The Billionaire's Masked Obsession

CORINNE
 
"Get on the bed," Lucian's rough voice cut through the silence with an authority that turned my knees to water. "On all fours."
I froze. For a second, my limbs simply refused to cooperate.
"Now," he snapped.
The sharp command broke my trance. I tore my eyes from his and immediately crawled to the center of the mattress, letting my back dip into a sinful arch. Every instinct screamed at the raw vulnerability of the position, yet my body yielded completely to his gravity.
From the corner of my eye, I saw his fists clench, almost as though he were forcing himself not to close the distance too quickly. When he finally stepped onto the bed behind me, the mattress dipped, and I stiffened in hyper-awareness, bracing for impact.
A sharp breath sucked into my lungs as his fingers tangled firmly into my hair, pulling my head back until my bare spine was plastered flush against the burning wall of his chest.
I opened my mouth to speak, but the words were instantly stolen when his teeth grazed my earlobe. A second later, his tongue traced the shell, dipping inside. A loud, unhinged moan tore from my throat, the vibration rattling through both of our bodies.
He leaned back just enough to ghost his lips against my ear, his breath hot and dangerous. "I'm not going to be gentle with you, kitten."
I heaved a shaky breath, letting my head fall back heavily against his shoulder. "I'll castrate you if you try to be gentle with me."
Lucian stilled for a fraction of a second. Then, a low rumble-halfway between a dark laugh and a rough breath-escaped him.
"Jesus," he whispered against my skin. "Where have you been all my life, kitten?"
In your dreams...
 
LUCIAN
 
I crowded her until she was caged between the cold marble counter and the heat of my body.
She gulped, her eyes wide. "Wh...at are you doing?"
I didn't give her the satisfaction of an answer. Instead, I reached down, grabbed the back of her thighs, and hoisted her up. Her arms immediately flew around my neck and her legs locked tightly around my waist to keep her balance.
My hands settled on her hips, and I quietly watched as her breath got choppier and shallower every time I rubbed a slow pattern against her soft skin. Right now, lust had completely clouded every other sense I possessed. I just burned with the primal need to get off.
"Lucian..." she breathed.
"I want in, kitten," I growled, my voice sounding like it was being dragged over gravel. I kept my eyes locked on hers as my hands moved lower. "How sore are you?"
Her fingers lightly pulled at the hair at the nape of my neck, grounding herself. "Enough to know better," she whispered, a reckless tilt to her lips. "But not enough to reject a quick fix."
My hands disappeared under the hem of the shirt-my shirt-and she arched her neck with a loud, breathy moan the second my fingertips found her. She wasn't wearing any panties; there was nothing but slick, swollen heat waiting for me.
I made quick work of my sweats, then pulled her flush against me, dragging her until her hips were right on the edge of the marble sink top.
"Lucian... please," she pleaded with glassy eyes as she gripped my shoulders. "No teasing. Just... please."
Snaking one hand back under her shirt, I grazed her peaked nipples before moving higher until my palm wrapped firmly around the front of her neck. I tilted her head back, forcing her to look directly at me. Only then did I guide myself in, our eyes locked together in the dim light.
The ecstasy of her heat wrapping and clenching around me as I found home was even better than I remembered from a few hours ago. She was impossibly tight, even after a night of being stretched out, and the way she took me in one long, slow slide made my knees weak.
A tiny whimper left her as her hands flew up-not to pull my hand off her neck, but to press it tighter against her throat, urging me to take absolute control.
"Fuck..." I groaned, leaning my forehead against hers. "You take me so well, honey."
She opened her eyes then-those beautiful hazel orbs that were now pooled with tears at the corners-and locked onto mine.
"Lucian," she whispered. "Destroy me, please."
I smirked.
She was made for me-a perfect, chaotic match for my own darkness, and I was never letting her go. Ever.
And the most grating, beautiful thing about the thought? As I drove into her, feeling her pulse throb beneath my thumb and her walls shivering around my hardness, I realized that I wasn't bothered by the discovery at all.
I was exactly where I belonged.
And if given the chance to go back to when we first met, I'd choose this again...



