Saturdays at the Viper Rooms Read online

  He’s looking relaxed right now, just lying on the bed as if there isn’t a care in the world. It’s how I love to find him most. I walk towards the bed, crawling onto it until I am sat beside him¸ legs under my body as I get comfortable.

  “You look tired,” he motions to me, his hand reaching out to place on my thigh.

  I shrug. “I didn’t sleep too well. It’s no big deal.”

  He frowns, the scowl lining his forehead thickly. “You could have called me.”

  “I know, but I just had a lot on my mind. After last night, I was wound too tight.” I try to ease him. I only thought about how life has transcended. How, since I left Florida, it became this blackened place before Jace walked in and introduced himself to me. It’s been a rollercoaster, but he’s my anchor. Even when I felt like my heart was ripped from my chest, I just couldn’t accept such a fate.

  “And now?”

  “I’m better,” I grin to him and lean forward, my hand pressing across his chest as I get closer. Before I kiss him I decide to up the moment. “Now, Mr. Mason, what are we going to do with our time?” I kiss him, slow and gently. “I see you brought wine in with you.” He nods, breathing steadily and I decide to play for keeps right now. I lift myself up and maneuver until I am straddled upon him. I’m sat comfortable and he just gazes up at me silently, drinking me in. He’s vulnerable here, but I know with one easy move I can be flipped onto my back, weak to his power. However, I’m the one running this and I will be enjoying this while I can. “Well?” I push, pressing for an answer.

  “Do your worst,” he dares me and I wonder if he realizes what he’s just unleashed. He doesn’t give me a straight answer, he gives me free reign.

  It’s a good dare and it’s one I am more than willing to follow through on. “Okay,” I reply, trying to be as seductive as possible. The moment I say that I feel like a tease, but I have no idea what to do. I’m on the spot with no preparation. I try not to hesitate for too long and look around the room.

  That’s when I see it - the champagne bucket full of ice.

  At the sight I begin to grin wildly, twisting my lips together as a plan begins to fall into place in my mind. I can see he’s waiting to tease me for coming up empty with an idea, and I intend to wipe the look right from his face. I reach for his loose tie and pull it from around his neck. I don’t know how he’s going to react to this, but my body is already feeling the thrill of what’s about to happen.

  With the tie in one hand, I grab his wrists and begin to pull them up. He’s not resisting so I can only believe he wants this as much as I do. Once his hands hit the metal headboard of my bed, he grabs it, allowing me to wrap the tie around his wrists to secure them into place with ease. As I lean over him, I can feel him dotting kisses down the valley of my breasts, not caring about my bra restricting the skin he can actually reach.

  When I sit back, I see him in the perfect position - defenseless, powerless, ready.

  Again I reach over him, picking up one cube of melting ice. I have it in between my thumb and forefinger and when I sit back, I now see that Jace is well aware of my plan. I catch the hem of his shirt and move it out of the way, following through with the other side. His chest now lays bare. Sitting forward, I lower the ice to his chest and hear him hiss the moment it makes contact with his skin. Instantly, the goose bumps begin to flare across him, showing how his body is reacting. I begin to draw around his body with the cube, and as the ice begins to melt, running down over his ribcage, I lick the trails away.

  I hear him moan in pleasure and begin to move myself lower, continuing the rhythm of ice then tongue. I can hear he likes it just from the noises he makes and the way his hands fight their binding. I’m getting into this now, really working my way to pleasing him entirely. I move off him, no longer straddling his perfectly formed body and begin to undo his pants.

  The knocking at the door sends me flying to undo his hands. One moment I’m aiming to pleasure the man I love, the next I’m on my feet, plan aborted. I grab the black robe from the chair by the dresser and throw it on over my underwear. I tie the satin ribbon around my waist and rush to the door. I see Brianna there and I’m confused.

  “What’s up?” I ask, nervously pulling my hair out from the robe.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt, but it’s Clara. She’s wants us all in the main room out back.” Brianna’s expression is grim and I can’t help but question it.

  “What’s going on?” I whisper to her.

