Tethered Trust: Book 2 (Limits of Love Series 3)

by Jade Royal

  I decided to offer a little help. “Was there something that you didn’t understand about the rules that I set forth?”

  “I was waiting for you to address me since I tried to speak.” The disrespect was comical. She had to be new to the BDSM scene. Her ignorance was disguised as disrespect, at least I hoped. If it wasn’t, I didn’t have time to correct her on formalities in an entirety, but she still needed to know the basics.

  “Was speaking out of turn a part of the rules?” I walked back over to my bag and began pulling out items.

  “But I don’t like them.” Like I cared. She was lucky that she didn’t belong to me or her ass would be sore for a month.

  “The rules?”

  “Yeah.” She wrapped her arms around herself and continued to look around the room. She felt vulnerable, and that bit of victory made me feel triumphant.

  I laid down the assorted colors of bundles of rope that I removed from my bag. “Did I ask you if you liked them?”

  “No...”

  “Exactly. Either abide by the rules or you’ll receive no help from anybody in this room. You came to Mistress X for help and she’s providing it. This is simple. Prepare yourself for the negotiation portion of this scene or leave. If you leave, do not turn back because our offer will be withdrawn.”

  Maybe I was being harsh, but there was no way that I was going to give her any more power than what she needed. Whatever brought her here needed to be controlled as much as she needed to be. Her psyche had found relief from her inner demons through relinquishing power. I was here to push those envelopes to the point of shredding her barriers, or at least the initial ones. She needed to feel her emotions and deal with them, whatever they may be. I needed her to be clear that when she gave me the power to use her body that she wouldn’t be under false pretenses. For the next one to two hours, she would belong to me, and I would break her down one barrier at a time.

  We stood there staring at each other for what felt like hours, but I knew that it was mere seconds, a few minutes max. She removed her shoes then the rest of her clothing, resolved by her decision. I exhaled slowly, regulating my breathing. The curves underneath those baggy clothes were hypnotic. Downright sinful. And she had no clue.

  Her cotton bra and panties expressed that not only was she not here to seduce, but she didn’t know the power of her own femininity. She struggled to kneel where she once stood, proving how much my assumption of her naivete was correct. She struggled to settle into the scene, but her strides didn’t go unnoticed.

  I walked over, touched her shoulder and moved my hand to hold her by the back of her neck. She froze, alarmed.

  “Thank you for this gift, girl,” I praised.

  “Y-yes, Sir.” Her posture was still guarded, her muscles held steady and ready to strike.

  “What is our goal for the night?” Talking would help her to relax, give her a false sense of control.

  “Freedom.”

  “And how do we achieve it?” That question allowed her to relax into my hold.

  I felt her swallow. “Rope, Sir.”

  “You wish to be bound with rope?”

  Vanessa swayed, but I held her firmly. She whispered, “Please, Sir.”

  “Do you have a safe word?”

  “Danger.”

  The word came to her so quickly that I knew that whatever happened tonight would mean much more to her than I could ever imagine. I felt a new kind of purpose, and it was to do my job thoroughly enough so that she could pick up the pieces of her life and rise tomorrow morning with a new sense of freedom that no one else had given her. I wanted to right her world for her no matter how long it took, and I would.

  “Because I’ve never played with you before I’ll let you tell me what impact instruments you’re comfortable with.”

  Vanessa started to stand but then paused. “Sir...”

  “Yes, pet?”

  “May I show you?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Vanessa stood, and I followed her lead to the wall. There were a range of items that occupied the entire space. I kept my hand on her neck exerting my dominance over her as she surveyed the selection. I needed our roles to be very clear from the beginning.

  Vanessa picked up the crop, the flogger, and a medium sized cane. “Sir, these are the ones that I remember.”

  “Where did you play with these?” My guess was Shelly because these were her favorites.

  “When Mistress X did her demonstration with me, these were the ones that she showed me. I got to feel their bite on my thighs.”

  I smiled, realizing that though she was still a virgin to the lifestyle, she’d paid attention. I was impressed that she remembered what they looked like regardless if she remembered the name.

