Page 35 of Depraved Royals

“No,” I say.

“Leave your cell phones,” bunny girl says, pointing at the small lockers stacked up against the opposite wall. Dani hands me her phone without a word.

My phone rings as I go to put it in the locker. I frown at the caller ID.

Idina. I swipe to red, slamming the locker closed and pocketing the key.

“Come on,” I say, taking Dani’s hand. “You’re safe with me, I promise.”

“I hope not,” she replies, “but I really wanna find out for sure.”

As I look at her, a coy little tendril of feeling wraps around my cold heart. It scares me.

I don’t get her. This curious, spirited, creative woman is everything I’m not. But her warmth is getting to me, melting places within that have been frozen solid for years.

I’m seeing things differently.

I always thought my future was already written. Vengeance. Bloodshed. A legacy denied, taken by force. Honor restored.

But that story has no safe place for Dani, and when I think about the differences between her life and mine, I can’t reconcile them.

The words in my book are sliding off the page, rearranging, realigning. The noble tale of a displaced king is re-writing itself into a brutal, toxic family tragedy, with the Pushkins the wronged party.

Maybe I’m going crazy. Maybe I am weak.

But right now, Dani is all I can see. In this place, I willtrulyget to know her.

14

Dani

As Kal’s hand settles on the door handle, my heart runs a mile a minute.

“In this room are the people who like to watch,” Kal says. His hand grips mine. “There are also those who like to perform. But observers cannot touch anyone in the red zone, so don’t worry.”

“I’m scared, Kal,” I whisper.

“Good,” he says. “You can’t reach the heights without that. And believe me, I’m gonna take you there.”

He pushes open the door.

The room is enormous. It looks like the library in a gothic castle. The walls are lined with bookshelves, and tables and chairs are laid out as though it’s a cabaret. There’s a bar, but it’s table service - staff glide discreetly around the room, serving drinks.

In the middle of the room is a square of crimson carpet, and in the center is a gymnastics horse. A woman bends over it, her wrists tied to the handgrips. Apart from a harlequin mask, she’s completely naked.

Kal stands behind me, his arm around my waist. He pulls me to him, and I feel his stiffening cock against my ass.

“Oh, this turns you on?” I say.

Kal’s other hand strokes up my flank and cups my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple.

“Yes, it does,” he says, “but not as much as your reaction. Do you even know what this is doing toyou, Dani?”

I both love and hate how in tune Kal is with me. I didn’t realize my mouth was hanging open, my core heating at the sight before me, buthedid.

A man is standing behind the bound woman. He’s fully dressed, a plain black mask obscuring his features, and he’s holding something in his hand.

I pull away from Kal’s embrace and move closer, sliding onto a small couch at the edge of the carpeted area. Kal settles beside me, his erection evident. A glance around the room tells me he’s not the only one getting off on this little show.

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