Repercussions

THE COLLECTIVE

A DARK STAR STORY

INTERLUDE 2 -- REPERCUSSIONS

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Taking the shaker bottle in her hand she mixed the whey powder into the water.

The first sip of the vile milky looking drink made her face sneer with disgust, whichever marketing genius had branded the supplement as 'Strawberry Heaven' was really stretching the truth Ari Walker-Smith thought to herself as she set the plastic bottle down on the vast island in the centre of the pristine white modern kitchen. The kitchen that had recently been gutted and refitted at significant cost as just one part of her new fiancé Marco Mancini's renovation of the inherited family mansion.

Her box fresh Nike trainers squeaked in protest on the polished tiled floor as she unzipped the little grey zip through hooded top and draped it over the back of the stool to the left of the one she perched herself atop of before reaching back for the insipidly flavoured strawberry drink that was barely tainted pink in colour.

Ari delayed the prospect of heading to the existing gym situated on the ground floor of the twelve-bedroom property. She was bored, she was restless, she had only gotten dressed into the tight little black Lycra shorts and sports bra that clung to her slender body to break the monotony of the empty lonely days at the isolated countryside residence, the large wall mounted clock to her left indicating it was seven hours before she needed to be at her own fairly recent inheritance.

He had warned her that the place was addictive. Ari had not believed him, Logan Hughes, she had superficially only accepted the night club given the likely real estate value its prime City Centre location constituted. Now that she lived and breathed for being at the venue and relished in the day-to-day necessities that came with running the busy venue her opinion had changed. While she still had much to despise Logan Hughes for once again she had so much to be grateful to him for.

Try as she might she knew she could never truly hold a grudge against the man, there was something far beyond an enigmatic charm to him. "When we were good, we were good weren't we?" Ari heard his words echo through her mind, the memory of their last conversation held, the last time she had seen him, the day he had signed the Dark Star over to her on his further statement that she was the only person he trusted with the establishment. Why was another matter, she had no experience she had no genuine clue how to run such a business let alone one with such a fearsome reputation, a reputation matched only by the crippling debts under which the venue operated.

In a room above her the sound of an electric drill pulled Ari from her thoughts and daydreaming reminiscence. The sound causing her to jump a little forgetting about the Polish carpenter come labourer who had spent the last four days diligently converting one of the twelve bedrooms for a purpose born of her conviction and needs. A wry smile crossing her face at the promise made to her by Janis, a promise that the project would be finished today. The project Ari had meticulously planned herself but so far, as difficult as it had been, had resisted temptation to be involved with or even view the progress of having handed the concepts and the trust for completion to the handyman hired by her fiancé.

The timing of the completion could not be anymore perfect given Marco's imminent arrival home from over three weeks away in Italy, a sojourn that was allegedly heavily laden business affairs and offered little to no time for relaxation. A premise that Ari did not believe held one modicum of truth, given theirs was as an open relationship as existed. Even with the existence of the platinum set significant carat diamond sat upon her left ring finger Ari knew Marco much like many of the men in her life, including Logan Hughes, was not a man to be easily tamed. The situations suited her perfectly, even if he never approved of the two-way nature of such unstated agreements. Ari sought the stability but needed the excitement in her life.

A little over half an hour later Ari found herself lost to the enigma of dreadfully mundane day time television, the protein shake still stood before her, discarded in favour of her second cup of strong black coffee as she idly watched the dull home renovation programme over the distraction she had initially sought from the running machine in the gymnasium.

"Miss Arabella" the gravelly male voice offered from over her shoulder.

The intrusion made her jump a little so distracted had she been by her mundanity, she had not even heard him approach her from behind.

Composing herself Ari slid from the stool on which she sat and turned to face him. Easily ten to fifteen years her senior Janis was not classically good looking, but his rugged features and scruffy hair held a certain attraction. His physical form suggested he took care of himself, or the rigours of his manual labour assisted his well-built physique. His grey blue eyes, set amongst his brooding features were captivating as she observed them cast none to surreptitiously over her. She knew full well she left little to his imagination given the tight fit of her Lycra ensemble. She made no move to cover herself with either her arms or the grey hoody that hung over the chair to her left.

