The woman comes around me slowly, kneeling before me as she bows her head. "Whatever your pleasure, Dominus et Deus.”

I glance at her naked form briefly. IVI has high standards for the women in their employ. They must be intoxicating. Beautiful. The loveliest sight a man has ever seen. I would be lying if I said I hadn't visited this place before and partaken in several of these women. But right now, the sight of her kneeling before me gives me no great pleasure.

I only have eyes for my wife, I find, as they drift back to her. She doesn't know it. She’s still waiting anxiously for my response.

"Perhaps you can teach my playmate a lesson," I tell the woman. "Can you show her how to please a man? It seems that art is lost on her."

A wicked smile curves across the woman's face as she nods. "It would be my honor."

Ivy yanks against her restraints, the ropes chafing at her wrists.

"No." The word is a mere whisper, but it is exactly what I need from her.

She is jealous. She doesn't want to share her monster after all. That makes two occasions now I have witnessed this little beast inside her. First, when she uncovered Mercedes’s affectionate nickname for me. And now, the notion that I might actually take another.

The woman before me rises slowly, reaching up for the tie of my cloak. I still her hand and shake my head, leaning in to whisper my instructions in her ear. She listens carefully and then nods, making a quick retreat.

A few silent minutes pass where I watch Ivy's trembling form. She whispers my name once, and I have to stifle the groan of pleasure her desperation produces in me. It isn't logical for her to want to possess me the way I possess her. She should know how dangerous this desire is for her. And still, I find myself questioning it. Is she trying to toy with me, even now? Playing into this fantasy that she could ever truly want me?

"Please don't do this," she begs. "You vowed to be faithful to me. It was the one vow you made.”

Her head is sagging. Body quivering. And she's never looked so beautiful. I need to touch her more than I've ever needed anything. But first, I have to see how far she will go with this lie.