Blind Girl: A Dark Billionaire Romance (2 page)

“Of course, I do!” He shifts behind our backs, his height towering above us, and reaches over to set his other hand on Gabby’s shoulder while keeping a firm hold on mine. “These are my guests!”

“They are not on the guest list, sir, nor are there any free slots,” the clipboard man states with rolling eyes. “They were not invited and unless I hear otherwise from
the owner
, I can’t let them in.”

“Well, I just so happen to have
the owner
right over here—” He turns and his hand drops off Gabby’s shoulder, but he keeps his grip on me. “Oh, Ian!”

He shouts across the lobby towards the sitting area next to the reception desk. Another man leans over a leather chair with one foot propped against an ottoman. His attentions lie on the woman in a green dress sitting before him, locked on her youthful face. He’s tall, clad in a deep blue suit, with blond hair brushed back over his eyes. His cheeks are pink and I get the feeling the drink in his hand is not his first of the night.

“What?” he asks without even a glance in our direction.

“There’s room for two more, right?”

“Sure, why not?”

He squeezes my shoulder as he turns back around to grin at the clipboard man. “Well, there you have it,” he smirks. “Straight from
the owner’s
lips.”

The clipboard man cocks his head and turns to the side. “Have a good night,” he mutters without emotion. He gives a nod to the muscle behind him and they open the black doors.

“Let’s go, ladies,” he whispers into our ears. “The night is still as young as you are.”

Gabby beams and immediately takes a step forward into the black doors, but I stand frozen in place. I want to move, but I can’t bring my muscles to function. I feel trapped, unable to budge without his strict instruction to do so.

“After you, my darling.”

I glance up at him again with shaking eyes. A smile sits on his lips. I take control of my feet and follow Gabby inside.

Just as we enter, the doors slam closed behind us. The golden safety of the lobby abandons me as I’m lead into perfect darkness.

I shudder with fear as my eyes adjust.

“Gabby?”

She doesn’t answer. I can’t see her.

I feel a strong hand on my back. It pushes me forward through the dark curtains and onto the main floor.

I had expected champagne and caviar. Maybe a string quartet. Or men in suits chatting about the stock market while the women admire each other’s shoes.

Twelve cages in total line the walls of the room. Young women sit inside ten of them. A beam of light shoots down from the ceiling above each cage, providing the only illumination for the entire room. The girls are young, not much older than me, each one wearing nothing but a red bikini made of silk and a blindfold to match.

A few dozen men stand around the room. They drink and admire the girls, none of them talking above a whisper to each other.

My eyes land on the fishbowls, one sitting on a pedestal before each cage, filled to the brim with folded up slips of paper.

I finally lock eyes with Gabby.

“We have to leave,” I say to her. I wrap my shaking fingers around her elbow. “We shouldn’t be here.”

She looks at me with wide eyes, like a child in a candy store.

“What’s the matter, ladies?” He slinks in behind me, his body cloaked in shadows.

I flinch at the sound of his voice. “I… uh…” My voice shakes and fades off into the thick, warm air.

“It’s called the Blind Girl Party,” he explains. He rests his hand against my back once more and slowly pushes me towards the first cage. As he steps back in front of us, his hand slips into his pocket and he withdraws a rather expensive looking pen.

We come to a stop in front of the fish bowl. The light strikes his face, sending shadows down one side of him.

“If you want to take the girl home, you write your name on a slip of paper and toss it into her bowl.” He slides the lid off the pen and jots his name down on the notepad at the pedestal. “At the end of the night,” he continues as he tears the paper free, “she reaches inside and lets fate decide the victor.” He pauses for effect, his green eyes jumping between us at the right moments. “You can enter your name into as many bowls as you please.”

He takes the freshly folded paper and tosses it into the bowl. His hand lingers inside and he swishes the papers about, burying his own deep down.

“What happens if more than one girl chooses your name?” Gabby asks.

He smiles. “Then you go home one very,
very
lucky man.”

Gabby nods her head and looks around the room. “Sounds like fun,” she says.

I, on the other hand, taste bile in my throat. “Why would they do this to themselves?” I ask.

