"Get up," Lucas dabbed his lips with a tissue and tossed it aside. - Crawl up to me on your knees and do well.

Raise, and then lower below the plinth - in this he was a master. But I did not jump up, as if scalded, to carry out a humiliating order. She finished her wine, dabbed her lips, mirroring his recent gesture, and knelt down on the soft pile of the carpet. The emptiness inside rang, the faint protest faded away. It was easier that way - to turn off all my feelings and play adult games with a dangerous man in whose hands my life was.

I...