Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 538(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
I was going fucking insane.
There had to have been something in my drink that made me lose my mind. Like the Lotus Eaters in the Odyssey. There was something in my drink that made me forget every sane thought and be flattered by a woman I was jealous of.
I mean…not that I was jealous of her for having been with Lucian, but jealous of her comfort. Or…or…something like that.
Fucking fuck.
I looked down the aisle, past the stairs, and back up at the door, wondering if I should run now before I completely lost my mind.
“Aspen is here for observation tonight,” Lucian explained, pulling me back to reality.
Observation, I reminded myself. I wasn’t there to partake. I wasn’t there for anyone to lure me into playing. I wasn’t there to care if Lucian fucked every man and woman in this club.
I was there to observe and hopefully understand what the hell happened to me when Lucian Daire spanked me.
“Speaking of…I’m going to show her around,” he stated.
Pain flared in Emily’s eyes at his clear dismissal, and again, she quickly shoved it away with a smile. “Of course.”
“Thank you for the offer, though,” I added before she turned away. An irrational part of me couldn’t wait to watch her walk away while the familiar part of me that I clung to in this whirlwind needed to soothe a woman hurt by a man.
With a quick wink, she headed off, leaving Lucian and me alone.
He looked just as confident as before she arrived while my insides twisted and swayed, leaving me more unsteady.
“Shall we?”
I stole one last glance toward the exit before turning back and infusing a mythical confidence in my answer. “Sure.”
Again, as if we didn’t verbally battle most days of the week, he pressed his hand to my back and guided me away from the main room with soft jazz, leading me toward a hallway of unknowns.
CHAPTER 13
ASPEN
Beyond the entrance of the hallway lay a maze of more hallways, dimly lit with modern sconces. We passed three other dark turns before we came across an entrance to a room with purple light pouring from the wide entryway. I was thankful for the shadows in the hall to hide my wide eyes, attempting to soak in the large, cushioned areas spread throughout the room, filled with groups of people tangled in sex.
“Would you like to stay and watch?” Lucian asked quietly.
“Is that allowed?”
He released a rumbling laugh. “If they wanted privacy, they would be in a private room, not one with an open doorway and viewing area.” He pointed to a wall of leather couches and chairs where others sat, offering me a chance to join them.
I looked around, overwhelmed by the mix of limbs and multiple groups. “No,” I answered. I came to observe and if this was the first room we saw, I didn’t want to miss what all the others held.
With every step, his hand never strayed from my back. Part of me wanted to fall back into my familiar attitude and snap that I could walk fine without being guided like an errant child, but something stopped me. Something that whispered that I was there because I needed to step away from the familiar. I leaned into the whisper. I gave into the unknown. I accepted the surprising comfort his hand created against my back.
We passed room after room, all illuminated with different colors: yellow, green, magenta, orange, red. Despite the array and diverse set ups, they all contained small seating areas for viewers. Some with modern furniture, some with classic wingbacks similar to a gentlemen’s club.
Each room had various levels of scenes playing out, but like the main room, none of them screamed the sex club I originally imagined with heavy techno beats and flashing lights. Although, I figured that area existed somewhere within the maze because a pulsing bass reached through the walls.
Crack.
A moan followed the familiar sound of a hand against flesh.
Crack. Crack, crack, crack.
The sharp noise pierced my chest and sank between my legs. As if I was Pavlov’s dog, trained to be turned on just by the sound. My heart thundered with each step closer to the room. If the sound aroused me, then what would witnessing it do?
We stepped into the deep blue light spilling from the doorway to find a single couple occupying the space, despite there being enough apparatus for more. Large wooden Xs stood upright in the corners. Walls of whips, floggers, rods, and so many more tools I couldn’t name.
Crack.
I jolted, returning my attention to the couple. A woman lay naked over a curved bench that reminded me of the vault I used in gymnastics as a little girl. Her hands stretched down in front of her, handcuffed to the base. Her feet bound to opposite sides of the bench, leaving her legs slightly spread. Despite all the tools around them, the man, clad only in a pair of black slacks, used his hand.