Chapter 32
When Onyx and I arrived at the club, I had a quick catch-up with Sally about everything I have missed and a rundown on where we are up to with our VIP event for tomorrow.
Then I disappeared into my office.
Of course Onyx had to do a full sweep of the place to make sure it was safe, even though we have full security in operation with four of Alex’s guys already adding to our team.
Once he was satisfied, he left me alone to get some work done, but I have been staring at the photo wall of women for a good half an hour instead.
The constant thought of how different my life could have been if Orlando Moretti got his hands on me the night he came for me.
My mother must have known.
I stand and move toward her photo.
She was so damn beautiful.
“Why did you die to protect me? I wasn’t even yours,” I whisper through the pain lodged in my chest.
I wish I knew.
Wish I could understand why I’m even here.
Onyx said she was protecting me, but why did I end up here in this club with these people?
I should have been some politician’s daughter, and I can’t help but wonder what I would have turned out like.
Not some messed-up sex club owner, that’s for sure.
But do I think I would have been any happier?
Probably not. I ended up here for a reason, and I know I have made a difference to so many women’s lives already.
I wouldn’t take any of that back, even if I had to live through all the shit to get here all over again .
I hear the click of the door handle and turn to see Romeo entering my office.
“Is now a good time to go over the details for tomorrow’s event?”
I nod and move over to my velvet sofa, crossing one leg over the other.
“You haven’t learned to knock.”
“I have a key, why would I?” He joins me on the sofa.
I roll my eyes as I lean back, trying to get comfortable, even though my body is so damn tense it feels as though I’m sitting on a rock instead of my plush sofa.
His eyes roam over me slowly.
“Come for a walk with me.”
Reluctantly I stand.
“What did you need to go over, Romeo? I’m busy.”
His lips twist up at the sides as he slides one hand to my lower back and opens the door with the other.
Onyx scans the two of us but lets us leave alone.
“Security has been sorted. The twenty VIPs have had extensive background checks done, and Sally assures me the women are all prepped, dresses and masks sorted, along with whatever else it is they need. They have been assigned rooms and time slots. We also have five new signups. But I’m sure they have come across your desk already.” He scans us through to the dance section of the club, and I wonder where he’s taking me.
“I looked them over, yes,” I agree, but my steps falter as I see the dance room has been rearranged.
Though the stages remain in their original positions, the rearranged tables and chairs now define separate zones, each with its own unique atmosphere.
“What is this?”
“I talked to the girls who work in the space last week, and they explained the areas didn’t quite work for the VIP events. They gave me a few suggestions on how we can improve it. Just so you know, it doesn’t have to stay this way if you don’t approve, but I wanted to show you what we were imagining.” His hand hasn’t left my back, and he moves me further into the space.
I want to fight him on it, but I think he might be right, there is more room in here.
“For people who want to watch, they can congregate by the bar and around the stage, but for those who want a little more intimacy, this space at the back provides an escape.”
High paneling has been introduced between the booths, giving them three walls of privacy, and the tables have been taken out so the space is just the leather booth seat all the way around.
He holds out a hand for me to join him.
“What do you think?”
He takes a seat and pulls me down onto his lap.
“I think you should have asked me about all of this first.”
“But you like it, right?” His lips lower to my neck, and he places a kiss just below my ear.
A shiver goes right through me.
I place a hand on his thigh, trying to brace myself.
“It could work. How did you get it all sorted so quickly?”
“You know I have my ways, doll face. I think we should test it out.” I can feel how hard he is, his cock pressing into my ass, and I know exactly what he’s implying.
“You want me to find you a girl to take care of your boner?”
His chuckle vibrates through his body as he rocks his hips into me, not so subtly.
“I’m sure you could help me out.”
He’s insatiable.
I stand up, ready to move out of the booth, but he grabs my hand, tugging me back to him.
“What, I was going to find you someone to help.” I can’t help the stupid smirk that’s worked its way onto my lips.
I really do enjoy teasing him.
His eyes meet mine. “You know I only want you.”
“And Reef,” I add, still not quite able to wrap my head around them being together .
A small smile plays on his lips as he nods in agreement.
“You would give a better lap dance.”
I shrug, staring him down, not so sure what I should do right now.
