Page 12 of Room Twenty-Three: Tangled & Teased

“Good. Why don’t you have a shower?” Beau says.

I’m wearing a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, but I feel naked as the two men’s eyes roam over my body. My body feels like I’m about to combust. I raise my arm, rubbing my hand over my bare, hot, itchy neck.

They are being friendly, Erin.

“Then have a nap while we talk about work.”

I chew on my lip and nod. It’s early in the morning, but jet-lag is winning. I am feeling tired, regardless of the sleep I had on the plane.

Beau strides to the door, before he turns and stares at Atty. He arches an eyebrow at him, silently telling Atty to follow.

Atty grunts, which makes me giggle.

Beau glances back at me over his shoulder, and I think I’m still pink from my thoughts earlier.

I know Atty likes me. He told me the night we met in London.

But why is Beau staring at me like that?

I don’t know what time it is when I wake up. But I remember telling them to leave me to sleep earlier, and get on with their job. I feel safe. I’m in New Orleans, and nobody, not even my father, knows where I am. They told me on the flight over that my father totally trusted them with their daughter, his only reason for signing the Contract.

A beam of light spears through the thin curtains. Smiling that I had a good sleep. It is surprising because sleeping in a strange bed is normally a problem for me. But when you sleep on a mattress that feels like you’re floating on air, even an insomniac would have a blissful sleep.

I drag my fingers through my messy hair, before pushing my legs out of the bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. My eyes roam around the room as I stretch my arms in the air, taking in the beautiful antique furniture.

After another yawn, I walk to the window and look out at the street. It’s quiet and I know it’s close to the university that the three men are going to today. The details I vaguely remember them telling me before sleep found me again.

I turn back to the room. A piece of paper on the dressing table catches my eye. My bare feet pad over the floor to the note. I pick it up and unfold it.

Hi Erin, hope you had a good sleep. We shouldn’t be too long, but remember what we told you. Don’t leave the house today, and before you go downstairs, check the safe room.

They told me about the panic room before they left, and I remember the room becomes impenetrable if you press the red button. I glance back at the note.

Be careful once inside. I’ll test you once I’m back. Jove.

I smile. The room is at the end of the corridor on the right-hand side. I’ll let Jove show me once he is back, because right now I need a coffee. I just hope someone went out to buy milk.

I quietly open the bedroom door and peer cautiously into the hallway in case the men have come back.

No one is here.

I shut the door and brush out my hair.

I’m not really dressed appropriately for when the three men are around. My pajamas are tiny satin shorts with a matching colored top. But as I’m by myself, I can safely get a coffee and do a quick internet search for Club Sin. Something I’ve wanted to do since I overheard them talking about the club when we were on the plane.

After creeping down the staircase, I follow the smell of brewing coffee and I stride into the kitchen. It’s all clean lines, white cupboards with a speckled black-and-white marble top. I pour myself a coffee from the full coffee pot which is waiting for me. Looking around, I see a pale pink double refrigerator.

“Lovely color.” I drag the chrome handle and smile at seeing the milk.

They knew exactly what I’d need when I woke up.

I take my drink to the kitchen island and sit on the tall stool before I open my laptop, log onto the Wi-Fi server, and wait for my computer to load. Once it does, I type:

CLUB SIN: NEW ORLEANS

Clicking on the website for the club and I see a large white plantation mansion. It reminds me of the movie ‘Gone with the Wind’ with its pillars and enormous wrap-around balcony—though it’s probably much larger. It’s a sprawling mansion and the grounds are abundant and green. The perimeter looks like a wall of old trees which are higher than the house, masking the mansion from the road.

The website doesn’t say exactly what happens in the club or why one would enter. That makes me doubly curious, so I’m going to poke around for information myself.

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