by Liza James
"What are you doing?" I snap, watching as she walks out onto the stage during my song selection. She twists at the last second, gripping my wrist tightly as she yanks me out onto the stage behind her.
"It's our set, little Lyp. You don't want to let everyone down, do you?" Her voice is laced with a greedy edge as I stumble forward and quickly try to adapt to what's happening. My eyes widen as I watch her, my body pausing in movement while I process this.
Our set. We're dancing this together?
Fucking bitch.
K moves to the center pole, wide stepping around it while several people gather at the edge of the stage and take closer seats. She's wearing a bright green top this time, neon straps twisting around her waist and then up around her neck like a choker.
I'd like to fucking choke her.
I'm so irritated she's pushing me like this, once again forcing herself into a space I don't want her in.
I'm still standing in the back, partially obscured by the dark shadows when bright, neon lights begin smattering the stage in sync to the musical beat.
My eyes focus on the lights for a moment too long, my head heavy but present while I try to figure out how to avoid this. I don't know where Dom is, he could be watching me at the club for all I know.
What if he is watching this? And he already knows how I feel about K. This could cause irreparable damage to my place with him at home.
I don't know what to fucking do.
"Come on!" Someone shouts from the audience, and that's when my eyes snap to see the people awkwardly watching my place in the corner.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I have to dance, even the regulars will know something is off with how I'm acting now. My eyes shift to K again, who's arching her back against the pole while lifting her arms over her head. She turns and jumps up in a tight swing, locking one leg around the pole and releasing her hands so she spirals around it hanging upside down.
Her torso is pulled tight, her hands drifting over her stomach, her chest, into her hair while her body spins slowly to the rhythm of the music.
I step forward while my heart pumps chaotically in my chest, a mix of fear and anticipation battling inside of me for control. I should let go, surrender to the only thing I can do in this moment and worry about the outcome later.
It's just a dance, just one fucking dance.
I can do this.
K is hanging upside down and instead of moving toward her to dance with each other, I step toward the front of the stage in order to entertain those folks personally.
I crouch down at first, letting K handle the general show on the pole while I move forward on my hands and knees. My ass sways with every step, the loosely woven chained skirt I'm wearing hangs over my hips and scrapes across my skin as I move.
It's gold, and the bright pink sheer bra I'm wearing does absolutely nothing to hide my tits. It's funny how this doesn't even feel revealing anymore. Having anyone simply see me naked is nothing compared to what I give every single night at my apartment.
This is all that feels normal now. Expected. Comfortably familiar and less demanding than the rest of my days.
Maybe I'm even beginning to enjoy this now.
A few guys sit in front of me, leaning forward and placing a couple of singles and a ten in front of them so I know where to focus my attention.
Easy.
As soon as I'm in front of them, I sit back on my heels and roll my body to the music. My hair falls over my shoulders, concealing my chest while I lift my hands over my head. I arch my back, pressing my tits out farther, teasing them a bit before leaning forward again and lifting my hand to reach toward the man directly in front of me.
I pull him closer by the collar of his shirt, letting a seductive smile pull on my lips as he stands in front of me. Moving nearer, I press my body against his, dancing with the music when his hands fall to my waist and slip against my skin.
For a second, my heart skips, and not in any sort of positive way. Flashes of Dom and his body hovering over me come to mind. My loss of control in those moments, the way I can't keep my handle on things like I usually do.
I'm always in control during sex. Always.
And yet somehow, I've lost my ability to have that in the last several weeks. So many things are fucking with my head, and I don't know how to find myself again.
So, I keep drowning.
He grips me tighter, and I pull back incrementally while I subtly remind him not to go too far. He slows his hold, allowing me to do my own thing while his eyes hungrily rake over my entire body.
I'm in the flow of this, feeling comfortable and a bit relaxed now that he's stepped back into his role of receiving rather than taking.
But it's in that next moment things shift again. Because suddenly, I feel her at my back instead of on the pole where she's meant to remain. Where I've mentally told her to stay and to leave me alone.
Again.
She never fucking listens. The incessant little brat she always is.
I'd like to put her in fucking place if I'm being completely honest.
My chest is pressed against the man in front of me, my back covered with the front of K as her hands rest over his. Together, both of them touch me, their fingers trailing over my flesh as goosebumps break out and shivers roll up my spine.
I'm facing the guy, and as K takes more freedom in how she touches me, he seems to take that as permission as well. One of her hands rests on my hip, slowly inching forward and across my lower stomach. Her lips are barely grazing over my shoulder, moving closer to my neck as I try to steady my breath.
His hands move to my ass, one remaining and groping while his other moves to grip K and pull her even tighter against me.
"Tell me what's going on," she whispers as she nears my ear, quietly enough that only I can hear her.
My heart pounds, throbbing in my chest and pulsing in my pussy as I try to focus on the man's hands instead of K's touch.
"Mind your own fucking business, K." I grind out, subtly pressing my hands against the man's chest in order to push him back an inch.
I need to breathe.
