by Livia Grant
“Where would you like to set up?” the DM asked, and although McKenna recognized him from her visits, she couldn’t remember his name.
“Let’s grab that empty platform,” Landon suggested, pointing at one of the raised circular spaces that had always made her anxious, which really made no sense at all. She’d been half-naked on a set with a ton of random crew, but that wasn’t real life — this was real.
He still had her hand enveloped in his massive one, and so when he started toward the platform McKenna didn’t have much of a choice except to follow. Relief flowed through her when he stopped her at the bottom of the steps leading up, both of them watching as the DM went ahead of them to start unwinding the loops of tan-colored rope.
“Time to take this very nice corset off,” he said, still wearing that borderline feral smirk.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, a little disappointed as she moved her hair out of the way for him.
The first tugs at the corset’s ties had her fighting the urge to pout. She’d hoped to keep it on for a while since it made her look curvier than she was, but it made sense to take it off for the rope, so she kept the comments to herself. Plus, Macy wouldn’t argue about something like this, she’d wait and see what awaited her and then use her skills to get out of it.
Not that McKenna planned on getting out of it. Hell, she’d signed up for this…
But why was the urge to run so strong?
“Who the fuck put this on you?” Landon asked, and his low chuckle, followed by a huff of effort, told her all she needed to know.
“I did, but it’s a double knot. Want me to get it?”
“Sure. Whatever gets you naked faster,” he retorted, and she was lucky that her eye roll was hidden.
“Yes, sir.” Reaching back, she grinned and undid the knot blindly, tugging at the laces until they hung loose down her backside.
“Did you work on a ship or something?” he asked.
Biting down, McKenna managed not to laugh out loud as he plucked at the laces, steadily loosening the corset. “No, I’ve just done it often enough that I know how to get in and out of it.”
“And I’m sure you have guys lining up to get you out of this outfit every time you come here,” he mumbled, and she felt the heat in her cheeks from the compliment just before he ordered, “Arms up!”
The corset slid up her ribs, and she felt the card case she’d tucked inside the bra cup drop to the floor, but just as she bent to pick it up, Landon grabbed her arm and yanked her upright again. Confused, she looked up at him, and then her stomach plummeted.
“What the fuck is this?”
“Huh?” Glancing down at the card case on the floor, it took her a second to realize that wasn’t what he was looking at. Instead, Landon’s intense gaze was focused squarely on her ribs, and as his grip tightened on her arm, there was no doubt in her mind that he was pissed. Actually, furious would be a better way to describe the sudden intensity in his expression as he poked her side. “Ow, fuck, why did you do that?”
Landon yanked her closer to him, leaving her craning her neck up to meet his eyes as he hissed, “Who did this?”
“Did what?” she snapped, pulling back, and she was relieved that he let her go, although his other hand was still crushing the edge of her corset.
“That.” A single finger pointed at her ribs, and when McKenna twisted to look at it, she realized what he’d seen.
“Oh, that. It’s nothing, really.”
“If someone is hitting you like that, it is not BDSM, McKenna. You need to fucking tell me if—”
“No, no!” she interrupted, grabbing onto his arms as he crowded close, suddenly intense and over-protective, which was somehow the nicest thing she’d ever felt while utterly topless. “Listen to me, I got the bruise at work, okay? We’re filming season two and my character fights vampires. One of the stunt guys accidentally landed a kick to my ribs, but that’s all it was. I promise. No BDSM.”
His intensity didn’t shift down at all. His eyes were still dark, focused only on her, accentuated by the way his hair was pulled back into a bun. Having the huge guy so concerned for her was… nice? And weird? Really, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel since he didn’t know her at all, but as he towered over her she had no doubt that he was focused on the healing bruise on her ribs and not the fact that her breasts were completely exposed, which was sweet in the strangest way.
“Landon? Sir. Please look at me?” McKenna waited until his eyes shifted from her side to her chest and then her eyes. “I swear it was from set. You’re really sweet, but it was just a fight scene, and I’m okay.”
They stayed that way for a long moment, her hands resting on his arms while he looked like he wanted to rip the head off whatever monster he’d imagined when he saw the bruise. Squeezing his forearms, she took a step closer to him, which forced him to stand up straight just to see her.
“I promise I’m fine, sir. It wasn’t from here or any other club, okay? It was from work.” Risking a smile, she didn’t speak again until he finally seemed to relax. “Landon?”
“You got that bruise while acting?” he echoed like he was just now processing the information.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, biting down on her lower lip to try and suppress the grin that was rapidly spreading, but it disappeared the second Landon cupped her chin.
“You swear that no one hit you?” he pressed, and she faltered, a nervous laugh bubbling up.
“Um, well, it was an accident. They didn’t mean to actually land the kick. We were going through the fight choreography and—”
“Did someone fucking hit you or not?” Landon snapped and she went quiet because there was something too serious, too intense about him, even if he was being incredibly sweet.
