Benjamins POV

I felt Lexi's body tense up under my touch as we wait for Vanne to unlock the door. I can only imagine what was currently going through her head right now, but I can only hope she can try and continue to put her trust in me, long enough for me to explain and show her why I decided to bring her here.

The door finally opens and I guide us both through the door while subconsciously holding my breath.

Alexis POV

Benji walks closely behind, his hand never leaving my body as we enter the private room. Let me tell you... it was not what I was expecting. Actually if I'm being honest, at one point I was expecting for the door to open and someone would come up and gag me and then stick a needle in my arm, which would lead to me passing out and being shipped off on a boat to god knows where, never to be seen again.

But as I continue to walk further into the room, I couldn't help but marvel at the site. There was a spacious balcony with an amazing view of the city skyline. I know Benji said we were out of the city, but I guess we were close enough and high enough to be able to see the beautiful sky scrapers from here. In a way... it made me feel a little more relaxed knowing I wasn't too far away from home.

There was a large flat screen tv on the far wall and underneath was a long slim marble bar table, which had a massive aquarium in the middle section. That's random as fuck. But you know what the most random thing for me was?

There was a damn bathtub in the room. Like... what am I meant to make of that? On one hand it gives off a luxury spa kinda vibe but on the other hand, when I remember that we are in a restaurant/bar... I can't help but feel like this is a very luxurious hotel room which just seems to be missing the bed.

"This will be your room for the evening." Vanne says. "Please be aware that we do have 4 other VIP rooms which are all currently occupied. You would have seen them as we passed through the corridor. The rooms are all sound proof, but please still be mindful to the other guests."

Sound proof?

Immediately I think of someone screaming because they are being murdered or having their body dissected and experimented on. Morbid I know... but blame all the damn thriller movies I've watched.

"As you have chosen not to be disturbed during your stay with us, we will place your room in privacy mode." Vanne continues. "Should you wish to order anything from the menu, please do so via the screen on the main wall and one of the ladies will attend to it as soon as possible."

"Noted." Benjamin says as he gives my waist a quick squeeze.

"Now, going off your previous visits here." Vanne says as she pulls out a small tablet from god knows where. "May I interest you in a third party member to keep you company for tonight?"

Ok hold the phone. Say what now? Did I just hear her correctly?

"Not this time Love." Benji says firmly. "I'm here with a special lady and I prefer to keep it one on one tonight."

Special...lady? Ok that just made my stomach do a massive 360 and I'm pretty sure I might just hurl.

I could feel my cheeks heat up as Vanne takes another look at me. I was trying my hardest to not come across as some dits who blushes and squirms at a single compliment. But hearing the way Benji was talking right now was making me feel all kinds of stupid.

"Very well Benjamin, I will leave you to it then." Vanne says. "Thank you again for staying at the and we hope you have a satisfying night."

"Cheers." He says.

"Ok hold on a minute." I say as I finally find my voice. "Can we just rewind this whole conversation for a sec?"

Neither of them spoke and they were looking at me as though we were just finishing up a normal boring conversation about a tea party with scones. Fucking scones!

I could feel myself about to lose it.

Benjamins POV

I could sense Lexi was about to lose it at me. Though I don't blame her since it was a reaction I was very much expecting.

"What the hell did she mean by third party Benj?" She says guarding herself. "Actually don't even answer that. First tell me, what the hell kind of place is this? Why is there a room inside a restaurant and is that a freaking bath tub?"

Yep. She's freaking out.

" Benj what the actual fuck? What the hell am I doing here? This isn't a date!" She yells at me. " Or is this seriously what dates have turned into now?"

"Lexi. Breathe." I say, trying to soothe her. She pinches the bridge on her nose as she walks around in little circles trying to calm down.

"Ah, this must be your first time here Miss." I hear Vanne say.

Clearly.

Lexi spins around and turns to Vanne. "Oh you think? Whatever gave you that impression?" She says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Lexi I'll explain everything soon. Why don't you have a seat for me." I say as I cup her elbow, forcing her to turn back to me.

"Seat? A seat?" She says in disgust. "You actually want me to sit down? What the hell? Who even knows what went on here last... I am so not sitting down anywhere, especially in a dress that can't even protect my ass."

"I must inform you Miss, as you seem quite distressed." Vanne interrupts. "Firstly, this establishment is in no way a brothel. I would just like to make that clear. Secondly, I can assure you we thoroughly clean, disinfect and sterilize each room every night. It is our top priority to ensure that our guests feel safe and comfortable. We do not judge and we welcome everyone to share in the experience. As any successful establishment, we have a set of rules that staff and clients must follow, but apart from that, anything is fair game."

