Iopened my eyes, but everything around me was dark.
“Shit, am I blind?”
I wanted to rub my eyes and tried to move my arms, but they snapped back to where they rested against my legs. Scratchy fibers wound around them—probably rope. What the hell had happened? I’d been in the market, trying to hunt down Socks, and the last thing I remembered was…had I been drugged? My limbs were still a little sluggish.
I probably should’ve been panicking about now, but the ropes felt flimsy. I could probably break them if I needed to.
“You’re not blind,” a voice said. A low, sultry voice. “Just tied up and blindfolded. Couldn’t have you escaping now that I’ve found you.”
“Did I walk into the marriage market pavilions or something? Is this a setup?” I asked, wrinkling my nose. “I’m just trying to find Socks.”
“They’re on your feet,” they said, and I let out a snort. Of fucking course.
“I really don’t want to be kidnapped into marriage,” I warned. “I’ve been told I’m not the marriageable type.”
I wished I was, but ten different exes had explained I was too focused on work. At that point, I had to assume they were right.
“Why the fuck do you think I want to marry you?” they asked. The thump, thump, thump of their footsteps pounded in front of me. “I’m turning you in for the bounty.”
Was this elf after my harvest? I worked hard all spring and summer to get my berries prepared, and we had a solid growing season. I wouldn’t give that up without a fight. Granted, I couldn’t do a lot of fighting tied up. I shimmied in place, and a creak sounded beneath me. I was probably tied to a chair. Maybe if I tilted over to the side I’d be able to break free.
Something cool pressed against the side of my throat, and a shiver ran down my spine.
“Don’t think about trying an escape,” they said, their low, throaty voice a seductive purr. “I’ve got you right where I want you.”
My cock twitched, blood rushing. Oh god, this was the worst time to get turned on. I’d been kidnapped, clearly, and I was being held at knifepoint. Except their voice was kind of hot, and I was learning new things about myself at the ripe age of forty-two. “Are you sure this isn’t a surprise marriage kidnapping? My harvest doesn’t bring in nearly enough to qualify for all the effort.”
“The distraction is cute, but you’re not going to get out of this so easily.” My captor retracted the blade they’d pressed against my throat, which should’ve brought relief, but my signals were crossed funny, I supposed. “I’ve been searching for you all week, and there’s no way I’m going to let you go now.”
I licked my lips. They denied it, but this situation sounded an awful lot like I was being kidnapped into a marriage. Auntie Pym would rejoice if this was how I finally found someone. Though, Icouldn’t say the methods seemed to be the best communication-wise. I twitched in my bonds again, but the tight rope held me fast. My cock apparently liked that too. I hadn’t gotten around to a whole lot of experimentation apart from quick tumbles in the early or late hours—the harvest kept me busy—but even with the flings or attempted relationships I’d had, we hadn’t explored this territory.
Their hand clapped down on my shoulder, grip firm. “Where is it hidden?”
“Socks?” I asked. I had no idea why they were interested in my pagwai.
“I don’t care about your socks. Stop obfuscating the question,” they snarled.
A sudden smack landed on my cheek, a flat palm. The sting emerged at once, followed by another surge of lust straight to my cock. What had I been missing out on all these years? My nipples perked to attention, sensitive and needy.
“Tell me where it’s hidden,” they commanded, a low growl in their voice.
“My harvest?” I asked, shifting in my seat. The ropes rubbed against my skin, which amplified my awareness even more. I definitely wasn’t going to tell them where my harvest was, even if they wanted my hand in marriage. That required getting to know someone first.
“Stop being cute.” Another smack landed, this one on the other side. The sting spread, warmth traveling from my cheeks all the way through my body. Heat pulsed inside me, a steady thump, thump, thump that mirrored my heart.
They thought I was cute? Another flush coursed through me. I was unremarkable to most, and I rarely got looked at or appreciated like this. Not enough for someone to devote time into tracking me down for a…well, unconventional first date. They strode around me, the heavy thumps of their bootsreverberating against floorboards. Which meant we had to be in a house of some sorts. A deep, sweet, spicy scent caught my attention, and my body hummed with awareness. The tingling in my cheeks from those slaps hadn’t abated, and my cock had fully hardened at this point.
“You know, I have other ways of getting answers,” they said, circling around me. It was obvious by the creak of the floorboards with their movements. My heart thrummed a little harder at their proximity. Even with everyone at the commune sharing space and the fields and dinners, when I went back to my bed by my lonesome as of late, only Socks gave me comfort. I’d been craving closeness like this.
“You could just ask if you have questions,” I said, more confused by the minute. I’d been giving them answers every time, so I wasn’t sure what they were on about. I was a pretty open book for anyone who cared to get to know me.
A low growl came from them, followed by a slight sting along my arms. Something sharp traveled along my bare skin, like the scrape of claws, and a shiver ran through me. Were these attachments? They continued to trace patterns down my arms, across my skin, and another shiver traveled through me. The throb in my balls grew unrelenting, and I shifted again, which caused the rope to rub against my skin. The feeling of being confined elevated my arousal, and I wasn’t sure what this elf’s aim was, but their touch had awakened a whole lot in me.
“Where. Is. It?” they asked again, the claws continuing to scrape against my skin. The slight sting, the careful edge of sharpness, sent a thrill through me, and I squirmed in my seat. If they tried anything threatening, I could probably break the ropes and bolt, but I liked feeling restrained here, blindfolded. The sensations they delivered were a revelation. I hadn’t realized I’d like rough play like that, but if they wanted to marry an unremarkable berry farmer, who was I to stop them?
“What are you looking for out of this?” I asked. If this was an unconventional way to romance me, I should try to figure out the sort of relationship they wanted.
“I thought that was clear by the fact you’re bound up at my mercy,” they said, the claws biting into my skin a little harder. The pressure sent a pulse of lust through me again. My nipples chafed at the fabric of my shirt, so oversensitive. I squirmed in the seat, my insides molten, my whole body keyed up like I was one touch away from detonation.
