The next few weeks feel like falling. Falling into a rhythm, into happiness, into a whole new world.

Club Deep is my reality now, every night like entering a dream. I never thought that I would have a job that I would love this much, and the people at the club love me. I get tip spotlights regularly, and every few days Julian tips me some insane amount that makes the special effects of the club go wild and whips the crowd into a frenzy. Cosette likes it too, I think. She gets tip spotlights from time to time, but not the way I do. When we were little, we dreamed of being professional dancers together. Granted, we never thought that it would happen like this, but still.

And Julian…Julian has been amazing, both in and out of the club. We never quite made it out on that date—we haven’t seemed to have the time, though we’ve had meals in his office together, just talking. And of course, fucking. I’ve learned that I really love the feeling of that carpet on my bare skin…among other things. I can’t get enough of his body, and I’m slowly finding out that I can’t get enough of his mind either. He’s caring and kind, and one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met. Plus, there’s the benefit that he does things to my body that I’ve never felt, a world of pleasure that I didn’t think could exist. He keeps telling me that I’m an exhibitionist, that I like being watched. And maybe he’s right. We’re certainly being less cautious.

Unfortunately, things at home aren’t nearly as good as they are at the club. Cosette is avoiding me. She stays in her room, claiming she’s tired and she needs to sleep, but the music coming from her room indicates otherwise. I tried to ask her what’s wrong, why she’s smoking and getting high, but she dodges the question, saying she’s fine when she’s obviously not. The rejection hurts. I feel like it’s been weeks since we really talked and I miss my best friend. I’m watching her in a destructive spiral and she won’t let me help her. The only time I manage to forget about it and let go is when I’m with Julian. For those delicious minutes and hours he makes me feel like there’s nothing wrong with the world—like I’m not losing the one person who’s the most important to me.

Tonight as I come into the club for my shift, he meets me at the base of the stairs. I’m starting later than I usually do, and the club is already filled people. Julian sweeps me into the shadows, pressing me against the wall and kissing me. It’s so easy to kiss him, like breathing doesn’t matter anymore because his lips feel so damn good. We saw each other last night, he fucked me in parking lot, against my car because I needed to go home and he wasn’t letting me leave until we both came. We haven’t had sex every day since we met, but it’s close to that, and so much more.

He’s told me about his friends and business partners, how they created Club Deep to be a safe place for anyone who wanted it. How they almost lost the club after one of their friends stole money from them, and how he hasn’t had a relationship in a long time because his last one left him jaded and feeling like there was no one for him. I’ve told him about my family, how my parents are recently gone, and since then it’s been a struggle to just survive. I’ve told him how I’ve wanted to dance since childhood, always moving to whatever music was playing. So now when he kisses me it’s more than just pleasure, it’s a deep understanding, a knowing that I’ve never felt with anyone else. It’s hard for me to believe that it’s only been a month.

He’s smiling as he kisses me. “I’m running late,” I manage to say.

“I’m the boss, you can tell them I asked to speak to you.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You know there’s only so many times I can use that excuse before someone figures it out.”

Julian raises an eyebrow right back at me. “I could care less. If I had my way, I’d be shouting from the rooftops.”

“I still think it’s better this way.” I give him a smirk. “You want me to come to your office on my break?”

He chuckles. “No. I want you to suck my cock like a good little dancer.”

I look around, noticing the people around us. We’re in a shadowy corner near one of the sex stages, and even though it’s darker here, we’re not hidden. My pussy clenches, and I think about sucking him off right here, realizing that I’m suddenly wet. Julian places a finger under my chin and lifts my eyes back to his. I like it when he tells me what to do, and he knows it. The way he’s smiling at me tells me he’s totally aware of how turned on I am right now. “You’re going to suck my cock. And afterwards you’re going to dance the whole night with the taste of me in your mouth, thinking about how I felt inside you. And then, when your shift is over, I’m going to take you upstairs and I’m going to make you come. All. Night. Long.”

