5. Valentino

5

VALENTINO

L iam followed me to the opposite side of the stage from where we’d entered. There was another hallway, but instead of offices, there were small rooms where customers could pay for a private show. We stepped into one and I showed Liam how a door on the other side of the room led to a hallway where he could enter the adjacent rooms to dance behind the glass. Only employees could open those doors.

“You want me to dance in this?” Liam looked down at his nondescript clothes.

“You should take off those shoes.” I pointed to his sneakers. “But I’d like to see you dance your way out of everything else.”

“Everything?”

I felt a twinge in my chest that was absolutely not guilt. Yes, I wanted a free show from a hot guy, but I legitimately did need to make sure he could perform well enough to let him on stage. “On the main stage you keep your jock on and make them want more. Back here full nudity is allowed.”

“Oh.” He sank his teeth into his lower lip.

“Don’t worry. There’s glass between us.” I tapped on it to emphasize the barrier between the viewing side and the side where the dancers performed, then gave him a toothy grin. “I won’t be able to bite or anything.” No matter how much I wanted to sink my teeth into his juicy ass.

His cheeks flushed deep pink, making him even more gorgeous. “What about music?”

“There’s a docking station for your phone. You can choose music, and it will play through the speakers. Just be sure you have it set so calls won’t come through.” He looked toward the other room then back at me. I liked that I’d made him nervous so easily, but that wouldn’t do when he was on stage. “Look like you’re enjoying it. Some men like when you’re scared, but not on stage.”

He gave a tiny nod, then stepped out. A few moments later, he entered the adjoining room, barefoot and without his jacket. He must have run his hands through his hair, because it was no longer as wild. The waves settled over his forehead, and he looked up at me from under them, his blue eyes seeming brighter than ever. I needed to see more of him, to find out how his body looked when he wasn’t hiding it in ill-fitting clothes.

When Liam started to move, my breath caught. He wasn’t just able to dance, he was fucking amazing. He stretched his hands over his head and moved his hips in a sinuous circle that let me know how well he’d move under a man. He swung his hips in a circle to the low drumming beat. When he was facing away from me, he bent and shook his ass, and I wished I could jerk his pants down. I needed to see him bare with his cheeks spread.

He stood again, giving me a coy look over his shoulder. I whistled and his smile widened. He faced me once again and lifted his shirt, inching it slowly up his chest as his hips rocked to the music.

When he let his shirt drop just as he’d revealed his toned abs, I almost rose from my chair, ready to demand that he strip right fucking now. I needed this. I gripped the arms of the chair to keep myself seated.

Liam dropped to his knees, and I sucked in my breath. He began lifting his shirt again just as slowly, but this time, he pulled it over his head, and I got my first look at his naked torso. I wanted to suck his dark pink nipples into my mouth then bite down and hear him scream. He had a scar that ran along his collarbone, and I wanted to run my tongue across it and learn how it felt. How had he gotten it? If someone had hurt him, I would destroy them. He was too beautiful to be damaged, like a work of art. And he belonged to me.

For now.

I ignored that thought as he dropped his shirt then went to all fours and moved toward me.

Fuck, I needed to be in there with him. I wanted to break through the glass, but I knew it was the only thing keeping me from making a terrible choice. He was hot as fuck, but he wasn’t worth risking my father’s anger.

He dropped down to his elbows, arching his back and shaking his ass. If I were in there with him I’d take him just like that, split his ass and drive my cock so deep he’d remember me forever.

I was so fucking hard. My cock ached as it pressed against my pants. I could stop this anytime. I could go in there, rip off his pants, and have him. He wouldn’t say no.

Liam eyes were closed now. He was clearly feeling the music, letting his body move like it wanted too. It was one of the most erotic things I’d ever seen.

When he pushed himself back to a squat, then fluidly rose to his feet, I took hold of the chair arms again, needing to anchor myself. I watched men dance on an almost daily basis. Why was Liam so different? Why did watching him feel as hot as it did when other men actually touched me? He needed a protector, and I needed someone who was just for me. Was that it?

He slowly slid his hands down his torso, and I imagined how his skin would feel if I was the one caressing him. When he popped the button on his jeans, I tightened my grip on the chair until my knuckles went white.

The movement of his hips never slowed as he lowered the zipper, then turned and shook his ass at me. When he began to slide his pants down, revealing only a bright blue jock that matched his eyes, I couldn’t stop my hand from going to my cock. I rubbed myself over my pants like I had no self-control, like I didn’t remember what it meant to be a professional. How could I when his perfect round ass was right there, cheeks split by that damn blue strap?

By the time his pants hit the ground, I was at the edge of my seat, legs spread, palm pressing against my shaft. I wanted to release my cock from my tight suit pants, but I managed to keep myself from going that far. I was already making a fool of myself, but I couldn’t stop. I wanted to press against the glass, coming as close as I could to touching him. I wanted to pull my cock out and make him watch me jerk off. But I wasn’t some desperate customer. I was a businessman.

