Page 25 of Revelation

Provide a brief physical description of yourself.

I scan his full response to this question again. But this time reading Josh’s words, my heart races and leaps: “I prefer not to talk about the meanings of my tattoos at length, so please tell whoever gets assigned to me not to ask about them.”

A wave of excitement washes through me. If that’s how Josh felt when he wrote those words, he certainly doesn’t seem to feel that way now—or, at least, not when it comes to me.

With this application, you will be required to submit three recent photographs of yourself to your intake agent. Please include the following: one headshot, one full-body shot revealing your physique, and one shot wearing something you’d typically wear out in a public location. These photographs shall be maintained under the strictest confidentiality.

Just for the heck of it, I click onto Josh’s naked-bad-boy-photoand stare at it for a moment. This man sends my pulse racing and my blood boiling in a way I’ve never felt before. Damn, boy—just like Audra Mae is singing in my ear right now—I’m absolutely addicted to him.

Please sign the enclosed waiver describing the requisite background check, medical physical, and blood test, which you must complete as a condition of membership.

“Done,” he writes.

Sexual orientation? Please choose from the following options: Straight, homosexual, bisexual, pansexual, other?

“Straight,” he writes.

Do any of your sexual fantasies include violence of any nature?

“Yes,” he writes.

Whoa. Holy shitballs. Not what I expected. I move quickly to the next section.

If so, please describe in detail. Please note that your inclination toward or fantasies about sexual violence, if any, will not, standing alone, preclude membership. Indeed, we provide highly particularized services for members with a wide variety of proclivities. In the interest of serving your needs to the fullest extent possible, please describe any and all sexual fantasies involving violence of any nature whatsoever.

“I have a sexual fantasy in which I come to the rescue of a woman who’s been bound and raped.”

Whoa again.

Are you a current practitioner of BDSM and/or does BDSM interest you? If so, describe in explicit detail.

“BDSM interests me insofar as it relates to fulfilling the fantasy described above.”

Payment and Membership Terms. Please choose from the following options: One Year Membership, $250,000 USD; Monthly Membership, $30,000 USD. All payments are non-refundable. No exceptions. Once you’ve made your selection regarding your membership plan, information for wiring the funds into an escrow account will be immediately forthcoming under separate cover. Membership fees shall be transferred automatically out of escrow to The Club upon approval of your membership.

“I’m interested in a one-month membership, administeredaccording to my exact specifications, described below. If additional payment beyond your usual monthly fee is required for you to deliver exactly what I’ve asked for (below), I’m open to further negotiation of your fee. Please advise.”

Oh my effing God. My heart is pounding forcefully in my ears. I can’t read Josh’s words fast enough.

Please provide a detailed explanation about what compelled you to seek membership in The Club.

“It’s pretty simple, actually: I’m joining The Club because I’m a sick fuck. Or so I’ve been recently told by someone I loved and trusted with all my fucking heart. Well, I might be a sick fuck, but at least I’m not a heartless liar. I’m not the one who begged me to open up, pleaded with me to tell her the truth about my deepest desires and told me it was safe and she wouldn’t judge me, and then when I finally broke down and told her everything, called me a ‘sick fuck’ and said there’s something ‘deeply wrong with me’ and then cheated on me with a douchebag who wears a fucking ascot and says ‘bloody hell’ and rides polo ponies for fuck’s sake. Motherfucking bastard asshole. After three years she couldn’t give me the courtesy of breaking up with me? I had to hear she’d run off with that douche from a friend? Ha! And this was all because of shit I merelyfantasizedabout doing—I hadn’t even done any of it yet—and she ran away screaming (and right into that fucktard’s arms)?

“For three years, I tried my damnedest tofixher and love her and protect her as best I could. But it turns out she was too broken to be fixed and loved and protected—or at least too broken to be fixed by a ‘sick fuck’ like me. Well, if I’m gonna lose the only girl I’ve ever loved for simplyfantasizingabout doing some crazy shit, then I might as well fucking do all of it, huh? Especially now that she’s gone for good, riding off into the sunset on a fucking polo pony. Why should I suffer all the consequences of being a sick fuck without reaping all the rewards, too? So let’s do this shit, motherfuckers. I’m ready, baby—as ready as a sick fuck can possibly be.”

I look up from my screen, overwhelmed. Holy effing shit. My heart is beating so hard, I feel like it’s going to crack me wide open from the inside-out. I take a deep breath, look back down at the screen, and continue reading.

Please provide a detailed statement regarding your sexualpreferences. To maximize your experience in The Club, please be as explicit, detailed, and honest as possible. Please do not self-censor, in any fashion.

“If you were a woman telling me to be as explicit, detailed, and honest as possible and not self-censor myself in any fashion, I’d laugh in your face. But since you’re some mysterious ‘intake agent’ at an underground sex club, and since I’ve got literally nothing to lose at this point, I’ll do it. But here’s the deal: I want absolute assurance you’re gonna give me precisely what I ask for, to the letter. If after reading this you determine you can’t give me exactly what I want, every fucking time, then don’t approve my membership. Because, just to be clear, I don’t need this club to get laid—I can do that just fine on my own with some of the world’s most beautiful women. The only reason I’m applying to this club is to fulfill my ‘sick fuck’ fantasies,exactly as described. Because I don’t want this shit to taint my real life.

“Before I describe what I want you to give me, let’s first talk logistics—because I don’t have the time or attention span to do things your usual way. The way this club was described to me by a buddy, it’s my understanding you typically assign each new member a color-coded bracelet so he can hook up with like-minded women with similarly coded bracelets at bars or wherever. Well, that’s not gonna work for me. I’m too busy and what I want is too specific. So what I want is for you to read this application, go through your database, and then curate compatible women for me, no color-coded bracelets or check-ins required.

“I’ve recently learned I’ll be traveling around the country for about a month in the near future, appraising certain investment opportunities for my company. (I anticipate visiting about twelve cities over the course of one month—my exact itinerary to be finalized.) In each city of my month-long ‘tour,’ on each designated date (by four o’ clock in the afternoon), I’ll leave a room key under the name ‘Emma’ at the front desk of a designated five-star hotel. At precisely eight o’clock, I’ll enter the reserved room to find one of two scenarios awaiting me, exactly as described below:

“Scenario One. Two willing women curated by you will be in the room, awaiting my arrival, preferably already naked. The women should expect to have sex with me and/or each other, depending onmy mood and the level of my attraction to each woman. At the very least, they’ll definitely perform sexual acts with each other while I watch.

“Scenario Two. When I enter the room, a blindfolded and naked woman, tied to the bed, will already be there. I will not be the one who tied the woman up—she’ll already be in the required state when I arrive—which means someone besides the woman will initially need to accompany her to the room to help her get into position. By the time I arrive, that third party participant absolutely must be gone. Please note I will arrive at the room promptly at eight o’clock sharp, no earlier or later, to allow the woman and whoever’s assisting her to plan the set-up accordingly.

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