Page 43 of Fallen Petal

“No use for clothes,” he replies, adding a little yank at my collar. “This is all you need. Just a little something missing.”

He lets go of the ring and takes a step back. “Kneel.”

A slight furrow appears between my eyebrows. I can’t help it. This is new, and it confuses me.

I don’t lose eye contact for one second while I obey his order, slowly sinking down on my knees, my palms finding their place on my thighs without even thinking about it.

“Stay.”

He waits for a moment, making sure that I’m complying to his satisfaction, before he turns around and quickly strides over to the door that leads to the dungeon. My gaze follows him while I try to calm my racing heart.

He’s going to let me out of this room. I get to see something new, something other than these walls.

It’s hard to believe and I try not to get too excited about the prospect. After all, there could still be conditions to be met, or maybe he’s just playing me, holding up a carrot in front of my face but keeping the stick ready in case I dare to reach for it.

He’s out of my sight once he enters the dungeon room, but I hear him rummaging, opening one of the cabinets, then a drawer.

My eyes immediately trail down to his hands when he returns, and my heart drops a little when I see something that looks like a black leather belt in his right hand.

Is he going to spank me? Now? What will I have to endure to actually receive the treat he just promised?

I realize that I’m mistaken when he goes down on his knees in front of me, holding one end of the leather string up in front of my eyes, revealing a clasp that doesn’t look like any belt buckle I’ve ever seen before.

That’s because it’s not a belt, but a leash. He lets me have a quick look at it before he reaches beneath my chin, fastening it with a quick click and securing a screw around the clasp.

A smile graces his handsome face when he looks at me.

“Let’s go.”