Erik's POV

Usually, I didn't have to worry about showing up at the performances if I wasn't feeling up to it, for everyone already knew what they had to do. It had been years since I had a new employee, and usually, I never really cared about adding new acts, for I hated the human race. I had plenty of workers that knew how to dazzle the crowds, that being the reason why I never bothered looking for more. But tonight, I had to force myself out of bed to show this new boy how to work the ticket booth. He wasn't a freak, that was certain, for beneath that burlap hat and trench coat was a normal looking young man. Why he wanted to join my traveling show was beyond my wildest imagination, but Nadir assured me that he had no place else to go.

After getting out of bed, I dressed in my finest attire and adjusted my mask. Tonight, I was going to take a leap of faith and visit one of the brothels Nadir had told me about. It wasn't something I would be proud of come morning, but the Persian was right, I needed a release. Oh, if only Christine would have loved me…I closed my eyes and tried not to think about her. Every time I thought about that witch, my blood would begin to boil. She had betrayed me, and every day that I went without the joys of the flesh, I could see her laughing at me from the back of my mind. No, tonight, I would put my demons to rest and show her that I could get pleasure from a woman. After leaving my caravan, I approached the ticket booth and spotted the lanky boy standing there waiting for me. I rolled my eyes and walked right past him and reached into the wooden booth for the empty bucket I kept there for the tickets.

"You see this?" I growled, holding the tin bucket up to his eyes. "The tickets you collect go into this."

The boy opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he never got the chance to say a word, for I picked up a roll of paper tickets and held it up with my other hand.

"When someone comes up and wants to purchase a ticket, you take one ticket off the roll, tear it in half, give one end to the patron and the other half goes in this very bucket."

"Sir?"

I ignored the boy and continued, pointing to the wooden sign that was hanging on the booth.

"Children are half price… Can you count?"

"Sir…"

"No questions… Do you know how to count?"

The boy nodded. "I do, sir…"

"Well then, if a woman and three children come up and want tickets, how much would the entire cost be?"

"Ten francs, sir."

"Ah, so you can count. Good, don't mess up or else you're going to be left here tomorrow morning. The Persian will be here beside you as well…"

"I can count, sir."

"Good… This job doesn't take brains, just concentration. I'll be back before the night's end to collect the tickets. Get on with it…"

And with that being said, I left the boy to work in the booth and headed towards town. It wasn't a huge town, just a few streets lined with run down buildings and homes made of bricks. As I passed each run down home, all I could think about was the beauty I could do if I had the chance to redesign such a place. Years of drawing and creating buildings for the Shah of Persia had made me want to recreate every town within Europe. I knew I had arrived at the brothel when I spotted a building that was loud with music and crowded with women dressed in barely any clothing. I paused when I was across the street, my hormones begging me to go in, but my mind pleading with me to stay away. My palms began to sweat and my heart started racing within my chest. Oh, what was I doing? Knowing that I wanted this more than anything, I adjusted my mask one final time and headed inside. The downstairs of the brothel was nothing more than a few love seats and a bar with a winding staircase that led to the second floor.

I was like a fish out of water, for I wasn't sure what to do. I was beginning to get stares, for I was just standing there in the middle of the brothel watching the women dancing and smoking near the stairs. I swallowed hard and headed to the bar. I took a deep breath and ordered a brandy, taking a few slow sips to calm my nerves. So many things were running through my mind as I sipped on my drink. I wanted to leave, but another part of me wanted to stay. I was arguing with myself and finally decided to leave, when I felt two hands lightly place themselves on my shoulders. I tensed at first, relaxing when the hands began to massage my aching joints.

"You are very tense…"

I sighed and closed my eyes when I heard that beautiful voice. I finally dared to look up and what I saw stopped my heart. There, standing behind me was a dark skinned girl with curly black hair and hazel eyes. She wasn't my Christine, but she certainly was exotic. She smiled at me and took my drink out of my hands.

"What is a man like you doing in a place like this?"

"M…Might I ask you the same question?"

"You look very exotic, and I never saw you here before."

"I'm…I'm not from around here. I travel the world."

"A traveler are you? Well, monsieur, may I take you on the journey of a lifetime? You will not be disappointed…"

My heart was racing so fast that I was sure I was going to pass out. I took a deep breath and nodded, allowing the woman to take me by my hand and lead me towards the stairs. We walked up the spiral staircase and entered an empty room. In this room, there was nothing but a bed draped in red bed sheets. The woman pushed me on the bed and stood there dancing for me. Never had anyone ever danced before me in such a lewd way before.

