All He Desires: The Complete Series (16 page)

* * * *

I
t was strange, visiting
The Limelight
before it actually opened. I'd stayed after the demos a few times to talk to Marisa about them while our masters caught up on current events. But never this.

"You don't even realize you're being watched after you've done it a few times,"
she'd said when I asked about being bound in public.
"It was a little scary at first, but also exciting. The one thing you need to remember is that the crowds are here to see you and to learn the art of bondage. Be proud of your submission and trust your Dom. I've known Jake for years, and he'd never put you in any real danger so long as he's the one controlling the situation."

My vision swept from one corner of the main room to the other. Most nights it was packed, and I didn't doubt tonight would be any different.

Jake assured me those in our audience—the regulars that is—knew they wouldn't be getting Marisa tonight. According to him, Master Devlin had made the announcement last week, along with the necessary call to make sure it was noted in the ad
The Limelight
put out every Tuesday.

But even with Jake's reassurance, I couldn't help feeling like the lesser sub when trying to follow an act such as Marisa's. Years of theatrics and trying out for school plays made me appear as though I was on this side of calm but, under that exterior, I was freaking out.

Stage fright wasn't even the half of it. What if I wussed out? What if I ran off stage in the middle of the demo?

I forced a smile when Jake glanced at me. He returned it, with a lot more enthusiasm, and carefully guided me backstage. The knots in my stomach doubled when I came face to face with Marisa.

She threw her arms around me, mindful of the small bump of her belly. "Nervous?" she asked, separating us so she could get a good look at me.

I sucked on my bottom lip in hopes of hiding my nerves.
Way to fail, Kira.
"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

"I'm not crippled, Kira."

"But I thought you were going to take it easy."

Jake set a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going to set up while you two talk." He looked to Marisa, then continued. "Think you can keep an eye on her for me?"

Marisa bowed her head. "Of course." She met my gaze again and took my hands in hers. "We should probably get you ready."

I frowned. "I thought I already was." I touched the edge of my corset.

"Only if you want to strip down one item at a time on stage." She passed me a knowing smile. "We have a small dressing room down this way you can use."

Looking around for an escape that didn't exist, I followed Marisa back to the changing room. It was small, but at least it was private.

After closing the door behind me, I stared at my reflection, focusing on the windswept hairs that had managed to cover my eyes. "You have an extra brush?" I called out to Marisa who was more than likely standing on the other side of the door.

"Bottom-left drawer," Marisa replied. "Let me know if you need help. You can use my robe. It should be behind the door."

"Got it."

I ran the brush through my hair a few times, and before I could lose my nerve, I stripped down until I had nothing on at all.

The robe Marisa mentioned was warm against my chilled skin, creating a barrier not only from the cold but from Marisa's eyes once I opened the door.

"Oh good," she said. "It fits. It might be shorter than you're used to, but it doesn't stay on for long."

I shuddered and stared at my bare legs.

"It's best not to think about it," Marisa explained, taking me in her arms. "If you get nervous—well, more than you already are, I guess I should say—I'll be right in the front row."

Jake walked in the back just then wearing a sheepish grin on his face. I tried not to glare.

"Thank you, Marisa. I can take her from here."

Marisa inclined her head and threw me a final glance as she made her way toward the main room. "Good luck."

I managed the best smile I could until she turned the corner. When Marisa faded, so did the little confidence I had left.
I shouldn't be doing this.
I wasn't even qualified.

I shouldn't be here at all.

"You don't look too excited," Jake said, pulling me in against his chest. "Remember what I told you in the beginning. Causing you anxiety is part of my job. Nerves are normal and, by now, should be expected. Does this make you nervous—being here in nothing but a robe?"

I closed my eyes. "Yes, Master."

"Uncomfortable?"

"Yes, Master."

"Aside from feeling exposed and a bit of stage fright, is there anything else? Are you in pain?"

"No, Master."

