Chapter 7: The Attraction

Ruby could still feel the imprint of Master Steele’s fingers against her wrist long after He released her.

The touch had been brief.

Controlled.

Yet her entire body reacted as though He had touched far more than skin.

Steele noticed everything.

The uneven rhythm of her breathing.

The way her dark eyes struggled to hold His gaze for more than a few seconds before drifting lower. The subtle press of her thighs together beneath that elegant black dress.

Desire looked beautiful on her.

And God help Him, William Steele wanted to see more of it.

“You’re tense,” He observed calmly.

Ruby gave a nervous little laugh. “Is it that obvious?”

“To Me?” His mouth curved faintly. “Yes.”

Heat bloomed instantly across her cheeks.

The reaction pleased Him more than it should have.

Around them, Fantasy pulsed with seductive life — the crack of leather against skin somewhere deeper in the dungeon, low music rolling through the air like a heartbeat, soft gasps drifting from shadowed corners where scenes unfolded beneath amber light.

Steele stepped beside her.

“Walk with Me.”

Not a question.

An invitation wrapped carefully inside command.

Ruby followed immediately.

Steele noticed that too.

As they moved through the dungeon floor together, conversations softened around them. Some guests glanced over curiously while others lowered their eyes respectfully as Master Steele passed. Yet His attention remained fixed almost entirely on the beautiful young woman walking beside Him.

“She’s floating already,” Damian murmured quietly from across the room to Olivia.

Olivia smiled knowingly.

Ruby barely noticed anyone else.

She was far too aware of the man beside her.

His height.

His calm confidence.

The rich masculine scent of cedarwood and whiskey lingering against His skin. Even His silence felt intentional somehow, as though He never wasted movement or words unnecessarily.

It was intoxicating.

Steele led her first toward a St. Andrew’s Cross near the center of the dungeon where a submissive woman trembled softly beneath the careful strikes of her Dominant’s flogger.

Ruby slowed instinctively.

The woman moaned softly as leather kissed her skin again.

Steele watched Ruby instead of the scene.

“What do you see?” He asked quietly.

Ruby swallowed.

“She trusts him.”

The answer came immediately.

No hesitation.

Steele felt a sharp pulse of admiration.

Most newcomers only noticed pain.

Or sex.

Ruby saw trust first.

“The body responds differently when trust exists,” Steele said smoothly. “The mind relaxes. Fear becomes anticipation. Pain transforms into sensation instead of punishment.”

Ruby listened like every word mattered.

“And if trust doesn’t exist?”

Steele’s expression darkened slightly.

“Then it isn’t submission.”

The certainty in His voice sent warmth spiraling through her stomach.

They continued walking.

At the rope rig, a beautiful submissive hung partially suspended in crimson rope while her rigger adjusted the intricate knots against her body with reverent precision. The woman’s eyes were closed completely, lips parted in blissful surrender.

Ruby stared openly.

“She looks…” Ruby exhaled softly. “Peaceful.”

“She let go,” Steele replied.

His gaze drifted slowly toward Ruby then.

“Most people spend their lives fighting for control. Submission can become… freeing for the right person.”

The words wrapped around her like silk.

Ruby felt suddenly exposed beneath the weight of His attention.

Because somehow she sensed He wasn’t speaking generally anymore.

He was speaking about her.

They stopped near one of the suspended leather beds where a couple kissed slowly between soft restraints and whispered commands. The restrained woman shivered visibly each time her Dominant praised her.

Steele folded His hands loosely behind His back.

“Fantasy isn’t truly about pain,” He said quietly. “Or sex.”

Ruby looked up at Him.

“It isn’t?”

“No.” His dark eyes held hers steadily. “It’s about permission.”

The word settled heavily between them.

Permission.

“To desire,” He continued softly. “To surrender. To trust someone enough to stop pretending you’re in control every second.”

Ruby’s breath caught again.

Because every time He spoke, it felt less like conversation and more like He was carefully unraveling parts of her she kept hidden from everyone else.

Steele noticed the exact moment desire deepened inside her.

The widening of her pupils.

The tiny sharp inhale she failed to suppress.

The beautiful vulnerability slowly replacing nervousness.

Christ.

He wanted to touch her again.

Wanted to feel those curves beneath His hands and discover how responsive she truly was when stripped of restraint and self-consciousness. Wanted to hear what sounds she made when she stopped holding herself together so tightly.

Dangerous thoughts.

Especially for a man known for absolute self-control.

Steele guided her toward a quieter corner of the dungeon where the lighting softened considerably.

Then finally…

He turned fully toward her.

“What excites you, Ruby?”

Her pulse jumped visibly in her throat.

Steele’s voice had lowered slightly when He asked it.

More intimate.

More personal.

Ruby opened her mouth once before finding words.

“I…” She looked away briefly, gathering courage. “I think it’s the control.”

Steele remained silent, letting her continue.

“The confidence,” she admitted softly. “The way the submissives trust someone enough to let go completely.” Her dark eyes lifted back to His carefully. “And the way the Dominants notice everything.”

That last sentence lingered between them heavily.

Because she was talking about Him now.

Steele stepped closer again.

Close enough for tension to hum sharply through the air.

“And what else?” He asked quietly.

Ruby’s lips parted.

His proximity alone made coherent thought difficult.

“The restraint,” she whispered finally. “Not forcing someone. Making them want it.”

A slow, approving smile touched the corner of Steele’s mouth.

There she was.

The woman Damian noticed.

The woman who understood the difference between dominance and control.

Between lust and surrender.

Steele reached up slowly, deliberately, and brushed one dark wave of hair back from her shoulder.

Ruby inhaled sharply.

The tiny touch sent another fierce pulse of heat straight through her body, sudden desire tightening low in her stomach so intensely she nearly trembled beneath it.

Steele felt it happen.

And for the first time in years…

Master William Steele struggled not to act on impulse.