"Hi," she offered in response, her heart no longer in her chest.

"I... well I'm about all done." Janis offered, his eye eventually meeting hers.

"Great," Ari almost dismissively offered back, reaching back for the TV remote control to turn down the volume, "Mr Mancini will arrange payment when he's back... as agreed."

"There's no problem with that..." Janis offered his hands casually slipping into his paint splattered jeans pockets as his eyes lingered on her once more, "...Do you want to check that everything is to your preference before I leave."

"Well, if it's not..." Ari offered on a teasing little smirk "...you won't get paid until it is."

Her attempt at humour and her smirk appeared lost, judging by the look of contempt that crosses his rugged features.

"I'm sure everything perfect" Ari quickly interjected so as not to cause offence, the Builders Contractors Janis worked for had carried out a number of significant and cosmetic renovations around the property in recent months. 'Casa Vigna' was not a name Ari was fond of but like many of the quirks of the vast Mansion she had moved into the old fashioned mixed with the new and changing the name of the property was off the table for debate. Slowly but surely though with her influence and Marco's vast wealth the Mansion neared completion in terms of its almost total overhaul since Marco had inherited the property from his late Father.

"I've never worked on such a project before..." Janos offered with a raised eyebrow, "...It's... it's certainly unique."

"That's what I'm hoping for..." Ari grinned, "...show me what you've created."

A palpable excitement gripped Ari as she followed Janis out of the kitchen. She had been given free rein on conversion of the property's smallest bedroom. Her suggestion had required little persuasion of her fiancé with the project appealing as much to his darker needs and desires as her own. Her plans had been meticulous if a little rudimentary. For the last three days she had fought her intrigue to even enter the room when Janis had left at the end of each working day. In her mind she wanted only to see the completed perfect room, a slight reticence now grips her as she heads through the hallway that leads to the bottom of the stairs, a thought process that she might be disappointed by her own visions of grandiose and the difference of what constituted perfection to the handyman.

At the bottom of the dog leg staircase Ari let a little smirk pass her lips as Janis stepped aside, acting the gentleman but she fully appreciated that following her up the stairs would afford him an unfettered view up the backs of her legs and over her ass, clad only in the little black Lycra shorts.

She did not hesitate though flashing him enough of a grin to tease him as she took quickly took the first three steps to the wide deep mahogany stairs, before she heard him follow her. Ari practically bounced on the toes of her hideously underutilised training shoes.

At the top of the stairs, she heard Janis draw close as she slowed to let him pass and lead the way along the door lined corridor that led from to the left from the top of the staircase.

"You've got me nervous" Ari offered honestly.

"How so Miss Arabella?" Janis replied without looking back in her direction.

"That this might not be as I expected" Ari stated as she came to a stop outside of the slightly ajar door to the converted room, her breath held in a suspense that was unwarranted. If the room did not meet her expectations it would be converted until it did.

"Like I say I never work a job like this before" Janis offered on his broken undertaking of the English language. "Let's show you what I create."

Reaching out a wide hand Janis pushed open the double doors to afford Ari her first true glimpse at what lay beyond, she did not acknowledge or speak to the Polish labourer as she stepped past him and into the dimly lit room.

The requested wooden shutters latched across the windows of the room, combined with the walls painted a deep red in colour ensured that any natural light was lost to the oppressive yet atmospheric darkness of the room.

Ari heard the flick of the light switch as Janis flicked the switch, LED lights embedded with in the high ceiling illuminated to shine down upon the key features of the room, Ari drew in breath at the sight of what stood before her.

"Beautiful" Ari silently whispered,

To her left just inside the double doors a cascade of shelves lined the walls, made of a stained black wood the shelves were to be adorned with the collection of bespoke pieces she had ordered not just for display but for very practical purpose. Directly in front of her bolted firmly to the wall, sat an imposing St Andrews cross that was adorned with upholstered black leather cushions that were embedded with red stitch detail that matched the same colours as the freshly painted walls.

