“No, Sir.”

“Good boy,” Vincent purred, and damn if that didn’t do pleasant things to Jasper’s stomach. “When you’re ready, then.”

Jasper resisted the urge to roll his eyes and shrugged his shirt off, then tossed it in Vincent’s face and kicked his pants aside. His boxers followed his shirt, and he smirked as Vincent dropped them to the floor with narrowed eyes.

Now that he’d committed to this, he sure as hell was going to have fun. It was either that or let the nerves paralyze him.

He let out a slow breath as he was left standing there. Naked. While Vincent sat and studied him, like he was some kind of statue to be admired.

He refused to fidget. This was some kind of test, he knew. He’d been around his cousin and her housemates long enough to at least know that much. He may not understand all the finer subtleties of the whole kink thing, but hopefully he knew enough not to make a fool of himself.

Vincent finally let out a soft hum that sounded like approval and stood. He moved across the room to the chest and pulled out a long strip of black silk. “Hands behind your back.”

Jasper clasped his hands behind him. He glanced over his shoulder as Vincent adjusted his arms until they were bent at the elbows, his hands clasping his forearms instead. The feel of the cloth winding around his arms set off a spike of panic in his chest, but he breathed through it. When Vincent finished, Jasper found he couldn’t budge his arms an inch, and the panic intensified enough that he squeezed his eyes shut.

Shit. This was such a bad idea. He didn’t even know this guy!

Vincent gripped Jasper’s biceps and pulled until Vincent was pressed flush against Jasper’s back. “If you say Red, I untie you, you get dressed, and you can go back downstairs,” he murmured into Jasper’s ear. “Understand?”

Jasper licked his lips and forced in a deep breath. And then another. He could do this. He could get free whenever he wanted, right? That was how this was supposed to work, at least according to Amber. “Yes,” he whispered.

“Good. Then give me a color.”

Jasper swallowed, surprised when Vincent didn’t move at all until he said “Green.” He shivered as Vincent hummed again and finally moved his hands, sliding them down Jasper’s arms and over his chest.

That felt nice. For some reason, he’d expected a rougher touch. To be manhandled and pushed around, and he couldn’t stop the hitch in his breath when Vincent merely skimmed his palms over Jasper’s skin.

“You said you didn’t want pain,” Vincent said. “Does that mean you don’t like things rough either?”