2. Before the Mask Fell

Bianca's apartment was almost dark when Ruby pushed through the front door, her chest still heaving from tears she'd shed in the car. She had driven across the city on autopilot, her mind replaying the scene in Lorenzo's penthouse on an endless, torturous loop. 

She found Bianca curled up on the couch with a mug of tea. The moment Bianca saw her face, she was on her feet. "Ruby? What happened?"

The gentleness in her voice was the final blow. Ruby's knees buckled and Bianca caught her, guiding her to the couch and wrapping her arms tight around Ruby's shaking shoulders.

"He proposed. But not to me. It was for Noemi."

Bianca's face cycled through shock, disbelief, then rage. "Your sister Noemi? Tell me everything."

Ruby told her everything. 

Bianca's voice trembled with fury. "I'm going to kill both of them. Tell me you slapped him."

"I slapped him."

"Good. But why did you put up with it for so long? Three years and he never made you a priority."

The question sat heavy in Ruby's chest. She didn't have a good answer.

"I don't know. I thought if I was patient enough, he'd eventually choose me.”

The silence stretched between them. 

"You need a distraction. Something to get you out of your head. When's the last time you did something just because you wanted to?" Bianca said finally.

"That's what I thought." Bianca pulled out a flyer from the coffee table, with gold lettering spelling out Secret Sin Oasis. "I wasn't going to push this, but I think you need it more than you realize."

Ruby stared at the flyer. The images were dark and suggestive, women in elaborate restraints, their faces masks of ecstasy rather than pain. Ruby's first instinct was to recoil. That's not me. I'm not that kind of person. But another part of her that she had been suppressing for years, stirred with something else. A hunger she had spent years pretending didn't exist.

"A sex club?" 

"Hear me out." Bianca took her hands. "This isn't just about sex. It's about stepping into a space where no one knows you. Where you get to decide what you want for once.”

"It's terrifying," Ruby admitted. "I've never even been to a normal club."

"That's exactly why you should go. You wouldn't have to do anything. Just come, watch and if you feel like maybe flirt a little. Remember what it feels like to be wanted."

"I don't even know how to flirt."

"That's what I'm here for. I'll be performing tonight. You won't be alone. One night, Ruby. That's all."

Ruby looked at the flyer again. The women in the photographs looked powerful, confident like they had never once doubted their own worth. ‘I want to know what that feels like,’ she thought.

"One night," she said finally. "That's all."

The club rose from the private estate like a temple to some forbidden deity. Ruby pressed her forehead against the car window, her stomach knotting.

"Feel that? I smell money and power right from here," Bianca inhaled deeply.

Ruby stepped out on unsteady legs. Her backless green dress ended mid-thigh. 

They stepped inside. Halfway down the hall, a tall woman in a red leather harness emerged, purple hair in a severe ponytail.

"Bianca! We're down one tonight. Christine called in sick, she was supposed to handle a private client. Paid upfront. Exclusive dance."

"How much?"

Piper named a figure. Ruby's breath caught. Five months of her salary.

"If we don't deliver, we lose the booking f*e."

"So we find a substitute." Bianca's eyes drifted toward Ruby.

Ruby stepped backward. "No. Absolutely not."

"She's got the frame," Piper said, scanning her. "Twenty minutes, tops."

Bianca stepped closer. "Ruby, think about what we talked about. Maybe it's time."

Ruby's throat tightened. "I don't know how..."

"You did ballet for eight years. You know how to move. The rest is letting go."

"Fine."

The dressing room was chaos, women in various states of undress, racks of lace and leather. Ruby changed behind a screen, her cheeks burning as the black net lingerie clung to her like a second skin. When she looked in the mirror, her breath caught. The cat-shaped mask transformed her into someone unrecognizable. 

The lessons came fast, how to walk, how to hold eye contact, how to move with deliberate slowness. Ruby absorbed it all and somewhere in the process, the fear began transforming into anticipation.

The private room was intimate, draped in shadow. A single leather armchair dominated the space and in it sat a man.

Ruby couldn't see his face clearly in the dim lighting, but she could feel him. His presence was magnetic. Long legs crossed at the ankle. Hands resting on the armrests with the casual authority of someone who owned every room he entered. A black mask covered the upper half of his face, revealing only a sharp, stubbled jaw and lips that curved slightly at the corners, as if he was already amused by her.

He looks like the kind of man who doesn't ask for things because he never has to. His gaze slid over her body with unhurried ownership. Ruby's pulse quickened.

The music started. Ruby moved. Her hips rolled as she crossed the room, her spine undulating, her hands tracing her own curves. She reached his chair and lowered herself onto his lap, her back against his chest and began to grind. She felt him stiffen beneath her, the hard ridge pressing against her and a thrill shot through her. 

"You're new." His voice was deep, roughened, with the faintest accent.

"I'm whatever you want me to be tonight," she breathed. 

His grip tightened. She rolled her hips and sparks shot up her spine. Again and again, finding a rhythm that made her throat arch. His hand slid up her spine, fingers splaying between her shoulder blades. The other hand gripped her thigh, thumb pressing into sensitive flesh just below her panties. He pulled her harder against him and she gasped.

"You're nervous," he observed, his thumb tracing small circles on her hip. "Don't be. You're in control here. You set the pace."

The words surprised her. She had expected arrogance. Instead, he was watching her with patience.

"Tell me what you want," he murmured, his lips brushing her ear.

"You," she whispered.

His mouth found hers. The kiss was nothing like Lorenzo's careful kisses. His tongue swept past her lips with arrogant confidence, claiming her completely. He tasted of whiskey. His stubble scraped her chin, heightening every sensation.

His mouth traveled down her throat, leaving a trail of fire. "You're holding back. I can feel it. Let go."

His lips found the sensitive spot beneath her ear and she gasped. The sound surprised her, nothing like the controlled silence Lorenzo had always demanded.

"Such a responsive little thing," he murmured, sending a shudder through her.

She kissed him again, fiercer this time, her fingers tangling in his dark hair. She felt him smile against her lips. His hands slid up her thighs, thumbs hooking into her panties and she felt the rigid length of him press exactly where she needed it most. His hands slid up her thighs, thumbs hooking into the waistband of her panties. 

"Tell me your name, I want to hear you say it when I make you come," he growled. 

The words sent a fresh wave of heat through her body. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to hear her name on his lips as he took her apart. But his thumb brushed the edge of her mask, tracing the delicate wire and it shifted. The lace caught and it slipped. The mask slid sideways and Ruby felt the cool air against her exposed face.

She scrambled backward. Her stiletto caught on the rug. She stumbled, caught herself on the arm of the chair and then she was running through the door, down the hallway.

Behind her, she heard him call out. She didn't stay to hear what.