Ties That Bind

by Neeny Boucher

  He was drinking a Scotch, staring into the fireplace and she gently coughed to get his attention. US3’s “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)” was playing and it both suited the atmosphere in the room and gave her confidence. He turned toward her, his eyes traveling slowly from her toes to her face.

  The look he gave her quickened her pulse and she felt caught in that green-gaze. She never knew what she was going to get with Riley in the bedroom and she liked that about him. Sometimes, he was fire and steel. Others, he was gentle and languorous, touching her as if she would break.

  He put his Scotch down and stalked toward her, coming to rest in front of her. In this light, the gold flecks in his eyes stood out and he put his forehead on hers. He didn’t utter a word as his hands stroked the silk of her robe and then his arms slid around her, dragging her to him.

  Riley rocked her in his arms, moving in time with the music, and then he picked her up, carrying her to the bed. He nudged Cartman off with his foot and threw Christina into the middle. Fire and steel.

  Tonight would be interesting, but she’d never been afraid of his intensity because she could match it. Riley stood up, shrugging his shirt off and his eyes never left her face. His tribal tattoo, with the nightingale in the center, seemed more prominent in this light. So, too, were Riot’s marks on him.

  Christina sat up and ran her hands over his tattoo, feeling a tiny pang of nostalgia for the freckles it now covered. She knew the nightingale symbolized her or them, but she was still getting used to it. She traced the loops and spirals of the tattoo with her fingers, visualizing the freckles hidden underneath. She could live with the changes because he was her Riley.

  Riley’s eyes darkened and he cupped her face, holding her still. He bent his head slowly to her, kissing her passionately until she became breathless, gripping his arms for balance. He slipped the robe off her shoulders, holding her at arm’s length admiring her.

  Then his hands started to roam her body, making her groan. A ghost of a smile crossed his lips and he leaned forward, touching his lips to hers. At first, he was gentle and soft. His kisses whispered across her skin, feather light, until he reached her shoulder, and then he gently bit her.

  Christina looked up into his tiger’s eyes. He was watching her in a way that was both primal and possessive. Their passion was legendary, infamous with an intensity that other people did not understand. It burned and consumed them, for good or ill, neither could say.

  When it was love, they only felt whole together. The world disappeared and they found purpose only in each other. But when it was twisted, they had nearly destroyed each other.

  Riley was an extension of her and she, him. There had been a time when Christina knew Riley’s thoughts, wants, needs, and body better than her own. She had thrown it all away for someone else’s dream, but she had finally found her way home.

  Christina returned his burning gaze and he raised an eyebrow. “Babe,” he said huskily. “As much as those shoes look seriously hot, I’ve been lacerated enough this week. You’re going to have to take them off.”

  She wrenched off her shoes, dropping them to the floor with a clatter, startling the dog. She grabbed Riley by the front of his jeans, pulling him toward her. She ran her hands gently from his taut stomach, over his abs, letting them rest on his chest.

  Riley had a smattering of hair on his chest and along his ‘happy trail’, which she loved. She traced her fingers along his abs to the V by his hips, until she reached the belt on his jeans. Glancing up at him, she slowly undid his belt, sliding his jeans and underpants down.

  She stopped in admiration, staring at what she had always thought of as a ‘thing of beauty’. His cock rose out of his jeans, hard, straight, and resting just under his bellybutton. It was perfect and over the years had given her enormous amounts of pleasure.

  Staring at him, Christina grinned. She moved forward, taking him in her hands and kissing the length of him. She placed the head in her mouth, using her tongue to tease him.

  He hissed and groaned her name, making her smile. She loved that sound. It was a woman’s victory.

  Pushing him into a sitting position on the bed, Christina ripped his clothes off and sank slowly to her knees. She wanted to worship this man in a way that left him in no doubt how much she loved him. She was going to do something that she’d only ever done with him. She’d performed blowjobs on other men, but not this type. This was a Dina and Riley ‘special’.

