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And while Ari said nothing, Dylan continued to dig herself into a deeper grave. With each word Dylan spoke, Ari’s anger deepened and ignited such hatred that her body burned with a crimson heat. “That night at The Pendulum, you were wide-eyed with such naivety, I needed to meet you.”
As Ari’s fuse shortened, Dylan said, “When your application came across my desk, I knew I wanted to hire you–”
She lost her temper and erupted like a volcano. “For what? Some fringe benefit? Thinking you could get some after-hours playtime? Do you watch from your office and masturbate to me tied up with these women?”
Dylan’s tough exterior shriveled to nothing, a layer of mush as she tried to redeem herself, as if confessing justified her actions. “No! It’s something deeper than that. I can feel it every time I touch you and every time our eyes meet. Ari, you cannot tell me you keep coming back just because you need the money.”
That much was true. She hated to deny the strange connection between them. It went beyond that of a boss and employee and beyond that of a submissive to her Domme. If Ari was completely honest with herself, it was Dylan who drew her back each night, not the money or the job. Either way, Dylan’s disclosure of her inappropriate motives had left her pissed off and defiled. She took a moment to gather her strength before lifting herself from the chair. “Goodbye, Dylan.”
She grabbed her things, stormed out the door, and pushed into the pouring rain. Abandoned by Ari during her dramatic exit, her umbrella now lay on the floor next to Dylan.
Determined to make her point, she continued forward without giving another thought to the deserted accessory. Billie’s flat was a few blocks away, so Ari braved the cold as the downpour soaked through to her skin. She stood outside the door, fingers crossed as she rapped on the wood, praying Billie was inside. When it opened, Ari looked more like a wet poodle than a blubbering human, and she probably smelled like it too. The scowl on her face wasn’t what Billie liked to see when Ari came over. Upon entering, she launched into a tirade, recounting to her best friend the events with Dylan that had put her in such a mood.
After a lengthy twenty-minute monologue about Dylan’s wrongdoing, she finally took a break to breathe. With kind but always brutal honesty, Billie pointed out the facts. “But isn’t that what you were doing there, anyway? Posing as a sex worker to uncover a story? How is Dylan any worse? You both have ulterior motives, just after very different things.”
“She’s worse because she manipulated the situation! She did this all to be close to me! Manipulated. The. Situation!” Ari stomped her metaphorical foot down as she rehashed the dirtiness she felt after Dylan’s actions.
“Sounds to me like there’s another reason. Is it possible you’d rather Dylan not be in the middle of this whole undercover scheme? Would you still be angry with her if she was just a girl from The Pendulum who invited you back?”
As much as Ari hated to admit it, Billie was correct. Whatever secrets Adytum hid, Dylan was a part of them. The thought scared her because Ari had the same feelings Dylan had confessed, but she couldn’t let her heart get caught in the rubble when the empire came crashing down.
Chapter 16
“I thought you said your little play toy would not show,” Cooper said as she stuck her head through Dylan’s office door. “She’s dressed for the birthday party and ready to go.”
Dylan’s eyes shot up from the paperwork at this announcement. She had mentioned to Cooper what happened with Ari. In classic Cooper fashion, she received a sarcastic “I told you so.”
The meeting with Ari bit her in the ass. That much was for sure. She confessed and prayed for Ari to reconsider returning, hoping it would change her mind. If that happened, Dylan planned to take part in Madame Cove’s birthday orgy. Take one for the team and let a person she despised sink her teeth into her cunt for fun. Instead, it hadn’t changed Ari’s mind at all. There she was, at work, ready for the taking.
Was it all in her head? The feeling of rejection filled Dylan as she thought about Ari having every opportunity to say she felt the same way during her heartfelt confession. Instead, Ari responded with anger and fled.
Apart from the training exercises aimed at preparing Ari for the job, she restrained herself from taking advantage of the woman. Despite Maxi’s strict stance on fraternization, she viewed the club’s access on days off as a perk for Adytum’s management team. Provided that the submissive was comfortable with the arrangement, Maxi had no qualms about it. The problem arose when a secret rendezvous took place. Now, it would be too awkward to invite Ari into a private scene. The rawness of her emotions made it impossible to beg Ari for a little one-on-one time.
In the arena, they lined up examination tables, five in a row, ready for the submissives to line up for the taking. Although Dylan detested having to watch it all, the client’s request was for spectators to be present. Madame Cove bought out the club for the night, but it was Maxi who sold tickets to the spectacle. More than half the seats in the arena would be full, all for Madame Cove’s pleasure. She loved an audience.