“What do you mean?” he asks with curious eyes. I flinch as he reaches out and snatches a glass from waiter’s tray as it passes by in the darkness.

“Isn’t it a bit… degrading?”

Gabby scoffs at me and crosses her arms. “Madame Killjoy strikes again.”

“No, she has a point…” His eyes never stray from mine. “I assure you, every girl is here because they chose to be. They find their own pleasures in it — even if it is simply to be taken home by a millionaire.”

Gabby leans in with wide eyes. “Is everyone here a millionaire?” she asks quickly.

“Gabby
…
”
I mutter at her.

“No,” he answers her, smirking. “Some are billionaires. Like me.”

Her eyes dance around the room. She can’t contain her excitement any more than I can hide my disgust.

“Why are they blindfolded?” I ask.

He steps closer to the cage and I follow him without thinking. “Have you ever been blindfolded?” He questions me as he reaches between the bars. His fingers glide along the girl’s thigh. She twitches at his touch and her blonde hair slides over her shoulders as she jerks her head in his direction. He continues his trek along her milky skin and she coos in excitement, her body shaking.

“No,” I answer truthfully.

“There are great pleasures to be found everywhere in this world…” He continues to admire the girl in the cage. “But the best of them can be found in the most unexpected of ways… when you’re completely in the dark.” He withdraws his hand but keeps his eyes on the girl’s face as she contorts with desire.

“Wouldn’t that be more frightening than sexy?” I ask.

He looks down at me with amusement. “Some people
like
to be scared,” he replies. “Don’t you?”

“No.”

“Well…” He takes a sip of his drink. “I guess this will all boil down to that old saying of
‘don’t knock it ‘til you try it.’
”

I tear my eyes away from him and turn to look at Gabby. My heart skips. She’s gone.

“Gabby?” My eyes dart in all directions. “Where did she go?” I ask him, thinking that he may have seen her walk away.

“What’s your name?” he asks me, ignoring my question.

I shake my head. “Gabby?” I call again.

“What’s your name?” he repeats.

“It’s Alice,” I say, panic rising in my breast. “Where’s Gabby?”

“She went to have some fun.” He reaches down and places a hand on my wrist. “Maybe you should, too.”

I pull my arm away. “I have to find her.” I break free of him and attempt to navigate the crowd alone. It’s a room full of men. It shouldn’t be too difficult to locate one girl.

After a minute of searching, I let out a deep sigh.

“Alice…”

My body reacts to his voice with a chill that bleeds down my spine, teasing me to lose control. I long to hear him say it again, relishing in the way he keeps it on his tongue for longer than necessary.

I squint up at him to find his green eyes bearing down on me from nearly a foot higher. Once he has my eyes, he gestures behind me and points my attentions higher than the floor.

“Gabby!” I shout.

She stands in the center of a cage at the far side of the room. Her short, black dress has vanished, leaving behind nothing but her strapless bra and panties. I rush over to her, searching the floor around the cage for her dress, which is nowhere to be found.

Her eyes are lost by a blindfold, deep red in color.

“What are you doing?!” I say. “Get out of there!”

“No,” she laughs.

“We’re going home.
Now.
”

“If you want to take me home with you, put your name in my bowl!” she jokes, giggling to herself.

“This isn’t funny, Gabby. You have
no idea
who any of these people are.”

“I’ll be
fine
,” she growls. “Don’t worry. Go have some fun of your own. For once.”

I step back, pierced by the bite of her tongue. “Fine,” I say. I snatch a pen off the pedestal in front of her and scribble my name on a piece of paper to toss into her empty bowl. It settles to the bottom, immediately eclipsed by many other men who have gathered to do the same.

“She’s right, you know.” I turn to find the green eyed man hovering above my shoulder. “She’ll be fine,” he says with a calming tone.

“How do you know that?”

“Because this is a very professional group of people.” He leans in closer with serious eyes. “We don’t mess around here. Either there are two consensual adults involved or nothing happens.”

“That’s very reassuring,” I mutter with bite. Terror clouds my mind as I watch the men surround her cage. Hands push through the bars, fondling her breasts and legs. My skin crawls, but I can’t bring myself to look away from the spectacle.

