Dom Wars Round Two (8 page)

"
I thought this was about winning a million dollars. It was a stupid kiss and I didn't even
want
to, if that's what you're thinking."

"
Really?" As much as I knew that, I hated that she had allowed that man to touch her. "Anything for points, though right, love?"

She quirked a brow, anger flashing in her eyes.
"Jealous much?"

I let out a derisive laugh at her tone. At that accusing tone. She was going to turn this around. If I let her.
"About as much as I thought you were, yeah. But somebody here is just all talk, I think."

"
All talk? Because I played the game we're here to play? Why are you confused about this?"

"
Well fuck me for not being able to separate it. But let's get this straight,
love.
I don't want you kissing another man while with me. Even if it's for only one
day.
If you're with me, then you're with
me
! Understood?"

The jut of her chin said she caught my warning. I
'd walk out if she didn't comply, fucking right I would. It made me sick enough that I had to make her accept my limits. She jabbed her finger at me as she stepped in for a toe-to-toe distance, eyes practically glowing with the force of her anger.

"
You want more from me than this game? Is that it?" The sharp angle of her head in no way lessened the determination in her eyes. "You'll have to
earn
it,
love.
I see what you're doing, trying to break me down, trying to keep me open. But that's not me. I don't do wide open with anybody, especially not a man I hardly know who's playing sex games for a million. Do I have stupid written on my forehead?" She hammered her pointer finger on her brow. "No, I don't. I have smart written there." She switched to nearly stabbing my chest with that finger. "Hot sex? Yeah, I'll give you that. You really know how to seduce me with pleasure until I can't even remember my own name. And yes, that's a first for me. Problem is, I remember everything after. Real life isn't a fucking mind blowing orgasm, Lucian. It's more than that for me."

Fury seethed through me at what she implied. That I wanted her only for sex? Pleasure? Money?
"Great." I spread my arms wide. "By all means. Carry on. Let's play the game and get your points."

"
Our points!"

"
Hello!" Danielle hollered behind is. "I hate to break up the love chat, but…" she smiled brightly like we were the best fucking show ever, "…your next challenge awaits."

I spun on my heel and stomped out of the room.

I eyed Lucian's pacing in the small hall. Wishing he'd quit that already, he was making me nervous. They gave us ten minutes to prepare, and then meet Danielle in the entry hall. I'd have rather they send anyone else with us, but it seemed we were stuck with her and the little man who always looked like he thought he was on the presidential protection detail. The man went over some sort of checklist, then nodded to Danielle.

"
Today's challenge is at a different location, so we've arranged transportation. And we've been informed that a security issue has arisen. Mr. Grimes?" She nodded to the little black suit.

"
Ms. Reese, Mr. Bane." His voice quipped. "I have been tasked with security concerns for all the Dom Wars events associated with this location." We had never heard him speak aloud before, but he seemed quite comfortable with it. "Seems one of those 'family values' groups has decided to target the contest. The public relations and cyber-attacks were manageable, but they have discovered this physical location, and perhaps some of the others, making stronger security measures necessary."

Lucian glanced at me with one eyebrow raised.
"What sort of threat are we talking about?"

Grimes smiled, a mirthless, bloodthirsty expression that oddly fit his face.
"A spokesperson for one of these groups has publicly stated there should be a bounty placed on the heads of those who participate in such deviant acts. We're treating this as a very serious matter even if the statement is claimed to be a gag."

A cold brick settled in the pit of my stomach.
"Do they know who we are?" What if Gramma saw my face plastered all over some religious program?

"
They do not." Grimes seemed to be clearly aware what I was thinking. "We've been very careful with your names. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that they don't have access to your images. That risk grows with every new subscriber. However, our legal department has drafted a warning about the unauthorized use of any Dom Wars footage, including still images from any source of contestants or organizers. For the time being, that has been enough to deter them from launching any sort of defamation campaign against anyone associated."

Oh. Dear. God. I suddenly had a mental nightmare image of me being sexually
dommed by Lucian flashing across Gramma's television screen. What about Lucian's family? Did they know he was doing this? Judging by the tightness around his mouth, no they didn't, and if they found out, they wouldn't like it.

