Switch

helplessly squishy over. 'Want something on it? A name or

something?'

He flipped open a rack of designs to show me my choices.

I looked through rows of stylized hearts, flowers and fonts.

I touched a simple, elegant alphabet.

'I was thinking…the word slave.'

That perked his interest. 'For you?'

I laughed. 'Oh, no.'

'Sweet.' He gave the word two sylables.

'You think?' My fingers stroked the stiff leather. It would circle his wrist like a cuff.

I tested it on my own and noted how the edge cut a little

into my skin when I shifted. Not enough to hurt, but I

into my skin when I shifted. Not enough to hurt, but I

knew it was there. I handed it to Emoboy, who took it

over to the machine that stamped the letters. Idly, I flipped

through the rack of designs while he fiddled with buttons

and adjusted the bracelet inside the grips holding it stil.

Then I saw it. 'Wait.'

He looked up, one finger on the button that would start the

machine. 'Huh?'

I gestured for him to come over, and he did, and I pointed

at the picture on the menu. 'I want this, instead.'

He grinned, then nodded. 'No problem.'

It took him a minute to adjust the settings and another for

the machine to stamp the leather. When it was done, he

handed it to me with the black leather scarred into the

design I'd chosen. A rose, the stem and thorns made of

barbed wire.

Simple. Elegant. And far more subtle than the word slave,

which didn't feel right, anyway.

'Here you go.' He handed me a bag with the bracelet

inside. 'Enjoy it.'

inside. 'Enjoy it.'

Enjoy wasn't exactly the word I'd have chosen, but I took

the bag with a smile. Our hands touched, and he grinned.

He knew nothing about me, but he thought he did. And I

discovered I didn't care.

I don't think there's a woman alive who doesn't understand

how the right clothes can entirely change a situation. Under

my simple summer skirt and casual T-shirt I wore the bra

and panties Eric had bought for and sent to his mistress.

The lace and satin clung to my skin and reminded me with

every step how it felt to be desirable.

Of course, none of that showed on the surface. I met him

in the lobby as had become our habit on these semi-dates,

and he greeted me with a smile and a half hug. He wore a

long-sleeved Henley shirt, but when the sleeve rode up I

saw the flat leather strap of his bracelet. The one I'd sent

him. The one that marked him as mine.

'Ready to go?' Eric held the door open for me and we