CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

“Have you been gagged before, Lois?” I could see the wheels turning in his eyes, and I wanted to swear. This was not something I wanted to talk about.

“No.” The answer I gave was firm, and the look I wore was steely. My body language was perfect. There was not a blink, twitch, or tremor out of place. He wasn’t going to see through me this time.

“You’re lying.”

Goddamn the man! He was going to drive me crazy.

“Are you going to gag me, or are we going to stand here chatting?” I could hardly believe it, but I was almost looking forward to being mute. If James could have read my mind, it was saying something along the lines of, ‘hurry up and get on with it, you bastard.’

“If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s all you have to say Lois, but you need to be honest with me. If you’re going to have a meltdown when I put this in your mouth, I want to know about it beforehand, so I’m prepared.

If there’s anything that you’re uncertain or afraid of, I’ll walk you through it and hold your han