Amery pushed to her feet.

He moved in behind her and suddenly wrapped his arm around her chest above her breasts, pulling her hard against his body. He whispered, “Ready?”

She nodded, angling her head against his.

Ronin stepped back and peeled the kimono away, revealing her body in a flesh-colored leotard, which enhanced her curves and gave the appearance of complete nakedness.

He draped the kimono over the back of the chair. Then he removed his gi top, placing it over her clothing, and he reached for the robe tie.

Amery trembled when he trailed his fingertips over the slope of her shoulder. He knew her reaction wasn’t from fear but from his erotic touch.

After he secured the blindfold at the back of her head beneath her hair, he followed the line of white satin beneath her eye and across her face. He murmured, “Arms loose at your sides. Feet slightly apart. In a yoga position rather than a defensive position.”

She inched her toes out, creating a small gap between her legs.

He pressed a kiss to the side of her neck—his signal the binding would begin.

The rope was smoother than he usually used. He placed the midpoint of the rope at the base of her neck and pulled the two lengths forward so they draped across her collarbone. He tied an overhand knot at the V of her cleavage and continued down her body, placing a new knot every four inches.

As much as he liked that the rope wouldn’t chafe her skin, Ronin missed the feel of her flesh beneath his fingertips. Once he passed the apex of her thighs, he spent extra time letting his knuckles rub on her inner legs as he tied knots.

The heat and scent of her body soothed him, incited him.

When he reached her anklebones, he shifted behind her, resting on his haunches as he created knots running up the back of her body that mimicked the knots on the front. As soon as he reached the center point at the base of Amery’s neck, he passed the two rope ends through, then tied them together before separating the sections and pulling each line against the swells of her breasts above her armpits.

Once again Ronin moved in front of her, holding the two ropes in his left hand. Before he started on the next step, he studied her face and her reactions. She’d slowed her breathing, yet the pulse point in her throat throbbed beneath his thumb. Her upper teeth were digging into her lower lip. So sexy.

He couldn’t resist rubbing his mouth over hers, just a brush of lips and a sweep of his breath. “You are doing great, baby.” The whispered words sounded as loud to him as a shout, since he rarely spoke during a public scene, but the only person he cared to hear them offered him a soft sigh of gratitude.

Ronin nuzzled her temple as he tucked the rope ends through the space between the first and second knot. He pulled hard, creating a diamond shape. He slipped his fingers across the curve of her side and around back, tucking the rope ends once again through between the first and second knots in the rope against her spine. Another tug and he checked to made sure he hadn’t cinched it too tightly before he expanded the diamond shape and returned both sections of rope to the front.

As he added more rope, the diamond shapes ran in a straight line down her body. The connecting sections kept the smooth, clean look of a tortoiseshell. He added more force so she could feel the impression of the ropes digging deeper into her skin.

With her rounded hips and thighs, the narrow line of her knees and calves made her a gorgeous sight. Ronin knew he’d bind her wrists in a gauntlet from behind her so everyone could see how exquisite she looked in the front.

After he secured the final diamond shape between her shins, he left the remaining rope pooled on the floor and rolled to his feet. Letting his hands roam over the bindings and her body, ever so slowly, he enjoyed the tactile experience of the ropes beneath his palms and feeling the heat from her skin.

He snagged another bundle of rope and reached up to slide the O-ring over Amery’s position. Holding the folded end of the rope in his teeth, he circled each of her wrists and held them together above her head with her palms touching. As soon as she held the pose on her own, he started to craft the gauntlet. Threading and wrapping the rope from her wrists to her forearms, leaving enough room between the columns to attach the suspending section of rope.

Ronin hooked her to the O-ring before he stepped back to scrutinize his handiwork.

Gorgeous. Now he needed to wrap her feet and the binding would be complete.

But before he reached that final stage, Ronin followed the sensuous arc of her arms down to her shoulders. He smoothed her hair and fanned it out across her upper back, stopping for a second to bury his face in the softness and sweetness. To ground himself in the knowledge the woman he loved was putting herself out there for him—he would celebrate that.