To her right the bespoke created wide black wooden framed bed lay. The mattress that sat atop of the bed still wrapped in protective thick plastic. She turned her head to the wall behind her. The breath held in her chest as she observed the magnificence of the life size crucifix mounted to the wall directly above the bed. Her eyes feasting on the multitude of eyelets sunk into the thick wooden frame just as they did the St Andrews cross that it faced.

She had barely comprehended the final item that sat rigid upon the stained black floorboards that she stood upon.

Under any other circumstance the thick wooden pillory might look macabre but its position between the bed and the far wall made for an exquisite centre piece to the perfection that Ari had created in her minds eye that somehow Janis had expertly recreated to practically match every detail she had ever hoped the room could be.

Drawn to the pillory Ari's heart raced in her chest as she ran her hand across the top of the thick black wood, noting the details of the leather padding set in the grooves for wrists and neck, intricate detail that matched the same leather of the St Andrews Cross, she casually traced her finger over stark red stitching where her throat would lay.

Her fingers then glancing across the lock latches that held the pillory locked in this moment as she looked up toward Janis for the first time since entering the room.

"I don't know what to say..." she softly uttered.

"You like?" Janis offered stepping forward and closing the gap between the two of them as he cast his eye over his own handiwork.

"It's... it's perfect..." Ari gushed unashamed at the intent the room obviously held. "...I don't know how to thank you."

Twenty minutes later breathless from Janis' use of her body Ari shuddered as she felt him slip his considerable girth from her sated body. Her wrists and neck held firm within the soft leather of the pillory that restrained her firmly as she stretched out her aching limbs as best as she could in her restraint.

Sweat soaked her body, with her sports bra somewhat uncomfortably pressed up over her breasts to exposed them and her pierced nipples felt uncomfortable. Her little black shorts sat around her trainer clad feet. The wet sensation of his heavy deposit slipping down the inside of her left thigh as she clenched her pelvis to expel as much of his ejaculate as she could was a fitting tribute to her acquiescent performance.

Her legs trembled, aching from lactic acid and the after effect of the shuddering orgasm that had gripped her body following the brutal yet stimulating use the Eastern European labourer had extolled.

"You'd better set me free," Ari offered on a throat left dry from her first experience in the Pillory in herself designed Playroom.

She had not thought long over how to express her gratitude. This being only the second fuck she had ever experienced in a Pillory, it had been every bit as memorable as her first.

As her eyeline drifted to the glint of the solitaire diamond embedded in the ring on her left hand in the dim light Ari smirked. What Marco did not know never harmed him.

It had not taken long to make her debut within her new playroom, her loneliness, frustration and boredom all satisfyingly quelled in the short term via one high octane surrender to her unquenchable desire, to her one true weakness.

**********

The Dark Star was not exactly busy.

Two separate groups of individuals dwelled amongst the darkness offered amongst the neon lights that lit the venue. In the background low music played as accompaniment that nobody truly paid any attention to.

The sound of the music not quite loud enough to drown out the testosterone fuelled increasingly raised voices of the larger of the two groups of males sat mainly to the far right-hand side of the main bar that Ari worked. Her only assistance coming in the form of Natalia a freshly recruited stunning looking dark-haired girl who as she recalled was of Ukrainian heritage.

Beyond Natalia the only other employees were the smattering of girls employed in an official capacity as hostesses. Ari knew full well and of old in what capacity the girls genuinely worked. A side of the Dark Star she had inherited from Logan Hughes. A side she was not entirely comfortable with, but one that brought associated direct and indirect profits that she did conversely fully understand, glancing along her left shoulder observing the slender red head cajoling the two suited businessmen into yet another purchase of a steeply price bottle of Champagne.

