Kade opens the door, and a flood of sounds pours into the room. At first all I hear are the sounds of laughter and chatter. The faint sounds of music and people moving about, like this is all normal. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was hearing just a normal party. I search his face for any sort of indication that this is dangerous.

If he was nervous I'd think I could maybe escape. There'd be some hope left. That I could somehow get away. He’s nothing but confident. He turns to face me and looks me in the eyes. “Behave, angel.”

A flood of arousal pulls between my legs, and my chest reddens with a flush of excitement. I try to ignore it, but I'm painfully aware of the effect he has on me.

It’s the tenor in his voice, the way he commands me and my body. It’s wrong. But it tempts me to give in to him.

I look out across the hall and it almost seems like we're in a hotel. There's a row of numbered doors across the way.

One door is open, and inside a woman is on a swing. It'd odd and made up of steel bars, almost like a chair. Her legs are spread wide and strapped to each end of the legs of the chair. As I realize her wrists are bound to the ropes of the swing, a man steps into view stroking his dick and circling her.

Chills run down my body.

I take a step back and want to fucking run.

I’m not going out there. I pull away, and the chains on the leash clink together. Kade looks back at me with a scowl.

“I need one thing,” he growls as he slams the door shut behind him. I try to take a step back, my heart racing in my chest. I’ve never seen him like this. He's angry as he approaches me.

He takes a step toward me and I take a step back, with my hands bound in front of me and the leash attached.

Kade stops in his tracks and takes a moment to breathe. The hard lines of his face soften, and he inhales deeply before letting out a long exhale. “Olivia.” Hearing my name on his lips loosens the fear in me.

He starts to say something, but I interrupt him.

“I’m scared.” I shake my head and swallow thickly. “Please,” I say. The fear is more real now than it’s ever been. When I'm alone with Kade, this situation doesn’t seem real. Maybe it’s my attraction to him. Or something about him taking me from those other men. I don’t know what it is, but it’s different.

But seeing the other man and knowing there are more here? I don’t want that. I’m terrified.

Kade takes a step forward with his hand out to cup my chin, his fingers are gentle on my neck. “It’s going to be a bit of a shock, angel.” I stiffen under his touch. No! I don’t want to go down there. His other hand grips the back of my neck and he leans forward, his lips nearly touching mine. His low voice responds to my unspoken words. “You don’t have a choice. Neither of us do.”

I close my eyes, both hating him and what he’s doing to me. He leans back and tips my chin up with his fingers. My eyes slowly open and I’m surprised to find pity in his gaze.

“I promise you, angel. You’re only mine.” He searches my face looking for understanding or acceptance, but I’m sure he won’t find either. I don’t trust him, and I don’t know what to believe. My breathing is still coming in short, shallow spurts, and my heart feels like it’s in my throat. “They all know that. No one will touch you.”

I try to come to terms with the fact that I’m going down there. Like this. With them.

“Just stay beside me, and keep quiet.” He runs his thumb over my jaw until I meet his gaze. “You'll be safe with me, and if you listen, I won’t have to punish you.” Even with the fear of going down there, the idea of him punishing me sends a wave of want to my core.

I let out a heavy breath, and watch as Kade’s eyes widen with lust and his lips kick up with a small smirk. He leans down and hesitates before taking my lips with his.

I cave at his comforting touch, leaning into him and needing some kind of reassurance. My lips soften against his as his fingers spear through my hair. My pussy heats, and I lean my body toward his.

Maybe we can just stay here. I can hide here and just be his.

As the thought enters my mind, Kade pulls away from me and I instantly miss his touch, and the soothing balm he gave me with it. As he moves away, my hands move up to grab him and keep him here, but I hesitate.

The sense of calm is completely gone, and I find myself moving closer to him.

“Don’t leave me,” I whisper as his hand rests on the doorknob. He turns around to look at me and I almost expect him to scold me for giving him a command, even though we both know it was a plea.

Instead he wraps a hand around my waist and plants a small kiss on my forehead.

“Never, angel. Just stay by my side.”

* * *

Kade opens the door and steps out. I follow him quickly, but I don’t look up, keeping my eyes trained on the floor and that's where they're going to stay. Still, I can see the couple from before in my periphery. I can hear the sounds of her muffled moans and the man grunting and groaning as he pounds into her echoing in the hall. My heart races, and I nearly trip on Kade’s feet.

“Angel,” he says and gives me a low warning. I look up with wide eyes. He lays a hand on my head, letting it slowly smooth my hair. “Just relax.”

I nod once because I can’t speak. I just want to disappear. A few men in suits walk behind us at the top of the stairwell. I can feel their eyes on me, but I don’t look up. I’ll just look at the floor and try to stay next to Kade until he’s done parading me around.

Fear and anxiety race through me, but I can’t let them show. I’ll be good. I just need to stay by his side. I feel as though I'm in imminent danger of being devoured, like I'm bleeding out in the middle of shark-infested waters and on death's door. And I know the only thing keeping me alive and safe right now is Kade. Yet he's the most dangerous predator there is.

