Chapter is dedicated to my mate,GlazePhilos, who's the first to comment on this book ^-^ Thanks mate ;)

---Ian's POV---

I nodded at the bouncer in front of the large doors and smiled. "Ey Mike! How's it going tonight?" Mike, a tall guy with a broad chest which was literally packed with muscles, shook his head slightly and pointed his thumb over his shoulder whilst saying, "It's going crazy, the Johnson's brothers' idea works like a charm. These battles will attract a lot of people to the club."

Mike looked at Austin and Louise behind me and scanned them up and down, his whole posture changing from relaxed and friendly, to all business-like and slightly menacing. Before he could open his mouth though, Louise shot me a disapproving glare as her mouth pursed when she said, "You're organizing fights in there? Ian, are you out of your mind?!"

The look on Mark's face as he smirked at me made me snort out a laugh before I quickly waved my hands in the air before me and shook my head when Louise took a step forwards. That woman could smack me on the head if she thought I was making fun off her.

"No, no Lou, you misunderstand. We do battles. Bartending battles." I added when she jabbed me in the chest with her finger and started, "You!....Oh-" Austin looked from one to the other before lying his arm over Louise's shoulders. She looked shocked for a moment before she just waved her hand in the air. "Well, in that case, lead on."

Rolling my eyes, I passed the long line of people and opened the doors, ushering Louise and Austin in whilst ignoring the protests and insults these people were throwing our way. As soon as we passed the first door, the music greeted us with a bang, churning through my body until I was pumped up to dance, or even work.

I noticed Louise's expression as she looked around and smirked at her wide-open mouth as she took in the club. It looked just like any club to me, although it was a refined one with strict policies that were followed to the letter. There was a three-strike rule here.

Misbehave in this club; strike one and you get a warning. Keep things up and you'll be suspended from the club's premises for a certain amount of time. Only a few people go to strike three but they can say goodbye to clubbing; their costumer profile was wired to other clubs in the area, letting them know about the behavior of said costumer.

But what I loved about this club was the bars; they were spacious and surrounded by soft seats, people could sit down at them and lounge a bit after dancing and for those who had to work, well...it was grand. You never bumped into others or the drinks and there were build-in tabloids so people could order without screaming their lungs out.

And that's where I come in. I smirked at Louise and motioned to my working spot, which was now covered by David and Erica. David spotted me and waved us over before greeting me over the bar and clapped me on my shoulder in a typical man hug. David eyes Louise with a flirting smile before he smiled wickedly.

"And what can I get for you Miss...?" Louise smiled and stepped back in Austin's warm embrace as she replied over the music, "Already Claimed, and she wants something with Martini Fiero." David sighed dejectedly and started grabbing for the glasses, oblivious to the way Austin was glaring at him.

A manicured finger tapped on my hand, causing me to look up at Erica. She smiled politely at me and gestured towards the drinks, knowing that I couldn't hear her even if she managed to shout out; she was a bit too shy but helped her brother David out whenever she could.

I quickly ordered some Scotch on the tabloid and turned to look at the other bars to see if I spotted someone I knew before my eyes flickered over the dance floor. The club was crowded tonight, women and men grinding on one another to the music, moving their bodies in tantalizing ways, some not too discreetly about their intentions.

A glass with golden liquid slid towards me and I smiled at Erica before paying her and left the rest in the tip box, which was securely welded in the bar; it basically was a slit in the very thick glass top of the bar, which allowed the money to drop down in the mini-vault secured in the wood. The only way to get in it was with the key that dangled from Erica and David's necks.

The beat of the music was luring me to the dance floor, and I smiled as Austin waved me off, gesturing towards the couches in the corner a few steps away. I smirked and nodded before jumping head first in the crowd, moving my body to the beat.

When someone started grinding on my back, I looked back to find some girl grinding on me, her clothes leaving nothing to the imagination. I shivered with disgust and danced away from her before moving towards the stage a few steps away from the slutty broad, whom had found another victim to grind on.

