Page 46 of The Sadist and the Brat

“All done, Sir.”

He nodded. “Thank you, Amanda. You can head upstairs now.”

“Yes, Sir.” Amanda leaned over and pressed a kiss to Sadie’s cheek. “See you in the morning, sweetie.”

“Bye.”

“I’m taking care of some of the logistics,” James explained, pulling her attention back to him. “Which brings me to my last question. Are you here because you want to be?”

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll rephrase. If you’re only here because you lost the bet and you have no genuine desire to play with Jack, I’ll call off the scene and take you home.”

“Oh.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “No, I want to be here.”

His eyebrows rose. “You’re sure?”

He was so sweet, playing protector. And so devious, making her admit what she didn’t want to. “I’m sure.”

“Good enough. In that case.” He held out an envelope.

“What’s this?”

“The rest of your instructions.” James nodded at a door on the other side of the pool table. “Take it into the small bedroom and read it. It’ll answer all your questions.”

She turned the envelope over in her hand, noted her name scrawled across the front in slashing black ink. She looked up at James. “What’s with all the cloak and dagger?”

“Mood,” he said cryptically and nudged her forward. “Go on, now.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” she muttered under her breath and, ignoring James’ low chuckle, went into the small bedroom and shut the door.

The room looked the same as it always had. Queen-sized four-poster bed, soft carpet. The walls were painted a quiet gold, the color picked up in the metallic threads running through the creamy white duvet and tasseled throw pillows. But the two black garment bags laying on the bed were new.

She stepped closer. They were plain, the kind of garment bags that come with a rented tux, identical but for the tags on the hangers. The one on the left was markedA, the other had aBwritten on its tag.

“Eat Me, Drink Me,” she murmured, and lowered the zipper onA. A snowy white button-down shirt was inside, the kind she sometimes wore when she was in naughty-schoolgirl mode, and when she lowered the zipper all the way she saw the green and blue plaid skirt that would complete the look.

She spread the garment bag open, noting there was a package of knee-high socks and a pair of shiny black Mary Janes in the bottom. He got points for thoroughness, she thought, if not for imagination.

“Well, that’s Eat Me,” she murmured, and reached for the bag markedB. “Let’s see what Drink Me brings to the table.”

At first, when she brought the zipper down, she thought the bag was empty. But the light bounced off something wet-looking, and when she put her hand inside she felt the cool slickness of PVC. “What in the…?”

She tossed the envelope onto the bed and reached in the bag with both hands, pulling the garment out and spreading it on the bed. It was a catsuit, she realized, long-sleeved with a hood and a zipper that went from crotch to neck.

“Drink Me, I think I love you,” she said out loud, skimming her fingers over the slick fabric. She’d gone shopping for a catsuit last year, but the good ones were too expensive and the cheap ones were too low-quality, so she’d given up.

She glanced at the envelope. Instructions, James had said and, with a sense of anticipation that she hadn’t felt in far too long, she tore it open.

Sadie,she read.In the garment bags on the bed, you’ll find two outfits, each corresponding to a different role-play scenario. Please read through the descriptions below carefully, as you’ll be the one choosing which scenario we do.

He was giving her a choice? That was unexpected. She read on.

In Bag A you’ll find a school outfit—shirt, skirt, stockings and shoes. If you choose this scenario, you’re a student breaking into her professor’s home to steal the answers to an upcoming test. Unable to find an office, you’ll go into the large bedroom to continue your search, where you’ll be discovered and appropriately punished by your professor.

Not bad, she mused. She could see the possibilities, and even though she’d done the schoolgirl thing so often she could script it in her sleep, this was an angle she hadn’t played with before. It could be fun, if option B was a dud.

Eager to find out, she read on.

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