 

LUCIAN
 
“We’ve arrived, sir.”
Great. So we were actually doing this.
My gaze drifted to the tinted window, to the blinding lights screaming down at the entrance of the building like a warning. Eclipse’s Strip n Drink. Even‍‌ inside the car, I could hear the bass pounding from the walls. The street outside was packed and bouncers stood like soldiers, tightly checking IDs and patting down anyone who seemed like a threat.
I breathed out loud in annoyance. “Can’t we just go back?”
George turned his head. “Sir, with all due respect, Matt promised to have my head for breakfast if you don’t walk in there tonight.”
“You don’t have to drink,” he continued. “You can just sit in there for an hour and nod at whatever Matt says. Maybe even applaud once or twice. Then you can glare your way out of the building and go home.”
I gave him a slow look. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“Not at all, sir.”
I’ve been in meetings all day and by the time I was done, I didn’t bother going home. My tie was long gone—lost somewhere between the conference room and the elevator—and my jacket lay abandoned in the backseat like it had personally offended me. Now I sat in a half-unbuttoned shirt, sleeves rolled to my elbows, tattoos exposed, hair slightly tousled. This is as far as I can go for the casual look.
“Remind me why I’m doing this again.”
“Because it’s your cousin’s bachelor party. Because you’ve bailed on the last three events you were invited to. Because your mother is one conversation away from staging a full-blown rescue mission. And because,” George said, pausing for effect, “you haven’t done anything remotely selfish in years.”
I scowled. “If someone tries to make me do body shots or dance, I’m burning the building down.”
George gave a nod. “Understood. Total annihilation if provoked.”
I reached for the door handle, then paused when I saw Matt burst out through the club’s front entrance like he was being chased by the spotlight and for a second, I thought he might break into a dance number. He high-fived the bouncers, grinning ear to ear like a walking advertisement for poor decisions.
A ridiculous sash was slung across his bare chest with ‘Groom-To-Be’ printed in bold gold letters. And as if that wasn’t enough of a spectacle, a glittery plastic crown was seated lopsided on his head.
The secondhand embarrassment was almost too much to bear, but I’m not surprised at all. Matt thrives on attention and if he isn’t the loudest voice in the room, he’d find a way to set something on fire just to fix that.
I let out an irritated sigh and straightened, inevitably shutting the door on everything else.
“I’ll be here when you’re done, sir.” George said, subtly prompting me out.
I gave a slight nod and finally stepped out of the car, the thick noise of music and laughter wrapping around me like heat.
I pushed my hands deep into my pockets with my scowl firmly in place, already regretting this. Matt spotted me.
“Lucian!” he shouted, grinning like an idiot as he ran toward me and threw an arm around my shoulder in a one-armed hug. “Man, you actually came!”
“You threatened to have my butler’s head for breakfast if I skipped,” I said flatly.
Matt scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. “First of all, try to keep up with the times coz, nobody says butler anymore.”
I stared at him impassively.
“…Okay, whatever,” he said quickly, linking his arm through mine. “The guys are all here. You’re the last.”
“I’m also the only one who doesn’t want to be here.”
He looped his arm tighter around mine and tried dragging me toward the club.
“Trust me, we’re not trying to force you into anything. If it gets too much, we leave. No questions asked.”
I gave him a dry look. “You do remember this is your bachelor party right?”
He grinned. “And I’ll have another party next week. Hell, I’ll throw three more before the wedding. But you haven’t had a night off in what? Two years?”
I didn’t respond to that. “So what’s the plan? Drag me in, make me fake it till I break, then bail?”
“Pretty much,” he said with a smirk.
I shook my head. “Thanks, Matt. Real inspiring.”
“Someone’s gotta keep you from turning into a hermit CEO. Trust me, the world doesn’t need that much gloom.” His voice dropped. “We just want to you to have some fun before you burn out.”
I stared at him for a beat. “And by ‘we’, you mean…?”
He made an exaggerated gesture of zipping his lips and throwing away the key. “I don’t kiss and tell, coz. That’s just bad manners.”
Of course. My mother.
I shook my head. “She actually masterminded an intervention at a strip club?”
