I heard the door open quietly and instinctively turned towards it.
To my surprise-no, to my utter surprise! it wasn't a stranger who entered.
It was him.
The club owner!
He entered quietly and closed the door behind him with a muffled thud.
I stared at him, puzzled, my heart pounding for reasons I couldn't even explain.
Without thinking, I said incredulously,
"Is Lanzo unavailable... or didn't he accept?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked over to the chair deliberately placed in the center of the room opposite the bed.
With lazy grace, he sat down, leaned back, and began untying his tie with one hand, his eyes locked on mine.
Then, in the same deep voice that seemed to pierce me, he said
"I've already come."
I stared at him, my mind awash in confusion and disbelief.
I swallowed hard, my throat tightening, and somehow found the courage to ask
"What... what do you mean? Who exactly are you?"
He didn't answer immediately, but I watched as he tugged at his tie with a rough, almost annoyed movement and tossed it aside carelessly.
As he did so, he finally said in an almost casual tone
"Lanzo Morello."
Oh my God!
I froze, my breath caught.
So it was him...
The onwer, the man who made the air thicker just by being in the same room, was the one I'd chosen.
No wonder there wasn't a photo in that file.
It had been of him the whole time, probably to keep his information confidential secretive
He leaned forward slightly, his sharp eyes staring at me, and said with a subtle command
"Take off your clothes."
My whole body went rigid.
I felt a heat rush to my cheeks, and panic and embarrassment tangled inside me.
I opened my mouth to say something, but all that came out was a pathetic moan.
He sighed deeply, his voice impatient, making me shiver, and he wiped his face with his hand.
His voice grew heavier and rougher as he said
"Did you come to learn, or what?"
I shifted awkwardly, my hands gripping the hem of my dress nervously.
"I... I... but..."
I mumbled, my voice barely above a whisper.
He knitted his brows into a sharp frown, and for a moment, he stared at me. Finally, he said
"But what?"
I averted my gaze, unable to meet his piercing gaze and said as if in a hurry.
"I thought... I thought I'd find another teacher when I chose that file..."
Something about that seemed to bother him very much.
His jaw tightened, and a cold smile spread across his face as if I'd unwittingly insulted him.
When he spoke again, his voice was rough and clearly annoyed.
"Are you saying you don't want me to teach you?"
My head whipped around quickly, as if in a panic shaking violently to deny it, but that wasn't enough for him.
He growled softly, his voice making me tingle.
"Use your words damn it."
I shifted awkwardly, clutching the hem of my dress as if it would protect me from the weight of his gaze.
"I thought this was just...information briefing."
"I didn't know you really wanted me to... take off my clothes." I said softly.
He looked at me for a long second, then raised his pointed eyebrow, a look of amusement and disbelief crossing his face.
"So what did you think?" he said, his voice laced with sarcasm "That I fill your head with pretty little words and then you go home to write them down like a seventh-grade kid taking notes?"
His words resonated deeply, and I immediately lowered my gaze and felt a burning sting of shame.
My fingers clenched my arms tightly, desperately trying to steady myself.
He let out a short, humorless laugh, then asked, his voice cold and sharp
"Why are you like this? Have you been so condescending to men that you've become stupid even about your own body's needs? About what any woman needs? This isn't innocence; it's ignorance."
The sting of humiliation transformed into something else, a slow burning in my chest.
I finally raised my head, glaring at him with all the frustration that had been simmering beneath my skin since I'd entered this cursed place.
"I'm not!" I shouted, my voice trembling. "It's not my fault! No one... no one ever cared about me!"
The words exploded before I could stop them, raw and ugly in the heavy air between us.
I didn't wait to see his reaction.
Rage drove me wild, as I turned sharply toward the door, determined to leave and never return.
"I don't want anything to do with this stupid club if this is how you're going to treat me!"
I said, my voice rising, but before I reached the door, a deep harsh growl erupted behind me.
"Stop right there and get back here."
The order rippled through the room like a whip, frozen in mid-stride.
I swallowed hard, my body reacting before my mind.
There was something in his voice, dark and electric, that sent shivers down my spine, awakening a fire and a fearful excitement I hadn't known existed inside me.
I must have been stupid. There was no other explanation, because I had already done what he asked.
I bit my lip and turned around, and stood back in my place like a docile little idiot.
Yes, I must have lost my mind.
Didn't he insult me just moments ago, attacking me like I was a naive fool?
And yet, here I was, obeying him.
He gestured toward the bed with a slight twitch of his chin and an incomprehensible expression "Sit!" he simply ordered.
Nervously, I sat on the edge of the bed, my knees tightly tucked together and my hands clutching the fabric of my dress.
I looked up at him, my heart hammering against my ribs.
