Page 150 of Wallflower

Her release christens me, pooling on the sheets, as I work her through it slowly.

Gently, I unwind from her embrace, and get to my feet. She murmurs something I can’t make out in her post-orgasm state as I move quickly to lock the chain around the leg of the bed frame.

I grip Rose’s ankles, flipping her over, and yanking her down the mattress. Her toes barely touch the hardwood, body bent at the waist onto the bed as I bring her wrists to meet at the base of her spine. I lock the shackles around her wrists, the sound snapping her to attention.

She bolts upright, bare feet slapping down to the floor, eyes wide. Chains may not be the best thing given her trauma, but it’s what I like. The weight of the heavy metal has proven to be a good reminder to do as you’re told, or you’re not getting out.

She spins in place, looking to me, the beginning stages of panic slithering out to say hello.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She sucks in a deep breath. “Yeah.”

“What’s your safeword?”

She smiles. “Dinosaur.”

“Good. Are you ready?”

“For what?”

Moving around the bed, I come up beside my nightstand. Slowly, I slide the drawer open, retrieving the next part of the plan.

Rose’s breath catches when I flick the blade up. Its slightly curved steel is lethally sharp, honed to perfection for this very moment.

“I thought you didn’t want to hurt me?”

“I found a loophole. Where do you want it?”

“What?”

“My name.”

Fuck, the thought of his name scarred into my skin makes my toes curl. That’s a mark I’ll carry the rest of my life, and Rip wants to put it there, maybe for everyone to see. If that’s not a declaration of love and eternal possession, I don’t know what is. He may never say those words to me, and that’s okay. I see it everyday in the little things he does. The singular word means nothing if it’s not followed up by actions of passion and devotion anyway.

“Well, flower, what’ll it be?” He grins. “Ass cheek?” Slowly, Rip advances on me, twirling the knife in a delicious taunt. “Over the heart? Between those perfect tits?” His words shoot heat to my cheeks. Can I just say yes to all of the above? “Come on now, I’m getting impatient.”

“On my hip,” I reply.

“Hmm…” he rumbles, sidling up beside me on the right. His gaze travels along my skin as he trails the tip of the blade up the side of my thigh. Stopping at the spot, his fingers brush back and forth over the skin. “So soft…so pristine. Are you sure?”

Of all the marks I have, I’m not at all worried about this one.

“Yes,” I breathe, observing him watch the way his fingers caress the flesh, figuring out where would be best to carve into me.

“Why the hip?” Ripley’s obsidian eyes lift to mine, delving deep.

“Because it’s the first place you touched me.”

He’s shocked by my confession. “How do you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Say all the right things?”

“I’m just being honest,” I reply.

His lips come down over mine, hard and demanding. Walking me back, Rip directs me around the corner of the bed to the side I sleep on. The chain drags across the hardwood, my leash getting shorter with every step.