Dean frowns. “What do you mean? You’re saying you’d rathernothave Athena?” He chuckles dryly. “That would be the first I’m hearing of that.”
“No. I don’t mean that at all.” I shake my head quickly. “Of course not. What I mean is that for their purposes, our pet should have been someone submissive, someone easy to control, someone who would have chosen one of us and followed the rules. Athena is none of those things. She’s only submissive when she chooses to be, and she’s never been easy to control. That might be attractive tous, but it’s exactly the opposite of what they were hoping for. And it’s the reason everything is about to come crumbling down.”
“For them, or for us?”
I smile, but there’s no humor in it. “For them.”
* * *
When Athena comes homethat evening, Dean and I are back in the living room post-dinner, sitting in front of the fire playing chess across a leather ottoman parked in front of it. We’re almost through our third game when Athena strides in, dropping her backpack onto the floor next to the overstuffed loveseat and plopping down on it. Her thighs are parted just enough that if I glance over, I can see up her black denim skirt, which I feel is intentional.
“You missed dinner,” Dean says casually, moving his bishop without even really looking at the board.
Athena stares right back at him. “Are you going to punish me for it?”
Dean eyes her and then shrugs. “No.” He turns back to the board, waiting on my move.
She looks almost let down, scuffing her foot against the carpet as she watches us play. “I didn’t know the two of you played chess.”
“It was pretty much a requirement, growing up,” Dean says with a smirk. “Our fathers were big on games that involved strategy. Games that they considered ‘useful.’”
“So no Grand Theft Auto for you as a kid.” Athena laughs. “Or was that considered strategy too?”
“Definitely not.” Dean rolls his eyes. “In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever played a video game.”
“I snuck some with my other friends.” I glance over at Athena. “But Dean here always stuck to the rules. He was in the chess club, did you know that?”
“That sounds about right,” Athena smirks. “Ever played strip chess?”
The comment is so unexpected that we both stare at her for a full minute before it sinks in.
I can feel the grin spreading across my face. “Strip chess?” I glance over at Dean to gauge his reaction. Our little pet is getting bold, and I like it.
“No,” Dean says, with as much dignity as he apparently can muster. “I’ve never playedstripchess. Chess is a gentleman’s game. I can’t imagine anyone has ever—”
“Made a sex game out of it?” Athena grins. “I’m pretty sure it’s possible to make a sex game out ofanything.”
“You know, for someone who was a virgin when she came here—”
“You’ve opened my mind to the possibilities.” Athena nods at the board. “I’ll play the winner. Strip chess.”
“And what, exactly, are the rules ofstrip chess?” Dean raises an eyebrow, but I can tell he’s into the idea. Who wouldn’t be? Any excuse to get Athena naked is a good one, and the fact thatshe’sthe one suggesting it makes it even better.
“Every time a piece gets taken, you take off a piece of clothing.” She grins. “And then once all the clothing is off, well—I guess we’ll just have to come up with more creative penalties after that.”
Dean glances over at me, collecting another of my pawns, then claps his hands, rubbing them together. “Well, I think I’m in. What do you say, Cayde?”
I don’t even have to think twice. “Oh, I’mdefinitelyin.”
Athena
I’m not really sure what possessed me to make the suggestion. Maybe a desire to be the one in charge, the one suggesting the games? Or maybe just wanting to prove to myself that I really do want this, that I’m in control of my desires.
Either way, we’re clearly about to play strip chess, which I’ve never done before.
“Go ahead and finish your game,” I tell them, leaning back casually. “I’ll just sit here and watch, and then we’ll startourgame with whoever the winner is.”
I can tell that they’re unsure whether or not they want to win anymore, their innate competitive urges fighting with their desire to not be the first one to get naked. They both want to seemenaked but stripping down because they’re losing to me would be a definite blow to their ego. Neither one of them wants to be the one doing that.