I shiver, the carnal promise in his words leaving no doubt that that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Take me upstairs. With him. Overnight.

There are private rooms upstairs for those with the money to pay for them, but we’ve never used one. We’ve never spent the night together. This would be a first, and we both know it. He’s putting it out there as a test, to see if I want this and if I’ll say yes. Those crystal eyes stare into mine, and dammit, I do want it. I want to do everything he said, I want to feel dirty and sexy, having the taste of his cum in my mouth. I want to make him feel good, knowing that he’ll more than return the favor.

My pussy is practically dripping now, ready to fuck, and I know that I can’t wear a skirt up into the cage. I’m going to be turned on all night, and if I wear one I’m going to drip onto the crowd below. I don’t say anything to Julian, because if he knew, he might want exactly that. Hell, I might want that, but I know I’m not ready. Not yet.

Like he senses that I’ve agreed, he starts to undo his belt, and I sink to my knees, finishing it for him. His cock is already hard, and I run my hands up and down his length, savoring the feeling of his arousal. Julian braces himself on the wall above my head, and I glance upward just in time to watch him close his eyes as I put my mouth on him. His groan fades into the noise of the club, the music and the other sounds of public sex.

He’s so turned on that he’s already halfway there, and I can already taste that deep salt that I’ve learned to love over the past few weeks. Using my tongue, I circle the head of him, getting the feel, relearning the tiny points that make him tense up and his cock twitch. I use my hands to circle him, stroking him up and down. He’s way too thick for me to take all of him, but I try for as much as I can, letting him fill my mouth. And with him between my lips, I do exactly what he asked me to: I suck his cock like a good little dancer.

Bobbing my head up and down, sucking and kissing his skin has him moaning, even though I’m the only one who can hear it. His hips move in shallow thrusts, the kind where I know he’s barely controlling himself, and I hum with pleasure. Anyone could look over here right now and see the owner of Club Deep getting sucked off by a dancer, and a stab of heat goes through me and dammit, I’m suddenly wetter than I was before. I don’t want for him to be right, but doing this to him in full view of the club is fucking turning me on, and if I didn’t have a shift to do, I know that I’d let him fuck me right here against the wall for people to watch.

I lower my mouth to the base of his cock, kissing the skin there before teasing his balls with my tongue. Julian’s fingers find my hair and I smile. He’s close. I run my tongue up the underside of his shaft, savoring the smooth hardness of him and stopping to lick the underside of his head just the way he likes it—quick, fluttering strokes that make his breath go short and his hands shake.

And then I take him in as deep as I can manage, sealing my hands against my lips, moving them with my mouth and creating the illusion that I’ve taken him much deeper. And as far as I can tell, it works. Julian groans, leaning harder against the wall, and I take great pride in the fact that I’m making him weak in the knees. I set up a steady rhythm, taking him over and over again, letting his pleasure build until I can hear him gasping. “Libby. Fuck.”

I move faster, and I feel his cock jerk. I want him to come. I want him to know that I’m the one who got him off. In the same way I’m going to be thinking about his cum in my mouth, he’s going to be thinking about coming in my mouth. I swirl my tongue over him ruthlessly, never stopping to let the sensation subside, and he tells me, voice more growl than speech, “Libby, I’m coming.”

He floods my mouth, thick and hot, and I swallow him, just like he wanted me to. Julian thrusts into my mouth, every thrust giving me more until it’s all I can taste. I don’t let any escape, and he practically collapses when he’s finished. “You’re too fucking good at that.”

I stand up, leaving his cock out in the open. “I know. And you’re going to be thinking about it all night while you watch me dance.”

Julian’s jaw goes tight and I see the hungry lust in his eyes that makes my breasts tighten and butterflies take up residence in my stomach. “Yes, I will,” he says.

Giving him a smirk, I lick my lips before walking away, making sure he saw me do it. Let him sit with that image. I shiver. By the time I’m done with my shift, we’re both going to be out of our minds. I hope we can make it upstairs to whatever room he has picked out. His eyes follow me all the way across the club until I disappear into the locker room.

