“Perhaps I’m just hoping you’ll be inspired to finish the book before I leave.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“How about this…” Zach began and couldn’t believe what he was proposing. “I’ll give you your homework. You get it done in a timely manner by day and—”

“And by night we play?” Nora’s eyes were shining. “This is a fun game, Zach. I could win this one.”

“And…” Zach turned to face her. “If you do manage to complete the book a few days ahead of schedule then technically we’ll no longer be working together. Perhaps then we can discuss bringing the handcuffs out of hiding.”

“Handcuffs?” she scoffed. “Handcuffs are the least of your worries. Open it.” She pointed her toe toward her long black duffel bag on the floor. “I dare you.”

Zach let a few seconds pass before he bent over and grabbed the handles. He hefted it onto Nora’s desk, stunned by its weight.

“What on earth is in here?”

“It’s my toy bag.”

“Toy bag?” He eyed her skeptically. “Store your Legos in here, do you?”

“Not quite.”

He glanced at her once more before slowly unzipping the bag. Nora moved to stand next to him, her left hip pressing against his right leg. Nora reached past him and pulled from the bag a long chrome bar.

“Do you know what this is? It’s called a spreader bar. Just a basic pipe with eyebolts on the end. You take a snap-hook and a pair of these—” she reached into the bag again and brought out a wide leather bracelet with a gold buckle sewn into it “—leather cuffs. Adjustable. They go around the wrists or the ankles. Both if you want to put someone in a spread-eagle position.”

Nora arched an eyebrow at him and reached back into the bag.

“This is a flogger. Here. Give me your arm.”

Zach held his arm out with extreme reluctance. Nora brushed his forearm lightly with the tips of the flogger’s leather strips.

“It tickles.” He rubbed his arm.

“Pain or pleasure, it’s made for either. So am I.”

“I’ll stick with pleasure. I’ve always preferred the carrot to the stick.”

“Where we’re going, the stick is the carrot.” She put the flogger away. She dug into her bag again. “This lovely device,” she said as she held out what looked like two spreader bars joined in the middle, “is called an X-Bar. It cuffs the wrists and ankles behind the back. Perfect for immobilizing someone in a kneeling position. As a man, I’m certain you can imagine the benefit of immobilizing a woman on her knees.”

Zach coughed and exhaled.

“Usually, I just prefer her to volunteer for that particular activity.” His tongue felt heavy and dry in his mouth.

“In my world, if she shows up, she did volunteer. Or in your case, you showed up and I volunteered.”