Free Provoking the Dom by Alicia Roberts

Chapter One
     
    I walked around the casino slowly, watching the gamblers win and lose, the excitement on the floor palpable.
     
    I tried not to glance up at the security cameras. Morgan had once told me he spent most of his time watching the floor via those cameras, and I wondered if he could see me – but looking straight into a camera would just make me look desperate.
     
    I was here in the casino he owned and managed, the Treasury, because I liked the vibe, the rooms were comfortable, and the service was great. Not to see Morgan. Or at least, that's what I told myself.
     
    Of course, I let my friend Mandy know I was here – she was Morgan's cousin and had introduced us. I sent her another text to say the casino floor was buzzing. I wondered if she'd told Morgan I was here. She probably had.
     
    I'd first met Morgan a few months ago, and since then he'd flown down to Madison to see Mandy a few times, and I'd met him each time. A few weeks back, Mandy and I had taken him up on his offer to stay at the Treasury for free, and we enjoyed a short Vegas holiday.
     
    I thought Morgan and I shared a strong attraction, but I could be wrong. He was tall, with chocolate eyes and dark hair, and we were always making little jokes and teasing each other. Mandy had mentioned that since meeting me, he'd flown down to Madison more often, probably using her as an excuse to see me.
     
    At that, I'd asked her if Morgan had a girlfriend. My subtlety was lost entirely on Mandy, who laughed and said, "No, but he probably has a Submissive."
     
    Looking at my confused face, she'd explained that Morgan was into the BDSM lifestyle. When I went home that day and Googled BDSM, I realized why Morgan had never actually asked me out or made a pass at me. He clearly liked meek, weak women, and I was anything but weak.
     
    I like to think of myself as an intelligent, independent woman, and a life of obeying some man and allowing him to torture me was not one that appealed to me. So I decided to forget about Morgan.
     
    But here I was, down at the Treasury Casino, hoping to run into him. I wasn't sure what I thought might happen between us, but I hadn't been able to get him out of my mind . So when my three-day blogging conference, held at another Vegas hotel, had ended, I found myself here, ostensibly looking for a "holiday." I run a popular food and cooking blog, and taking a few days off wouldn't hurt business.
     
    I lost a few rolls of craps , enjoyed a quick lunch in a cute cafe, and did some window shopping. By the time I had dinner, there was still no sign of Morgan. I changed out of my jeans into a slinky cocktail dress and found myself in the bar, ordering one Long Island iced tea after another. I brushed off advances from losers, allowed myself to get a bit tipsy, and finally asked the waitress if there were any other clubs or bars in the casino.
     
    She reeled off a list of names, and then finally said, "We've also got a BDSM club called Masquerade, but you're clearly not into that stuff."
     
    "How do I get there?"
     
    "I'm pretty sure you won't like it." Her voice was dripping with doubt.
     
    I took a long sip of my drink. "No," I agreed, "But I just wanna see what it's like."
     
    "Okay …" She still seemed doubtful, but told me to go upstairs, walk past the boutiques and turn right.
     
    "Gotcha," I said and grinned.
     
    I finished the Long Island iced tea and left before I could change my mind, and found myself walking past the boutiques. There was a door at the far end of the corridor with two large bouncers standing in front of it. There was no sign it was a happening nightclub or bar, so I stood there until a man dressed in black walked past me and showed the bouncer his driver's license. The bouncer nodded and handed him a dark blue Venetian mask, which the man slipped over his head.
     
    I watched him walk in and gulped. At least I knew what to do.
     
    It probably wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I showed the