I wrinkled my nose. “She’s amazing, Crew. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
“Romance isn’t my thing, Twinkles, but if you love it, I’m all for it.”
“Anyway,” I swallowed, “Um… there’s something that happens in part of her new book that, well, um, I kind of want to try.”
“Fuck,” Scooby hissed.
“I’m sorry, it’s stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Don’t you dare apologize,” he growled, grabbing my hand. “Lord, crate.”
Lord went straight to his crate and Scooby locked him in as he led me back to my bedroom.
“Show me,” he demanded.
I nodded, grabbing my e-reader, and swiping to the scene I’d highlighted before handing it to him. He scanned the passage, then set the device back on my nightstand. “Right.”
“Dumb?”
“No. Stop sayin’ that,” he growled, cupping my face. “First, nothin’ you say is dumb. You wanna play, we can play. Nothin’ is off-limits, got it?”
I nodded, feeling my face heat.
“Second, we can’t do what’s in that book because we don’t have the right shit.”
“Oh,” I whispered.
“I can’t tie you to your bed because you don’t have a four-poster bed, you have an upholstered one, and since you don’t own a horse, we don’t have immediate access to a riding crop.”
“Oh, right. That makes sense.”
“But,” he said, squeezing my chin gently. “Wecanget creative.”
I let out a quiet breath. “We can?”
“Abso-fuckin-lutely.” He leaned down and kissed me quickly. “You want to play?”
“I want to play.”
“You got cable ties?”
“In the drawer to the right of the dishwasher.”
“I want you naked and waiting for me when I get back.” He cupped my chin. “Pull your hair back into a ponytail.”
He walked out of the room, and I flew into the bathroom to do his bidding. I stepped back into my bedroom just as he strolled in wearing just his jeans and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from sighing out loud. Smiling wide, he held his hand out to me. “You ready?”
I nodded, settling my hand in his. He guided both my hands together, securing my wrists with cable ties. “Too tight?”
I shook my head.
“I found these.” He held up mini clothespins. “I’m gonna put one on your nipple. If it hurts, you tell me, okay? And if you ever feel uncomfortable or want to stop, you tell me. We’re gonna play and I’m gonna dominate, but you still have the power to stop if you don’t like it.”
I let out a shaky breath and nodded.
“Choose a safe word.”
“Giraffe.”