She often found herself musing on the lives of the clientele outside of the club, their reasons for being here, and whether it lived up to their expectations. Like that stunning woman who came in almost every Friday—short, dark hair, nicely toned body, with a hint of sadness hanging over her that made Cassie want to wrap her up in a big hug and ask her what was wrong.

That night, her thoughts drifted almost continuously to Nina through the evening. She’d been unable to shake off the excited tension that had infused her body since their interaction earlier. Nina—and fantasies of what she’d like to do with Nina—filled her brain. That bloody book hadn’t helped. Not to mention the things she saw at work each week. The thoughts that came to her shocked her in a way she still wasn’t quite comfortable with.

Up until now, with her handful of female lovers, Cassie hadn’t been the initiator, content to be led, to take direction. Her thoughts about Nina, however, were anything but passive. If she allowed herself to dwell on it—which she rarely did—there was something about Nina that made Cassie ache to assert control over her. She wanted to subdue Nina, take back her power. She wanted to pin her down, tie her up, and listen to her beg for mercy…

God, she was so wet.

At a quarter to two, Mandy remotely flicked all the lights in the club a couple of times. That signalled a last call of sorts. At that point, the women had about ten minutes to finish and get themselves presentable for the journey home. Cassie’s last couple had left shortly after one, and she was well ahead on her closing duties. She gathered empty bottles and glasses from around the room, straightened the furniture, and wiped down everything with a sterilized towel to pass the time until closing.

The last few women to leave started drifting through from Blue and Red. Cassie was careful not to make eye contact. They were expected to be politely professional, and on no account were they to be anything more than that with the clientele, no matter how tempting the offer. Tracey had been aggressively propositioned only once, and that woman had been evicted. Each bar had a panic button that went through to the office, and Mandy had responded in a shot, strong-arming the woman quietly and efficiently out the front door before she knew what had even happened to her. Mandy did not have the build you might expect of a bouncer, but apparently no situation fazed her.

Eventually, Tracey and Nina wedged open the doors to their respective rooms, signaling that their parts of the club were empty. She did the same to her door through to the hallway.