Page 13 of The Prince of Darkness

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. Just business talk. I’m Khalid.”

I smile and instantly feel comfortable with him. His aura is inviting and friendly, very unlike Vicente. “It’s okay. I’m Mariella.”

He releases my hand and slips his own into his pockets, still giving me a charming grin. “Vicente says you work at our casino.”

“I do, yes.”

“And now you’re here,” he says, gesturing to the looming building. “You’re gonna be one of us soon,” he says with a laugh, giving Vicente a wink. I start to giggle, but to my surprise, Vicente clenches his jaw and shakes his head. He doesn’t seem to take the joke very well.

“Vicente can be kind of uptight. You’ll get used to it,” Khalid says. “Are you ready for tonight?”

“Sure,” I say with a shrug. “I don’t know much about it.”

Khalid looks at Vicente and cocks his head. “You didn’t tell her?”

Now Vicente’s lips quirk. “Sometimes it’s better to keep things a secret.”

My lips part as I look between them, concern setting in. “What?”

Khalid touches my upper arm, giving it a slight squeeze. “You’ll be okay. See you around, brother. I’m gonna check on Tommy and then head inside.”

Vicente nods and then gestures for me to walk ahead.

“What is this place?”

“It’s a club. I told you.”

“Right, but he said you didn’t tell me something.”

“I haven’t told you lots of things. I hardly know you.”

I scoff. “Okay, but you know things about me that I haven’t told you, so what’s up with that?”

“You’re an employee of mine. It’s my right to know about you.”

“I’d hardly say that. I’m an employee of an employee of an employee. You can’t possibly know everything about everyone that works in that building.”

We pause right before the doors and he peers down at me. “But I’ve taken a special interest in you, and if I want to know more about you, I will, whether it's you that volunteers that information or not.”

He pulls open the door and we walk in. I think I’m going to be assaulted by loud bass and flashing lights like the majority of nightclubs, instead I’m met with a red glow amongst black walls and music playing at a decent level.

I follow Vicente as he makes his way to the bar, red lights glowing from around the circular shape in the center of the room. As he talks to the bartender, I take a few seconds to look around. There’s a section with tables and chairs for people to sit and drink in one corner, but in another section, there’s leather couches facing each other with a unique-looking table between them. The wood top is about six feet long and underneath is enclosed with black bars you can see through. It looks like it could double as a cage for your pets. Rounding out the living room area of the club is a modern piece of furniture that makes me pause due to its undulating shape. It’s a tantric chair.

My eyes then notice the mirrors and my spine stiffens as I spin around and start soaking in the details and decor. It’s very high scale, and they’ve done a good job at keeping everything lowkey, but I know what this place is.

Leather. Chains. Restraints. Everything is cleverly hidden in plain sight, used as a decorative piece. Even the furniture looks like basic furniture at first glance, but now that I’m studying everything, the coffee table is definitely a cage, and the bench in the corner appears to have restraints on the legs.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Vicente says, taking my arm.

“This is a sex club,” I whisper.

He laughs, low and deep in his throat. “You don’t have to whisper like sex is a bad word. Everyone is here because they like sex. You’ve done it before, yes?”

I scoff. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why does it matter?” he questions, nodding to someone as we make our way through a dark hallway with rooms on each side.

“I wouldn’t have come to a sex club with you. I don’t even know you. This is inappropriate.”

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