INTO THE LION'S DEN

I follow Rhyssa through another set of doors and the pounding music from the dancefloor outside fades into the background, replaced by smooth jazz drifting through hidden speakers... The lighting here is warmer too, bathing everything in rich amber and crimson tones that make the room feel seductive somehow...

Rhyssa stops, giving my arm a playful little nudge with her elbow. She gestures broadly to the lavish room with a smug, knowing grin.

​"It doesn't get any better than this..." She trails off, her perfectly arched brows suddenly creasing as she looks down at me. "Right... I never actually got your name, little tiger. Unless you're perfectly fine with me calling you Bambi for the rest of the night?"

​I pull my arm back, flattening my shoulders and glaring at her with all the faux confidence I can muster. "Barbara," I blurt out, crossing my arms over my chest to keep the skimpy fabric of my top from shifting too much. "My name is Barbara Adams..."

​Rhyssa’s lips twitch and her feline eyes crinkle with mischief, She lets out a low chuckle that vibrates in her throat. "Okay... Barbie."

​I blanch instantly and my mouth drops open at the horrible nickname. Barbie? Seriously???

Before I can snap back she smoothly steps closer, her tone dropping into a conspiratorial whisper as she gestures toward the patrons scattered around the room. "This is the VVIP section," she explains, her sharp eyeliner glinting under the red lights. "These are the creme de la crop of society we're dealing with up here... I'm talking extremely wealthy motherfuckers." She leans in a fraction closer, a wicked spark in her eyes. "I'm just saying... you could make a pretty little stack of money off popping your cherry."

I nearly choke. "What?!"

She shrugs lazily. "Some people are into that kind of thing."

"Ew... No thanks." I blurt out and she sighs, "I figured you'd say No... You really don't belong down here sweetheart."

"I told you," I say firmly, "I'm not into sex work..." Rhyssa smirks and raises both hands. "Okay, okay... suit yourself." Her gaze suddenly shifts across the room and something catches her attention. Her expression changes. "Well... " She beams at me. "This is where we part ways, love..."

My stomach unexpectedly drops which is ridiculous because I've known her for less than an hour, Yet somehow the idea of navigating this place without her feels significantly more terrifying.

Rhyssa's smile softens slightly and she gives my head a little pat. "Good luck with your crazy mission. Hope you get with someone who at least knows what he's doing."

I cringe instantly because when she says it out loud, it sounds significantly worse. Then her expression becomes unusually serious. "Word of advice, sis... Don't make the mistake of falling for any of the men here."

The warning catches me off guard and I blink up at her in confusion as she sighs again, "Trust me," she continues quietly. "It's not worth the heartache..." Something flashes through her eyes but it disappears almost immediately and her smirk returns, "They're only interested in taking from you... So make sure you take twice as much from them."

She gives me a slow, reassuring wink, her lips curving into a cat-like smile. "I have a feeling I'll be seeing you around... Barbie."

​Before I can even process her words, she turns on her heels and sashays away and I watch her retreating back until she disappears down the hall.

​"That's highly unlikely," I mutter to myself, exhaling a breath I didn't realize I was holding... I am never coming back to this den of insanity ever again. Tonight is a one-time-only deal...

​Left entirely to my own devices, a fresh wave of panic threatens to swallow me whole and my heart begins to thump erratically against my ribs. Okay, Barbara... Focus! You're here for a reason! Anyone is better than Pierre and his sweaty, clammy palms...

​I swallow the lump in my throat and cautiously slide onto an empty, plush velvet chair near the edge of the lounge. Taking a deep breath, I force myself to scout the room, scanning the faces of the men scattered throughout the VVIP section... People who look like they could buy entire countries for fun.

Rhyssa really wasn't lying about the quality... The men here definitely look more appealing and almost immediately, I notice a few of them eyeing me appreciatively, their gazes lingering on my exposed skin and my sheer, skimpy outfit... I guess it's serving it's purpose after all...

​My breath stutters in my chest when my eyes lock onto a man sitting a few tables away and my brain short-circuits. Holy crap! I recognize him. He’s a really famous actor! His face was on lots of major billboards and he's starred in massive blockbuster movies! I've even watched a couple of them!

​As if sensing my stare, his gaze shifts directly to me... A slow, disarming smirk spreads across his handsome face, and he casually winks at me. My heart leaps into my throat and a sudden panic detonates in my chest. Oh my God... He's looking at me. He's actually...

​Before I can even avert my eyes, he stands up from his leather booth and starts to approach me! his stride oozing casual confidence and every instinct inside me screams to run, but my thighs feel like lead, pinning me to the chair... Shit! What am I going to do?? What will I even say???

Oh my God! Abort mission! Abort mission immediately!!!

But it's too late...

