My pointer froze above the mouse. My entire body froze. I couldn’t even lift my face to glance at my boss. My neck stiffened. And the flush that raced up my cheeks burned. Downloaded to the desktop was a book titled The Rules. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to ascertain what it was about. The cover alone made my skin pebble with goose bumps—a set of stainless steel handcuffs on glossy silk material. Nothing else. I glanced at the pad of paper beside my free hand and winced. Was I supposed to take notes and read this, really? I couldn’t look at Cade. I didn’t want to see if he was watching me with a smirk or ignoring me entirely. Neither option would make me happy. I clicked past the cover to the acknowledgements and then the table of contents. The chapter headings alone made me nervous. I squeezed my thighs together, pulling my ankles in to touch each other as I read the titles of each chapter. Words swam in front of me: obedience, training, submission, domination, punishment.