He watched me for a second longer before asking,
"Did you even read the contract?"
I nodded quickly, trying to sound confident, and said in a low voice "I only signed the contract, I didn't...read it."
He let out a long slow sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose as if I was giving him a headache.
He muttered in a resigned tone "I don't even know what to do with you."
Then, in a more assertive tone, he said, "It goes without saying that you read the contract before signing it."
Like a child being scolded, I lowered my gaze to the ground feeling the shame weighing down on me.
He was right.
Oh my God, he was right.
I was a lawyer! Oh my! And yet, in my excitement and anxiety, I finished everything as quickly as a novice.
Dareing to look up at him, I bit my lip without realizing it again.
His eyes darkened, and a low frustrated growl escaped his throat.
"Stop biting your lips. I'm trying to talk to you seriously right now."
I flinched slightly, not quite understanding why that simple gesture had elicited such a response from him, but I obeyed, releasing my lips and forcing my hands to remain still.
He took a step closer, his voice lowering to a quieter but no less firm tone as he began to explain.
"The role of a sex teacher here is not to flirt with you or whisper honeyed nonsense. We are here to teach you and show you how to understand your body... and how to use it properly with another person. It's not about feelings; it's about control, communication, consent, and experience."
"You will learn the difference between pleasure and pain, between surrender and taking power, between trusting someone and protecting yourself."
He paused, studying my face carefully before continuing.
"If you think for even a moment that this is going to sound like a fairy tale, you need to leave now. Because what you asked for, what you said you wanted to learn, requires listening, trust, and obedience. It's not going to be nice just because you're shy."
He began speaking again, his tone firm and harsh, as if he were trying to instill the truth in what he thinks, my thick naive head.
He said, his eyes never leaving mine.
"A sex teacher teaches you through touch, makes you feel, makes you realize things through your body, not just with words. Words are worthless if your body doesn't understand them."
I sat there, my breath catching in my throat.
"When a sex teacher tells you to do something," he continued, his voice a little sharp, "do it without second-guessing, without hesitation, without disobeying."
His words hit me hard, each one heavy and inescapable.
"You're not here for soft, gentle, oh, vanilla sex," he said, almost saying the word "vanilla" as if it were a dirty word.
"You came here seeking to learn one of the techniques that have to do with control, boundaries, pain, pleasure... discipline."
He leaned in slightly, just enough for me to feel the weight of his authority between us.
"If you can't handle this, then say so now and leave, because once you start, there's no escape."
He narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a tone that left no room for debate:
"And I don't have the patience to deal with a shy virgin's complex."
I breathed heavily, trying to keep my voice steady, and whispered
"I understand."
Something shifted on his face, a fleeting glimpse of satisfaction before he leaned away from me, giving me some breathing space.
Without saying anything more, he turned and walked over to a small table in the corner of the room where some bottles and glasses were neatly arranged.
As he began mixing something with his back to me, he asked,
"Your name?"
I swallowed and answered
"Aurora."
He made a low, self-deprecating sound and said casually
"I've never taught a virgin before, and I don't like dealing with virgins... but," he gave me a quick glance "we have a contract now. Whatever you ask for, you'll get it, even if I still don't understand what would bring someone like you to a place like this."
I hesitated for a long moment before speaking the truth in a low voice
"I'm here to learn... for my fiancé."
He paused for a moment, his hand stopping mid-stroke.
He turned his head slightly, looking at me with a strange incomprehensible expression.
Then, with a quirk of his lips he muttered
"I wasn't asking. I just acted like I didn't care for some reason."
I immediately started to stammer and felt my cheeks heat up, but he came closer before I could say anything else holding the glass out towards me.
"Drink" he commanded simply, his voice like silk wrapped around steel.
I looked at the glass in my hand, then back at him, my voice barely above a whisper.
"What... what is this?"
He smiled a faint smug smile.
"A cure for your shyness."
My heart was pounding so hard I thought he might hear it.
Nevertheless, I raised the glass to my lips and drank.
The taste hit me immediately.
Acrid, acrid, burning my throat.
My eyes welled with tears from the shock, but I forced myself to swallow and instinctively licked my lips as I tried to catch my breath.
He watched me closely and before I could reply, he reached out and slowly ran his thumb over my lower lip.
I froze, my breath caught in my throat, and my lips parted of their own accord as I inhaled shakily.
Then, without saying a word, he took the cup from my hand, his fingers touching mine, and brought it to his lips.
He drank from the same spot I had touched,not intentional, his dark eyes fixed on mine the entire time.
Something stupid crossed my mind.
Something completely unpromising and ridiculous.
An indirect kiss.
My cheeks burned with sudden, uncontrollable embarrassment, and I had to look away, embarrassed by my thoughts being lost in his lips.