Private hire parties such as the one being held tonight for Willoughby Fairclough offered a healthy and much needed boost to profits that would not have been experienced on a typical Wednesday night even if she had flung the doors of the establishment wide open with the additional incentive of free entry. Ari was no financial expert but even with her rudimentary understanding of the venues incomings and outgoings she knew that even the sharp uptake in revenue generated by the ever-busy Friday and Saturday night footfall was barely keeping the inauspiciously inherited club afloat.

Ari knew of the name of the corporation whose employees stood around her, not least as her sister Hannah had once worked as an accountant at firm. Beyond that she had as much knowledge of the firm as she did the whereabouts of her Sister these days. Such had been the vicious circumstance of the last time she had been in Hannah's company following the implosion of everyone's lives at the hand of Logan Hughes. Circumstances Ari could not profess to be removed from, knowing full well the role in proceedings she had played herself.

"Have one for yourself" the not unattractive thirty something male stood before her at the bar stated.

"Why thank you," Ari offered sincerely, absent mindedly pouring a shot of neat Vodka into a shot glass within seconds of his offer.

Tapping the glass against the black marble surface of the bar she swigged the clear liquid back swiftly on a single swig, seeking yet falling to suppress the reminder of her sister and her former lover with the harshness of the liquor.

"Someone's thirsty," the dark-haired male chuckled.

"You and your colleagues are keeping me and Natalia busy..." Ari offered politely enough with a false little smile, "...They're the ones with the real thirst."

"Some more so than others" he offers glancing across as one of his colleagues' heads across the vast empty room into the gloom that leads towards the private rooms that line the far wall of the club.

"So long as you're all kept happy" Ari smirked.

"And what if I wanted you to keep me happy?" the male asked with a slightly smarmy raise of his left eyebrow.

"Then you'd be barking up the wrong tree..." Ari offered glancing across her left shoulder to smaller group of men sat around a table in the gloom, "...and while everything has a price at the Dark Star... I'm not sure my fiancé would approve."

"What price might that be?" Was the immediate response Ari received.

It was Ari's turn to raise her eyebrows at the brash response received. Bracing herself on outstretched arms she placed her hands upon the bar. As she did her black jacket fell open to reveal her toned stomach and only the black satin bra she wore underneath. His insistence was almost infectious, since taking over the establishment while there had been temptation she had never succumb to any advances made towards her. She had remained professional and somewhat aloof as a consequence.

"Cat got your tongue?" He pressed.

"I know what curiosity did to the cat..." Ari smirked, "...you couldn't afford me so take your drinks and go chat with one of my other girls."

"How much?" He persisted.

"Five thousand" Ari mischievously stated, not pausing for thought on the figure she offered but fully aware the number stated would far outweigh any value he could truly place on her.

"Five?" he responded, not overly phased and Ari immediately questioned if she had sold herself short before even questioning what she was actually doing. "That's for the night I presume?"

"Breakfast not included," Ari chuckled as she pressed away from the bar to collect a number of empty glasses that littered the marble surface to her left.

"Maybe sometime in the future..." her suitor offered as he extended a hand across the bar to her, "...Jason Palmer by the way."

"Ari.." she responded as she placed her hand in his, "...Now go join your colleagues and enjoy your night."

"This is going to sound cliche..." Jason offered on letting go of her hand, "...I feel I know you... that I've seen you somewhere before."

"That's a terrible line Jason Palmer" Ari offered stepping away from him with a sincere enough smile but increasingly keen to draw their conversation to a close.

"Five thousand," she heard him offer as she turned her back to him to walk away.

Ari smirked to herself, amused by his insistence as she dragged her fingernails gently across the bar. At the far end of the bar one of Marco's associates waited patiently for service.

"You know where to find me" Ari stated looking back over her right shoulder with a subtle wink.

Turning away once more Ari watched the male at the end of the bar meet her eyeline as she approached him, a warm smile grew across his lips as he reached inside his jacket pocket to produce a slim leather wallet.

"Drinks for your little party are complimentary... you should have asked your hostess," Ari offered to the stranger who she believed had been sat with Marco for the last thirty minutes or so.