Chapter One

Arianna

My fingers twist against the smooth strings of the silver masquerade mask in my hand. I thought about not coming so many times tonight. Not because I’m a prude or anything; honestly, I’m far from it. But the idea of actually going to a sex club seemed…intense. Intimidating maybe?

Normally, I like my encounters to be of the drunken and never see you again variety. I guess this place has the same allure since the club’s theme is masquerade. Everyone is required to wear a mask, whether to provide anonymity or just amp up the kink factor. It provides a sort of sense of comfort, though.

I’d probably be scrolling on my hook-up app tonight or at the bar just down the street from the university if it wasn’t my best friend’s birthday. Usually, twenty-first birthday parties are spent doing pub crawls, going to dance clubs or raves, but oh no, not my best friend.

Cassi decided that she wanted her and her closest friends to celebrate her milestone birthday getting railed in a club together. I mean, when you put it like that, I guess it doesn’tsound terrible. I can’t believe we even found this place. It doesn’t even have a name. Literally. There’s no sign outside, no name when you look up the address, and their website is extremely vague, promising only anonymity and a night you’ll never forget. A senior Cassi was hooking up with handed her this black card when she was talking about her birthday plans a few days ago. It only had an address on it, but he swore we would love it. Let’s hope he’s right, I guess.

So, we all rented a hotel room to share in case the place was weird, and if we didn’t feel comfortable, we could head back to the room and eat the whole minibar. To be honest, this night seems to only be capable of good times.

Still, I can’t help but feel a rush of butterflies as we walk up to the nondescript door before Cassi excitedly knocks. She plays with the gold mask in her hand as I glance to see our friend Naomi doing the same with her red one. She looks excited too, but she has a flicker of hesitancy as well. She’s always been the meek one of our group. She’s also a virgin, so the fact that she agreed to come tonight shocked me.

An imposing man opens the door, giving our group a once over before staring at us expectantly.

“Gratify,” Cassi says, a smile full of mirth playing on her full lips as she pushes her red hair to the side, a complete contrast to my near pitch-black hair or Naomi’s bright blonde.

Where Cassi is every bit the spunky redhead with the perfect number of freckles dusting her cheeks, I’m her polar opposite. My sleek black hair, blue eyes, and resting bitch face typically earns me the group’s resident bitch title. I’m okay with it, though. After all, I got it from my mother, apart from the eyes, and at forty-five she looks better than most twenty-one year olds I know. Men certainly think so, at least.

The bouncer looks to Cassi, giving her an approving nodbefore taking our ID’s. After he hands them back, he gestures to our masks before stepping aside.

“Masks on, ladies, and welcome to paradise.”

We lace up our masks before I run a hand down my black cocktail dress. I stared at my closet for a solid forty-five minutes before deciding there was literally no right or wrong thing to wear to a sex club, they don’t exactly have a dress code stamped on a website anywhere. So, I figured the classic LBD would be perfect.

I might have made an oversight in the shoe department. My heels are so tall, I’m ready to snap an ankle at any given moment. Hopefully, I won’t be vertical for much of the night anyways.

The doorman guides us down the dark hallway behind him, the barest glow of light leading us deeper into the club. Just as I almost roll my ankle for the third time, the darkness gives way, revealing something akin to a seductive, depraved wonderland.

There is a large bar pushed to the back wall as soon as you walk in. Lights flash and dance from the ceiling, dozens of chandeliers scattered around the room, amping up the elegance of the place.

At the bar, I see several people in…unique attire, chatting to the person beside them, grabbing a drink, or passionately making out. In the center of the room, a lounge area is filled with various couches and loveseats, people enthusiastically taking up every inch of them.

My eyes snag on a gorgeous blonde who is between an older man’s legs, sucking his cock like it’s the best thing she’s ever tasted. Another woman is sitting completely naked on a man’s lap reverse cowgirl style, her tits bouncing with each thrust he gives her.

Now, I identify as straight, but if you can look at a greatpair of tits on a beautiful woman and not get a little turned on, then I’d straight up call you a liar.

“Fuck,” Naomi mutters in a husky voice.

“I told you guys, right?!” Cassi squeals excitedly. “I wonder where the bondage demonstrations are.”

Her eyes flit around the place before she scurries off to explore. Naomi follows after her, a confident little sway in her hips. Good. She deserves a little fun, even if she says she won’t be losing her v-card tonight.

Instead of following them, I decide that I definitely need a drink first. I don’t even know where to begin in a place like this. There are no rules, no expectations. I guess you just find the first decently attractive person and whip their cock out? Yeah, I’m going to need to sit back and observe for a minute.

When I get to the bar top, a gorgeous blue-eyed, blond haired bartender smiles at me.

“What can I get you, sweetheart?”

“Tequila, please. Better make it a double.”

“Same for me,” a deep voice rumbles from behind me.

I look over my shoulder to see a large man standing only a few feet away from me. His shoulders are wide, arms corded with huge muscles, and hair a deep chestnut brown. He’s wearing a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his forearms in that sexy way that all good looking men seem to do. His black mask takes up most of his face, but I can see the shape of his Roman godlike nose, a trim beard and full pink lips. I also can see those eyes, deep set and dark. They’re so intense, so focused, and trained directly on me. College guys don’t look at you like this, fuck, college guys don’tlooklike this.

My breath stalls in my chest and my mouth dries up at the sight of him. Or maybe it’s because of the way he’s staring at me. Either way, even if I can only see a third of his face, I already know without a doubt he is one of the best looking menI’ve seen in my life. I can tell by the way he carries himself that he’s gotta be older. Later thirties at the minimum.