...Emma’s gaze strayed to the doorway. How far along would they be? How was Gideon going to pose Jesse? Would he be standing? Lying down? On his stomach or on his back? She knew the palette that would be used and felt a moment of sympathy for Jess that she’d suggested using the darker colors first. From what he’d shown her, colored wax hurt more than the white. He would be feeling that long after their practice session was over.

Though she knew what they’d agreed upon, Emma headed for the stairs on feet with their own agenda. She wasn’t going to interrupt, like she had promised. But if the door was open, maybe she could get a quick peek to see what Gideon was doing, how it was turning out. Just a little something to satisfy the curiosity that was burning inside her.

The knob turned easily in her hands, and she very quietly pushed the door open an inch to peek through the crack. Gideon was standing over Jesse with his back to her, and Jesse was resting on his forearms and knees, face down, in a piece of equipment similar to the one she had been held in at Sangre. He seemed to be entirely immobile, his wrists and ankles locked in bars, a thick collar holding his head in place. He was already covered in blue wax, and Gideon was dribbling the red over his shoulders. She could easily sense Jesse’s arousal, but she even caught threads of what must have been Gideon’s excitement.

“You know, you’re dripping even more than this candle.” The low rumble of Gideon’s voice was directed at Jesse, but Emma felt every word as if she was the one in the stockade and each velvet promise was being laid across her skin. “What are we going to do about that?”

Jesse moaned softly. “I don’t know, but I hope we do something about it soon.”

Gideon shifted, and a sudden hiss from Jess filled the room. “Let it all out now, boy,” he murmured. “Because when I have you at that party, I don’t want you making a single sound. You’re going to turn them on enough as it is, but do that, and they’ll be ready to eat you alive.” He bent over, putting his mouth next to Jesse’s ear. “And nobody does that but me.”

Jesse whimpered, and Emma was hit by another wave of arousal. She couldn’t see his cock from her position, but she could believe he was dripping like a candle. “I won’t make a sound,” he promised, his words rushed. Gideon trailed the candle down his spine, leaving a long, thin line of wax to cool against Jesse’s sensitive skin. A shudder wracked his frame. “Even if you do that.”

She knew she should go back to the apartment. Every fiber and every instinct inside Emma was telling her this was far too intimate for her to be witnessing, that she’d sated her curiosity about what would happen and now was the time to retreat.

Her feet refused to move. Her muscles denied her any freedom at all. All she was capable of was standing there, suffused with the desire permeating the room. She didn’t even want to blink for fear of missing something.

Gideon shifted his attention to Jesse’s upper-thighs, and the red wax reflected the overhead light. It reminded her of blood. It must have reminded Gideon of blood as well, because he seemed utterly fascinated by the patterns he was creating with each casual flick of his wrist. They were silent except for Jesse’s harsh breathing, until he howled without warning.

“Oh, fuck, Gideon.”

The air was so thick that she couldn’t breathe, and she inched forward, pressing her breasts to the door jamb. It put pressure on her taut nipples at the same time, and she moved in small fractions to create suddenly needed friction.

“You know I’m going to decorate your balls at the party, too,” Gideon said. “It’s far too pretty for me not to.” His head ducked all of a sudden, giving a clear view of Jesse’s back, and though she couldn’t see exactly what Gideon was doing, the movement of his head from the small of Jesse’s back to between his thighs gave it away. All she didn’t know was whether or not he was using his tongue or teeth to blaze the path across Jesse’s ass to his hanging sac.

“Then I hope they won’t be able to hear me through the mask,” Jesse said between gasps. “Because that will definitely make me scream.”