She was nearly at the end of the path when a sharp, unnatural crack echoed through the stillness. There was the sound of wood splintering, and leaves rustling in a sudden, frantic burst. Instinct screamed, MOVE. Madeline dove to the side, barely clearing the spot where, with a thunderous crash, a massive tree limb slammed down. It sent a spray of dirt and shattered branches in every direction.
For a split second, everything was silent. Then chaos erupted. Crew members shouted. Someone screamed her name. Madeline scrambled to her knees, heart hammering, and her ears ringing. The limb had missed her by inches.If I had been a step slower…she thought.
Ruthi’s voice, sounding a little panicked, rang out from behind the camera. “Cut! Someone get over there!”
But Madeline was already moving, crawling away from the fallen limb, her adrenaline surging. She looked in time to see a figure. A man in crew clothes, face half-hidden by a ballcap, was slipping away behind the trees. From the corner of her eye, she saw Antonia break from the edge of the set, moving like a panther, silent and lethal. She disappeared into the undergrowth after him.
Madeline’s hands shook as she stood, brushing leaves from her arms. Kel was there in an instant, arms around her, voice trembling. “Are you okay? Madeline, oh my God—”
“I’m fine,” Madeline gasped, realizing she meant it. “I’m okay. Just… shaken.”
The crew stilled, breath held in collective suspense. Madeline clung to Kel, both watching as Antonia emerged, dragging the man by the arm. He fought, but Antonia’s grip was iron. She shoved him to his knees in front of the gathering crowd, her voice flat with authority. “Who sent you?” she demanded.
The man spat on the ground. “I don’t know her name. I only did what I was paid for.”
Antonia’s jaw tightened. “Paid by who?”
He looked up, eyes wild, with sweat streaking his face. “Someone who knows everything about this place,” he growled. “She said it was time to ruin Leighton’s little paradise. Said I’d get double if I made it look like an accident.”
A collective gasp rippled through the crew. Ruthi stepped back, her face pale, lips pressed in a hard line. Madeline sawher hands trembling as if the betrayal cut deeper than fear.She looks like she’s ready to bolt,Madeline thought.This is really upsetting her.
For a long moment, no one spoke. Finally, Antonia hauled the man to his feet. “You’re done here,” she said coldly. “And you’re going to tell us everything.”
As Antonia swept the man away, Madeline turned to Kel, her own shock fading into a cold, creeping anger. She looked at Ruthi, who stood rooted to the spot, eyes dark and haunted. Something fundamental had shifted. Not only for Madeline, but for all of them. In the hush that followed, Madeline understood. The island’s magic was real, but so was its danger.
As she andthe others headed back to the main lodge, Ruthi kept the tightest grip on her emotions, barely staying in control as both her mind and her stomach churned. Swallowing her nausea, the director clamped down the tears that threatened to break out, thoughts of how Madeline had almost died roiling through her head.It was my fault. Madeline might have been killed, she thought. Oh, God, I want Eve. I need my Mistress.
As the Jeep navigated the road, the lush, colorful scenery around them gave no hint of the ugliness they had left behind, and the shock of the incident grabbed her in iron talons.I haven’t had much respect for Madeline, dismissing her as some no-talent, bubblegum actress—which hasn’t been fair to her—but she’s a good person,she thought. Who in their right mind would want to harm someone like her?Her ugly suspicions hammered at her as her emotional grip slipped further.Get to Eve, Ruthi,she instructed herself, desperately striving to keep her agitated thoughts on the beautiful Domme.She can help you make sense of what happened. If this is your doing, the Mistresswill know how to tell Ms. Leighton so you can face the music.She shuddered at the thought.
Nearing the main lodge, she asked the driver if he would mind letting her out. Eve’s dungeon was a much shorter jaunt from this point. As he pulled over, Ruthi twisted around to face Madeline and Kel in the back seat. “I’m glad you’re okay, Madeline,” she said quietly, hoping her expression didn’t reflect her inner thoughts. “I—I have somewhere else I need to be, but Kel will take good care of you.” Ruthi nodded at a surprised Kel. “But, if there’s anything I can do—” Her voice trailed off as she gave a small smile to the two women before jumping out of the Jeep and heading down the path that led to Eve’s cottage, almost running as she felt the safety and security of her Mistress’s arms beckon to her.
16
“What’s wrong?” Mistress Eve’s voice was sharp as she opened the door to her dungeon and saw Ruthi waiting for admittance, her eyes lowered but her body visibly trembling, and her face ashen and drawn. Her breath came in short bursts, and she didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands, twisting them anxiously in front of her, as her lips quivered. Gone was any trace of the confident director Eve had come to know.Damn. This is bad.