"Tell me, monsieur," she cooed. "What is your name?"

"E…Erik." I gasped. "You?"

"Princess… Does that suit you, Erik?"

"Y…Y…Yes…"

The woman began to dance in my lap, causing my nerves to calm and for my body to react. This was what it felt like to have a woman pleasuring you… It was wonderful and I never wanted it to end.

"Tell me, Erik," she continued. "What do you want me to do to you?"

"Excuse me?" I nervously asked.

"What do you want me to do to you? I will do anything, you know…Everything comes with a price of course. Name it and I will give you the price."

I paused, not knowing what I wanted, for I had never been with a woman before. What did men want? Were there actually certain names for things?

"Why so quiet, Erik?" the woman finally asked. "Have you come here wanting me to make love to you?"

I nodded, feeling the woman's hands slowly unbuttoning my shirt. The way each finger was sliding my button undone was so painful that I was afraid I was going to finish before she even began.

"Tell me, Erik, is this your first time? You could tell me, you know… If it is, I will go easy with you."

Easy? Easy? Years of wanting nothing but pleasure, and this woman was going to go easy on me? No, I didn't want easy, I wanted it rough and I wanted it now. I wasn't sure what came over me, but I flipped the woman over onto her back and pinned her arm above her head. I wasn't sure what came over me, for I was never like this especially with a stranger. My shirt was almost undone, but I was afraid that this woman would scream if she saw my scarred body, that being the reason why I didn't bother letting her completely unbutton me.

"I forbid you to unbutton me. I will pay you for your services, but we are going to do things my way, are we clear?"

The woman seemed a bit frightened, but she nodded. When I was sure I could trust her, I let go of her arm and reached into my pocket for a small bag of francs, placing them on the night table.

"Will that be enough for you to pleasure me?"

The woman nodded and began undressing. Oh, what was wrong with me? I didn't know a thing about this woman, and here I was, paying her to sleep with me. My body didn't care, for all I wanted was to feel the pleasure that every man felt with a woman. There she stood, naked at the end of the bed, slowly making her way back to me. She knew to stay away from my shirt and took it upon herself to unbutton my trousers, her hands slowly prying them down my waist. Everything was making my body react, for I wanted it more than anything in the world.

"Will you remove your mask, Erik?" she asked. "Or am I forbidden to remove that as well?"

"You will do no such thing. No more clothing will be coming off me tonight. I paid you for your services, so you best get on with doing your part before I change my mind."

The woman didn't say another word. Instead, she crawled onto my naked lap and began to straddle me, a new wave of pleasure taking over my body. I gasped and closed my eyes as her hips awoke something in me I hadn't thought was there. This alone was more pleasure than I had ever felt before, but it was what came after that caused me to grasp the bed sheets and groan. It was when I felt her take me inside of her. My eyes flew open and I watched as she began to ride me, more pleasure than ever before soaring through every inch of me. I didn't want to touch this woman, for I was afraid, but couldn't resist and grasped her thighs to hold onto her.

"Yes…" I closed my eyes and uttered the very word over and over again, feeling something within me about to explode. I didn't want the feeling to stop, but knew that something was approaching. I had been afraid at first, but as the moments passed, I took it upon myself to try something new and thrust my hips upward, finding a new wave of pleasure. The woman barely made a sound as she worked, and that's when I realized that what I was doing was wrong in more ways than one. She was working…that's all she was doing. She wasn't enjoying herself like a lover would enjoy it. No, she was serious the entire time, even when we found our finish. Once I gave my last thrust, the woman did not linger…No, she rolled off me and began to put her clothes back on before handing me my own. After that, she took the money from the night table and smiled.

"Thank You, Erik… Enjoy the rest of your night."

And with that being said, she left me there in that room to change back into my clothes. This had been my first time with a woman, and yes, I had finally experienced pleasure, but was it truly worth it? There was no love involved and in the end, there was no cuddling or sweet words of nothing echoing throughout the room. No, in the end, I had done nothing but pay for meaningless sex. This had indeed been one of the worst nights of my life…And yet, in the back of my mind, I could still see Christine laughing at me.

Poor Erik. He deserves better. Oh well, maybe Christine had a better night... stay tuned!