She kept her gaze on the floor to keep him from seeing the truth in her eyes. No need to show him everything all at once.

But he wasn’t having it. With his hand under her chin, he lifted her head so she had to look at him. “Am I right?”

Their gazes locked. His blue eyes seemed to search her, pull answers from her without her permission. Shit. She was used to building walls, and here came Ambrose, looking in the window. He wouldn’t let her hide.

She nodded, feeling warm and safe for some reason. Maybe, just maybe, he could really handle her. Was it too much to hope? To trust?

“Good girl.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb.

Her muscles turned to Jell-O, making her want to melt onto the floor.

“Now let’s go back to the beginning.” He let go of her face then folded his hands together. “Tell me, brat. What was that naughty thought you had earlier?”

Rolling her eyes, she asked, “I’m supposed to remember that now?”

“Yup. Do you need some inspiration to help you?” He started to pull her back over his knee.

“No!” She struggled and he let her go, smirking the whole time. Bastard! Pouting at him, she said, “You said you wanted to know what a sub wants and feels. Well, I thought in my head, I wanted to feel you inside me.”

He stared at her for a long time. It was supposed to be a joke. He wasn’t laughing.

Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Really?”

“It was an errant thought. And meant to stay in my head!” She gave him her best evil glare.

In less than a second he had a handful of her hair tight in his fist. Wrenching her head back, he growled, “Don’t you glare at me.”

“I wasn’t!” she cried. “That’s just my face!”

A laugh burst from his mouth then echoed in the room. She almost smiled. He shook his head. “You are really asking for it, girl.”

“Nooo.” It came out whinier than she’d meant. “I’m sore already.”

He released her hair and she rubbed her aching scalp. God, he hurt her so good.

“So you want me to fuck you?” he asked, as if they were negotiating where to eat for dinner.

Was fuck yes too desperate? “If that’s what you want.”

He sucked in a breath. “You have no idea.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Everly shivered at the intensity in his eyes, like he was fighting with himself and losing. Maybe she’d jumped the gun when it came to propositioning him.

He cupped her jaw in one hand. Was he trying to get her attention? He already had all of it. “I want you to go fetch your toys. Everything you own. Bring it all back here and put it on the coffee table.” When he let her go, she almost expected him to snap his fingers at her, but he didn’t. The silent snap rang in her head though.

“Why?”

“Because I’m a nosy fucker and I want to see what you’re into.”

Everly blushed so hard it felt like she’d sunburned her cheeks. How did he keep making her blush like that? She wasn’t some sweet little vanilla girl. Nobody would mistakenly sacrifice her to a volcano.

An array of things she had no intention of bringing out to him danced through her mind, like kinky sugarplums. He didn’t need to know everything about her yet. Sometimes a girl liked to be mysterious. Wasn’t that allowed?

“Whatever you just thought of hiding from me, don’t. Subs who aren’t honest with the Doms they’re playing with rarely get what they want.”

Maybe Kink Yoda had a point, but that was only half the story. “Subs who play with Doms usually get what the Doms want, so I don’t win either way.”

The grin that spread across his face was mildly disturbing. “Show me everything, and we’ll see if I can give you what you want.”

Ambrose looked so evil she felt faint. Some Doms had tried that expression on her before, but they’d just made her roll her eyes. He was way too good at this.

“Fiiiiine.” She got to her feet and before she got out of reach, he swatted her ass.

“That would be ‘yes, Sir,’ brat.”

“Yes, Sir Brat.” She bolted into her room, smiling at the sound of his laughter. A man who thought her sass was funny? Inconceivable!

There was a laundry basket in the closet, and she dumped her clean, unfolded laundry on her bed before she started raiding her toys. It would be so much easier if they were all in the same place, but they were strewn around her bedroom. Some were even in the bathroom, living room, and kitchen. No man had ever asked to see all of it, but as she lugged the overflowing basket back into the living room, her collection made her feel slutty and deviant.

Far from judging her, Ambrose’s eyes narrowed with interest. When she pulled the nipple clamps out from between the couch cushions and the tangled shibari rope out of the bottom of her kitchen cupboard, he was shaking his head in bemusement.

She plopped the basket on the coffee table in front of him.

“Did you host a play party here recently?” he asked, peering around the room as if more toys would leap out from their hiding places.

“No. I’m just not a very orderly person.” She shrugged. “Sorry if that bothers you.”

He chuckled then stared up at her. “It’s adorable.”

For a moment, she got stuck in his gaze. He thought her messiness was adorable? Did she just win the guy lottery?

Finally, he looked away and focused on the basket. “So what you’re saying is that you weren’t lying about your experience?”

“Disappointed? Were you hoping for a girl you could introduce to kink and mold to your own specifications?”

“I prefer women who know what they want and aren’t shocked by what I’m into. If they can act shocked, that’s more than enough for me.” He winked at her, then shifted forward to look in the basket. One by one he took the items out and laid them on the table, until they were in a few jumbled piles.

“What categories are you sorting by?” She couldn’t see a pattern. “What you’re into, and what you’re not?”

“No. Things I’m going to use on you today, things I might use on you the next time we play if you still like me, and things we need to work up to.”

“Use on me today?” It was the biggest pile!

“Well, we’ll call it ‘options for today.’ It’s probably a little late for this, but do you want to make a safe call before we start?”

“Oh.” She’d been so carried away she hadn’t even thought of it. The fact that he was urging her to make a safe call made her feel like she didn’t need one, but still. “Hang on.”

Breathing unevenly, she grabbed her cell and hit DIAL on Max’s number. He answered right away.

“Hey, Miss Behavior. What’s shakin’? Did you scare him off already?”

“Uh, no. Not even remotely.” She turned her back on Ambrose like it would give her more privacy. “We’re going to play for awhile, so I’m using you as my safe call.”

He snorted. “Go get your freak on, honey. Am I calling you in an hour or two?”

“Um . . .” She looked over her shoulder at Ambrose, whose eyes gleamed with sexy menace. “Maybe two.”

Max whistled. “I’d say don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, but I know you will anyway.”

“Two.”

“Yes, two. I’m setting my timer.” He mwahahahaed and hung up. Jerk. Why Max was one of her best friends, she had no idea. Probably because he gave good advice, didn’t judge her, and could keep his mouth shut. That and they liked the same movies.

She turned back to Ambrose and laid her phone on the bookcase.

For an awkward moment she wasn’t sure what to do.

“Come sit.” He patted his lap.

Uh . . .

He arched a brow at her, apparently not interested in her momentary self-consciousness regarding lap sitting and her curves. But at his size, at least he’d be hard to squish.

Everly eased herself down onto his thighs and tried not to make eye contact.

“Mmm.” He ran his hand reverently along her thigh. “So tell me what you like.”

The toys weren’t enough? She hated these conversations. It was more fun to play and safeword when she had to, although some guys hated having to change course in the middle of a scene.