"You are my business, you bitch." Instantly, her hold tightens, gripping my waist tightly while her other hand slips up and around my neck. She yanks me back against her and away from the man, disguising the aggressive move by continuing dancing and keeping a relaxed face—I'm sure.
The lack of control rolls under my skin in tense waves of nausea and irritation. I tilt my head as much as I can in her hold before ripping myself forward and away from her. I stand up, immediately stepping back while swaying my hips with the beat of music. The guy quickly sits back in his seat and watches, a satisfactory smirk pulling along his lips.
Good. No one knows what's actually happening here.
When I turn around, I'm met with a vision that catches me off guard. It shouldn't, not at all. This moment shouldn't illicit a single reaction from me—but it does.
K's on her knees in front of me, leaning back so her hands are resting on the stage with her knees spread wide in front of her. My eyes start at her face, her long, brilliant hair cascading around her shoulders and trailing over her chest in little peeks of her perfect tits.
Her lips. Swollen and pink as if she was using them on someone else. She probably fucking was, and for a second, I want to tell her exactly what she should be doing with them. Where, exactly, she would use them on me.
Over my skin.
Against my own.
"Lower," I'd tell her. "Keep going." As she watched without a choice of what to do next. My hand would slide into her hair, guiding her exactly where she should press those rosy lips next.
My mind snaps back to the present as she arches her back. Her hand suddenly lifts to the tie at her neck, tugging it free while I stand above her. She pauses, tilting her head to the side as if she's asking for my permission.
Fucking hell.
I have to stop this, somehow. I have to put the space betw
een us that we need again. I shut my eyes, forcing myself to continue playing this part without getting too attached in the moment. Forcing a couple of deep breaths I open my eyes again.
But her hand has already pulled her top free and dropped it to the side of her while her fingers slowly roam over her own skin.
My heart pounds. My skin feels tight and aching, my nipples hard under my own sheer top and I'm sure showing her exactly how I feel about all of this.
Hell, even my pussy is wet and aching at what I toxically fucking want from her.
I crouch down in front of her splayed legs, dropping my hands to her thighs as I lean forward and crowd her space. I pull every single ounce of strength, of power to the forefront of my mind and use it for myself.
My lips are barely an inch from hers, her hands lift up and wrap around my neck as she holds herself against me. We move with each other, my body hovering over hers while people throw money at our feet for the show.
K's eyes are focused on my own, but drop for a moment as she watches our bodies slide and grind. My hands drift up her stomach and around her waist, pulling her tightly toward me while I shift to whisper in her ear.
"You are nothing to me, remember?" I repeat her own words she's spoken to me. Words that ripped me apart and devoured my fucking heart. She shredded me all those years ago, taking and destroying before leaving me for dead.
I move to pull back and leave her on the stage alone, but she moves so quickly I can't stop her. Instantly, one of her hands grips the nape of my neck as she yanks me forward and crashes her lips against my own. She kisses me with such anger and frustration, I can fucking feel it in the way her teeth scrape across my lip and her tongue dives into my mouth.
But I panic, because this is the worst thing that could happen if Dom is watching. I'm terrified that he could see this and know it's more than just an act for the show.
I shove her away from me, stumbling back on my ass before wiping the back of my hand across my mouth. I glance down, and realize there's blood staining my skin from where she bit me.
"Fuck you," I mouth to her before jumping up on my feet and storming off the stage.
I move through the actual club instead of going back to the prep room. I need to get outside of here, breathe in some clean, fresh air before I meet those eyes again.
Green. Light. Clouded with curiosity and sharpened with an edge that cuts me wide open.
I'm pushing past people calling my name, random customers waving me down for a dance or private show. I don't care about any of them, and I owe them nothing. So I keep moving.
My head is down, my eyes glued to the red, matted carpet below me. A single spark ignites under my skin and I glance back to see K shoving her way through the crowd behind me. I pick up my pace, completely set on losing her in the masses so she can't find me.
I hit the open hallway filled with private rooms, and hope she assumes I'm going to one of them instead of leaving the club all together. Taking a right, finally exiting the slew of people is already a weight off my chest and a far better moment to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale.
My pace slows just a bit as I hurry down the darkened hallway toward the door leading outside the back of the club. My hands lift and reach forward, landing against the cold metal handle releasing the latch.
Just as I shift my weight to push it open, a dark and looming voice speaks quietly behind me.
"Sunflower," he says, his tone brimming with demand and authority.
My heart sinks, plummeting to the pits of my stomach as I halt my movements.
It's like an instinctual reaction, but suddenly my hands are trembling and I'm holding my breath. I slowly turn on my heels, intending to meet the eyes of the man holding me prisoner in my own home.
But I'm taken aback when my gaze collides with the pale green I was avoiding. And it's then my heart quickly explodes back to life in my chest at what I'm seeing.
Dom is behind her, one hand gripping her jaw while the other tightly rests over her stomach. He has her pinned against his chest, his massive frame towering over hers in the narrow hallway.
