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I’d toyed with the idea of quitting my office job and strictly dancing full time. The thought of leaving Perry left my stomach sour, so I’d pushed it to the back of my mind where it had sat since.
The music slowed until it cut out completely. Sierra took his exit, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he stepped by with a trail of lilac-scented air following him.
Our deejay announced me. I took my spot behind the thick, deep-purple velvet curtain and waited for it to part. The grinding beat was sensual as it melded through the speakers, flowing onto the stage and floor beyond, a river of music to gently engulf anyone in its path.
When the curtains parted, I became the ruler of the sea, moving with a fluidity that had earned me the name Ocean. Dexen said no one danced like I did. Like the rippling of a wave with practiced grace.
It wasn’t me out here with the members watching. In my mind, I was alone with the bass, with the rhythm. It was part of my soul as I danced with it. I let it drive me around, shedding my suspenders first with what was the beginning of my tease. My tie left on the second song. My pants left on the third. The rest stayed on through the third, my mask and G-string not leaving my body.
I lived for this. Thrived on it.
The ending was always the hardest for me. Leaving the dance, finding my balance in the world again. I left a part of me on stage. A part I got back every time I was up there.
Dexen waited for me when I exited my performance, his eyes a molten pool of desire. Lines hadn’t been crossed between us. They wouldn’t. This was a simple reaction to what I did, how I danced. Having him look at me like that, it made me feel as desirable as I did on stage. I loved the way men watched me.
One of the assistants came over and handed me my discarded clothes before making sure the next dancer was ready.
“How much can I offer you to leave Junior and work for me full time?” I’d heard this question from Dexen countless times before. “You draw in more money than anyone else. You’re our most requested dancer. Let me put you center stage every night.”
I shook my head while temptation ate at me. I could feel this way more often. I could make more money than I ever dreamed of. It would pull me from Perry though, and that wasn’t something I was willing to consider at the moment. Once I started working for him, there was no turning back. The man needed me to help him like I needed to dance.
“My answer remains the same.”
“I figured it would. Do you need a minute or are you ready for the private dance?”
“I’m good. Where am I going?”
“VIP one. I’ll bring him up.”
I smiled and walked behind the stage to the stairs for employees. It led to the upper floors, where each room had a back entrance that was never locked and always guarded. If someone decided to try and get rough with me or do other things they shouldn’t, all I had to do was knock three times with any part of my body on any hard surface and the door would bust in, a guard saving me. The member would also be banned for life. It hadn’t happened to me yet. I hoped it never would.
Inhaling, I took a deep breath, readying myself for a different kind of dance. This one wouldn’t consume me whole but was close.
3
PEYTON
Dexen and I went way back. He was one of my sparring partners when Perry Sr. footed the bill for me to learn how to protect his son properly. Fresh from high school graduation, I was brought into the fold in Dexen’s family gym, where his brother took me under his wing and taught me everything I needed to know.
X was a retired fighter. He and his trainers on staff taught me how to hit, how to move. I learned various techniques, skills, to the point no one could beat me except X, Greer, and Dexen, though not every time. Greer also came and learned when he was on break from college.
After I went to work for Perry full time, Dexen and I didn’t talk as much. We still lived in the same city, saw each other briefly when our paths crossed, but we didn’t hang out. It also had something to do with the fact that he had multiple businesses he ran, including the one I decided to step foot into tonight.
Untouchable wasn’t my typical scene. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been here. Perry had me on edge. He was dealing with something at work he didn’t want to talk to me about, and it was causing me to be tenser than I liked. When Perry walked around like a stick of dynamite in search of a match, it frazzled my nerves.
That was why I asked Greer to bring dinner over to Perry’s penthouse tonight so I could get the hell out of there and deal with my shit. I wasn’t any good to Perry without my head on straight.
Enter Untouchable. Where the sexiest men danced in an environment that boasted secrecy and exclusivity.
Dexen appeared beside me when I was watching the second dancer since I’d been here. He clapped me on the shoulder and slid into an empty chair at the table I was at, smiling. “Pey, it’s good to see you.”
“Been a while.”
“Too long. You doing good?”
I nodded. “Busy.”
“It must be boring watching Junior’s back all day.” That was how the families referred to Perry. Both the Dremests and the Altairs. Always Junior so as not to confuse him with his late father.
