AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Josslyn.”
“I know, I know.” She let out a soft laugh. “I sort of deserve it, I guess.”
“No, engaging in risky behavior doesn’t mean you deserve to be hurt or abused. It just means you engaged in something with a high level of risk. I will admit I have the urge to tie you to a chair and lecture you about how that’s a bad idea, but that’s out of concern for your safety.”
Ilias helped her up onto the table before kneeling. He grabbed two short lengths of smooth nylon rope and started to weave rope cuffs around her dangling ankles.
“I promise, I didn’t do it a second time.”
Again, he didn’t ask a question, merely gave her space to talk if she wanted to.
“We met up in a hotel bar. Out by LAX. We talked for a little bit. He was really quiet, mostly asked about my experience.”
Ilias hesitated. Was that how she would have described him after their first night?
“I told him that I’d just gotten out of a long-term D/s relationship.”
Ilias’s head snapped up. “Technically true, but…”
She grimaced. “I know. If you thought I was smart before now, by the time I’m done, you’ll think I’m an idiot.”
“No, I won’t. I’ll think you were grieving and frustrated and took some risks in an attempt to get your needs met.”
He could feel the weight of her gaze as he went back to tying.
“Thank you,” she said softly.
“You’re welcome.”
“He got us a hotel room. I thought nothing much would happen until he went and got a bag from his car. His kit.”
With her ankles bound, Ilias helped her off the table once more so he could add a few more ties, all of which would serve as anchor points.
“I knew, intellectually, that BDSM doesn’t have to involve sex, but for me it always had. It was part of my sex life with my husband. This guy…he just wanted to be in control. And, well, beat me.”
Ilias had two loops of rope in place around her thigh, just above the knee. He paused as the meaning of her words processed, then carefully added the third loop, tied it, and checked the fit by sliding two fingers between the binding and her skin.
Only then did he give in to the urge her words had spawned and leaned in, resting his head against her hip at the same time he gripped her calves.
Fingers feathered over his hair. “I’m okay.”
He looked up and her fingertips slid down his cheek to jaw. She had a limited range of motion, but he felt that small touch through every fiber of his being.
“It wasn’t that bad at first. I like impact play, and I had clothes on, so it was thuddy. But then I started to feel… Feel like a thing, not a person.”
Ilias rose to his feet, taking her hands in his. Just to check that her fingers weren’t cold due to poor circulation.
“I asked for a pause, then said I needed him to talk to me. That the silence was hard.”
“Because people talk to one another.”
“Exactly. He didn’t look happy, but he agreed.”
Ilias knew where this was going, but this story also made him uneasy because she’d been the one to start their conversation last night. Had he made her feel like a thing rather than a person?
She opened her mouth, but Julen walked up, his face almost blank.
“Ready?” Julen asked.