Eve had already received a phone call from Ms. Leighton, who told her what had happened on set that day, but she wanted to hear what had happened from Ruthi in her own words. On the call, Ms. Leighton had explained that Ruthi was shaken but composed as everyone had left the set. Still, Ms. Leighton warned Eve that Ruthi might visit her unexpectedly and to be prepared. Ms. Leighton had guessed correctly, and standing before Eve now was a submissive on the verge of collapse, behaving as though Eve’s dungeon was a sanctuary where she could seek shelter and feel safe.
“Come.” Eve stepped back, gesturing behind her. Ruthi all but sprang into the dungeon, then halted in her tracks, unsure of what to do. Making a quick decision, the Domme said quietly,“Go into the aftercare area, little sub, and strip completely naked for me. I prefer you unclothed today. Then return quickly and stand in front of me. You do not have to kneel because I have something else planned. Go now.”
As Ruthi disappeared behind the door, Eve smoothed down her black leather mini skirt, teamed with a black corset and her stiletto heels, her hair in a French twist tonight. Her priority was to calm her submissive during this session, rather than teach her additional protocol. A badly shaken Ruthi was not going to do either of them any good.
When Ruthi returned,lowering her eyes when she reached the Domme with a blush spreading across her cheeks from her bare state, Eve turned on her heel before moving to the shibari bar. The swing attached to the middle of the bar had been lowered so a person could easily sit in it, the two footrests with cuffs extended to the sides as far as they could go. Another set of handcuffs resided at the top of the swing for a submissive’s hands. “Sit, Ruthi,” the Domme bid her. “Then place your feet on the footrests and extend your hands upward to grab the cuffs at the top so I can secure you properly.”
When Ruthi was fully restrained, Eve picked up a bundle of dark pink rope lay on a table next to the bar. Slowly, with a deliberately unhurried movement, the Domme began to wind the rope around Ruthi’s left arm. “Shibari, which is also known as kinbaku, is a form of Japanese bondage,” she said quietly. “Artistic rope tying such as shibari in dominance and submission involves restraining and binding a person in visually intricate patterns. In shibari, it is less about the completed knots as it is about enjoying and appreciating the process. The emphasis is on sensuality and the sensations the rope provides.”
Eve moved to Ruthi’s right arm. “Shibari has its roots in the ancient Japanese rope tying techniques used by samurai. The tying patterns can range from simple to highly intricate. I’m competent, but there are shibari masters out there who are almost otherworldly in their technique and expertise. Perhaps I shall take you to a shibari rope bondage festival one day. The artistry on display there is not to be believed.”
After a few minutes of stillness, in which Eve felt Ruthi finally relax into her ropes as she continued her tying, her low calm voice broke the silence. “I want you to tell me what happened today, little one. I was not at all pleased when my submissive turned up on my doorstep in the state you were in.” She let her fingers wander soothingly over Ruthi a bit as she felt the director start to tense. “You are safe here, Ruthi. Anything that wants to get to you will have to go through me first. Trust in your Mistress and give me your burdens. Part of my responsibility as your Domme is taking those burdens from you, so you no longer have to carry them. Tellme.”
Slowly, haltingly, Ruthi told Eve what had happened on the set that day. “Madeline might have been killed, Mistress. Thank God she was able to move as quickly as she did. Antonia caught the man who caused the accident.” Her voice trembled. “When pressed, he said he was paid by someone who knows everything about ‘this place’ and ‘she’ wants to ruin Leighton’s ‘little paradise.’ He also told her that he would have gotten double whatever he had been promised if he made it look like an accident.”
Eve didn’t stop her slow, deliberate movements with the rope even as her mind raced. “No wonder you were upset. What an unpleasant situation,” she said finally. “However, I think I’ve started to know you a bit, Ruthi. That in itself would not have been enough to put you in the state you were in when you showed up at my door. The director I know from our timetogether here and by her reputation would not have fallen to pieces over something like that, as nerve-wracking as it was. What is really going on?”
It was as if a dam burst. “What if I’m the target, Mistress Eve?” Ruthi cried before dissolving into tears, startling Eve. “What if Madeline was almost killed because of me? I would never live with myself if I was the one responsible for bringing all this trouble down on the Isle of Dreams.”
Knowing how much the shibari was keeping Ruthi anchored, as much as she wanted to free her submissive and hold her, Eve continued her rope work, keeping her voice low and calm. “Why don’t you explain to me exactly what you mean?”
Ruthi drew in a deep, shuddering breath. “I swore to myself I would never open up to anyone about Lynn Crawford. Ever. But…but…the night everything blew up between the two of us, I think of as ‘The Incident’ in my mind.” She shuddered again. “One night, when I had unexpectedly returned home a few days early from an out-of-town shoot, I found…I found Lynn in our bed with another woman.” Eve felt the shock arrow through her. “Lynn’s head was buried between her legs, noisily sucking this moaning woman’s clit into her mouth with all the vigor of a high-powered vacuum cleaner hose.” A tinge of anger colored her voice. “Meanwhile, she had her own hand working between her legs, trying to get herself off.”
