I locked eyes with Delgado.
And I performed.
Not for the room.
Only for him.
I rolled my hips with intention, arched my back in that way I knew men couldn’t get enough of. I slid down the pole slowly, letting gravity do its work. My thighs parted, and I dipped forward, rotating into a sensual pose before climbing again.
I was an actress.
And tonight’s role was that of an obedient girl willing to be kept.
My heart screamed in protest.
But I smiled and kept moving.
And when the music slowed to its final beat, I dropped to the floor, landing on my knees and spreading them wide before him. I crossed one wrist over the other directly in front of my center, just above the tiny scrap of fabric that passed for the bottom of my costume. A silent offering.
Then slowly, sensually, I lowered my imaginary cuffed hands to the floor, keeping my wrists crossed, and slid forward, ass in the air.
I let my hips roll with a deliberate rhythm—one that mimicked how a woman moved when she was on top and pleasing a man.
I leaned forward an inch, then another.
Until my forehead touched the stage.
For several heartbeats, I held the bow, breathing through the terror as I surrendered to him completely.
Then slowly…I dragged myself upright again and sat back on my heels. My arms stayed crossed low in front of me, right over my crotch. With as much sensuality as I could muster, I tilted my head and looked over at Delgado through my lashes. And smiled.
Submissively.
He smirked—just barely—then raised two fingers and tapped them twice on the table before standing.
Without a word, he turned and walked out.
He’d decided—for now—that I was useful enough to keep breathing.
I didn’t move until the spotlight cut out.
Then I quickly rose to my feet and scampered offstage. For a couple of minutes, I lingered there in the darkness to get control of my breathing and anxiety. Then I exited the backstage area and made my way down the hallway. As I walked past Carlos, he smacked my ass hard, and I let out a yelp.
“The boss told me to let you know…he was pleased.”
He walked away before I could respond.
I stood frozen in the corridor. My lungs still couldn’t catch up, and my thoughts were on fire.
I’d performed like my life depended on it.
Because it had.
I didn’t know if I had saved myself. But I’d given him my submission. I’d given him everything I had to give.
And now I knew just how closely the devil himself was watching.
Cold air slapped my cheeks, biting through the thin hoodie as I stepped into the alley to head home. I shivered, but I didn’t know if it was from the cold or from what I’d just done—offering myself up like dinner to a monster, making him want me. It was sick on so many levels.
