Ties That Bind (Club Risque Book 3)

by Poppy Flynn

  The smile that broke across his face was like being bathed in sunlight. It brought light to his face and took him from handsome to breath-taking. She knew it, had seen it before, but every time, it was like seeing it for the first time all over again. It took her breath away and made her heart lurch.

  "That's what I see," he told her with what she could only describe as an edge of excitement. "I see beauty and brilliance and skill and patience. I'm not into the hard-core stuff, Luanna," he implored. "That holds no interest for me. What I want to do is highlight a submissive's form and immortalise it in pictures."

  "Pictures?" Luanna startled. "What do you mean, pictures? You haven't mentioned that before."

  Logan kissed the tip of her nose. "My other hobby is photography. I like to capture the beauty of Shibari on film, for the world to see. I was hoping, one day, that you would let me photograph you."

  "Tied up?"

  "Tied, suspended, decorated with my ropes," he breathed reverently. "I've never met anyone I want to immortalise more. You would be so perfect."

  Luanna's eyes were wide with surprise. She wasn't sure if she was flattered or not. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, although she knew Logan certainly meant it as a compliment. She rubbed her forehead. Lord, she had a lot to think about!

  "We could start with some of the decorative stuff," Logan tentatively suggested. "Just something simple, so you could get used to the weight and the feel of the ropes, the time it takes to construct a piece."

  He stroked a thumb across her cheekbone. "And maybe we could try some of the kinbaku, with the erotic knots placed in strategic areas designed to stimulate and arouse. I can't lie," he murmured, feathering a light kiss over her lips and across to her ear. "I want to see you like that."

  Luanna closed her eyes. He was seducing her with his words and his tone and the images he was painting in her mind. His mouth continued to rove down her neck to her shoulder, where he bit tenderly then laved with his tongue.

  The images Luanna had seen on the web the night before swirled in her head and collided with the sensual glide of Logan's hands and mouth.

  "Now!" she whispered boldly. "I want to try it now!"

  Logan reared back at her words and plundered her mouth with an intense and passionate kiss. She could feel the barely restrained hunger his words had unleashed and was swept along with it.

  Logan scooped her up in his strong arms and strode toward the bedroom without another ounce of encouragement, and before she knew it, she was laid out on the bed, stripped of every bit of clothing. And he was there, standing over her, still fully dressed, with a duffle bag in his hand, which he lovingly referred to as his 'toy bag', where he kept all the tools of his kink. From it, he removed several lengths of rope.

  Holding it up for her to see, he explained, "This is silk rope. It's soft and doesn't chafe. Sometimes, other ropes are used specifically for their different textures and how they feel against your skin. Hemp or jute, for example, but for now, we'll stick to this and start with something simple."

  He looked down at her, an animated gleam in his eyes. "What do you want to try, first? He gave her the option. "Something decorative or something erotic?"

  Luanna gave the decision due consideration. What did she want from this, to see how it looked or to feel what it might do for her? In the end, she decided it was like trying on new shoes. They might look great when you put them on your feet, but it was impossible to tell how comfortable they were until you had walked in them for a while. But if they made you look and feel sexy and confident, then that went a long way to making up for any other shortcomings. She decided to apply the same logic here. Shibari might look pretty, or it might restrain, but from what she understood, the subtle nuance between that and kinbaku was in the eroticism. Right now, that seemed like the better option. If she was ever going to embrace this fetish that meant so much to Logan, then it needed to do something for her, too.

  She gazed up at her lover, taking in the subtle changes in his stance and his attitude as he stood there in his dominant role. Contemplating him through heavy lidded eyes, she swallowed and murmured, "Something erotic. I want to feel what this might do for me."

  One side of Logan's full lips kicked up and his gold flecked, amber eyes seemed to impale her with their intensity as he said, "My pleasure."

  "Mine, too, I hope," she whispered.