As “Criminal” by Fiona Apple starts playing, its dark and intense soundscape creates a sultry mood shift, introducing the arrival of two new girls to the stage.
The beat is slower and sexy as hell, as if he set this all up on purpose.
His eyes devour my body.
I can practically feel the heat radiating off him, a palpable anticipation of me dancing for him.
“Some of the requests for the VIP event are quite specific.” His brow rises, and I want to laugh at his expression.
After what his buddy and the two of us got up to last night, surely he’s not surprised by some of the more unique requests.
His free hand moves up my body, cupping my tit roughly, his eyes flashing with desire.
He really can’t help himself.
Wetness coats my panties instantly.
“The girls are skilled at fulfilling any request their VIP may have, which is why they are compensated generously.”
His free hand moves to my face, his thumb dusting over my bottom lip before he pushes it inside my mouth.
“How on earth did you stay a virgin running this place? You have sex flaunted in front of you on the daily and a body made for sin.”
I blink back at him, knowing we’re heading into dangerous territory.
“You’ve met my brothers and Onyx.”
He tugs me closer to him so we’re eye to eye, our lips nearly brushing.
“If you won’t give me a lap dance, let me taste your sweet little cunt.”
My pussy clenches, wanting exactly that.
But not here. Yeah, I see the benefit of how he’s set up this part of the room, it’s somewhat private, still with the allure of being caught in the act.
People get off on that shit.
I could get off on it.
“How are the renovations coming along next door?”
“To perfection.” He grins widely.
“A couple more weeks and I can show you the progress. But talking business isn’t why I brought you here. Don’t change the subject, doll face. Let me taste you.”
“I’ll give you a little something if you give me something in return.” I smile cheekily.
“What do you want?” He grins back.
My eyes don’t leave his.
“I want to know you. The real you, what’s under this facade you show the rest of the world.”
“Start shaking your ass then, sweetheart.” He releases his grip on me, relaxing back, his hands moving behind his head.
I glance into the room.
It’s not all that busy, being that it’s midafternoon, but there are still staff around.
The booth is also shadowed and mostly concealed.
Fuck it. I want answers, and playing games seems to be the only way to get them out of Romeo.
I turn around, biting into my bottom lip, not able to believe I’m actually going to do this.
I have seen the other girls dance for money, but that doesn’t mean I have any idea what I’m doing.
With a deep breath, I run my hands seductively down my body and over my hips as I slowly turn back around to face him.
I keep swaying to the music, my hands finding their way back up my body cupping my tits.
His eyes flare with heat, eating up every inch of me.
“What happened to you? How did you end up in some group home when your parents were both still alive?”
He raises his brow in question.
I’m sure that wasn’t quite what he was expecting me to come out with.
My hands keep running up and into my hair, and I flick it over my shoulder playfully.
“You don’t have to tell me, but if you don’t start opening up about some of your life, I’m never going to trust you. ”
His legs widen, and I see the tent he’s sporting.
“Undo your shirt.”
“Then you will answer me?”
He purses his lips as he gives me a nod.
One by one, I undo my shirt buttons till my lace bra is on full display for him.
I move my hand inside my shirt, playing with my nipple.
It earns me a grin. “I failed my papa. I wasn’t the man he needed me to be at twelve like my brother was,” he admits, his voice heavy.
I stop moving, shocked.
“He left you in a foreign country to fend for yourself?” I ask, disgusted.
He motions for me to keep dancing, twirling his finger for me to spin around.
I do as he says, wanting him to go on.
Lowering my ass to his lap like I have seen the girls do, I spread my legs out wide and thank myself for selecting this short skirt today and not one of the many pencil skirts hanging in my closet.
I grind over his cock, still moving to the beat of the music.
“My papa saw me as too disobedient and independent to inherit the family business,” he goes on.
“I couldn’t accept and follow the rules like my brother, I didn’t want to turn into my papa. Everything he stood for disgusted me. Instead of killing me for my disobedience, he sent me away to be fixed—to make me stronger, colder, and more loyal to the family. More like him.” Our bodies are so close that I feel the way he shudders.
He really dislikes his papa and so he should.
What a fucked-up thing to do to your kid.
