4. Liam

4

LIAM

I followed Val into the back entrance of Pound. The lighting was as dim as I’d expected, but at least everything appeared to be clean. Music pumped through the club. I was sure if I pressed my hand against the wall I would feel the vibration.

Val led me down a narrow hall. When we were about halfway to where I saw flashing lights and long bar, he knocked on a door. Without waiting for a response, we stepped into a small office. An older man with a comb-over and thick glasses sat behind an old-fashioned desk.

“I’ve brought you a new guy,” Val said.

The man huffed. “We’re not hiring.”

“You’re hiring this one.”

“Val, why are you always causing me trouble?”

How the hell did this man have the nerve to talk to Val like that?

“Liam owes us, and he’s going to work it off here.”

“Does Dom know about this?”

Val slammed his hand on the desk, but the man didn’t even flinch. “I run this club, and I say who works here. Liam works for you now.”

The man turned his attention to me. “Serving or dancing?”

“I’ll do what?—”

“Dancing,” Val said, cutting me off.

The man frowned as he gave me a once-over. “He’s going to need some grooming before he’s ready for the stage.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Val said.

“And you’re leaving me to deal with that?”

“No, I’ll take him to my people.”

The air in the room was hot and stale. I resisted the urge to fan myself as I listened to them talking about me like I wasn’t there.

The man studied me again before turning back to Val. “What’s going on here, really?”

“None of your fucking business. You work for me. Do you need a reminder of that?”

“No, sir.” He gave a mock salute.

I waited for Val to yell at him or hit him, but he just laughed and said, “Good. So are you going to get the paperwork? Or do you plan to just sit there on your ass?”

The man looked up from his computer, frowning. “We’re putting him on the books?”

“Yes.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Val finally acknowledged me then. “Liam this is Trevor. Trevor this is Liam, your newest dancer.”

Trevor just grunted as he typed on his keyboard. After a few seconds, a printer behind him hummed to life. When it had finished spitting out sheets of paper, he handed them to me.

“Fill these out. Don’t get too specific.”

I glanced back at Val. “Make it so we can record your hours. Just give us the basics.”

Committing my name to an application seemed too real. I didn’t have another choice, but somehow, I didn’t want to make this real. “Why don’t you just make something up if you don’t need real info?”

Val huffed. “The government frowns upon that.”

“I bet they do.”

Trevor snorted. “You’re going to have your hands full with this one.”

“No, you are.”

It seemed likely Trevor was the manager. Was he family? There certainly wasn’t any resemblance between them.

Val turned back to me. “Just do what I say without question, and you’ll be better off. You don’t need to know the intricacies of this business. You need to get up on stage, prance around, and make the customers throw you money. That’s all.”

I used my forearm to wipe sweat from my forehead and push back my hair, then I filled in the information they needed without asking any more questions. Val was right. I didn’t want to know how they ran this business. That might be even more deadly than borrowing money from them.

When I signed the forms, I felt like I was signing my life away. Hell, I probably was.

“Do you want me to call one of the guys to show him around?” Trevor asked.

Val shook his head. “No, he stays with me.” As much as I knew I shouldn’t trust Val or let my guard down around him, I was relieved he wasn’t handing me off just yet.

“It’s going to be damn hard for him to get up there on that stage if you don’t leave his side.”

“Like you said, he’s not stage ready. He’s going to audition for me privately.” I could practically feel the chill in Val’s tone.

“So I don’t get to see if he can dance, but I have to hire him and I have to deal with him?”

I squeezed my hands into fists and bit my lip to keep myself quiet. Why couldn’t Trevor talk to me instead of Val? Was I nothing but a commodity to him? I needed to remember that’s likely all I was to Val too.

I followed Val into the main area of the club. The space for the audience was bigger than I expected. The bar itself was old wood, thick and sturdy. The building was probably a hundred years old, and the Marchesis had clearly kept all the bones of it. It was a beautiful space. Too bad it was kept so dark except for the lights illuminating the stage.

