Chapter two: that night

Aria's POV

Two days ago

Crimson Vault, Friday, 11:47 p.m.

I'd never felt this exposed in my life until tonight and I was still dressed.

Well mostly. The sheer black coat clung to my skin and underneath was nothing but lace that barely covered anything as it cut scandalously low over my breasts and scandalously high over my thighs. 

I was wearing a sexy black lingerie.

My heels clicked against the marble floor and each step sounded like a countdown. Any moment now, I would either explode with adrenaline or evaporate from nerves.

"You're shaking," Lena whispered next to me, voice barely audible over the loud party music and murmured conversation.

"I'm not," I lied and lifted my chin higher as we walked into the main lounge.

Crimson Vault. Invitation only BDSM club whispered about in circles I barely touched. A place where names didn't matter and titles meant nothing.

Exactly why I was here.

"You sure about this?" Lena's eyes darted to a woman in a velvet corset leading a man on a leash. "This isn’t a voyeur room, babe. You sign a contract here and there's no backing out."

My lips curled. "That's the point."

I needed this. Something that wasn't boardrooms and quarterly reports and perfectly curated smiles. Not perfectly planned out like my entire life had been since I was a girl. I was Aria Valente the diamond-studded crown jewel of Valente Global, made to be CEO by twenty-seven. 

Fluent in five languages and taught to perform since I could walk, smiling even when I was dying inside.

But tonight, I wanted to kneel. Not because someone told me to but because I chose to.

We moved past velvet curtains and leather walls, through a corridor lined with masked figures watched from the shadows and I felt their eyes on me but I didn't look away.

Then I saw him.

Leaning against the far wall like the devil's incarnate in all black with his shirt unbuttoned just enough to show his chest. A silver ring hung from a chain around his neck. Half his face was covered by a mask but it didn't hide the way he commanded the room without moving.

He was calm like a panther watching prey it already owned.

Our eyes locked.

He pushed off the wall and walked toward me like he had all the time in the world.

"Name," he said, voice was too sexy to belong to any man on earth and it sent a delicious tingle down my body.

I swallowed. "Luna."

I wasn't ready to be Aria here. Not tonight.

His mouth curved slightly. "Luna. Are you claimed?"

"No."

"Do you want to be?"

I hesitated for half a second. "Yes."

He circled me once and dragged one gloved finger down my bare spine. Goosebumps followed in its wake.

"First time submissive?"

"Yes."

He stepped closer and the heat from his body wrapped around me. "You understand what it means to surrender?"

My breath caught. "I want to."

He offered his hand. "Then follow me, little rebel."

I didn't know his name. Didn't know anything about him.

But when I took his hand everything else disappeared. The boardrooms. The legacy. The fake smiles.

All of it melted into nothing.

***

The room was black and red with soft lighting that cast shadows everywhere. Chains hung from the ceiling. A padded bench sat against the wall. Candles flickered and made the leather and steel glow.

He guided me to the center and turned me to face the mirror.

"Look at yourself," he said.

I did. I had pale skin. Wide eyes. A girl pretending to be brave.

He came up behind me and his fingers brushed my jaw. "You're too used to being in control. That ends now."

Then he unbuttoned my coat and slid it off. My lingerie followed and both hit the floor.

My breath hitched.

He didn't touch me yet. Just let me feel the weight of his stare on every inch of my skin.

"Safe word?" he asked.

"Velvet."

He nodded. "Mine is glass. You use either and I stop."

I nodded back and my heart pounded so hard I thought he could hear it.

He circled me again and brushed my shoulder before wrapping silk cuffs around my wrists. He clipped them to the hook overhead and suddenly I was exposed. Powerless. On display.

Exactly how I wanted to feel.

His hands moved with ease like he was in his element. Commanding but careful.

He picked up a padded flogger and I swallowed hard as the first strike landed and pulled a moan from my throat.

Each touch was a question. Each strike a promise.

And with every sound that escaped me I felt more alive than I had in years.

***

Later my body trembled and my breathing was shallow as he unclipped my wrists and lowered me into his lap.

I curled into him without thinking. The silence between us felt heavier than words.

"Thank you," I whispered.

"You're welcome," he said and his voice was softer now.

I dared to ask, "Will I see you again?"

He stroked my hair once. "You will."

Then he leaned close and whispered in my ear.

"But when I do I won't just own your body. I'll own your name."

I shivered.

"We'll meet again, little rebel."

And I believed him.