Chapter 22-B: You think you're so clever, don't you? But you're just a coward who steals from rapists instead of stopping them.***
Yuri and Zigi dragged Zhu Ting into the rundown brothel's reception, all flashy decor and peeling wallpaper. Behind the counter stood Jackie—big tits, bad attitude, name tag crooked on her tight blouse. Her eyes raked over them, lingering on their scuffed shoes before settling on their grimy faces with pure disgust.
"What's with that look, Jackie?" Zigi snickered, immediately recognizing her. "Last time I was here, you were practically screaming my name—unless that was another Jackie working the VIP room?" The book snapped shut under her palm, her mouth twisting like she'd tasted something sour.
Jackie rolled her eyes, her lips thinning. "You came here to sleep with the girls for free with the guise of 'training' them for free, Zigi. Aren't you ashamed. Madam only let it slide 'cause your little boss kisses her ass', so you better not push it."
A sigh, then the bare minimum of professionalism: "What d'you want?" Zigi just shrugged, still grinning. "Yuri's running shit today. And relax—you'd look prettier smiling."
Jackie's expression froze, the disdain sharpening into palpable disgust because, among the usual crew, Yuri was the one the females despised the most. The dude had ice where his heart should be, treating women like disposable crap. Jackie had almost gotten burned by him once herself, and yeah, she could see the same dead-eyed calculation in Elijah too, but at least Elijah put on a show of being halfway decent. Yuri couldn't even be bothered to fake it.
Yuri ignored the hostility, pushing Zhu Ting forward. "She came to work. We already talked to the Madam about the one-night fee."
Just then, another girl rushed in, whispering something urgent to Jackie. She nodded, tapped a few keys on the computer, and pulled out a crumpled form. Without looking up, she slid it across the counter to Zhu Ting along with a chewed-up pen. "Fill this."
Zhu Ting looked at Yuri helplessly, but the latter just nodded impatiently. "Hurry up. It's just paperwork."
She bit her lips and started filling the form—name, age, known illnesses, next of kin (she left that blank). Zigi hovered behind her, peering at the paper with undisguised interest, then snorted at the "previous experience" section. "Put 'enthusiastic amateur,'" he said, cracking up when her pen froze. Jackie snatched the form away before she could finish, scanning it with narrowed eyes. "Room 3B. She can wait there. Her client will be here soon."
Yuri nodded and pulled Zhu Ting toward the dim hallway, leaving Zigi standing at the reception. Zigi smiled and gazed at the other girl who had just come in. Before she could react, his hand slapped her ass making her yelp. He grope and kneeded it with his fingers digging in hard. He only released her when Jackie threw a stapler at his head.
The girl just laughed, shaking her head like this was nothing new. "Not today, Zigi," she said, that same cynical smirk on her face. "Got a client waiting." She strutted off, leaving him frustrated and simmering. Zigi shot Jackie a dirty look, but she barely glanced up from her ledger, her smirk saying everything as she went back to work—like he wasn't even worth the effort.
———
Akari sat curled up in the corner of Vanessa's couch. She wasn't moving but had a neutral look dead set on the closed bedroom door where the lewd, muffled noises had begun to drift out. Her hands clenched in her lap, nails biting into her palms. Not because she was upset, but because she was thinking.
The moans from next door just wouldn't quit—getting louder by the second. Akari didn't even notice her own hand moving until it was already under her shirt, like her body had a mind of its own. Her fingers brushed against her breast, skin warm and firm beneath them. She bit down on her lip, pissed at how turned on those sounds made her, but her hand kept going anyway, fingertips circling her nipple. She hated this, hated how she couldn't make herself stop with her thighs clamping together like a damn vice.
Her face stayed dead serious, eyes locked on the bedroom door without blinking, but her fingers didn't get the memo. They kept at it, pinching her nipple lightly between two fingers, rolling it slow while Vanessa's muffled whimpers seeped through the wall.
Inside the room, the session was far from over. Vanessa had just taken Eli in fully, and she was trying to steady her breathing to adjust to the stretch. Eli didn't rush her; he kept his hands behind his head, letting her find her own rhythm.
With a shaky breath, she lifted herself up, then sank back down slowly, taking her time. Eli couldn't look away, hypnotized by the way her wet heat clung to him, the obscenely slick spot where they were joined.
When she rose again, there was less hesitation this time—her thighs flexing as she ground down in a slow circle, the stretch bordering on painful but deliciously so. Her fingers closed around Eli's wrist, dragging his hand back to her breast, her nipple already hard against his palm. Sweat made her skin slide easily under his grip.
Eli grinned and gave her a rough squeeze as she kept riding him, leaning down to crush her mouth against his. He tangled his fingers in her hair mid-kiss, pulling her harder against his mouth as she ground down on him—her legs shaking from the effort. The bed creaked under them, the steady thumping mixing with the slick sound of skin on skin and Vanessa's broken moans buzzing against his lips. He leaned back just far enough to take her in—eyes foggy with pleasure, lips puffy from kissing, sweat glistening along her collarbone as she lifted herself almost completely off him before slamming back down.
Eli laughed and gripped her ass with both hands, lifting her just enough to control her rhythm—pulling her down harder each time, making her take every inch until her legs shook. The blissful agony she felt made her throw her head back to squeal in delight, her fingers clutching at his shoulders to study herself as sweat dripped from her collarbones onto his chest.
