A~
Two hours later, a response popped up in Amery’s in-box.
Amery,
I actually don’t mind answering questions—knowledge is power, and I’m happy to use my experience—limited as it is—to clear up misconceptions.
No, I’m not in the life. I’ve dabbled and done a few “drive-bys,” but I haven’t found a situation or a man who . . . fit me. That said, there is a difference between BDSM and bondage.
In the BDSM lifestyle one person is the Dominant and the other submissive—even if they’re “playing” for only one night. The relationship between the Dom and the sub is sexual—more often than not.
Things are . . . a little trickier when it comes to explaining bondage. It’s a release for some people to be tied up to the point they can’t move, they can’t think, they exist solely as a vessel. Some rope enthusiasts want to be bound by someone they have no other intimate relations with, so the binding process is not always sexual. Sometimes it’s strictly psychological. Then there are the artistic bondage disciplines, where the beauty of the ties and configuration of knots is more about showcasing the rope master’s artistry than emphasizing the sexual aspect of the scene.
Amery pushed away from the computer screen and rubbed her eyes. Every time Ronin had immobilized her, he’d made it sensual. He couldn’t touch her enough. Being bound had allowed him to explore her body and her reactions without restriction.
And the truth was, she’d liked it, even when she hadn’t known what he was doing to her had an actual official name.
Maybe she was naive, but she’d had no idea relationships like those—BDSM, Dominants, submissives—existed. She considered herself open-minded, but it’d never work for her. If it worked for other people, great.
She sipped her coffee and grimaced that it’d gone cold before she continued reading Cherry’s response.
Still interested in working with me? I obviously have no opinions on this—LOL.
Cherry~
After rereading the e-mail, she pulled up her history from last night and spent another hour reading about shibari and kinbaku, determined that when she and Ronin finally had an honest conversation about it, she wouldn’t be completely clueless.
“A dozen? Sure, that’ll work.” Amery kept her head tilted toward her shoulder to hold the phone receiver in place as she typed the information into her weekly calendar. “No, thank you. I appreciate the business and I’m always excited to work on new projects.” She laughed. “Take care. See you Thursday.”
She dropped the receiver in the cradle and moved her neck in a circle to get the kinks out.
“You really need to invest in a wireless headset,” Molly said from the doorway.
Amery looked up. “I know. But the number of choices overwhelms me and I always end up walking out of the store without buying anything.”
“Do me a favor. Next time, let me come with you.”
“Deal. Did you need something?”
Molly glanced over her shoulder. “There’s someone here to see you.”
Ronin.
Her face heated. Since their “break” she’d kept herself occupied from the moment she woke up until her head hit the pillow in an attempt to stop thinking about him. It hadn’t worked, which annoyed her to no appreciable end. They’d been involved for three weeks. Three weeks. She shouldn’t have such a . . . bond with him. She’d certainly never missed Tyler the way she missed the sexy sensei. But she honestly didn’t know what she’d say to Ronin when she saw him, or why the prospect of seeing him made her heart race.
“Will you be disappointed that your visitor isn’t Ronin?”
The way her stomach plummeted, the answer to that would be a resounding yes. “Then who is it?”
“Shihan Knox from the dojo. Do you want me to tell him you’re on a client call?”
“No. Send him back.” Amery barely had time to clear off a place for him to sit before all six feet four inches sauntered into the room.
He smiled at her before he closed the door.
“I usually leave my door open.”
“I figured you’d want it closed for this conversation.” He plopped in the chair and cocked his head. “Unless you already told your office mates what happened between you and Ronin Saturday night?”
“It’d be hard to tell them when I’m not exactly sure what happened myself.”
“I can guess exactly what happened.”
She frowned. “Ronin didn’t tell you?”
“Nope. In fact, he doesn’t know I’m here.”
That startled her.
“I’m betting you freaked out after Master Black broke out the ropes.”
Amery blushed.
“Did he show you his practice room?”
“That’s what he calls it?”
“What else would he call it?” Knox’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe the question is, what did you call it?”
She blushed harder, if possible when she admitted, “Nothing I care to repeat because I said it out of shock and fear.”
“Understood.” Knox leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “Look, Amery, I don’t know you, but I’d like this to be an honest conversation, okay? Whatever you tell me won’t get back to Ronin. But I need to know where you’re at right now.”
“You think I should tell you before I tell the man himself?”
“Yes.”
“Why? So you can break it to him gently that I’m walking away? Bullshit. Ronin Black doesn’t sugarcoat anything, so I doubt he’d expect that in return from me or you.”
Knox grinned. “You’re right. Which is why I’m here.” His smile faded. “You really walking away from him?”
“If you had asked me Saturday night, I’d have said more like I was running away.” Amery twisted a section of hair. “But now? After I’ve calmed down and gotten some perspective from doing research, I don’t know.”
“At least that’s not a flat-out no.”
“If it was no, would you still try to sway me?”
He shook his head. “I have a proposition for you. Master Black is highly regarded for his rope skills. He’s considered a shibari and kinbaku rope master. He gives demonstrations at a local club, and I think it’d be beneficial for you—for both of you actually—to see him showcasing his rope-tying expertise.”
“What kind of club?”
“A private club. Some call it a sex club, but that’s a simplistic description.”
Her jaw dropped. “There’s a sex club in Denver?”
“Lady, there are a dozen different underground private sex clubs in Denver.”
“Oh. You can tell I don’t get out much.”
“It’s not like they’re advertised.”
The conversation she’d overheard between Ronin and Knox at the dojo, where Knox asked if Amery was the reason Ronin hadn’t shown up at the club, made more sense. “So you’re offering to take me to this sex club?”
“Yes.”
“Will you tell Ronin if I decide to go?”
“Not sure. I’d hate to tell him you’ll be there and then you get cold feet and pull a no-show.”
Amery started to protest that she wouldn’t do that, but she couldn’t guarantee it. There was a huge chance she would chicken out.
“Ronin hasn’t said anything about what went down between you two. Not that I’m surprised; he’s the most private man I’ve ever met. I’ve worked for him for years and still only know parts of him.”
“That drives me crazy.”
He shrugged. “It is what it is and that’s the way he prefers it. What I do know of him I respect the hell out of, so it makes it easier to accept the walls he’s built around himself to maintain that privacy.”