Chapter 28

*Natalie*

Sophie looks from me to Zane.

“Go ahead, tell her,” Zane says, a tight smile on his lips, a nod toward Sophie.

*“Oh no,* if she doesn’t know, that’s between you and her,” she scoffs, taking a step back.

I look into Zane’s eyes and shake my head, a tense frown on the corners of my mouth. I feel myself deflate. What does Sophia Cortez know about my man that I don’t?

*Don’t… cry.*

He looks into my eyes again, stepping toward me as he slides his wine glass onto the closet island. He reaches for my hands.

I take his hands as he folds them into his, and look up into his blue eyes.

I wince as I look at him.

He looks into my eyes, and begins, “…the cufflinks that look like this, are only for... lifetime members,” he finishes, letting out a sigh.

Sophie nods.

I feel like I’ve been kicked in the gut, the air leaving me.

“You mean, you’re still a member?” I ask, eyes narrowing.

Zane nods slowly, “Technically, yes.”

I nod, this slowly sinking in.

*I can’t believe he kept this from me.*

“You said you weren’t a member anymore!”

“No, I said I never went back after I met you – that’s true.”

We stand staring into each other’s eyes.

“And I was never *going to* go back. Not until… you… wanted a woman…” he says softly, “And I never intended to ever go *upstairs* again, not until… Sophie…”

I swallow.

“You were just going to parade around in these in front of me, thinking I wouldn’t find out?” I demand, gesturing to the cufflinks.

“No… I just… I thought… they might help me fit in in there… But, Alexander and I… Have a complicated history, and I don’t think he’ll exactly appreciate seeing me in his club again...” He glances up to Sophie, “So, I don’t want him to know I’m there until I see him,” he says.

Sophie and I share a look, each of us taking in a deep breath.

“You just get me in, I’ll get you *out.* Trust me,” Zane says.

Sophie slides her hand into mine, squeezing it.

She takes a deep breath and looks to Zane.

“Ok...” she starts, "Here's what we're going to do..."

******

*Natalie*

We step into the main floor of Alexander’s… the hotel and bar/club that is open to the public. The place where this all started. I feel my breath quicken as we enter the dark, deep purple atmosphere, music loud and pumping, the crowd noisy.

Sophie is wearing her white lingerie under a cream wool jacket, tied at the waist like mine and her glittering crystal pumps. I am wearing the lingerie she picked out for me under my calf-length black wool jacket, tied at the waist, and my new black Louboutin pumps that I wore to Cristello’s. As we pass the love seat we sat on together the first time we met Sophie, my eyes linger on it, memories flooding back of that first night with her, the night we went from that little love seat up to the hotel and Zane fucked her… I wonder if Zane and Sophie are thinking about that, too, as we walk through the bar toward the back of the club.

As we approach the elevators, my heart pounds wildly against my chest.

There are two large men in black suits with headsets standing on either side of the doors to the elevator that will take us to Alexander’s *upstairs Member’s Only area…* I can hardly believe we are doing this. I try to breathe normally.

The doormen nod to Sophie.

“Ms. Cortez,” one of them says.

Sophie smiles.

“Vincent, Delicious!” She sings out in a honey voice.

Sophie nods at each of the doormen as she refers to him.

“These guys are with me,” she says, and they nod and step aside, one pressing the button and the elevator opening.

We walk into the elevator, and after a moment, the door closes behind us.

We look at each other. I breathe a sigh of relief. So far so good.

*“Delicious?”* I ask, tilting my head to the side, a smile playing on my lips.

Sophie laughs a bit, and nods.

The doors open again, and we step into the foyer of the Members Only area, and Sophie leads us to the coat check. We slide the belts of our jackets open, unbuttoning them as we approach the desk. Sophie slips her coat off her shoulders and hands it over to the attendant and I do the same, revealing our lingerie ensembles…

“Hi Artie!” She smiles her wide smile at the attendant. He reaches for our jackets.

“Hello Ms. Cortez, as always, a pleasure,” He says, formally.

He slides our coats onto hangers on a rotating rack behind him, and pulls two numbers from a roll, tearing each in half, sliding one into the pocket of each of our jackets, and giving us the other.

We turn and walk back to Zane, and as I look up at him, I notice him swoon at us walking toward him. Me in my black lingerie and creamy skin, her in her white lingerie, the color popping against her golden skin.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Sophie says, looking at Zane as we approach him. He nods.

“Zane can hold these, right honey?” I say, taking Sophie’s number and slipping them both into the pocket of Zane’s suit pants. He smiles, and we follow directly behind Sophie.

We step up to the doormen.

Sophie is beaming, “Hiiii!” She sings to them.

“Hi Ms. Cortez,” they say in unison.

“These guys are with me,” She says.