  Logan sat on the side of the bed, looking at her intently. He understood that this was a pivotal moment in their relationship, and he needed to handle it carefully. He wanted her to understand each step of what he was doing, so she wasn't overwhelmed or frightened by it. But there needed to be balance so he wasn't so detached that he came over like he was instructing a training session. He needed to be able to successfully combine an educated initiation with sensual pleasure. He hoped he could pull that off. There were few things in his life that had ever depended so completely on him getting it right.

  Kissing her lightly but fully, he made a plan in his head. Then he rose and pulled the curtains at her bedroom window. Plenty of light still seeped through since it was the middle of the day, but he proceeded to light a few of the candles around the room to provide a scented ambiance and the impression of warmth and privacy.

  Fishing in his pocket for his smartphone, he set an alarm to go off, so he had plenty of time to get her untied and provide aftercare before her son was due home. He didn't want their first foray into Shibari to be tainted by the indignity of being caught in a compromising position. For all that Danny was mature and accepting, the things he was about to do to his mother were intensely private and best kept behind closed doors—at least from her son. The rest of the world? Well, that was a different matter. He wanted to photograph her and show her off, but that was something that would need to be considered much later. There was a bridge he needed to cross, first, and he was about to take the first step.

  Returning to the side of the bed, Logan stood in full view and slowly undid the buttons of his shirt. He wasn't a vain man, by any means, but he knew Luanna liked to look and the sight of his unexpected tattoo always turned her on. He was up for constructing every advantage he could get right now, so he peeled off his shirt and hung it on the back of a chair then unfastened the top button of his jeans for comfort but nonetheless aware of the appreciative gaze that Luanna followed his actions with.

  Finally, he partially unwound a long length of rope and carried it over to her, setting it down on the mattress next to her before he proceeded to sweep his hands over every inch of her body, touching, stroking, warming and massaging until her bones felt like jelly and she had relaxed into a puddle of desire on the bed. Leaving her lying there languidly, eyes sultry and aroused, he quickly grabbed the rope again and deftly unravelled the rest of it, finding the centre and doubling it over, then tying off his first knot, leaving a loop in the end. Placing it carefully behind her head, he judged the position of the next knot and removed it to tie it off. Then he placed it over her head and checked the exact positioning of the knot that would fall between her breasts. With that one done, he made quick work of fashioning a further two knots, which hung down the centre of her torso and would form part of the diamond design he would create. The next one needed to be special. Logan tied off a figure eight knot away from her body then helped her to stand. This was where things started to get interesting. Murmuring for her to widen her stance, Logan threaded the doubled rope with its decorative knots between her legs and positioned the special 'happy' knot so it nestled atop her clit, then he pulled the rope apart, each of the two sides gently following the contour at the bottom curve of her buttocks. On a traditional harness, this would have been placed to bisect the buttocks, but Logan wanted her pussy a little more accessible and wanted to avoid the bunching of ropes at the base of her spine, which would make lying down uncomfortable. Bringing the ropes around to the front of her hips on each side, he brought the two halves together and threaded them through the gap made by the two at h
er navel then out again, around her back, criss-crossing them and bringing them back to the front to mirror the previous action, through the gap in the next set of knots, and thus creating the diamond pattern across her torso. All the while, he murmured gently, telling her what he was doing but keeping his voice low and intimate. She didn't interrupt, just watched and listened, lulled by the velvet of his voice, stirred by the sweeping strokes of his fingers and aroused by the cinch of the rope and the strategic placement of the knots.

  Logan threaded both halves of the rope together through his first loop that hung between her shoulder blades, then constructed what almost looked like a bra around her chest. It hugged her breasts underneath and across the top, with the aid of the diamond formed by the final set of knots. She felt each of them subtlety squeezed and plumped and her nipples hardened in response to the pressure.

  And then, he was finished.

