Yours For A Price

Chapter 4

The Stranger in the Shadows

Bella's POV:

The club was carved out of obsidian and gold. That’s the only way I could describe it. Lights pulsed like a heartbeat, casting shadows on the walls that made everything feel fluid, dangerous. The music wasn’t loud - it throbbed. Like it lived inside your bones.

Lani leaned in, her lips brushing my ear. “This place cost seven figures to open. Keep your chin up. Every man here wants something.”

I smirked. “And every woman’s already two drinks ahead of them.”

We slid through the crowd like smoke. My heels clicked across the marble floor as I tried to keep my balance - not just physically, but emotionally. The air was thick with perfume and testosterone. My dress clung to my thighs, the hem teasing the curve of my ass, and I felt eyes on me. But I didn't look at them. I couldn’t afford to feel seen. Not tonight.

A waiter passed with a tray of drinks. Lani snatched two flutes of champagne without breaking stride and handed me one. I took it like armor.

“To breathing,” she said.

I clinked. “To forgetting.”

We drank.

Lani pulled me onto the dance floor. The bass melted under our skin as we moved - hips swaying, arms grazing, letting the rhythm pull us under. It felt good to pretend. To smile like nothing was broken. To be just another girl in a shiny dress looking for distraction.

That’s when I felt it.

A presence.

Someone watching me.

My skin prickled, heat rushing up my neck. I didn’t turn right away. I didn’t want to seem desperate. Or worse – hopeful.

But I felt it.

Like gravity.

When I finally looked, he was already staring.

Seated at the VIP lounge like he owned the bar.

No drink. No companions. Just… stillness. A calm eye in the center of the storm.

He was dressed in black – suit tailored to his body like it was cut from his skin. Collar open. No tie. His hair was dark, cleanly swept back, and his jaw was like something from a Renaissance painting - sharp, precise, dangerous.

But it was his eyes that arrested me.

They were dark.

And yet, somehow, the brightest thing in the room.

My stomach tightened.

Lani followed my gaze. “Oh no you don't.”

I blinked. “What?”

She grabbed my wrist. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t….”

“He’s not the kind of mistake you survive, Bella.”

I swallowed. “Who is he?”

“Someone who doesn't take no for an answer. That’s all you need to know.”

But I wasn’t listening. Not really. Because he was still watching me - like he was already undressing me with his eyes, but also reading me. Like he knew me.

And something about that made my knees weak.

His eyes didn’t leave mine all night.

Not when I first caught him staring from the VIP lounge above the dance floor. Not when I pretended not to notice. And definitely not when Lani leaned in and whispered, “Upper level, corner table. Black suit, no tie. He hasn’t stopped watching you for like an hour now.”

I knew. I could feel the weight of his gaze. It wasn’t the usual sleazy ogling I was used to. It was heavier. Curious. Possessive. As if he was trying to figure out exactly how to take me apart, layer by layer.

I liked it.

Too much.

“I’m getting another drink,” I said over the music, already heading toward the bar before Lani could lecture me about rich men and bad ideas.

I didn’t even make it halfway.

A hand brushed my lower back - firm, intentional. I turned just as he leaned in.

“You don’t belong here,” he said in a voice that rumbled low and smooth, like whiskey on the rocks.

I laughed, heart pounding. “That’s original.”

His mouth curved into the faintest smirk. “It wasn’t a line. Just an observation.”

“I don’t see a name tag that says you’re security.”

“I’m not. But if I were, I’d escort you straight out. Somewhere better.”

“And where exactly would that be?”

“Anywhere I can take off that dress.”

My breath caught. Is he serious right now?

He sounded blunt. Confident. Dangerous.

He looked like money. No – power. Like he didn’t have to chase anything. Things just came to him. Expensive things, rare things. Women who didn’t ask for a price before undressing.

So maybe I’d be the first. I needed the money and there's no pride in survival.

I squared my shoulders. “I charge.”

That smirk sharpened. “How much?”

I swallowed. “Ten thousand.”

He stepped closer, not even blinking. “You’re a virgin.”

I stiffened. “What makes you think that?”

“You’re standing like you’re ready to run. And your voice shook when you said your price.” He tilted his head. “You rehearsed that, didn’t you?”

Heat crept up my neck. My hands curled at my sides.

“So? Does it matter?”

“No.” His gaze dropped to my lips. “It makes me want you more.”

I should’ve walked away right then.

But I didn’t.

Something in his voice pinned me in place. It wasn’t a request, and it wasn’t pity. It was hunger - razor-sharp, unapologetic hunger that coiled around me like smoke and whispered promises I had no business listening to.

His hand brushed against mine, deliberate, sending a shiver racing up my arm. I should have flinched, pulled back, done anything but stand there frozen while his touch branded me.

“Ten thousand,” he echoed, almost like he was savoring the words. “For your first time.”

The weight of it pressed down on me. My stomach twisted, half with dread, half with something darker that I didn’t want to name.

“You’re insane,” I breathed, though my voice betrayed me – it was barely audible, trembling with more than fear.

His smirk deepened, his eyes glinting like a predator who had cornered his prey. “Maybe. But that doesn’t change the fact that I want you.” He leaned in, close enough that his cologne and heat tangled around me. “Tell me your name.”

I hesitated, my lips parting but no sound coming out. Because somehow, giving him that – something so simple felt more dangerous than the money, more binding than the deal.

He tilted his head, studying me, his mouth curving into something wicked. “No? That’s fine.” His voice dropped, silken and sharp. “I’ll learn it when you’re moaning it into my ear.”

A bolt of heat shot straight through me, colliding with my shame. This was a sign to run.

But stupid me didn’t.

Because in that moment, with his gaze locking me in place like chains, I already knew that I wasn’t the one in control anymore.