I blinked. “Excuse me?”
Stefan gestured towards the back wall. “Your first. Go on.”
I gave him the most indignant look I could manage. “I have a dildo at home, I’ll have you know.” Thank God for Amazon’s brown paper bags. I glanced back at the display. “But it looks nothing like… that.” I pointed to a long, black piece that seemed more sculpted than manufactured. Then to another. “Or that, which appears to belong to a mythological creature.”
“It’s supposed to be a dragon dick.”
“I’m not surprised.” My gaze kept moving, drawn in despite myself. And then I froze. “That’s… a hand,” I said, pointing. “And those?”
“Ball stretchers.”
Right.
Fine.
So this was happening.
I was officially down the rabbit hole.
Then Stefan’s hand settled on my arm, his presence close, grounding rather than guiding.
“We don’t have to buy anything,” he said in a low voice. “I just wanted you to see the world you’ve stepped into.”
I swallowed, forcing my breathing tocalm the fuck down. “I’ll be honest. There’s a little voice at the back of my mind right now.”
“And what’s it saying?”
I snorted. “Don’t run before you can walk.”
Stefan’s thumb brushed against my arm. “Good advice.”
This was an overwhelming experience, but one thing was certain.
I hadn’t stepped back, and I wasn’t going to.
Then Stefan withdrew his hand from my arm. “I’ll be right back.”
I watched as he moved across the floor towards a display, as though this space was as familiar to him as his own apartment.
Which it probably was.
I followed, intrigued. Then I saw what he’d lifted from a rack.
It was a flogger.
The leather was smooth, the handle shaped to fit the hand properly, the strands falling evenly, almost elegantly. Stefan tested their weight against his palm, a motion that spoke of familiarity.
“I saw this a few days ago.” Then he carried it to the counter where he set it down without ceremony. The guy at the till greeted him like a regular.
Of course he did.
Stefan paid, thanked the man, and turned back towards me, the bag now in his hand.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“For now.”
There was nothing suggestive or teasing in the way he said it, but there was an openness, as though the conversation wasn’t finished.