  “This is a crop. It is the same as the ones that jockeys use on horses to hurry them along.” I held it up to her and showed her the flap on the end. “This next one is a cane, and it has more of a stingy feel depending on how much weight it bears. It’s more direct, and the pain rises gradually like a slow burn.” I twisted the cane in my hand and picked up the flogger. “This flogger causes tingles where the strands land. Almost like a lingering kiss that keeps coming back for more.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Vanessa focused on the explanation readily.

  “If we scene in the future you may not have this same leisure. Understood?”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  We walked over to the center of the room where a spreader bar hung from the ceiling reaching just above Vanessa’s head. I moved her legs apart quite a bit and then put wrist and ankle cuffs on her. She stiffened, and I smiled. Her hesitancy fed the sadist portions of my personality and I loved it. I hooked her hands to the spreader and added a longer bar between her feet where I locked her ankles into place. She pulled on each of them and I saw the anxiety starting to set in again.

  “Breathe, girl. I can’t have you passing out on me.” I decided to leave her chest and torso exposed because I didn’t want to constrict her breathing. She was doing enough of that on her own.

  “Tell me, what do you do for a living?” I asked to take her mind off what I was doing.

  “I’m a student.”

  “What are you going to school for?”

  “Psychology.”

  “Why?” I grabbed my first red strand of rope weaving it around her right leg. She began telling me about her interest in the way that the mind works. The farther up her leg I inched, the more her words slurred. Once both of her legs were laced, she was leaning into her arms and slightly swaying. I made quick work of a hip harness to hold the rope from her legs. I glanced into glossed over eyes when I stood at attention.

  “You still with me, pet?”

  “Sí, Señor.” I smiled as she spoke slowly, drunk on her own endorphins. It made me wonder if she always defaulted back to her native tongue when she was relaxed.

  “Good girl. I’m going to move to your arms next. Relax as much as you can without leaving me. I can’t have you drift off on me. Understood?”

  “Sí, Señor. Te entiendo.”

  I stood in front of her and ran my finger across her bottom lip. Vanessa licked her lip in response. Fuck if I didn’t want to pull it into my mouth. I moved to her chin and stroked it teasingly. She was so damn beautiful. I pulled my hand away to better focus on the goal at hand.

  “Eso se siente agradable.”

  I had no clue what she was saying but it was music to my ears. I leaned up and used the blue rope to create wrist cuffs with the rope. I freed each arm separately replacing each cuff with rope which I attached to the spreader bar.

  “Still with me?” I looked at her eyes that were drooping lazily.

  “Sí, Señor.” Her voice was faint, and I could see the struggle that she had to stay focused. She was right where I wanted her, in a trance that would allow her to take more pain from me than she would normally be able to accept.

  “I’m going to start off with the flogger. Stay with me, pet.”

&nb
sp; I warmed up my arms with a couple of practice swings in the air. “Renee, move her hair for me.”

  Renee jumped up and removed the hair tie from her own hair and pulled Vanessa’s hair into a bun on top of her head. She then ran back to her spot next to Shelly. I nodded my appreciation to her, and then I let the first blows land on Vanessa’s thighs where I’d left exposure. She hissed and grunted in approval. I grabbed the second matching flogger and went to work on making her fly.

  Chapter 4: Vanessa

  I relaxed into the rope as he began to work his mojo. As I drifted, I began thinking about my first visit with Mistress X. My instructor for psychology had given us a research project where we had to find alternative healthy methods to cope with trauma. He gave us each a subtopic and we had to determine if it was healthy and how. We had to find reliable references including people to interview. My group ended up with bondage & discipline. We were given a temporary membership to Club Illusions that we could use to observe and interview three of their dominants who would also be able to demonstrate anything we needed. I ended up with Mistress X, who taught me quite a bit in the brief time that we were together. She showed me three implements, and I got to experience how each of them felt. She also showed me one of her favorite techniques that she learned as a dominant. That was when she pulled out the rope. It only took a few short minutes before I was wrapped under her spell.

