She met his gaze. “I trust you.”

With a wink for reassurance, he nodded. “Then sit here with your bum on the edge of the bed, and then lie back.”

Audrey followed his instructions, hanging her knees over the edge of the bed and keeping them locked together as though they were held that way by a vise. When she stilled, Lodge hooked his hands in the crook of her knees and tugged, until her bum was almost falling off the edge of the bed.

“ Stay very still,” he said as he lifted one petite ankle. Her wide, blue eyes followed his every movement and her lips parted just enough for her to dart her tongue out and wet them. Christ, he loved when she did that. Lodge drew her leg to the side, stretching it up and out until her ankle met the post at the foot of the bed.

The rise and fall of her breasts quickened. “What are you doing?” she asked as he straightened one of the cravats he’d pulled out of his armoire.

He grinned back down at her and winked. “Giving you a bit of adventure.”

Audrey’s jaw hung open, but she didn’t move a muscle as he secured her ankle to the post. He’d dreamed of doing such things with her countless times-Lodge’s tastes had always bordered on the more risque before their marriage, and he’d frequented the lesser known hovels in order to sate his needs-but he’d never imagined she would allow him to take such liberties. Yet here she was, pliant in his hands, letting him do as he wished.

When he finished tying the cravat, he gave her ankle a slight tug. Perfectly immobile. “Is this too tight?” he asked.

She shook her head, but remained silent.

He trailed a hand along the inside of her leg, slowly tracing the contours of each curve and inching his way closer to her masterpiece. As he brushed over her thighs, her flesh twitched beneath his touch. Lodge let his hand hover just over her sex-close enough she could feel his heat and he could feel her wetness, but not enough to give her any relief. “Touch your tits for me again.”