“What’s going on?” Nyssa whispered into Kimmie’s ear. Ten minutes earlier, Katrina had called them all down to the parlor, where they were waiting in a strict line for her instructions.
“Don’t know,” Kimmie whispered back. “Katrina gets in some bad moods sometimes. We just have to wait it out.”
The next moment, Katrina walked through the door, slamming it roughly behind her before walking in front of the group of working girls, her face looking strained and exhausted. “Good evening, ladies,” she said, but there was no hint of warmth in her voice. Her eyes darting back and forth between each one of them, her lips curled upward in a half snarl.
“Good evening, Madam Katrina,” the girls all said back, except Nyssa, who hadn’t got the memo about how to refer to her boss. She filed away that information for later, but for now she concentrated on keeping her head perfectly straight to avoid showing any sign of nervousness or fear.
Katrina opened her mouth to respond, but before she got any words out, the door to the parlor opened again. This time, a tall broad-chested man walked in, going over to sit in a chair in the corner without looking at anyone or saying anything to announce his presence. Nyssa noticed that Katrina went stiff, her eyes narrowing as the man walked around her without acknowledging her.
The room was unbearably silent for several long moments, while Katrina breathed noisily and appeared to be chewing on the inside of her cheek. She looks nervous, Nyssa noted. I wonder what’s going on.
“Sebastian,” Katrina finally said, clearing her throat and gesturing toward the line of girls in front of her. “Go ahead.”
“I thought you were going to make them give me a show first,” said the man, who apparently was named Sebastian, a teasing smile spreading across his face.
But Katrina was in no mood to be teased, snapping her fingers impatiently until Sebastian sighed and got to his feet, walking over to the line of girls in the center of the room.
“All right,” Sebastian said as he stood next to Katrina. His eyes were alight with some inner fire as he glanced at each girl. It might have been Nyssa’s imagination, but his eyes seemed to linger over her, running up and down the full length of her body. “Take off your clothes,” Sebastian said.
The girls rushed to comply, taking off their tiny negligees to stand side by side, totally naked. Nyssa went along with the rest of them, even though she felt her stomach turn over. You’ve been a hooker for years, she told herself. You have no excuse to hate your own body. Get over it.
Sebastian started at the end of the line, inspecting each girl for a few moments before moving along to the next. By the time he got to Nyssa, her breath was caught in her throat and she was frozen in place. Maybe he’s from another brothel, Nyssa thought. Maybe they’re organizing a trade or something and he’s picking out the girls he wants for a new place. Nyssa felt a little sick at that thought; she’d just gotten used to Katrina’s place. Now she might have to adjust to an entirely different brothel?
Sebastian lingered for a long time in front of Nyssa, his eyes drifting down to her chest and his tongue coming to lick at his lips as he surveyed her body. “Hmm,” he murmured, biting his bottom lip as he reached forward and dragged his finger along Nyssa’s collarbone, making all of the tiny hairs on the base of her neck stand at attention, fully erect. Sebastian’s gaze became more intense, practically burning with some internal source of heat, as his hand drifted lower, skimming over her breasts, making her nipples grow hard under his touch. Sebastian laughed lowly, the noise coming from deep in his throat as he traced his fingernails over the flesh of her breasts, going back and forth several times until her entire body was covered with goose bumps.
“Turn around,” Sebastian said, pushing lightly on her shoulder until she complied and turned to face the wall. “Bend over.”
Nyssa’s face and neck went hot in embarrassment, but she did as she was told, stretching her arms down to her feet, sticking her ass up in the air. She tried to keep her breathing under control, her lungs practically burning with exertion even though she was standing still. Stay calm, she told herself. Stay fucking calm. You’re okay. Everything’s okay.
Smack. One of Sebastian’s hands collided with Nyssa’s left ass cheek, and her skin prickled hotly as his fingers trailed over her hips and the tops of her thighs.
“This one,” Sebastian said. “I’ll take this one.”
“Ha! Of course,” Katrina said from somewhere behind Nyssa’s back. “Lovely.”
“Have her ready as soon as possible.”
Nyssa was stiff for a moment, listening as Sebastian left the room, unsure if she was allowed to straighten and turn around.
Finally, after a long silent pause, Katrina clapped her hands together. “Everyone except Nyssa leave. Now.”
Nyssa’s whole body went on high alert, her heart thundering in her chest as Kimmie left her side, shooting her an apologetic glance as she exited the parlor along with the other girls.
Katrina walked across the room until she was standing in front of Nyssa, her eyebrows furrowed tightly together. “Nyssa. Nyssa, Nyssa, Nyssa,” she said in a low murmur. There was a smirk plastered across her face, but there wasn’t even a single hint of humor in her smile.
“Yes?” Nyssa said, keeping her voice steady and still even though her heart pounded insistently within her chest.
“Go get ready,” Katrina said, sighing deeply and turning her head to stare at the wall behind Nyssa’s head. “For Sebastian.”
“Is he already waiting up in my room?” Nyssa asked, referring to the space upstairs that had been established for her to deal with clients.
“No,” Katrina said, sounding incredibly annoyed. She blew out her breath and shook her head to herself before continuing to speak. “You’re going home with him, just for tonight. Go get ready and be back down here in five minutes.”
Nyssa’s heartbeat shot up to her throat, pounding inside her neck as she tried to keep her breathing steady. If she left Katrina’s brothel, that could mean letting go of the protection that came along with it. It wasn’t like Katrina was offering to send one of the bodyguards stationed at the brothel to go watch over her. “Madam… I don’t think… I mean, I don’t think I want to do that. I’d like to stay here tonight if that’s okay with you,” she said.
“Well, it’s not,” Katrina snapped. “You have to go with him. Now fucking move.”
Nyssa hesitated, staying in place and shivering from the cold air hitting her naked body.
“Move!” Katrina screamed, launching her phone toward Nyssa and just barely missing her head. Nyssa turned around to watch it crash against the wall, shattering into four separate pieces. “Now! If you want to be a part of this house, you’ll do what I fucking tell you!” Katrina screamed, sounding on the verge of tears.
Nyssa did as she was instructed, moving around Katrina to get to the door, leaving her discarded negligee behind as she exited the parlor and headed upstairs toward her room.
What the fuck is going on? What the hell am I doing? Nyssa wondered as she hurriedly picked out something else to wear and shoved it over her naked body before heading back downstairs.
Sebastian was waiting for her at the foot of the steps. “Ready?” he asked.
No, Nyssa thought. No, I’m not. “Yes,” she lied, following him through the front of the building. “Yes, I’m ready.”