  Luanna looked down at herself and the outfit he had constructed. He had called it a 'karada' and told her there were different versions, which would tease other parts of her body, such as the one that placed narrower sections of rope on either side of her nipples to form a kind of nipple clamp. She didn't need that additional stimulation, right now. Every time she moved to look this way or that to admire his handiwork, she felt the globes of her breasts squeezed as if large fingers encircled her flesh, and each movement she made, no matter how tiny, shifted the fancy shaped knot that sat over her clitoris and rubbed and aroused her to the point of madness.

  Logan just stood back and watched intently, maddeningly, impassively registering the need that ramped up inside her.

  Luanna flung herself back on the bed, crying out at the sensations that sudden move created, panting and writhing as the erotic effect of the ropes intensified. And the more she wriggled, the more they rubbed and pressed and the more she hungered. It was an erogenous circle of cause and effect, which looped around and around endlessly, until Luanna found herself grasping her own breasts, trying to ease the ache.

  Finally, she begged, "Logan! Oh, Logan, help me! Please!"

  She felt the bed dip, felt her hands being moved and her arms raised and pinned above her head. She didn't care, as long as something eased the perpetual ache she felt.

  Then his head was at her breast, and he pulled a nipple deep into his mouth, sucking and laving then moving to the other. Luanna calmed momentarily and took a much-needed breath, but the relief was short lived. The knot over her mound still rubbed and scraped, ramping up the tension, pushing and twisting her higher and higher but never quite allowing her to plunge over the edge.

  Just when she thought she couldn't take any more and her breath had decayed into pants and sobs, the bed moved again and the pressure on her wrists was released momentarily. Then he was there, covering her, surrounding her, pushing her legs apart and opening her up before he plunged his thick, rigid cock all the way into her hot, wet body in a single relieving thrust.

  Luanna bucked off the bed, and the strategically placed knot was wedged between their bodies, rubbing harder with every pounding stroke, wrenching pleasure from her until, at last, she shattered into a million psychedelic pieces, screaming his name and biting his shoulder, dragging her nails down his back as she rode wave after tumultuous wave of fiery bliss.

  Logan laced Luanna's fingers together with his own and held them tight as he sank his teeth into the fleshy skin at the base of her neck. He tried hard to be gentle, but he'd probably marked her; he just couldn't stop himself. His control was gone. He'd had enough presence of mind to sheath himself with a condom. But after seeing her bound in his ropes, watching her wriggle and writhe as the erotic sensations of the rope took her and wrapped her up in red hot desire, he couldn't hold back any longer. He fucked in and out of her with strong, powerful strokes, lacking finesse, but slaking the terrible need that the both of them felt. He felt Luanna shatter around him, the contraction of her internal walls sucking at him. He felt his balls draw up almost painfully, and all he could do was plough into her harder and deeper until he shouted out his own release and poured his seed inside her for what felt like forever.

  Chapter 7

  They were still for a long time, neither of them able to move, and the only sound, the rasping of their harsh breaths as they panted and waited for their heart rates to abate.

  Logan managed to roll slightly to the side, so he didn't completely crush her, but that was the extent of his effort.

  He dragged deep gulps of air into his lungs as beads of sweat trickled down his spine and buried his head into the crook of her neck. The abrasion of the rope against his cheek reminded him that he needed to free Luanna from her bonds, but for the moment, he simply couldn't move.

  Thankfully, she seemed equally exhausted and wasn't clamouring to be set free, so for a few minutes, he was content to let them both drift and regain their equilibrium.

  Sex with Luanna was always explosive. It was as if underneath that calm and ladylike exterior existed a caged hellcat waiting to be unleashed, and once he did, she was wild. But today, there were no words to describe what had just happened between them. He only hoped the experience had been as mind-blowing for her as it had been for him.

  When Luanna gave a small semi-pained groan a little while later, Logan realised the ropes were still doing their work, and he mentally chastised himself for leaving her tied so long.

