continued. “All five of you are virgins.”
They all looked at each other, gobsmacked. Then they started chattering again until I raised my hand, silencing them.
“We’re excited to offer this tier of service to our members. Patrons are able to interact with the other girls with a gold-level membership. But because you are virgins, there’s a special pathway to interact with you, a higher tier of exclusivity—platinum membership. There are only five such memberships available,” I said, letting them figure out the math.
“Any patron that wishes to connect with you has to be cleared by Management first as a platinum member. As such, you will need to report any such requests immediately and directly to the Madam. Do you understand?” I asked.
The five virgins nodded.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you,” I said, my voice stern.
They looked at each other nervously. Gina leaned closer and whispered something to them. Then, in a chorus, they said, “Yes, Sir.”
I checked the frowning girl. She answered, too, following their lead. Or at least, she moved her full, luscious lips in time with the others.
I tore my gaze away.
“We are charging a premium price for this premium service,” I continued. “So if a patron requests permission to interact with you—and they certainly will—you’ll receive a platinum bonus.”
Whispering broke out among the girls again.
“Silence,” I ordered, and they immediately fell quiet. “The platinum bonus is two million dollars. That’s in addition to your signing bonus and your regular compensation.”
They erupted into excited chatter again, and this time, I didn’t bother quieting them down. Instead, I watched as they squeezed each other’s hands and murmured, except for the flaxen-haired frowner, who was sitting apart with her brow furrowed. She didn’t look excited; she looked pale. “We have special markers for each of you,” I explained. “They need to be worn at all times for identification purposes.”
I snapped my fingers, and Sterling and Rhodes rose, dividing the velvet boxes between them. I snatched one from Sterling and approached the young woman who sat apart. She eyed me suspiciously as I approached.
She should be wary; I intended to put her in her place.
“What’s your name?” I asked coldly.
She licked her lips, which were pillowy and mesmerizing. “Faith,” she said haltingly.
“Lift your hair, Faith,” I instructed.
She looked at me like I had three heads. She didn’t move.
I held her gaze. “I said, lift your hair.”
The furrow in her brow deepened. She appeared frozen, a deer in the headlights. “W-Why?” she asked, voice tremulous.
What did this girl think—that I was some sort of vampire who planned to ravish her neck?
“I shouldn’t have to explain myself, but I need to put this on you,” I said, opening the box. A pendant shaped in the letter V was nestled inside, glittering with diamonds. “It’s a necklace. So, I’ll say it again: lift your hair.”
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t understand what you meant,” she babbled, obviously anxious. “I guess I’m just nervous—and there was all the talk about the money. My head’s spinning.” She cautiously gathered her thick, tawny hair with her hands. She waited, looking up at me expectantly.
But her tone was too familiar, too casual, too… equal. I needed to teach her a lesson. I stood perfectly still. It was my turn to frown.
She stared at me, waiting. “Did I do it wrong?” she asked, indicating her hair. She dropped it, shaking the tawny waves out over her shoulders.
“I just gave you an order,” I said darkly. Two nearby girls looked at us, eyes wide. The rest of the group quickly fell silent, watching our exchange. This was fine by me, they all needed to understand the order of things at Club 444. The sooner they knew who was in charge, the better.
Faith stared up at me, mouth agape. She looked panicked.
Gina swept over to us. She leaned down, whispered in Faith’s ear, then squeezed her shoulder.
Faith frowned again, then seemed to catch herself. She smoothed her expression, lifting her face to mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand your order,” she said haltingly. Her cheeks were flushing, and her blue eyes nervously darted around.
“And?” I asked.
The muscles in her throat worked as she swallowed. “And that I forgot to acknowledge it.”
“And how do you acknowledge an order?” I asked. My cock was stiffening; I was grateful for my suit’s coverage.
Her eyes darted to Gina, who nodded at her encouragingly. Faith’s gaze flicked back to me. “By saying yes, Sir.”
“Say it again,” I commanded. My cock raged in my trousers.
Faith licked her lips. “Yes, Sir.” Her voice was tremulous. She held her hair up again so that I could clasp the necklace around her slender neck.
Crisis averted, the other girls went back to accepting their necklaces, saying Yes, Sir with relish. They were also busy batting their eyelashes at Sterling and Rhodes. My brothers smiled at them, oozing charm, as they clasped the pendants around each virgin’s neck.
But Faith didn’t bat her eyelashes. She sat stiffly as I secured the necklace against her throat. When I touched her smooth skin, electricity shot through me, straight to my core. But Faith held perfectly still. Cheeks flaming, she dropped her hair and fingered the necklace.
I stepped back, regarding her. “That necklace suits you, Faith.”
She raised her gaze to meet mine again. “Thank you… Sir.”
Faith was a fast learner; I had to give her that.
I left the meeting wondering just what else I might teach her.