Jake placed a hand at the small of my back and started walking toward the stage. "I'll be right there beside you every step of the way. Ignore the audience and what Devlin tells them. It's his job to stir up the crowd, but you've seen this done before. Your safety is always our biggest concern." He lifted my chin. "The only thing I want you to worry about is my voice and your body. If you feel pain or think you might be ill, tell me, and the demo ends."

My eyes widened. "But what about the audience? Won't that disappoint them?"

Voices offstage caused my heart to skip a beat.
You can do this.
I wasn't so sure I could.

"They may be upset," Jake continued, "but they're aware of the changes, that not only are you a new sub for them, but full bondage is very new for you. Personally? I think it's about time they saw how a new sub might feel, as many of the Doms here have new subs of their own. It's why they come to the demos, but sometimes we learn of Doms going home after and not getting as far with their sub before she uses a safe word." He stopped me right before we reached the stage. "Marisa doesn't need a safe word because she's experienced, but she wasn't always that way. What you're about to do would be overwhelming for any sub that hasn't done it before. I promise not to push you. If you use a safe word, we stop immediately. Yellow, red, I don't care which. We don't have the safety of privacy like we do at home. So, if you say yellow, I'm going to stop."

He held up his hand. "This doesn't mean we can't try again. I just won't ask you to continue tonight."

I craned my neck so I could see the stage. "So any time I feel nervous—"

"No, not nervous. But if you feel ill or are in any kind of pain, I expect you to use a safe word."

"And if I can't talk?"
If I reach subspace?

"I'll stop the scene for you. I know your body language well enough by now to know the difference between nerves and when something's about to go sideways." He inclined his head and gestured at the stage. "After you."

M
arisa was standing in the front row just like she'd said, and when I met her gaze, neither of us broke eye contact. She cradled her stomach, which would likely become an even greater habit the closer she got to her due date.

She looked amazing. Her breasts were the same B-cup they usually were, and her hair shone under the lights. The gentle swell of her hips seemed to define her even more when compared to a few weeks ago.

Jake's hand on my arm caught my attention, and I lifted my gaze. I'd been so busy looking at Marisa that I'd completely forgotten where we were.

"They should get her a chair," I said when Jake went to untie the ribbon around my waist. The sides of my robe went slack, but he didn't remove it just yet. "I don't want her standing like that all night."

"Neither do I," Master Devlin said, stepping behind Jake.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"

He waved his hand dismissively. "It's okay. I know you didn't mean it like that." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Focus on Marisa, okay? She'll keep you calm."

I swallowed and bobbed my head.

"Ready whenever you are." Devlin clapped a hand on Jake's shoulder and turned away.

"You sure I can do this?" I asked Jake, looking around him at Marisa.

"I wouldn't have brought you here if I thought otherwise," Jake assured me, feeling the collar of my robe between his fingertips. "The hard part is already over. You're here on stage. There's just one last thing you need to do. Are you ready?" His voice had changed, taking on the more commanding tone I was used to hearing when we were alone.

I bowed my head, and slowly, my shoulders dropped. "Yes, Master." I didn't move when the robe fell away from my breasts. My back.

Jake draped the robe over one arm and passed it to Devlin for safekeeping. It took all I had not to hug my arms around my chest. To shield myself from their eyes.

Soft lights warmed my skin as Jake turned to face the crowd. He ran a length of rope through his hands, folding it in half like I'd seen Devlin do close to a dozen times before.

My eyes met Marisa's again, and I smiled when I realized she was sitting down.
At least she'll be comfortable.
That made one of us. Even as I held her gaze and tuned out Devlin's voice, I could still feel dozens of eyes staring at my skin.

"Don't think about them," Jake ordered, dropping the ends of the rope over either of my shoulders.

"Sorry, Master." I closed my eyes and held my arms behind my back.

They could've blindfolded me. Given me earplugs. But I still would've felt the vibrations from every body—every voice in the room.
Especially Devlin's.

