The last thing Elizabeth Bennet expected from her boyfriend on a spotless Saturday afternoon was for him to suggest they go to Kink Corner and "have a look around."

"I didn't know you had even heard of the place," she had said, looking up from her episode of Penny Dreadful to meet his gaze with wide eyes.

"I did some research," he replied, attempting to look nonchalant. "Promptly after you mentioned you enjoyed being held down—you know, during our most recent bout of lovem—"

"I remember," Elizabeth said sharply, a blush ravaging her cheeks.

"Anyways," he had continued, walking over and resting his hands on the back of her chair, "it's only a couple of minutes north from here. I figured we could go explore, provided you still had.. interest."

And now there they were, pulling up in front of a store Lizzie had visited many months ago with a reluctant Charlotte in tow. William's parallel parking job was as immaculate as always, and she found herself both intrigued and terrified by how calm he was. Will had never seemed like the adventurous type when it came to bedroom activities, so why the sudden enthusiasm? Just how much research had he done, stemming from the reaction he had garnered by pinning her to the sheets?

She watched him warily as he stepped up onto the curb next to her and lead the way into Kink Corner, still baffled by how eager he seemed.

Two minutes later, Elizabeth was beginning to regret her decision.

"Lizzie," Will hissed from next to a display of silicone dildos. "Lizzie, what is this?" He was pointing to rather massive purple construction that looked only vaguely like a penis.

She peered at the label and a flash of recognition crossed her face. "Um..." she muttered, trying to put together the words. "Well, it's a dildo, but apparently its one fashioned to look like…a dragon's…you know."

From his lost expression, it looked like he didn't.

"Dick. A dragon's dick."

And from the size of his eyes, it looked like he did now.

She went over to look at the vibrators, embarrassed both for him and in general. Suddenly he was behind her, his chin almost resting on her shoulder. "Hey, that's the one you have," he said, pointing to a particular model in the cabinet. Ah yes, the vibe she used when he was away on business trips or when he wasn't quite in the mood. Lizzie had considered bringing it into bed with the two of them, but she wasn't entirely sure if he would feel…threatened by it. From how he was handling it, along with a couple other, more advanced vibes, it certainly didn't seem like it. Entranced was probably a better word.

"Lizzie, look!" he exclaimed, "this one just sticks to it to recharge it, there's no port!"

She nodded, trying not to look as flustered as she felt. Somehow, she had imagined her first time in a sex store with her significant other would be a little less like taking a child into a toy store. Normally Elizabeth would have been much more excited for something like this, but when it seemed like the entire store was watching she found it rather difficult to be enthused. At least there were only a handful of other customers.

She moved on to testing the bullet vibes on her wrist, seeing which ones were the most effective for their cost. A couple of minutes later it occurred to her to check where her boyfriend might have wandered off to, as his silence made her slightly uneasy. Lizzie looked up just in time to meet Will's eyes from across the room, and then her gaze flashed to the nipple clamps in his hands. He looked like he was about to ask a question, but to her horror, the salesperson got to him first. "Is there something I can help you with, sir?" they asked, eying the merchandise in his hands and the confused look on his face.

"Why yes!" William said, as a blush spread across Elizabeth's face. "Could you tell me what these little clips are for?"

"Oh my God," she muttered under her breath, half-tempted to cross herself like her mother did in situations that she didn't know how to handle. As the 20-something in charge of the shop explained just what function nipple clamps performed, Will listened intently. She was surprised he wasn't taking notes.

"So this whole pain during sex thing—this is rather popular?" he asked, setting down the clips and picking up a flogger from a rack to his left.

"It depends on the couple, really," the salesperson said, running a hand through their short blond hair, "but yeah, it's definitely one of the more common kinks."

He made a thoughtful noise and continued to inspect the flogger. "So, um, this bondage thing," he asked, leaning in a little. "What can you tell me about that?"

The color of Elizabeth's face closely resembled the skin of an over-ripe tomato. Oh God, why hadn't he just asked her instead of involving innocent bystanders in their love life? She knew the function of nearly every item in the store anyways, why not let her explain?

She stalled next to a display featuring a rainbow of hemp ropes, until the salesperson managed to finish telling him about half the wonders of the fetish world, and then sidled up to him. "You know you could have asked me about all that, right?"

"Well yes," he replied, a snarky expression crossing his face, "but you had such a difficult time explaining that that dildo was fashioned to look like a dragon penis that I thought I would give you a break."

"Dragon dicks are not necessarily BDSM," she whispered, just in time to see a middle-aged housewife walk by with a green rendition of what they had just been discussing under her arm. She and Will exchanged a look.

"Touché," he whispered back, nudging her with the flogger before putting it back on the shelf. Moments later, he was at it again. "Lizzie, look at this! Ha, isn't this genius?!" He was holding up a package of paper plates and looking like he had just won the lottery. "They're called dirty dishes, but not because they're dirty—they've got little stick figures on them in different sex positions!"

She snorted, half because of his over-explanation and half because he had caught her off guard, and turned to find something else to look at. As much as he was embarrassing her, it was still endearing how hard he seemed to be trying.

A low table in the middle of the store caught her attention, and Elizabeth walked over with slow steps. A series of cuffs and collars were arranged on the polished wood, the metal links shining in the low light, and her slender fingers reached out to grasp a particular set composed of black leather. They were simple, as far as cuffs went, but sturdy—functional with just the right amount of edge. She pulled at the links, making a satisfied noise under her breath. God, these would look perfect against the deep red sheets of their bed, pulled tight against her slim wrists … her gaze was hungry, strong teeth digging into the flesh of her lower lip.

"Find something interesting?" a low voice asked from behind her, familiar palms resting on her shoulders and making her jump.

"M-maybe," she said, nearly dropping the merchandise she had been fondling so lovingly. Curious fingers reached over and took the leather cuffs from the display, turning them over and pulling at the metal attachments to test them. It was a full minute before Will spoke again.

"I want to see you in these," he whispered huskily in her ear, and she knew her face matched the brick walls around them.

"R-really?" she asked, doing a very poor job of sounding nonchalant. With deliberate hands she reached out and turned the price tag over for the both of them to see. She forced a chuckle. "Maybe someday, eh?" Elizabeth turned to walk away, but Will kept his arms exactly where they were, effectively trapping her. She had to lean back a little to meet his heated gaze.

"You know my payday was last Friday, don't you?"

"Um. Yeah." Wow. So much for her communications major...

"Then allow me," he smirked, moving to dangle the handcuffs in front of her before turning in the general direction of the register.

"But they would be to use on me!" she exclaimed, louder than she had intended to. To her horror, Dragon Cock Lady glanced up with curiosity in her expression—along with the rest of the store's perusers. "You can't buy them for me," she leaned in to explain, her voice much closer to a whisper.

"Tell you what," he said, amusement in his eyes. "You pitch in 20 bucks, and then they'll be ours."

"That's not even half of it!"

William tilted his head to the side and contemplated her words for a moment. "Do you want to be tied up or not?"

Her words caught in her mouth. "I- um-"

"Use your words, Lizzie."

Well that wasn't fair. His deep brown eyes constantly made it hard for her to do so. And he was still staring at her …

"Yes," she said quietly, unable to return his stare.

"Is that how you ask for a favor?"

Oh my god. He was going to—Lizzie was both shocked and intrigued by the words coming from his mouth and the delicious tension that was humming between the two of them. "Yes please," she corrected, gracing him with a side glance. "Sir."

His eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling, but she could tell that that last word was a surprise he was happy with. "Right," he said, weaving his fingers into hers and leading her towards the register and the overeager salesperson. "I believe we're ready to make a purchase."