Matt snorted. “Well, in her defense, this place does have decent dancers. Now come on. We’ll take it slow.”
I have no plans of staying for long so I let Matt drag me to the entrance and as we approached, the crowd cleared from our path. Some people stared silently, others whispered openly, not even trying to be discreet with fingers pointed at us.
I wasn’t used to the attention anymore. Not after three years of being recluse and out of the public’s eye, which was exactly why I avoided any spotlight when I could.
The bouncers gave us a pass without the usual checks, thanks to Matt’s connections, or maybe it was just his charm. Either way, we were in.
He steered me through the crowd on the club’s main floor with casual ease, ignoring the bar and weaving past groups of men shouting over the music. We made our way toward a far corner where a thick red door stood behind a velvet rope, guarded by a bouncer built like a truck.
We had to pass a full body metal detector before he slipped a red wristband around each of our wrists without a word and opened the door.
The change was instant.
Gone was the blaring music and drunken screeches. Here, everything was more mellow and exquisite.
I let my eyes roam slowly with detachment.
Plush velvet couches in deep burgundy curved around a sleek central stage. Thin, sheer curtains hung between sections, offering the illusion of privacy while still keeping the atmosphere open.
The air buzzed quietly with laughter and clinking glasses and low voices. Even the staff and waitresses in skimpy lace uniforms moved gracefully through the space, topping off drinks without ever interrupting conversation.
Matt jabbed me with an idiot grin. “What do you think?”
“It doesn’t look like a health violation waiting to happen.”
“High praise coming from you,” he said with a laugh. “Come on, let’s go meet the others.”
Matt walked beside me through velvet ropes and curvature walls before leading me to a private VIP Lounge that opened into a very spacious elevated booth with an unobstructed view of the performance stage.
The guys were already seated with drinks in hand and their eyes glued on the performance stage where a couple of scantily clothed performers were dancing around a chrome-pole. The room pulsed with hoots and catcalls along with dollar bills flying around the venue like confetti in celebration of the performance.
Matt threw his arms out like a game-show host. “Gentlemen, the man of the hour… correction, the man who actually matters —Lucian.”
A few heads turned.
“Yo, what’s up?” one guy said, leaning in to fist-bump me. I accepted the gesture without any warmth.
Another guy offered a handshake. “Heard about you. I’m Connor.”
I clasped his hand for a second just for the sake of civility. “Likewise.”
The moment of introduction was over as quickly as it started and the group’s attention swung right back to the stage where another woman was now upside down, legs split, the crowd going wild. One guy whistled, another tossed a stack of singles that scattered across the platform like petals.
I slid into the seat beside Matt and he passed me a glass already half-filled with amber liquid. I took it without comment, cradling it in my hand instead of drinking.
I sat there unmoving, letting the vibrating music, the sea of noise and erotic movement of bodies wash over me. Present but not part of it.
Honestly, I don’t understand how anyone found this enjoyable—spending their nights drenched in noise, in sweat, in chaos. But then again, I wasn’t exactly the target audience.
I was deep in that thought and disconnected from everything when Matt elbowed me lightly, forcing me to lift my head.
The room has quiet down to a hush and movements were stilled. Then the house lights were slowly dimmed and when a single spotlight sliced through the haze, it landed on the stage. On her.
My fingers tightened around the glass in my hand as I watched her.
She’s standing still on the stage in red leather that left very little to the imagination and a black mask hiding half her face like she has done this a hundred times. Like the room was hers even before she opens her mouth or move a muscle.
My eyes locked, just instinct at first but something held.
She didn’t look at our direction as her eyes did a quick sweep of the room.
A slow, dangerous heat suddenly pooled low in my body and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t look away from her.
I leaned back in my chair, my interest thoroughly piqued. “Who’s that?”
“Welcome to the club, dearest cousin.” Matt replied. “That is Lux, the person we’re here for.” 