The bartender gave Val a flirtatious smile. My jaw tightened, and heat rose into my face. Why the fuck was I reacting like this? I couldn’t be jealous. I wasn’t that stupid, was I? Just because Val had decided to show me around personally didn’t mean I had any claim on him. He was a dangerous man. The Marchesis were known to be ruthless. One of the regulars at the bar where I worked had told me how to contact them, but he’d warned me they were merciless. With Val’s reputation, I had no doubt he’d killed before and would again.

I was jolted from my thoughts when Val wrapped his arm around me as he pulled me closer to the bar. His touch sent heat right to my dick, which urged me to ignore everything I’d just told myself. Why did this man have to turn me on more than any I’d met in ages? I had a thing for dominant men, but did I really have that big of a danger kink?

“This is Tyler, our best bartender. Tyler, this is Liam, our newest dancer.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Liam. I can’t wait to see all your moves.” Tyler’s smile and easy-going vibe gave me hope I might make a friend here.

Before I could reply, Val growled. “Hands off. He’s not available.” His tone made me instinctively pull away, but he wouldn’t let me go.

Tyler jumped back and his smile disappeared. “Yes, sir. No offense intended.”

“Why did you say that?” I asked Val as we walked toward the stage.

“I don’t want any of the employees thinking you’re available.”

I understood he didn’t want me working for anyone else, but why did he care if I hooked up with the bartender? “Why do you care as long as I earn money for you?”

Val stopped, and I stumbled into him. When he turned around, his eyes were hard. “I don’t want you involved with anyone here. That’s all you need to know.”

“Yes, sir.”

His eyes widened and he seemed to be fighting a smile. I liked that I affected him. I shouldn’t, but I did. I was starting to think of him as my protector here. That was a bad idea.

You like him. You like how controlling he is. You just don’t want to admit it.

No. That wasn’t true. Was it?

Even if it was, this was nothing more than a professional transaction.

“Come on,” Val tugged on my arm. “We’re going to watch the dancers for a little while.”

The club was packed, but Val walked right to a table near the stage. All he had to do was glare at the people who were seated there and they grabbed their drinks and scurried away. When he motioned to a chair, I sat down, and he joined me.

“Who were those people?”

“No one important. Watch the show.” He turned toward the stage, so I did too.

There were two dancers performing. One had long, dark hair and the same olive-toned complexion as Val. The other was paler with curly red hair. They both moved fluidly. When they dropped into splits, I sucked in my breath.

Val chucked and leaned close to whisper, “Need to work on your flexibility?”

His warm breath tickled my ear, and I tensed. “No, I can manage.” I’d worked as a stripper for a few years after high school. It had been years since I’d danced professionally, but I was sure I could impress Val.

“I bet you can. You seem determined to stay on my family’s good side.”

I glanced at him, but he was watching the stage again. The dark-haired man moved behind the redhead and put his hands on the smaller man’s waist. When their hips began to grind together, the crowd went wild, cheering and egging them on.

More and more people were tossing money to the dancers. They moved closer and knelt at the edge of the stage so their admirers could tuck bills into their jock straps.

I laced my hands together and tapped my foot. I couldn’t seem to keep still. I knew I was a good dancer, but could I really dance like this with Val watching? What if I panicked and froze?

Val interrupted my thoughts by whispering in my ear. “They look good, but you’re going to look even better.” I turned toward him. Was he serious? Those men were beautiful.

He gave my thigh a light swat. “Don’t act like you don’t know how beautiful you are. All you need to do is wiggle your hips and stick out that round ass. When they see you prancing around in nearly nothing, every man here is going to want to put their dick in you.”

“I hope so.”

Val scowled. “They don’t get to touch you, only to look and want.”

I didn’t want them touching me. The only person’s touch I wanted was Val’s. “I need their tips. That’s all.”

“It better be.” Val rose and pulled me up so I stood in front of him. “Come on. I’m ready to see what you can do.”