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“Okay. It’s all a bit weird for me, that’s all.”
“Shall we sit? My feet are killing me.”
He nodded, and we lowered ourselves to the floor, pressing our backs to the wall.
“Weird, how?” I asked, curiously. “Do you not like sex?”
“That’s a bit of a personal question,” he stuttered, embarrassment flushing his cheeks.
“It is, but you not wanting to answer it tells me a lot.”
He placed his glass down and closed his eyes with a sigh. “It’s complicated.”
“Okay. Sorry, I won’t push.” Shivering because the temperature in the room had dropped significantly now everyone had left, I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to warm up. Without saying a word, Archer sat forward, pulling off his jacket and placing it over my shoulders.
“Thank you,” I said as I let my eyes dance over his curved biceps and corded forearms, noticing how my heart hammered in my chest as I took him in. “Did you manage to find anything you liked?” I asked. “And no lying.”
“I like that one,” he replied without hesitation, pointing at the line drawing I’d done a few nights ago that I’d only brought it as a teaser for my next collection. I had the idea randomly while in the shower and I couldn’t get it out of my head. “Trust you to choose the only thing not included in the show,” I laughed.
“Sorry,” he said with a cheeky wink. “I like to be different. Tell me more about it,” he asked, pointing at the drawing.
I let out a contented hum as I stared at the image. “When people think about BDSM, they think about Doms and subs, bondage, pain, humiliation. Whips, ball gags, leather, chains,50 Shades of Gray…”I lifted my glass to my lips and took a sip. “But it’s so much more than that. That image is a different way of submitting to someone. It’s what I think my next collection is going to focus on. BDSM can be dark and depraved, if that’s what you want, but it can be other things, too. Light hearted, loving, safe. The simple act of tying someone up can be a punishment that’s donetosomeone or it can be a process that both parties can get pleasure from.”
He laughed, but it sounded pained.
“You had a bad experience with being tied up?”
He frowned as if he wondered why I’d asked him, but it was written all over his face.
“You could say that,” he mumbled, his eyes suddenly fixed on the floor.
“The drawing is of something called shibari. It’s a type of rope bondage. It’s beautiful and a great way to learn trust and communication. It can be as simple as a single knot around your wrist, all the way through to being suspended from the floor and restrained completely.”
Archer didn’t speak, but he raised his gaze back to the drawing as his Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably in his throat.
“It takes control away from a person and gives them the space to let go… to heal.”
“Really?” he whispered.
“Do you have your phone?”
He handed it to me, and I typed in a website, waiting for it to load. “Here, take a look.”
He took it from my hand, flicking the photos slowly. With each image, his eyes widened, his breathing growing rapid as he took in the different images of men and women in various stages of restraint. When he landed on the image of a naked man, on his knees, bound with a beautiful ladder of knots that wrapped around his chest, arms, and thighs, his head down and his hands out in front as if he was begging for more, Archer froze, dropping the phone to the floor.
The noise seemed to pull him from whatever thoughts he was having and he scrabbled to stand.
“I should go. I’ve taken enough of your time. Do you have a lift? I don’t want to leave you here alone,” he said quickly, looking flustered.
“No, I’m good. I need to speak to the gallery owner, but thanks,” I replied as I stood as well, handing him his jacket.
“‘Kay.”
Archer turned on his heel, but before he could get too far, I reached out for his hand, taking it in mine. A shot of electricity jolted up my arm as my fingers curled into his. I told myself it was static and not some weird connection between us because that nonsense only existed in soppy romance movies and Lea’s ridiculous fantasies for me.
“Look, I know you don’t know me and you have no reason to trust me, but if you want to try it, there are plenty of ways for me to show you. I’ve been practicing for over a year, so you’d be in safe hands. Plus, I need some models for my next collection if you don’t mind me drawing or sculpting you.”
He looked back over his shoulder, his slate eyes hooded, his cheeks flushed. “Thanks, but I don’t think it’s my cup of tea. It was nice to meet you, Ionee.”