I let my body take control and dance sensually to the thumping base, smirking internally when I noticed I got a few hungry stares from men and woman alike. Sorry girls, but I bat for the other team. One of the blokes was bold enough to come dance with me and soon both of us were swaying and grinding to the music.

His hands started to glide over my chest in a teasing, slightly tempting way, making me look up at the lad. He was attractive enough, with his pale grey eyes and blond messy hair, but he wasn't my type and I wasn't the type of guy to jump beds just for the fun of it. I spun him around, so my chest was pressed against his back and I leaned forwards to whisper in his ear.

"Sorry sham, but I'm not interested for a quick screw." The lad shuddered slightly when my breath tickled his ear before he shrugged. "Me neither man, we can just have some fun dancing, here in the club, right? I'm Sam by the way."

I smirked slightly and nodded. "Ian."

------

"Wow, Ian, you know how to dance out there!" Louise panted as she tumbled in the seat beside me and groaned slightly as she plucked her heals from her feet and rubbed the sore, angry red welts on them. Austin was quick to haul her off her feet and pulled her in his lap, making Louise giggle before she pecked him on the cheek.

I just smiled, shaking my head at their display of their love towards each other. Louise looked up at me and smiled, her bright blue eyes sparkling with the lights that flashed through the room, showing us glimpses of the sweaty and grinding people on the floor.

"Say, you never explained those battles to us." Louise stated as she sipped from her drink, smacking her lips slightly. I shook my head and downed the rest of my Scotch before I smiled. "It's simple really; the bartenders here can challenge each other to a battle of skills. We get 10 minutes to show our moves off and serve as many customers as we can. Whoever earns the most, from the drinks and tips combined, wins."

Austin seemed interested in that as he looked at the bars, which were barely visible between the squirming bodies of the dancers and people waiting for their drinks. I felt someone tap me on my shoulder and I turned back to Louise as she was looking at me with a waiting smile on her face.

"Hmm?"

"What do you guys win actually?" She asked pointedly, cuddling closer to Austin as he leaned forwards to pick his drink of the table. I smiled wickedly and replied, "The earnings of course. Loser has to hand over the tips of the whole night to the winner." She tilted her head in thought and nodded slowly. "How much are those tips actually?"

"For the whole night?" I verified, playing with the rim of my glass as I laid my feet on the edge of the table. "Depends really. If you attract enough people, I'd say..." I thought about it for a moment as I looked around before replying, "about 500 to 800 dollars."

Austin chocked on his drink and coughed loudly before asking hoarsely, "That comes on top of your salary?" I nodded with a smirk but quickly explained, "It all depends how you treat the costumers and if you have regulars really. If it's a good night, you can earn a lot of money. If you're in a bad mood, the crowd will notice and you can say goodbye to your earnings."

He nodded in understanding, still looking slightly dumbfounded as he stared at the drink in his hand. I shook my head and laughed slightly. "Honestly mate, how did you expect me to buy meself a house then? I saved all me earnings ever since I worked here." Louise smirked slightly and shot me a pointed look.

"The fact that the owners have lowered their price up to half of what they wanted didn't change everything? Not even the slightest?" I smirked and leaned back, laughing lightly as I looked at the ceiling. "Maybe..." I drawled, avoiding the playful punch aimed my way before I stood up and motioned to the bar.

"I'm gonna get me some drinks. How 'bout you?" They both shook their heads causing me to shrug before I went to the closest bar and lined up. Paul noticed me and waved at me with a grin before his eyes shot back to the other side of the club, a frown now marring his rather handsome features. He motioned me over to the side and I followed him curiously.

"How long have you been here?" Paul asked seriously, which surprised me. Paul usually was the lad that joked around but now he seemed dead serious. "A few hours, why?" I asked slowly, seeing as his whole expression changed.

"Brandon is working tonight." My smile fell of my face before I felt my jaw tick slightly at the strain it took of not grinding with my teeth. "You got to be facking kidding me." I spat, looking around to spot the arsehole but my attempts were useless when I heard the DJ stop the music. When the music stopped in this club, it meant a battle.

