“give me your hands.” 

“like, behind my back?” cain asked hesitantly. he was sitting on the edge of the futon, so that I had easy access to his whole body. his shirt was off, somewhere next to mine in a pile on the floor. i hadn’t let him take the boxers off, though. my fingers had lingered initially, wanting, and i’d gotten cold feet. 

“duh.” i said. he presented them and i tied his wrists together with a piece of blue silk ribbon i’d repurposed from a dress. cain tensed as his hands were bound. i felt his worry, his uncertainty, the unsureness in his neck and shoulders. bands of strength that bulged under cool skin. i put my hands on them and rubbed gently. 

“relax.” 

“i’m trying. it’s just…weird.” he murmured. “how do you even know how to do this?” 

“i learned it online.” i replied. that was partially true. charlotte had linked me to the websites and we’d practiced on each other. she was much better at it than i was. i envied her ability to pick things up and excel at them with minimal practice. even the most basic knots had taken me several days to master. the more advanced ones had me tying and retying rope around my best friend for weeks. 

“it’s tight.” cain said.  

“this is the foundation so it’s meant to be.” i answered. there were only a few loops to make with the ribbon so that his wrists connected to the simple harness i was finishing around the chest. it simplified things to separate these sections, though I was sure charlotte could have done it with a single piece. i took extra time at the bottom, fingers exploring abs that bristled underneath them. it put my face close to his neck and i blew on it. cain shivered. 

“why did i agree to this again?” 

“because you love me, obviously.” it was matter of fact and cain didn’t reply. he strained against the bonds and i felt my heart start to race a bit. i still had enough left to box them against his body, weaving the rest around in a snaked loop between each appendage and cain’s angular torso. 

“so, what am i supposed to do if I can’t move?” he complained. 

“relax.” i said. “close your eyes.”  

“okay.”  

“you remember what i told you?” i asked. cain opened one eye and raised a brow. “about the safe word?” 

“oh, yeah. pineapple?” 

“good boy.” i breathed, making sure to get in close to his ear. my hands brushed the sides of cain’s face. i gently straddled him. he flexed in the bonds, reacting to the pressure. i was worried about slipping off, the futon making things awkward. it helped that he was only wearing boxers and that i hadn’t wrapped up his legs. 

i surveyed my handiwork, giddy, a little anxious, and very thrilled that we’d gotten this far. the bindings were good, flat, but good. it couldn’t be helped, really. rope had more dimension than ribbon and it made things easier. this ‘hard mode’ and my lack of skill meant i would have to accept a bit of slop. 

“do i really need to keep my eyes closed?” 

“just do as i say.” i whispered. he trembled, struggled against the ribbon, and my heart skipped beats. i kissed his neck, moving down his chest as best i could, then worked back up. he vibrated with every little contact, groaning. low, guttural, pleased. i brushed my lips against his skin again and when he let out a hot, heavy breath i moved back up to whisper praise in the other ear.  

“lace.” he moaned back, drawing out my name with an exhalation. i could feel the other kind of response underneath me in a fluttering stiffness. i worked my hips into it just enough to make him gasp. 

“good boy.” i said again. this time the shudder was accompanied by a deeper groan. a longing, drawn out sound that rumbled from deep inside his chest.  

“ugh…lacey, fuck.” 

my pulse was out of control. i was barely moving and already getting tired. dizziness clouded my vision and made things bop in and out, forced me to slow down, so i focused on the gentle kissing again.  

our lips made intentional, prolonged contact. when cain leaned in, i drew back, bidding him to chase me. the restraints held his mouth just out of reach and i let him struggle, priming the next kiss to be even more intense. i knew he hated being denied and i loved every second of that pent up desperation unleashed as a flurry of nipping smooches. 

the wrist restraints threatened to come undone with every back and forth. cain had managed to wiggle his arms loose with the ferocity of his movement, trying to keep our lips connected. the squeak of ribbon slipping danced in my ears, as if at any second the bondage would lose its hold and he would grab me in unfettered desire. i shuddered this time. 

with more confidence than before, i moved my hips in the way charlotte had taught me. pretend you’re holding a sharpie between your legs, write the word COCONUT in his lap. it was easiest for me to alternate directions between letters. i had caught my breath and i was more attuned to his body, especially what was dragging against my lingerie bottoms. cain hadn’t bothered to restrain himself, letting his voice out in full, and i reciprocated with some of my own vocalized pleasure. 

