Page 5 of Mind Game

I nod.I’m going to be even better after I finish my second drink.His hand settles firmly on my thigh as Logan welcomes everyone to the first group event of the Power Games and introduces the first dancer.Roman keeps his hand there as we watch contestant after contestant take the stage, each putting her own unique spin on the striptease, and I’m surprised at how much the unyielding presence of his touch calms me.

There are women who play the seductive ingenue in classic lace and garter belts, while others wear tight dresses or provocative lingerie.Several more have a themed outfit like me.Rose, whom I first met at the spa and whom Roman and I had dinner with earlier this evening, is a construction worker strategically draped in yellow caution tape with a hard hat on; a beautiful Asian girl named Carly is dressed as a naughty French maid, and Emmett’s sub Rebecca is a scandalously seductive gangster with fishnet stockings and elbow-length gloves.I have to hand it to her; she knows how to work a crowd almost as well as Emmett does.And Tessa!Tessa is fantastic.She wasn’t kidding; her dance moves are rivaled only by Desiree, the formerPlayboymodel and quite possibly an actual stripper judging by her moves.

Everyone is amazing, and if it weren’t for the alcohol coursing through my veins, lending me a false sense of courage, I’d probably be a nervous wreck, particularly since I drew the last slot.My name is finally called, and Roman gives me an encouraging wink.“You’ve got this, sweetheart,” he says.

I slowly walk to the stage, stopping to whisper a request to Logan, who graciously moves a chair in front of the low stage so it won’t block the cameras but so that whoever’s sitting in it will have a front-row seat.I look out into the darkened room, my eyes homing in on Roman.

“Will you please come up here, Sir?”I ask sweetly.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he amiably comes forward and takes a seat in the chair that I indicate.I had decided this afternoon that if he wants begging, that’s exactly what he’s going to get.I step forward and put one stiletto on the chair between his legs, precariously close to his crotch, and lean forward so only he can hear me.

“Thank you for the instruction earlier, Sir,” I murmur.“Now it’s your turn to be schooled.”

Then the music starts, and I begin to dance.The song I’ve chosen isn’t popular; in fact, no one here’s probably ever heard it, but it’s by one of my favorite female alternative artists who blends husky-voiced seduction with sheer female power, and the chorus perfectly conveys the message I want to send Roman.

You want me down on my knees.

But it’s you who should please.

Maybe I’ll give it to you

Let you take me all the way

If you beg for it.

Your hands are on me.

Yeah, you turn me on.

I’m flawless, impeccable

But most of all, my own girl

You want me, you need me,

You say you’ll take me all the way

But you’re gonna have to beg for it.

I work it, teasing and taunting Roman the way he’s teased and taunted me, using the moves Tessa taught me—rolling my body, moving my hips, and caressing my curves—giving him a glimpse of what he wants, but I’m determined not to give.At least not untilhebegs.I seductively untie the shirt, slipping it off my shoulders and easing it down my arms until it hangs from my fingertips.I toss it to Roman, who catches it easily in one hand, his gaze never leaving my face.

Inspired by every B movie I’ve ever seen, I walk slowly toward him and then pause, maintaining eye contact with him as I swirl the lollipop erotically with my tongue before closing my lips around it, moving it in and out of my mouth suggestively.Roman’s face tightens almost imperceptibly, and I fight back a grin.I hand him the lollipop and turn around, my back to him.I flip my skirt up a few times before taking take it off unhurriedly, sliding my body down until I’m kneeling between his knees in nothing but a white lace thong, thigh highs, and stilettos.I place my hands on the floor like he showed me and straighten my knees, giving him a perfect view of my bare ass as I move my hand back between my legs to caress myself provocatively.I roll back up, turning around to face him.I straddle him, grinding my pelvis in his lap as I taunt him, bending forward to kiss him and then pulling back as he leans into the kiss.

My shyness is gone, and I’m someone else, empowered by the alcohol, the lyrics, Tessa’s loud cheering from the audience, and the look on Roman’s face, which is a combination of pure, unbridled lust and undisguised disbelief.Apparently no one has ever teased the all-powerful Dom before, and I take perverse pleasure in knowing I’ve succeeded in baiting him.

I slide my hands down my thighs, arching my back and tilting my head before moving off his lap slowly.I stand in front of him, my eyes never leaving his as I slowly slip the thong off, my sex completely bared in a roomful of strangers.I push that thought from my mind, focused solely on Roman and making him suffer like he’s made me suffer.As the song ends, I straddle his lap again, wrapping my arms around his neck.The crowd goes wild, and I can’t keep the grin off my face.

He leans forward.“That smirk just got you fucked, Avalon.”

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