He watched her survey his apartment. He'd seen countless women come in and do the same thing. He wondered, fleetingly, if she'd ask to try some of the equipment and felt a rush of excitement over the thought of tying her up and teasing her. He prided himself on his professionalism, never allowing himself to become emotionally involved with clients. A few years before, for about six months, he'd been involved in a relationship with a submissive, but it had ended and he hadn't really minded. He'd kept himself busy enough to not mind the lack of any real relationship, but now he found himself feeling a little longing. He hadn't looked for another submissive, mostly because he decided that the whole dominant/submissive thing wasn't as exciting to him as bondage.

"Would you like a glass of wine? Or water?" he asked.

"Water would be fabulous," she said. He disappeared into another room and she looked around some more. He returned shortly with two glasses of water, handed one to her and motioned her to the sofa. He sat on a chair across from her. They drank, and he could sense her discomfort.

"At least the snow has finally stopped," he said. Small talk usually eased the nerves of clients. "I heard that the City figures they'll have the streets clear by the morning."

She nodded and placed her glass on a coaster she'd spotted on the table between the two of them. "At least tomorrow is Saturday and I can enjoy the snow in the park, maybe."

They chatted for a few minutes and, when he sensed that she'd relaxed, he used a lull in the conversation to offer to show her the room.

She blushed slightly. "I'd like that," she said softly. They stood and she followed him to a door on the other side of the room.

He flicked on the light and she could see that the room was well-stocked. There was a wooden chair in the middle of the room, something that looked like a doctor's exam table only it had restraints attached to it, and, along the walls, iron rings at various heights, with restraints on chains near the floor under each set. On one wall was a giant X made of wood with restraints attached to it. She felt a rush of excitement just being in the room. On either side of the door were two large cabinets. He let her wander around the room, watched her slowly reach out to touch a few of the things. She paused by the chair and turned around to look at him.

"So, this is where you work." She waved her arm around and smiled.

"Yes. This is where I work. At least part of the time. When I write, I use the computer in my bedroom." He turned to one of the cabinets and opened it. She walked over to examine the contents.

Inside, he had a neatly organized collection of items to use for restraints: handcuffs, leather wrist and ankle cuffs, scarves, long pieces of fabric and leather, and some blindfolds. She picked up one of the long pieces of leather and said, "What do you do with this?"

Will watched her examine it and said, "I use that to tie someone to the chair." He proceeded to explain the uses for several of the other items, those used to bind his more flexible clients near the elbows, restraints specially made for hogties, and so on. Then, he moved over to the other cabinet and opened the doors. She followed.

Inside the second cabinet were items she didn't recognize at all. She looked at him questioningly.

"This shelf has gags. These are ball gags, those are ring gags. And that's bondage tape. It's specially made so it doesn't hurt coming off." He showed her single sleeve gloves, crops, whips, and a variety of vibrators, dildos and butt plugs (he noticed her frown over the latter and made a note to avoid those if she wanted to experiment with him). He explained that he kept everything thoroughly sanitized and showed her the sanitizing machine he had in the adjoining bathroom.

She perched herself on the exam table. He sat backwards on the chair and looked at her. "So. Any questions?"

She laughed. She thought for a moment, frowned a little, then said, "So you really prefer just bondage?"

He was a bit taken aback by the question, having expected something different. "Yes," he said simply. "I do. I love the art of restraining someone in a way that they're reasonably comfortable, but completely unable to move."

She nodded thoughtfully and looked away. She seemed to want to say something more, but didn't. He took a chance and said, "Have you ever thought about this sort of thing?"

Their eyes locked and he knew the answer. "Yes," she said softly.