Page 133 of Rescuing Ally: Part 1

We reach a door at the very end. Unlike Hank’s, which is almost always left slightly ajar, this one is closed.

A slow smirk tugs at the corner of Gabe’s mouth as he pushes it open.

“Welcome to my world, sweetheart.”

I step inside?—

And stop dead.

The air feels thicker here—darker—as if the walls hum with the unspoken whispers of what happens within them.

Hank’s room is masculine and minimalistic.

But this?

This is something else entirely.

The walls are black, smooth, and cool, as if the room were designed to swallow the light.

The four-poster bed is massive, dark wood and iron, thick ropes tied and waiting at each corner. Along one side of the room, an entire wall is lined with neatly displayed implements—crops, whips, floggers, restraints.

But it’s the center of the room that makes my stomach flip.

Chains dangle from the ceiling, gleaming silver in the dim lighting. Another set of hooks are fixed to the floor, long ropes tied to them.

A perfect system of control.

A slow shudder ripples through me.

This is where Gabe plays.

His words whisper through my mind:Because I’m not done with you yet.

I gasp, my pulse rocketing, my body torn between thrill and trepidation.

Gabe steps behind me, his breath warm against my neck, his hands skating down my arms. “You see something you like?”

I can’t speak.

Because God help me, I do.

“Come here.” He chuckles, wrapping a hand around my wrist.

He leads me to the center of the room, to the space beneath the chains, and lifts my arms overhead, clasping my wrists in one of his large hands.

“Let’s see how much you trust me.”

The click of metal sends a sharp thrill through my veins. Leather straps encircle my wrists, snug but not painful. The cool weight of restraint settles over me, grounding me, holding me in place, exposing me.

I inhale and exhale, testing the movement.

I’m trapped.

I love it.

Gabe steps back, watching me, his eyes dark and knowing.

“You’re perfect like this.”