"Dom," I reply quietly, slipping into a place of submission in hopes that he'll let her go.
I may hate her for our past, but I would never wish Dom on anyone. She knows him, she's been with him before when he had free run of the club girls, but it seems he's gotten even more dangerous since his last time here.
He craves a bit more blood than he once did.
"I saw your little performance back there," he replies casually, as if he doesn't give a single shit what happened.
I know the truth though.
"It was just that—a performance," I remind him, my eyes dropping to meet K's briefly. She's keeping still, her hands clutching Dom's forearm as if preparing to rip him away.
She won't be strong enough to fight him off.
"Was it?" He asks, tilting his head to the side while his eyes narrow in curiosity. "I've spent far too many nights with you and your thoughts to believe it was only that."
I'm silent for a moment, wishing K wasn't hearing his words and terrified over the fact that he just saw us on stage.
"I was weak then," I counter, shifting my angle to one of The Nation's beliefs. "You can cleanse me, tonight. Let's go now. K can go back to work." I caution a step forward but Dom's hands immediately tighten against K in response, drawing a whimper of pain from her lips at his hold.
I flinch, uncontrollably and irrationally when Dom notices the instant reaction. "Ahh, but you're still weak, Sunflower." He turns without another word and drags K with him, forcing her in front of him while he begins walking away.
"Wait!" I shout and hurry forward, nearing them right as Dom's hand flies backwards and crashes across my cheek. A searing pain radiates over my jaw and I can hear K cry out as Dom holds her away from me.
"Go home, Sunflower. I will meet you there in a few hours. K and I have business to attend too," he speaks firmly, leaving no room for argument while I watch him begin twisting away again.
But I can't let this go, and the fear billowing in my chest is overtaking every logical response I'm capable of. So, I step forward again, the panic building even more at the idea of Dom taking K for any possible reason.
"You don't need her," I quietly shout in dim lighting surrounding us. Everything feels heavier, toxic vines of fear wrapping around my limbs and paralyzing my movements. "You have me, you don't need K."
K twists in his hold, trying to pull herself out of his grasp when he forces her back into place. He pauses for a moment, refusing to turn around when he addresses me. "K holds far too much value to you. She's a weakness, a blind spot in your ascension. You know what can happen to those who tread the thin line of this disease—your attraction to women."
My heart lurches, my steps slowing as I follow behind them while worry continues eating at my insides. My mind unravels with ideas of how to get her away from him, but I fear everything is impossible.
"No, no she isn't. I don't care about her. I promise, I was only confused for a moment." I scramble, running through every argument I can throw his way. "I need another pill, that will clear my mind and show me exactly what I need to see. I can ascend, I haven't broken any rung yet."
"You almost have! You're not taking this seriously and because of that, I must dispose of your weakness entirely. Then we can solidify your ascension." He moves again, finalizing the end of our conversation when I run after them.
But it's K this time that speaks up. "Go the fuck home, Lyp," she says angrily, her green eyes now flashing into a deep forest green as she glances back at me.
"No," I say urgently, stepping forward again as Dom roughly shoves her ahead and toward the entrance of the kink club. This portion is so much busier than our side, and the strip club gets decently crowded as it is. I'll have to stay close if I want to keep up with them.
"Go away, Sunflower! Or I will punish you myself for disobeying your Prophet." He snaps the words out
, anger and bitter resentment fueling his voice. His hand rises and I rear back in anticipation of his strike against me, but it's so much worse when he lands his rough hit against K's face instead.
She cries out in pain, but I can tell she's holding that back as much as she possibly can. Her eyes glisten with unshed tears and I watch as she sucks her lower lip between her teeth as if she's trying to remain calm.
I stop moving, forcing myself to stay in place so he doesn't hurt her again. My own tears slip free, trailing down my cheeks without a sound while I try to stay quiet. He turns and shoves her forward again, opening the door of the Kink Club while they both disappear behind it.
Fuck. I can't let this happen.
No matter what's happened between K and I, despite the insane cleansing sessions where I'm angry and warring with her in my hallucinations. Even while Dom uses her image against me, I can't let him take her like this.
My heart throbs in pain, my mind spiraling with anxious thoughts and fears of losing her.
Of actually, truly losing her. Not hating her with my entire being and still seeing her at the club. At least through all of these years I've known she was safe, because I was still watching her dance and interact with others.
It's been excruciating, hating her for all this time and I'm not saying any of that would change if I could get her free of Dom. But not knowing if she's alive? Assuming she wouldn't be after Dom had his way with her?
No fucking way. Not even a chance I could let that happen now.
So, I fight through every ounce of fear and hatred infecting my blood and step forward again, hurrying after them and through the same door.
As soon as I open it, I'm met with the sight of countless strangers. The entire space is filled with dancers grinding against each other—sets of couples or more—salaciously experiencing their bodies in a multitude of ways.
I haven't been in here often, and I'm immediately drawn to the dark energy spilling through the air in this space. But I focus and my eyes scan the crowd for Dom or K as I move forward.
