Passion in Restraints by Diane Thorne Page A

to face the stranger. Blood rushed through her as she took a quick scan of his body. The man was pure muscle under his tight grey shirt. He had short dark hair and stood several inches taller with broad shoulders and a tattoo on one of his arms. His jeans fit him well—too well. In fact, he appeared to be sporting a bit of wood. Her cheeks warmed. No, her entire body heated.
    “I, uh, was just browsing,” she said. God, she’d like to wrap her lips around his sucker.
    He grinned. “Of course.”
    Gwen turned and slowly walked away before she needed to fan herself. He was smoking hot and making her burn with need. She curved around a rack of clothes and found an aisle leading to the back of the store. She followed the route and paused. One side displayed books and videos while the other showed a wide variety of toys. The mischievous part of Gwen was roped towards the vibrators, wands, pumps, nipple clamps, floggers, paddles, whips, gags, various restraints, and more. Holy cow, she’d never seen so many items intended to enhance sexual pleasure.
    Eyes wide, Gwen stared at the merchandise for men and women. How would someone like her know what was best to use? They had to have differences. What were they? Would one whip cause more pain than the other? The assortment available overwhelmed her and she suddenly felt like a virgin.
    “Are you visiting Amsterdam?”
    Gwen heard the familiar male voice and swallowed hard. Maybe she shouldn’t have ventured to the toy department with the hottie perusing in the store. Her heart fluttered and heat warmed her cheeks as she twisted to face him.
    “I am. After tonight, I’m here one more, then I leave for Ireland. I’m touring places in Europe,” she said.
    He curled his lips, and she licked hers. Damn, he looked delicious.
    “Well, welcome to Amsterdam.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Have you been in a shop like this before?” He gestured towards the wall with all the toys.
    She kept her eyes on him instead of on the items on display for fear of turning red in the face. “Not exactly. Where I live, we have Victoria’s Secret and some kinky gift shops. Nothing like this with such a variety.”
    “And it interests you?”
    “Well…I don’t know about that. I’m a curious person. That’s all.” She turned around to the wall of promiscuous goodies. The first one she spotted was a large vibrator with a rabbit. She sure could use it to relieve her current desire.
    The stranger moved to her side. Gwen glanced at him and again caught the bulge in his jeans. She quickly looked away.
    “Do you have a husband or boyfriend?”
    She moved her attention to the whips. Stop thinking of sex. Stop thinking of his large cock. “No. I’m alone. I divorced a long time ago.”
    “Do you have a lover?”
    Gwen inhaled a deep breath before she looked at him. “No lover at the moment. What about you?” This time, she let her gaze lower to his groin and she didn’t care if he caught her looking.
    A crooked grin formed on his face. “I prefer to stay single. The world is full of beautiful women and I want to please them.”
    “Freedom does have its benefits.”
    He took a step closer to her and offered his hand. “I’m Mark Bongard.”
    She accepted his greeting and stared into his captivating hazel eyes. “Gwenevere Stratten. Call me Gwen.”
    His heated grasp spiked her temperature. Okay, maybe the fact he had an erection, was good-looking, and stood by the sex toys also had something to do with her elevated temperature.
    “Gwen, do you like what you see?”
    What? Her eyebrows twitched. Assuming he was asking about an item on display, she turned to the wall.
    “Uh, well, vibrators are a good substitute and there are plenty to choose from. I’m not sure about a lot of this stuff, though, to be honest.”
    He closed the distance between them and rubbed the back of her hand against his dick. “I meant this.”
    Fire consumed Gwen’s face as she quickly searched for people nearby. A