Bind Me Before You Go (Entangled Brazen) (Serve), page 7
“I’m ready,” she whispered.
“All right.” He turned to the audience. “Welcome to our Shibari demo, everyone. I’m going to start off with a classic fixed knot double coin harness.” The crowd remained eerily silent. “As you wrap the rope around your partner, it’s critical you learn to read her signals. Is she stiffening up or relaxing the muscles under the bindings? Is her face grimacing or does she appear aroused? That’s what makes this kind of Shibari all about mutuality. The rope serves as the conduit between you and your partner, like a cord of energy, of your desire, weaving from your hands onto her body. It’s like a dance between equals.”
His fingers and his rope skirted under her breasts and around her back. She didn’t know if he was going slowly because it was a demo or if he was using his slow touch to tease her, but it didn’t matter. Her entire body came alive at his touch. His calloused fingers lightly stroked the outside of her breasts, around her sides, and across her spine.
“Hold the rope on her back by the running ends,” he continued. “Hold them in place right by her shoulder blades.” He swiftly turned her around so that the crowd could see what he was explaining. The turn threw her off-balance for a moment, but his hand along her spine brought her back to her center. “Come back around over the chest, and start to make a weaving pattern.”
His fingers danced feather light on her skin, but when he gripped her, it was strong, coarse even, and he tugged at the ropes around her ribcage. The fibers bit into the velvet softness under and around her breasts, like a serpentine vice. It was just enough to alert her to their presence, but not enough to really hurt her. It was amazing how he knew exactly how much she could take.
“Don’t let the rope slack,” he warned the audience as he cinched the weave even tighter. “You’ve got to make sure your partner is secure, that she knows you’ve got her. She needs to feel safe, feel bound to you, in order for her to let go.”
Cassidy opened her eyes and saw David’s gaze, waiting to meet hers.
“Ready for more?” he murmured, only meant for her ears.
Her lips parted and her stomach fluttered. She felt completely aroused by how much he wanted her. She didn’t care about the crowd of people in the room anymore, and she found she was actually getting off on being tied up, having him in control. Because she trusted him.
“Yes,” she mouthed.
“Good,” he muttered, and just then he lightly scraped the harsh fibers of the rope’s length across her nipples. Once, twice, then a delicious pinch between his calloused fingers.
A reward. An unexpected, but well-deserved, reward from her lover.
His hands came up to her waist and cradled her sides. Their heat seared her skin. They drifted down to her hips, and his thumbs hooked onto the sides of her underwear . He raised an eyebrow at her, and she understood he was silently asking her permission to take her further. She ran the tip of her tongue along the bottom seam of her lip, excited about what was coming next.
She gave the hint of a nod and, without hesitating, he ripped the underwear right off her body.
Some people in the crowd gasped, but David didn’t miss a beat. Before grabbing the rope, he ran both hands up her calves and thighs then dove his fingers between the folds of her sex. He gave her clit a couple of strokes—a taste of what would happen between them when they were off the stage—but then his touch was gone.
He hooked more rope onto the upper harness he’d woven and wrapped the extension around her thighs and in between her legs. He positioned the bonds around her sex and teased her by stroking her lips with his fingers and with the rope. She blushed as she realized she was already drenched.
“Shibari is not just about tying up your partner,” he said. “And the rope is not just an implement to immobilize. This is not domination the way many of you think of it. The rope is an extension of you and, through each knot and tie, you are wrapping yourself around your partner. You are binding yourself to her in that moment, and with her body and her trust, she binds herself to you.”
By the time he was done, she was intricately wrapped in rope around her breasts, tight through her middle, and down and around her legs. He’d even managed, somehow, to maneuver the ropes so that they opened her sex, exposing her entrance and clitoris—a vulnerability he took advantage of with scant but heady touches.
Then he told the crowd he was going to make something called a “Swiss seat” and would suspend her in a maneuver called the basic “inverted Y,” or as he further explained, “a standard suspension design, similar to Kinoko Osada gotes.”
Of course, she had no idea what he was talking about, but she was just as fascinated as the audience was.
He took more rope from his bag and started hoisting it through the large wooden ring hanging from the ceiling. He continued to talk, to wrap, and weave, totally in his own head this time. It wasn’t until he’d completed most of it that she felt him coming back to her.
“Once you’ve woven a secure enough seat for her, then you can begin to work on suspending her legs. You must make sure not to tie around any major arteries or nerve centers. You are in charge of her safety as well as her pleasure.”
As he wrapped the rope around her ankles, he caressed and rubbed her calves, her inner thighs, then scored his nails along the sensitive skin on the backs of her knees, making her shiver with desire and longing. The only time he looked away from her was when he went to pull and secure the lines, hoisting her body into the air as if she weighed nothing. It was like when she’d been a little girl on a swing.
In the air.
Weightless.
Ready to fly.
As if knowing her thoughts, he actually came behind her and gave her a slight push on her back, and she gently swayed back and forth. She was surprised how secure her body was in the contraption he’d woven around her, like she was in a cocoon. Her head lolled to the side, and she closed her eyes. The motion felt incredible.
