Bound by Consent (14 page)

“I can show you. A hands on demonstration is much better than me just explaining,” Cassie said, ushering me into our room and double locking the door. “We can do it now if you want.”

So soon!

“I hadn’t actually thought about now.” I took a step away from her.

“No time like the present.” Cassie gave me a sideways glance. “You’re not backing away from the idea already? I have some rope in my bag.”

My throat tightened around the lump that suddenly formed there.

Cassie carries ropes with her?

I couldn’t meet her gaze but sensed it was fixed firmly on me. My face heated and my heart hammered in my chest.

“Bryana, honey, are you all right?”

“What?” The concern in Cassie’s voice pulled me back from the bad place. “Yes, I’m fine...” I attempted to portray a semblance of normality to give me time to recover my equilibrium. “Just a little surprised to find that you carried rope on this trip.”

Where did she expect to use it and on whom?

“I never travel without my gear.” Cassie hauled her bag out of the closet, unzipped a side pocket, and pulled out a couple of hanks of white silky cord. “One never knows when it will come in handy, like now.” She slipped the clip off one hank to let the rope unwind slowly through her fingers and snake about our feet.

Her lips twitched; no doubt in amusement at my discomfort. I knew I was being stupid getting all worked up over a bit of rope. Worse still, since I’d been the one to raise the topic. Cassie was simply doing what came naturally to her. She wasn’t showing off, play acting or living in a fantasy world. Her lifestyle choice was as important to her as eating and breathing. If I wanted to share her life – and I did – then I must shed my inhibitions, embrace her culture, and whatever the future held for us.

“Get undressed then sit on the bed.” Cassie’s businesslike tone brooked no argument.

I did as she said, although taking some time to hang my clothes in the closet, put my shoes away, and use the bathroom.

Still fully dressed, Cassie moved to stand alongside the bed, the rope now draped around her neck.

Cassie reached for my leg stroking her hand down the shin to my ankle. “Relax, honey,” she said softly.

She seems to be having to say that to me a lot lately.

I chastised myself and made a conscious effort to control my reactions.

“There is nothing to be afraid of.” She held a strand out toward me. “Here, touch it. Feel how soft it is.

I put my hand out and closed my fingers around the cord. It was indeed soft, and much smoother than I’d imagined it would be. My concern began to dissipate. I trusted Cassie; trusted she wasn’t going to do anything to hurt me. Put simply, I had to conquer my deep seated fears of being tied up, of the tight bindings cutting into my flesh, of the excruciating pain, and the not knowing if escape or discovery was possible. That was the worst part of the memory.

I took several deep breaths and let go of the cord. “I think I’m ready now.”

Cassie nodded her approval. “You’re doing great, honey. Keep in mind what I’m doing now is just for demonstration. I won’t normally tie you up like this but I want you see what is happening and to get an idea of what to expect.”

“Okay.”

Cassie ran the length of cord through her hands to roughly half way. “Just watch what I’m doing and you’ll see this is very different to what happened to you in London. For a start, I’m not tying any complicated or hard to release knots.” Then she wound that piece loosely around both my ankles, twisting it several times in the middle before she brought the remainder up to do the same to my wrists.

Being able to see what was happening and having Cassie talk me through the procedure made a tremendous difference, as did the fact that the cord wasn’t tight.

“How does that feel?” Cassie tweaked the length of rope that spanned the distance between my wrists and ankles. “Move your feet about, don’t be afraid, see how it affects your hands and vice versa.”

“Oh...that’s awfully strange.” Laughter bubbled in my throat and emerged as a giggle. “I feel a bit like a puppet.”

“That’s really good, honey.” Now I want to take this off and show you something else. “Watch how easily the rope comes undone.”

I tried to follow how she did it but quickly lost track after she caught one end, pulled, twisted, and suddenly the whole lot came free.

