Prologue

I was going to be late. I shivered at the thought of the punishment I’d endure if the Bishopp discovered that I’d left a client waiting—especially one who’d spent a fortune for a session with me. But I couldn’t seem to get my shaky hands to cooperate. They trembled as I powdered my nose.

I should be used to this by now, I’d been in this business for two years now, and yet I couldn’t seem to get over the nervousness I felt each  time I was called upon.

  I swallowed, taking one last glance at the mirror, the girl staring back at me was a complete stranger—unrecognizable. Maybe it was the layers of makeup she hid behind, or the slutty outfit she was in, which she once would have never even dreamt of wearing—I couldn’t tell.

I finished up with a bright layer of cherry red lipstick—my signature look, before making my way to the suit my client was sure to be waiting in.

  I stopped before the door, then just as easily as any true actress would, I slipped into character. The wide smile on my face was just as fake as everything else about me, and then I stepped in. My smile faltered.  He had his back to me as he stared out the window like the sight was way more interesting than that of a half-naked woman. This, I wasn’t used to.

If he noticed someone had just walked in, he gave no indication. 

“What’s your name?” he questioned, making me realize he was indeed aware of my presence.

The command in his tone was enough to tell me that this man was used to getting things done his way.  

“I am whatever you want me to be, Master.” I said in my most seductive voice. The Bishopp had once told me that my voice alone was all I needed to bring any man to their knees, apparently not this man.

“What does that mean?” he questioned, genuinely confused.   

I shrugged gently, “I could be Jane, Kate, Lizabeth… whoever you want me to be.”

Some clients had required I ‘roleplay’ during our sessions, and I'd had no problem doing just that.  

“What is your name?” he questioned again, and I realized he might just be very different from any other client I’d had to entertain.

“Ruby, Master.”

“Your real name.”

Wait… what?

The smile instantly faded from my lips. Warning bells went off in my head.

No one had ever asked me for my name. Why would they? I was just another worker in Bishopp’s Establishment, my name held no importance, and that had worked for me too.

  “I—my name is Ruby.” I repeated, but my voice sounded strange—even to my own ears. I’d always thought myself a perfect actress, but for the first time in a long while, I slipped.

Finally, the man turned away from the window and towards me. “I am not one for stories, Eloise Taleborn, but I must admit, I am quite interested in uncovering how a Luna like yourself who was presumed to be dead ended up here in a whorehouse.”