A Sinful Encounter

Chapter 5: Recognition

[ —Vaughn]

“Dude, are you excited for tonight?” Milan burst through the door, striding as if he owns the place. Vaughn could only sigh and hide his annoyance, smiling forcedly and turning his attention to Eloise's older brother. Soon-to-be his brother-in-law as he had been ceaselessly reminded himself so that he wouldn't punch the prick in the face.

“Does Eloise know all about this?” He inquires uninterestedly closing the folder which contained the document he had been reviewing prior to signing.

Milan shrugs and sat down in front of him, propping his feet on top of his desk. Vaughn shot him a piercing look and warned him to remove his feet off his table. He might be Eloise’s brother but here in his workplace, Vaughn is still his boss, and if he thinks that his treatment of him might change just because he’s going to be his little sister’s husband, then he is awfully wrong about that.

Vaughn is known to be a cold heart ass bastard when it comes to working. He doesn’t give a s**t about anything unless it concerns his business. At this moment, his patience is wearing thin, and he wanted nothing more than to eject Milan's ass out of his office. However, he can’t do that. As much as this man was a pain in his ass, he had to bear with him.

Milan held his hands up in form of surrender. Even without chiding him, he knows when or not to push Vaughn’s buttons. He quickly takes his feet from the table before sitting upright and continuing whatever it is he’s concocting in mind.

“Well, they do have their own bachelorette party. Monique told me about it and they already hired an escort to keep them ‘entertain.’” Milan quoted the last part with his two fingers.

But only one word caught Vaughn’s attention and snickered. “Escort?”

He wasn’t hurt or by any means to hear that his fiancé is going to spend her bachelorette party the week before their wedding day with some man they paid to give them a good time. Was he not good enough? Vaughn internally snorted at the thought. That question is thrown immediately out of the window. He doesn’t doubt himself in satisfying a woman’s needs.

He exceeds above anyone else’s. Though there is only one woman in his head right now that could satisfy him in return. Where could she be at this moment? Does she have a boyfriend? A husband? The mere notion of it struck jealousy in his chest that he didn’t know he was capable of feeling.

“Man, I know you and my sister had been great together for the longest time even though the two of you are just being put together for a marriage of convenience, but what harm could one hot sinful night possibly be done? Let loose, we’re still young and so much to live.”

Vaughn went back to Milan and gave him a pointed look, dubious with whatever scheme this is, and then raises one of his brows.

“You want us to cheat on each other a week right before our wedding?”

Well, it wouldn’t be cheating since the two of them were just bound for one purpose only and that is for convenience. Everyone in the family knows that.

“I wouldn’t call it cheating since you still haven’t been married.” Milan pointed out. “But once the tie is knotted, I will punch you in the face until your teeth fall out. I don’t care if you’ll have me assassinated by the next day. So consider this as a gift of freedom from me. An appetizer before the main course.”

“This isn’t a test, is it?” Vaughn only scoffed at the absurdity of Milan’s idea of fidelity. If he and Eloise had been together because they genuinely want to be, rather than some commitments that bound them, then Vaughn would without a doubt rip heaven and earth apart before he let any other man touches his woman.

Just like the thought of another man touching that particular woman seemed to have permanently rented his head for this past week.

But with Eloise? He’s totally fine with it, and he knows that she wouldn’t mind as well if he would be with another woman. Though he wonders if this would change once they get married.

“Of course not,” Milan quickly asserted, leaning further into the backrest of his chair. “We’ve known each other before you became my little sister’s fiancé.”

Right, he’d been around with his circle of friends, but he and Milan hasn’t been that close. More appropriate to say, they were just business acquaintances a few years before his engagement with Eloise. Vaughn didn’t have a problem with Milan back then, aside from the fact that this cretin sometimes gets too much air in the head.

“Fine,” he muttered after giving it some thought. “What time?”

As much as he doesn’t want to admit it, Milan was kind of right, moreover, he needed to let some steam off once in a while out from his work. And maybe, this would be the time he could forget that woman and divert his attention to another.

“Alright, it is set, then,” Milan clapped his hands together before pushing his ass off from sitting idly in his chair. “Eight sharp, Luna’s penthouse. The rest of the boys will be there too.” He added, winking. “You’re going to have a great time, I promise.”

With that, a calming silence followed through soon as he left Vaughn alone in his office. He shakes his head and sighs exasperatedly before opening the folder he closes earlier, drowning himself with his document works.

The night came faster than he had anticipated and now he’s pulling over his car towards the hotel’s entrance where the valet’s waiting for him. Milan had called him numerous times already, asking where the hell was he, but he just told them to wait or pack it up and leave. They know when is the time not to mess with him.

“Good evening, Mr. Schofield.”

