“I’ve never seen someone so in tune with her body.” That’s how Evan Stone describes Adrianna Nicole, the centerpiece in director Tristan Taormino’s third Rough Sex title for Vivid. It’s that self-knowledge, that openness, which makes her a natural vehicle for exploring the darker sides of desire—the complicated tightrope walk between pain and pleasure, control and compliance.

As the title suggests, all five scenes in Adrianna’s Dangerous Mind are driven by its star’s fantasies, which makes this an exploration of submission—a welcome change of pace from erotica envisioned by the dominator. Rather than separate explanatory BTS footage, the scenes are framed with conversations between the participants, which has the effect of adding dimension and context without diminishing the sexual heat.

In “Cash,” Nicole explores the power dynamics of taking money for sex. Though things start off gently and sensually, pretty soon Ramon Nomar is grabbing her hair as he gives her a brutal face-fucking, explaining, “Why do you think I pay you? Do you think I can do this with my wife?” But we’re also privy to scenes that show the strong sexual chemistry between the two: first in their conversations beforehand, and then in the second and third orgasms that the two enjoy in the shower after the fantasy scenario.

Two girl/girl scenes bracket the Nomar-Nicole pairing, and both offer visual interest, with Nicole much more glammed up than is her norm. Shot in bright white light, so overexposed that details are lost in favor of a dreamy vibe, Nicole submits to Jiz Lee (also heavily made up) in a segment called “Mouth” that mostly shows just how much control Nicole has over her gag reflexes.

The scene with Jada Fire generates more sexual heat—thanks to Fire, who is a sheer delight in the dominatrix role, dressed in a silver bikini, black corset and thigh-high boots. “Would you let me fucking choke you? Maybe ride you like a motherfucking pony?” Fire asks rhetorically as she wraps Nicole’s black bra around her pale neck like a halter.

The final scene, “Safe,” is a vignette involving Prince Yahshua as Nicole’s boyfriend, who pushes her to have sex in an alley with a stranger (menacing Teutonic type Steve Holmes). The emotional undercurrents are intriguing, but the cinematography—as dark as “Mouth” is light—obscures the details.

In “Jock,” the longest and most intense scene, Nicole gets the balls rolling when she hits the men’s lockers looking for the showers … but Nat Turnher knows she’d rather get wet in other ways. After a vigorous but basically sweet screw in the locker room with Turnher (who’s a terrific kisser), Nicole moves her workout to the showers with boxers Keni Styles and Danny Wylde, where no holes are barred, including Nicole’s ass. As cum drips down her face, Nicole looks up to see Evan Stone next to her in the shower. “Rough day at the gym?” he asks. Of course, it’s about to get a lot rougher …

But rough or soft, Nicole is paying attention, reacting to the body next to hers. It’s a refreshing approach. Often female porn stars seem far more attuned to the feelings they evoke in others than their own feelings, putting their emphasis on the tease rather than the please. And while that sex without tease is like cake without icing, you don’t want just the icing. Adrianna Nicole offers up the cake—sustaining sexual performances that nurture her co-stars and offer a model for what sex advice columnist Dan Savage calls GGG: “good, giving and game.” Or as Keni Styles puts it, “She will make you feel like you possess the last cock in the world.” And one would imagine that cock would be quite happy about the place in which it was lucky enough to land.

This third installment in the series focuses on “Adrianna’s Dangerous Mind,” which isn’t really that dangerous, but does like its sex to be an active verb.

Adrianna Nicole has crafted five power-exchange sex fantasies, which director Tristan Taormino brings to vibrant and beautiful life with a touch of noir.

With model-handsome Ramon Nomar she explores the thrill of sex-for-money with a stranger. With Jada Fire, the audience watches as Nicole is dominated effectively and without degradation. An ethnically diverse gangbang fulfills Nicole’s locker room shower sex yearnings – and when “boyfriend” Prince hands her over to Steve Holmes in a darkened alleyway, her anonymous sex itch is thoroughly scratched.

Best of the best scenes, however, is the first: Jiz Lee and Nicole finally go where they wanted to go during AEE. The world will thank them.