I keep moving, hoping the constant motion will distract him enough that he'll keep opening up to me. “I thought you met Onyx and Reef at a group home, the one Reef went to because his mom died and he was orphaned?”
He brushes my hair over my shoulder, and I feel him inhale a deep breath like he’s trying to control himself. “I guess on the outside that’s what it would have looked like. But the facility we were all placed in together wasn’t some happy family type of arrangement. The institution was designed to systematically strip us of our individuality, molding us into their ideal. Our training was rigorous, encompassing hand-to-hand combat, wilderness survival techniques, and unwavering obedience drills. To get food, you had to fight; brutality was not only tolerated but actively encouraged. To earn respect among the other boys, you had to fight for it, a brutal, physical struggle. To survive, you did whatever was necessary, even if it meant compromising your morals. Not everyone we knew made it.”
“For fuck’s sake.” A shiver runs down my spine imagining the fucked-up situation they were all placed in at such a young age. Especially Reef. He would have been so little, and he had just lost his mom. How the hell did he end up in a place like that? When Romeo’s hand moves up my thigh and under the hem of my skirt, I realize I have stopped moving again. His other hand comes to my waist, and he spins me back to face him, my legs out wide, straddling his lap. “How did Reef end up a cop?” I ask, confused.
His hand moves to my ass, encouraging me to grind over his ever-so-fucking-hard cock. The small movement feels divine against my clit. “Because they wanted him to. It’s handy to have a man on the other side of the law. The same way Onyx ended up working for your family and I was brought back into the Moretti family business.”
My eyes find his, sadness sweeping over me for him. “You were all controlled and molded into whatever they wanted you to be. That’s seriously fucked up.” And it explains so much about all of them. This is the most satisfying conversation I have had with Romeo since we first met. Worth the lap dance. My hand finds his cock, and I stroke him through his suit pants, needing more of him, wanting more of him. “When did you get out of there? ”
He unbuckles his belt and unzips his pants. I slip my hand inside, wrapping my fingers around his cock. “Reef and I both aged out at eighteen. He went into the cops, and I started working for the American subsidiary of one of my papa’s more legitimate companies. He had let it run into the ground, thought I would fail. I took over the place, and in the first twelve months, turned it around then sold it. I did the same with every other business he owned until I was wealthier than he could ever have hoped to be.”
I feel my heart swell with pride for him. “You showed your papa he was wrong about you.”
He watches me stroking him, sucking in a ragged breath as he tries to control himself. “If anything, I showed him he was right about me. I was never going to be his prodigy for the fucked-up shit he was dealing in. I had bigger plans for my life.”
I get a strange flutter run through me, and I’m not sure if it’s because I know I’m about to fuck him right here in the middle of my club or if it’s because I know I was part of his plans. “Like taking over my club? Am I just another business on a long list?” I stroke over the tip of his cock, feeling the slippery pre-cum, licking my lips as I do. He knows I want to taste him.
His hand runs up my thigh, edging on the sides of my lace thong. “This arrangement wasn’t about proving something to my papa. I’m here for you.” He sinks two thick fingers inside of me, and I can’t help the moan that escapes my lips.
My head is starting to swirl with desire, and I can’t think straight anymore, but I’m not done with this conversation. I need to know more. “Because I was supposed to marry your twin brother?” I get out.
His eyes meet mine again, and I see he’s not even surprised I know that secret he’s been keeping from me. “No.” He pumps his fingers in and out of me before his hands come to my ass and he drags me over his cock, the tip sliding through my juices, teasing me in the best way possible.
“Why don’t you hate Onyx for what he did to your brother?”
“My brother was a psychopath, much like my papa. Onyx did this world a favor.” He pushes inside of me, and I know he’s gone. That’s all I’m getting out of him today. His lips come to mine, and he kisses me desperately as I rock my hips over him. His hand moves into my hair, holding me so damn tight it’s painful. His other hand bites into my hip, giving him all control to up the pace.
The motion rubs against my clit in a way I have never experienced. It sends shivers over my body, and before I know it, I’m a boneless mess. Giving Romeo exactly what he needed, after he gave me what I wanted. I guess this business relationship isn’t so bad after all. A little give and take and we both get what we want in the end.