The woman couldn’t see a thing. Couldn’t predict where he’d strike next with the leather-tasseled flogger in his hand. I didn’t understand how, while he lashed her, she actually leaned into the ropes… leaned into him.
I didn’t understand any of it.
That was when I felt him.
The air shifted. My skin prickled. Goosebumps raced down my arms as I realized I wasn’t alone.
“Lost, little one?”
I froze, the words caught in my throat.
“You’re not supposed to touch,” I whispered. I hadn’t heard a single footstep behind me—I’d been too wrapped up in the scene. Too distracted. And now all I could think was: if I screamed, would anyone even come? Did white really mean stop?
“I’m not,” he murmured, his warm breath brushing my ear.
Technically, he was right. He wasn’t touching me—but his body heat radiated close enough to make my skin hum.
“I should go.” The words barely scraped out. I should have moved. Should have run. But my feet stayed rooted in place.
He lifted one arm and braced it against the wall above my head, leaning in without closing the distance. I turned, my eyes snagging on the mask that hid his features, then back to the dark gaze fixed past me.
His chin tipped toward the scene. “What do you see?”
I swallowed and looked again. The woman trembled, muffled sounds slipping past her lips with every swat of the crop.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, voice shaking. “How can she let him do that? She can’t see anything. She has no control.”
“That’s the point.” His voice wrapped around me. He leaned closer, but still didn’t touch. “It’s not about sight. It’s about surrender. She trusts him completely. Every touch, every sound, every breath is sharper. She feels instead of thinks.”
I couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop the way his words sank deeper than I wanted them to.
Feels instead of thinks.
What would that even be like?
“And you…” His voice brushed the shell of my ear. “What are you feeling, watching her?”
Inside the room, the man clipped something to her nipples. I gasped and stumbled back, colliding with the stranger’s chest.Heat flared at the contact, my breath breaking, my own body responding traitorously.
Before I could flinch away, his hand settled at my hip, steadying me. Then he withdrew, leaving nothing but the ghost of warmth behind.
“Watch her.”
The command pulled my attention back to the glass.
“She wants him to stop,” I whispered as she strained against the ropes.
“She could stop everything cold with her safe word.”
I dragged in a shaky breath. God, even his scent was intoxicating—leather, spice, and something like bourbon.
“He’d stop?” My palm lifted, pressing lightly against the glass.
“Yes.” His voice didn’t waiver. “He’ll push her, but he’ll never pass her limits. And he trusts her to use her safe word if she needs to.”
“And they do this knowing anyone can watch? Doesn’t it ruin it?”
He gave a low, quiet laugh. “They know. But on their side, it’s a mirror. They only see each other. There are rooms with two-way views if they want them.”
