“You curtsy before the Red King, my dear, or you’ll lose your head.” The woman’s lips were as red as her outfit as they stretched into a slow, sly smile.

“I didn’t know,” Alice said by way of apology, awkwardly approximating a curtsey before the king. An idea struck her and she turned to the woman, curtsying even lower before her. “Then you must be the Red Queen.”

It was simple deduction but the queen seemed pleased as Alice rose again, looking between them both. Clearly this was some sort of game, a scene being played out. She’d been to enough BDSM clubs with Wade to know what they looked like, how it all worked. But where was Wade?

“Come child, it’s time to play our game.” The Red King moved so quickly Alice wondered at his speed, given the man’s bulk. He was more executioner than king, at least in size, but he moved as swiftly as a cat, and before she knew what was happening, her dress and wrap had been slipped from her shoulders to a puddle on the floor and leather manacles were attached to each wrist and ankle. They were secured to the floor with a silver length of cord as thin as thread, but when Alice pulled on them, they held fast.

Then the floor began to rise.

Panicked, Alice tried to jump off the dias but the restraints tightened and kept her in place. The Red King jumped up onto the platform beside her as it rose, but the Red Queen stayed below. Alice let him hold onto her, afraid of heights as she was. They were four feet in the air now, on a round raised section of floor.

“Don’t be afraid.” The king breathed his words, warm against her neck, and it made her shiver. “This is only a test.”

Alice relaxed almost immediately. Of course. Wade had created this scenario to test her. But why? How? And what should her response be? Already she could feel the king’s strong hands squeezing her upper arms, the way he held her naked body back against his robed one. He had intentions. But were those Wade’s intentions?