  Brianna looks past me and looks to Jace before shaking her head. “Not here. All I know is we have to be out there within the next two minutes. All clients are to be left where they were.”

  I nod, clear my throat, and turn back to Jace, time to play a convincing role. “I’m sorry, Mr. Mason, but the Boss needs me. I will be right back.”

  “That’s fine. On the way back bring back some Scotch and a new ice bucket.” He notices my expression and he covers up for his obviousness. “For the wine, of course. It’ll be left sitting in water otherwise.” I know he’ll want to resume what we had started. It’s got nothing to do with the wine.

  “Of course,” I tell him curtly and rush off with Brianna. “What’s really going on?”

  “All I know is it’s Eleanor.” Her reply to me is short and abrupt, but the tone screams so many different emotions. This is dire, and as I notice the girls rushing to the back room, I know that we aren’t going to be leaving here without something horrible being seen.

  “Stand in a line,” Clara’s lap dog, Sam, tells us. We listen. One choice word to Clara and we’re all in trouble and he would willingly see any of us hurt. He’s sadistic. Unlike the other guards, he’s the one without a heart.

  We stand still and watch the doors that lead to Clara’s office fly open. Eleanor is dragged out in the grasp of Shads and Benson. Between them, they throw her against the wall, only backing away once she slumps to the ground, a winded mess. I feel my pulse race as Clara steps out, a riding crop in her hand. Eleanor begins to press against the wall, alarming panic smothering every inch of her body. She knows what’s coming and so do we. It’s confirmed as Brianna reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly.

  “Girls, this is to show you what will happen if you break rule number one.” She says no more, just raises the crop and lowers it onto the Eleanor’s body. There’s no care at what the brute force will do. Clara is out to punish with pain, and as much of it as possible. The continual whooshing is followed by the slap onto Eleanor’s skin and I recoil in horror. If it wasn’t bad enough, Eleanor’s screams and howls of pain penetrate me and break me inch by inch.

  As I close my eyes shut, I forget it’s Ellie there and think it’s me. I’m being punished for loving Jace, my most loyal client. Only when I open my eyes do I remember Eleanor is the one being tortured. It’s not me feeling the pain and it certainly is not me who is crying out in painful anguish.

  I’m not the wrongdoer here, not right now, and a part of me is regrettably thankful.

  With one final swift blow to Eleanor’s back, she collapses onto her palms and Clara stops. “Now,” Clara says as she turns back to us. She swats her palm with the bloodied crop and gives all of us a choice look. “Remember this. One of our own defied the rules and I can see a few more of you sinning like that. I gave you six rules, girls, only six. It’s not a tall ask I give you, but I thought you need to see that I am deadly serious with punishment in this place. I don’t know what’s happened lately, and we haven’t had anything go wrong in nearly a year. But I plan to rectify this,” she speaks, but pauses, again swatting her palm. “I’m moving the next party closer.”

  I look to Brianna, we know what this means, it means we’re getting a change up on our client lists. We look back and Clara is grinning like a Cheshire cat and we know what’s going on in her head is pure evil. We’ve gotten comfortable and the Boss wants us to squirm. We all begin to look between one another. We all know this means business. For most of the time, the parties are set s
ix weeks apart. The Boss has never ever, in my entire time here, moved a party from the set dates.

  “If I don’t see you interacting with other men that aren’t your clients you will wind up like dear, sweet, misguided Eleanor. Beaten, thrown to the bottom of the pit, and you will lose all my respect.”

  Usually losing someone’s respect, when you feel nothing for them, isn’t a threatening thought, but when your life is run by Clara Delvine, you know not to dare the devil herself.

  “Take her to the pit.” Clara throws the comment over her shoulder to Shads and Benson and looks back to us. “Apologize to your clients when you go back and tell them tonight is free of charge. Take a bottle of the finest wine from the bar with you and get back to work.” She steps towards us, her stilettos echoing upon the stone flooring. “What you saw here never happened. If I even hear so much as it muttered under your breaths you’ll see the pit quicker than those pretty faces can flash with realization.”