Grimes spoke quietly into
his phone's headset, then nodded to Danielle. "The car is here. When I open this door, the two of you need to go directly into the open car door. Keep your heads down and don't pay attention to anything else. The grounds are private but we never know what surveillance they may have managed. Just get in that car and get the door closed behind you. Understand."

Lucian and I both nodded. Grimes drew us up close to the exit door, opened it just a crack and glanced out, then flung it open and waved us through.

Something, maybe instinct, made me reach for Lucian's hand. When he grabbed my fingers and squeezed, the cold brick in my gut melted. We would be okay. Hand in hand, we darted through the door and crossed the dozen feet of concrete to the waiting car.

Once inside, with the door closed, we looked around in shock. The
car
was a luxurious stretch limousine, complete with bar and built-in TV and computer. I had to bite my tongue to keep from squealing and betraying my excitement.

"
Sir? Ma'am? I'm Steven, your driver for the day. If you need anything, just press one of the green buttons on the door panels, the bar, or the climate control panel." He was young with sparkly blue eyes, shiny skin over a pudgy face, smooth voice and impeccable articulation. "We're scheduled to arrive at your destination in twenty-two minutes. Until then, please be assured, you will be perfectly safe. This vehicle is built to the same specifications as the armored limo used to transport the President of the United States. In addition, we have an armed escort." He gave a slow nod and blink with a practiced assuring grin before becoming serious. "Do you have any questions?"

"
Uh. No." Lucian glanced at me as though to make sure he spoke for both of us.

I smiled at the still waiting man.
"Thank you, Steven."

Looking around at all that luxury, I tried my best not to
appear like a small town girl who'd never seen anything that nice. Easier said than done. My fingers itched to stroke the soft leather upholstery. Everywhere I turned, I found amazing bits of opulence.

The
entire ride was quiet and surreal then the car slowed and made a left turn. "We have reached your destination. Mr. Grimes asks that you stay back from the windows as we pass through the security gates at the venue. A sizeable contingent of protestors is uncomfortably close, and there is a significant press presence as well."

We stopped and I
peeked around. Just a few feet away, kept out of reach by armed guards and razor wire, several hundred people carried signs and shouted about demons and perverts.

"
Don't look at them, love." Lucian looked impossibly relaxed with his head against the back of the seat and eyes closed. "The last thing you need is more reason to be a hard-ass."

I jerked to him, trying to come up with a suitable come-back. Problem was, I
was
a hard-ass. But I had to be. My anger was lost on the scene outside. Those people were there to object to something I was doing. It didn't feel too great. Suddenly the twilight zone of the entire event had become more real, more… wrong-feeling.

The car moved aga
in and I quickly called up morbid thoughts of Gramma to sustain me. Images of her being neglected and possibly beaten at the nursing home. Jaw trembling, gut-wrenching crying and screaming. She needed me. I had to do this.

Moments later, we were driven inside what looked like a big warehouse.
The anxiety of what we'd just left was replaced with what might be coming inside this creepy place.

They had us stay inside the limo until the outer doors were closed, insulating us from the insanity outside.

****

Finally, it was time to get started.
Lucian still seemed annoyingly relaxed as I took a deep breath and turned my attention to that new blonde announcer who angled herself slightly away from the camera after finishing her introduction.

"
Now, today's challenge consists of three phases." She included us in her conversation now. "The opening challenge leads into the second which leads to the third. The right to Dom in each challenge is determined by the winner.

"
The first challenge is a simple assembling together of a one hundred piece jigsaw puzzle. First to finish wins. Since Tara won the last competition, she'll get to choose her puzzle." We followed her to a long table holding a timer, several puzzle boxes, and two chairs. "You have five minutes to finish, and the number of seconds remaining on the clock will be multiplied by ten to determine your score. However, each second over the five minutes will cost points."

Sitting next to Lucian, I looked over the four choices and chose the most complex design, knowing it would be the easiest to put together.

"Thanks." Lucian selected his puzzle, apparently familiar with the same tidbit of strategy.

"
You're welcome." Mr. self-righteous. He was still acting like I was a hussy. I didn't do anything wrong taking that kiss. It was just a stupid kiss and I didn't even want it. And I don't care what he said, I saw him look at her tits. Bastard. And he sure didn't seem to mind when she kissed him on the cheek. I bet he was sorry he'd wasted the opportunity now. I bet I knew what he was up to. He was trying to make the big play, wrap me around his finger until I became his
sub
in real life. Add me to the little collection he no doubt still had. No more subs. Right. Sure. Sex was obviously his forte, his profession. I wasn't stupid.