​"Mind if I sit?" he asks and his voice is smooth and drips with practiced charm... He slides into the seat right next to mine without waiting for an answer. "Uh... uh, hi," I stammer shyly, clutching my hands tightly in my lap as he flashes a brilliant, blinding smile, "Hello gorgeous... You look fucking sexy in that dress... Had to do a double take to confirm I wasn't hallucinating. You're unreal..."

My face heats up and my brain scrambles. "Uh... Thanks." Seriously?... Excellent response, Barbara. Truly inspiring. He chuckles and leans forward, "You're cute... Haven't seen you around here before, are you new?"

"Uh... Yeah." I answer tentatively and he hums. "Well that explains it... I was wondering how I didn't notice someone as beautiful as you..." My cheeks heat up again and for a fleeting, delusional ten seconds, I actually think to myself... Maybe this won't be so bad... Ha! Maybe my first time will be with a literal movie star!

But, the illusion shatters into a million terrifying pieces when without warning, his charming smile twists into something creepy and he reaches into his tailored jacket, pulls out a thick, heavy wad of cash, and flings it carelessly onto my lap. The paper notes scatter across my bare thighs and I stare down at it in confusion... It's more money than I've ever seen in one place!

"Alright, sweetheart... let's skip the pleasantries," he murmurs, his voice dropping into a low, demanding purr. "Strip. Let’s see what I’m paying for."

A cold shiver runs down my spine, "Wh... What...?" I breathe out, my voice cracking and before the word can even fully leave my lips, his hand shoots forward! His fingers grip my thigh squeezing hard enough to leave a mark and his touch is rough as he leans in close, his breath smelling heavily of alcohol, "Don't play hard to get... I said strip. I'll pay double if you suck my cock..." His hands trail up to my breasts and it instantly fills me with disgust.

He thinks I’m a hooker?! He thinks he can buy me!

My stomach drops. Oh no... I can't do this anymore, Rhyssa was right, this was a bad idea...

"Let me go!" I say immediately and push his hands off me. His smile disappears and he glares at me. "What?"

"I... I think you've misunderstood me... I'm not..." His hand grips my thigh harder and I flinch. "Don't play games with me..." He reaches into his pocket and brings out more wads of cash and drops them on the table and he smirks at me. "Satisfied?" His hand reaches up to stroke my hair "Now you have to do a lot more than suck my cock... Let's start with taking those clothes off." He reaches for me and every instinct inside me starts screaming!

I shove his hand away and his expression darkens again. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"I'm leaving..." I say shakily and he grabs my wrist tightly. My heart rate stutters and a surge of pure adrenaline floods my veins... Without thinking, my hand flies to the low glass table beside me, my fingers gripping the stem of a nearby, freshly poured flute of champagne and in one swift motion, I fling the contents of the glass straight into his face!

He gasps and recoils instantly, releasing me from his grip as he sputters and wipes at his face. I don't waste a single second... I scramble out of the chair, knocking the cash to the floor, and take off running as fast as my heels can carry me!

​Behind me, his enraged roar echoes over the soft jazz music. "You fucking bitch!!!" the actor screams, his voice distorted with pure, unadulterated fury. "This suit costs more than your entire goddamn life!"

​I look over my shoulder in absolute terror and see him wiping his eyes, scrambling to his feet, and he starts to storm towards me. He looks completely psychotic now with his face twisted in a mask of rage.

​"Oh my god, oh my god..." I sob under my breath, my lungs burning as I run blindly away from the lounge. I don't even know where I'm going! I burst through a set of doors and find myself sprinting down a long, dimly lit hallway with the sound of his heavy, angry footsteps echoing closely behind me and gaining ground. Stupid Barbara! Stupid!!! Why did I even come here?! Now I'm about to be murdered!

"Get back here bitch!" He snarls.

Absolutely not... I sprint even faster and turn a sharp corner, looking back one last time to see how close he is and... BAM!!!

I collide violently into something solid! It feels like sprinting full-force into a brick wall and the impact knocks the wind completely out of my lungs, and a pained gasp escapes me as I stumble backward, instinctively rubbing my forehead.

"Ow..." I wince, blinking rapidly to clear my vision as I look up to see what I just clumsily crashed into... And my breath is knocked right back out of my chest, but this time, it has absolutely nothing to do with the collision!

Holy moly... Standing right in front of me is a man who doesn't even look real. He is utterly... breathtakingly hot! Tall doesn't even begin to cover it... He's enormous! He towers over me completely that I have to crane my neck just to look at him. His dark hair is slightly tousled and frames a face with a jawline so sharp it looks like it was chiseled from marble! Massive, muscular shoulders stretch the fabric of his dark designer shirt, and intricate, dark tattoos crawl up his thick neck and wrap around his powerful forearms...