And sure enough, one of the lights became brighter and flashed towards one of the bars as the DJ announced, "Seems like we'll be having a battle tonight! Brandon has just challenged Ian to a battle. Can Ian join us here at the bar?"

"Facking arsehole!" I snarled much to the amusement of Paul, who patted my back and shook his head. "Easy Ian. This is your time to put that arrogant prick in his place. See it as a bit of payback." He murmured with a grin on his face. Although it was hard, I calmed down and nodded once before I made my way through the crowd towards the DJ and a smirking Brandon.

"What are the rules?" I stated as soon as I was close enough for them to hear me. I didn't care for pleasantries with this arsehole and seeing his smirk falter for a moment, I knew he had thought I would have bailed out. Julio, the Italian DJ who was a regular over here, smiled knowingly; he knew why I hated Brandon's guts with a passion.

"Rules are simple; you get ten minutes to proof what you're worth. Serve as many as you can and at the end of the battle we'll see who's earned the most. Winner gets it all and the loser has to do the winner a favor." My eyebrows shot up as the DJ announced it to the crowd before me eyes flew towards Brandon. Judging by his grin, I knew exactly what he wanted from me.

He wanted me back. I snorted before going to the lid up bar and ripped my shirt over my head. Not going to happen sham. People stepped out of my way and pooled behind me, following me to the bar that was soon filled by my regulars and the new crowd in the back.

I smirked and jumped over the countertop, spinning around to face the crowd as they grew more and more excited. The DJ was throwing some plates together as Brandon settled behind his own stand. My eyes flashed through the room towards Louise and Austin, who almost had front row seats for the show, since they were not too far away from my bar.

"Okay guys, the vaults are emptied, the keys have been taken and both of you start with zero cash in your pocket. Winner takes it all!" The DJ announced as the crowd cheered loudly before he started the countdown. As soon as the music started playing, the tabloids flashed with the orders and I tapped the first three, which were all Cuban cocktails.

I smirked and quickly grabbed the Havana Brown from the countertop and twirled it in the air before placing it in front of me. Three large glasses quickly followed the bottle as I kept two in the air, rolling them over my arms and with a flick of my wrist, tossed them in the air as the third one was placed on the countertop.

A scoop of ice blocks was tossed in the air before I used the glasses to capture and divide the blocks midair. People cheered as I placed them back on the counter and filled the third glass with crushed ice, moving my hips to the music before two bottles of Havana Club were being juggled in the air to provide the onlookers with a show.

The three glasses were now filled with ice and rum. I added sugar, soda and mint to one of them, a bottle of coke and some lime in the second and the third was finished by orange juice and a fresh slice of orange before I placed my work on the countertop with a wink at the three girls that ordered their drinks.

The screen flashed the order of Mojito, Cuba Libre and Havana Loco before it disappeared and I quickly went to the next order with a knowing smirk as I glanced at Brandon, who's face wasn't exactly polite as he rushed over his drinks and barked at the customers. I looked at my customers and laughed a bit, knowing that it was over before it had even started.

---Sebastian's POV---

I slowly sipped from my drink as I leaned forwards, resting my arms on the wooden rail as I looked down from the VIP section of the club. My day had been a complete nightmare; I had to fire nearly half of my team as I had found evidence that they had been spying for other companies.

My hand clenched around the glass as I thought back at all seven employees who had been misusing my trust and had slipped the contents of my fashion magazine and new designs to my competition before I had even published or made the outfits. Three of the fired men were models, who had pleaded and begged for a second chance.

I snorted as I leaned my head in my hands. A second chance? They used their connections to ruin my company, the same company that had made their names and I worked so long for to get it where it was now and for what? A better job offer? They knew from the moment that they were caught that their career as models were over; who would hire a model, which had a past of spying on the company that hired them? Exactly.

