Chapter 88: Welcome to a New Kink
** Harper **
Yep, she shouldn’t have forgotten that what they actually came here for was ... an introduction to kinks. And the view in front of her now was practically screaming the word in her face.
The inner room was even bigger than the one they had just gone through, featuring a larger set of shelves along each wall. In the middle of the space sat an enormous table laden with ... various tools that Harper had read about before in books, but seeing them in real life somehow sent a shiver creeping up her spine. Despite the dim lighting, everything glinted with the harsh shine of metal, and the scent of leather filled every corner of the room.
"So this is the real heart of the store," Harper whispered as she stepped gingerly across the threshold, into the small crowd that moved about with a low murmur — unlike the outer shopping space where customers were sparse, this section was much busier, a sign of what this place was truly known for.
Eli trailed close behind her. In what appeared to be an oblique reminder of their ongoing conversation about lingeries, he paused by the shelves lining the nearest wall, glancing over the clothing options arranged there in a similar layout as the outer room.
Except—Harper realized as soon as her eyes landed in the same direction — that there was nothing similar between what was sold here and the lacy bra-and-panty sets they had just looked at.
The first piece that came into her view was a vinyl harness. The product label attached to it claimed that it was "lingerie", but in reality, there wasn’t a sheet of fabric on the whole thing. It was made completely out of straps and ring hooks, connecting a thick collar at the top to a pair of garters on the bottom with a zigzag of belts that looked like ... a full-body yoke frame.
The next piece, displayed just below the harness, was a set of metal chains in the shape of a thong. The long ends looped around the hips to tie together in the back, whereas the front was a cascade of five draping chains of different lengths, hanging down between the thighs like layered necklaces. One additional Y-shaped chain ran tightly across the crotch, securing the garment to the body.
The third piece ... was a pair of glue-on leather shapes covered with spiky metal stubs? Something that Harper didn’t recognize and couldn’t figure out the usage of.
"That’s a nipple pastie." Eli cleared his throat behind her when she kept staring at it. He sounded simultaneously amused and ... a little strained. "The metal rings at the center are for attaching additional chains. These would typically be used together with that chain G-string to complete the look."
Oh. Harper swallowed, her nipples burning a little at the imagination of wearing such a thing. She wasn’t quite sure if she felt more thrilled or terrified at the sensation.
"Well ... Thinking back on it, maybe the lingerie you were looking at earlier doesn’t seem that risqué after all." She gave Eli a sheepish smile and turned her eyes away from the shelves. Surely he wasn’t actually thinking that she could pull off anything in this room? The novelty was certainly intriguing, but she genuinely doubted she was that type of girl ...