Page 57 of Elicit (Decadence After Dark)

“Jett and I are nothing. He likes to fuck me. That’s all.” I stand my ground.

Amber pins me with huge, brown, bullshit eyes. “He does not like to justfuckyou. He likes to be around you. I see the way he looks at you. The way he stalks around when you’re with a client. None of us have ever spent as many nights in his bed as you have. Mutual feelings or not, that man has got it bad.”

I don’t know whether her blatant observation angers me or elates me. Maybe a little of both.

“Well, if we’re on the subject of smitten men, Alistair is right up there with Jett.” I go on the offensive.

Amber’s face falls. “The last thing Alistair is is smitten.”

“Well, he’s definitely something. The whole house heard you two fucking all night. He sounded pretty taken if you ask me.”

Amber sighs, it’s a mixture between sadness and frustration. “I’m surprised a working girl like you doesn’t know the difference between smitten and plain old horny. There aren’t any feelings there. Trust me. I thought maybe there were, but I was dead wrong. He sees me as one thing. A sex toy.” She drops her eyes, attempting to mask her disappointment. “That’s all I’ll ever be while I live in this house.”

“You aren’t the only one. We’re all seen the same way.”

“London don’t be stupid. Jett doesn’t see you as just another ‘girl.’ If you have a chance with him, take it. Jump on it, grab hold with both hands, and run like hell. He’s a good man. The best. And he could be your ticket to a way better life. I know I’m weighing my options and looking for mine.” The affliction in her voice is potent. I wish I could make her understand. Even if Jett does have genuine feelings for me, nothing could ever come of it. I could never give him anything more than what I already am. There’s a line I just can’t cross. For everyone’s sake. Especially my own.

“Ladies!” Jett announces as he enters backstage without even so much as a knock. He draws all attention to him as he takes his place in the middle of the room, standing there like the ringmaster he is, about to direct his company of performers. Eight concupiscent girls trained to put on an X-rated show.

“If you weren’t already aware, Kayne and I have a very important guest staying in the house.”

He pauses, like the next sentence gets stuck in his throat. I think I’m the only one who notices, though. “Please be the hospitable little house kittens I employ you to be. Tend to whatever Javier needs.” He swallows thickly. “Other than that, I’m happy to see you’re all ready for the social. We have some new potential members coming tonight, so make sure to turn on the sexy and show them a good time they’ll never forget.” He claps twice, initiating the night. Amber and I both finish our last-minute primping before following the other girls.

Jett stands at the door dressed impeccably in a dark purple dress shirt and watches as we one by one file out of the room. Amber and I are the last in line. She winks back at me as she sashays past Jett in her skimpy lace bodysuit and sky-high heels.

I avert my gaze, ashamed to even look at him after the bratty way I acted. If Amberisright, and he does have feelings, he’s probably seriously reconsidering them after last night.

“Hey.” Jett snatches my arm before I even cross the threshold of the doorway. I slide my eyes up to meet his. There’s a hot temperament in his glare. “For the record, Iwouldlet you go, no arguments, no questions asked,” he decrees. “But I really don’t want you to leave. . . me.”

My breath catches on “me.”

“I don’t want to leave . . .you, either.”

Fuck, I really just said that out loud, didn’t I? I must be crazy. I shouldn’t open this door because there’s no telling what perilous place it will lead. My situation is more dangerous than anyone knows. More dangerous than I dare let on. My past is a poison, a toxicity, and the last thing I would ever want is for it to contaminate the lives of the people I care about. Jett, Amber, Jenna, even Kayne and all his grouchiness.

What would happen if the truth came out? What would happen if I was found?

“You don’t know what hearing that does to me.” Jett pushes me up against the doorframe and runs the tip of his nose teasingly along my neck. “You smell so good,” he murmurs, transfixed. “No one but me is going to touch you tonight. They can all look, all want, but none of them can have.”

His authority is such a turn-on. I’ve never liked to be claimed, but when Jett does it, when he asserts his dominance, I feel like a coveted person, not a possession. He makes me feel like a woman. Makes me appreciate my feminine, sensual, and virile side the way God intended.

“I look forward to you touching me tonight,” I hum seductively in his ear. Jett shivers.

“I’m going to do so much more than just touch you.” He matches my tone while upping the ante. “Now go.”

I tauntingly caress the erection protruding in his dress pants before I saunter away, deploying every feminine wile I possess in order to make him drool.

Amber was wrong; Jett isn’t the one who’s smitten. I am. For the very first time in my life, I have feelings for a man.

I walk down the grand foyer stairs like they’re puffier than a cloud. I’ve never felt so weightless before. There’s no pressure tonight, only delicious anticipation.

Jett went all out to impress the potential new clients, decking out the party room to the nines. Butlers with white gloves pass champagne around a large square caviar bar. The fireplace is roaring, and seductive music is playing in the background. I recognize the song. It’s one of Jenna’s favorites, “Gold” by Kiiara.

I work the room, conversing with some clients I already know and some looking to get on Jett’s short list, smiling, laughing and flirting as freely as I ever have. A few men proposition me right on the spot, but I inform them they have to go directly through Jett for a session with me. Immediately after that day in Jett’s office, my status changed, and I soon came to understand what he meant by “elite.”

Time passes, but Kayne and Jett are nowhere to be found, which is very odd. Usually one, if not both, watch over these socials like a hawk. Alistair has been parked in a corner all night. Talk about a hawk—he hasn’t peeled his eyes off Amber once. Not for a second. That doesn’t seem like a man who’s uninterested to me. If anything, he’s overly interested. Invested even. I don’t know Alistair very well. Although we have had a few casual conversations, I can’t say I’m a huge fan. As polite as he is, he has that persona. That overly dominant man. Whenever I’m near him, my skin prickles. He’s built like my Master, minus the accent and the asshole attitude.

Amber seems to know exactly how to press his buttons, coming on strong with every single man in her path just to piss Alistair off. She’s fully aware he’s staring, too.

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