“No,” Nick snapped, irritated.
“That’s the sound of no one giving a shit what you think.”
Julian laughed as we took the steps that led down to the basement.
“Jesus, will you two give it a break? The way you argue anyone would think you’ve got unresolved sexual issues… with each other.” Julian was trying to make a joke. He was shit at it. He should leave the humour to the experts.
“Mate, I have no sexual hang-ups. Zero. I’m as straight as the pole your mum dances on.”
“Fuck you,” Julian said as we made our way to the bottom of the steps.
We could hear the sensual buzz of the music drifting out of the doors to the dungeon, which stood slightly ajar, beckoning us on in an erotically tempting way, like an irresistible siren.
“Enough of this bullshit.” I decided to take the reins on this one and stormed ahead, pushing the door fully open to get this party started. “I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed man.”
“Whatever, mate.” They both joined me as we stood and took in the sight before us. “I know you’re nobody’s fool, but maybe someday, someone will adopt you.” Nick patted my back and put his arm around my shoulder. “Maybe tonight will be your lucky night.”
* * *
The Conti brothersdidn’t do things by half. Hell no. This party, as they wanted to call it, was creepily insane and slightly intriguing. There were about a dozen girls mingling around the dingy room, dressed in various bondage outfits that catered to the submissive and dominant amongst us. The room itself looked like any other sex party, if you discounted the padded walls, caged off area towards the back, well-worn St. George’s cross, and the spanking bench, all equipped with the latest state-of-the-art restraints. It was dark, and kind of eerie, but that only added to the filthy goodness of it all.
There were a few other guys dotted around the place, sipping their drinks and taking it all in. One couple was in the caged off area, making good use of the sex swing, but apart from them, everyone else was just relaxing, mingling, and open to whatever was on the menu for the night.
I spotted Isaac and Enzo Conti across the room, just as they noticed us and they made their way over to the doorway where we stood. Both of them were impeccably dressed in matching black suits. At least one thing about them was smart. They had their inky black hair greased back, giving them a sleazy aura, not that they needed help in that department.
Isaac was the older of the two, and marginally more sadistic and annoying than his sly younger brother. He had a jagged scar on his face that ran from his left eyebrow down towards his mouth, like a fucked up mark from the devil himself. A seal of approval for all the wicked things he’d done in his life. It hadn’t healed well, and still looked red and angry, much like the man himself.
Enzo was slightly shorter than Isaac, but what he lacked in stature he made up for with his vindictiveness. These guys came from a pretty shallow gene pool and it could’ve used a bit of chlorine. In fact, at a guess, I’d say that hell was wallpapered with all their deleted selfies. They had faces only a mother could love, and even she probably had to fake it sometimes.
“Gentlemen.” Isaac held his hand out to shake ours, before Enzo followed suit. “So glad you could make it.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I shook their hands, conscious of the fact that I’d no idea where their hands had been. I wiped the sweaty marks they left behind onto the leg of my trousers and plastered on my show-stopping smile.
“Quite the gathering you have going on here tonight. Do we need to take a number and wait in line, you know, like at the supermarket meat counter?” I glanced around and noticed a few of their ‘toys’ giving me elevator eyes. I was pretty sure I’d have my pick for the night, if I wanted it.
“Nick, Julian, I had no idea Cillian James was joining you,” Isaac said, as Enzo grinned through his annoyance. They hated me. And I couldn’t give a fuck.
“Is that a problem?” Julian always lost his backbone at the worst times and went down faster than a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest. I needed to give him some pointers on how to grow a pair.
“Why would it be a problem?” Isaac piped up. “The more the merrier, right, brother?”
I could tell that, if it weren’t for Nick and Julian, they’d have kicked my ass out of there before I’d even crossed the threshold. But they didn’t want to look ungracious, bitter, or anything like the assholes they really were. Plus, they didn’t want to get on Jackson Caine or Luca Marquez’s bad side. They thought I had weight where those two men were concerned.
It was no secret that the Contis wanted in on our city’s club scene, being as they were from out of town. And if that was your main goal, you had to have an in with Jackson or Luca if you wanted to get ahead. Jackson, he was my brother, my right hand man, my best bud. But, Luca Marquez? He despised the ground I walked on. Had done ever since our paths had crossed as teenagers on the streets. The fact that I made him look like a prized dick every time we’d met didn’t help my cause, but they didn’t need to know that. I could drop the Caine and Marquez names with the best of them.
“Looks like quite a night you have planned.” I grinned back at them. Now, these two I would happily do verbal battle with on any given day.
“We brought the party to you tonight. Our pleasure is all yours. Take your pick. Every one of our toys is yours to play with.” The brothers smirked between themselves. The smug way they acted, like they were gracing us with their ‘pleasures’, put my teeth on edge.
Julian and Nick didn’t have the same problem as me though, and were soon drifting off into the room to spread the love. Isaac and Enzo stayed rooted to the spot where I stood.
“Don’t see anything to your taste tonight, Cill?” Isaac turned around and clicked his fingers, beckoning a petite red-head over to us. “Amber here is very flexible, in more ways than one. I’m sure you could put her through her paces. Then maybe we could have a little chat afterwards, see if we can’t do a little business. We’ve been meaning to make contact with Marquez since we got to the city. We know that’s something you could help us with.”
Amber licked her lips and sidled up to me, and as I glanced down at her, brushing against my side, I noticed what looked like a bundle of dirty clothes against the wall, just to the left of the doorway. But this was no bundle of clothes. It was a girl, sat huddled in a ball, with her legs bent up and knees tucked under her chin. She had a curtain of long, greasy black hair covering her face, making her look like the creepy chick from that Japanese movie,The Ring. She was shaking, but I couldn’t tell whether it was from the cold or fear. One thing I was certain of though, she didn’t want to be there.
Now, I was all for a bit of role play. I loved the dom/sub scene. But even I knew the rules. This chick didn’t want to play, and if there was one thing I knew, it was that whatever pleasure and pain you enjoyed giving and receiving, you also had a duty to protect. This girl? She wasn’t being protected or cared for. What the hell was she doing there?
Noticing what I was looking at, Enzo kicked out at the girl and grunted, “This one is free too, if filth is your kink.” He laughed as he spoke, but the girl didn’t look up or flinch, not even when he kicked her a second time, with more aggression behind his ridiculous patent leather Italian loafers.
