Page 140 of Bound By Words

“Thank you for agreeing to help,” she smiled as she opened the door, holding it for me to enter, and then flicking the lock on the front door behind us. I turned the sign that indicated the gallery was closed and followed behind Kelly as she parted the curtain to the photography studio.

“Of course, sunshine,” I whispered, squeezing her hand and leaning over to kiss her temple. “You know I’m here, however you need me. I have to admit I’ve been anticipating this for a while now. And you’re crazy if you thought I’d let you tie with anyone but me. Emory and Talia might be helping you learn, but I want you to hone your skills with me.”

She smiled, pressing her forehead to my arm as she snaked her arms around my waist.

“Well, it was fun to get Emory to submit to me, but I know he was just humoring me.”

It’d likely still take some time for her to be ready to play regularly, but I was content to let her go at her own pace while we continued to develop a deeper emotional connection. The fleeting thoughts of marriage I’d had while she was in the hospital were still there, but I was waiting for her to let me know it was something she wanted. There wasn’t any rush.

Music carried from the back playroom, Talia’s voice sounding through the door.

“We’re here,” Kelly shouted over the music, pausing before she peeked around the door threshold. While neither couple minded, Kelly had walked in on them accidentally mid-scene a few weeks ago and had been cautious ever since.

“Finally,” Talia laughed, peeking around the corner with a large metal dildo in one hand and a polishing cloth in the other. She didn’t even pause, pulling Kelly into a hug and pointing her large metal friend in my direction. “You were cutting it close.”

Glancing at my watch, I saw we still had five minutes until we’d been ordered to arrive. “He can keep his panties on.”

“You know how he feels about those,” Talia joked as she tugged Kelly into the playroom, stashing her toy in the large cabinet of toys. Their collection was much larger than mine, but I also didn’t get them all for free.

“Well, I left mine at home, so no worries there.”

Kelly smirked when she looked back at me, knowing there wasn’t much underneath my athletic shorts. She’d edged me on the way here, suggestively rubbing me while I tried to concentrate on driving through the light weekend afternoon traffic. I knew when we were done here, she wanted to play.

“I’ve got your harness ready,” Talia nodded to the large leather bed in the center of the room. Em’s space was quite impressive, and I was almost jealous that I didn’t have a larger apartment. My playroom was tiny in comparison, but it could still meet most of our needs.

Kelly released my hand as I crossed the room, pulling off my shirt before stepping into the rope harness and quickly checking the knots. She wasn’t quite ready to make rope harnesses for suspension work, so Emory had pre-tied one that would support the ropework she had planned for today. That way we didn’t have to worry about her ties keeping the pressure evenly spaced on my upper legs.

“We ready to get started?” Em asked as he came out of the back room, using the pulley system to lower his suspension grate.

“Yup,” Kelly chirped, grabbing a bundle of rope from Talia’s hands and unwinding the outer rope coil.

I quietly listened to Emory and Kelly moving into position under the grate. My friend calmly instructed my partner as she worked on binding my chest, learning how to use the pulley system and secure her knots before moving on to the next section of the complicated suspension tie.

Not wanting to interfere, I listened to her quiet instructions, moving as she guided me, letting her lead. It was hard for me to submit the control in something that felt like second nature, but watching my mentor working with Kelly flooded my system with an intense sense of pride and satisfaction. She didn’t have to learn how to do this; she wanted to and took it seriously.

When she got to the point where the rope could hold my weight, I couldn’t keep the smile off my face as she gently pressed me back into the hold, watching my reactions and checking the grip of the knots.

“Are you doing okay, stud?” she asked as I felt myself testing the tie, flexing my shoulders and my hips as the ropes gently bit into my bare skin—the familiar rush of accompanying adrenaline welcoming me like an old friend. I’d missed the release Shibari provided, and knowing that Kelly was the source of the release just intensified the sensations.

“I’m perfect,” I smiled as I watched the smile slowly grow across her face. We’d met briefly a little under a year ago; at the time, I hadn’t known what my life was missing. But circumstances had brought us back together, showing us what could be. So when we finally had time to explore our attraction, we knew it wasn’t something we could ignore. “And so are you, sunshine. I love you.”

“Are you trying to sweet-talk me so I don’t break in my new stool once we get home?”

“I wouldn’t have built it for you if I didn’t want you to use it,” I laughed, shifting again, my body swaying slowly as my eyes closed. “But you need to be quiet. You’re ruining my high right now.”

“Excuse me?” I peeked one eye open, watching as her eyes flashed with annoyance, and I knew I’d hit the mark, my intentionally bratty behavior making her narrow her eyes in frustration.

“You heard me. Shut it, sunshine. You talk too much.”

“Oh shit,” Emory laughed, snapping to get Talia’s attention and nodding toward the door. “You’re on your own.”

Kelly’s eyes narrowed as she stared at me, and I could tell she was debating on whether or not she’d let me get away with being disrespectful while she was the one in charge. One deep breath and clenched jaw later, I knew she was ready to activate her inner Domme.

Bring it on, sunshine.

NATHAN

Boston

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