Drumming my fingers to the beat of the music, I sighed again as I looked at the time. It was just past midnight and too early to get back home. After my disastrous day, my PE had walked up to me and made the day even worse by pushing her chest against mine while she tried to seduce me for the umpteenth time.

And another one fired... Where am I going to find replacements for all eight of them? Especially the models for the winter fashion spread that will be shot in two months time.

Downing the rest of the drink, I placed the glass on the plate of a passing servant as I looked down again at the squirming mess of bodies. I wasn't one to go out for the night and I've never been out clubbing in my 28 year old existence but my best friend Henry had suggested that I should let out some steam.

And here I was, wasting my time until I could go home at an 'acceptable' hour, since Henry had threatened to drag me to a gay-club and spend the whole night there with me. Not that there was anything wrong with gay clubs or gay people, since I was gay myself, but I didn't want to fend another set of groping hands of me when I had barely escaped the first pair.

With a small chuckle at the thought, I made my way to some luxurious leather couches and slipped in one, resting my arm on the backrest as I looked towards the dancers, the lights flashing and the bartenders taking orders in. My eyes closed as I listened to the music, trying to get lost in the base. Just as I was succeeding, the music suddenly stopped, what made me force my eyes open again when the DJ declared that there's going to be a battle and that a certain Ian had to come up to the lid up bar.

My eyes opened and landed on a sight to behold. A tall man, probably 6'2, made its way towards the bar as he unbuttoned the first pair under his throat. His brown, spiked up hair looked extremely soft to touch, and made me want to slip my hands through it. But what instantly attracted me was the way he moved, how he elegantly sifted through the crowd before he stood in front of his challenger and asked something inaudibly.

The aura that clung around him screamed self-confidence and that he was a man who held his own weight, one you shouldn't mess with unless you could face the consequences. But overall, the handsome features of this man and the confidence that radiated of his body shot a searing bolt of lust through my body as I watched him depart towards his own bar, where he smoothly jumped over the top and spun around to flash the crowd a smoldering smile.

"Oh, shit." I groaned as he started moving to the beat of the music, bottles spinning in the air before he caught them and twirled them around with great skill, filling glasses mid-spin before they found their way to the hands of the people that ordered them. I wasn't looking at his hands all the time though, I was too busy drooling over the defined abs and pecks that were taunting me in the flashing lights, begging me to come over and touch that glorious man.

The tightening in my pants alerted me that I was getting extremely aroused by the man, and only by just looking at him. I shifted to hide the forming bulge and groaned when that movement caused friction over my aching groin. Biting my lip, I looked at the other bartender and frowned when I saw him snap at the people who got their orders and politely waved at the people who hadn't.

Ian on the other hand didn't mind that they stayed where they were; he flashed those maddening smiles at time as his hands kept busy with the cocktails, delivering them all one by one until the music slowly started to mute. He noticed and flicked his last ingredients in the cup before he placed three glasses close to each other and separated the drinks over three mixing cups.

My eyes widened slightly as I noticed that for his grand final, he slid the three cups in each other and poured all three different colored drinks simultaneously into their glasses, gaining cheers from the crowd before the music stopped and Ian raised his hands, as well as his competitor. The Battle was finished and they were moved away from the bar and towards the DJ.

After a few minutes, someone rushed towards the DJ and whispered something in his ear before he shouted in the microphone, "Winner is Ian, with a lead of 108 dollars. Brandon made 87 dollars in the battle." The crowd cheered as Ian received a key before the music was started again. I saw Ian barely throw a glance at the guy named Brandon before he weaved his way back through the crowd and towards his friends.

I quickly shot up and arranged myself so that it wouldn't be obvious that I was sporting a hard on before I made my way to the regular part of the club, where I was sure to find Ian. My mind was made up as I searched for him before a smirk appeared on my face as I found him a few steps away from the doors, sitting by his friends and shaking his head in amusement.

A plan formed in my head and I knew that I had to make that man mine, in every single way. Time to see if I could learn some more about this Ian.