Page 4 of A Night of Indulgence and Sloth
Can I truly do this? Once I step inside, there’s no going back. Surprisingly, that doesn’t terrify me as much as I thought it would.
I take a deep breath, steel my spine, and walk toward the gold-accented red doors. Two men stand on either side, and the one closest to me holds out his hand as I approach.What the hell does he want? A handshake?
“Your invitation,” he says gently, causing my skin to redden with embarrassment, but I dig it out of my handbag and show it to him anyway. Without glancing at it too long, he turns to the tray I hadn’t noticed beside him and picks up a light blue bracelet before handing it to me.
Once I’ve got it on my wrist, he opens the door and gestures for me to go inside. I stare at the ground for a moment, breathing in deeply to steady myself before tilting my head up and catching a glimpse inside Club Rapture for the first time. The lounge area is enormous, with dark, jewel-toned seating areas and a bar along the back wall.
A drink is exactly what I need. With furtive glances at the other guests, I notice several well-dressed servers walking around with tablets and speaking to each person. So preoccupied with trying to figure out what’s going on, I almost crash into an emerald couch and fall flat on my ass. I straighten on wobbly legs and let out a shaky breath. Holy hell, am I ever grateful that the heels on these boots aren’t any higher, or I’d really have made a fool of myself.
When I finally make it to the bar—after putting extra effort in to watch where the hell I was going—I’m hot and in desperate need of something to cool me down.
Before I get a chance to order, the clock on the wall catches my eye, and I watch as the hour hand ticks to ten o’clock. Time slows down like in the movies when it seems as if all other sounds fade away except for the loud tick as the hands move. The doors are officially locked.
Just then, a well-dressed man with dark hair strides to the center of the room. He’s tall and trim, exuding a powerful dominance that has the crowd falling silent.
“Welcome to a night of sin and debauchery like you've never experienced. My name is Steffan Lykaios. For those of you who've been a member of my club and delved into our sins previously, this night will truly be different from anything you've partaken in before. For tonight, every single person here will immerse themselves in the darkest depths of their sinful nature and not surface until dawn.” His piercing green eyes drift across the crowd, landing on me for a split second before moving along to the other guests. One of his arms sweeps open, and I notice a row of elevators that I hadn’t seen before. “As the lights flicker to a new color, one that matches that of your bracelet, let your inhibitions fall away and step inside the waiting elevators, for it's time to embark on your journey of sin and corruption.”
Sensations run through me, and I expect to panic like I usually do, but I don’t. This place is nothing like the farm. I’m not crammed inside a small room, forced to please a stranger against my will. This is consensual, a choice, and that alone lifts a weight from my shoulders.Breathe, Lily. This is a new beginning.
Once Steffan leaves, the light changes to purple, and I exhale the breath I was holding, grateful not to be first.
A bartender approaches me with a glass of water already in hand. “Can I get you anything?” she asks, her smile soft.
I nod while swallowing a large mouthful, then order a Bellini. She mixes my drink in a flash, handing me the yummy cocktail before backing away and leaving me alone once more. I take a sip, delighted by the light peach flavor. Drinking isn’t something I do often—alcohol and anxiety don’t really mix—but the prosecco and peach puree are exactly what I need to loosen up my tight muscles. The effects from the massage I had earlier are long gone.
The lights shift to green, and four men make their way toward the elevators. Once again, I’m glad to find that my color hasn’t been chosen. While I might feel confident in this outfit, it’s not enough to overshadow my nerves, and I can’t help but fear what’s coming. Once I step beyond those elevator doors, who knows what awaits me? I never used to fear the unknown, but now it was like an icy hand squeezed around my heart.
I swivel on the velvet-topped barstool, noticing that some of the other guests are gone, and one of the servers from earlier is heading my way. He’s handsome, in a sophisticated sort of way, with symmetrical features on a soft face. Not exactly my type but, until tonight, I never really considered what that was.
“Good evening, miss. Have you had the chance to sign our Consent to Participate form? We require each guest to do so before going to their designated floor.” He smiles, his eyes dropping to my hand, which trembles slightly.
“Oh! I haven’t, but I’d be happy to.” He hands me the tablet and reminds me to read it through before signing at the end. Once I’ve handed it back to him, I place both my hands in my lap and take a deep breath.
“Thank you,” he pauses to read my name off the form, “Liliana. If at any point you want to leave, just speak up, and we’ll make arrangements for you. This is a safe space, I assureyou. Keep an eye on the lights. Once it turns light blue, you can head to the elevator and scan your bracelet.”
A grateful smile pulls at my lips, and my eyes burn. He leaves, and I turn back to my drink, wondering if my trauma was that easy for people to see or if he said that to every guest tonight. Either way, it settles my nerves enough that my hand stops trembling.
The lights have changed again, this time to red, and the room is even emptier than before. After another healthy swallow of the yummy peach drink, I realize my glass is empty. I’m tempted to order another drink, anything to help soothe the jittery fear running through my veins, but I need to keep my wits. My aunt had always administered a sedative before she’d let any of her foster kids meet with their guests. She promised it was for my protection, that it would make things easier for me if I closed myself off from what was happening, but that was a crock of shit. Nothing about being forced by my own damn family to please their disgusting guests was easy, and in truth, the sedative only made those nights worse.
Shaking off the dark thoughts which threaten to spiral, I notice the lights have turned light blue, and I’m the only one left. My heart hammers in my chest, thrashing like a wild animal caught in a cage, and when I turn to hop off the stool, it skips a beat. An incredibly gorgeous man steps into the bar, his dark hair tousled in a way that looks effortless, but I’d bet he spent time on. His gaze meets mine, and as the smile parts his lips, my thighs clench as if on their own.
That’s when I realize where he’s headed.
Straight toward me.
Aiden
The woman assigned to Sloth is a goddess.
Her silken black hair begs me to wrap it around my fist while I fuck her mouth, but tonight isn’t about me. It’s about her.
Liliana Sinclair. My new assistant.
Once I found out she was the same woman who interviewed with Kaleb, I should have had the club pick someone else. It wasn’t exactly ethical to spend an entire night pleasuring the woman who would have to forward my calls and schedule my meetings. At least, not when she was ignorant of it all.
But here we are. Ethics be damned. Kaleb had mentioned her beauty, yet underneath it all, he had sensed she’d been through more shit than the average person. Then we read the application that her sister had filled out.
It was the longest application the club had ever seen, with photos and anecdotes shared about the type of person Liliana was. Her sister hadn’t exactly detailed the trauma, but she’d alluded to it enough that we got the gist. They hadn’t been safe, but Liliana made sure her sister never experienced the worst of it.