  Mistress X called the instruction to a halt because of how easily I responded. She’d only roped my arms and I’d fallen into a trance of sorts. After she explained what subspace was, all I could concentrate on was that I’d felt better than I had in years. Nothing that I’d done to try to alleviate stress after that point even came close to how she’d made me feel. Except now, though I’d just met Master J.

  I was quickly falling under his spell. The fact that he was extremely attractive didn’t hurt. Tall, chestnut brown skin, not to mention he held an air of confidence, arrogance even. His lips made me want to suck and nibble on them as he held me tight. He sported a short, well-groomed goatee that added sex appeal to his swag. He was solid but not big or bulky like a weight trainer, though he probably worked out. My fear quickly turned into attraction, and I couldn’t help but to admire him. The opposite sex hadn’t caught my attention in so long. Why him?

  “You still with me, pet?”

  I responded, barely aware of my consciousness. I focused on his face as he laced my arms. But I felt drugged. I was relaxing into the fog that settled over me, allowing it to consume me. There was something that nagged at me to stay focused and that’s when I felt the first sting on my thighs. It cleared the fog that was present immediately. I sighed, not liking the clarity. The blows rained down on my body making me feel pain. Not just physically, but emotional aches too. For whatever reason, the emotional anguish was replacing the physical, and I didn’t like it. Fears were trudged out of the way revealing my doubts, insecurities and the need to feel safe. I grunted, trying to push things back into their respective places.

  “Bad girl.”

  I heard the statement, and shame flooded my face. I was here to gain freedom, not to feel the anguish that I kept hidden inside. I fought harder to push it down and out of the way. A thud on my ass froze my attempts and the slow burn, I knew instantly, was the cane, and it hurt like the dickens.

  “Bad girl.”

  Without a doubt, I hated the cane. It burned, and I wanted to rub it better immediately. The flogger was much more welcomed, and I had a feeling it was all intentional. I didn’t like disappointing Master J, and feeling the cane felt like that was exactly what I was doing. Why? Hell if I know. I wanted freedom, and he held the key to it, so I was doomed to his will. He was in control of the rope, and I needed it. The rope’s snug hold forced me to relax into the freedom of it. I felt safe, but unleashing the memories that I wished would bury themselves six feet under took away from the experience.

  The flogger rained down on me in quicker succession this time. Sharp pangs exploded on the inside of my eyes, spurring the ice to thaw on my emotions. Evidence pooled in my eyes before the first tear rolled down my fevered cheeks. I grunted my frustrations loud and clear.

  “No!”

  “Bad girl.” The cane struck twice, causing me to gasp for the air that escaped me.

  I didn’t want to feel this pain, but Master J didn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. I debated using my safe word, but it wasn’t what I needed. I needed what he was offering: freedom. Maybe there was rhyme to his reason.

  The rain of the leather straps against my skin resumed more intensely, causing rage to build. The physical pain seemed to be stirring the emotional hell storm. The thud of the flogger pushed me to relax into the ropes, opening my mind and emotions. I sought after it. Strike after strike, blow after blow. Tears streamed down my face, and I was powerless to wipe them away or hide. My soul was being laid bare for him to strip away the truth. I felt the cracks in my emotional armor as he fought his way in. Tears flowed as realization dawned on me of what was to come.

  I lost count of how many times he struck, but I knew each and every chink in my defense. I wanted to pull back into my shell and keep things as they were. But it was too late. My heart was crying out in despair, making me raw. I hurt. Ached. I didn’t want to live like this anymore. I wanted to be free. Free from everything. I wanted to be the “me” that existed before everything happened. I don’t like hurting. I wanted to live! Before I could catch them, the sobs broke free, loudly and forcefully, like they were being pushed to the surface by an exorcism.

  “There’s a good girl. Very good.”

  I wanted to hide my face because the tears poured freely and nonstop with his encouragement. I hated it. I didn’t want him to see all the things that lay beyond the surface. I needed to stay guarded. The flogger thumped faster and harder, creating a bite that made me scream out in agony. Sweat coated my skin as it tried to defend itself against the grief that was being unleashed.