They nod and step aside, allowing us to pass.

“Hey, where’s Alexander right now?” Sophie asks them as we walk over the threshold.

“He’s in his office,” the doorman says.

“Is he alone?” Sophie asks.

“Yeah,” the doorman nods his head.

“Thanks Sequoia,” Sophie says, and we continue past, into the Member’s club… Sophie winks at me, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

It looks a lot like the club downstairs, but darker, with more draping curtains, and more nooks beside fireplaces with little love seats and comfy club chairs… The music vibrates through my body, and I see gorgeous women in lingerie or naked slinking about the men in suits, making me feel self-conscious as Zane walks past them, seeing the same thing I’m seeing… As we get deeper into the club, I notice people having sex in the nooks as we walk past, others watching them in small groups… There is a stage with a bed on it, women draped over it and onto the floor, licking, sucking on and devouring each other’s bodies…

In the fireplace nook to our right I see a woman on her knees in front of another woman, her face undulating between her legs – a couple sitting on the other side of the fireplace watching them, the man’s hand moving inside of the woman’s black panties, a woman with long glossy hair straddling a man in the back row of the seating area in front of the stage, her hips thrusting into his, her head thrown back, a small crowd watching…

“This way,” Sophie leads us to the left, taking us into a curved hallway behind the seating in the club.

We walk past a mahogany door, and Sophie looks back at Zane. She nods at the door and hooks her arm into mine. Zane stays beside the door as Sophie leads me away, down the hall.

I see Zane knock on the door as we disappear around the curve of the hallway.

“Come on…” Sophie says, leading us further down the hallway.

She slips her arm through mine as we walk and leans in close to me.

“These rooms,” she explains, gesturing to several doors along this hallway with the doors open, “are the fantasy rooms,” she says softly into my ear.,I glance inside as we pass, the first door open to a room with a bed and soft blue lighting, several couples are having sex inside, the mood is sensual, soft… We continue walking, the next room is lit in red, the women all in black with masks, some with whips… We walk further down the hall, the last door is open to a group watching one couple have sex in the bed, some of them stroking themselves or their partner …

The hallway curves around back to the stage, and Sophie takes me off to the back of the club, to a curved booth tucked into a corner.

My attention is magnetically drawn to the women on stage… the stage is surrounded by an arc of tables, booths, and theatre-style seating. Men in suits and couples sit watching the stage, some of the women sitting in the men’s laps.

I wonder what is happening in the office with Zane and Alexander.

My stomach twists as I think of this most recent secret he’s kept from me…

*He’s still a member here.*

And he asked us to *trust* him.

*How can I trust him after yet another betrayal?*

Sophie slides in closer to me, her arm around my back, her face close to mine.

“Do you recognize Vanessa and Soraya?” Sophie asks softly in my ear.

I look to the stage again, this time zeroing in closer on the blonde girl and the girl with the braids.

I smile at Sophie.

She nods, and we turn back to the stage. The are mesmerizing, a continuous ocean of waves moving between them, their bodies poetry, the women dripping from the bed to the fuzzy rug and back……

I’m getting turned on, and yet I’m nervous, wondering what is happening in Alexander’s office…

Sophie slides her fingers and then she glides her shell-pink manicured fingers down the sensitive skin of my stomach and abdomen, and slips them over the top of the black sheer panties that I’m wearing, stroking over my pussy... I feel my breathing intensify. My skin is alive all over with her touch.

Sophie slips her fingers back to the top of my panties, and slides her fingers down between my skin and the silky fabric, slipping further down, grazing lightly over the hairs of my pussy, and I look to her. My breath catches.

She meets my eyes and holds my gaze as she slides her fingers down further, and I feel her smooth fingers slide between my pussy lips and slip over my clit.

I drop my mouth open, smiling, and shake my head.

She looks back to the stage.

I shut my eyes halfway in pleasure as she slides her finger softly back and forth, lightly stroking over my clit, and I look to the stage too.

Every woman I see here is a complete work of art – and I find myself feeling the double-edged sword of being both turned on, and intimidated, wondering if I’ve ever measured up to women of this caliber and the experiences Zane has had here…

Finally, Zane appears through the crowd. The look on his face is tense, worried, his brow furrowed as he wanders looking for us. I see him notice us, and I meet his eyes as he quickens his step and walks toward us.

“Zane!” I say, and she slips her hand out of my panties quickly as she turns toward my gaze.

Zane hastily makes his way through the crowd and approaches our table, and quickly slides into the cushiony curved booth-style seat beside me.

“Come on, lets go,” he says to the moment he sits down, his blue eyes intense.

“What happened in there?” Sophie asks.

“In the car,” Zane says, nodding at us pointedly, and then sliding out of the booth. I glance at Sophie and quickly slide out after him, worried.