Page 34 of Theirs to Tempt: The Marriage Claim

That can’t be possible.

“You don’t know, do you?”

When I don’t respond, she nods.

“It fits.”

I know next to nothing about that, except for reading a wildly popular book a long time ago.

“Tell me about when he called you a brat?”

I hadn’t thought much of it at the time. “He seemed…” I trace the stem of my glass. “Unbothered?” No. That wasn’t the right word. “I don’t know. He might have smiled. He didn’t seem unhappy.”

“Lord, girl. I’d say there’s a good possibility he’s a Dom.”

I can’t deal with this.

“Do you know anything about bratting?”

“Bratting?” I repeat, frowning. “Is that really a word? Or did you just make it up?”

She laughs. “No. I didn’t make it up.”

Against my own better judgment, I lean forward a little.

“Some submissives misbehave on purpose to get a reaction from their Dom. A lot of them enjoy what they call funishment.”

“Funishment?” That can’t be a word either. I feel like I’ve stepped into an alternate reality.

“Think of it as playful punishment. It can be an excuse for more intensity. Spanks that sting just right, being held down while they tease you until you’re begging. But all of it is based on trust and clear boundaries. There are safe words and check-ins. The power exchange can feel incredibly freeing. With the right person.” She looks at me hard. “Or people.”

I’m stunned speechless.

My analytical brain tries to slot this new information into the friend I thought I knew—outgoing, bubbly Piper who drags me to trivia nights and complains about dating apps. “So you’ve done more than study it.”

“Why not? There’s an amazing dungeon right here in downtown Houston. And the owner is…” She waves her napkin in front of her face, as if she’s going to swoon. “Lord have mercy, that man is divine. And his eyes…” She touches a hand to her heart. “I’ve never seen anything like them before. Altair Montgomery. We call him Your Grace.”

“I blink. You’re not serious right now.”

She crosses her heart. “I promise.”

“Is he actual British nobility?”

“I have no idea. And I looked him up online and didn’t find out anything about him. Until the last few years, there had been nothing written about him.”

“I don’t even know what to say right now.”

“Honestly it is kind of strange. But when I met him…” She trails off and looks into the distance before refocusing on me. “Look, Soph… If they are into that, make sure you have rock-solid boundaries and a safe word that stops everything.”

“A safe word?”

“Something that you say that will immediately stop all play.”

“Play?” Is that what people call it?

“And we call it sceneing. Like, you have a scene.” She grins. “And if you’re in public, you really are seen.”

Shuddering, I tighten my grip on my glass. I can’t imagine doing anything like that in private, let alone in public.