She heard his voice. He was talking to the crowd. But between the heat in the room and the rhythmic cadence of the swing, she couldn’t focus on what he was saying any longer. She wanted, no, needed him to touch her.
She craved his tongue between her legs. She wanted his cock to drive into her, and she didn’t want him to be gentle. She wanted him to lose control, to use her body as a vessel for all his desire and rage and heartbreak. She wanted him to fuck her so hard that she’d feel him there days later—
The room burst into applause and whistles. The demonstration was over. David stayed on the stage with her, and while Cassidy could tell many wanted to approach him, they must have sensed he wasn’t up for additional company and conversation.
The spotlight shut off, and people filed out of the room, in their own daze, it seemed. Leo was the last one standing there on the other side of the room, but Cassidy couldn’t see him that well because David had been blocking her body from view since he’d ended the demo.
He might have had no trouble tying her up naked, but she figured he wasn’t too cool with giving everyone a long, extended peek. It sounded crazy, but in a strange way, she thought it was chivalrous of him. And if she was going to be brutally honest with herself, she’d have to admit she absolutely loved every minute of it.
“Best demo I’ve ever seen. Hands down,” Leo said, his voice taking on an almost reverent, hushed tone. “An honor to watch you work. And the two of you together? It was like…like watching a choreographed dance. Fucking unbelievable, the chemistry you two have.”
David didn’t answer, and she wondered what was going through his mind. Had he felt the same thrill on stage as her? Of course she had no prior experience to go by, but what had just happened was transcendent.
“You and your woman saved my ass. I owe you one.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“All right, I’ll see you two around.” He shut the door, leaving the two of them alone together. Finally.
David grabbed a handful of the rope over her head and proceeded to cut the rope down from the wooden ring, followed by the bindings around her ankles, wrists, and middle. He worked lightning quick, and before she knew it, he had her cradled in his arms and lying on a blanket on the floor. He rubbed oil into her skin, along the various areas where the rope had bound her. It was heaven, and it took a while for her to come back down to earth.
She was also a tad, well…disappointed. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her.
“You good?” he asked while he studied her reactions.
“I am, it’s just, well…” She cast her gaze downward, only to have him cup her chin to keep eye contact.
“What is it?”
“I guess I thought that after the people left, you and I would….”
“Fuck?” he answered for her.
“Something like that.”
A wicked smile spread across his handsome face.
“What are you up to, Cavill?” she teased him, pretending to wrestle away.
He let out a laugh—deep and sonorous and exhilarating to her ears—and tightened his grip around her.
“Oh, I’m gonna fuck you all right,” he finally offered. “Just not here. Not our first time. That needs to happen back home.”
She licked her lips and reached out for him. “I can’t wait,” she whispered.
He tipped her chin up. “You okay?”
“Just a little out of breath. That wasn’t a typical date.”
She realized the truth of what she’d said. She was out of breath and a little tired.
He hoisted her onto her feet and then grabbed her clothes. “Get dressed. We’re going out.”
“Where, though? Back to your place?” she asked while slipping on the outfit she’d been wearing all day.
A fleeting thought raced through her. When she’d woken up this morning and laid out her skirt and blouse, bra, and panties, she was just getting dressed for a typical workday. And yet somehow, with David now in her life, she ended the day in the same clothes, but at a sex club. Now, she was off to somewhere unknown.
These next two weeks will be the adventure of your life. Savor every second.
“Bet you didn’t have anything for dinner,” he finally offered, throwing on his Ramones T-shirt. “I need to feed my girl if you’re going to have the strength for the rest of the night.”
And then, right on cue, her stomach growled. Loudly.
He gave her that crinkled-eyed smile that made her heart melt, and she let out a laugh from deep inside the same belly that growled at her.
“Well, then, you better feed me. Because I want to see what you’ve got in store for me.”
Chapter Seven
David parked on MacDougal Street and dismounted from his bike in one of his favorite New York neighborhoods, Greenwich Village. Cassidy got off the rear of the bike and took off her helmet.
“Ever been here before?” He took their helmets and locked them up with the motorcycle.
“Never. Where are we going?”
He pointed to a restaurant on the corner of the street. “Delacroix’s is a French bistro, a good one.”
“Delacroix? Any relation…?”
“Yep. One of Leo’s siblings owns the place.” He grabbed her hand. “C’mon, I’ve got an unusual surprise for you.”
He led her into the small restaurant. It had been so long since he’d been there, he thought they would have changed its appearance, but he felt a familiar comfort come over him as he stepped inside and saw the same red walls and sweet pea flowers in finger vases. The place was packed, mostly with couples huddled close together, in spite of the air outside being heavy and balmy. As soon as they cleared the threshold, a tall, stunning woman with a mane of corkscrew-curly hair and bright pink lipstick swarmed them and greeted them both with kisses on the cheek.
“David! Bievenue. Donc bon de vous voir.” She turned to Cassidy. “Welcome to our restaurant.”
David threw his arm around Cassidy, laughing full and deep. “Aveline, this is Cassidy. A very special guest. Cassidy, this is Aveline, Leo’s sister and the owner here.”
