“Rum and Coke would be great.”
“A favorite of mine as well.” Shiori flipped open another compartment, which contained ice. She filled two glasses and mixed the drinks like a pro, even adding a wedge of lime.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I hate to admit I usually drink alone, so this is nice.” She kicked off her heels, five-inch leopard-print Pradas, spreading her bare toes into the carpet with a soft sigh.
Amery sipped her drink. “I appreciate you coming by last night. By the time I got to Ronin’s place, he’d worked through some of his anger.”
“Did he tell you what Naomi said to him?”
“We discussed it this morning, which brought up some issues between us that we’d both conveniently shoved aside.”
“Can you talk about those issues?”
She studied Ronin’s sister. The big bad international corporate executive with tremendous sway in Amery’s career didn’t look so scary with her shoes off and her hair twisted into a messy bun. It occurred to her that since Shiori knew Ronin’s proclivities, she’d be a good one to talk to about her fears.
“Why are you sizing me up?” Shiori asked with that haughty edge.
“Relax. I’m just wondering if we’re off the record right now. I work for you, and I want to keep things professional.”
“Technically you don’t work for me since I . . .” She stopped. “Not important. But you’re also involved with my only sibling, so we’ll have a personal crossover regardless. I’m sure I’m probably the last person you’d trust, but I’d like to prove you can trust me. Obviously my first loyalty is to Ronin, and if you do or say anything that would put him in physical or emotional jeopardy, naturally I’d tell him.”
Good to know that after all the trauma Shiori had helped create in Ronin’s life that now she looked out for her brother’s well-being. “Fair enough. Our off-the-record time is just girl talk. But if you say or do something that might hurt him, same goes. I’ll tattle on you like a six-year-old girl.”
Shiori laughed. “Deal. And off the clock, my friends call me Shi.” She held her glass up for a toast. “May our shared secrets be as juicy as the men in our lives.”
Amery clinked her glass to Shiori’s. “Oh, I got that covered.”
“Did Ronin attack a heavy bag last night to work out his frustrations?”
“He was in the pool when I got there. His knuckles weren’t scuffed up like other times when he used his fists. But he was exhausted, so I imagine he did some punishing activity in the dojo.” Amery was a little clinical when she summarized what Ronin had told her.
“That’s not all of it, Amery. Probably not the worst of it.”
Why was she surprised Shiori had picked up on what wasn’t said? “Naomi told him she’d heard at the club that I refused to be his rope model in public. She asked him how he let a student dictate lessons to the teacher, which when phrased that way . . .” She swallowed a mouthful of courage. “It puts him in a bad light. But the thing is, since we reconciled, we haven’t discussed whether he’ll continue with demos. Or whether I’d be okay if he used someone else.”
Shiori cocked her head. “Being his rope model in public was a hard limit for you?” When Amery blinked with confusion, Shiori clarified. “Something you will not do under any circumstances, which means you’ll safe-word out.”
“We don’t use safe words. If I get panicked by a binding, I tell him and we talk through it. We don’t um . . . practice any aspects of BDSM.”
“Besides the tying-up-with-ropes and having-sex-tied-up aspects,” Shiori said dryly.
“We don’t practice any other aspects of BDSM besides bondage,” Amery clarified. “He told me this morning that he’d gone to the club during our break.”
“I’m not surprised, but at least he told you. He could’ve lied and you wouldn’t have ever known.”
“I realize that.”
“Were you pissed off, or hurt or what?”
“All of the above. But I don’t have a right to any of it. We weren’t seeing each other at the time, and he told me he didn’t fuck her.”
“And you believe him?”
Amery looked up. “Yes. Public sex after the binding became an issue between him and Naomi. I don’t have to tell you that your brother is a very private man. Sex isn’t sacred, but it is the ultimate intimacy. He and I are in agreement on that. But I have the same sense of privacy when it comes to baring all. Not to him. But to people I don’t know? That terrifies me.”
Shiori reached for her hand and squeezed. “Understandable. Maybe the reason it doesn’t seem like a big deal to him is—”
“Because he’s not the one who’s naked!”
“There is that. But Ronin has been around people in the lifestyle long enough to know they’re not judging you. I’m sure he feels that should allay your fears.” She smiled. “And as a man, he wants to show you off. He wants to demonstrate how in synch the model can be with the rope master. How beautiful you are bound in his rope designs. He wants every person in attendance to feel the sexual heat between you two, because that, more than anything, will prove to everyone that kinbaku is a sensual art.”
“It makes sense . . . Until I imagine myself wrapped wrist to ankle and exposed to the point they could see up into my tonsils.”
“There’s a visual. Look, you have to set limits. Ronin won’t know where to start unless you tell him what you won’t do. It’s give and take. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t let you wear a thong if he was focusing on chest harness techniques. It’d be different if he was teaching a class of basic rope knots rather than giving a demonstration of a full binding.”
She hadn’t considered that. Heck, she hadn’t thought beyond no, and yet she remembered her irrational jealousy when Ronin had bound that woman at the club. That brought her full circle. “The other reason Ronin was so angry yesterday? Naomi offered herself as his model if I wasn’t up to the task. I think that made him wonder if I’m right for him.” Amery finished her drink. “When it’s just us . . . it’s beautiful and sensual, and I don’t know why my willingness to hand him the ropes behind closed doors isn’t enough for him. But I’d never give him an ultimatum because I’d definitely lose him.”
Shiori thoughtfully tapped her fingers on the back of the seat.
“What?”
“Wearing a mask wouldn’t solve anything either. And I would imagine, like most men, he prefers to look at your face while you’re in the scene.”
“Unless he’s directly in my face, I doubt that’s where either one of his heads is focused.”
“True. It’s just too bad you can’t wear a wig and a mask. You’d be amazed by how many people you’d fool and how freeing anonymity can be.”
“Speaking from personal experience, Shi?”
“Yes. But to get the real scoop on that secret?” She rattled her empty glass. “I’ll need several more of these.”
“Fill ’er up. It’s not like we’re driving.”
• • •
AND that’s how they ended up club hopping—after zipping through the McDonald’s drive-through for burgers and fries to soak up some of the alcohol.
Amery wished she’d invited Chaz along since he knew all the hottest clubs. Once Shiori let her hair down, she really let it down. With her exotic looks, men flocked to her. She took it all in stride, not acting like a billionaire heiress, a badass ninja, or the VP of a global corporation.
They danced and laughed and drank. Amery tried to pick a guy for Shiori, but every guy had a flaw that precluded Shiori from approaching him.
“What about him?” Amery asked. “Brown shirt.”
“The one who looks like Curly from The Three Stooges? Pass.”