Colleen blurted, “I stuffed five condoms into my bra.”
Oh, God. Talk about sounding like a hick American in front of the sophisticated Euro-guy. Why in the hell had she led with that? She should just leave right then. No good could come of this.
No good came of anything.
Oddly, Twist didn’t laugh at her but merely began walking, circling her like he was analyzing what he saw.
And she would be found lacking, just like always.
From behind her, she heard him whisper, “Hard limits?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Hard limits. Boundaries. I need to know what your boundaries are so I won’t go beyond them. Tonight, what is nonnegotiable for you?”
Her mind blanked like the film of her life had broken. “Oh, I really don’t know. I’m fine with anything. Whatever you want.”
“That’s not the way this works, pet. We establish the rules of the game because that ensures everyone is having fun. If there are no rules, it’s not a game.”
Why was he asking her all these questions? What she wanted. Really? What a stupid question. “I wouldn’t even know where to start with that.”
Something light stroked the back of her neck, his fingertips, probably. “Then I’ll teach you how to do this. Let’s start with the obvious, the rules of the Sherwood Forest forum. We will remain anonymous to each other. No names, no identifying information. I’ll keep my mask on, as you will with your costume and makeup, or at least the important parts of it, meaning anything hiding anything identifying like distinctive tattoos or scars.”
“I don’t have any tatts.” Okay, it was good that he understood the importance of that rule. “Of course. Of course, we have to continue that.” Speaking of masks. “That’s a really interesting mask. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
He walked around in front of her again. “It’s a Bauta mask. In Venice, people used to wear them to conceal their identities during the Renaissance, especially during Carnival. A nobleman could go anywhere unrecognized in a Bauta mask, and an ordinary citizen could pretend to be a nobleman and gain admittance to places that would’ve otherwise been closed to them. Women wore them to attend social events, art and theater, and gambling venues. Venetian society had strict rules that separated the classes, genders, everyone, really, so people got around the restrictions by wearing masks.”
“It’s really beautiful. The filigree looks kind of like the henna mehndi a friend of mine paints on her hands for Indian weddings. All those flower petals and paisleys look like mehndi. It does an excellent job of hiding your face. I wouldn’t be able to pick you out of a lineup or even begin to describe what you look like.”
“Good.”
“But it completely covers your mouth.”
He chuckled, a dark, sexy sound from behind the black-and-silver shield. “I considered that, but two priorities seemed higher on the list. First, anonymity for both our sakes.”
“Granted,” she said. “It does that pretty well.”
“As for the second, the Venetians managed quite well whilst wearing it. It was a popular design for centuries. The mask does stand out from the lower half of my face a bit, so one can eat or drink with it on. Other than that, I must assume they managed because the Venetians were not known to deny themselves anything at all, especially during Carnival.”
Colleen felt herself smiling. “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Her dad used to say that to her, and a pang sped through her chest.
“What else is nonnegotiable for you?” he asked, walking around her again.
Colleen wiggled, trying to dispel the discomfort itching on her skin. “Condoms. Condoms are nonnegotiable. I have five of them, like I said.” Blurted out. Like she’d blurted out.
“I’m also prepared.” His light touch ran down the side of her neck from her ear to her shoulder. “I like it when a woman knows her own mind. Good girl.”
His mouth must’ve been very close to her neck because she could have sworn a puff of his breath caressed the skin of her throat.
Colleen almost leaned toward him but caught herself.
He asked, “What are your safewords?”
“Safe words? Like the guy outside said?”
“A different one, for me. I use two of them. One for a pause so you can collect yourself or discuss what’s going on, and then a different one if you want to stop everything immediately.”
“I don’t even know about this.”
