Chapter 6

The air in the private back room of the country club was thick, heavy with the scent of expensive perfume, stale champagne, and the faint, metallic tang of my own anticipation. Outside, the muffled thump of bass from the wedding reception drifted through the heavy oak doors, a rhythmic reminder of the civilized world I was currently escaping. Here, in the dimly lit sanctuary behind the velvet drapes, it was just him and me. The chaos of the reception—the clinking glasses, the forced laughter, the endless stream of well-wishers—felt like a distant dream. All that mattered was the man standing before me, still in his tailored tuxedo, his bow tie loosened just enough to suggest he was ready to shed the last remnants of propriety. He looked at me with that intense, predatory gaze that always made my knees weak. I was still wearing my silk dress, the same one I’d worn all night, now slightly rumpled from where I’d been pressed against the wall earlier. He hadn’t even taken the time to fully undress me; he had just guided me into this room, pushed the door shut, and locked it with a decisive *click* that echoed in the quiet