CORINNE
 
The second that spotlight lit up the stage, everything else faded. I did my usual sweep of the crowd —not out of curiosity, but just to get a read on who I’d have to deal with tonight. Honestly, it was almost always the same scene: a bunch of half-wasted finance guys reeking of expensive cologne and unresolved issues, showing off their designer suits like it made them important. Old money heirs slouched in velvet chairs like royalty, trying to look bored while slipping bills into girls’ garters with sweaty fingers. And the frat boys with their backwards caps barely covering the empty space where common sense should be. Loud, red-faced, reeking of—
My thoughts stalled as my eyes locked on someone who didn’t belong.
He wasn’t like the rest. He wasn’t leaning forward, drooling at the sight of bare skin. He wasn’t laughing with his company or reaching for his wallet. He sat still like the whole place is a bad joke and he was just waiting for the punchline.
It was his eyes that got to me the most. They were just… dull. There was no amusement. No curiosity. Just a quiet, distant stare aimed directly at me.
It shouldn’t have affected me. I don’t dance for validation.
But the way he’s watching me, like he’s seeing straight through the red leather and found nothing of interest stings and it’s pissing me off.
I want to break that calm. Wanted to see what it would take to make him move. To make him react. To light something behind those dead eyes.
And I will.
The first beat rolled through the floor and into my spine. Benny’s hand settled briefly at my lower back as I stepped forward, the lights shifting into deep golds and reds. Muscle memory took over. This routine was etched into my body—every turn, every brush of skin practiced to perfection.
But tonight feels different as I move.
The crowd was loud, but none of it mattered. I wasn’t performing for the drunkards in tailored suits and too much cologne. My main focus was him…the man who looked like he’d already bought the club just to have somewhere to brood.
Benny spun me around then caught me with his hand resting just above my thigh. I let my leg brush up his side, just enough to spark some heat before slipping back down. My head fell back while he leaned over me, his fingers tracing along my jaw before pulling away. My hands slide up his chest with my fingertips skimming his collar as I pushed myself up and quickly turned around on my heel.
When I leaned forward, he caught me with one arm around my middle, the other skimming my thigh as I dipped into him and twisted free just as fast.
Our bodies twisted and turned like smoke to every beat and as the beat neared its end, he came closer, whispering low beside my ear with that same grin he always wore after a good set. “Damn, baby have mercy on their poor souls. You’re gonna send someone into cardiac arrest.”
I laughed under my breath, lips twitching into a smirk as I pushed him away with a teasing flick of my hip.
The cheers hit harder as I took center stage alone, chest rising and falling. When the lights cut, Benny slipped backstage, leaving me surrounded by silence and money.
Bills littered the floor and instead of basking in the attention, I searched the crowd till my eyes found him. He hasn’t moved. But his eyes weren’t looking at me again.
My next act was supposed to be a chair and a pole dance.
Keyword: supposed to.
The music swelled and instead of easing into position, I kicked the damn chair aside with the heel of my boot—hard enough to make it clatter and draw gasps. I stepped out of one boot. Then the other.
I felt Benny’s stare from across the room, could practically hear his ‘what the hell are you doing’ voice, but I didn’t stop.
This is a terrible idea, every cell in my body screamed it.
The stage was my safe zone and my control. The line no one was allowed to cross. And as long as I stay on it, no one could touch me. If the guests wanted to grope and feel, they should’ve damn well stayed in the open club downstairs.
But he wasn’t looking at me like the others and I couldn’t stand it.
So I broke my own rule.
The spotlight chased me as I descended the stage with my bare feet silent against the floor and my chin lifted high.
Whispers and murmurs rippled across the crowd.
“What the hell is she doing?”
“Is this part of the act?”
“Oh my god…”
I pretended not to notice the stunned silence that followed me like a shadow. Pretended I didn’t hear the muttered disbelief, or see the way the rest of his group shifted in their seats when I walked towards them.
