Chapter One
“You don’t look like you belong here, little fox.” The man who spoke—tall, lean and dressed like a devil—was the epitome of everything Sunny had feared she’d find inside the BDSM sex club called Sanctuary.
Her breath sped, and her chest tightened as the large room shrank to nothing.
This is a horrible mistake. What was I thinking?
“Do you want to come sit with me and talk?” Devil-man asked, his lips curling into a smile below the line of his black mask. It wasn’t a vicious smile, at least on the surface, but it sure felt sinister.
The desire to say no perched on her tongue, but she couldn’t make it come out. She’d learned that saying no was dangerous, that it never got her what she wanted. The lesson was one that had stuck with her no matter what.
So, instead, she darted her gaze toward the crowd of people and pretended to spot someone she knew, waving in that direction.
The man stayed in his spot, letting her go, and she made a quick path for the bathroom. Once safely inside—the one place where no man would try to talk her into anything—she set her hands on the white porcelain sink and stared into the mirror.
Maybe a fox had been a stupid costume. She’d tried on a few different ones that radiated strength, but they had felt like a lie. Sunny was as soft as they came, so when she’d tried on the little white sundress, along with the fox mask that obscured her eyes, and some drawn-on whiskers, she’d known it was moreher. Foxes were smaller than other predators, but quick and clever. She connected with that, understood it. At least, it had made sense until she’d walked into a club full of lions and tigers and dragons.
Suddenly, her fox didn’t seem so clever.
One night. Prove that you don’t want this anymore.
She nodded and straightened herself, pulling her shoulders back. She was here for a reason. She’d go out there, find someone to play with, and by the end of the evening, she’d know that she was done with all this nonsense. She could wake up tomorrow sure of herself, able to put this behind her. The plan helped her move forward.
The door to the bathroom opened as a woman in lingerie and a cat mask walked in, the music from outside deep and rhythmic. Her hair was blonde and beyond stunning, so pale it was nearly white. Even from behind the half-mask, her almost gray eyes shone brightly.
The woman approached, a smile across her pink lips, the color smeared as though she’d been kissing someone just before. “It’s so much fun tonight, right?”
Sunny nodded despite not feeling quite so sure. “Yeah.”
The woman glanced down at Sunny’s wrist, at the cuff the receptionist at the door had placed there with a white ribbon. “Oh, you’re new? Is this your first time?”
First? Try only.Instead of saying that, Sunny tried to smile. “Yes.”
The woman stuck her hand out. “My name is Kat.” She winced as soon as she said it. “I know—it’s a masquerade party—it’s supposed to be all anonymous. You don’t have to give your name. I’m just not good at the whole secrecy thing. Andyes, I know, Kat—cat costume—cliché, but why not, right?”
Sunny had trouble understanding Kat. She’d figured the sort of people in a place likethiswould terrify her. The men would be scowling brutes, lumbering around just looking for a victim, and the women quiet, frightened little things who cowered at everything.That’s what I was…
Kat wasn’t anything like that.
Sunny shook the offered hand, unsure how to answer, other than the fact that she wouldn’t be giving her name. That would negate the entire point of her coming here onthisnight. Sunny needed to do what she’d come to do then leave—no ties threatening to trap her.
Kat chuckled, as if she could read the nerves that poured off Sunny. “Afraid of the big bad Doms? Come on—you can hang out with me. Safety in numbers, you know.”
Sunny wanted to say no—it felt too much like putting herself into a life she was trying desperately to get out of. Still, having a partner next to her did feel better.
“That would be nice,” Sunny admitted softly.
Kat asked her to wait a moment so she could use the restroom, then washed her hands before tucking her arm through the crook of Sunny’s. It was an oddly safe feeling, as though Sunny had found a guide to this absolutely terrifying place. Sure, Kat wasn’t all that intimidating, but at least Sunny wasn’t alone.
They walked out, with Kat holding securely to Sunny’s arm. “I love the last Saturday of the month. Something about dressing up makes everything more fun, plus it’s the day we let the new folks come. It gets boring with the same old folk every weekend, and new blood is always good.”
It also let Sunny move around the club with a sense of privacy, without feeling everyone was looking at her, could see her.
Sunny’s gaze couldn’t settle on any one thing. The bodies that moved on the dance floor, the groupings of people, the colors and costumes and activity, all fought for her attention.
And it all overwhelmed her. Sunny’s world was quiet, calm. She’d worked hard to create a haven away from the craziness of everyday life.
So what was she doinghere?