"I'll take it from here." I say. "Excuse yourself will you Love."

Vanne gives me a quick nod as she makes her way past us and quietly out the door.

Lexi is still pacing around the room in circles with both arms folded tightly across her chest, refusing to make any eye contact with me. I already know I'm probably going to get my head bitten off for asking this, but I go ahead and ask anyway.

"You ok?"

She slowly turns to face me, her eyebrows creased. "Do I look ok Benj?"

"You look... perplexed."

She rolls her eyes at me, but finally makes her way back to where I was standing. "Serioulsy Benji, what even is this place? She also mentioned your visits? So like, can I assume that you come here often? And how did you even find out about this place?"

"I'll answer all your questions, but I need you to breathe and have a seat for me Lexi."

"Ugh, there you go again, making me sit down when I clearly don't want to. Ok I admit, it smells like a doctors surgery in here mixed with pine clean, but I still prefer to stand." She says. "Now start talking."

Here we go.

I guide her out onto the enclosed balcony to get distract her momentarily with the city lights, before carrying on down this road to my past.

"I've been here before on a few occasions, a few years back, when I was.. a different person." I begin. "One of the women I was with, worked here. She was the one to introduce this place to me."

"Does she still work here?" She asks. "Do you still see her? Were you... serious about each other?"

"I honestly can't answer that as I haven't seen her for a couple of years now, which was probably the last time I was here." I shrug. "And no, we weren't serious. Auds was my only serious relationship."

"Ok then." She says meekly. "So why are all the staff half naked and wearing masks? In fact there were a few guests wearing masks as well."

"It's all part of the appeal. People come here to escape their reality and you can either choose to hide your identity behind a mask and be someone else for the night, or expose yourself, be vulnerable and chance that the night will go well." I explain. "Or like most couples I've seen here, they choose to come here and do something out of the ordinary. I suppose, in a way... to discover new boundaries in their relationship."

"Hmmm...So what's the deal with the waitresses and staff then?" She questions. Do they play a significant, explicit role with the guests here in the VIP section?"

"Yes and no. The VIP section is exclusive to couples only." I answer. "Single men or women are only allowed in the restaurant area. The private rooms are reserved for couples and the staff are strictly off limits. They are only here for the aesthetic appeal and to serve you food and drinks. They also wear masks to protect their identity."

"So what did she mean by a third party member?" She asks with an eyebrow half cocked.

Oh come on. I know she's not daft.

"Isn't it obvious?" I question back.

She breathes out a loud sigh. "Blatantly obvious now that I've asked, but I don't want to make assumptions in a place like this."

"I don't think we should go into details." I reply flatly.

"I'm not here to judge Benj." She says sincerely. " I'm genuinely curious. I mean you brought me here, so clearly you want me to see... What your interests are? So anyway, you might as well be open about it."

Oh fuck it.

"Back then, I would occasionally hook up with one of the women here and I may have had one or two other staff members in the room with us."

"But I thought you said the people working here are off limits?" She says.

I refrain from commenting, hoping I wouldn't have to say the obvious. She rolls her eyes at my silence. "Oh of course were an exception. Who wouldn't bend their rules for the infamous Benjamin Vaughn."

Now I feel myself rolling my eyes at her. Although I never abused the family name, it did get me out of very tricky situations and also benefited me in many ways.

"I was a different person back then." I explain. "I was very skilled in the arts of persuasion."

"Yea I bet." She says, not surprised. " You still are Benj."

Am I?

"Is that so?" I question her.

"Why else would I be standing here tonight." She challenges.

True.

"I suppose." I reply. "But something tells me that it's more your own curiosity, that's making you stay."

She rubs nervously at the back of her neck as she turns slightly away from me, before completely dismissing my comment. "So anyway.. going back to your preferences... A menage trois?"

Wow.

Despite the fact that no one actually ever uses that phrase to talk about a threesome anymore... Fuck me, did she sound sexy as fuck talking in French.

"You know French?"

"Fluently." She replies and I was severely disappointed that these words weren't spoken in French. " Although nowadays you don't need to know French to know what that means."

"True." I reply. " So where did you learn French?"

"My mom was originally from France and she taught us when we were really little." She replies flatly. "Aunt Violet then continued on when my mom died."

Her face drops at the mention of her mom, but she quickly dismisses the thought as she steers the conversation back to the original topic. "But anyway, we're going off topic here. You didn't answer my question."

