I spun round, wiggling my arse, all the while unfastening buttons until I reached my waist. It appeared that I was wearing a very lacy bra that left little to the imagination. I swayed in time to the music, backing up until I was almost sitting on Byron’s lap. I started rubbing against him, half wishing I could see the expression on his face and half hoping the ground would swallow me whole.

I pulled the blouse off my shoulders, intending to slide it down my back, but it caught on the bra strap. I tried to tug it free while still looking sexy; maybe this was going to be harder than I’d realised. I wiggled this way and that; when that didn’t work, I tried to yank the blouse away even if it meant ripping the fabric. From the expressions on a few of the watching faces, my contortions were more like those of a beached whale than a sexy stripper.

I turned my face to Byron’s. ‘You’ll have to use your teeth,’ I breathed.

‘Good grief,’ he muttered. He sighed and then I felt the fabric free itself. He must have used his Telekinesis Gift instead of his mouth. Oh well.

I twisted round until I was facing him, then hovered over his hips and raised my hands, lifting my hair and running my fingers through it. His gaze remained stony cold.

‘Here,’ Jamie said, thrusting a shot glass in between us. He held it to Byron’s lips and the princeling downed it in one as everyone cheered. Suspiciously, I leaned forward and nipped at Byron’s bottom lip with my teeth, my tongue darting out to brush across his mouth. He hissed in annoyance. Taking the hint, I leaned forward to his ear instead, using my curtain of hair to conceal my expression. It was Byron who was sneaking water, not Jamie. I hadn’t been able to taste alcohol on his lips at all – which begged the question why he was supposedly getting pissed.

I moved back slightly, trailing kisses along his neck and back up towards his mouth. Byron didn’t relax; his body was stiff and unyielding and there was no doubt he was hating every second of this. I smirked. I could rise to that challenge.

I twined my arms round his neck, swaying slightly. Jamie pushed another shot at Byron and he dutifully drank it before glaring at his friend and muttering, ‘Get me the hell out of here.’

I pretended to push Jamie away, affording him a saucy wink which inflamed the watching crowd. I wondered what Aifric made of all this. But then, as Byron’s eyes narrowed in disgust and I moved my head down, drawing in his musky scent, I forgot to care. My head dipped and my lips brushed against his once more. I deepened the kiss and pressed against him. With his hands still cuffed, there was little he could do to stop me. Even with our audience, I felt my pulse speed up but he was determined not to respond.