His fingers hovered over the satchel for just a moment longer. Then, slowly, deliberately, he pulled the drawstrings open.
Inside, resting in the soft folds of black felt, was a curved piece of shiny steel. Sleek. Minimal. Intimidating, in a what exactly is this thing kind of way. And nestled into the corner of the bag like a buried treasure, the tiny key—the twin of the one I now wore around my neck.
He lifted the cage and turned it over in his hands, his brows pulling together in a little knot of curiosity. “What… is it?” he asked, but not in a fearful way. More like a man being handed a riddle with a very sexy answer.
I smiled, leaning in a little. “It’s a game,” I said, voice low and inviting. “A very sexy game.”
He looked at me, his eyes scanning my face like he was trying to figure out if I was joking. But I wasn’t. I hadn’t been this turned on by a conversation in years.
“My friend Nadia—remember her from book club?” I asked.…
