I was aware. As men and women filtered in with clothing bags and those who wanted to change immediately were escorted to the fitting rooms that lined the back, I took in what I’d made. I was just as much of a mastermind as the Stonewoods. Our underground club shimmered with the sparkling diamonds in the ceiling underneath the brightest lights. Pole dancers, Cirque De Soleil performers, the best strippers, and even some back-up dancers for celebrities were in cages, on hula hoops in the air, and dancing within the crowd. Yet the lighting was dim in the private nooks and corners for the clientele that wanted them.
I’d already seen a politician come from his fitting room in all black leather and walk off with a dancer. A couple grabbed hands with another couple dressed in luxurious lingerie and underwear. The night was young, but we had already handed out keys for sex toys within Cartier-style boxes, brought out kama sutra furniture, and lowered bondage tables for our guests. More would be dispensed throughout the night, dependent on requests. Spreader benches, fem dom chairs, saw horses, and spanking benches were all options. Nothing was off limits if people were willing to push their boundaries.
I shook hands with a big wig who wore a collar and not much else. “I’m pleasantly surprised by the turnout,” he said.
“You underestimated me?” I asked from my seat at the bar. I didn’t see the need to mingle, wasn’t even sure I wanted to be here.
Clubs and bars weren’t my scene. I owned them because they were effective at bringing in clean money and because I enjoyed controlling a place where people could let their guard down.
Now, though, the woman I loved was meeting me here. Instead of coming with me, she wanted more time to get ready. Frankly, she just wanted time, because Katie had fluttered about the whole day in holey socks doing God only knows what.
I should have had some sort of idea. I’d watched her ass in her black shorts the whole day doing it. Still, when it was time to go, I realized she hadn’t even attempted to get ready.
Now I had to wait.
My freaking baby’s mother would be walking through a damn sex club and I knew for a fact she would be the hottest thing in here.
I smiled when one of my favorite bartenders ambled up to me. “It going smoothly, Bonnie?” I asked.
“Sure thing, boss. Can’t complain yet.” She was working around the center of the bar, where a waterfall cascaded from the chandelier above. We’d had the chandelier custom-made so that the water could move around the crystals and there was a platform inside that allowed a dancer to move within it. It was grand, over the top, and just what we wanted. Tonight, we were paying the woman in there very well to wear only a diamond bra and thong that shimmered under the dim lights.
“How are you doing down there, Rome?” the dancer called from above. “Sure you don’t want to come up here for a dance with me?”
“I’m good, Whitney.” I lifted my glass to her and took a small sip.
Bonnie let out a loud laugh. “I cannot imagine you up there. I kind of want to, though. I’m happy to get you a ladder.”
“I’ll pass. We meeting goals?”
“It’s looking good. We’re making money hand over fist and everyone seems very happy. You never gave me an update on who was who here, so I’m treating everyone the same.”
I nodded, looking out at the crowd. “That’s what I want you to do.” A rockstar walked by, eyeing up my bartender.
“There’s a lot of big money here. It makes me wonder what I should be saying yes and no to.”
“Only exactly what you want, Bonnie.” I met her gaze and held it, making sure she understood what I was saying. This club would never be a place where anyone would do something they didn’t want to do. This club was a place where instead you could go and do exactly what you wanted and find a person that would do it with you. It was also going to be a place where politicians, bigwigs, and CEOs would come to discuss business because we would all know each other’s secrets.
I let the night roll by. I nodded to some and said a hello to others. It progressed as it should. Some were getting spanked by a woman half their size. Others were getting whipped, while still others were getting tied to a table.
Fantasies were coming alive and morphing into reality for so many. My only concern now was that Katie wanted to visit. I didn’t want another man looking at her or even considering fucking her.
I felt her before I saw her. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I turned slowly on the barstool and watched as she stalked toward me, her tiny body swaying to the bumping of the bass. Every man’s eyes turned toward her, even if they didn’t want them to.
At this point, Most had some inkling of who she was, who she’d become.
A woman who tied three large, powerful entities together wasn’t to be preyed upon. Instead, she was the predator and she walked like it too. Finally, Katalina was commanding the type of respect she deserved.
She radiated it, emanated it, and wore an invisible crown made of all the hardships and thorns she’d had to experience to get there. It was a jagged, sharp-edged crown that could make someone bleed, die, give up . . . but she’d survived.
She’d taken it all and learned to reign.
She wore a cut-off shirt that didn’t belong in this type of establishment. Everyone had on their best attire or hardly anything at all, but Katie had decided to stroll in with a grungy shirt that made her look like a little tomb raider. The graphics across her chest were skulls with flowers, and the white lines popped against the strobe lights. The picture matched the tattoo on her side, skulls and flowers woven together. Somehow, she made it all work with her dark eye makeup. Her rejection of luxury wear drew even more attention, because it proved she couldn’t care less about all the people below her. She didn’t have to dress up; she didn’t have to do anything.
When she reached the bar, she didn’t say anything at first. I saw the way her movements were fluid, her back relaxed. Yet in her eyes, there was irritation.
“What’s going on?” I demanded the answer immediately.
“Great turn out for the first night,” she said, ignoring me. She took in the atmosphere. We’d made the center bar a deep mahogany, but some of the back bars had pure glass so that patrons could see their hands and legs beneath.