“That’s not a bad thing. Can you face me please?”

Amery rose to her feet and turned around to see Ronin still on his knees. “Oh. Was I supposed to—”

“No, baby, stay like that. I wanted to see if you had bruising or marks on your stomach. Tell me where it hurts.”

She had the childish urge to push him away, but she tamped it down. “He hit me kind of dead center.”

“Did it knock the wind out of you?”

“No.”

He scooted closer and spanned her waist with his big hands. “Soreness by your ribs?”

“Mostly my face hurts.”

Ronin strung kisses from one side of her belly to the other. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing his palms into her shoulder blades. “I want to do a modified chest harness on you. It’s a complex pattern, and it’ll take some time. Are you up for that?”

“Whatever you want, rope master Black.”

He rocked to his feet. “This binding will be face-to-face.”

Amery wanted to ask why but refrained. “So do I get to ask what kind of rope you’re using?”

“Plain jute. Fairly small diameter.”

Ronin sauntered to the wall with the ropes and snagged four bundles from the top row.

Seemed like a lot of rope for just an upper-body binding. But again, for as talkative as he seemed, she worried if she started questioning him about his techniques, he’d clam up.

He pointed to the bench. “Straddle the bench.”

“Where will you be?”

“Sitting in front of you.”

A seated binding? That was novel.

They sat knee to knee, and Amery had the urge to cover herself. Normally she barely noticed her nakedness when he was tying her. But being this close to him, with her sex bared and him wearing gi pants, she felt more exposed than ever.

Ronin undid the rope, and it made a soft swish as the length brushed the wooden bench. He leaned forward, burying his face in her neck and breathing her in.

Just that small intimacy allowed her to relax.

“Wrists together, palms facing toward you,” he murmured, placing a soft kiss on the pulse point on her throat.

Amery watched his focus take over. Eyes dark, full mouth pursed, a bit of color highlighting his cheekbones.

He did a hojojutsu quick tie—she’d come to differentiate them from other ties—each wrap perfectly placed. Then he pressed her wrists against her chest, her palms over the tops of her br**sts. “Hold like that.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off him. Every brush of his fingertips as he wound the rope around her back, every hard tug of the rope over her crisscrossed arms. Every loop and knot precisely placed with such a loving touch. He even stopped to kiss her shoulder, which was a rare reaction from him when he was in the Zen zone as he bound her. Then he kissed the tips of each of her fingers, spread out like starfish over her chest. He caressed her thighs every time he reached for a new rope.

Normally the binding process sent her into a fuzzy headspace. Not tonight. Tonight it wasn’t about sensuality, but comfort.

Not comfort for her, but for him. Putting him in a place where he had total control over her. Where he could soothe her, cherish her, protect her.

With each new section he added, Amery saw him coming back to himself.

Her arms were numb, but she couldn’t break the unity between them.

Finally Ronin lifted his head and gazed into her eyes. “Done.”

Amery glanced down at the plain tan ropes that covered her from shoulders to belly. On the outside, the design resembled a messy, misshapen spiderweb, but on the inside, over the center of her torso, was an exquisite flower, with perfectly shaped petals.

Ronin stared at her bound, pleasure and gratitude on his face.

She blinked back tears. She did this for him. Letting him use her body as a canvas, as a cushion, as a haven, as the chance to create something beautiful and special.

“So unbelievably lovely,” he said softly.

“The rope work is stunning. Does the pattern have a name?”

His darkly golden haze hooked hers. “No. I combined two patterns. But I’m thinking of naming it . . . Absolution.”

“Ronin. You don’t need absolution for anything.”

“But you gave it to me anyway.” He softly kissed her swollen mouth. “Thank you.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RONIN and Amery arrived at Twisted an hour before the demonstration. His mind was on setting up the riggings since it’d been a while since he’d done a suspension.

But walking through the club took time. Not because they stopped to observe the various scenes in progress, but due to the curiosity from other members about where he’d been in recent months. After the third such question, Amery sweetly piped in, “He’s just been so darn busy with his new rope partner. I’ve got him all tied up in knots.”

Crazy, wonderful woman.

Amery remained close to his side, not as tense as he’d expected, until some of his former rope partners approached him—in the guise of checking her out.

“Master Black. You’ve been missed.”

“Thank you for saying so, but I’m certain you’ve not been lacking partners in my absence.”

“I’d hoped to be on your call list when you decided to give another demonstration.”

“I’ll let Knox know you’re interested.”

The voluptuous blonde never glanced at Amery, but not as a sign of respect. “Thank you.”