  We all scatter. No one speaks to one another. We all go back to where we were before. We’re all secretly reeling from this, and I know Luca will take this the hardest. I can only pray that she takes what she just saw on board and stays within the rules. On my way back, I grab a bottle of Rose and rush back to my room. I want nothing more than to talk to Brianna, but Clara is on the hunt, she will hold no prisoners for the rest of the night.

  The moment I go back in, I close the door and just lean against it. I close my eyes, trying to forget what I just saw. I feel physically sick. I feel like I could curl up and cry at what just happened to one of my friends, the fallen Viper Girl. I panic that one day soon it’ll be me, on the floor, whipped, bloodied, thrown into the pit.

  “Joely?” Jace’s voice is full to the brim with concern and I suddenly remember he was still here. I open my eyes as he climbs from the end of the bed and runs to me. He cradles my face and I steady myself. “What’s happened? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “It’s nothing,” I lie to him and breathe heavily. I see him push me with the expression marring his face. And I relent a little too easily. “I’m not allowed to say,” I tell him, remembering Clara’s words. I’ve always been defiant, especially when Jace is the one asking me things, but this I can’t.

  “No one can hear us in here, baby. What happened?” he pushes me and I have to tell him. I have to tell him how the ante has increased. The bounty above our heads is now more than ever. Us girls are marked. One wrongdoing and we wind up like poor Eleanor. “C’mon, J, what is it?”

  I close my eyes, seeing it all over again as I finally speak of the truths of this place. “Sh-she whipped her,” I breathe out, my voice becoming lost. “Ellie, she was whipped for loving a client.” I look to him and I see the fear in his eyes, I see what I feel. It’s lucid and wild and we both know the sorry truth could well be catching up on us. It’s then I start to hit him. I beat again his chest, forcing him away from me. I’m terrified at what fate all of us have now. Even as I continue to beat and hit him with my closed fists, Jace holds onto me and I know what he’s doing. I’m not stupid. As my breakdown happens and I exhaustedly fall against him, I just break wholly. “Clara knew, Jace. She knew about Ellie and her client being in love. Wha-what if this happens to us? What if she knows? What if she finds out?”

  “Stop that,” Jace says to stop me from my rambling. He drops his hands from my face, takes my hand and leads me away from the door, back to the bed. He pulls me down, all prior lust forgotten. “She might have learned about Eleanor, but she doesn’t know about us.”

  “How do we know that?” I ask him, my tone is hard and harsh. “How do we know she’s not letting us have our fun? “

  Jace’s response is dead and solemn. “Because Delvine doesn’t wait for comeuppance to happen.”

  I then sit up, distancing myself minimally from him.

  “Maybe you were right last night when you went to end it.” I start to say before I can stop myself. “A lot can change in three years. You might find someone else.” The thought brings tears to my eyes, but I know it’s the truth, however much it burns. “You might meet someone else to love you. Someone who doesn’t come damaged and with a bounty over their head. Someone more worthy of you.” I’m now crying, more because he hasn’t even stopped me yet. I know he would interrupt if I wasn’t right, that’s what Jace does. The longer he doesn’t stop me, the more I continue this outrageous list of irrationalities that may never happen. “Someone who can love you freely and do all the things we’ve dreamt of doing.” My lips squeeze together as the enormity of my outburst hits me and I strive to not sob out loud.

  “Are you quite done?” he asks me now I’ve finished and I just nod, unable to speak any longer without causing physical pain. “I’ve spent too much time searching for the girl who would win me over with just one smile. I don’t plan to go back to doing that again. It was a sorry existence then; I highly doubt it’s changed.” His hand comes up to my cheek, wiping my incessant tears away. “So can you quit chasing me away?” I can’t stop. How can I? “Please, Joely? I’m not leaving you. Not when you’ve made me happy for the entire time I’ve known you. I would wait forever if it meant I get you at the end of it. I thought living without you would be better for us both, it wasn’t.”

  “Really?” I asked, shrouded by doubt.