  Rolling off the bed, he grabbed his bag and dug inside for the pair of Tuff-cut shears with their blunt ends and high impact handles that were usually used by paramedics to cut away things like seat belts. They were designed to slide across skin to avoid injury, and Logan carried them because they were a great, fast way to safely remove Shibari ropes.

  More often, Logan preferred to unwind the ropes, kind of like unwrapping a gift, allowing both parties the opportunity for a cool down period, much like an athlete would use after exercise, but very much more erotic and enjoyable, and maybe finish off with an interlude of leisurely lovemaking. But today, he simply didn't have the energy, well, not for the untying. The lovemaking might be a completely different matter. Just the thought had him perking up again, already.

  Encouraging her to lie still and explaining what he was doing, Logan cut away the ropes and dumped them in a pile on the floor. Luanna's pale skin showed off the rope marks left by the karada beautifully, just as Logan knew it would. The sight had him hardening all over again.

  Finding his second wind, Logan crawled back over Luanna's supine body and allowed himself the liberty of feathering his fingers over the erotic patterns that temporarily tattooed her silken skin. He followed his fingers with his mouth, a mere whisper of his lips against her flesh, the softest sigh of pressure where he pressed the gentlest of kisses.

  Nothing overtly sexual, this time. Just a sensual worship of her entire body—an exploration of all those forgotten places—the inside of her elbow, the back of her knees, the delicate skin on her inner wrists and that hidden area behind her ears, the smooth swathe of her back and the sensitive dimples at the bottom of her spine.

  Before long, Luanna was feeling like one huge erogenous zone. Lord, what this man did to her. So many different responses he managed to coax or drag, as if from her very soul.

  She felt her body flicker back to life with a slow burn, which licked higher with each touch, each caress, while she felt helpless to do anything but drift at his will as he stoked the banked embers until she was a conflagration, waiting only for him to extinguish the fire he had rekindled.

  Logan took his time; there was nothing rushed about his actions. And as much as she ached, Luanna felt as if she floated, rising and falling upon Logan's whim as he teased and tantalised with unerring precision but oh, so slowly.

  Finally, he settled himself between her legs, sinking into her willing flesh, inch by tormenting inch, until he was fully seated. Then it seemed that he stilled for hours, though it was really only seconds before he gradually backed out, then gently stroked in again.

  H
e traced the shell of her ear with his tongue and pressed butterfly kisses down her throat. As he settled into an easy rhythm, he found her mouth and mimicked the slow, rippling surge of his body with his tongue until completion broke over the pair of them in rolling, undulating waves that rocked them both into utter contentment.

  The last conscious thought before Luanna fell asleep was that, despite any misgivings, Logan had stolen the very last piece of her heart.

  There was no going back. Once Logan had practiced the erotic 'karada' rope dress for the first time, the rest had inevitably followed. Every Sunday, while Danny was out, he came prepared with lengths of rope for a different technique. Luanna certainly couldn't argue that the experience didn't launch the resulting intercourse into the extreme. Logan seemed to be a different person when he saw her wrapped up in his ropes. It was like his inner Dominant was allowed out to play and it gave him an edge that didn't exist at any other time. The sex they enjoyed during those sessions was more passionate, more intense, more…everything.

  Not that they didn't enjoy softer interludes. But those other times were just somehow different.

  Luanna wasn't completely surprised when Logan brought up the subject of photographing her. She was well aware of his interests and fascinations. He'd never made any secret of them. At the same time, she wasn't sure how she felt about the not so subtle hints he dropped. What she did know was that she'd been putting off that chat she'd wanted to have with Desi, because she wanted to get her head around the dynamic between her boss and her lover and make sure she was truly comfortable and accepting of the situation. But she was almost out of time, since Desi and Joel were preparing to go away for their extended but, so far, very delayed honeymoon.

  Deciding it was time to bite the bullet, Luanna made a point of tracking down Laurel, Desi's PA, to find out what free time Desi might have this week. Laurel looked at Luanna with undisguised interest at the request, and she hurried to come up with an excuse.