The First Lesson

The rest of the day passed in a hazy blur. Kai’s words kept replaying in my head on an endless loop: “At my apartment. 9pm.” The deep timbre of his voice still lingered, sending unwelcome shivers racing down my spine no matter how hard I tried to ignore them.

I couldn’t focus. Couldn’t concentrate on anything. Even when Melissa hovered nearby, a mix of gratitude and fear written all over her face.

“Asher, um… what you did was really brave. I’m so, so grateful,” she said, her eyes darting between mine and her fidgeting fingers. “B-but I’m scared for you, Ash. You could lose your job because of me.”

I spared her one quick glance. “I won’t get fired.” Then I turned back to my screen, fighting to steady my racing thoughts while adrenaline and cortisol flooded my veins.

“And you don’t need to thank me a thousand times,” I added, still facing my monitor. “I did it because I wanted to.”

I hoped she’d take the hint and leave. After all, her clingy small talk was what landed me in this mess in the first place. But she didn’t. Her job apparently gave her plenty of free time.

“Ummm, Ash—” she started again.

I cut her off mid-sentence, curiosity getting the better of me. “How long have you worked for Kai?”

“About three years now,” she answered, her eyes lighting up at the chance for conversation. “What’s he like?”

I asked even though I already knew the answer. After watching him nearly strangle someone and brutally face-fucking me until I swallowed his cum, of course he was a dick. Still, some foolish part of me hoped for a different answer.

Melissa leaned in and lowered her voice to a whisper. “He once beat an employee to a pulp. When the guy pressed charges, Kai bribed the entire court. The employee ended up in jail instead.”

Fuck. I ran a mental image of the scene and felt a chill. Evil. That was the only word that fit. But it was also so absurdly dark that a sharp laugh escaped me. I quickly turned it into a scoff.

“That’s wicked,” I muttered.

Melissa straightened. “Just don’t get on his nerves and you’ll be fine.”

I almost laughed again. Don’t get on his nerves. I was already sitting comfortably on his bad side, waiting for whatever judgment he had planned. Did that make me nervous? Uneasy? Like I needed to piss urgently? Yes. But who gave a fuck? Who really gave a fuck about that bastard anyway?

I arrived at the penthouse at 9:30.

I did it on purpose. I knew I was pulling on a live wire, but a reckless part of me enjoyed it — wanted to see how brightly it would burn.

The building was tall and extravagant, exactly what I had imagined. A monument large enough to house his massive ego. I was stopped and checked by what felt like a million different security personnel. The man must think he’s Napoleon or some 18th-century king.

I stepped into the private elevator, heart hammering so violently I could feel the pulse in my feet. When the doors opened, I faced a massive king-sized door. I knocked — two short, sharp raps. Tension coiled tight in my chest. I wiped my sweaty palms on the sides of my trousers.

The door opened. A rush of cool, clean air hit my face.

“You’re thirty minutes late.”

His voice was low and feral. But it wasn’t the voice that left me awestruck. It was the man standing in front of me.

Fuck you, Asher. Fuck you.

He was shirtless, tall, and dripping with raw masculinity. Damp black hair fell messily over his forehead. Water glistened across his sculpted chest and abs, with a dark happy trail disappearing into the towel wrapped low around his waist.

My brain finally caught up.

“I had something urgent to attend to,” I replied, tone unapologetic. He could wait. He was only human.

He stayed quiet for a moment, staring at me.

“Get on the bed.”

The bed? I had expected fists. Maybe being thrown against a wall. Not a bed. I walked toward it — the thing was enormous, almost seeming to move farther away the closer I got. Or maybe the entire penthouse was just that ridiculously huge.

When I reached the edge of the bed, my stomach dropped.

It was covered in gear: handcuffs, ankle cuffs, spreader bars, coils of rope, blindfolds, hoods, gags, paddles, whips, floggers, leather harnesses, collars, body belts — everything laid out like he had prepared for a full-scale scene.

I swallowed hard. Really hard.

I glanced behind me. Kai stood there, tall and dark, watching me.

“Get. On. The. Bed.”

His voice was low, edged with clear warning.