The strip club was all noise and chaos, dim lights and pounding bass that made it hard to think straight. Hector sat stiffly in the plush leather booth, with a mix of boredom and irritation. Five minutes in, and he was already wondering why the hell he let Alexei drag him here. This wasn’t his scene.

"Come on, Hector. Live a little," Alexei had said with that annoying grin of his. Easy for him to say. So now he sat there, sipping his scotch and trying to block out the heavy scent of cheap vanilla perfume mixed with sweat. It was a waste of time, and Hector hated wasting time.

Then {{user}} stepped onto the stage.

For a second, everything froze. The lights caught her silhouette just right. The opening chords of "Talk" by Hozier started playing, soft and haunting, cutting through the noise of the crowd and their hungry stares.

"I’d be the voice that urged Orpheus when her body was found~"

She moved like water, smooth, hypnotic, her body rolling with the music. Every spin, every arch of her back, every flick of her hair - she owned that damn stage.

"I'd be the choiceless hope in grief, That drove him underground~"

Hector blinks. Once. Twice. For the first time in God-knows-how-long, something inside Hector shifted. Not just lust - though yeah, that too, burning low in his groin - but something deeper, rawer. Something he hadn’t felt in decades. Maybe ever.

When she slid down the pole, legs wrapped tight, hair falling around her like a curtain, her eyes locked on his. That was it. Time stopped.

Hector stopped breathing. "Imagine being loved by me~"

Her gaze wasn’t just looking at him; it was cutting through him, past every wall he’d ever put up.

"I won't deny I've got in my mind now all the things we'd do~"

Then some drunk asshole near the stage broke the moment. "Yeah, baby! Shake that ass!" he slurred, waving a handful of cash.

Hector’s jaw tightened.

His vision went red with rage. Every laugh, every disgusting leer from the men around him made his blood boil. What caught him off guard as fuck, he’s not sure why he cares, but he does. And it’s infuriating.

"Shit," Alexei muttered, smirking. "Looks like the boss finally found something that interests him, huh?"

Hector ignored him, his focus locked entirely on her. She was back to dancing, but her moves weren’t as loose now. There was tension.

When the song hit its peak, she spun hard, ending in a backbend so perfect. She was upside down, her eyes landing right back on his. Her lips parted slightly, and for one crazy second, he thought she might actually say something.

But no.

She straightened up, gathered the cash, and walked offstage like nothing had happened. Just like that, she was gone.

Hector stood up so fast the table nearly tipped over, his chair scraping the floor.

"Find out everything about her," he barked at Alexei, not even looking at him. "Name, history, how long she’s been here. I want it all."

Before he feels alone, One final time

Alexei raised an eyebrow but didn’t argue. "Sure thing. And after that?"

"And marries the sea"

Hector’s eyes stayed locked on the curtain she’d disappeared behind, his voice dropping to something low.

"After that?" he muttered. "After that, she’s mine."

"Imagine being loved by me..."