Page 6 of Reckless King

Anna hands him a matte black card, which he scans with a small device he pulls out of his pocket. When he holds it out to her, she presses her thumb against it. I raise my brows, baffled at this whole secrecy thing. Not to mention the idea that my friend is a part of it.

The machine beeps, and he hands her card back. He stares down at the screen, then up at me, probably confirming my identity against the photo identification I had to provide with my details.

With a small nod, he pockets the device again. “Enjoy Onyx, ladies.”

The door clicks open, and I follow Anna inside. The scene I’m confronted with isn’t at all what I expected. Not that I know what a high-end sex club looks like. But the long, dark, quiet corridor we’ve stepped into throws me. A beautiful red-haired woman stands at the far end, wearing a serene smile.

“Good evening, ladies,” she says as Anna leads me toward her. “If you would like to leave your purses here, you can go right in.”

“Don’t we need those to pay for drinks?” I whisper in Anna’s ear.

“No.” She gives me a slight shake of her head. “It’s a tab system. Before we leave, we’ll pay for anything we’ve purchased.”

Once our purses are secured behind a locked panel with a keypad, the woman hands us each a black bracelet with a silver four-digit number on it.

I slip mine on with a frown, darting a glance at Anna, then at the woman.

Obviously sensing my confusion, she addresses me. “If you’d like to order drinks, or certainactivities, just scan your bracelet. It’s been coded with your details, and anything you purchase will be charged to your account. It saves you from having to worry about your belongings if you choose to indulge while you’re inside. Also, please be aware, there’s a limit of three alcoholic drinks per person during your time here at Onyx, to ensure your ability to consent is fully maintained.”

“Oh yes, of course.” I plaster a bright smile on my face to hide how out of my depth I feel.

She returns the expression with a reassuring smile of her own, as if she can see right through the pretense. “The first time is always a little intimidating. But give it a chance, and I think you’ll enjoy your evening. How it unfolds is completely up to you. Please remember that.”

Swallowing past my increasingly dry throat, I nod. “Thank you.”

With that, she presses a button, and a door unlocks. Anna leads me through, and a moment later, we’re stepping into the club itself. I stop just past the entrance and scan the space. At first glance, it appears like any super-exclusive nightclub. Or what I imagine a super-exclusive nightclub might look like, anyway, since I haven’t been to any. Apart from the strobe lights over the packed dance floor, the lighting is dim. A long, curvedbar extends down one side of the room, and in the far shadowy corners are a number of booths and alcoves with seating.

But with a longer look, I take in all the details that distinguish this club from others. The most obvious being that everyone is wearing a mask, even the bartenders—although while most of the guests have donned detailed, elaborate face coverings, theirs are plain black. The anonymity lends an edge to the scene that, like Anna said, makes the atmosphere more mysterious and just that bit sexier. The music isn’t a recent hit, as far as I can tell, but it has a low, seductive beat that pulses behind my sternum. The rhythm pulls my attention back to the dance floor. As I examine the crowd, I realize it isn’t only singles and couples dancing, but groups of three, four or even more people of all sexes rubbing up against each other.

Biting my lip, I continue my perusal. It’s then that I notice what’s going on in the seating area. In one of the booths, a man has pulled down the top of a woman’s dress, and he’s bending over her so he can… Oh, wow.

With a wave of heat washing over me, I glance away, only to find myself focused on a couch where another woman is straddling a man’s lap. She’s wearing a dress, but his hands are kneading her ass. I can’t tell whether he’s moving her or she’s moving on her own, but with the way her head is thrown back, there’s definitely more than making out going on over there.

I swallow hard and turn to Anna.

Her smile is amused. “I’m pretty sure I had that same expression on my face when Rich brought me here.”

“Uh, yes. It’s a lot to get used to.” I let out a nervous laugh as I fan myself. “Although, I actually expected it to be more…” I hesitate, my mind a little too jumbled to find the word I’m looking for.

She arches a brow. “Debauched?”

“I guess. Not in a bad way,” I hurry to clarify. “Like… I don’t know, people getting tied up and whipped, or something like that.”

She grins and points to a spot behind me. “See that doorway over there?”

On the other side of the room, there’s an opening in the black-painted wall, and through it, the start of another darkened corridor. “Yes.”

“That leads to the back area. Lots of smaller spaces for differentactivities.”She uses the same word as the woman out the front. “There are private rooms as well, with all kinds of equipment. That’s where most of the stuff you’re thinking about happens.”

“Oh.” My shoulders ease a fraction. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the possibility of walking into the middle of an orgy has crossed my mind a time or two. Apart from the action happening in some of the darker corners, though, it’s easy to pretend this is just a normal club.

“Do you want a drink?” Anna asks.

With a deep breath in, I give her an enthusiastic nod. “God, yes.”

We move to the bar, which, fittingly, appears to be made from backlit onyx. The slight concave curve to it means everyone standing at the bar can see and be seen. A bartender soon approaches, and after he scans our bracelets, we order—a Manhattan for Anna, and a Cosmopolitan for me. As soon as the drink is in my hand, I take a long sip to calm my remaining nerves. Then I turn so I can take in more of my surroundings. The whole place drips with decadence. The dim lights reflect off the black glass panels lining the wall behind the bar, the liquor bottles arrayed on the attached shelves and the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

The masks worn by the other guests are similar to mine and Anna’s, though in an assortment of designs. There are animal masks, demon masks, cute masks, beautiful masks, masks meant to scare or intimidate. The women are dressed in varying degrees, from near-nakedness to skin-tight bodysuits. I thought I was daring when I put on my sexiest outfit for the occasion—a little black dress with a low neckline, an even lower back, and a skirt that flares out at my hips and flirts with my upper thighs. But Anna and I are among the more conservatively dressed women here.

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