"
On your mark. Go."

I sorted my edges and found my corners
then zoned out. Who knew all those lonely hours with jigsaw puzzles would come in handy?

"
Look at you fly." Lucian's voice sounded like he was smiling. "Aren't we full of surprises?"

"
It's a puzzle, not rocket science."

"
No, but you've clearly had practice. A lot."

"
I like puzzles."

"
Oh, I know."

"
No you don't."

"
Oh yes. You're one big puzzle. But don't worry, there aren't many puzzles I can't solve."

"
Good. Maybe start with those tits you couldn't get your eyes off of."

"I just might do that. I was offered to suck them."

Fury burned in my stomach at the idea
, at the regret that he hadn't in his tone. The image of him doing just that threatened to superimpose itself over my puzzle. "Likely you've already done that and more with her."

He made a sound that said I
'd burned him good and he was going to pay me back for it. Whatever.

I forced a collection of images of
Gramma into my mind to replace the tormenting scenes of Lucian with other women that kept interrupting my concentration. Using Gramma that way felt morbid and the need to do it made me pissed at him.

I glanced at Lucian
's progress. Huh. It seemed I wasn't the only one who liked puzzles. Good, we needed the points.

He clearly didn
't need money as badly as I did. Or he wouldn't have gone all possessive dominant under the Prince Charming guise. That was wrong on so many levels when he
knew
I had my Gramma to think about.

But he sure got his eye fill of those tits, didn
't he? I saw that much. Acting like he cared. He cared, sure. Only because I was convenient. Men like him were good at making a woman feel loved. The problem was, they didn't know when to stop, and any woman within range was fair game. Bastard. Danielle was probably one of his subs, judging by the way she acted toward him.

I slapped the final piece of the puzzle in place.
"Done!" I glanced over at Lucian who maybe had five pieces left. Impressive since his puzzle was harder. I looked at the time. Almost three minutes left. We aced it. Thank God.

"
Done." He pushed his chair back and put his hands over his head, looking at the clock. "Yes." His victorious murmur betrayed how much his dominant nature hated losing.

Fury slithered through me when
Danielle took the blonde announcer's place. "The second phase is a simple true or false test." Her words flowed like shit on silk. "I'll ask the questions, and first one to blurt the correct answer wins. Extra points if you know the truth to the false answers, too."

Good. Another break for me. Jeopardy happened to be my favorite game show.

"Let's begin" She held a small stack of index cards before her. "Lightning never strikes the same place twice."

"
False." We both blurted the answer.

"
I heard Tara first," Danielle said. "Extra ten points if you know the truth of that, Tara."

I closed my eyes, collecting the data in my brain.
"Um. Lightening zig-zags to the ground like a step leader or like a ladder even. Each step determines the next. Left, right, down, sometimes up. An opposite charge meets it, like a streamer and it can come from a telephone pole, a tree, a vehicle, or even all three at the same time." I glanced at Lucian to see if he had the same
you're a freak
look Danielle had. I found him glaring at me with an odd expression. "…but whichever streamer connects with the descending step leader first will complete the circuit… and trigger a … rush of electricity. A lightning bolt." I cleared my throat.

"
Wow, somebody was paying attention in Science class." Danielle's laughter held ridicule and I scraped at the non-existent fingernail polish on my nails, silently willing an aneurism on her.

"
Oookay, next. As a human body grows larger, its number of bones gets smaller.

"
True."

"
Tara wins again. Lucian, you better pick up the pace. She is
Domming
you." She put her card behind the deck. "Warts can be caused by touching certain animals, especially toads."

"
False." We both blurted.

"
I think that one is Lucian's." Danielle's perfect browse raised. "Extra ten points for the right answer.

I listened while he gave an impressively detailed account of my own answer. So he was intelligent. A Smart-ass Dom Dick.

"Wow, what a pair we have here. Next question. Coffee originated in Brazil."

"
False," I blurted first. "It originated in Ethiopia."

Lucian snorted a little.
"That your final answer Ms. Jeopardy?"