Page 33 of Ruthless Reign

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?

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