Chapter Twenty-One
Lyriope
The lights go out, the DJ stops playing the music, and a gradual hush works through the crowd. I position myself away from the masses, off of the corner from the raised platform, so I can observe. I watch in amazement as Nick takes center stage next to the DJ.
He had us both change into suitable attire, once we left Cora’s, befitting a carnival more than a nightclub. He’s wearing a black and white striped suit with a top hat that gives him more of a sinister look than normal. His black shirt is unbuttoned half way down, revealing a chest that frankly… I want to lick.
I’m wearing a slinky red dress that sparkles beneath the lights from above. I feel like a ruby in a crowd of jewels as everyone has clearly got the memo to wear bright and shiny clothing. The heels I wear are high, and I wobble as I walk, lacking the finesse required to wear something like this, but regardless, I do feel elegant.
By the aerial dancers entwined in silks, the brightly hung fabrics all over the room, it’s clear that over the top magic is the intent for the night. A dark, macabre-feeling circus.
Nick Hudson is the master of ceremonies of this Wonderland event.
He has the power to enchant, the power to hypnotize, and the power to capture every guest tonight who casts their eyes on his presence.
There’s no denying he’s a dominant force who—with one glance—can induce an almost drug-like trance in all who meet his gaze. He truly has the ability to create a world that morphs from a cold and dank warehouse to something magical, fantastical, and mind-blowing.
He closes his eyes taking in the energy, the smell of anticipation pulsing through the audience’s veins. Everyone in Wonderland possesses a level of wealth, power, or notoriety, but tonight they are at Nick’s mercy. It’s almost like you can hear each heartbeat in the room, hear each breath everyone takes, and can taste the desire to experience whatever masterpiece this artist in Nick has created.
Gliding into the single spotlight, he stares with his piercing brown eyes into the crowd of mere mortals drinking from their expensive crystal tumblers or flutes of champagne. The red, gold, and purple hues of the fabric masking the warehouse walls around him blends with the bright tattoos that peek out from the suit he wears.
Performers stand anxiously awaiting their cues to enter. Trapeze artists in tight leotards, mimes and clowns with painted faces, a lion tamer with whip in his hand, and beasts held by weighted chains are at the ready to begin the show. The growl of a lion brings me back to reality even though I feel lost in a dreamland.
He begins the hypnotic spell that only a man of his creative and confident talent can weave. The crowd of men and women lock in on his mesmerizing gaze, allowing him to suck each one in… one by one. Parting his lips slightly, he slowly takes in their breaths, stealing a part of their souls for the duration of the night. He captivates their attention, demands their focus, before the carnival even begins.
Without a single flinch, I’m so enthralled by Nick, that I’m willing to be his prey for what he has planned to come. I want to be at the mercy of this man for tonight and beyond.
Whatever dark, sexual, even painful acts that are planned for the night, if Nick deems it so, I’d cooperate willingly… eagerly. I feel drunk on his magnetism.
“Ladies and gentlemen, sinners and saints…” he begins. “Let us have a night full of entertainment, magic, seduction, debauchery and desire.”
His voice bellows out amongst the spectators. Nick demands their attention, entices them with what’s to come, and begins the show… the night has just begun.
Watching Nick Hudson in his Wonderland opens my eyes to a new realization. This is the existence he leads. Transforming one warehouse to the next, catering to an audience, and living amongst a cast of bad guys, good guys, and the in between. Fascinating people who choose to live on their own terms with their sinful acts, rather than hide in the depths of the shadows.
Nick has surrounded himself with like-minded people. His Wonderland is not for the ordinary. Not for the boring. Not for the people who wake up sad and looking for a way out. Wonderland is for people… not like his father.
This is a party atmosphere like no other. A collection of power and dark seductive secrets. Killers in disguise, evil in costumes, immoral creatures in makeup. And yet, they all come together for one night under Nick’s rules.
A safe haven. No violence. No VIP. No business. Freedom to fuck.
Nick’s created a protective and wondrous land. The rules and the decorum must remain outside.