  **********

  Riley

  As Christina sank to her knees, Riley had to calm himself because he knew what was about to happen. His mouth went dry because nothing had ever compared to the original, not even when he’d tried to have it replicated. She moved forward, letting her hair slide over his thighs, making him draw his breath in sharply.

  Then, her mouth was around him and his mind went blank. Even the weird soundtrack didn’t bother him anymore. He’d been a little concerned when the theme song from Pulp Fiction started. He wondered if she was trying to send him some bizarre message, but if he tried to match the pace of that rhythm, he would break her.

  He was relieved when Smashing Pumpkins’ “Today” filtered into his consciousness. He could do something with that: something less dangerous. His hands went to her head and he slid his fingers through her silky hair, closing them into fists.

  Their eyes met and he found himself caught in her dark gaze. Eye contact was an absolute between them, especially with this act. He insisted on it and it never failed to amuse him that the bedroom was one of the few places Christina would take instruction from him.

  He tilted her head gently to the side, so he could admire the sight of him in her beautiful mouth. At first, she took him in incremental stages and then opened her throat, making his eyes open wide. His mouth fell open and he groaned an expletive, but he held back from thrusting because he wanted to enjoy this.

  Riley watched a tear seep from the corner of her eye and he used a thumb to wipe it away. He lost track of time as her mouth moved on him and he waited until the perfect moment. “Dina,” he growled out. “I’m close.”

  Closing his eyes, Riley waiting for what was about to happen. He felt her move her mouth to the middle of his cock and she drew in a deep breath. She hummed a long note and he felt the vibrations of her voice in every part of his body.

  Riley lost his mind, releasing himself into her mouth, and garbling incoherent words. He clung to her as if she was his lifeline, until the spasms subsided. He sat staring at her in awe. “Jaysus,” he whispered, wiping the sweat off his brow.

  He let out a deep satisfied sigh. Best blowjob ever. Stroking his hand over her hair, Riley smiled. “Dina’s blow jobs. Oh, how I have missed thee.”

  Christina laughed, before she stood up, and walked over to his glass of Scotch. She sipped it staring at him in satisfaction. She was the most dangerous, contrary, and fascinating woman Riley had ever met.

  Mine, he thought. Someone would have to pry her out of his cold dead hands before he’d relinquish her this time and he wanted to make sure she remembered that as well. Stalking over to her, Riley took the drink out of her hand and pulled her into his arms.

  He kissed her on the head and pounced. Leaning over, he kissed her and pushed her back toward the bed. He went for her ear and neck, tracing his tongue to her collarbone, and stayed there, sucking her skin into his mouth.

  “No hickeys,” she said huskily, but he grinned. No hickeys on the neck, but he was going to leave his mark elsewhere. He kissed his way down to her boobs, stopping to admire them.

  The lingerie she was wearing pushed them up, but she didn’t need to do that. They were perfect. Not too big and not too small. More importantly, they belonged to him.

  Riley looked at her and she was watching him with her vixen smile. The light in the room made her eyes look like dark orbs that held unfathomable mysteries. She locked her secrets behind those eyes, living in her head, but he knew how to bring her out into the world. Taking her boobs in
his hands he pushed them together. “Mine,” he grinned.

  Christina laughed and then wrinkled her nose. “I was thinking about that. My boobs, your cock: communal property.”

  Riley chuckled. “I can live with that.” He pulled her panties aside, gazing at one of his favorite places in the world. “You know what?” He whispered. “Special girls get special kisses and you’re my special girl.”

  He pulled her panties down her legs, putting one of her legs over his shoulders, and bent his head to her thighs just above the top of the stockings. Riley nipped her skin, sucking into his mouth and putting his mark on her. He knew she hated it, but he loved marking her as his own. Every time she looked, he wanted her to remember he’d been there.

  He ran his tongue to the spot he loved the most. She put her hands over her face and he laughed. Uh-uh. “Dina,” he warned. “You know the rules.”

  She stared at him with a look he loved. It was part fear, part lust, and it made him rock hard. Watching her abandon everything gave him an enormous sense of achievement and was one of his top memories of all time.

