The Price Of Survival

Elowen POV.

Friday night came too fast and not fast enough.

I'd spent the week dodging calls from Cornerstone Financial Services. The payment was three days overdue now. Three days of voicemails that went from professional reminders to thinly veiled threats. "Ms. Roberts, your account will be transferred to collections if we don't receive payment by end of business today."

End of business had come and gone, twice.

I stood in the dressing room at Nocturne, staring at my reflection. Red hair loose, black lace barely covering anything, jeweled mask hiding the exhaustion in my eyes.

Twenty-five thousand dollars.

I needed fifteen thousand, four hundred dollars.

"Nyx?" One of the other dancers poked her head in. "Your regular is here. VIP Three."

My stomach flipped. Nick.

I took a breath and walked down the hallway on shaky legs.

He was already in the room when I entered, standing by the window instead of sitting on the couch. His suit jacket was off, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up.

"Hi," I said softly, closing the door behind me.

He turned, and the intense hunger in his eyes made my breath catch.

"Hi." He crossed the space between us in three strides, his hand cupping my face, thumb brushing my cheekbone. "I've been waiting for tonight."

"Me too." That wasn't entirely a lie.

He kissed me, deep and possessive, and I melted into it because when he kissed me like this, I could almost forget everything else. The debt, the threats, and the impossibility of this situation.

When he pulled back, his eyes searched mine through the mask. "I want more tonight."

My pulse jumped. "More?"

"Don't play innocent," His voice dropped lower. "You know what I mean."

I did. Of course I did.

"I want to taste you," His thumb traced my bottom lip. "And I want to feel your lips on me."

Heat flooded through me even as panic clawed up my throat. The club allowed it in VIP rooms, but it was becoming harder to separate Nyx from Elowen.

"That's..." I tried to find words. "That would be..."

"Ten thousand dollars," He said it like it was nothing. "For the session."

Ten thousand dollars.

Two and a half weeks of my office salary, and more than half of what I needed for the overdue payment, but oral sex, was crossing a line I'd managed to avoid for four years of working here.

His phone buzzed in his pocket, he ignored it.

"I know it's more than a dance," he said, reading my hesitation. "But I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you."

The way he said it, like I was something more than just a transaction. Like Nyx mattered to him.

God, this was so dangerous.

"Okay," I whispered.

Relief and desire flashed across his face, and he pulled me close again, kissing me like I'd just given him something precious instead of agreeing to a business arrangement.

His hands moved to my lingerie, fingers finding the clasp. "Can I?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

He undressed me slowly, reverently, like he was unwrapping something fragile. Each piece of lace that fell away made me feel more exposed and vulnerable.

More like Elowen and less like Nyx.

His phone buzzed again.

"Someone really wants to talk to you," I managed.

"I don't care." He tossed his phone onto the side table without looking at it. "Right now, you're all that matters."

I was completely naked except for the mask. His eyes devoured every inch of me, and I fought the urge to cover myself.

"You're nervous," he said softly.

"No, I'm..."

"Don't lie," He cupped my face again. "We don't have to... I won't push if you're not comfortable."

But I needed the money. "I want to."

He studied my face for a long moment, like he was trying to decide if he believed me, then he kissed me again, walking me backward until my legs hit the velvet couch.

"Lie down."

I did, my heart hammering so hard I could hear it in my ears.

He knelt between my legs, his hands sliding up my thighs, and I forgot how to breathe. This was Nick. My boss, the man who walked past my desk every day without seeing me, now he was looking at me like I was a feast.

"Beautiful," he murmured, kissing my inner thigh. "So fucking beautiful." His mouth moved higher.

I gripped the couch cushions, my whole body tense with anticipation and fear and need I didn't want to examine too closely.

His breath ghosted over me, and I shivered.

"Relax," he whispered against my skin. "Let me take care of you."

His tongue was about to touch me when... The door exploded open with a bang that made us both jump.

Dominic stumbled in, his face white as a sheet. "Nyx, I'm sorry, but there's..."

Behind him, a man shouldered past. Tall, thick build, expensive suit that didn't hide the violence underneath, with dark hair slicked back, eyes cold and calculating.

Those eyes locked on me, and my entire body went cold, not from fear of what he’d do to me, but from what he might say in front of Nick.

I knew exactly who he was before he spoke.

The enforcer. The voice from the cemetery phone call.

"Nyx," he said, using my stage name, and I watched Nick's head snap up from between my legs.

The man smiled, and it was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen.

"We need to discuss your parents' debt. Now."