I surveyed the room behind him. More light spilled in from the glass, highlighting those draped shapes. There was apparatus in here as well. Solely for our use.

Leisurely petting my wet panties, he said, “We aren’t here just to watch.”

“Good.” I felt like I was on the cusp of discovering not only what made Sevastyan tick, but myself as well, unveiling our most forbidden fantasies. At last I would alleviate my sexual curiosity, which had grown like an inferno inside me.

“I’m going to push you tonight, Natalie. To determine whether this is truly what you need. You’ll be given three tests, and if you pass them, this life will be yours as you desire it.”

“Tests?” He had my full attention.

“The first is that you obey me absolutely—and readily—in every command, even ones outside your normal comfort zone. The second is that you accept any tools I decide to use on you.” Tools? “The third is that you become aroused by everything I do to you.”

Merely talking about this was arousing me. “How will you know whether I’m turned on by you and your tools—or by the freaking orgy taking place right in front of me?”

His lips curled. “I’ll know. Now, up you go.” Once we were standing, he took off his jacket and undid his tie. With a careless air, he cast them both away. “Give me your jewelry.”

I removed my earrings and pendant, handing them to him.

Such a guy, he pocketed them. “Slip out of your heels.” When I did, he turned me to unzip my gown. “You still want an introduction into this world?”

“Yes.” I had to suck in so he could get the zipper down.

“You’re certain?”

“One hundred percent.” I was ready to partake, to enjoy—and to make progress in our relationship. We’d had two hurdles—sexual frustration and lack of emotional intimacy. Tonight we would dismantle the first, paving the way toward fixing the second.

Once I’d stepped from the gown, he balled it up and lobbed it in the direction of his jacket. Men.

With me still turned from him, he knelt to roll down one of my hose; then off went the other one, leaving me in only my mask, thong, and bustier.

Before he stood, he nipped the cleft of my ass with his teeth, sending a thrill through me. “Turn around.” When I did, he bit back a groan to say, “My God, you are lovely.”

A guttural yell from the circus ring drew my attention, but he pinched my chin, bringing my focus back to him. “Pay attention only to me. I’ll tell you when you can look again.”

So I’d be able to hear—yet not see? My imagination was going to run wild.

Releasing me, he crossed to one of the room’s draped shapes. He uncovered a table topped with an extensive assortment of toys, paddles, and various bondage gear. There were a lot of items I’d never seen—and couldn’t determine a purpose for.

He returned with four leather cuffs, tossing three on the settee. They were thick, lined with padded cloth, each with a large metal ring sewn into the middle.

With a kiss to my right wrist, he buckled the first cuff. A kiss to my left wrist preceded the next.

Dropping to one knee, he lifted my right foot to rest on his thigh. He caressed my ankle as he coiled leather around it.

This process was a foreplay all its own, whetting my arousal even more. As he buckled the last cuff, I peered down at my body, at my striking leather bonds. This was truly happening! When he stood, I went to my toes to give him an adoring kiss across his lips.

I drew back, gazing up at him, letting him see all I was feeling.

Desire, affection, excitement . . . and more.

“I think I see the hope you spoke of earlier.” You do. “My Natalya comes to such a place and feels that? I wonder what else you feel. What you feel for me?”

Too much! I pressed my lips together.

“I’ll get that answer from you soon enough. Now, come.” He led me over to a dais beside the tool table. I glanced up with a thread of trepidation to see a chain dangling from the ceiling.

He smoothed his palms down my arms, then raised them over my head, locking the cuff rings to a loop in the chain. Though he hadn’t suspended me, I was definitely held fast.

“Spread your legs,” he said, kneeling beside me.

Trust him, Nat. I tentatively eased my feet apart.

“Wider.” He put pressure on the inside of a cuff.

Once I’d spread my legs wide, he attached the right cuff to a recessed bolt in the floor that I hadn’t seen. He affixed the left cuff to another hidden bolt, each click and snap only heightening this spine-tingling anticipation.

He rose, stepping back to admire his handiwork. Behind his mask, his golden eyes roamed over me.

I was well and truly bound. I had to choke down a spike of panic. I might’ve gone too far.

No, no, no. Nothing could signal my trust more than giving up total control to this man. And, in turn, he would trust me more.

Right?

His gaze narrowed intently on my bustier. With his attention distracted, I could have peeked at the orgy. The glass stretched before me, a tantalizing portal, but I refused to look until he told me I could—even when I heard the crack of a bullwhip slice through the air.

With great relish, Sevastyan began unhooking each individual eyelet of the bustier from the bottom up. When I’d donned it earlier, I’d noticed that there was a profusion of hooks. Now I realized why; unwrapping his belonging was part of the ritual for him—one he obviously savored.