  “Very good, love. You got something else to tell me?” As the words came from his mouth, the flogger continued to rain down on me, releasing more demons.

  I felt lighter somehow, but the intimate, sadistic way that the lashes caressed me only made me cry harder. I was more at ease by the hold of the rope and brutal strokes of the leather strands than what any person had ever offered. I relaxed into their hold and begged for them to never let me go. Then, freedom.

  Chapter 5: Jamar

  “Please!” Vanessa cried out. I knew that she was hitting subspace again as her pleas became more and more faint.

  When she finally zoned out, I did a warm down to try to calm her senses. She swayed against the ropes limp and free. Her face was stoic and emotionless, yet I knew that she’d felt so much. I’d used the flogger to strike her muscles into a sensual submission, a reward that her body seemed to love.

  Whatever demons she fought mentally, caused her entire body to tense. The cane was used to shock her into relaxing against her will. She fought the evil thoughts fiercely.

  Brave.

  It was the first word that came to mind when I thought about her actions today. She’d fought for what she needed, even if she wasn’t ready for the consequences. The tears streaming down her face couldn’t be emotionless. They were the exact opposite. If that wasn’t the sexiest thing, I didn’t know what was.

  I lifted her petite frame to unhook her before heading to the couch. Renee brought me a blanket that I wrapped around Vanessa snuggly. Renee began cleaning the instruments and putting them away for me as I rocked Vanessa. Her tears had calmed as she drifted to a calm state. Now, all I had to do was wait for her to awaken. Renee helped Shelly over to me, and she sat behind Vanessa’s head and stroked her softly.

  “Renee.” I called to her.

  “Sir?” Renee responded.

  “Help me get these ropes off Vanessa.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  I moved the blanket out of the way so that we could make quick work of the rope o
n her arms and then her legs. Renee wrapped the ropes up for me and put them into my bag. She grabbed a Hershey bar, two waters from the fridge in the corner of the room, and sat them beside me on the table. When she was sure that the room was back in order, she sat beside Shelly’s feet again. She made for a lovely assistant. I’d have to do something nice for her soon.

  “Gracías.” Vanessa moved against me trying to seek the warmth of my body.

  Yup. She stole the damn show with just one word. Damn if she didn’t feel even better in my arms. The groan that escaped was appreciative of the lush woman in my arms. Her head rested on my shoulder, but she’d snuggled into the perfect space at my neck.

  “Welcome, pet.” My voice was deeper than before, made every one of her muscle tense before she relaxed into my arms again.

  I didn’t know what her aversion to men was about, but we’d need to work through that if she would be needing more of my kind of therapy. Howard had explained to me how she almost jumped out of her skin when he tried to talk to her. She reached up to brush her fingers along my jawline where my goatee began. She must have been having some dream because I knew she wouldn’t do it if she was fully awake. Damn shame, too.

  I continued to hold her against me as she relaxed once again. I didn’t rush her to consciousness because I wanted her to continue to feel safe for as long as she could. I hated to admit just how perfect Vanessa felt in my arms. Plus, she smelled of fresh strawberries. I ran my fingers through her hair and caught myself before moaning out loud. Her hair was just as soft as I’d imagined. Once she was alert, I needed to put as much distance between us as I could. This was about meeting her immediate needs, not mine. But she was just too sweet in my arms, but I didn’t need this kind of heartache again.

  Chapter 6: Vanessa

  Low voices hummed as I struggled to wake. I waited, hoping that the fog would never clear. The sense of freedom that I was feeling was magnificent. I could stay here forever. I felt something press against my mouth, and I relaxed my lips to accept it. Chocolate flavor exploded in my mouth as I automatically chewed. Then something pressed against my lips. I opened my mouth and water poured inside. I swallowed the cold salvation and snuggled closer. The water caused me to shiver, but the heat source that was near was perfect. A delicious clean scent encompassed me like a blaze, causing me to feel at ease. It was then that I realized that the scent had to be Master J, and this was a mistake. I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, and I needed to take control of the situation now. Alarms misfired all over my brain jolting me into action. I tried to jump up, but he held me tight.