I realize the bond of trust created and tethered between them. I yearn for it. And as he tugs on the rope, molding and shaping her, she starts to spin. There is no audience, no sound. But I feel the collective awe rising above the room as the woman spirals into her own world of pleasure—her subspace.
Passion—laced as tightly as the rope binding the model—coils inside me. It’s an overwhelming rush of emotion that snaps each thread of rope—one by
one—until my insides burst free, and I feel a tear fall from my eye.
She’s so beautiful, in all her freedom, and somewhere deep within me longs desperately to feel that. And when my eyes meet Colton’s again, I can’t hide. He sees it.
He sees me.
6
Want
Colton
Slow applause fills the rope room as I untie the last knot binding Katrina’s wrists. She’s a wonderful, trusting model who I’ve performed with many times. Since Julian asked me to start showcasing Shibari sessions twice a week as one of the club’s main features, I’ve only worked with three models; but that’s all it is. Work.
Regardless of my love of bondage and ropework, I’m able to separate work from play quite easily. And separating play from need… Well, that’s why I’ve asked Sadie here.
I slip Katrina’s robe over her shoulders. She wraps her arms around her waist, and a slight tremble ripples over her body. She turns and meets my eyes, hers still lit with emotion, before she’s enveloped by the arms of her Dom.
He’s here to offer her the aftercare she needs after such an emotionally charged experience, and I’m gifted with their trust. I nod to him as he takes her toward a back room.
Then all my attention is aimed toward the private seating area in the corner. To the place where most of my devotion has been focused since I first stepped onto the floor. I find and lock on to Sadie’s jade gaze. Like being drawn by the force of a magnet, she’s my counter—powerful attraction; no way to stop the science of it.
As I move toward her, I twine a thin link of rope around my hand, subconsciously toying, a part of me. When I’m right before her, she holds my stare, evoking a strong bravado. But within seconds she wilts against the black cushions, using the small table between us as some kind of barrier.
“So you showed me,” she says, her voice airy, but I can see the emotion swimming in the depth of her green eyes. She was affected.
Slipping onto the bench seat, I push myself along the cushions until I’m as close to her as I assume she’ll allow. Her body reacts, tensing. “Just what you inquired about,” I say. “But that’s not what I truly wanted to show you.”
“I asked about your job, and I see now.” She swallows. “It’s intense, Colton. I understand why it would be difficult to explain outside of the club.” She takes a sip of champagne, then leaves her hand resting on the table near the stem.
Unlinking the rope, I lay it on the table and cautiously slide the tip close to her hand. “That’s one part, but it’s not the whole reason why you’re here. I will never ask, Sadie.” I look up to meet her hesitant gaze. “You don’t have to offer any explanation. I’ve been a part of the scene long enough that I recognize turmoil—true suffering—when I see it. And I just want to show you the way past it. To help you free yourself of the dungeon you’ve isolated—”
“Stop.” Her head lowers as she sucks in a sharp breath. “You know nothing of dungeons.” The lights dim further, the beat of seductive music filling the gulf between us.
She allows the darkness to hide her features as she sinks into the seat. With deft movements, I expertly work the length of rope closer to her hand…and graze the tip along her silky skin. She flinches, but doesn’t remove her hand from the table.
I continue to run the rope along the top of her hand, toward her forearm, over the sexy projection of her wrist. “I don’t have to speak, either,” I tell her, allowing the rope to be my hands. I can touch her in a way that won’t set off her inner alarm.
If she’ll let me.
I know something dark is haunting her. I saw it long before now; when she gazed at the stage in the voyeur room. The wanting, the yearning…but also the fear. It’s what first drew me to her. Some horror lurks deep within my goddess, and I need so badly to bring that to the surface. To show her she’s in control of it—that she’s its master.
But like the fiend that I am, I also want to gaze into that abyss. Watch it swallow her; the consumption. To look into the darkness and discover why…because understanding that will answer so many questions.
“Please,” she says, barely audible over the low music. “Colton. I know what you’re trying to do. And it’s not that I don’t—” She breaks off, seemingly searching for words. “You’re so aware, attuned. To me.” She looks up then, ensnaring me with her eyes. “If I lose what fragile grip I have, I’ll fall. I’ve worked so hard to just be where I am now.”
“And where is that?” I ask, needing her to drop her walls and let me in. If just a fraction. “What are you so frightened will happen if you let go. You clearly crave this, Sadie.” I loop the rope around her wrist, leaving a loose knot that she can easily slip out of, but pulling it tight enough that she feels the rough fibers graze her skin. “Are you scared of being judged? Scared that it will effect your work?”
Surprisingly, she laughs. That melodic sound washes over me, sending a shiver down my spine. She looks at her bound wrist, at the gooseflesh rising along her skin. “If only it was that simple.” Twisting her arm, she gives the rope a tug, testing the restraint. I watch as slight distress worries the smooth skin between her eyebrows—and it hits me, spiking my chest with sharp pain.
“Someone hurt you.” It rushes out, no filter. With her, I’m unable to hold back.
Her gaze snaps to mine. And the truth is there in the dilation of her pupils. The shimmer of her wide eyes.
“You’d make a good profiler,” she says, ripping the cord from her wrist. She balls the rope in her palm. “But maybe you should leave that to me, and get back to your job.”