He shook his head, clearing his throat as he struggled to get himself back under control. What was it about this girl that drew him so immediately and intensely?
Yes, she was lovely to look at, but he was often around beautiful, naked women in the scene. It was one of the many delightful perks of his chosen career.
Beyond mere physical beauty, she had been easy to talk to during their long phone conversations. She’d seemed older than her twenty-nine years as she’d offered funny, discerning insight about the various players she’d encountered in the scene, along with hilarious, scathing imitations of some of her work colleagues that had made him laugh out loud.
Though he usually kept these sorts of interviews focused on the trainee, he’d found himself sharing funny stories of his own from his misadventures in medical school and residency, along with some doozies in the BDSM scene. She’d listened with her whole self, asking questions and making comments that made it clear she wasn’t just waiting for the next chance to bring the conversation back to herself, as so many people did.
But beyond their easy, relaxed banter, there had been an instant underlying connection between them that defied easy explanation. Now, seeing her in person and observing her powerful, heartfelt and unfiltered reactions to this initial tour, he sensed more than ever the kindred connection between them.
He needed to be careful. However much he was attracted to her, their relationship was professional, and he must behave accordingly. Normally, he had no trouble maintaining the necessary distance from a trainee, easily deflecting any efforts to take things to a more personal level. But somehow, whether she was aware of it or not, Skylar had slipped past the iron doors of his usual defenses as easily as if they were made of air.
This was going to be a long week if he couldn’t pull it together.
“How does it work?” Skylar asked now, a hint of anxiety in her tone as she stared at the beam.
“As the name implies, you straddle it.” Caelan reached up to manage the pulley device that controlled the height of the board. “You climb over the board and position your legs on either side.” He turned the pulley lever to demonstrate, first lowering and then lifting the board by its ropes as his new trainee watched with rapt attention.
“Straddling this board for an extended period can provide an especially effective form of predicament torture. You can only hold yourself up on your toes for so long.”
“Yikes,” she said, once more hugging her torso in a protective way. “Thank goodness for safewords.”
“You bring up a good point,” Caelan said. “First, in the packet you received before coming to the Island, you saw that we use a universal safeword here to prevent confusion, right?”
“Yes, Sir. Yellow light for if you’re starting to freak out and need things to slow down, and red light for a total scene stopper, cut it out this instant, I’m totally freaking out.”
Caelan grinned. “That’s one way to describe it, yeah.” Sobering, he added, “Safewords are important, especially when you aren’t intimately familiar with your partner’s limits. That said, hopefully, you’ll never have to use your safeword with me. I tend to be a pretty good judge of what a sub can and can’t tolerate, and it’s usually quite a bit more than you think you can. But if I seem to be missing the cues and you feel you are in danger and have no other recourse, you may use the safeword.”
“Got it. Red light.”
Caelan nodded. “Good. Now, I need to do an assessment of your pain tolerance levels and your sexual responsiveness. Please remove the leather outfit and take off the heels. I’ll want you completely naked during our training sessions, save for your collar.”
I want you completely naked all the time so I can fuck you whenever the mood strikes me.
Okay. This was getting ridiculous. He was going to get fired if he couldn’t keep his personal feelings under better control. He made a mental note to masturbate before every session, just so he could keep his wits about him.
“Yes, Sir.”
As Skylar slipped off the leather straps and stepped out of her shoes, Caelan selected a pair of nylon cuffs, two vibrators that operated with the same remote from the wardrobe, along with a tube of lube and a harness to hold the dildos in place. He grabbed a washbowl as well, and brought the items to the small table set up for the purpose by the yoga mat.
“Come over here,” he said. “Stand on the mat and raise your arms so I can restrain you.”
Skylar dutifully lifted her arms over her head. Caelan closed the cuffs over her slender wrists and clipped them to the hanging chain. He adjusted the height until she was forced just slightly onto the balls of her feet. Her features suffused with that particular dreamy look true subs get when bound. She was a natural, all right.