His fingers bit into her hips, nails leaving little half-moons in her skin as he rasped, "Faster—" and god, she couldn't stop herself if she tried. Vanessa moved like her body wasn't hers anymore, just pistoning against him until they were both panting. Her breasts swayed wildly with each snap of her body, beads of sweat trickling down the valley between them before dripping onto his abdomen. The obscene squelch of her slick walls clenching around him filled the room, the sound loud enough to drown out her choked whimpers whenever he thrust up to meet her downward strokes.
Suddenly, a shudder ran through her as an orgasm hit her like a freight train. Her thighs locked around his hips and her nails dug into his shoulders. Not that he cared; the pain only sharpened the delicious grip of her around him. He watched with predatory fascination, holding back his own release just to drag it out—forcing her to ride out the aftershocks while he remained mercilessly hard inside her.
He didn't let her catch her breath. Still buried inside, he flipped her onto her back, then rolled her onto her knees in one smooth move. Vanessa gasped as the sheets pressed against her chest, ass in the air, his hands gripping her hips to keep her where he wanted. The abrupt shift had her whimpering as her oversensitive walls clenched around him, still throbbing from her first orgasm. He leaned over her back, pressing his lips against her shoulder blade as he murmured, "Again," before dragging himself almost completely out only to slam back in with a sharp snap of his hips that knocked a broken scream from her throat.
He grabbed her hair with one hand, while his other hand fumbled with the phone, angling it under them for that low, voyeuristic shot. He kept thrusting in deep enough to drag a muffled cry from her throat, her toes curling into the sheets.
Before she could catch her breath, his palm cracked against her ass, the sound sharp enough to echo. Vanessa jerked at the sting, back arching as another climax tore through her before he'd even found his rhythm, her thighs shaking so bad she could barely breathe.
Akari, still curled on the couch, pressed her thighs tighter together, her fingers now sliding beneath her waistband towards the wetness soaking through her panties. She could practically feel the stretch Vanessa must be enduring with each moan from the room.
The two, oblivious to her plight, only continued. Eli's thrusts grew erratic, his grip bruising as he chased his own release with rapid thrusts, making Vanessa squeal more at the toe-curling pleasure. Her fingers clawed at the sheets, her moans dissolving into breathless whimpers as another orgasm crashed over her. Eli cursed, hips stuttering before he shoved all the way in with a groan, spilling into her with hot pulses that made Vanessa shudder with each twitch of his body.
He grabbed his phone quickly. A quick shove rolled her onto her back, the last spurts landing across her stomach as he angled the camera for a close-up. She barely reacted when he wiped himself off with her discarded bra before tossing it aside like a used napkin.
"Annnd cut," he snorted, thumbing the stop button on both cameras before collapsing next to her. "Not bad, V. Better than the first time. Still clenching like a fucking virgin though." He stretched out, legs splayed like he owned the mattress while Vanessa lay there gasping and limbs still twitching with aftershocks.
Somehow she found the energy to rip off the sweaty mask, flinging it toward the laundry pile. "Done," she slurred, voice fuzzy with exhaustion. "Gonna pass out now."
Eli glanced at his phone—4 PM already. He scrolled through the footage, liking what he saw, then locked the screen. Vanessa was already half out of it, curled up on her side with the sheets clinging to her sweaty skin. He got up, stretching like he'd just finished a gym session instead of what they'd actually been doing, and scooped up his clothes from the floor.
"Gotta bounce," he said. "Iris'll throw a fit if I'm late, and you know she'll run her mouth to Elara. Won't be around till next week also."
Vanessa barely nodded, too wiped to talk, already slipping under. Eli grinned, gave her ass a playful smack, and threw his clothes on. He collected the cameras ensuring all footage was saved on it also. Pocketing it with his phone, he looked back at her, still pink and sprawled out, and chuckled before heading for the door.
Akari was still curled in the sofa, successfully pretending to sleep. Eli approached her, giving her leg a quick, sharp kick. "We're leaving."
Her eyes flew open—just for a split second, but the look she gave him could've sliced steel. Then it was gone, tucked away behind a blank face as she stood and followed without a word.
As they walked out, Eli leaned in close. "You know best not to say anything to Iris or Elara, right?" His smile was casual.
The girl scoffed, the sound quiet but venomous. "I'm not stupid."
Eli smirked. "You weren't, huh? Then maybe you should've been smarter than to let some rando fuck you raw on a train, wouldn't you agree?"
Akari's face darkened instantly, the air between them turned thick enough to choke on. She planted her feet, swung her leg, and kicked him square behind the knee. As he staggered with a grunt, she yanked him back by the collar, dragging his face inches from hers. Her voice came out low but venomous.
"Fuck you. You think you're so clever, don't you? But you're just a vulture who steals from rapists instead of stopping them. At least they're honest about what they are. But you…you're pathetic."
Eli kept that stupid smirk on his face, even with her glaring daggers at him. "Maybe. But I'm still the one walking away with the cash. Don't know what got into you these past couple hours but you've gotten too bold and cocky for some reason, and I find it quit intriguing…" He gave her a rough shove, and walked ahead, not bothering to look back at her. "Don't forget, Akari. Your 'bravery' only lasted until your legs gave out on that train."
Akari stood frozen for a second, fist clenched hard as she stared at his back. Then her mouth twisted into this slow, vicious grin—the kind that'd make a wolf think twice. "We'll see about that," she muttered, barely loud enough to hear, before falling into step exactly three feet behind him.
The whole walk home, neither said a word. The air between them might as well have been made of knives.