Page 162 of Beautifully Ruined
He leads me to a booth and before he sits, a scantily clad girl in leather comes up and places a highball of what looks like whiskey or bourbon down. Then he motions to me to take the seat next to him.
I pretend to misunderstand and scoot onto the other side of the booth. It’s small, but I see why he chose it. It’s both out of the way and where the person sitting can survey a great deal of the space, including the entrance.
“Thank you,” I say.
“Why do you need a job?” His gaze drops to the decolletage of my lingerie. “Money?”
I think about it, my ready answer, the one I prepared on my tongue, but something stops me. He’s going to want more than that.
A job for money or a job because I’m into this and curious…
Veering to one or the other seems wrong. But both together, money needs and curiosity merging? In another world, maybe one where I hadn’t ever met Cade, I could see that.
Not doing it, but thinking about it.
I look at him and take a sip, then I clutch my glass. “No, not like you think. I’m a student, and while I’ve got scholarships, I have debt, but…no…” I take a breath. “It was going to be my excuse, but I don’t think I can lie to you.”
“Good girl,” he says softly. “Don’t ever lie to me. What is the other drive? The real catalyst? You can tell me. You can tell me anything.”
And I’m glad I chose to veer slightly to the left. Even if his tone makes me want to puke.
“I do need money, but…” I breathe in and let the words rush out. “It’s really because the club is all I think about. I can’t help it. I have fantasies, a lot of them and…and I want to be somewhere like this.”
“Sex?”
“Maybe.”
He studies me for long moments. “You don’t sound so sure.”
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth, and I’m having a hard time answering that. But he ends up making it easy.
“It’s okay if you’re not, or if you don’t. A lot of girls fuck. Some like to suck cock or lick cunt.” He shrugs. “Others like pain and to be humiliated. And some like to watch, and others to make money. Of course, there are those like you. The special ones, young, mostly untouched, who aren’t sure.”
Heat rises in my flesh, and he smiles slowly, his hand curling around his drink. He doesn’t touch me again, at least not rightnow, but he doesn’t have to. I can feel his touch everywhere, just from him looking, and it makes me want to bathe in bleach.
“See? That’s worth a lot of money. More than that, it brings people back. Your pretty blush, the natural submissiveness. But there’s a streak of backbone, too. Tell me, what does Cade think about this?”
I swallow and take a swallow of the drink that tastes like fall with a honeyed kick.
“Because—Violet, that’s your name?”
“Yes, Violet,” I say, mouth dry.
“Violet. Because Cade isn’t the type to share you. I don’t think that’s something he wants to do.”
I force myself to scoff. “He doesn’t own me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.” I lean forward. “I want to do this, so I’m going to. If you let me, that is.”
“I’m impressed you want to stretch your wings. I like a natural submissive who’s smart enough to realize the man she’s with might be the wrong one. You want to experiment and you’re happy to rock your little boat to do so. This is the thing I live for,” he says.
“Oh,” I whisper. “I’m glad.”
“I’m happy to see how it goes, Violet.”
“So, I’m in?” I ask.
