Chapter One
"So you're really going through with this?"
Ariel Lancaster swallowed against the knot in her throat as an inkling of doubt slowly crept inside at her sister Isabel's words. Her stomach filled with nervousness, but she managed to push the anxiety aside. Ariel wasn't going to let any uncertainties stop her. She was positively going to go through with this. Though she loved her sister with all her heart, her determination to go through with this wouldn't be changed.
She would have her ultimate fantasy fulfilled, and she would do it in a way where she was sure she wouldn't be hurt, either physically or emotionally.
She moved her hand to the mouse and clicked the “about us” tab on the Web site. She hoped rereading the information a second time would reaffirm her decision that she'd made the right choice in selecting this particular club.
Capture Inc. was an exclusive club that fulfilled clients’ fantasies. They were very selective about their clientele, and each individual was interviewed by either John Martinez, the owner of Capture Inc., or his co-owner and younger brother Sean.
John. It was a common name, but still it threatened to bring a painful part of her past to the forefront of her mind. She'd worked hard to move on, and had hoped her past would stay buried. Though the outcome of the accident was more than she could have hoped for, the guilt had eaten her alive. She couldn't forget the damage and pain she'd caused.
In all the years since the accident, every time she heard the name John, she'd force herself to forget, remembering there was absolutely no chance he would be the same person. If she didn't squash the memories away, the guilt would consume her. It had taken her years to get to this point in her life, and she couldn't allow herself to be swallowed whole by her shameful act.
There were probably millions of men named John in this world, and it would be a very slim chance he was the same one connected to her past. Besides, she lived in a different city now, and on the heels of that thought, she forced herself to concentrate on the here and now.
The club was John and Sean's joint venture and had been in business for two years. All members’ identities were protected, and there was never sharing of any information. A background check was required as well as a psychologist's evaluation, a physical examination, and a personal one-on-one meeting with either John or Sean. Capture Inc. employed men and women who were put through a more detailed rigorous credentials check, and employees were evaluated by the resident psychologist every six months to ensure they were still suited for the job.
The same information listed in a newspaper article along with a personal anonymous review was what caught Ariel's eye in the first place.
Ariel didn't think John and Sean's requirements were extreme. Their prerequisites were strict for a reason: to protect each person. The club promised to make their customers’ fantasies come true, in every sense of the word. Though sex wasn't listed on the Web site, the introduction posted promised to meet the customers’ satisfaction. Ariel would be delusional into thinking that statement didn't include sex, but she'd bring that up when she met with the owner.
"This just isn't you, Ariel."
She could admit going ahead with her plan was out of character for her. She was, after all, a thirty-year-old history professor who maybe had had two boyfriends in her entire life. It was primarily because she'd always had her head buried in books, finding enjoyment in getting lost in them. But years of doing so had taught her men, especially the untamed type she was attracted to, didn't find her love for history, nor her intelligence sexy.
So maybe she'd never meet the perfect man, who'd want to spend the rest of his life with her, but she damned well could at least give herself this—one full day of ecstasy.
"This may not be the normal me, Isabel, but I do intend to go through with the fantasy."
She was used to keeping her dirty little secret buried, and until recently no one had ever known what that was. But she'd confessed to her sister, hoping she'd understand.
A capture fantasy bordered on insane for the simple fact that no one would comprehend why she wanted to be dominated and to have her control forcefully stripped from her. But the domination was only part of it. It aroused her, the thought of being tied down and completely helpless, at the mercy and in the hands of an alpha male.
Isabel rose to her feet and began to pace. “This seems dangerous, and the very idea that there is a company like this out there is insane."
Ariel knew her younger sister's doubtfulness was a mixture of worry for Ariel, and fear. Isabel had been attacked a month ago. Her purse had been ripped from her while she walked home, and the man who'd done it hadn't ran away once he had her wallet and personal items. He had forced Isabel into an alley. But before he had the chance to do anything else to her, a couple who had seen the attack had bravely stopped it, shouting at the criminal, who in turn had run. Minutes later, the police had arrived, but the man had never been caught. Since then, Isabel had changed, becoming too overprotective and overly cautious. Besides work or visiting Ariel, Isabel rarely interacted with anyone else. Isabel had lost a part of herself that night, and it worried Ariel.