Chapter 20

Dante stood in the middle of the room, his wrists tied with a thick silk rope that ran through an eye in the ceiling and tied off on another eye attached to the wall. He was naked, his body fully exposed. Emma, dressed in a tight bustier and her a thong, walked slowly around him, a leather flogger with no less than thirty distinct lashes clutched too tightly in her hand.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't."

"But this thing looks pretty solid."

Dante smiled. "It'll sting, but it won't leave marks."

Emma bit her lip. "I just don't want do something wrong."

"You won't," he said again. "Trust me."

She moved close to him and ran a hand along his chest. "I like this, I like the control," she said as she let her hand wander down the length of his abdomen. "I like touching you."

"I can't say I mind it all that much," he said, stepping forward as far as the rope would allow him. "You can do that all you want."

Emma looked up, attracted by the rough edge to his voice, but it was the