The next message vibrates the phone against the bed, and I snatch it up again.
 
 Dog:I’d get you on your knees next. Make you look up at me with that bratty little mouth you’re so proud of.
 
 I swallow, hard.
 
 My skin’s flushed, thighs pressed tight.
 
 I start rubbing my thighs together beneath the blanket, slow and instinctive, chasing the friction without even thinking. My nipples ache under the thin cotton of my shirt.
 
 I should stop. This was supposed to be bait. A hook. Nothing more.
 
 But my breath is ragged and shallow, my fingers gripping the phone like it’s the only thing holding me together.
 
 I type, smirking faintly:
 
 Me:Easy, puppy. Didn’t think you had it in you.
 
 Dog:Say that again and I’ll make you whimper it into the mattress.
 
 Dog:Twice.
 
 God.
 
 I clench my legs tighter. My toes curl. I’m too far in, and I know it.
 
 But I also know I have to pull myself out.
 
 Focus.
 
 There’s too much at stake.
 
 I breathe in hard—shaky, uneven—and force myself upright. My body’s still humming, still aching, but I lock it down the way I was trained to.
 
 I switch tactics.
 
 Me:Come get me then.
 
 There’s a pause. Then:
 
 Dog:What?
 
 Me:Where are you, puppy?
 
 Dog:I’m at the clubhouse. Why?
 
 Me:I’m out back behind the Novikov estate.
 
 The typing stops.
 
 Dog:What the hell are you doing out there?
 
 Me:Battery’s dying.
 
 Me:Are you coming or not?
 
 Another pause.
 
 My heart hammers against my ribs.