“good boy.” i said. i pushed my weight down on him and let the warm, crackling feeling of our connection stretch out the words. 

“every time…you say that…” cain mumbled between kisses. he didn’t need to point it out. i could feel it pushing into me on every C and O.  

“the way you struggle is so hot.” i moaned. cain lurched forward unexpectedly. the ribbons that had been snaked around his arms lost their hold and he managed to catch me mid tease. i yelped, jolted a bit at the surprise contact, and he bit my bottom lip with a gentle sensuality that made my abs lock up. 

“sorry, lace.” 

“say it again.” 

“i’m sorry.” he repeated. i rewarded him with more mouth to mouth, sloppy, pleading. this was everything. our out of breath panting, the frenzied makeout that was more biting than kissing, cain so frustrated he had begun to growl with pent up ferocity.  

“cain.” 

“lace.” he answered. 

“say you love me.” i demanded. 

“i love you.” 

“louder.” 

“i love you lacey!” he shouted. i mirrored it at half the volume, repeating the three words over and over as I covered him in layered affection. my teeth sank into whatever they could, his cheek, his neck, parts of the shoulder that i could reasonably get to. sucking and kissing, biting, grinding. doing whatever i could to let loose desire on my semi-captive lover. 

the harness came away with sound like silk sliding over canvas and for a fleeting moment i was glad that i had decided to wrap the wrists individually. it didn’t matter. the bindings around cain’s hands fell away too, perhaps a flaw of the ribbon, or simply my inexperience. he growled again. standing and taking me with him, he held me practically one-handed. i let out a sound somewhere between a moan and a gasp.  

“hey…” i whispered.  

“sorry, lace.”  

“wha-” i tried, not getting to ask. cain took three big strides towards his bed and upended me on it. i was the one being straddled now. it felt so hot, so overwhelming and gratifying that all i could do was arch my back and moan under his force. 

“you seriously learned all of this on the internet?” he asked.  

“char…” i said. cain shook his head. he gave me a bewildered look and i just shrugged. there was still one trick up my sleeve, something that i had taught charlotte; a real kiss with tongue. “come here.” 

cain leaned in. i kissed him and swept my tongue over his teeth. he opened his mouth a bit in surprise and i took advantage, darting in to glide around on his tongue before pulling away and repeating. the frenching was pretty mechanical at first. we struggled to time things right and i got a lot more teeth than i was expecting, but cain was a quick study, and it wasn’t long before I was feeling his hands explore my body while our tongues twirled around each other.  

“you’re a little bit of a freak.” cain laughed as we pulled away. embarrassment kept me from responding to him. my face was too hot to think. everything still felt raw and intense like we hadn’t taken a break. 

“it’s…icky…but i like you.” i managed. scraps of my handiwork lay derelict around his shoulders, wrapping him in loose blue arcs. i looked down at my own attire, thumbing the waistband of my bikini bottoms. “this gold two-piece is making me…bold” 

“it’s really hot.” cain said. i couldn’t stop touching his muscles, the veins on his arms bulging from exertion, practically thrumming underneath my fingers. two pillars wrapped in steel cables that touched, squeezed, and brushed everywhere they could find any purchase at all.  

i was wearing something sexy, tight, and mature. nothing like the polka dot panties i’d had on earlier that day. he was feeling for my bra, for the strap. when he remembered it was a single piece his hand simply tugged it up and dropped to my waist. i couldn’t have known he’d be taking my armor off, or slipping it aside, not now, not like this. blood rushed in my ears as i felt him prod at the bikini, his fingers playing with the waistband and overlapping mine. 

“heyyyy.” i whined. there was fire in his eyes. serious, desperate. longing that made me bite down hard on my lip and shiver. i wanted him. he wanted me. it was all i could do to pass the baton and let him take over.