Chapter One: The Price of Desperation
I had never felt more desperate in my entire life. My mother, who had always been my rock, was lying in the hospital, fighting for her life after getting into a ghastly car accident, and I had no money to pay for her treatment.
I was almost out of options and didn't know how much longer my mother could hold on. I had already sold most of my valuable belongings to pay for her treatment, but it wasn't enough.
My problems worsened when my half-sister, Emma, accused me of misusing the money meant for our mother's treatment, even though I never had access to the money Emma had talked about.
It was after my father opted out of helping with my mother's medical bills that I knew it was time to take drastic measures.
That was how I ended up at the strip club, sitting in the dressing room, surrounded by half-naked women, makeup, and glitter everywhere.
My long-time acquaintance, Tiana, who worked as a stripper, had promised me good pay if I helped out for the night. I didn't like the idea of working as a stripper; I had nothing against the profession, but being one just wasn’t for me.
I would have never imagined I would ever get to this point, but I was desperate for cash. I needed to pay for my mother's hospital bills, no matter what it took.
"Girls, it's time to fall out!" the club owner announced, and my heart immediately skipped a beat.
I was nervous about being out there because I had never stripped before and had no idea how things worked in a strip club.
"Are you nervous, sweetie?" Tiana calmly asked me, as I looked lost among the other girls.
"A little bit," I admitted.
"Don't be nervous, baby girl, because it won't be good for you. The more nervous you seem, the less pay you'll get. So push that feeling aside, be your sexy, beautiful self in front of those horny bastards, and suck them dry," she advised, and I could only nod.
Tiana was just about to walk out, but she halted suddenly and turned to me again. "By the way, sweetheart, your name for the night is Candy," she announced, causing me to shudder.
After getting myself together, I took one last deep breath before walking out of the dressing room and towards the pole assigned to me.
Thankfully, I had experience as a dancer in my senior year of college, so dancing wasn't a problem.
I climbed onto the pole, my high heels clacking against the stage. I started by running my hands down my body, my hips swaying to the throbbing beat of the music.
I knew the crowd was watching me, their eyes gleaming with desire. But I didn't care. All I cared about was the money I would make tonight—the money that would save my mother's life.
I started to move, my body moving in a sensuous dance. My heart was racing, but I pushed the fear aside and let myself be swept away by the music.
The audience roared as I slipped out of my dress, revealing a black lace bodysuit that hugged my curves.
I was in a trance, so immersed in my dance that I didn't realize the eyes of a stranger had locked onto me.
He was tall and muscular, with dark hair and a mysterious aura about him. He looked like the kind of man who could have anything he wanted, and I felt a jolt of fear mixed with attraction.
After the dance was over, Tiana mentioned to me that someone wanted to meet me. Not thinking too much about it, I followed behind her.
In a private room inside the club, Tiana introduced me to Killian, the man I had locked eyes with earlier.
"I'll leave you two alone," Tiana said, immediately walking out and leaving me with Killian.
"May I know why you've asked to see me?" I asked him confusedly. Without mincing words, Killian immediately mentioned that he had a proposal for me.
"I want you to perform for me personally, and as a reward, I'll give you ten times your usual pay for the night," he said, his voice low and smooth. "And I expect complete discretion."
I was shocked. I had never earned that much money in one night before. But there was an obvious catch.
Killian wasn't just interested in having me dance for him, and I could tell.
He wanted something more intimate, and I knew I shouldn't do it—it wasn't like me at all—but the promise of the money was too tempting to resist.
I agreed to the offer, stating clearly that I would only perform for him, but one thing led to another, and I found myself naked in bed with him.
Killian made sure I was comfortable, telling me to relax before kissing me passionately.
His kiss was slow and sensual, unlike any other kiss I had ever experienced, and I quickly became addicted to his touch. His lips were gentle yet firm, and for some weird reason, I loved it.
As Killian continued to kiss me deeply, I started to feel dizzy from the intensity of his kisses, but I still kept my focus, surprisingly not wanting him to stop.
He was so strong and dominating, but also soft and tender, that I couldn't help but want to feel more of it.
When Killian stopped kissing me, he pulled back slightly, looking into my eyes. They were mesmerizing, and I could hardly look away.
Then, without warning, he began sucking on my neck roughly, making me moan and my head fell back, giving him full control over my body.
I was so aroused that I couldn't help but cry out in pleasure, which Killian took advantage of by pushing my legs apart and entering me slowly as if trying to taste every inch of me.
