Page 31 of Blood Money

I shouldn’t be meeting Val. I should have chosen the option of only dancing, not this dangerous path. But if I hadn’t agreed, it might be years before I could pay back the Marchesis. Plus, I now knew how good fucking Val could be.

Two days had passed without him showing up at Pound, and I’d started to wonder if the deal was off. I’d tried to tell myself it was fine, but the truth was, I missed him. I was playing with fire, but I wasn’t going to stop.

I’d been thrilled to see his text, and I made sure to take extra care with my hair and my choice of outfits. I was hoping he’d be there to watch me dance.

I wanted to perform for him. I was better when he was watching. He made me want to look good, to show off my body, because I knew how hot it made him to watch me—and how angry it made him to see all those other men thinking they could have me.

Val was the most fucking possessive man I’d ever met. He wanted to own me, and God help me, I loved it. Except it wasn’t real. It was a bargain, a game. I needed to remember this was all going to end. He could have anyone he wanted, and I was sure he’d get tired of playing with me.

But why shouldn’t I have a chance to enjoy myself? Why should I gift lap dances to men I resented who made me feel small and insignificant? Val never did that. He complimented me, and I never doubted how badly he wanted me. Me. Not just a hole to shove himself in or something to rub against to get off. And I knew he wouldn’t have paid me if he hadn’t enjoyed himself.

I arrived for work at the same time as Tyler. He looked me up and down and grinned. “I take it Val is coming tonight?”

I feigned confusion. “What?”

“Don’t play coy with me. He’s so totally into you. He would never have told me to keep my hands off otherwise.”

“I’m not….”

“You look good. He’ll like it.”

Val had said he didn’t care if everyone knew, but I was sure he didn’t want me openly talking about our agreement. “We’re not…Nothing is going on.”

“That is so not true. I’ve never seen Val act this interested in anyone here before.”

Was he serious? “You really think he…never mind.”

“Do you like him?”

There was no way I could answer that question, not even to myself. “I…we just have an agreement.”

Tyler’s smile told me he didn’t believe me. “Plenty of us would love to have an agreement with Val; you’re lucky. But watch your back. Some of the guys here have been making a play for him for a damn long time. He’s turned everyone down.”

“You mean he never hooks up with the other dancers?” Why had he told me he did?

“Never in my time here.”

I forced myself not to smile. I loved the idea that he’d only pretended fucking dancers was typical for him.

When Val didn’t show up in time for my first show, I tried not to be disappointed. I hated how much I wanted him there.

As I made my way to the bar, I turned down numerous offers from men who wanted lap dances, a turn in a private room with me, or to take me to a hotel once I was off work.

Tyler handed me a glass of water without me even having to ask. “It looks like you made a pile.” He glanced at the fat stack of bills I had stuffed in my waistband.

I drained half the glass before answering. “I did. And it’s getting harder to fend everyone off after I get off stage.”

“Val doesn’t share, does he?”

“He told me not to offer any other services. It’s part of my contract.”

Tyler winked. “Uh huh.”

Why was he so determined to make something of my relationship with Val? “He’s just trying to make it harder to pay him back so he can keep me here longer.”

“And why would he want to do that?”

“I don’t know. To be an asshole?”

---