I was here to make sure Liam was up to our club’s standard and that he would have a chance of earning enough to pay his debt. It would take him forever, and I’d get to watch him. I’d get to be the one who protected him from overzealous customers. I’d get to control what he was allowed to do.

But you won’t get to fuck him, unless you break the rules.

Was I kidding myself? Was there any other way this was going to end other than with him under me, no matter the consequences? Since the Marchesis had taken me in off the streets, self-denial had become a thing of my past.

Liam kicked his pants away and turned to face me. My eyes widened at the sight of his package cupped by the tight jock strap. The way the fabric cradled him showed me the outline of his thick cock and the heaviness of his balls. I needed a taste.

Fuck. He was going to be my undoing if I let him. I needed to find my control. I would not compromise my position in the family. This time, denying myself was necessary in order to get what I wanted in the future. I should put someone else in charge of Liam and walk away. I’d worked too hard to get where I was. There weren’t many rules governing my life, but those that existed had deadly consequences. I held up my hand and yelled, “Enough,” hoping he could hear me over the music.

Liam frowned, looking hurt. I ignored that and punched in the code that allowed me to open the door used only by employees for moving between the private rooms. When I stepped into the narrow hallway, I paused to take a few deep breaths before opening Liam’s door. He was already mostly dressed, thank God.

The way he kept his head down let me know he was upset. When he had his pants fastened, he finally spoke. “I did a good job.”

“You did.”

He looked up then. “So why did you stop me?”

“Did you want to get fully naked for me?”

He frowned. “No, but I thought you stopped me because you weren’t satisfied.”

If I fucked my way through every other dancer at the club I wouldn’t be as satisfied as I was after just watching him. “You move like you were born to do this.”

Color rose in his cheeks, and he looked away as he mumbled, “Thank you.”

Without even thinking, I stepped closer and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Don’t turn away when I’m speaking to you.”

He pulled away and I reluctantly let him go. “I’ll dance here for you. I’ll make the money I owe you, but I don’t have to take orders from you.” His voice shook, but he stood with his feet firmly planted and his spine straight. He was scared, but he was willing to stand up for himself. Why the hell was that so fucking hot?

“You’re wrong. Everyone here takes orders from me. You’ll do as you’re told. You’re mine until the debt is paid.”

He shook his head. “I don’t belong to you. Even if you’d agreed to…even if you’d….”

“Decided to fuck the money out of you?”

“Yes, even then you wouldn’t own me. You’d have my body, but that would be all.”

I laid my hands on his shoulders and felt him shiver as I leaned close, like I was about to kiss him. “Would it? Are you so sure about that? Are you certain that if you were in my bed night after night I wouldn’t have your soul?”

“I agreed to this. It’s…enough.” He met my gaze even though I could see the fear in his eyes.

I brushed my thumb over his lower lip. “With a debt like yours, hardly anything is enough. It’s going to take you years to make enough money.”

“Maybe I’ll bring in more tips than you think.”

He was going to do very well, but I knew right then that I’d made a big mistake. This was the only offer I could make him that might be acceptable to the family, but the thought of other men watching him, throwing him money, groping his ass, and wanting so much more made me want to close the place down and insist Liam only ever dance for me.

Annoyed with myself, I stepped back and shoved my hands in my pockets. “Finish getting dressed.”

For just a moment, Liam looked disappointed. Did he want me as much as I did him? If he did, how was I ever going to resist him?

“When’s my first shift?”

“Trevor will have to tell you that. Right now, we’re going to do something to tame your hair. Some waxing would be good too.”

Liam started to say something, then closed his mouth again.

“Whatever it is, ask me, but be polite.”

His expression turned to a glare for just a second before he schooled his face. “I want to make sure you really want to pay for this. The money I earn has to go to my debt, not a spa day.”

“It’s part of the job package.”

He studied me for a moment. “So you really are paying?”

“The club is paying.” I needed to make that clear. I was already being way too soft on him. He needed to believe I would do what was necessary to get payment from him, even if I was choosing to take care of him. I thought about his sparse apartment and how desperate he sounded. It reminded me too much of the people I’d met living on the streets, the ones who’d been fucked over by life and really deserved a break.

But one way or another, his debt had to be paid, or it would be my ass on the line. If I couldn’t show money coming in from him, I’d find out once and for all how far my father would go to punish me.

I didn’t want to know the answer.

“Get your shoes on and follow me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Heat raced through me, and my dick started to swell again. All I could think about was Liam on his knees, looking up at me, and saying those words before opening his lips so I could feed him my dick.

“Val?”

Fuck, he’d just said something, and I’d been so lost in fantasy I hadn’t heard it.

I wasn’t about to acknowledge that. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to know if I’m dressed appropriately for wherever you’re taking me.”

“As long as you’re with me, you could be in a T-Rex costume and they wouldn’t bat an eye.”

I finally saw the hint of a smile. “I think that might get in the way of someone cutting my hair.”