My heart sank the moment I saw Austin talking with that blue-haired woman. Petite and slender, she was wearing a tight fitting black dress and she looked stunning. But that wasn’t the reason my heart sank; no, I felt like that because of the way they were talking to each other. They seemed to be talking about something serious, something secret, and there was a strange air of complicity surrounding them.

Whatever that woman is up to, Austin is in on it. And if Lester’s right… Oh, God, if Lester’s right Austin is not only harboring a criminal, but he’s part of whatever the fuck is going on in here.

And a man like Austin wouldn’t be a part of anything… No, if there’s something happening, Austin is the one leading. That’s the kind of man he is.

I push my way through the crowd, walking through the maze of women, all of them staring in a trance at the stage where one man in a medical outfit dances to an upbeat sensuous tune. I go straight for the bar, where Austin is leaning against the counter, and I only stop when I’m just inches away from him. He turns slowly, as if he has all the time in the world, and shows me his million dollar smile.

“Hey, babe,” he says, and reaches with his hand for my waist, but I smack it away.

“Who the hell is that woman, Austin?” I start angrily, “and don’t bullshit me, I want to hear the truth,” I ask him, staring into his eyes as I feel a knot forming in my throat. God, is Lester right after all? Is something illegal going on here at Python? Please, God, don’t let it be true. I can’t handle that.

“Jealous?” His grin widens even more and I place both my hands on my hips, staring him down.

“I’m not in the mood for games right now, Austin. Just tell me the truth.”

“Why would I lie to you, Destiny?” Austin simply shrugs, taking one step toward me and softly stroking my cheek with the back of his hand.

I shudder under his touch, not knowing what’s the truth anymore, and his lips go from a smile into a serious straight line. “We call her Mistress Strokes. She works for me,” he whispers to me. “And why the interest all of a sudden?”

“Austin… She’s a hooker,” I tell him. “A hooker from the streets, for God’s sake! And not only that, I think she’s on the run. She robs her customers and I think that… that she’s killed them too.”

Oh, God, why is a woman like that in Python of all places?

With Austin?

What the hell is going on in this place?

Maybe I shouldn’t have been telling him all this…

I mean, it sort of shows that I know more than I should, but I can’t stop myself. If there’s a chance that Austin has nothing to do with whatever’s going on, I want to take it. I want to believe.

Then Austin does something I wasn’t expecting at all.

That motherfucker…he starts to laugh.

The sound of it is almost contagious, but I’m too stressed out right now to join him.

Why are all the men around me acting crazy today?

“What’s so funny, Austin?” I’m asking almost hysterically. “She’s a criminal!” I cry out, pursing my lips and looking into his eyes.

“She’s not a fucking criminal, I can promise you that,” he tells me, his lips curling into an easy smile. “Far from it.” The way he says it, I can’t help but believe him… I’ve built myself into someone who keeps her guard up at all times, but whenever I’m around him I can’t help but trust him, something I haven’t done for a long, long time.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m fucking positive,” he tells me softly, but then he frowns. “Although… What you told me, that seems like it’s coming out of the mouth of someone else.”

I look at Austin as he narrows his eyes. “You know, Destiny,” he sighs, “this isn’t the first time the police commissioner has tried to get someone inside Python.”

My heart sinks once more, but this time it’s because I realize that my small lies are starting to rear their ugly head.

Fuck. He’s going to stop trusting me.

I’m sorry if I’m becoming grouchy, hun.

I don’t want to lose his trust and ruin… whatever there is between the two of us.

“Austin… Don’t say that. Don’t imply that I… That I have anything to do with that,” I tell him, lowering my voice as my heart tightens up at my lie. I’m digging myself into a hole, and I have no idea how I’ll escape from there once I’m deep enough.

“I believe you,” he tells me with a smile, and that makes it all worse. I believe you; his three words hit me like bricks, and I feel sick to my stomach because he truly does seem to believe me. He trusts me. And I’m paying his trust in kind by lying to him.

“But why would he want to get someone inside here?” I ask. “What does the police commissioner have to do with Python?” I start, desperate to get some solid answers. With a smile, Austin takes my hand.

“Come with me,” he tells me, and then leads me to a door with a STAFF ONLY sign hanging on it. He slides a magnetic key card over the slit on the side, and pushes the door open, leading me in as he steps inside.

We’re in a corridor, and I can see a few half-naked men laughing and talking as we walk past the open doors by our side. We take a turn and end up in a wide room, a set of stairs on the end of it; the man I saw minutes ago up on the stages comes down from them, and I realize where they lead.

“Good job, Maverick,” he tells the man as we walk past him, and he gives Austin a nod.

“Thanks, boss,” he says cheerfully, and then disappears down the corridor. Two other men appear, and Austin steps between them and the stairs that lead to the stage, stepping away from me. He tells them something in a hushed tone and both men turn on their heels and walk back to where they came.

“You see, Destiny,” Austin tells me, walking back to me and stroking my cheek with the back of his hand. This time I don’t shudder at his touch… No, this time I feel that maddening warmness inside of me, a ball of lust and desire forming in my stomach.

“This is the first time in history that a place like Python has happened,” he says to me. “There was nothing like this before anywhere.”

I gasp as I feel his hands touch me. He runs his hands over me, possessing me, as he speaks. “A place made for women,” he says to me. “Men all have their fucking dens and pleasure houses, if you want to call them that, but women always had to settle for something more… tame. I love women, and I sure as hell don’t make that a fucking secret, as you’ve been able to tell by now.”

“I know,” I tell him, a smile forming on my lips.

“That’s why I started Python. I wanted a place where women could be themselves, and then some more. In here they’re safe…”

He trails off and I look at him, my eyes asking him to explain more.

I mean, is he telling me this is more than just a strip club?

More than just a sex club?

Seriously, what is it with people and grand plans lately? Why can’t we just have good ol’ fashioned simple fucking sex?

Sorry.

I’m still a bit scattered from everything, ya know?

Austin continues. “Safe from everything out there in the world,” he says to me. “From judgment, from shame, and from things way worse than that. This is a haven for the most beautiful creatures on Earth, Destiny,” he continues, and I believe every single word of his.

He’s really passionate about Python, and it’s not like when someone is passionate about a business. To Austin, Python is much more than just a business.

“But… Why would the commissioner have trouble with that?” I ask, tying my brain into knots as I try to find an answer to my own question. There’s none that I can see.

“Some people don’t like women to be as free as I want them to be. And some people… Well, let’s just say that some people not only don’t understand what I stand for, but they actively oppose it. The commissioner is one of these people.” His answer is a vague one but, for now, it’s more than enough. My fears have been soothed, and I’m back to believing that there’s going to be a way out of this mess I’m in.

“You’ve built something great,” I tell him, squeezing his hand in mine as I look into his eyes. These bright smart eyes of his. “I see it every time I walk in here.”

His lips curl upward into a gentle smile—not a grin, but a true tender smile—and he squeezes my hand back. “It’s not enough to see it, Destiny,” he tells me, “you have to feel it.” With that, he pulls me toward the stairs at the end of the room and walks up, pulling me after him. He isn’t going to make me walk on stage, is he?

“Austin, what are you--”

“Let me show you,” he cuts me short, whispering as he pulls me onto the stage, my heart racing so fast I can’t even think, “the power of Python.”