Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 116875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 584(@200wpm)___ 468(@250wpm)___ 390(@300wpm)
“That’s Atticus,” Kaiser tells me and raises his drink in a salute.
At some unseen signal, the room begins to clear out.
Kaiser offers me more liquor, and I shake my head with a grimace. His drink was yucky. He tosses it back and strokes my hair back from my face.
“Things are about to start. Do you need to go to the bathroom?”
I nod. He leads me to the bathrooms and leans down to ask, “Do you need me to undo the harness?”
I hesitate. I like how it’s chafing me. “I’ll figure it out.”
“No getting yourself off,” he warns. The fires in my belly burn hotter.
“Hurry back.” Kaiser folds his arms across his chest, looking like a bouncer blocking the door.
I’m washing my hands at the sink when I hear someone calling my name.
“Pssst, Bella.” I turn to see a woman in an angel costume beckoning me into the handicap stall. After a second, I realize it’s Honey in elaborate gold makeup.
“Hey,” I say. “You guys made it.”
“Shhh.” She pulls me into the stall. A figure in a cheesy red devil outfit is next to her. When I look closely, it’s Raine.
“I got an invitation,” Honey says, “but Raine’s not supposed to be here.”
Raine shrugs. “I ran away.”
“YOLO,” I grin. “I'd better get back out there. Kaiser’s waiting for me.”
“You’re wearing a white ribbon,” Honey observes.
“Yeah, Kaiser put it on me. Do you know what the colors mean?”
“Black means you’re an initiate. A metal collar means you’re claimed. White means you’re innocent, but he’s marking you as off limits. It warns everyone else off.”
I touch the white ribbon around my throat. It’s not black, but it’s a start. “He says he wants to claim me.”
“Congratulations,” Honey whispers. “Unless—”
“No, it’s good,” I say and accept their murmured congratulations. Outside the door, someone turns the music up, and the walls start pulsing with the heavy bass.
“Showtime. We’ll see you out there,” Honey says.
Before I exit the stall, I turn back. “Want to make things really interesting?” I pull out a small pink bottle that I hid in my ponytail. It looks like cherry lip gloss but that’s a disguise. “Take a drop or two of this. Not more than that—it’s strong.”
Honey hesitates. “Is that molly?”
“It’s not unlike molly.” I hold it out to Raine, who has a devilish gleam in her eyes. “Do it for the plot.”
She takes it. “Yo-fucking-Lo.”
24
Kaiser
* * *
Bella’s grinning when she comes out of the bathroom, which makes me suspicious. I take hold of her, pulling her close. I touch her lips because I have to. Touching her is a compulsion I can no longer resist. “Why are you smiling?”
“I’m just happy to be here.”
Liar. She’s taken down her ponytail, and she looks so innocent with her hair soft around her face. I need to be on my guard to keep her out of trouble.
I lead her down the hall to the large ballroom where the main event is already underway. Two Fraternitas members guard the door. They recognize me and wave me on. We enter a rounded hallway that feels like a tunnel. The music is already so loud, it shakes the walls and seems to press on us from all sides.
Bella hunches her shoulders, and I pull out earplugs. I thought she might need these. She lets me put them in and relaxes. I run a hand down her back to soothe her.
“Welcome to Pandemonium,” I say and pull back the velvet curtains to reveal a rave.
The room is vast and filled with people. The center is one giant dance floor, and colorful lasers slice through the air, turning the wild movements of the dancers into a stop-motion music video.
I find an open spot and pull Bella close, protecting her from the people on the edges of the moshpit. She’s quiet, taking everything in.
Above our heads are several open stories with narrow railed walkways so people can reach the floors of private rooms. Some of the doors are lit already, glowing red, blue, pink, yellow, or green.
“Can we dance?”
I nod and lead her further into the fray. I guard her back while she raises her arms and sways to the music. I can’t see it, but I know every movement makes the ropes slide over her sex. Soon she’ll be begging for release.
She ends up dancing with a woman dressed like an angel in a costume complete with feathered wings. I stay on the periphery, shoving people away when they get too close. Protecting her, always.
The dance floor is full of half-naked people writhing together, but I only have eyes for her. My captive. My fiancée.
My future wife.
Her hair is a bright halo. She looks like an angel herself, but she dances like she’s possessed. She’s glowing; she might as well be spotlit.
It’s a joy to watch her. She’s so wild and free. And I remember, it’s her first time in a club. First time on a dance floor. Her father never let her out. And now she’s here with me.