As I follow him down the stairs, watching my feet and only my feet, I see several shiny, black shoes of men but also the small, bare feet of women walking the opposite direction, up the stairs. Women like me. My eyes slowly rise, and I’m nearly petrified to see a woman completely naked with rope wrapped around her throat and midsection.

I look at her eyes, but she doesn’t look back. Her shoulders are squared, and her back straight. She walks with dignity, and it’s then that I notice she’s smiling and her hands aren’t bound.

My lips part to ask a question and my head turns of its own accord and I nearly trip and fall down the stairs as Kade’s grip on the leash pulls me forward. I nearly bump into his back as I catch my steps.

My heart beats faster with fear as several men around us turn to stare. Kade turns around and cocks a brow at me, as if daring me to say something.

The world around me stills as I look up at him. I’m lost and confused and scared. I just need him on my side.

“Do you need help, Master K?” I hear a man’s voice offer to my right. My lungs stop, and I stare at Kade’s shoes. My shoulders turn in and I want to run as the man steps closer. I can feel him next to me. He chuckles and says, “She’s new. And it looks like you've got your hands full.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Master A?” Kade says.

The man laughs and his fingers brush my shoulder, moving the hair to my back. My eyes widen with fear and I stare straight into Kade’s eyes, but he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at the other man with a smile, as though everything is just fine.

My heart races faster when he turns to me and the smile falls. My body’s paralyzed.

“She’ll warm up soon enough,” Kade says to the man, although he’s still looking at me. The warmth on Kade's features still hasn’t returned.

“I’m sure you’ll do an excellent job with her,” the man replies as a woman wearing a short, simple black dress passes behind him. She's balancing a silver tray in her hand carrying several champagne flutes filled with the sparkling liquid.

The man moves in my periphery, and I instinctively look at him.

He reaches out to the woman’s tray and sets an empty glass on it. He’s in a suit like Kade’s but it’s dark grey with a perfectly folded, bright white handkerchief in his pocket. He flashes the woman a dazzling, bright smile and shakes his head as she turns and lowers the tray for him to take a new glass.

“No thank you, love,” he says with a boyish charm. The woman smiles and turns, leaving the man to look back at me. He has rich brown eyes and a classically handsome face that's freshly shaven.

“Say goodbye to Master A, Olivia,” Kade says with a hint of admonishment in his voice, bringing me back to reality.

I open my mouth, but my throat is so dry, I have to swallow and clear it before I can say anything. I look up at the gorgeous man, and I can barely breathe. “Goodbye, Master A,” I say in a rush as the words tumble from my mouth.

The man groans and pinches his forehead, looking at Kade as though I’ve just teased him. “You did that on purpose, you fucker.” He says the words with humor in his voice.

Kade chuckles low and says, “You're an easy target.”

Kade leans into me and asks loud enough for the man to hear, “Do you want him to be your Master?”

I quickly shake my head as fear grips my body.

Kade places a hand on my shoulder and rubs soothing circles on my body with his thumb. “Call him sir,” he says simply.

“Sir.” I’m quick to correct myself. I am not giving him permission to take me away from Kade. I have to actively resist the urge to cling to Kade.

“Say goodbye, correctly.”

I look at the man who has a sad smile on his face. “Goodbye, sir.”

“Goodbye, Olivia.” He smirks and raises his brows with his hands in his pockets as he says, “You may change your mind later.” He gives me a wink and looks back at Kade.

“Enjoy your night, Master K.”

Kade nods and replies, “And you as well.”

I expect Kade to start walking again, but he doesn’t. Instead his eyes are focused on me, and I’m forced to look up at him.

His eyes flash with power and lust. He takes a step forward, and I’d take a step back, but I feel caught in his gaze and the steps are behind me.

“He’d love to have you, Olivia. They all would.” His eyes travel my body with obvious appreciation. He licks his lips and then meets my gaze again. “You will call them sir, unless I tell you otherwise.” He wraps the leash around his hand once, and then grips my chin in the same hand. His thumb rests gently on my lips.

“You did well, angel.” With his words of approval he drops his hand, and tugs gently on the leash. I’m quick to follow, feeling as though I’ve passed some sort of test of his.

I don’t want tests though. My feet continue to move as he leads me through a hall. My bare feet patter against the floor, but I can barely hear it. Dozens of people are talking and moving about. It’s surreal. I try to breathe, but my body isn’t cooperating. Kade leads me through a large set of dark wooden doors with intricate carvings, and the atmosphere seems to shift from lighthearted to something more dangerous and thrilling.

A sick feeling overwhelms me, but when I look up, awe replaces the negative emotions threatening to take over.

The room is like a ballroom. It reminds me of Beauty and the Beast in some respects, with large chandeliers and an expansive empty space with marble floors that shine in the dim light. But it’s dark. So dark. There’s faint music, but it’s not the sweet classics they dance to in fairytales. The beats are low and dangerous. They’re meant to entrance you.

The walls of the room are painted a dark grey, and the large floor-to-ceiling windows are draped with thick, dark red curtains. There’s a large mahogany bar in between the two windows, and servers dressed in simple black pants with tight, white t-shirts. It takes a moment for my eyes to focus, but there are cages lining the back wall. They’re large with a few square feet inside, and each one is nearly eight feet tall. With the low lighting it’s almost hard to see the women dancing in the cages. The shimmer of their silver dresses catches my eye as they move in rhythm to the beat of the music.

