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Edward rose to his feet, finding his legs (to his displeasure) a little shaky at what he'd just seen. He headed for the bar for another drink, thinking he had just enough time for one before Bella finished changing back into her usual get-up which – thankfully – wasn't quite as raunchy as the one she'd just stripped off.

You need to get your head with it, Cullen, he rebuked himself sharply. Edward needed to remember he was here for business, not pleasure. He couldn't let Bella get to him, to entice him like that. And it would do well for the rest of his body to remember that too.

He abandoned his empty glass on the bar and headed toward the back of the club where the entrances to the girls' dressing rooms and private rooms were located. Edward paused, glancing around for the beefy bouncer who usually stood guard at the hallway. To his satisfaction, he found the man distracted by a scantily clad serving girl who was clearly flirting with him. Excellent. He seized the opportunity to slip down the hallway in search of Bella.

As Bella left the change rooms, her body connected with one of someone much larger. "Sorry," she mumbled before glancing up. The man she'd bumped into was tall, and she figured it must be one of the bouncers coming back to check on things, but shock gripped her when she realized who it was.

"Edward! What are you doing back here…? You shouldn't…" She glanced around them, to make sure no one had followed him.

"What are you doing?" she repeated.

Edward's green eyes swept over her, pausing to take in the latest costume change. He'd seen this one before and preferred it by far to her many other get-ups. It was simple, black and transparent enough that he could see her lacy bra and flimsy thong masquerading as underwear through the fabric. The hem of her dress just skimmed the soft skin of her upper thigh, and Edward knew that if Bella bent over, he would be treated to a delicious sight…

Focus!Remembering himself, he dropped his hands. "I was looking for you, actually. We need to talk." Edward paused. "In private." His tone was serious, leaving no room for argument.

"I can't," Bella snapped. "I've got to work. I don't have time for chit chat." And that was the truth. This was the time of night that Bella usually made most of her money. The club was in peak hour, and after featuring in the show she'd just performed… Well, she knew there was a lot of money to be made from horny men who wanted to see her up close. Men who had a lot of money to give her!

Bella had already wasted a lot of time in the change room, having her self-image issues with the mirror. She couldn't afford to continue wasting time listening to whatever bullshit Edward had to say about how she shouldn't be doing this, blah blah blah.

No one knew more than Bella how true that was, but she didn't need Edward, who thought himself far superior to everyone just because he was a damn fireman just because he spent his days saving lives…

She scowled, ducked her head and tried to get past him, but his hand shot out to grab her wrist.

"Edward…" she warned. "I'll scream, and you'll get kicked out of here." Not that she would. She definitely didn't want to see what would happen to him if she did… Men tended to get more than just kicked out when they broke the rules. Edward must have read the hesitance in her eyes, because he didn't release her. He held her gaze until Bella couldn't look at him any longer.

"I have to go…" she whispered, ducking her head. "I have to work…"

Edward knew that if Bella had wanted to, she could have raised her voice to call the bouncers and all hell would have broken loose. He couldn't touch her. Not here. Not when she was Isa. He knew that.

But that didn't stop him from holding onto her hand. At the sight of her lowered head, Edward felt something twist in him. It wasn't anger on her face but something else that he wasn't able to quite place… a vulnerability that hadn't been there when Bell took the stage.

"Please," Edward said. There was a pause, and sensing that he wouldn't be able to gain her attention for long – and the possibility that he might get her into trouble if she wasn't attending to her clients outside – a thought occurred to him. "How much for a dance?"

"Thirty dollars for one song," she said, her gaze none too wary.

She didn't know why she felt her heart sink when Edward asked her for a dance. She should have realized that this was just about sex and that Edward wanted nothing more than to see what it felt like to have some girl grind over his cock, get him hard and wanting, see naked tits, ass and pussy and then go home with enough material to masturbate to.

Except that Edward wasn't the type of guy who needed to get off alone. So she was somewhat curious to find out why he felt he needed her.

Edward did the math in his head, figuring that one song would be roughly about three minutes. Three minutes. He needed more than that…"What about six dances?"

Bella's eyes widened as he asked how much six dances would cost him. No one had ever asked her for six dances. She blanched, trying to work out it in her head. "A hundred and eighty…"

"Okay," he agreed, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out his wallet. Edward plucked out a few bills and held them out to Bella. "The private room?" he asked with a raise of his eyebrows.

Bella's eyebrows rose. She definitely hadn't thought that he would actually hand over the money as though it were nothing. The guy was a firefighter, after all, and while he did an admirable job, she doubted that he earned a whole lot, especially not enough to just be tossing money her way.

She bit her lip as she took the two bills in her hand, bent down and tucked them underneath her heel, in between her foot and the sole of her shoe.

"All right, let's go." Bella slipped her hand into Edward's and led him back down the hallway, toward where the main doors led to the common areas.

A gentle reminder that this story is rated M for mature.