“Oh, s-sorry,” Scott mumbled, dutifully turning his back on Joe.
“Do you remember what your safe word is?”
Scott swallowed several times in quick succession. In his reflection on the dark window pane, he saw his Adam’s apple bob. “I r-remember,” he whispered.
“Good. Stay where you are. You don’t have permission to move.”
Scott refocused and watched Joe put his crash helmet in the case on the back of his bike and take something out of one of the panniers.
Being able to see what Joe was doing helped calm Scott’s nerves a little, but he knew he hadn’t been given permission to make use of Joe’s reflection that way. As adrenaline rushed into his blood stream, Scott dropped his gaze.
It was so easy to feel as if he was a naughty boy who’d been sent to stand in the corner until it was time for his spanking. Scott only just managed to bite back a whimper at the possibility of being turned over Joe’s knee. The idea of Joe’s hand falling against his bare arse again and again… Scott closed his eyes.
A fantasy version of his first ever spanking appeared in his mind. Joe would be dressed, of course. He hardly ever seemed to take off any clothing unless it was absolutely necessary or specifically asked for. Scott could almost feel his own nakederection rubbing against the rough denim that covered Joe’s legs as each smack made him rock against Joe’s thighs.
Sudden pressure against his eye lids jerked Scott out of his day dream. He tried to open his eyes, but something was covering them. He lifted a hand to his face. His fingers brushed against a cool, smooth surface when he tried to touch his eyes.
Picking at the edges of it, Scott desperately tried to tug it off his eyes, but he couldn’t get a grip on it. All he succeeding in doing was scratching his forehead. Whatever covered Scott’s eyes wrapped itself all the way around his head. He felt it move against his hair as it completely encircled his scalp.
Scott wanted to cry out, but he couldn’t make his vocal cords work—not even when the thing pulled him backward, stealing all his balance from him.
“You’re only going to hurt yourself if you keep struggling.”
Scott froze. “J-j-joe?”
“Who else would it be?”
Scott relaxed, cursing himself for a fool. He’d have rolled his eyes at himself, if he’d been able to open them.
Fingers moved against the back of Scott’s head, the thing over his eyes cinched tighter. Joe was doing up some sort of fastening.
Suddenly, Scott felt Joe’s hands move to his shoulders. They spun him around, almost sending him crashing to the ground.
Unable to rely on visual cues, Scott swayed and groped for any solid point of reference. His hands landed on Joe’s forearms. Scott clenched the sleeves of Joe’s jacket, relishing the increasingly familiar feel of leather, as well as the strength and solidity Joe represented.
“I’m still waiting for an answer,” Joe said.
Scott frowned behind his…his blindfold, he supposed. “An a-answer to what?”
“Who else would be blindfolding you?”
Scott chuckled. It took him a moment to realise that the icy atmosphere had nothing to do with the chilly breeze. Joe was seriously asking him who else he’d been playing with.
“N-no one,” Scott said. “It wouldn’t have been anyone else—it c-couldn’t be.” Scott listened very carefully as he struggled to gauge Joe’s reaction. A car engine purred as it no doubt drove down one of the side streets nearby. A dog barked in the distance. Joe said nothing.
The only way Scott could be sure that Joe was still there, was by the warmth from Joe’s hands seeping through his coat and into his shoulders. Scott tightened his grip on Joe’s jacket, sure Joe wouldn’t leave without that, even if he couldn’t have been blamed for walking away from such a clueless idiot.
“No one else,” Scott whispered. “I w-wouldn’t do that.” He wasn’t even sure who he was trying to convince now, himself or Joe. The idea of him screwing around behind Joe’s back was insane. But, the probability that Joe still had a string of other lovers on the side was—
“Come on.” Joe turned Scott around again and pushed him forward. “Small step up.”
Scott edged cautiously forward. His toe tapped against a step. Joe reached past his shoulder and Scott heard a key turn in a lock, followed by the light, pleasant sound of a shop bell tinkling above his head. They were going into the hair-dressers?
Lifting his hands, Scott held them out in front of himself, blindly feeling for obstacles in his way. He searched his memory, trying to remember what he’d seen of the layout inside the shop when he’d peered through the window. Damn! He hadn’t actually looked through the window for more than a second.
Joe’s grip on Scott’s shoulders tightened. “I won’t walk you into anything by accident.”
His tone of voice was off. It sounded more like, when he did walk Scott into something, it would be on purpose. Scott still dropped his hands to his sides, instinctively needing to hand over control to Joe, even if he knew it would get him hurt.
