Chapter 23
Clay
I close my eyes and try to focus on my breathing.
“You okay, petal?” Max asks with concern, reaching over the armrest and squeezing my hand.
“I’ve never been on a plane before,” I admit. “I’ve...uh...never left Seattle before, actually.”
“Seriously?”
I nod, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth.
“Hey, petal, open your eyes and look at me for a second,” Max says in the authoritative voice he normally only uses during sexy times.
I pry my lids open and focus on looking right into Clay’s captivating, dark eyes.
“I’m scared,” I admit needlessly.
“I know, petal.” Max lifts a hand to my face and cups my jaw, rubbing his thumb along my cheek. I relax into his touch, the contact making me feel better instantly. “You’re not going to worry about this. Just like when I bind you, you’re going to give all your worries over to me and let me be responsible for anything stressful. Can you be good and do that for me?”
My breath catches in my chest, and I can feel tears of relief burning in my eyes. “God yes,” I breathe out slowly, looking at my strong, confident lover and knowing he’s more than capable of shouldering the things I’m giving up worrying over. “How do you always know what I need?”
“Because you’re mine, and it’s my job to know.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to take back this whole stupid idea of Max moving without me. I want to beg him not to leave me behind.
Just then the flight attendant starts giving instructions, and I’m saved from saying something embarrassing to Max.
Max
Every place we look at feels wrong. They’re all too cold, too empty, too...blah.
“We’ll make it homey,” Clay argues as we stand in the middle of the seventh apartment we’ve looked at this weekend. “I’ll help you decorate before I leave.”
My chest aches at his words. That’s the problem. These places are all fine, but the fact that I’ll be living in whichever one I choose without Clay? That’s almost unbearable.
“Fine. This is fine, I guess. It doesn’t matter,” I sigh.
The realtor who’s been showing us around all day visibly relaxes.
“I’ll get you the rental agreement for this one. If you’re approved, you can move in as soon as next week.”
“Perfect,” I mumble.
“Love,” Clay puts his arms around my waist and looks up at me. “This place is great. There’s an extra bedroom for Gigi and you have your own garage to keep your bike in and still have room to work on your side projects out there. You’ll be happy here.”
“Yeah,” I agree without feeling. “Let’s get this paperwork filled out and go back to the hotel to spend time just the two of us.”
Clay
“I got you a little present,” Max tells me when we get back to the hotel.
“Why would you get me a present?” I ask in pleasant surprise.
“It’s really for both of us,” Max admits with a little pink creeping into his cheeks as he hands me a small gift bag.
I pull the tissue paper out and reach inside. My fingers brush against the unmistakable feel of silky soft ropes, and my cock instantly starts to fill. I pull out the ropes, my heart beating hard against my ribs. Unlike my black ropes, these are a number of vibrant colored bindings.
“I’ve been doing a lot of research, and you wouldn’t believe how beautiful the Shibari pictures look when you use colored ropes. And everything I read said that when we can’t be together, looking at pictures of our past sessions will put us both in that familiar headspace. These are made of bamboo silk; they’re some of the softest ropes I could find. And, if it’s okay, I’d love to try some more complicated binding designs and then take pictures of you for us both to enjoy when we’re apart.”
The idea of having pictures of me bound for Max is enough to make me dizzy with pleasure. “Can we start now?”
Max chuckles and then scoops me up into his arms. “Anything you want, petal.”
He deposits me gently onto the bed and then starts pulling out all the different colored ropes and laying them beside me. Max looks them over carefully before choosing a few.
“You might want to limber up before we get started, petal. I’m going to test your limits tonight.”
A soft moan escapes my lips. “God, yes.”
“Strip for me.”
I scramble onto my knees on the bed and hurry to pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside. My pants and underwear join my shirt on the floor seconds later.
My cock is already hard, bobbing free in front of me as I kneel in the center of the bed.
“So beautiful and eager for me,” Max says as his eyes roam greedily over my body. “The things I’m going to do to you tonight, petal…”
“Stop teasing and tie me up already,” I beg, crawling toward him.
“Patience.” His voice is deep and commanding, sending a shiver through me and leaving no room for argument. “I’m going to play with you for hours before either of us get to come.”
My cock jerks at his words, my breath catching.
“Stay just like this for me, petal,” Max instructs as he trails a finger from my collarbone to my hip, leaving goosebumps in his wake. “Just spread your legs a little wider for me.”
I shuffle my knees farther apart. Max takes a length of powder blue rope and loops it around my right thigh. He winds it around and around, his fingers occasionally brushing against my balls, making me squirm and whimper. After a few times around, he grabs a hot pink rope and ties the two together, creating a knot in the center of the rope already wound around my thigh. He runs the pink rope up to my hip and wraps that around my middle in an intricate pattern.
I can’t tear my eyes away from his rough, calloused fingers as he works. It seems strange that a man with such large hands could use them so nimbly. Yet Max works the ropes like he’s been doing this for years.
My cock strains to be touched as Max ties in a third rope—this one royal blue.
“Grab your wrists for me,” he instructs. I obey, and Max leans in and flicks his tongue along the column of my throat.
Within a few minutes, my wrists are bound together and connected to the binding from my hips to my thigh. The next rope that’s added is a lighter pink. Max works it into the knot around my wrists and then drags the soft rope over my chest and over my shoulder.
“Almost finished with the first one, petal,” Max assures me before reaching between my legs and tenderly cupping my balls. He rolls them in his palm and kisses along my jaw with sloppy, open mouthed kisses.
My chest heaves as I try to draw in breaths, my cock dripping pre-cum onto Max’s forearm as he plays with my balls.
As abruptly as it started, Max’s touch is gone and he’s moving around behind me on the bed. I can feel as he works the rope along my back and ties it into the original knot around my thigh.
“So beautiful, petal. Do you have any idea how crazy I am about you?” Max asks as he rubs the rough stubble of his cheek against my shoulder blades.
“I love you,” I choke out.
“Oh petal, I’m so in love with you.”
A sob breaks free from my throat, and I’m sure the only thing keeping me from shattering into a million pieces are the ropes binding me and Max’s strong presence at my back.
“Don’t cry,” Max soothes. “We’re only making happy memories tonight.”
I nod, pinching my eyes closed and willing the tears to recede. Max stays put at my back, running soothing hands over my skin and brushing kisses against my neck until my body starts to relax again.
When he pulls out his camera, my body heats as I imagine Max alone in his bed, getting off to pictures of me bound for him.
He snaps countless pictures over the next few hours. Each time untying me afterward and starting all over again. I lost count of how many ways he bound me and how much time passed before he finally thrust inside me.
I sob with relief, my cock beyond painfully hard and my balls sore from being held off so long.
As soon as he’s inside me, I can feel him stiff and throbbing.
“I can’t—” Max groans, pulling back and slamming his hips against my ass hard enough to make me gasp.
“Don’t hold back; I can’t wait,” I agree.
Max grunts and grinds himself deeper inside me. He pulls out and slams home again, this time his broad head slides against my prostate, and my body explodes. My balls tighten, and my cock heaves as the most intense orgasm I’ve ever felt barrels through me.
Max lets out a strangled cry and pumps his hot seed deep inside me.
I’m still trembling from aftershocks when Max unties me. I can’t even bring myself to move as he wipes me off, positions me in the center of the bed, and then climbs in beside me.
I’m asleep before I can even count a hundred heartbeats.