  As Christina began to gasp, he used his fingers, making her thrust her hips up toward him. He kept her on the verge of orgasm until she began to plead with him. “That’s right, Dina,” he whispered. “Beg me. You went for the beard, so I’m going to punish you.”

  He was enjoying torturing her, but his concentration was broken by Sixpence None The Richer’s “Kiss Me” blasting from the iPod. He hated that song with a passion. It brought back bad memories of drunken women trying to sing in karaoke bars.

  Riley glared at the iPod. What the hell was this? It sounded like people with nothing musically in common had created it. The selection ranged from grunge to syrupy pop songs and it was distracting.

  “Honey,” Christina groaned. “Come on. Just… finish what you were doing.”

  She grabbed at his head, trying to direct him, but he was fixated on the music. “What is this?” He frowned.

  “It’s our ‘hit-it” list’,” Dina breathed. “Mine, Bonnie, and Mandy’s.” Now, it made sense and it was also kind of creepy.

  He felt like he was in some twisted Witches of Eastwick fantasy and he could sure as hell pick which songs were Dina’s and which belonged to the other two. He had no intention of sharing Dina in the bedroom with anyone, especially Bonnie and Mandy. They already knew enough of their secrets.

  “I’m turning that off,” he snapped, but Dina stopped him.

  “Riley,” she breathed. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop. It doesn’t matter.”

  The absurdity got the better of him and he rested his head on her thigh and began to laugh. When Reel 2 Reel’s “I Like To Move It” came on, he laughed until his sides hurt and so did, Dina. He had never laughed as hard with anyone, but her. If anyone could turn a romantic moment into something cringe inducing, it was Dina.

  Her hands stroked his head and he looked up grinning. He kissed the inside of her thigh and debated with himself for a split second before bending his head and returning to what he really wanted to do. He teased and tortured her with his tongue and fingers, listening to her whimpers and groans.

  As she got close, he splayed his hand on her stomach, gently pressing down and applying pressure. Christina’s eyes flew open and she went rigid. Riley kept his tongue in place until he felt her begin to buck. “Riley,” she gasped. “Oh god, OH GOD…”

  Her hands fisted in his hair and he stayed holding her until she stopped shaking. He kissed his way up her body to her mouth and gazed into her eyes. “I love you,” she groaned, panting.

  The sheen of sweat on her olive skin captivated him. He stared as the beads caught the light, glistening. He wanted to capture it in a sketch, but right now his inclinations were more physical than artistic.

  “I love you, too,” Riley whispered and he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He couldn’t resist teasing her, especially when they were in the after-glow of intimacy. “I love your faces and the noise you make. You go-”

  Christina’s mouth opened and color flooded her cheeks. “Don’t,” she squawked, trying to cover her face, but Riley wouldn’t let her. He would never understand how she could be so uninhibited and then get embarrassed by the smallest thing.

  “Uh-uh,” he grinned, pulling her hands away from her face. “You’re not hiding. I know your secrets,” he pointed at her, “and you are a dirty, dirty, girl.”

  Riley started whispering in her ear as explicitly as he could. He told her how she tasted, how she turned him on, and all the things he longed to do with her. Talking dirty into Dina’s ear drove her wild, and over the years, she had agreed to many things through this simple act of verbalization.

  He unclasped her bra and she stared at him with trust in her eyes, making his heart lurch. He wanted her to look at him like that for the rest of their lives, but right now, he was about to test her boundaries. “Turn over,” Riley ordered. “Rest your weight on your arms and put your ass in the air.”

  She hesitated before turning over, but did as he requested. He loved this position and the visual image of their bodies connected. Riley kissed the small of her back, caressing her with his hands. He held her hips before entering her, groaning his approval as he felt her body grip him.

  Riley pushed himself fully into her, placing his arms on either side of Dina’s body. He crept slowly up, his front to her back, until his mouth was by her ear. He clasped her gently around the neck, tilting her chin up, and turned her face toward him.

