Chapter One
Olivia
“It’s on you if you get caught,” Jackson warned. “My name better not pass your lips if your uncle finds out you snuck into Voyeur.”
“He won’t find out. No one but you knows me here.”
He gave me with a warning look anyway before opening the back door and looking side to side to make sure no one was around to spot us. They were strict with their memberships here and even Jackson wouldn’t have been able to get me through the front.
“I’m serious, Olivia. I’m not your captain and I’m not going down with your ship,” he said, holding the door open to allow me through.
“What did Oaklyn say anyway to convince you to sneak me in?” I asked, staring at his broad back as we walked down the hallway toward the music.
“That she was tired of watching you mope around after you caught your boyfriend cheating on you, and you needed a night in a different scene.”
I scrunched my nose up at the mention of Aaron. I caught him in the library stacks with his head buried between some girl’s legs.
Thankfully, we rounded a corner into the main area to distract me from that image.
The room looked…normal. I didn’t know much about it. My dad always shut my uncle up when he began talking about his business and Oaklyn was very mum about her time here. I guess in my mind I’d pictured something more lewd, erotic, or lascivious. Instead, it looked like a normal trendy bar.
It was dim with a long bar along one wall, a sleek seating area and a dance floor with a DJ. The only difference was the employees in classy lingerie or guys without shirts. Enticing the patrons to pick them for the night.
“Listen, Olivia. No watching. It costs money that you don’t have, and I won’t swing that for you. You stay in this main room. The back rooms are off limits.”
The backrooms…where all the performances took place. My heart raced just at the thought of watching something sexual.
“These people pay a shit-ton of money to be here and not be harassed or judged,” Jackson continued. “If you see someone you recognize, it doesn’t leave this place. Understood?”
There was a high membership fee to be a part of Voyeur. It wasn’t your typical dance club despite what the main room looked like. People came here so they could watch others perform all kinds of sexual acts. They didn’t pay for sex. No, they paid to watch live porn. They paid a lot of money to keep their privacy too.
“Understood.”
“Good. Now head to the bar. Charlotte knows to give you a drink. Just one.”
“Yes, dad,” I deadpanned and blew him a kiss. He just rolled his eyes and walked away.
I scanned the crowd as I walked through the tables and chairs. Men and women sat in groups talking. Some had their partner curled up on their lap, while others sat with friends. In the corner, I spotted two men making out and I almost tripped over my own feet at the shock of heat it sent through me. I took it all in, unsure what I was looking for, if anything.
But I found something when my eyes collided with a dark pair staring back at me. They stopped me in my tracks as they scanned me up and down across the space between us. I felt bare—exposed. And I liked it.
I wore a silver sequins miniskirt that hit just below my belly button, and a cream top that hung loosely over my breasts, leaving my midriff bare. When his eyes reached mine again, he lifted his drink in my direction and held my stare as he sipped from his glass.
I stood tall, proud, not letting him see how his intense gaze made my insides shake. He was older. I could tell from the more-salt-than-pepper beard he had. But I liked that I could draw his attention. Me—a nineteen-year-old sophomore—could catch the eyes of someone so alluring. Someone that appeared—even from a distance—so sophisticated.
I cocked my eyebrow and bit my lip before turning to head to the bar. But before I fully shifted away, I saw his smile and him standing from his chair.
He was coming for me.
I perched on a barstool and asked for a cranberry-vodka. Just as the bartender left someone brushed past me and moved to the stool beside mine. I knew it was him, but I didn’t want to give in so easily. I liked the game we’d started, almost challenging each other with our stares. Instead, I hid my coy smile behind my fingertips and stared at the bar top.
“You’re a real tease, aren’t you?” His voice was deep and sensual. It stroked across my skin bringing to life every nerve ending I never knew I had. “Going to challenge me with a look and then not even glance my way even though we both know you want to.”