During the meeting, Dylan sat next to Maxi and avoided making eye contact with Ari. Ashamed by her confession, she wished she could undo it. If she could only press the rewind button and go back a few days to when she protected her. Now Ari feared her, or more so, didn’t trust her. The endeavor to take the high road and reveal the truth backfired. Maybe Maxi was right: nice girls finish last.
The club opened later than usual, with everyone piling in thirty minutes before midnight. A twenty-four-hour event is a rare occurrence. The new mayor allowed two such events a year for private clubs such as Adytum. Maxi explained how the night would work. “We will have five women on stage awaiting their turns. The rest of you will wait for your turn in the audience. Once a delicious creature has a breathtaking orgasm, they will leave the stage and another eager pussy will take her place. Cooper will assist you to the table while our esteemed guest continues down the line. I want a smooth transition. So don’t dally.”
The closer it came to midnight, the more Dylan’s stomach cramped up. Every day on the floor, Dylan paid for Ari’s safety. To be placed on a pedestal and not touched. Knowing she couldn’t spare Ari from this pain caused her heart to ache, and the thought of witnessing it made the torture unbearable.
Behind the ladies-in-waiting, Maxi held up her hands and instructed, “Remember, let yourself go. Enjoy the blessing of being a gift to Madame. The freer you feel, the harder you’ll come. We want to hear your pleasure.”
Maxi picked the first five ladies to go up, starting with Ari. “You’re in position one. Two. Three. Four and five. Line up ladies and spread ‘em. We want to see those glistening cunts!” She turned toward the others. “Everyone else, you will follow until all fifty of you have sung the praises of our distinguished birthday gal!”
The first round of ladies stepped onto the stage. Dylan stood at the back of the room, trying to keep her distance. Anger and tension dripped from every pore, which was probably why no one else stood nearby. Maxi sidled up to Dylan and said, “Tonight is going to be the first night we really see your girl in action, Dylan. Extremely popular ... She is quite a vision, but it’s strange that nobody has ever spanked her. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that our toughest clients just want to admire her instead of beating her into submission? I’d like your thoughts, Dylan, my love.”
When Dylan said nothing, Maxi said, “That ends tonight. After Madame Cove has her fill of your sweet girl, The Twins will suck and fuck that twat until she pleads for mercy. Even then, she will have no place to hide because I will string her up so every member of this club can welcome her to Adytum.” Dylan twisted her neck, glaring at Maxi. “The Twins already paid for her services tonight, and you know what I say, no refunds.”
Maxi’s jabs were usually in jest. However, this went beyond a friendly game of twisted jokes. And there wasn’t anything Dylan could do about it because Ariel Delgado signed the paperwork and consented to be a submissive sex worker for a living. Dylan’s opinion didn’t matter; Ari chose this life. “I thought the club was closed for anything other than this.”
“It is, but we always make exceptions.” Maxi patted Dylan’s cheek a few times. “Don’t we, darling? Now, let’s go watch our lovelies in action.”
No amount of training would have prepared Dylan and her heart for what was to come. How could she have been so selfish and stupid? To think Ari could be hers and only hers, especially working at Adytum. The plan to hire Ari and restrain her on Dylan’s bed was a recipe for disaster, even before it began. Doomed because they worked for Adytum, but even more so because Dylan fell head over heels for the woman. The thought of someone else touching Ari caused bile to rise in her throat while rage gnawed at her chest, trying to get out.
Just when Dylan thought she had convinced herself that Ari was just one of the working girls at the club, the sight of her walking onto the stage crumbled her resolve. She proceeded toward the designated table and waited for Cooper. They finally locked eyes. As hard as Dylan tried, she couldn’t turn away from the torturous sight. Dylan’s eyes filled with sadness, while Ari’s gaze remained sharp and filled with rage. She couldn’t discern if the anger was only for her or if it was a reaction to the entire scenario. Either way, it didn’t matter anymore because the sight before her caused her to feel something that no Domme should ever feel. Helpless. Powerless.
With her arms crossed tightly around her chest, Dylan’s heart raced as she swallowed the overwhelming urge to charge the stage and save Ari. No heroics would happen that day. Dylan would have to stand down. She was under the watchful eye of her boss and an enthusiastic audience that had gathered to celebrate the guest of honor’s birthday. She watched on as Cooper strapped each woman to the tables ready for Madame Cove. Drawing in a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves, Dylan composed herself, fully accepting that she, along with the rest of the audience, was about to experience Ari’s grand introduction to the BDSM universe.