  When their eyes made contact, he demanded, “Who do you belong to?” She gasped, but didn’t respond, so he pushed forward until he was as far in as he could go. “Say it. Tell me, who do you belong to?”

  She swallowed hard before gasping out, “You. I belong to you.”

  “Yes, you do,” he hissed, “and don’t you ever forget it.” Before she could respond, he thrust into her, making her cry out. “I’m going to take you hard, okay?” It was a fine line: love and tenderness versus animal passion and possession. “I won’t hurt you, but I want you so bad and I want you this way.”

  Riley waited for her approval and when she nodded, he grabbed her hips, thrusting into her. He wasn’t rough, but he wasn’t gentle either, and as no one else was around, he was noisy. He lost himself in her, gripping her hips, and kept going, long after she’d finished.

  When he came, he collapsed on her back. Christina fell forward and he lay resting his head on her back, waiting for their breathing to return to normal. They were covered in sweat, but he didn’t want to be away from her. They fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms, with the fire throwing shadows in the room.

  **********

  Riley woke first and he was cold. The fire had gone out so he tiptoed over, banking it up to get more heat in the room. He didn’t know what time it was, but the sun was rising and he could see ice on the windows.

  Christina was fast asleep, sprawled in the middle of the bed, and she was notoriously hard to wake up. If you did, she could be grumpy. He tried to rouse her, but she pushed his hands away.

  Cartman had taken up residence on the end of the bed and he had to battle to get her to go back on the couch. Females. None of his ever did as they were told without a fight.

  Riley slid back into the bed beside Christina and she moved toward him, wrapping herself around his body. He enclosed her in his arms, kissing her on the temple, and caught a whiff of her hair. He ran his nose into it, breathing her in. He loved her smell. She was a combination of lavender, citrus, and the musky hint of sex.

  “You smelled my hair,” Dina mumbled, half asleep. “It’s weird.”

  “You stare at me,” Riley countered. “It’s creepy.”

  She giggled and snuggled closer to him. His arms tightened around her and he listened to the steady rhythm of her breathing before he drifted back to sleep. For the first time since they’d been apart, Riley felt relaxed.

  **********

  Christina, Lift, The Pr
esent, Tuesday, November 6, 2012

  Christina woke disoriented to an empty bed and house. Riley was nowhere in sight, accentuating the unnerving sense of isolation at Lift. Hauling on some clothes, she grabbed something to eat, and went in search of Riley.

  Standing alone amongst the historic buildings, she felt creeped out. Lift was too far away, too distant, and too quiet. It would give her cabin fever if she were here by herself.

  One of the positives is that sound was magnified and carried in this environment. She heard rhythmic noises that were at odds with the oppressive silence and followed them to a small building. She found Riley and Cartman in what appeared to be a small gym.

  Riley punched and kicked a bag in combinations with single focus. He didn’t break concentration when she sat down, even though she could tell he knew she was there. When he’d finished, he turned to her smiling and wiping his brow. He beckoned her over, taking his gloves off and saying, “Give me your hands.”

  She blinked a bit and he motioned for her to hurry up. Reluctantly, she gave him her hands and he put the gloves on her. She tried to pull away, but he held her hands tight and stared at her. “The gloves are a bit big, but I can get you some that fit,” he offered.

  Ignoring her protests and taking her gently by the shoulders, he turned her toward the bag. “Riley,” she started. “I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t know what to do.”

  “I’ll help you,” he said, with a smile in his voice. “You know how to hit things and I think you’ll be a natural. It’ll be good for you.”

  Wrestling with Johnny was one thing, but this was quite another. If Riley really wanted to train someone at kickboxing, Bonnie would be a better bet. Christina hated physical exercise, declaring proudly she was ‘gym allergic’. She avoided getting sweaty unless it was in the bedroom or dancing with Andy James.

  Riley held the bag for her and encouraged her to hit it. Much to his disgust, she made some half-hearted attempts, but her lack of enthusiasm was apparent. “Stop being a baby,” Riley ordered. “Hit it like you mean it, Dina.”