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As soon as she was free, I followed her eyes to see the railing above us packed with priests and priestesses. Not just those of the Body, but all of them that could fit. Among them, I saw Shalsa, but neither Amerlee nor Jamik was anywhere around.
"I think that crowd's a good thing, right?" she asked, her voice rough.
"I hope so," I agreed, cupping her face. "Please tell me you're ok?"
"Only if you'll do that again." And a smile curled her lips. "I know you will never hurt me, Ela. I'm not scared of you. I have never been scared of you. I just don't want to be held at arm's length. I want to be a part of everything you need, including this, so please?"
"I promise," I breathed, just as Oryll began waving the crowd back under control.
"An effective display," he said, lifting his voice so it would carry. "Eladehl, I think that deserves an excellent. Nariana, your performance was lacking. I'm grading you at a good."
"What?!" The words came from Shalsa. "And what the fuck did you expect the sub to do when bound like that? I contest the grade!"
"Me too!"
"Add my name to it, because that was one of the best bondage performances I've ever seen," a man yelled from the back of the lower level. "That's worthy of the Darkest Night."
Oryll's face was turning red. "All she did was allow herself to be bound!"
Of all the people in the temple, Faylie stepped onto the stage with us, her attention locked on Oryll. "And what exactly did you expect her to do, Priest Oryll? The entire point of sexual bondage is for the recipient to be unable to do anything else. She accepted. She gave. She surrendered to her partner, and he made the most of her body. That man made his partner climax twice while under pressure - which isn't as easy as you seem to think. So what would you have this priestess do differently?"
"Uh, well, showmanship," Oryll tried.
"Bullshit," a man grumbled from the upper level. "Give her an excellent, old man."
"I'm serious about that complaint," Shalsa said again.
"Fine!" Oryll snapped. "Both get an excellent! Now I need silence, because the next group has ten minutes to prepare. Eladehl and Nariana? Get off the stage."
He didn't need to tell us twice.
Chapter 66
Nariana
That night, I couldn't stop thinking about the session. I'd pushed for it. I'd all but begged Ela to make it happen, and yet the moment he'd tied my arms behind my back and left me kneeling in the center of those mats? True fear had made my heart hammer in my chest. I'd been helpless, vulnerable, and completely exposed.
Not physically. I was used to being naked, having eyes run over my body, and being treated like a sexual object. It was part of the Path of the Body. No, it had been showing my weaknesses to the world that had been so hard. If I fought, I was in control. If I pushed, I was the one driving things. But that? They'd all seen me the same way Nyrren had, as a thing to use, abuse, and who couldn't protect herself.
But Ela had protected me instead. That kiss when he'd pulled me to my feet? It had said enough. I'd felt more than just need or desire in it. I'd felt my partner, my lover, and my protector in that touch. It had been a silent promise and the last nudge I needed to allow myself to just let go - because I did trust him. I always had.
It all seemed so perfect until the next morning. I woke with an ache in my body that I hadn't expected. I couldn't remember the last time that sex had made me sore, and this was more. My throat was rough, the skin sensitive. My back hurt; every muscle was strained, since I'd tried to hold myself up. Even my legs protested a bit, and my core was definitely tender.
Ela had fucked me hard, and I'd loved every second of it. I just hadn't stopped to think about what came next, and for me, that was a final exam in my grappling class. I tried a hot shower, but that only helped so much. Getting dressed was a bit more difficult than normal, and I could only imagine how much slower I'd be in a lunge or dodge.
For a moment, I thought about asking Zeal for help, but the idea of Ela hearing that stopped me. The last thing I needed was for him to think he'd hurt me. I didn't honestlyhurt, but I did ache - a lot. Then again, my grade in my Protection course was decent enough. I just had to pass. It didn't matter if I was exceptional, so long as I met the minimum to pass the overall course.
When I looked in the mirror to pull back my hair, I couldn't miss the bruise across my throat. None of the guys had mentioned it, but the band was thick from the leather strap, and the color had turned dark. I debated using makeup to hide it, but I knew it would show through. That was nothing more than proof of just how intense that display had been, and to me, it felt a little like a badge of honor.
But when we headed to our grappling class, Talin and Wraythe looked at it. Their eyes dropped, making me think it hadn't been that bad last night, yet neither man said a word. Talin actually smiled, but it was the soft kind, as if we were sharing a secret. Considering that we'd both been on the other side of Ela, we kind of were.
When we got to class, the room was already packed. It seemed most of the students in this class had decided to get there early. Men and women stretched and warmed up around the room. For a moment, I debated going over by Grath, but decided against it. Not today. Not this time. Instead, I followed Talin and Wraythe to the side and began to stretch.
It didn't take long before Grath came over. Without a word, he reached for my arm to help. I caught Talin tossing a protective warning at him, but Grath just chuckled.
"I'm warmed up," he promised. "You both need to look after yourselves. From the state of her throat, I figure the rest of her body can't be much better, and we all heard about that display. How are you feeling, Nari?"
I wanted to kick the asshole in the shin. "I'm fine, and was hoping not to worry my guardians."