But it’s his eyes that completely pin me in place. They are a striking, piercing amber color... intense, calculating, and dangerously cold. But he's so hot! In fact It should be a crime for anyone to be this attractive!

For several seconds I simply stare at him and my lungs forget their purpose.

Then footsteps echo behind me and I freeze... remembering the furious actor on my tail. I tense, waiting for him to catch me but the footsteps suddenly halt dead in their tracks and when I look back, the actor is standing a few paces away but his eyes are narrowed on the tattooed stranger I just crashed into and the rage completely drains from his face. Instead, his eyes widen in shock and he goes completely pale, swallows hard, and without uttering a single word, he spins on his heel and flees back the way he came as if he’s just seen a ghost!

​Um... What on earth was that about??

​The tall stranger barely even notices the actor's presence or his abrupt retreat. His piercing amber eyes are locked entirely on me, tracking the erratic rise and fall of my chest and I realize now that he has a phone pressed to his ear.

​"Let me call you back..." he murmurs into the line and his voice makes my heart skip a beat... He even has a sexy voice to match! His voice is a deep, low, gravelly baritone that sends an involuntary tremor straight down my spine. He slides the phone into his pocket and his jaw ticks slightly, a muscle leaps beneath his smooth skin as his amber gaze slowly begins to roam over my body... His eyes trail down from my flushed face, lingering heavily on my exposed cleavage and scanning every single inch of my scandalous, tight outfit.... It feels like he’s stripping away whatever little defense I have left!

​My throat goes completely dry and my heart flutters nervously as I try to explain myself. "I... Oh my God... I am so so sorry," I blurt out, my voice trembling. "I didn't mean to run into you, it's just... I was being pursued by a man in the lounge, and he..."

​The stranger cuts me off suddenly by stepping forward and crowding me against the wall! I gasp and my next words catch in my throat as his large, warm hand shoots forward and wraps firmly around my chin! He tilts my head up so I have no choice but to look directly into those blazing amber eyes of his..

​The sudden, intense physical contact startles me and a sudden wave of delicious, electric shivers cascades violently throughout my entire body... Up close, the height difference is staggering and does something feral to my brain... He tilts my chin up a fraction higher, studying my face with an intense gaze that flickers briefly at the slight, faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of my nose, and his jaw ticks again...

​"Are you one of the new girls?" he says finally and that smooth, deep voice nearly makes my knees buckle! Something about the intensity of his stare just makes it difficult to breathe and sends an entirely inappropriate shiver through me.

"I... Huh." I stammer and everything else scrambles. Excellent speech Barbara... We're back to caveman speech... But can you blame me? my brain is completely short-circuiting under his touch!

He releases my chin and his hand drops back to his side, but his powerful gaze never leaves mine. "Come with me." he orders in a deep, authoritative tone that leaves room for absolutely no argument.

He turns around on his heel and immediately starts walking down the corridor. That's it? No explanation or introduction... I stare after him in confusion and I glance behind me nervously. The actor is gone... I could just leave now...

I look back at the stranger's retreating back... He doesn't even check to see whether I'm following almost like he simply expects me to. And somehow... I do! Maybe it's curiosity... or stupidity... Possibly both.

I'm just strangely drawn to the sheer gravitational pull of this man's presence, I find my legs moving on their own and I scramble to follow him... He leads me toward the end of the hall and up a dimly lit flight of stairs. "Um, excuse me!" I try to speak to his broad back as I scramble up the steps behind him, trying to keep pace with his long, effortless strides. "I'm really sorry if I offended you earlier... I'm really sorry for bumping into you like that."

​He doesn't respond.... doesn't even glance back. He just keeps walking. "Um... Hello, Sir?" Still nothing... The man is apparently allergic to conversation.

At the top of the stairs. He stops abruptly in front of a heavy, dark mahogany door. Reaching out, he pushes the door open, the hinges moving silently, and then steps aside. He turns his head, staring down at me pointedly with those intense amber eyes, clearly expecting me to walk inside...

​I swallow hard and my heart hammers against my ribs as I take a tentative, cautious step forward, passing his towering frame to cross the threshold and walk into the room. "I didn't mean to cause any trouble," I say, my voice breathy and nervous as I try to fill the suffocating silence. "I was pursued by a man in the lounge, and... and I was just really trying to make sure he understood..."

​His jaw ticks again as he steps into the room behind me, the heavy wooden door shutting with a soft, definitive click that sounds terrifyingly permanent.

​My legs carry me further into the center of the space and my voice drops into a shy, hesitant murmur. "Well...I was just trying to tell him... that I'm not a..." My voice trails off as I look around at the room I have just entered... Taking in the massive, plush king-sized bed draped in red silk and the heavy looking silver handcuffs attached to the polished bedposts.

​The final word leaves my lips in a shocked, horrified whisper. "...Hooker."