He carefully buckles the cuffs around Nathaniel's wrists, softly caressing the inside of his arm with the slightest brush of fingertips, leaning in to kiss Nathaniel. He wants to collar Nathaniel, wants to own him completely. But he doesn't want to be just another in long list of men who have controlled Nathaniel, who have kept him and toyed with him. He wants to earn that trust.

Standing on the bed, Asher loops the rope through the small rings embedded into the canopy of his bed, both ends hanging down. He attaches each end of the rope to Nathaniel's cuffs, moving behind him to tug gently on the slack rope in the middle, pulling Nathaniel's arms taut, forcing him to move up onto his knees.