* * *

I never lose sight of Julian. He moves around the club throughout the night but he never takes his eyes off me. I never take my eyes off him either. I love the taste of him in my mouth as he watches me, knowing what happened, knowing what’s coming. I love that the crowd looks at me and thinks the little naughty glimpses of my underwear I give are for them, when they’re all for him. I love the feeling of being watched by him, like being set on fire and watched burn. I’m being consumed, and I like it. The whole night takes forever and at the same time races by, and when my cage lowers for the last time, it’s Julian who’s controlling it.

My replacement slips into the cage, and he watches it to make sure it lifts to the right height, and then nods to me. I follow him, across the club to the elevator that leads to the VIP floor and beyond. I’ve never been up there, have never had a reason to go until now. Julian stands across from me in the elevator, as far away from me as he can be from me physically, but devouring me with his eyes.

“If I touch you now,” he says, “we won’t leave the elevator.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I breathe.

A slow, sexy smile, “No. But as the owner of the club, I realize that other people might need to use it. And I plan on taking more time than would be comfortable in an elevator.”

It stops on the fifth floor, and I follow him down a hallway that looks shockingly like a hotel with plush carpet and warm lighting. He leads me all the way to the end, the very last door, and waves a keycard in front of the lock. Inside is one of the most gorgeous rooms I’ve ever seen. It’s light like his office, white walls and carpet with a wall of windows looking out over Phoenix. And in the center is an absolutely massive bed. I think the only bed I’ve ever seen that’s bigger is the one in the orgy room downstairs. There’s a fireplace against one wall, and a bar next to it. If I didn’t know what we were about to do, I would think this is the perfect place to relax and have a drink.

Julian comes behind me, unzipping my dress and letting it fall to the floor, pooling around my feet. He kisses my neck, leaving goosebumps on my skin, and his hands skim up my hips to cup my breasts. “I saw these hard for me,” he says softly, rolling them between his thumb and finger.

I didn’t wear a bra under my costume, hoping he would notice just that. “Are there things that were hard for me?”

“Can’t you feel it?” He presses his hips into mine, and I feel his erection against my back.

“Show me.” I step away from him, out of my shoes and onto the bed. I lay back on it, displaying my body for him and showing him that I expect the same. Julian doesn’t disappoint—he never does. With a wicked grin on his face, he undresses, first showing me that perfect chest, and I let myself look. I don’t ever get enough of looking at him, lean and tan, skin taut and muscles toned. I don’t know when he finds the time to work out, but he clearly does, and god bless him for it.

His pants and shoes follow, and all that’s left is his underwear. I find that I’m salivating, a reaction to the taste of him being with me all night. I want to see him hard for me again, all that beautiful length and thickness, all for me.

“Show me,” I say again, and he does.

Standing naked in the soft light of the room, I have a hard time believing how perfect this is. How right it feels. I’ve never had that, with anyone. Everyone I’ve ever been with—if that’s what you can call this—has been a mess of mediocre chemistry and bad timing. But this, this feels easy. The way we fell into it without a struggle, it’s been amazing. The cynical part of me wonders how long that can possibly last, but I push that thought aside as he comes towards me, eyes never leaving mine. He crawls over me, skin sliding against mine, sending ripples through me. I love this. The closeness, the intensity.

I smile. “You know, this is the first time we’ve done this in a bed.”

“You’re right,” he laughs. “Let’s fix that.”

He kisses me, and even though it’s a total cliché, I melt. The way he kisses sends that longing through my body, so fierce that it’s almost painful. I want him just as much as I did the day of the audition. Maybe more, now that I know just what he’s capable of.

