His Absolute Betrayal - Elise's Love Story: The Billionaire's Continuum (#2) (A Contemporary Romance Novel) by Cerys du Lys Page A

room, which had another hallway leading away from it.  Both hallways had doors to rooms scattered here and there along them, going to somewhere or other.  Some doors were closed, while others were cracked open slightly and darkened on the inside.  A few rooms had lights on, but they didn't look too out of the ordinary.
    The layout confused me, though.  A hallway went to a room went to a hallway, to a room, and another hallway.  Not straight through, though, no.  They formed a circle of sorts; or probably more likely a square.  Which, I thought, begged the question of what was in the middle?  I decided to find out, because I didn't want to keep walking in circles.  I wanted to find somewhere to stop and stay and think and wait.  Perhaps to simmer, but I didn't really want to simmer.
    I wanted to be happy.  Again.  With Lucent.  Maybe.  I wanted more than what I had right now.
    By my random calculations, I should take the next door on the right, which might bring me to the center of this strange apartment.  It was really big, actually.  Not as big as Lucent's place, but much bigger than mine.  Did Elle live alone, or...?
    Did Lucent ever visit her here, too?  The thought made me seethe.
    The door on the right was closed, but I opened it easily enough.  The lights were off, but I found a switch to the left of the door and flicked it on.  The lights blinked, then flared to life, illuminating the room.  A bed sat off to one side, with a dresser near it, and then another door opposite the one I came in.  I didn't want to look at the bed or the dresser, so I kept going in, heading to the other door.
    I opened that one, but this time the lights were already on.
    This was... a very strange room.  I didn't quite know what to make of it, and if someone asked I'd be hardpressed to describe its contents, too.
    There were more doors here.  One on each wall, actually.  I wondered if they all led to small bedrooms like the one I'd come through.  Possibly, but each door was closed, so I couldn't say for sure.  None of that mattered right now.
    What mattered were the things in the room.  Things might be a generous word for what I found.
    All sorts of assorted devices hung on the walls, filling every conceivable space, sort of.  Side to side, different shapes and sizes, odd implements dangled from hooks, or sat on shelves, or occasionally they just lay there, leaning.  On one end of the room beside one of the doors sat a large cross-shaped object, with two leather shackles near the base and two more on each arm of the cross.  The center of the room contained a plush bed with dark red satin sheets.  A closed trunk sat opposite the cross, too.
    All in all, it looked very similar to some sort of torture room.
    I recognized some of the things hanging on the walls, but not all of them.  Whips, riding crops, paddles.  More than one, too; many in different shapes and sizes.  A few ball gags... and were those butt plugs?  Huh.  They started small, then went larger than I thought was necessary.  I wasn't altogether interested in that sort of thing.
    I walked towards the chest and tried to open it, but a lock on the front kept my curiosity at bay.  Instead, I moved to the bed and touched the soft sheets, then I went to the cross.  I grabbed one of the shackles on the right arm and pulled.  The leather felt soft and supple between my fingers, but comfort belied strength and it stayed firmly in place when I tugged at it.  Strong, I thought.
    I'd seen this, I realized.  A little different in its construction, and not nearly as nice, but sometimes at Sam's club, Carousel, during BDSM showings, people used them.  A dominant and his submissive would go up on stage and he'd shackle her onto the cross, then perform a scene with her, showing her off to the crowd.
    I briefly remembered the one and only scene I'd performed there.  It wasn't with Lucent, oh no, not at all.  It was a mistake, and a terrible accident.