“So I was screwed either way.”

Ronin rubbed his lips over the shell of her ear. “You like being screwed by me.”

“Not fair.”

He pulled her hair to the side to access her neck. “Should I mete out your punishment in the practice room? Or the bedroom?”

“Why are you letting me choose?”

“I’m not. Just musing aloud.”

“I hate it when you’re cryptic like this.”

“Practice room it is,” he said, leading her inside. “In front of the mirror.” Ronin pointed to the camera on the bench. “I’ll make sure to get a few photos in.”

She vehemently shook her head.

“Tough shit. I will have pictures of this if for no other reason than to remind you who is in charge.” He wrapped his fingers around her jaw. “They are for our eyes only. I can promise you that.”

Amery nodded.

“Do. Not. Move.” He retreated to his supply drawer and pulled out the things he’d need. Standing behind her again, he gathered her hair on top of her head and secured it with an elastic tie. “Pity this sexy dress got torn in our scuffle.” He tugged the pocket flap and it ripped, leaving a large tear that exposed her bra.

Her mouth hung open.

Then Ronin did the same thing to the other side, but with more force. The lace hem ripped easily, and he let it hang drunkenly above her knee. The side seam had more give than he expected, so when he rent the two pieces apart, the split almost reached Amery’s armpit.

She still hadn’t torn her gaze away from the image in the mirror, so Ronin faced her forward.

He unhooked the rope bundle from his belt. “You will be bound like a criminal in the hojojutsu style. This binding requires several sections of rope wound around your neck. The most important thing for you to remember? This is a punishment binding. It won’t be comfortable. And if you move your neck?” Ronin traced the cord in her throat. “It will hurt. It will leave marks because this rope has a high burn rate.”

A couple of beats passed before she babbled, “I don’t want to be punished. I made the whole thing up about breaking the dojo rules.”

“No, you didn’t. I double-checked.” He bestowed a lingering kiss on her mouth. “You issue a challenge, and it won’t go unanswered. And I need a challenge like I need air. So thank you for giving me exactly what I needed.”

That softened some of the panic in her eyes.

Ronin held up the rope and folded it in half. “I’ll need to rebind your hands. Do I need to issue another warning about what will happen to you if you attempt to escape?”

“No, sir.”

“Clasp your elbows behind your back.” He secured her wrists, leaving the tails long enough to attach to the back binding. He stepped in front of her and folded another section of rope in half. “Open your mouth.”

Amery blinked at him and shook her head.

“I’ll ask one more time. You were warned that gagging you was a consequence, and you chose to ignore my warning. Now, open your mouth, or I will fashion the chopsticks gag, where your tongue is pressed between two chopsticks and the ropes from the gag are tied tightly at the base of your skull.”

She parted her lips.

“Smart choice.” Ronin slipped the rope between her lips and tied a square knot at the nape of her neck. That would allow him to attach the gag to the main binding.

“Normally I don’t give a play-by-play, but since this is new and you can’t speak”—he tugged at the gag—“I’ll tell you what I’m doing. This is nijyuu-hishi nawa—a double diamond samurai tie. It looks precisely as it sounds. Hojojutsu binds are meant to be done quickly with a minimum amount of rope.”

Ronin started with the double neck wrap and split the two sections, tying a knot at the top, pulling the rope down and straight across her arm. He wrapped beneath the arm on both sides and then added another knot at the base of her spine above where her hands were tied. He wound another section midway between her shoulder and elbow. Back up to the knot at the top, he tied another knot below it and crossed to her opposite arm and then down to her wrist binding.

“Done.” Keeping his eyes on hers in the mirror, he used his first two fingers to trace the double diamond, wishing he had her naked. But the power of the binding was such that Amery shuddered anyway.

He picked up the camera and shot several rearview photos. Full length. Close up. Then, since the staged resistance looked so real, he snapped a couple of photos of that. Before he set the camera down, he said, “Struggle to get out of the bindings.”

She thrashed and twisted, but the bindings held.

He snapped a few shots. “Stop.”

When Ronin moved in front of Amery, her gaze fell to the floor.

He crouched, forcing her attention. He slipped his hands beneath her dress until he reached the crotch of her panties. Hooking a finger between her cunt—her wet cunt—and the silky fabric, he yanked hard until her underwear was around her ankles. “Kick them off.”

Ronin grabbed the box holding his surprise and dropped to his knees in front of her.

Amery’s eyes went big. Her response was garbled by the ropes in her mouth.

“What’s this? It’s called a lotus blossom. Similar to the butterfly sex toy in that it has a remote control. But the petals contour more to the curve of your sex.” The straps were thin, and with the way Amery flailed around, he’d have to readjust them.