Reuben Chapter 1
Reuben:
The night was progressing well from a work perspective.
Lustz was busy, and patrons were happy and enjoying themselves.
There were a few disturbances, and the ones that did occur were minor and easily handled.
As I made my rounds, I kept my eyes open for a sighting of Cristiana.
It had been the same every night I worked this week.
I’d gone so far as to check to see if she’d been here when I was off. She hadn’t.
I was growing desperate to see her. After my talk with Mikhail, I’d done some deep thinking and came to a decision. I would talk to Cristiana and gauge her interest in me to see if she thought it could develop. Anything short of an absolute “No,” I’d run with and attempt to gain her interest.
I was polite to everyone who greeted me or stopped to engage in conversation. There would be no blowing off the people who worked for Lustz or those who paid our salaries. They deserved my time and attention within reason.
A few minutes ago, I’d been stopped and squeezed by someone who made me smile.
As sexy as she was dressed, I knew it wasn’t for me.
She was here for one guy, her fiancé, Carver.
Alex asked me how I was, and we talked for a few minutes while she waited for Carver to rejoin her.
He’d gone to check if their reservation for one of the themed rooms was ready for them.
Due to the large number of people, the rooms had to be booked in advance to ensure you got the one you wanted. We set it to a one-hour limit.
After Carver joined us, she went to his side and hugged him tightly. I talked to them for a few minutes, then they excused themselves to go to their room. I teased them about not doing anything I wouldn’t do, which made all three of us laugh.
Continuing my circuit, I kept looking for a sign of Cristiana.
I was getting frustrated. If she didn’t come this weekend, I’d find an excuse to call her and see if we could meet and talk.
Perhaps being away from Lustz was a better approach.
I was almost clear around my circuit when a group caught my attention.
The first thing about it was that there were several Doms in the group.
I knew the regulars well. It wasn’t normal for them to cluster together like this.
Most Doms were more solitary. They were smiling, and a few were laughing.
They were looking at the center of their grouping.
Moving closer to see who they were talking to that had them so enthralled and acting out of character, I was ten feet away when one of them moved, allowing me to see who it was. My body froze. It was Cristiana.
She was smiling up at them. Her long hair was flowing down her back.
She was wearing something red. The one who shifted did it again, opening the crack wider.
At that moment, a waitress came up with a bottle of water.
One of the Doms, a guy I knew and liked, Savage Sinner, also known as Sinner, tipped the waitress, then unscrewed the cap of the water bottle before handing it to Cristiana.
She turned more toward him as she gave him a bigger smile and said something.
I was already beginning to fume, but seeing her complete outfit when she turned, my outrage—slash jealousy—whatever the hell it was—spiked.
I took in her clothing. They were nothing like what she wore the first night.
These screamed her sexuality and made her even more sultry.
With her hair down, those clothes hugging her body, and her face artfully made up, Cristiana could stop traffic.
And it was evident by the group of five men surrounding her that she had. In addition to Sinner, there were two others I knew pretty well, thanks to my friends. Through Hoss, there was Iker. He provided security services and bodyguards for Hoss and his company. He was a new patron.
The other one was a guy who helped out Alex and became friends with Carver and her because of it. His name was Sawyer. He and his sister, Sharlena, had both recently joined Lustz. The group was rounded out by Odin and Atlas, two buddies who had been here no more than a year.
I knew I had to break this up. The longer they stood there, the more guys would join them.
It was clear as day that Cristiana was attracting men left and right.
If I didn’t intervene soon, a fight would likely break out.
Someone would get persistent in his attention, and that would set the others off.
We had strict rules about fighting, but it still happened.
A wish to stop the fight and protect everyone was the excuse I gave myself for unfreezing and marching over to them.
I was only a couple of feet away when Rhys joined them.
He had an unhappy expression on his face. Shit, this wasn’t good.