A Night with the Devil

Audrey's POV 

I couldn’t get a word out. My mouth refused to work and every instinct begged me to run.

Yet something about those amber eyes rooted me where I stood.

“Forgive my forward thinking,” he bowed then smiled and walked back to the couch. “What do you have for me?”

I was still terrified. But beneath the fear… curiosity stirred.

Why me? Out of every girl in Bertha’s Place… why had he chosen me?

I smoothed my hands over the backless mermaid gown clinging to my curves like a second skin. 

The fabric plunged low in front, barely containing my full breasts, and the open back exposed the dimples at the base of my spine and just a little glimpse of my ass. 

One performance. That’s all this was. 

He was just a customer. A dangerous one, perhaps, but still a customer.

I had done this hundreds of times before. Then why did my hands refuse to stop trembling?

I stepped farther into the room, my hips rolling in that sultry rhythm I had perfected over years at the club. 

“Well, darlin',” I drawled in my fake southern accent, “you look like a man who could use some proper entertainment tonight.”

Kairos chuckled, setting his glass on the side table with a clink. “And you look like trouble wrapped in sin, sweetheart.”

His voice was laced with a humor that caught me off guard. 

According to every story I’d ever heard, Kairos Thornheart was ruthless. The kind of Alpha whose name alone silenced a room.

Yet the man sitting before me looked… amused.

It unsettled me more than if he’d been glaring.

"So how long have you been waiting for this?" I asked, though I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

He smirked, “Seven months.”

The answer stole the smile from my lips and I blinked. “Seven… months?”

“I’ve watched you dance almost every week.” He continued, shrugging. 

My heartbeat faltered. Something about the way he said it made goosebumps rise along my arms.

There wasn’t hunger in his eyes. There was certainty.

As though he’d already decided something about me long before tonight.

I forced out a laugh. “That’s a long time to wait for one dance.”

“It wasn’t the dance I came back for.” He rumbled.

My stomach tightened.

He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “It was you.”

For a heartbeat, the room became unbearably quiet. The music from upstairs faded into the background.

Even my own breathing seemed louder. No customer had ever spoken to me like that.

Most men looked at my body. Kairos looked… at me.

It made no sense. No. I couldn’t afford any form of distraction… Madame Bertha would have my head if I didn’t give him a satisfactory night.

Do what you’re meant to do, Audrey. 

I paused near the pole in the room's center. “Well, I can’t disappoint you now, can I?”

'Take off the mask first,” he said, leaning forward slightly, his gaze flicking to the ivory mask. “I want to see your face.”

My smile faltered. “The mask stays on, handsome. But I've got somethin' better in mind.”

Grabbing the pole with one hand, I arched my back, the gown's slit parting to flash my thigh-high stockings. 

Being the best dancer in the club didn't come free. I had trained until my feet bled and kept training after that.

I hooked a leg around the pole, sliding down slowly and my breasts heaved with each twist.

Kairos leaned back as I climbed the pole, my gown riding up to bare the curve of my ass cheeks. 

“Like what you see, Alpha?” I purred, dropping into a split that pressed my pussy lips against the cool metal. “Bet you've never had a dance like this before.”

His laugh rumbled again. “Keep going… I'm hooked.”

When I finally glanced back at him, he was leaning forward.

I released the pole and walked toward him, swaying my hips deliberately. 

Once I straddled his lap, I ground against the rigid bulge straining his pants. 

“This gown's a bitch to remove,” I whispered, guiding his hands to the hidden zipper at my side. “Help me.”

His fingers obeyed, tugging the zipper down inch by inch. The gown loosened, sliding off my shoulders to pool at my waist, baring my heavy tits. 

I never did this for the other clients. The red room was restricted to dancing alone and maybe some touching, but never me taking off my clothes. 

But there was something about him that made me want to do wanton things. 

Kairos groaned, his hands gripping my ass while his lips found my neck. “What will it take to get that mask off?”

A shiver raced down my spine. “No one's ever seen my face, Alpha. It's my only secret.”

“Well, I’ve learned patience,” he whispered.

A strange ache settled in my chest. Why wasn’t he anything like the monster everyone described?

Nothing about this man matched the stories. 

That frightened me more than if they had because monsters were predictable… and kindness was dangerous.

It made you lower your guard.

“I feel like I’ve been looking for you,” he whispered. 

The words struck somewhere deep inside me and when he nipped my neck, a gasp left my mouth.

Without warning, warmth exploded through my chest. It spread across my skin like sunlight after a lifetime of winter.

My breath caught. A single word echoed through every corner of my mind.

MATE.

My entire body went rigid. No. Not him. Not Kairos Thornheart.

My wolf stirred for the first time in years, stretching beneath my skin with joyful recognition.

Mate.

Mate.

Mate.

Every instinct inside me wanted to close the distance between us.

To touch him and breathe him in. But I hated it. I hated how quickly my fear tangled with relief.

He was my mate.

The Moon Goddess had chosen the most feared Alpha alive… for me.

My eyes lifted to his face. He didn't feel it yet… or did he? 

No, his eyes burned with lust, not recognition.

A sharp knock rattled the door. “Alpha, your time is up.”

I trembled, horror warring with the mate pull screaming in my veins. 

He had no idea I was his mate. But how was that possible?

Kairos closed his eyes briefly before letting out a quiet sigh. “I’ll have to leave.”

He touched my lips, his thumb tracing the plump curve. 

“I'll be back and I don't care how much it costs…” he leaned forward and brushed his mouth against mine. “I'll uncover that mask... and then I’ll fuck you senseless.”

He walked out of the room and I collapsed into the chair. My heart was drumming even louder than the bass downstairs. 

The Alpha was my mate and somehow, he had no idea about it.

What the fuck had the moon goddess done?