Page 9 of To Catch A Rook

The leather collar tightened around my neck as a masked, sultry voice purred in my ear. Blood pounded through my veins as I sought oxygen with shallow breaths. The fuzz of near-unconsciousness crept into my vision.

I craved the illusion of no control and not commanding everyone and everything for these little snippets in time. Knowing full well there wouldneverbe a situation I would relinquish the power I held within my fist.

My release in chains was a small treat to myself on the days I cared enough to pretend I wasn’t a dominant, emotionless cretin.

The woman tonight wore black vinyl strapping that only covered her nipples. A pleated skirt barely hid her slick cunt as she slid up and down on my cock in slow, controlled movements. A flogger whipped at my chest and the collar tightened further, keeping me at the finely honed edge of pleasure and pain.

I bucked up into her at a frantic pace, chasing the weightlessness of a fantastic fuck. A final slide of her hips against mine and I exploded, ribbons of my cum flooding into her.

She cried out alongside my animalistic groan, and she was so well practiced, I couldn’t tell if it was from a real orgasm. It didn’t matter. She didn’t work for her own pleasure; she worked for mine, and she was very well paid for it.

Club 7 was one of my less-legal businesses, the revenue stream I had overseen for the better part of a decade, and the one pleasure for which I paid dearly to Antonio Carlos. I refused to deal in unwilling pussy—all our employees were of legal age and worked for us out of their own free will, but we catered to men's and women’s less orthodox fantasies.

Recently upgraded, every room had its own sex landscape—anything to fulfill a client’s most debauched desire; toys, costumes, torture devices, ropes and binding agents—the most recent upgrade had been virtual reality simulators to fuck in whatever way you pleased—with a willing human participant on the other side.

Club 7 was the only one of my brothels I frequented when I needed a release. Only a few women and men were allowed in a room with me, all personally vetted before they were selected.

I didn’t know their names; I didn’t need them. They knew my preferences and played their parts well. There was nothing outside of our transaction than a mutual fuck and a minuscule dent in my bank account.

The lithe woman climbed off of me, with dribbles of my cum seeping down her thigh when her feet hit the floor. It didn’t give me any sense of satisfaction. The only woman who made my cock jump for another round when I saw my seed dripping from her greedy cunt was Hillary Lane.

“You may go,” I ordered dismissively once she released the collar from my neck and untied me from the bed. She nodded once, then made her way through the hidden door in the wall to a fully equipped washroom.

I rubbed feeling back into my wrists as I too, made my way into the private client washroom. Marble tiles and copper fixtures gleamed in the soft yellow light as I stepped into the shower to wash the stink of sex from my body.

Thoughts of Hillary’s slim frame writhing in pleasure as she impaled herself on my cock invaded my otherwise quiet mind as I prepared for my next meeting—with her.

She was furious with me, and rightly so. Mother had cornered me into the meeting with Charles and Frederick, and I had wanted no part in it, but the family must look united, whatever the cost. A divided family was a weakened family, and we must never show weakness to our enemies. Or our friends.

Hillary was a friend. A complicated friend. A business associate, an industry leader, a woman whose body I knew as well as my own. She was formidable in her intelligence and goddess-like in her beauty—and she harbored her own darkness that called to mine.

But we could never be more than friends—as much as a marriage would be convenient to cement our business interests, the Lane dynasty could never get so close to the Rodriguez empire without knowing our secrets.

Some things were too precious to give up—even to her.

Regardless, her fury also meant she might never enter the bedroom with me again. Hillary’s hot head had reduced to a simmer over the years we’d known each other, but a business betrayal wasn’t one she’d likely overlook anytime soon. I would have had more optimism if I had killed her puppy instead of taking an unsanctioned meeting without her.

I finished my shower, changed into a new suit I kept here for these kinds of occasions, and directed Jacques to our next destination.

I was a brave man by most accounts, ruthless, but incurring Hillary’s wrath was not a battle I looked forward to.

She was an equal opponent and knew what it took to win.

My gaze caught a tuft of shining blonde hair. She bent over a file of documents in the corner booth of our favorite restaurant, La Belle Maison.

Choosing our usual table was a tactic, I knew. She would remind me of our many moments shared in the same space without saying a word, in an attempt to make me compliant for whatever she was proposing. I stifled a smirk and slid into the plush velvet seat. Most men cowered to her power, but I knew her better.

And I didn’t cower. To anyone.

“Hello,Mi Reina.” I eyed her with a neutral mask as she stared stonily back at my chosen name for her. “Perhaps you are not my queen today. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

A server placed a crystal whiskey glass in front of me with my favorite bourbon. I dipped my head in thanks. I turned my gaze back to find frosty blue eyes narrowed and studying me.

“Cut the shit, Aaron.” Darkness invaded the ice as she glared through me. “Tell me why you needed a private meeting with my lawyer, and I’ll tell you why I’m ending the contract.”

Hillary could handle mergers and acquisitions with a controlled and firm hand but, as expected, she would hold nothing back from me today. I squared my shoulders and chose the path of least resistance.

“I didn’t call that meeting, as you are aware.” I took a sip of the drink in front of me, relishing its soft burn while I was being roasted on the outside. “Mother did. And I’m sure Frederick and Charles are doing their jobs right now to ensure the agreement suits both parties as instructed. What is this really about?”

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