Reaching up, McKenna cupped his face, wondering what that bun of dirty blond hair at the back of his head would feel like if she had the balls to move her hands that far back. It had to be long to manage that, and she couldn’t help but wonder what it looked like down… but now wasn’t the time to fantasize. “Thank you for being concerned, sir, but I promise you it was just an accident at work. The show I’m on has me fighting ‘vampires’ every week, and sometimes the stunts don’t go perfectly. That’s all it is. No one hurt me like that. I swear.”
His silence was unnerving, heavy, but she didn’t move until he slowly took her wrists in his hands and gently moved them from his face. “Okay, I believe you.”
“That’s good,” she replied, stifling a nervous laugh. “Because it’s true.”
“Good. It looked like—” Landon finally pulled back, putting space between them that allowed her to breathe, but also left her strangely cold without the heat of his body so close.
“Like someone hit me in the ribs for fun?” she suggested and the glare he shot her stole the laugh from her voice. “I get bruises all the time from work. Hazard of being on an action-based show. But, for the record, if a dom ever raised a hand to me like that, I’d castrate him.”
“Yeah?” Landon took a step closer to her again, and then another. In the next moment he had a hand in her hair, fingers twining into the waves so he could crane her neck back as he closed the gap between them.
Swallowing, McKenna’s mouth felt suddenly dry, but she managed a weak nod against the hold in her hair, and all she could think was that he was going to kiss her. A strange man she’d been paired with less than half an hour before, who had grown so serious and intense at just the idea that someone had hurt her… and she was okay with it. More than okay. She was ready for his lips to collide with hers in the next breath — but he pulled back.
Instead, a slow, cocky smirk spread over his lips. “Well, I plan to hurt you. In a different way, but I think you’ll like it.”
“Oh.” The word was barely a whisper, a breath of air, but he grinned down at her in the most bone-melting expression she’d ever been faced with.
Fuck. He should be an actor. He’d have fangirls around the worl
d.
“What’s your safe word, McKenna?” he asked softly, and the question jerked her back to reality. They were at Black Light. Paired together because they signed up for Valentine Roulette. That’s all this was.
And her safe word was, “Red.”
“If you use that, we lose, so if I’m pushing you too far, I want you to say ‘yellow’ first so that I have a chance to fix it. Understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good girl,” he whispered, and then he let go of her hair. Without him touching her, McKenna felt her knees weaken, but she managed to stay upright as he moved to the steps.
“Everything okay?” the DM asked. He was looking between the two of them with a smile plucking at his lips, and McKenna knew she was blushing fire-engine red under their joint scrutiny.
“We’re good, Weston,” Landon answered, relaxing as if nothing had happened between them. “I just needed to confirm that the bruise on her ribs wasn’t from anyone here, and I need you to note it just in case Elijah sees it and decides to take me out back.”
“Bruise?” Weston repeated, hopping off the edge of the platform to walk toward her, and McKenna raised her hands.
“Jesus fucking Christ! I’m an actress on an action show, and yes, I have a bruise on my ribs where a stunt guy landed a kick on accident but I’m fine!” she snapped, turning to show Weston the bruise. “As you can see, it’s already healing, so clearly Landon isn’t at fault in the less than thirty minutes I’ve known him.”
“And you’re not covering for anyone else here?” Weston pressed, and McKenna let out a screech of frustration.
“Oh my fucking God — no!”
“Well, that’s all I needed to hear!” Clapping his hands together, Weston smiled at her and hopped back onto the platform to pick up a length of rope. Tilting his head toward Landon, his smile morphed into something much more devious. “You spun shibari, which is my favorite thing, so… what are we doing with your sub?”
“I’ve got some ideas. First, she needs to take off the rest of her clothes,” Landon replied, looking at her expectantly.
“And then?” she prompted, and he laughed.
“Then I might need a ball gag, because you have quite a mouth on you, girl.”
“Between her legs like this?” Weston asked, and McKenna groaned through the gag as the DM passed the slightly rough rope through her legs, lifting it until it slid firmly between her folds. “I can make it pretty tight, keep her squirming.”
“Yeah, good, but do one of those knots against her clit so every time she moves—”
“It rubs? I got you.” Chuckling, Weston crouched down in front of her to tie the knot and McKenna huffed as she got a momentary reprieve from the rope, but she knew it wouldn’t last. When she glanced down, all she could do was groan under her breath as Weston formed the knot.
He wasn’t the problem though. She wasn’t worried about Weston being creepy while face-to-face with her crotch. After all, he was one of the DMs and they were all cool. No, what irritated her was how well-versed in shibari Landon seemed to be despite claiming to know nothing about rope.
Did he lie about that to fake her out?
“Make sure she knows it’s there,” Landon added, and she glared at him, but he just smirked. “Listen, girl, I hate that sensory deprivation shit, but if you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna have Weston here get me a blindfold too.”
“Eh, ur,” she garbled through the gag, but he seemed to understand it meant ‘yes, sir’ because he winked at her before crouching down beside the DM. His nearness summoned heat to her cheeks, setting them on fire when he grabbed her hip with one big hand to hold her steady while Weston pulled at the coarse rope, waking up every nerve ending between her legs.
“I need to learn this stuff,” he said quietly, stroking her waist with his thumb as he watched intently.