It was easy to see that Aveline was related to Leo. She had the same tawny, amber-colored eyes and radiant smile, which lit up the room much better than the small, painted chandeliers overhead. She also had that same gorgeous, cocoa butter smooth, caramel macchiato skin as Leo. And she was tall. She was wearing ballet flats, but even without heels, she still easily stood at five-foot-eleven.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cas-sa-dee,” she said in her heavily accented English. “Has David given you a hint about what you will experience tonight?”
“A hint? Um, I assumed we’d eat. Am I missing something?”
She gave an impish grin and winked at him. “Follow me,” she commanded, and then proceeded to sashay through the restaurant and into a small room in the back and off to the side. There were only a few tables, but the room was empty of other patrons. The only light inside the section came from a few votive candles.
Aveline handed him a small blue box and then bid them farewell, closing the door behind her. They were now all alone in the private dining room.
He pulled out her chair. “Have a seat. I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She pretended to give him the stink eye but sat her butt down as she was told. “All right, what are you up to, Cavill?”
He came up behind her and moved her hair off to the side to expose the nape of her neck. Her floral scent invaded his senses. He couldn’t help himself. He brushed his lips against the sensitive skin, making her shiver, then used the very tip of his tongue to trace along her pulse point.
“Not much here that’ll taste as good as you do,” he whispered next to her ear. Her skin flushed at his words. “But thought we could do something a little different.”
Then he showed her what Aveline had handed to him earlier. He opened the small blue box. Inside was a blindfold.
“Up for dining in the dark?” he asked her.
She swiveled in her seat. “You have finally lost your mind! What will they think when they come in here and see me blindfolded? What’s next? Hooks and rope falling down from the ceiling? You feeding me all tied up and inverted?”
“Hey, that’s a great idea!” he teased—at which she playfully slapped his arm.
“David!”
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” he said while laughing and grabbing her hands. He placed a series of quick kisses on her palms. “They won’t think anything because they host dining in the dark events all the time.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Besides…” He reached out and smoothed down her hair. “I’d never do anything to embarrass you.”
Her features softened with the sweet smile she gave him. “I know.”
“Good, then we can begin,” he said while standing up. “May I blindfold you now?”
She took a deep breath and bit the side of her bottom lip while narrowing her eyes at him. “Don’t make me regret this.”
“You’re going to love it,” he reassured her.
“Okay, go ahead.”
He wrapped the blindfold around her head, making sure it was tight without being too constricting.
“The whole point of dining in the dark is to experience something we do all the time—eating—in a whole new way. Kind of like what you’re doing now with me, don’t you think?”
She just nodded.
There was a small brass bell in the center of the table. He rang it three times, noticing that Cassidy jumped slightly in her seat.
“Just the bell to signal to the staff we can begin.”
He watched her breathe a small sigh of relief. “Oh, okay,” she answered.
The doors opened and two wait staff brought to the table a bottle of wine and a couple of dishes, typical starters in French cuisine, with flavors he suspected she had never experienced before. The idea of introducing another world of experiences to her brought him a warm sense of satisfaction deep in his gut. After the wine was uncorked and poured, the staff left.
He took a dollop of the first appetizer and smeared it on a crostini wedge small enough to be consumed in one bite. “Ready?”
She rubbed her lips together. “Yep, absolutely. I’m totally hungry by the way.”
He brought the morsel to her lips and she opened for him. Even with the blindfold on, he could read her reactions like a book: at first surprise, then confusion, and finally delight as she let the flavors permeate her mouth.
“Describe to me what you taste,” he gently ordered.
“I don’t know where to begin,” she said.
“Just try. You’ll find the words.”
“Okay.” She paused. “It’s delicious. I love how the crusty slice of bread balances out the smooth spread. It has a rich yet delicate flavor. I know it’s some kind of protein, but I don’t know what. What is it?”
“Nope…” He shook his head, although he knew she couldn’t see him. Or catch him staring at her, with all his newfound, escalating emotions for this woman in plain view. Jesus, just watching her eat turned him on. “Forget about what everyone else would call something. The rule is you eat and drink and decide what it means to you.”
Next, he gave her some wine, which she also loved, as was evident by the way she practically moaned when it went down her throat.
“Okay, ready for the next one?”
“Yes, please,” she answered, actually bouncing up and down in her seat a couple of times.
Now it was his turn to groan. “You’ve got to stop being so adorable, otherwise we’ll never make it through the rest of the menu.”
She cocked her head and shrugged her shoulders. “I can’t help it. It’s a curse I must live with every day.”
“Yes, I can only imagine,” he said on a laugh. He took a forkful of the next bite. “Okay Ms. Sass, pucker those lips and blow, ’cause this next one is still hot.”
Goddamn, her luscious pink mouth formed a perfect “O” as she cooled the bite. Then he placed it on her tongue and watched her reactions again.
“Oh my God!” she moaned. “This is incredible. Buttery, garlicky with a touch of some herbs I can’t recognize. It’s a bit chewy, but so good.”