Vaughn merely glanced at the front desk attendant as he made his way toward the elevator, and pressed the penthouse button. This building was one of his assets, but he gave this property to Eloise as an engagement gift, naming it into Luna Hotel. A show of affection to the public, but for him, it was only a mere penny tossed to a pauper.

The elevator door opens, taking Vaughn’s attention. The first that came to his notice was the pole erected at the center of the foyer, a spinning disco ball fixed at the ceiling and the light had been replaced with red bulbs. A scented smoke swirled around the vicinity, making the entire pad appear like the inside of a microwave oven.

A small blast suddenly exploded, almost taking Vaughn off guard and confetti billowed into the air.

“Let’s all welcome, the soon-to-be-groom!” Familiar voices erupted in the background, and from the haze, three figures emerged, flocking around him.

“I told you, he’s coming.” Milan preened, coming around and swinging his arm over his shoulders.

Vaughn just lets him for tonight and turns his attention to the other two. A grin crept on his face upon seeing them, and the feeling of annoyance abated.

“Damn, man! I thought you’re not going to show your ass up and all this will be for naught.” Devon beamed at him, raising his fist and bumping it lightly to his chest.

“Yeah, Milan won’t stop annoying my ass,” he responded, jabbing his elbow at the person next to him.

Milan groaned, feigning as though he was hurt, and removed his arm from him.

“Congratulations, man.” Arkeen came up behind him, clapping both hands on his shoulders before pushing him into the center. Towards the black chair he now just notice. “Sit here. We had this specially prepared only for you.”

“Music!” Devon shouted, palm cupping the side of his mouth. Then on cue, the loud music blared, blasting around. Vaughn could only hide the wince on his face a little and stretches his patience. The party started, and drinks flooded in. He was getting bored, really, but then he suddenly stilled for a moment when a masked woman wearing a black leather coat appeared through the smoke, and his rowdy friends’ cheers erupted. The familiarity of her presence slammed him like a hard rock and his chest tore out in suspicion fleeting in his mind.

It was her.

That woman.

There’s no mistaking it.

To confirm it, she faltered slightly on her steps, gasping in surprise soon as their gazes met. Beyond through the mask she wears, her heavy kohl-rimmed eyes peering wide in recognition. Under the flashing light from the disco ball, her face flustered with humiliation.

“Give him a b***r, b***h!”

For once, Vaughn wanted to kill his friends with his bare hands for calling the woman b***h. However, now that she stands right in front of him as the stripper they’ve paid, questions started raising inside of him. However, one thing he notices about her. She was scared and reluctant.

She doesn’t want to do this.

Vaughn wanted to stand and take her away from this place, but she started to sway her hips to the beat, fingers unfastening the buttons until just below her breast, giving him a teasing peak of her ample mounds.

Her hands moved all over her body, eventually taking her coat off, revealing the delicately embroidered fabric of lingerie she wore underneath.

Flashing him her sheer pantyhose with a matching see-through bra lace pasties covering only her n*****s—all in soft champagne color. A strip of the same colored silk was tied around her neck in a bow, like a present taunting his fingers to itch and just reach into opening her like a treat, right then and there. His c**k stirred to life, straining painfully in his pants, testing the little ounce of self-control left in him to its limit not to close their gap and claim her.

This woman had been torturing him with her memory for this week, and now she suddenly showed up in front of him as a stripper. Turning his fantasy into reality.

She strode over to him, just as graceful in six-inch heels as if it was nothing but a pair of ballet shoes.

Shame and guilt domineered her features, nevertheless, she doesn't look awkward with her moves, albeit, she exudes an air of professionalism and naturalness. Making it even more hot and sexy, dripping amorously like a treat dangling between his eyes.

Despite the reservations, Vaughn just lets her do her job. He leaned back, following her only with his eyes as she swing her legs and wrapped them around the pole. Her unwillingness didn't hamper the grace of her movements.

The way her dark wavy hair brushed against her shoulders. The muscles in her arms and shoulders pulled and strained with her weight as she hoisted herself up, spinning at the pole all the way down, moving in fluidity as if she was one with the pole and the music thrives in her soul.

She’s a great dancer.

Unable to keep his gaze from raking over her form, Vaughn swallowed the lump suddenly lodging in his throat. Eyes moving to her frame, over her almost skin-like lingerie hiding only very little—leaving the rest for his imagination, over that strip of silk tied around her neck that could so easily turn into a leash.

His arousal felt like molten lava was rushing through his veins, and the back of his mind screaming at him to cross the distance between them. Pluck her out from the pole, take her to the nearest room and hide her away from the rest. To strip her of the few remaining items of clothing that were still on her body. Take her, make her moan his name. Yet at the same time, he wanted to touch her delicately. To cause her no harm and protect her.

With the low light, the loud music, and the anonymity of the highly-tensioned s*x on display in front of him. Vaughn, for the first time in a long time, he wanted this estranged woman more than anything else.