It was like he wanted to soothe her, but nothing was going to make her less aware of the small crowd around the platform watching her get bound in rope — while completely naked — or the fact that he was getting an up-close and personal view of her most intimate places when the night had barely started.
“Well, I run shibari classes here every month, you should come by,” Weston replied just before he tugged the scratchy rope up through her folds again, and the harsh pressure of the knot over her clit only got more intense as he stood up to weave the rope into the chest harness. “Predicament bondage like this is only in the advanced class though.”
“I’ll check it out,” Landon replied, slapping Weston on the shoulder with a chuckle. “But I thought this predicament shit was supposed to be uncomfortable. Seems to me she’s already enjoying it.”
A groan rolled up inside her as the truth of that set in. McKenna wasn’t sure if it was the intimacy of all of it, or his warm hand on her skin, or the fact that he’d made sure not to get one of the smoother ropes that would have caused less friction… but he was right. She could feel herself getting wet, and it seemed like with every breath the expansion of her ribs made the damn knot move against her clit — which, of course, was only making it worse.
Just don’t think about it.
Landon stood up, towering over her as he slid his hand from her hip to trace the rope between her legs, pressing on the knot until she couldn’t hold back the whimpered mix of pleasure and discomfort. Leaning down, he whispered right against her ear. “You like this, McKenna?”
A shiver rolled through her, sparks skittering over her skin as he increased the pressure on the little knot.
“Answer me,” he commanded, his warm breath brushing her neck as his other hand found her hair, his fist tightening slowly.
Do I like it?
Her first instinct was to say no, partially because it could lead to a spanking, but it was also because the entire experience was confusing. The rope was rough enough to make her skin burn slightly in places, especially between her legs, but something about it was also… intoxicating. She was powerless with her forearms bound together in a beautiful, intricate weave of rope, and even though being at Landon Bartlett’s mercy should have made her at least a little anxious — that wasn’t the feeling that came to mind as she looked up at him.
“McKenna.” He said her name like a warning, and she swallowed hard when his fist tightened in her hair, tilting her head back as tingles rushed over her scalp, adding more sensations to her already overloaded brain.
It took another second before she could make herself nod, and she still wasn’t sure about her answer, but when he rubbed the knot against that bundle of nerves again, she knew it was the right one.
Fuck. I do like this.
“Anything else, or you think she’s set?” Weston asked, and they both turned to look at him. She’d forgotten he was even there, and it seemed like Landon had too.
“You’ve got a hardpoint up there, right?” Stepping away from her, he shaded his eyes against the lights to look up at the ceiling.
“Of course, man.” Chuckling, the DM hopped off the side of the platform. “Let me get the remote for it.”
“Grab a Hitachi for me too,” Landon added, and McKenna felt her stomach flip flop, half-excitement and half-nerves.
“I like the way you think,” Weston called back, and a few of the people around the platform laughed and clapped as the scene started to take shape.
She just wished she knew what he had planned, because she didn’t believe for a second that a dom like Landon Bartlett was going to go to all the effort of the predicament bondage and only give her a few orgasms.
“Think you can behave if I take the gag out?” he asked, and she shifted her gaze back to him just in time to see him take off the suit jacket.
Damn, he’s huge.
Something about the black of the suit jacket had downplayed the reality of his muscular body, but the white button-down underneath didn’t hide anything. His shoulders pressed against the fabric, his biceps bulging through it as he started on the buttons, and she
wanted to know what he looked like without all of it. So… she nodded like a good girl.
“I’m going to ask you some questions, McKenna, and I really want you to keep that sharp tongue of yours under control so you can answer them.” Landon flashed a wicked grin at her as he pulled the two halves of his shirt open, but he froze as a woman’s scream echoed across the room.
“RED!” It was the one word that could stop every person in place, drawing all eyes in the direction of the desperate scream. There was a single stroke of something like a paddle, followed by a short yelp, and then silence for a moment until the low rumble of too many people talking at once filled it in. The crowd shifted as DMs from across the play area rushed toward a padded table.
It was impossible to hear what the dom was saying, but from her vantage point on the raised platform McKenna could see that he was already cutting the woman free. She was wrapped tight in something shiny like saran wrap, but it fell away fast as the dom worked while Elijah removed a blindfold and headphones from the panicked woman. McKenna’s stomach tightened as the girl she’d stood near during the spins sat up, sobbing and gasping for breath.
“See… that’s why I hate sensory deprivation. No one on the fucking planet wants to feel like they’re stuck in a coffin.” Landon shook his head as he turned back to her, his eyebrows lifting a little when he met her gaze. “Not judging, of course. Just definitely not my kink. You into that stuff?”
“Uh uh,” she garbled through the gag, shaking her head to add emphasis. Nothing about getting cut off from the world like that sounded fun at all. Plus, it would be impossible to get spanked while saran-wrapped to a table.
“Guess you’re lucky it’s on my limits list then,” he replied with a wink. The commotion moved past their platform and they both watched the failed Roulette couple pass as Elijah led them out of the play area. “Remember to call ‘yellow’ if you start to panic like that. I have lots of plans for you, McKenna, and I don’t plan on losing tonight.”