He slides back down my body, kissing me as he goes, lips leaving tingles on my skin. And then he’s there, mouth closing over my clit, and I’m arching off the bed and into him. Julian’s tongue is a goddamn master of its art, sliding around and over and under, finding every hidden crevice of pleasure until my hands are fisted in the sheets, and I’m begging him again. But he doesn’t let me go. His mouth travels at random: a nip on my thigh, a kiss pressed to my outer lips, a flick of his tongue at my entrance, a chaste press of his lips against my clit. I never know where he’s going to touch next and it’s slowly driving me mad.

I force my fingers into his hair, pulling him against me, pleading for more. I feel his laughter instead of hear it as he gives in, mouth devouring me again. “You taste so sweet,” he murmurs against my skin. “I don’t think I’ll ever have enough.”

I can’t answer. There aren’t any words to do that. They’re all gone, driven away by his tongue. Pleasure, hot and fast rises through me and I can’t stop it. He licks into me again and again, each and every stroke driving spears of sensation through my veins. And he doesn’t stop until I’m saying his name, practically screaming it, and then I go over. I’m falling into brightness, blind and shaking, nothing existing but this pleasure and the way his mouth is on me still. Julian drinks me in, lapping up every bit of my juices and making my body shake with the aftermath.

“You’re too fucking good at that,” I tell him, echoing his words to me.

He laughs softly, leaving me only for a moment before he’s back, sheathing himself in a common. The way he puts it on, sure and steady, makes me want to watch him touch himself. I imagine him kneeling over me on the bed, stroking himself to orgasm while I touch myself, and I almost come again. I file that idea away for later—Julian did say he wanted to be here all night. God, all night. It’s going to be so fucking good.

He fits himself against me, and I moan, already sensitive and ready. Every time we do this, it feels new, and I revel in the sensation of him entering me, my body opening and accepting him. I like the way I feel filled by him, like we’re one piece that was split, and now, somehow, we’re together. He’s leaning over me now, and this position is so simple, but I feel the intimacy of it. We’re usually up against a wall, or on his desk, but this is just us.

With a final push Julian settles inside me, waiting for me to adjust to his size. He looks down at where we’re joined, and the look on his face…It’s like awe. It makes my breath go tight in my chest, something deep and powerful pulling at me. He looks up at me, and I know he feels it too.

I squeeze down on him, and I see his jaw clench. Then I wiggle my hips, and I grin at him, daring him to play with me.

Julian’s mouth crashes onto mine, his hips driving into me like the dam on his control has suddenly been broken. God, he feels so good, lips and body and cock and hands all working together with mine to create a perfect storm of pleasure. I wrap my arms around his waist, and even though it feels like I can’t, I take him deeper. I’m gasping, the tip of him hitting that place so deep that no one’s ever reached it before. I see sparks behind my eyes growing into fireworks with every stroke. My orgasm is suddenly close, everything about it crowding my senses, and I grab his shoulders.

“Too fast. Too soon.”

His mouth finds mine again, the kiss he gives me slow and languorous and totally at odds with the deep pounding of his cock. “Don’t worry, little dancer,” he whispers in my ear. “I promised to make you come all night, remember?”

I do remember, and I’m not entirely sure that a full night of him won’t kill me. He reaches between us, just tapping my clit with his fingers, and I explode. Screaming. I wrap myself around Julian, using him as an anchor as my orgasm rips through me. Fierce, devastating pleasure makes me shake, my pussy clamping down on his cock. I hear him groan, but barely through the roaring in my ears. It’s like lightning in my limbs, a bright flash, gone as soon as it came, and I fall back onto the bed, quivering.

“Shit.” Julian laughs, and I feel it everywhere, considering that he’s still hard, still inside me. “You didn’t come,” I say.

He nips at my neck, following the scrape of his teeth with gentle sweeps of his tongue. “Good thing I have plenty of time for that. I’m not stopping now.”

I’m still catching my breath, but the way he looks at me makes me feel like I have no oxygen at all. “All night?”

“All. Fucking. Night.”

He thrusts into me again, burst of pleasure crashing through me, and I close my eyes. I don’t ever want him to stop.