In the cage closest to me, a woman’s small hands are wrapped around the bars, making her look even more delicate. Her eyes are closed, and she's lost in the music. Her hands move to her body, traveling up to her neck seductively, then to her hair. Her movements are sensual and mesmerizing. It’s only when Kade takes a step forward and the chain pulls on my wrists do I realize I’ve been staring.

This room itself is a drug. It’s intoxicating, frightening, and electrifying all at once. Had I stepped into this room by my own volition, I would sway my hips to the music. I would close my eyes and get lost in the divine pleasure this room crafts. It seems like most of the people are on the outskirts of the room, staying close to the walls and talking and drinking. They're hardly paying any attention to the stimulating sensations overwhelming me.

There are a good number of people, a few dozen at least, dancing in the center of the room. Some women are dressed in clubwear and heels, while others, like me, are in bare feet and barely any clothes at all. The sea of swaying hips and hands caressing bodies is accompanied with couples grinding against one another.

I fixate on a couple at the very edge. The man is in low-hung pants and he isn’t wearing a shirt. He’s holding his partner up with his hands on her ass, and her legs wrapped around his waist. Her head tilts back, and he kisses her neck as he pumps his arms up and down to the beat while she moves against him. My breathing comes in heavy pants as her lips part. They look so intimate that they must be fucking. But in a flash, they’re lost in the crowd.

My feet don’t stop moving as Kade tugs the chain around my wrists. He’s wrapped the chain around his hand so much I’m forced to stay close to him. It’s not until I hear the sounds of moaning and strangled cries that my feet stumble, and Kade’s there to catch me, as though he anticipated my fall.

The music dies as we move away from the dance floor and closer to a thick curtain that divides the room in half. Guarding the area where the curtain splits are two tall muscular men, wearing the same black pants and tight white t-shirts as the bartenders. The curtain is made from the same deep red fabric as the ones covering the windows.

As we approach, I can hear several women’s strangled cries, but I’m not certain if they're from pleasure, or pain. I grip onto Kade’s side, my nails digging into his muscular back. He wraps an arm around me, but even as my feet refuse to work, he continues to push me to move.

My body is a confusing mix of fear and curiosity, jumbled up with arousal and anxiety.

I only move because I have to, and as I walk in Kade’s embrace and see what lies in front of us, my blood runs cold.

Behind the curtain is a room of debauchery.

Anxiety races through my blood. I feel lost, just like Alice when she fell down the rabbit hole. There are multiple small areas separated by a thick, red rope, but each division is taken by a couple while spectators stand around watching. Some men are completely clothed, but a few have their pants undone and they’re openly stroking their erect cocks.

I try not to stare as I see a man standing in front of a scene with a woman on her knees in front of him. Her head bobs up and down his length. On a small stage before them the woman is being taken by two men. The woman at the spectator’s feet doesn’t bother to look at the scene. Her one hand balancing herself on his thigh and her other stroking him. She eagerly takes him into her mouth as his hand spears through her hair and he looks between her and the woman in front of him.

“They want that, angel.” I look up at Kade, scared and wanting to cling to him to save me. I want to plead with him not to leave me here. “They asked to be in this room.”

He tilts my head back so I’m forced to take in the room and this time I watch the scene playing out to my left.

The woman closest to me is completely naked and shackled to a bench. Her beautiful blonde hair is disheveled, but still partially pulled back in a ponytail.

I watch as her eyes close and she obeys her Master. He’s standing in front of her, with his hands resting on her arms as another man grips her hips from behind and thrusts himself deep inside her. Sounds of pleasure spill from her mouth as she takes the relentless thrusts. Her mouth parts, and her body trembles. The man behind her groans and pulls away from her, cumming violently on her lower back.

I watch her Master.

His eyes never leave her face. Another man comes up behind her and forcefully pounds her, making her entire body jolt forward as he fucks her with a ruthless pace.

She gives a strangled cry and reaches out for her Master. He holds on to her, supporting her head in his hands. I watch as he kisses her passionately, capturing her cries with his lips.

His other hand runs along the curve of her waist, trailing down between the bench and her body. He keeps his eyes focused on hers as he rubs her clit.

“Cum, esclave. Show them how good you feel, esclave,” he whispers into the space between them. She moans into his mouth and takes the punishing fuck from the stranger behind her.

I’m entrapped in their passion; I've never seen anything like this before.

Kade pulls me away, and I refuse to look at the other scenes. I'm overwhelmed with my own varied emotions and concerns.

Does that woman even know who the man behind her is?

Does her Master? Has he given them permission ahead of time, or would he let anyone fuck her?

The questions race through my mind. But the truth is, I’m not disgusted; I’m enthralled. My skin heats and tingles, and my pussy grows hot with need.

This is wrong. This is terrifying. But for a moment, it’s intoxicating. The erotic thrill confuses me, and makes me genuinely afraid.

“Come, angel,” Kade says as he pulls the chain tight on my wrists. “Your training starts tonight.”