Cassie tried a couple more configurations before declaring the first lesson over. “That was excellent, honey. I know how difficult this is for you, you’re being really brave. We’ll try some more examples once we get back to London.” She re-coiled the rope, secured it with the clip, then put it away in her bag and took me to her bed.

We arrived back in London late on Friday giving me precious few days to reorganize my gear and relax before I was due to leave for my next assignment in New York at the end of the following week. I had no idea how Cassie would react to my imminent departure across the Atlantic. With so much happening in Amsterdam I hadn’t got around to breaking the news of another trip to her. As things turned out I needn’t have worried about her reaction.

“I’m not letting you go all that way on your own,” Cassie said, making the decision to accompany me in an instant. She even insisted on paying the difference to upgrade my economy ticket to business class. – a luxury I rarely allowed myself.

“If you’re sure.” I grinned, then stepped in to hug her. “I’ll have to get you accreditation, as my assistant, so you can come backstage, if you’d like to, that is.”

“Will Célestin be in New York?”

“No, sorry, she won’t.” I stifled a pang of jealousy at her eagerness to renew Célestin’s acquaintance. “This isn’t the main New York fashion week – that is usually in February and September, just before London. This event is for young graduate designers to showcase their work.” Would Cassie be disappointed that she couldn’t hook up with Célestin?

“Not a problem.” Cassie shrugged. “I just thought it might be rather nice for the three of us to get better acquainted. Maybe go out to eat together or something.”

Her reaction relieved some of my concern. “We can do that next time.” Damn! That wouldn’t have made much sense to Cassie. She wasn’t familiar with the fashion show calendar and would need some clarification. “Even if you don’t make it to the fashion week in New York at the beginning of September, Célestin will be here, in London, the following week.”

“Excellent, honey. Maybe afterwards we all can travel up to Auchtercairn together the film people should have gone by then.”

“I’m afraid not.” I shook my head. “After London the whole circus moves to Milan and then to Paris. We won’t be through there until the beginning of October.”

“Even better. The weather by then is usually perfect for walking and riding the horses.” She threw me a challenging grin. “I know that Tavish will be very pleased to see you again. Then in the evenings the three of us can relax in the great hall or explore our compatibility in the dungeon.”

“Sounds perfect...apart from the horse bit. I’m not that keen on riding.” Understatement of the year. Make that, I never want to ride a horse again.

“Nonsense, honey.” Cassie smirked. “I’d say you’re a natural. Riding without a saddle or stirrups requires a special skill and balance. You did five miles without once coming off.”

I shook my head. Little did she know how close I came to doing just that, but not in the way she’d meant.

Over the next few days Cassie demonstrated several more basic bondage techniques until I became totally comfortable with being tied up. I’d always known I needed some level of constraint but it came as a surprise to find how readily I took to rope play. Like a drug addict, my body craved just a little more each time.

She fed my craving bit by bit, carefully explaining in detail what she was doing, never taking too big a step forward and always leaving me wanting. Although we hadn’t tried any bondage in anger so to speak I knew that would be the inevitable next step, the prospect of doing a proper scene was always on my mind. However, I doubted we would get around to anything more serious with the trip to New York imminent.

Cassie’s packing consisted of throwing a few casual clothes into a bag and she was ready to go. Her needs were simple a couple of vests with toning shirts, a spare pair of jeans, and her underwear. Even with the practice of years it took me several hours and much fiddling to achieve a neatly packed bag that contained everything I needed for the trip.

The actual flight to New York passed off smoothly. After we’d battled a crowded terminal at Heathrow, and negotiated the lengthy queues at both check-in and security, we sought the peaceful oasis of the business lounge to sit out the usual interminable wait before boarding. Having Cassie for company plus the added luxury of seats in business class made a vast difference to the trip. At JFK we shunned the long queue for the shuttle bus in favor of the Air Train to Jamaica, followed by the subway right into Manhattan and my favorite hotel on West 40
^th
Street. Expensive, but worth the extra money since it was convenient to all the places I visited on a regular basis without having to resort to the regular use of taxis or the subway.