  He grins at me, it’s bright and positive and I know I should just believe him. “Really, really. Plus, I have a plan to throw Delvine off our scent.”

  “How?” I ask him as he pulls me back to the mattress.

  “I have a meeting with Delvine after this,” Jace reminds me and my eyes fly shut. I know what’s coming. It’s been long awaited. “But I don’t want to leave you.”

  “But you have too,” I murmur back and turn so my chest is resting gently on his chest. “It’s for ten days right? It’s not forever.”

  He presses a kiss to my temple. “I know, but I have to leave you with someone else.”

  I see his issue from last night flare up and I realize that it’s always going to cause an issue. He won’t be here to save me and I can’t deny a client. My job description doesn’t have that get out clause to use. And I read that contract multiple times before signing my life away.

  “I know that face,” Jace comments as I fall silent. “Whatever happens, do your job. I don’t want to see you jeopardize this because I’m not here. I need you to promise me you will do whatever to keep Clara happy.”

  “I can’t do that,” I defy him and my eyes begin to water. “I can’t be something for someone anymore. I haven’t, not since you.” I look to him, my nostrils flaring in order to keep my tears at bay. “In the beginning it wasn’t so bad. I didn’t know what we were going to be, but we are this now. I can’t be the one to jeopardize it.”

  “Hey,” he coos, soothing me with his low, delicate tone. “You aren’t jeopardizing anything. I understand, Joely. I know what this job means, but I do trust you. Last night, I don’t know, I panicked. I lost my mind, but I know you. I lay awake all night last night thinking about it. You have never done anything to make me distrust you and I won’t start. I won’t be that man because I understand.”

  This reminds me of the first time we mutually decided we needed one another to carry on. He understood what the job entailed, but he knew me. He knew what I was capable of in order to separate business and pleasure. I knew how to love him and use them. I still do, but it seems our hearts are more on the line than ever since that day.

  “I think you need tomorrow more than ever,” he tells me and I smile weakly. He has some grand plan for us and all I have to do is drive out of the city and park so he can pick me up. It’s to keep me out of sight and not raise suspicions. Sundays are our duty free days. The club is closed and we girls are allowed to just be normal girls in the big city.

  “I think you’re right,” I reply softly and my brow automatically furrows as I think of Eleanor. “I don’t know if Ellie’s going to be okay after this.” I flick my gaze t
o Jace and can feel my eyes watering all over again. “What she did to her, Jace, it was awful. I felt every single lashing she gave her. I don’t know how any of us are supposed to react to seeing that.” I bite my lip, begging my willpower to work hard and fast to stop me breaking down. I don’t want to cry, but I think the fear is forcing itself out this way.

  “C’mere,” he begins and motions to me by stretching his arms out. I fall into his arms and he captures me. I just lay there, head to his chest as he draws me back down. I listen to the beating of his heart and feel his warmth against me. He does nothing but lie still until his breathing changes and he kisses the top of my head before speaking. “I plan to make this all disappear, even if for just one day.”

  “What have you planned exactly?” I ask as I sit up, not wanting to wait for my surprise.

  He just grins wickedly at me. “An escape.”

  Chapter Ten

  We drove for hours before the sun was even up. Brianna knows I’ve disappeared today and has taken command of Luca’s teachings. I told her it was because it was getting close to the anniversary of when my life darkened. The date always gets me and this will help with that. I know it will, but this is primarily about Jace and me getting time together before he heads to the airport tomorrow morning to fly out to Los Angeles for business.

  With his own attorney firm he has offices nationwide. Sometimes his presence is required, others he just shows an interest in the cases that pass through the computer system. He holds all the power when it comes to bad guys and evil. When it comes to Clara, he can’t fault her. He may have made his richest and won his battles quickly in his career¸ but for a twenty-eight year old man, no one thinks twice to surrendering to Jace. But with Clara it’s different. He’s powerless when it comes to bringing her club down. She made damn sure it was formidable and couldn’t be easily destroyed. And he feels like a letdown, a failure to me, but some things are just so preternaturally made, that even the biggest of forces can’t weaken it.