Chapter 2: What have i done?

The bass didn’t just play at The Vault, it lived in the walls and crawled straight up through Alex’s shoes until it was in his chest. The air was thick with gin and smoke and something sweet that made his head spin. It was designed to make people forget themselves, and that was exactly why he came.

"Alex, we can still leave," Kevin said, his arm locked around Alex’s shoulders as they pushed through the crowd. His voice was tight. "Seriously man, this isn’t you. If Troy got in your head, don’t do something stupid to prove him wrong."

Alex didn’t look at him. "I’m not leaving."

"Then at least tell me why," Kevin pressed. "Because the Alex I know doesn’t walk into The Vault on a Saturday night. The Alex I know hides in the library."

"This isn’t about who I was," Alex said, his voice flat. "This is about who I’m going to be."

Kevin looked genuinely worried. "You don’t know what happens in this place. You don’t know what people do upstairs. If something goes wrong..."

"Then it goes wrong," Alex cut him off. "Take me upstairs, Kevin. The private rooms. The ones where nobody can see."

Kevin stopped walking. "Those are dark-rooms, Alex. People go there to disappear. They wear blindfolds, masks, they don’t ask names. Are you sure that’s what you want?"

"Yes," Alex said. "Give me something to cover my eyes and find me a room."

Kevin stared at him for a long time like he was hoping Alex would change his mind. When he didn’t, Kevin sighed and dragged a hand down his face. "Fine. But I’m staying right outside the door. And the second you say stop, we’re gone."

They were halfway up the stairs when a voice stopped them.

"Well, well. What’s this?"

Troy. 

He was leaning against the railing with Paxton, a glass of whiskey in his hand and his shirt open at the collar. He looked completely at home in the chaos.

Kevin froze. "Troy."

Troy’s eyes moved from Kevin to Alex and his smile went slow. "Didn’t expect to see you here, Kev. Thought you were glued to a textbook."

"Just out with a friend," Kevin said, trying to keep his voice steady.

"A friend," Troy repeated. His gaze settled on Alex and stayed there. "And what friend would that be?"

Alex didn’t answer.

Troy stepped closer, looking him up and down. "You look out of place, little brother. What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Alex said.

Troy laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Right. Because Alex Bennet is a club guy now." He glanced at Kevin. "You really brought him here?"

"He’s an adult," Kevin said, defensive. "He can make his own choices."

Troy’s smile dropped. "Some choices get you hurt, Kev." He looked back at Alex for a second too long, then shook his head. "Whatever. Come on, Paxton. VIP’s waiting."

Paxton followed without a word, but Troy paused at the top of the stairs and looked back. Just once. Then he disappeared down the hall.

Kevin exhaled. "That was weird."

"Let’s go," Alex said before he could talk himself out of it.

Kevin led him to the back of the upper floor, to a small room with a curtain instead of a door. Inside it was black. No light, no windows. Just a low leather couch and the distant throb of music.

Kevin handed him a thick strip of black silk. "Last chance."

Alex took it. "I’m doing this."

"You’re scared."

"I’m doing it anyway," Alex said, and tied the blindfold on.

The world went dark. 

His heart was hammering. He could hear his breathing and nothing else. Then the curtain moved.

Heavy, uncoordinated footsteps approached. A thick wave of cheap cologne and stale tobacco hit him.

"Well, well," a rough, slurred voice growled. "Look what we have here. A pretty little thing all tied up and waiting."

A sweaty hand landed on Alex’s knee, fingers gripping hard and sliding slowly up his thigh.

Terror shot through him. Before the hand could go higher, a violent scuffle exploded. A heavy body slammed into the stranger, followed by a choked gasp and the sound of someone being hurled against the wall.

"Get your filthy hands off him and get the hell out before I break your fucking jaw," a deep, vicious voice snarled.

The stranger fled, cursing. Silence returned, but the air grew thicker, charged with heat and a new scent—expensive woodsmoke cologne, fine liquor, and barely contained fury.

The leather cushion sank beside him. A powerful presence pressed close.

Troy had followed them upstairs out of dark curiosity. Seeing Alex blindfolded and offering himself to a stranger had ignited a blinding, possessive rage inside him. No one else was allowed to touch what was his.

Troy gripped Alex’s chin firmly, tilting his head back. The touch was rough, dominant.

"Please," Alex whispered, voice trembling. "Who are you?"

No answer. Their lips crashed together in a brutal kiss.

Troy’s tongue pushed into his mouth, claiming it deeply, tasting of whiskey and raw hunger. His hands moved with purpose, roughly unbuttoning Alex’s shirt and shoving it open.

Calloused palms roamed over bare skin, thumbs circling and pinching his nipples until they pebbled. Alex gasped into the kiss, body arching.

Troy’s hand slid lower, palming the growing hardness in Alex’s pants before freeing his cock. He stroked him with firm, sure pulls, thumb swiping over the leaking head. Alex’s hips jerked, a needy moan escaping him.

Troy pulled back, repositioning Alex onto his stomach and yanking his hips up. He worked Alex’s pants down, exposing him completely.

Warm breath ghosted over sensitive skin before Troy’s mouth descended, taking Alex’s cock deep in one smooth motion. The wet heat and suction were overwhelming...tongue swirling, throat tightening around him as Troy sucked with possessive hunger.

Alex cried out, hands fisting the leather. Troy’s fingers, slick with spit, circled his entrance before pushing in...one, then two...stretching him open while his mouth continued its relentless work. He curled his fingers, hitting that spot inside Alex that made his vision spark white behind the blindfold.

When Alex was shaking and desperate, Troy pulled off and withdrew his fingers. The blunt, thick head of his cock pressed against Alex’s entrance. He pushed in slowly but relentlessly, stretching Alex wide around his girth. The burn and fullness drew a long, broken moan from Alex’s throat as Troy sank deeper until he was buried to the hilt, hips flush against Alex’s ass.

Troy gave him only a moment before he started thrusting deep, powerful strokes that grew harder and faster. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the dark room, mixed with Alex’s desperate whimpers and moans. Troy’s hand reached around to stroke Alex’s cock in rhythm with his thrusts, gripping tight.

He fucked him with fierce possession...one hand fisting Alex’s hair, the other bruising his hip, driving into him again and again. Pleasure coiled unbearably tight. Alex came first with a shattered cry, spilling over Troy’s fist and the sofa beneath him, his hole clenching rhythmically around the thick cock inside him.

Troy followed with a low groan, burying himself deep and grinding through his release, filling Alex with hot, pulsing spurts.

They stayed locked together, breathing raggedly in the aftermath.

Alex lay wrecked, body buzzing, mind a mess of shame and lingering euphoria. Desperate to see who had just claimed him so thoroughly, he reached up with a shaky hand and pulled the blindfold down.

Crimson light flooded his vision.

Troy sat above him, black silk shirt open and disheveled, hair messy, eyes burning with dark, possessive fury.

What have i done ?....

"You..." Alex choked out, trying to scramble backward. "Troy... no... God, no..."

Troy lunged forward, grabbing Alex’s ankle and dragging him firmly back down. He leaned over him, face inches away, shadow swallowing the light.

"You wanted to see what it felt like to live, little brother?" Troy whispered, voice low and terrifyingly calm. "You wanted to throw yourself away to garbage just to prove a point to me?"

His grip tightened.

"New rule," Troy sneered, eyes locked onto Alex’s with obsessive finality. "From now on, if you want to be touched, you only get touched by me. If you want to be ruined, I'm the only one who gets to do it."