4. Dominik
CHAPTER 4
DOMINIK
S taring blankly at the screen, I scan the questions, torn between answering them and getting out of here. The nature of this establishment remains unclear, and I'm not sure I want to find out.
What the hell has Aaron gotten himself involved with?
I shouldn’t have come tonight. What was I thinking?
That’s just it. I wasn’t fucking thinking.
All I cared about was acting normal around my best friend and new roommate, making sure nothing felt off about me since the last time I saw Aaron.
When he found my mask and suggested we go out tonight, what was I supposed to say?
You could have told him you wanted a night in. That you were jet lagged. Wanted to catch up on sleep and prep for next week. You could have thought of something.
I could have.
But I also miss Aaron. Miss our wild nights together. He’s like a brother to me, and some part of me hates disappointing him. That’s why I’ve always catered to his needs and stayed away from his sister. Per his request.
Aaron has always been mysterious. We got into trouble when we were younger, and I knew he was involved in some devious activities, but maybe I don't know him at all. Perhaps he’s been hiding from me too, showing me a cleaner version of himself rather than who he truly is. Maybe some part of him is ashamed too.
Tonight could be the night we push past all the bullshit.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t think twice about following him out his apartment door.
But no part of me wants to engage in whatever is about to happen here.
I haven’t been with another woman since Zoe.
Since the night of the masquerade ball.
Boston happened long ago, but it feels like yesterday to me. It sounds crazy, but I can still feel her against my skin, taste her, wrap myself in the scent of her. I think about that night every day, replaying every detail, turning over every second just to relive it in my head.
Then the dreams began, and I became obsessed with finding something to force me into deep sleep just so I could see her again. To be with her.
She’s in every corner of my mind, a consuming presence that leaves no part of me untouched.
This need I have for her devours me day and night, an ache that refuses to be ignored.
Forgetting her is impossible. Escaping her? A losing game.
We’re forbidden, an intoxicating vision just beyond my reach, yet she’s all I ever think about.
Each moment I’m awake is simply a countdown to the next dream where she’ll return, where I can hold her, if only in the shadows of my mind.
In another world, we’d be here together, exploring those dark fantasies. I’d watch her shed her defenses and surrender completely, free and vulnerable with me. Maybe, in that place, we’re finding the happy ending we both deserve.
But in this reality, I’m just a ghost, haunted by her memory. We can’t be together, so I should try to forget, shouldn’t I? Now that I’m here, starting a new chapter and living with Aaron, it’s time to let go of Zoe for good. It’s time to move on and realize we’re never going to be together. I’m always going to be watching her from a distance, dreaming of a life that can never be. She has no idea it was me behind the masks that night, and she never will. That night is a part of her only I get to keep.
I pace the length of the room, my eyes drifting back to the questions on the screen. Each one is unmistakable, burned into my memory from past exploits. A more intrusive take on the standard BDSM questionnaire. Does everyone have to complete this test to get in? The thought gnaws at me, heightening my unease. What the fuck is this place?
When we first arrived, I suspected this place was a front—a cover for mafia dealings, criminal enterprises, maybe both. That might still be true, but it’s obvious now that this is also someone’s elaborate playground. A twisted funhouse for those with a taste for darkness.
A side door creaks open, drawing my attention. Aaron steps out, followed by that smug bastard from earlier—the one with too much arrogance. With his tailored suit and eyes as sharp as a blade, he’s the kind of man who thinks he owns every room he walks into. The same guy who wouldn’t be able to find the stick up his ass if he tried.
I can respect ambition, but the moment someone acts like they’re above everyone else, I lose any shred of patience. And this guy? He’s pure, unfiltered jackass.
“Everything okay?” I nod at Aaron. He nods back, calm and composed, just as he was when he walked in twenty minutes ago. I’ll take that as a good sign—for now.
“Sorry for the wait. Hopefully, you found something to keep you busy,” Suits says, smirking.
I’d love nothing more than to punch that smile right off his face.
Aaron. You’re here for your best friend, Aaron.
“No cell service and some dumb questions on a screen? So much to occupy myself with,” I mock.
Suits laughs, stepping forward and extending a hand. “Sorry I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Tristan.”
“Ready to go?” I ask Aaron, ignoring Suits completely and folding my arms across my chest. I don’t give a shit about this guy and his name.
Aaron looks down at his watch.
“Actually we’re just about to go have some celebratory drinks. Care to join us?” Suits offers.
I pull Aaron to the side. “Are we seriously doing this?”
“I need to see this through. I understand if you want to leave.”
I sigh. “I’m not leaving you here.”
Aaron makes a fist at his side, a telltale sign that he’s uncomfortable. He’s feeling whatever this is too.
“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” he says quietly.
“It’s fine. I’ve got this.” Squeezing Aaron’s shoulder, I turn to face Tristan. “I’m in. Where are we going?”
Tristan’s lips curl into a cunning smile. “Wonderful. The more the merrier,” he winks. “There is a state-of-the-art bar on the top floor of the hotel.”
“What if someone recognizes us? I would prefer to hide my identity.” I don’t trust this guy, nor the people roaming inside this creepy hotel.
“Everything here remains anonymous, but if it’ll make you feel more comfortable we can cover our faces.”
Aaron turns to me, smiling. “You like masks, right?”
I roll my eyes.
“There is also a vacant corn field at the back of the property.” Tristan says as he walks to the corner of the room and faces an empty black wall. A second later the wall begins to split in two.
“This hotel may appear abandoned, as if no one has crossed its threshold for years, but that's precisely what we want outsiders to believe. We want them to think that nothing happens behind these doors. Yet that couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s what makes this place exclusive and mysterious. A great deal goes on here, and the activities are certainly not for the faint of heart.”
Tristan’s words hang heavy in the air as we stand before a wall of masks, each one individually illuminated from behind. The eye holes seem unnaturally large, adding to their unsettling presence, more so than if the masks were resting on a table or hidden in a box.
The masks I own, hidden away safely in a box would tell a different story. She even reminds me of my fucking mask kink.
Goddamn it.
Stop thinking about her.
My heart races, the sight of all these masks calls out to the primal beast inside me.
My animal desperately wants to come out to play, but my heart aches at the reminder of her absence.
It’s time to let her go. Put her in the past, where she belongs.
“Pick your poison,” Tristan says, his voice echoing in the eerie glow.