“This is a special kind of knot,” he explained matter-of-factly. “The second you’re uncomfortable, all you have to do is let go.” He placed the tail end of the tie in my palm. “Demonstrate so that I can see you understand.”
I complied, releasing his tie. My wrists immediately came free. “Did they teach you this stuff in the army?”
“I was a boy scout, actually.” Jesse re-tied my wrists. “That’s enough talk out of you. The only thing I want to hear out of your mouth from here on out is if you want me to stop.”
“Why would I want you to stop?”
“In case it becomes too much. Tell me to stop, and I will. You’re in control. Do you understand?”
My heart railed against my ribcage. I’d never done anything like this. Maybe once with a pair of cheap handcuffs, but those had been a gag gift. No prior thought or conversation went into that particular romp, and it had been understandingly disappointing. But this…
This was something else. This was exciting and new and strange, but I felt totally safe with him. I trusted Jesse more than I could ever put into words.
“I understand, sir,” I said, shivering with anticipation.
“Good.”
And then he got up off the bed and started out the door.
“W-wait!” I yelled. “Where do you think you’re going?”
He smirked at me. “I have to clean up your mess,” he explained simply. “Do you think unconscious gang members and totaled cars clean themselves up? Do you think the police are just going to drop this because you’re safe now?”
“But what aboutme? You can’t just—” I kicked my legs in frustration. “You can’t just leave me here.”
“I think you’ll find that I can.”
“Jesse—”
“Like I said, you can let go at any time. But if you do, that’s where it ends. Keep holding on, and I’ll show you what other tricks I have up my sleeve.”
My cheeks burned. “This isn’t fair.”
“You already came twice, angel. I think that’smorethan fair. Be good. I’ll see you in…” He checked his watch. And then shrugged. “Whenever I feel like you’ve learned your lesson.”
I squirmed, rubbing my legs together. I was in for an excruciatingly long wait.
“Oh, and another thing,” he said, stopping at the door. “You’d better not touch yourself without my permission. You won’t be able to tie yourself back up without help, so I’ll know if you let go at any point.”
“You’re enjoying thiswaytoo much, sir.”
His eyes raked over my naked body. “And by the looks of it, so are you.”
Chapter 22
Jesse
This was as much a test of patience for Vivian as it was for me.
If I hadn’t been so hell-bent on teaching her a lesson, I would have taken her then and there, regardless of the restraints play. It seemed tame enough. Nothing too wild. Just a simple quick release knot and a tie. Child’s play, really. What this was really about was the dynamic. The suspense.
And it was killing me just as much as it was likely killing her.
I meant what I said, though. I had a mess to clean up.
News outlets were all over it, though my preliminary search failed to pull up any images or video of Vivian specifically. That helped. I could focus more on damage control. Luckily, I had an entire legal department at Pegasus Star organized to deal with this sort of thing. They’d liaison with the police on my behalf, which freed up my time to handle the business side of matters.
And to handle the angel naked in my bed.