“Does Esmée know you use this hotel?” Cassie quirked her brow as we waited our turn in the queue at reception.

“Yes, she does,” I conceded. “She’s stayed here with me more than once in the past. I always use this hotel when I’m in New York.”

“I thought we’d settled this argument. Didn’t we have a conversation on this very topic back in Amsterdam? Or did I just dream it?”

“No you didn’t dream anything and yes, I did promise I was going to change my habits, but I’d already made this booking, plus the one in Berlin next week and then back here in September. Changing any of them at this late stage would be problematic or even nigh on impossible. After we get home I promise I will take a long look at my schedule and make the necessary changes.” I stepped forward to hand my passport and credit card to the receptionist before turning back to Cassie. “Anyway, I’m sure we’re pretty safe from interference this week. Neither Esmée or Marisa have shown any interest in this event in the past.”

Famous last words!

Having said that they were bound to turn up just to prove me a liar.

Cassie huffed. “That may well be the case, but I don’t want you taking any chances. I will go everywhere with you just to be sure.”

She kept her word, shadowing my every move during the five day visit. Once my photographic assignment finished, I had a couple of appointments with designers who were interested in using my services at future shows. I had sent them my resume and references but both wanted a face-to-face meeting before committing to a contract.

“Do you really need to drum up more business?” Cassie asked, as we left the studio of the second designer. “You’re already dashing from one place to another with barely time to get your breath back or change clothes in between. Surely you are overstretching yourself by taking on extra clients.”

I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from retorting in anger at her interference in my life. Cassie really didn’t understand how my job worked. I resorted to layman’s terms. “There’s not so much dashing around when it comes to the shows. Although I do get a lot of work crammed into a short space of time. During any fashion week I might take pictures for a number of different clients, some in the mornings, others in the afternoon, sometimes at evening events too. That’s what these two new contracts are for.”

“That may be the case but from what I’ve seen...” Cassie shook her head, seemingly unconvinced.

“You caught me at a bad time with several extra jobs I wouldn’t normally have. After I get back from Paris in early October I’ll have a good long break.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” Cassie took my arm as we crossed the busy intersection heading back to the hotel. “I still don’t like the thought of you working yourself into the ground when you maybe don’t need to. To me it looks like you’re doing okay financially, judging by your apartment and the closet full of designer clothes.”

“I am bumping along quite nicely but, like a lot of things, if you aren’t in the public eye you’re going to suffer and the work will dry up.”

Cassie frowned. “What you’re saying here is the success or failure of a business like yours hangs on your association with the big names and your visibility at events?”

“More or less, yes. Not so much the big names, although their patronage certainly helps. It’s more about the perception of being part of the pack, of having a strong profile so designers recognize you and your work.”

“Right.” Cassie huffed loudly. “I will have to assume you know what you’re doing here, and far be it for me to interfere in the smooth running of your business.”

Back in the hotel room Cassie flopped down on the bed and put her hands behind her head. “What would you like to do tonight? I could try the concierge for theatre tickets or we could go out for a meal?”

I shrugged, neither of Cassie’s suggestions struck a particular chord with me. “I’m easy. Why don’t we stay in? Let’s order something special from room service and then...”

“Now that sounds like an excellent plan.” Cassie fixed me with a penetrating look. “Providing you are sure you really want to do that.”

“I’m sure. We haven’t had much private time on this trip and we have a long flight ahead of us tomorrow night.”

“True.” Cassie grinned then leapt up and shrugged out of her clothes. “I’m going to take a shower. New York always makes me feel grubby. Why don’t you choose what you’d like from the room service menu and phone the order through? I’ll have a steak, medium rare, with something rich and sweet to follow. Order some champagne, as well. My treat. Tell them half an hour, no more, I’m hungry.”

I was hungry, too, but not for food. Seeing Cassie stride across the room, naked, set my pulse racing and my body longing for her touch. With some reluctance I curbed my desire and reached for the menu. Hopefully, my reward would come later.