“Do me a favor.”

“No,” I snap at him.

“Please, Alice.” He charms me with a whisper, laying his hands just below my shoulders and guiding me to turn away from the cage. “Humor me for a
moment
.”

“What do you want?” I stare at him with shaking vision. Blood rushes through my veins, igniting the thrill of my pounding heart.

He steps in closer. His hands inch up my shoulders, crawling closer to my neck. “Close your eyes,” he whispers.

I’m too defeated to argue with him and I do as he asks of me. I let the darkness fill my mind, pushing all of my focus towards the sound of his voice.

“Imagine you’re inside one of these cages,” he whispers. “You’re nearly naked. Exposed, but warm. Darkness fills the space around you, closing in on you. But inside that darkness lies a mystery. There’s one guiding light, Alice — and only one — that you can put your complete trust in.”

“And what’s that?” I ask, clinging to his every word.

“Me.”

I open my eyes and he smiles down at me.

“I’ll be there to show you the way when you cannot see it. To teach you when you don’t know what to do. To lead you when you lose your way. And you’ll enjoy every moment of it. I guarantee it.”

His seduction overwhelms me, leaving me mute, but consciously aware of his roaming touch. His fingers crawl down my arms like spiders until finally resting along the curve of my waist.

“Leave Gabby be,” he urges. “She’s made her choice. Now it’s time for you to make yours.”

I can’t look away from him, no matter how hard I try.

“Come upstairs with me, Alice,” he whispers. “I’ll show you what I mean.”

I nod my head.

“Good girl.” He takes my hand and leads me across the room, back to the exit. “You can call me Charles.”

I don’t look back at Gabby once.

Chapter 2

Don’t Do That, Alice

“Sit down.”

Charles points to the edge of the bed. I follow his instructions silently and sit down, happy to get a break from the unfamiliar shoes strapped tightly to my ankles.

I study the hotel room. It’s a large and beautiful suite on the twelfth floor with a king-sized bed and ornate, hand-carved, wooden furniture to match. I spy a jacuzzi tub through the bathroom door. When I glance out the window behind me, I’m met with a view I’ve only ever dreamed of witnessing.

“Are you all right?”

Charles stares at me with an amused grin, standing above a golden drink cart next to the door. He drops an ice cube into a glass, which clinks around as he fills it with bourbon. He moves in to join me with his glass in one hand and another glass of champagne in the other.

“Yes,” I say, unconvincingly. I’m not doing a good job of hiding the fact that I don’t belong in this world. He hands me the champagne and I immediately take my first sip of it. The bubbles tingle along my tongue and my throat twitches as I force it down.

“You’re a very beautiful young woman, Alice,” he says.

I feel the blood rush to my cheeks. I try to think of something witty to reply with, but I stumble over my tongue instead. “Thank you,” I manage to whisper.

“I feel like a very lucky man,” he says, “to have found you down in that lobby tonight.”

“Is that right?” I ask. The bubbles begin to work their magic and my tongue loosens. I feel a surge of confidence, even with my knees shaking together.

“Yes,” he says. “Almost as if it were… meant to be.”

“You don’t believe in coincidences?” I ask.

“Sure I do.” He smiles. “But not tonight.”

“What’s so special about tonight?”

He splits his lips and I see the tip of his tongue glisten between his teeth. “It’s Blind Girl Party night,” he explains. “Tonight is fate’s night.”

He leans in closer, so close I can feel the warmth of his breath on my lips. I recoil as my thoughts overcome the bubble-fueled urges pulling me towards him.

“I— I can’t. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be here.” I push the champagne glass into his hand and stand up from the bed. As I move to make my exit, I grab my handbag off the chair near the door.

“Alice, are you a virgin?”

I stop dead in my tracks. “Excuse me?” I spit.

Charles licks his lips and stands. He glides over to the drink cart to set the glasses down, then turns on me. “You have nothing to be scared of, Alice,” he says.

“I’m not scared.”

“Then why are you running away?”

“I’m not running away,” I defend. “I’m just… confused.”

“About what?” he asks. He tilts his head, regarding me with sheer calmness. “I’ll say I’ve made my intentions very clear. Have I not?”