I was completely overwhelmed, completely taken aback by his actions, but all I could think about was his tongue touching me and the warmth of his body invading mine.
He was so gentle and careful, and I could barely keep up with him. His movements were smooth, controlled, and powerful, and I was totally intoxicated by his presence and his actions.
I was in pure bliss, feeling both sexually satisfied and frustrated because my mind couldn't keep up with the emotions raging through me.
Here I was, enjoying s*x with a man who thought of me as a hooker, and instead of hating the situation, I was loving it.
Just when I thought the s*x couldn't get any more mind blowing, he pulled out briefly and thrust himself hard inside me, eliciting cries from my throat, which seemed to be his ultimate goal.
He moved faster and harder until he buried himself deeply inside of me, groaning loudly as he did.
I held onto the sheets as I tried to fight off the orgasm I was feeling. He continued to pound mercilessly inside of me, sending shivers down my spine.
My moans of pleasure grew louder, and I dug her nails into his shoulders, mentally begging him to keep going.
Showing no signs of slowing down, he picked up the pace, taking me to a new level of pleasure. It wasn't just the pain I felt, it was the sheer power of Killian's c**k plunging inside me repeatedly as if he had to satisfy his desire now or never, the feeling I had was like nothing I had ever experienced.
At one point, we both climaxed simultaneously, and Killian fell back on top of her, burying his face in my neck, while also breathing heavily.
We lay on the bed together, panting heavily, neither saying anything, until Killian suddenly rolled away from me and stood up, walking towards the bathroom, leaving me wondering what I should say now.
I felt even worse when it dawned on me that I just had s*x with a stranger and that once he came back, he would simply pay me for my services and be gone.
I didn't have to process my thoughts when Killian walked back into the room and got dressed without saying a word to me before handing me an envelope filled with cash.
"That's the reward I promised. Remember, I was never here, and we've never met." And with that said, he left without looking back once.
I almost cried when I saw how much money was in the envelope. It was more than enough to cover the rest of my mother's treatment and have some left over.
I couldn't believe I had sold myself like that, but it was worth it, right?
Or so I thought until a call from the hospital came all of a sudden.
“Miss Emily, you're needed at the hospital immediately, it's an emergency,” the nurse informed me, and my heart immediately skipped a beat.
Without wasting any time, I got dressed, ran out of the room, and headed straight to the hospital, hoping and praying with everything in me that nothing would happen to my mother.
“Nurse, what's going on? What's happening to my mom?” I asked shakily as soon as I arrived in front of her room and saw several doctors in my mother's room.
I could hear the beep from the patient monitor turning flat with each passing second, and it broke my heart to realize that my mother was leaving, despite my every effort to save her.
“The doctors are doing their best, Miss Reigns,” that was all the nurse said to me, but it wasn't enough.
I needed her to tell me that my mother was going to be okay and that the flattening sound was only going to be temporary, but when I saw the look on her face as she stared into my mother's room, I knew there was no hope left.
“Aurora Reigns, age 48, passed away at 11:21 pm,” the doctor declared, and I could feel my heart slowly dropping to my stomach.
The entire world started to spin all of a sudden, and I struggled to grasp what was happening at the moment.
“Tell me it's not true, doctor. Please, tell me it's not true,” I muttered shakily as Dr. Kess walked out of the room.
“We tried everything we could Emily, but her condition had worsened rapidly and there was nothing we could do to save her. My condolences,” Dr. Kess said, before walking away and leaving me to deal with the reality that I no longer had a mother.
My mother was the only family I had who cared about me, and now that she was gone, I felt alone and destroyed.
I barely remembered the rest of that day and the weeks that came after, but at some point, I found myself standing in my apartment, surrounded by boxes.
I had decided to leave the city as soon as possible to start over somewhere new where no one would know me or my past. I was shoving things into suitcases, not even bothering to sort them out.
That was when the pain and a wave of nausea hit me. I immediately thought I had finally gotten my period, after days of waiting and wondering why it was running late, but to my surprise, there was still nothing.
I wasn't nervous initially since my missing period could be a result of all the stress I had to go through in the last few weeks, but to be on the safer side, I made up my mind to visit the hospital and get myself checked in case my health was deteriorating due to stress.
I arrived at the hospital, and after going through a series of tests, I was finally handed the test results. What I saw shocked the living daylight out of me.