I look straight at her and can tell she is not planning to drop this until she gets an answer. "Yes. That was my preference back then. The more the merrier right?" I reply. " Anything to take my mind off certain things in my life. I had no interest in drugs or alcohol. So, sex with multiple partners became my vice."

"Are you not at all worried about people seeing you here with me tonight." She suddenly says. " I'm sure this is the type of news you wouldn't want leaked to the media."

Why would she say that?

"You make it sound like I'm a closet hoe or that I'm in hiding." I reply. "My lifestyle and interests aren't a secret... But of course you wouldn't know this since you never knew I even existed."

She giggles. "You make it sound like not knowing about you is a crime."

I chuckle. "It's not. I myself don't follow the media, nor do I care, so it doesn't matter to me."

"Ok." She says, not sounding too convinced.

"Are you worried about being seen with someone like me?" I question.

"No of course not." She says with her hands up in defence. "But won't this affect your reputation? I mean... I'm not a model nor do I come from upper class."

What?

Is that really how I am coming across right now? Some shallow prick who only dines with other people of the same status?

As for models? I wouldn't be caught dead with one of those fakers hanging off my arm.

"Lexi I've never dated a model in my life, nor do I want to." I reply. " They're boring as fuck."

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are many models who are a right good laugh, but the ones that I have been unlucky to be mixed up with, couldn't hold a conversation to save their lives.

"You also don't need to worry about my reputation." I continue. " It's my dads company. My dads reputation. What Brad and I do with our free time and life, has no connection to his affairs. He also has his own team dedicated to that side of the business. People who ensure our family aren't portrayed in a damaging manner. But even so, I couldn't care any less what the media says about me. Never have."

What can they possibly say that hasn't been said already?

"Well ok, if you say so." She says before breathing out a heavy sigh. "Ok so I admit, I feel a little confused right now. Why did you bring me here? I don't want... "

Her voice trails off and she looks up at me nervously, trying to convey the last words through her eyes and I'm quite confident I'm reading her correctly.

"Neither do I." I reply confidently. "I have no intention on sharing you. With anyone. Male or female."

She squints her eyes at me and I know she knew exactly what I meant. More so, who I specifically meant by that statement.

Brad and I have never had to share a single thing in our lives and I'll be damned if things were to change now.

"Lexi I brought you here, so can get to know better and in turn, I will share a bit of myself with you." I continue. "Maybe by the end of the night, you'll have a better understanding of who I am. My wants, my desires... Then you can really ask yourself, whether you can handle this. What I want and how I am, is something a woman like should be interested in."

"Not that you have the right to tell me, what I should or shouldn't be interested in." She says with a hint of irritation. "But what makes you so sure, it's not what I want too."

"The thing is, I thought I was certain that first day I met you, but you've surprised me in many ways." I reply. "You definitely know how to hold your own and now, I'm not so sure anymore."

"Oh?" She says with curiosity clearly present in her tone.

"See, there was a little glimmer in your eyes that told me, you wanted this. You wanted something out of the ordinary. You want someone to push the boundaries, someone to show you what your true limits are."

I take a step towards her, my hands automatically wrapping around her waist as I lean her back lightly against the panoramic window pane. Her petite hands slide up my forearms, welcoming me in but also keeping enough space between us as she notices the change in the air.

"I need you to ask yourself... How well do you really need to know someone, before letting them in, Before letting them in your bed. Before letting them in your head."

I place my hand under her chin, running my thumb across her cheek and her skin immediately heats up under my touch.

"How much control can you really relinquish to a complete stranger, Before it completely takes over your independence? How much trust can you really give to someone, Without knowing their true intentions?"

"How can I answer this?" She questions as she removes my hand from her heated face, but continues to hold it in her hand.

"That's what you need to ask yourself Lexi. Do you really know what you're getting yourself into? Do you want to go down this road? Do you want to keep pushing my buttons? Test your limits?" I continue. "Do you really want to continue flirting with temptation?"

Brock Vaughns POV

"Why the long faces?" I say as I look up from my phone at my two tag alongs.

Lily and Lucas had been quiet for most of the plane ride, but as I look over at the pair, a sense of worry creeps up as I continue to examine their posture and expressions.

In a way they have both become important to me, to my business. But that's to be expected after 14 years. Although I'd hate to admit it to them, but I have come to rely on both of them and their skills.

Most days I often forget the fact that they had betrayed me and catch myself having a bit of light banter with them occasionally. If things didn't go the way they did all those years ago, over one idiotic decision.... I believe we could've been like a tight knit family. But what kind of man would I be if I were to let these two go and just completely forget any bad blood had been shed?