I watched Jake as he tied a knot between my breasts. He then lifted the rope up for me to see as he tied a second, lower knot. He let it lay against my skin and made sure the audience saw its placement before tying yet another, even lower knot.

Three knots.
The same three Devlin always made.
One between the breasts, one below the ribs, and another—

"You know where this one goes, don't you?" Jake asked, holding the third knot between his thumb and forefinger.

I bit my bottom lip. "Yes, Master," I slurred, trying not to squirm when he placed the third knot over my clit.

And in that moment, everyone else in the room ceased to exist. I no longer searched the faces for the one belonging to Marisa. I didn't hear Devlin's words. All I felt—all I heard was that knot on my clit and Jake's softer-than-a-whisper voice.

God, I love it when you talk like that.
Words meant only for me glided over his tongue as he weaved both ends of the rope between my pussy lips. My ass. Up my back.

At his direction, I turned around so my back was facing the crowd. And that little knot teased my clit with every step. Every breath.

I whimpered when Jake tightened the rope, lacing it through the loop behind my neck before continuing the weave around my breasts.

Facing the audience again, I screwed my eyes tight, hyperaware of what the knot was doing on my clit. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, and I could almost feel how slick the rope against my cunt was. Almost smell my cream in the air.
Taste
it.

Jake leaned in to whisper against my ear. "I smell you."

I moaned as he parted the ropes and my pussy lips with a finger. He brought it up to my mouth, and like the good little sub I was, I licked myself from the single digit.

The tangy-but-sweet flavor danced over my tongue as the world slowly started to tilt on its axis. Something tingled at the front of my mind, followed by nothing. Nothing at all.

No fear. No sound. But I felt it
all.
The rope against my skin. My clit. Jake's hand on my wrist as he fastened a cuff around it. He did the same to my other hand before lacing the excess rope through them.

"Hold that for me," Jake purred, handing me both ends of the rope—the same rope he had all over my body. Through the cuffs.
Against
my clit. And I just knew that if I let my arms fall to my sides, that knot on my clit would move even more.

Somehow, time had jumped forward. The rope dress was complete, but Jake wasn't finished with me yet. Again I searched the crowd for Marisa, surprised when I saw Devlin sitting beside her.

This isn't part of the demo.
I reached out for Jake's arms, my eyes wide as I tried, and failed, to find my voice.

"It's okay," he said, his voice gentler than I expected. "I'm going to push your boundaries again, but only a little. Are you okay?"

I held my arms at my sides, moaning when the knot rubbed my clit. "Yes, Master."

"We can still stop."

"No, Master. I want to try." More than anything else, I wanted to see where he was going with this.

"Very good." He waved Devlin back on stage, then stepped away to get something. When he returned, Devlin moved off to my left. "Remember this?" Jake held up a vibrating egg for me to see. When I squirmed, he continued. "I want you to hold on to it for me the best you can, okay?"

My body shook. "Yes, Master."

I rocked my hips back when he reached down to tease my clit. To part my pussy lips. The vibrating egg turned on, and Jake slipped it inside me.

He held a remote in his other hand. "The rules at home apply here as well," he warned. "You're not allowed to come without my permission, understood?"

"Yes, Master."

Jake smiled and handed one end of the rope to Devlin, which was then tied to a pole off to my left. They did the same with the right, tying it off so my hands were held out to either side of me. Restrained.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked.

"Yes, Master."

"Are you uncomfortable?"

I rolled my shoulders back and tested my weight on each leg. "No, Master."

"You'll let me know if you are." He cocked his head to one side.

"Yes, Master."

His last statement wasn't a question of if I could, but I answered anyway. I knew better than to hold out when I felt a nerve pinch or a muscle cramp. It was something I learned early on, with even less bondage than this.
So far, so good.

Jake walked behind me and ran a finger over the length of my spine. The egg inside my pussy vibrated a little harder.