Chapter 42

Bella bit her lip as she tried to think of all the things she might well be in for in Victor's dungeon. She knew he wouldn't actually hurt her the way Jeff had, so that left boundaries of a different nature to consider. "You mean like sex, don't you?"

The surprise on his face made her second guess it. "No. Not that I would be opposed to it," he said with a self-deprecating laugh. "But I'm more referring to other forms of physical contact. I believe the euphoria associated with controlled pain helps to access deeper states of consciousness, but if you're not comfortable with that sort of thing, we'll find another way."

"How much pain...?"

"Even a small amount can be hypnotic in the right context. Set the right mood with a bit of sensory deprivation and the mind plays all sorts of tricks," he said, his voice growing husky as he threaded a strand of her hair through his long fingers. "I don't need to leave a mark to make you writhe."

She didn't doubt it. She