If I was going to burn, I’ll make damn sure he watches me do it.
I stopped directly in front of him and lowered myself in time with the bass, settling between his knees without touching him. He sat there like a king on a throne with his legs parted, arms draped lazily over the sides of the chair and one hand loosely holding a glass of wine.
And God… up close, he looks even more dangerous. Sculpted in shadows and sharp lines, his face cold and unreadable but captivating in a way that made my pulse betray me. Something about him tug at a memory I couldn’t quite reach. Now wasn’t the time to wonder though.
We locked eyes. His were a shade so dark and piercing, I was certain he could see through every move in the game I thought I was playing.
I dropped lower, letting my fingers trace the floor as I crawled closer and began to mouth the lyrics of the song. “You want it bad, don’t you? Say it…”
When I slid up into his lap with my thighs pressed to the sides of his and my hands planted on the armrest beside his shoulders, the gasps behind me surged.
I knew this was reckless. But the second I started moving my hips against him, slow and rolling, like sin in rhythm, I stopped caring.
If he wanted me off, he could easily shove me away.
He didn’t.
He didn’t move. He didn’t touch me, even as I leaned in just a fraction, dragging my lips into a wicked smile as I mouthed along with the next line. “Beg for it… I might just let you…”
Still nothing.
Then his brow lifted slightly like he was silently daring me.
Was that a challenge?
Fine.
I began to move with more passion than I had before, grinding my body down into his lap while still maintaining some space between our bodies. Then I adjusted to run both of my hands over my thighs, upward to my waist, across the curve of my breasts and into my hair as I took out the rubber band and flipped the waves back.
I rolled my hips following the beat of the music as I lip-synced each sinful lyric to him. And at the next beat, I shifted my body around on his lap with a very watery, controlled twerk down toward the ground. His hands stayed on the armrests, but I could feel the tension radiating off him like heat as my movements grew filthier, but never frantic.
And at the swell of the music, I hooked my fingers into my stockings and tore them up the side, splitting a clean line along my thigh.
Then I turned back to him, leaning in so close my lips hovered right by his ear as I whispered the last line, my words barely a breath on his skin. “You’ll be mine before the night is over…”
The song faded, but I stayed put. Still straddling him, still catching my breath.
He hadn’t touched me.
Not once.
And yet somehow, I had the strange, spine-tingling feeling that he’d been the one in control the whole time.
His gaze followed me with quiet intensity, like he was committing every detail to memory. When I reached for his glass, he released it easily, never breaking eye contact.
I brought the glass to my lips and took a teasing sip, letting the wine stain my mouth as my eyes stayed locked on his. Then I threw my head back and gulped down the rest of the wine in one smooth swallow.
His stare burned hotter.
When I was done, I licked the last drop off my bottom lip, letting my tongue drag in slow motion then I dragged the back of my hand across my mouth, before I slowly rose from his lap.
I took two steps forward, then turned back and tossed him a smile dripping in satisfaction. “Good job.”
There was a shift and tick of his jaw, followed by a sharp gleam of something dangerous and delicious finally flashing in those cold, lifeless eyes.
That was enough for me.
Victory sparked low in my belly as I turned on my heel and made my way off the floor, bare feet brushing against spilled bills and champagne-stained tiles. I was practically vibrating when I reached the hallway.
But the moment I pushed past the velvet curtain and into the quiet, Benny was there.
“What the hell was that, sugar?” he hissed, eyes wide with a mix of concern and disbelief. “Are you outta your damn mind?”
That was the thing.
I wasn’t thinking. Not when I danced, not when I went down there, not when I touched him.
Fuck!
The heat that had been burning through me began to cool, replaced with a slow-creeping panic that clawed up my throat.
I blinked, swallowed.
“Oh my God,” I whispered, dread curling tight in my chest.
“What the fuck did I just do?”