He stepped back and pulled the rigging, lifting Amery off the floor about a foot. He tied her off into a stable hanging position and snatched another bundle of rope. He knelt, making a loop around her big toe. Then he proceeded to wrap the rope up her foot. When he reached the leftover ends from the body binding, he quickly looped them around her shins to her ankles.

A hard shudder rolled through her, and he glanced up.

Amery’s head had fallen back. Her lips were parted, and Ronin saw she’d drifted into the floaty headspace of a bondage high and she’d been there awhile.

He lost all track of time when he had ropes in his hands and inches of pliant flesh waiting to be tied and touched. He secured the last of the rope around her left foot and tucked the remainder underneath the wrap, which caused her whole body to jerk and him to smile; he’d forgotten her feet were ticklish.

Ronin made some last-minute adjustments before he cupped Amery’s face in his hands.

“You humble me with your beauty.” He kissed her—another first in a demo—and it wasn’t a gentle tease or a quick peck, but a kiss full of the passion she brought out in him.

When she wiggled her body, as if reaching for him, he broke the seal of their mouths and jerked on the rigging, lifting her higher off the floor. Then Ronin spun her slowly around and around, showing the rope work on the backside.

Amery’s hair flowed out as if she were underwater.

Time for the finale.

He twisted the free rope dangling from the second chain through the back of the gauntlet binding her feet.

Then he clicked off the overhead lights and the black lights came on.

A collective gasp echoed in the room as the neon green glow- in-the-dark rope he used on Amery outlined her body in luminescence, creating the effect of a mermaid.

He pulled on the second rigging, raising her feet to hip level so it appeared she was swimming. The bindings on her feet created the effect of a mermaid’s split tail. The way her hands were raised above her head looked as if she were swimming to the surface.

The woman was absolutely fucking stunning. An ethereal, mythical creature come to life. The diamond pattern gave the appearance of scales, and the cinched binding at her waist divided her body. The swishing motion of her hair added to the illusion of a mermaid in motion.

Applause broke out and startled him. Ronin was so mesmerized by her that he’d forgotten for a moment they weren’t alone.

And suddenly he wished they were. He wanted to marvel at this bound woman who owned him body, heart, and soul.

He didn’t want club members touching her or asking questions or breaking this spell. He allowed himself another long look at her. This wasn’t about anyone else but them; he wouldn’t treat this any differently than if they were in the practice room when he finished the binding. He held on to her as he lowered the rigging. Once he had her unhooked, he brought them both to the floor.

She sighed and remained pliant no matter how he manipulated her body.

Ronin left the black lights on as he cradled her in his arms. First thing he did was slip off the blindfold. He kissed her as he unwrapped her wrists.

She blinked at him, and then her gaze drifted to the glowing rope crisscrossing her body. She smiled at him with that sweet quirk on her lips.

Next he unfastened the ties around her feet. “How’s your circulation?”

“A little tingly but good.”

As Ronin slipped the knotted ends of rope free from the tucks and ties, he let the rope zigzag across her skin.

Amery trembled and arched. Then on the next pass, she would try to move away.

So he took his time unbinding her. Touching and kissing to his heart’s content. He hadn’t even noticed that they’d brought the lights up halfway until he pulled back away from her mouth after another drugging kiss. “Baby. I love you.”

“I know.”

Then he swept her up into his arms and carried her out the side door, striding down the hallway.

Inside their private room, Ronin set her on her feet only long enough to wrap a blanket around her. Then he picked her up again and settled them on the couch.

The first noise she made was a laugh. “Glow-in-the-dark shibari ropes, Master Black? You are certainly full of surprises.”

He pressed his lips into her hair. “I’ve never used them before.”

“Why not?”

“They seemed a little . . . stage showish.”

“At least you didn’t play the theme song from The Little Mermaid while you were binding me.”

That made Ronin laugh. “You must be down from your bondage high if you’re cracking jokes.”

Amery twisted to look at him. “I’m fine. Were you worried I’d be weepy and shaky afterward or something?”