Halfway through the hour, Mistress Onyx announced they were ready to practice binding both arms. Aaron perked up and rearranged himself into a kneeling position, head bowed, arms stretched behind his back.
For the past thirty minutes, Jay had been lost in the intricacies of the ropework, only vaguely aware of Aaron’s presence. Now, the sight of Aaron’s submission snapped him back to full awareness. The light scent of his cologne, the slight flush creeping around his neck, and the firm body kneeling before him in a sign of obedience—it hit Jay all at once.
His cock stirred, and heat spread through his body, as if his blood was on fire. He was glad Aaron faced away and couldn’t witness his attempt to adjust himself in his jeans. Mistress Onyx caught him in the act and pursed her lips in amusement. He gestured at Aaron with a shrug, as if to say,Can you blame me?
After rummaging through his bag, he fished out the silky rainbow rope. Organizers provided simple black cotton for practice, but participants were allowed to bring their own. After Aaron had agreed to accompany him, it was an easy decision to throw the colorful coil in his bag.
It had been an expensive impulse buy from years ago, never used. Now Jay wondered if he’d been saving it to decorate Aaron’s naked body with a mesh of every color of the rainbow. If he’d been waiting for Aaron this whole time.
A silly thought. They barely knew each other. It was a bit early to declare Aaron his soulmate.
Taking a deep breath, Jay pushed aside all thoughts and wrapped the rope around Aaron’s torso in the first step of the weave. As he worked, his thumb grazed across one of Aaron’s nipples, eliciting a soft gasp. Jay froze in hesitation, waiting for Aaron’s reaction to the accidental touch. After detecting a faint hum of assent, he let out a sigh of relief, then adjusted the rope around Aaron’s pecs and tightened it.
Aaron rocked forward, his head still bowed. A quiet smile played on his lips.
Jay finished the knot and gave it a little tug to check the tension. Another soft whimper escaped Aaron’s throat, sendinga thrill through Jay’s chest. He hadn’t expected Aaron to be this responsive to the subtlest touch. If this were a real scene, if Aaron had agreed to play and give over control, Jay knew exactly how to unravel him.
But this wasn’t a scene. Aaron had agreed to come and be a living mannequin, nothing more. No matter how tempting those little sounds were, Jay refused to cross that line.
With a steadying breath, he moved on to Aaron’s arms and began a diamond weave. After a few minutes of silence, he leaned close and whispered, his voice low and raspy in Aaron’s ear, “Still okay?”
Aaron nodded, his murmur barely reaching Jay’s ears. “I’m good.”
When Jay tied the final knot and sat back on his heels, it was like waking from a trance. He’d been laser-focused on Aaron, forgetting everything else, but now, soft voices and the rustle of ropes began to register.
The loss of awareness was nothing new. Despite the shared space, every couple at these workshops ended up in their own little bubble—the Doms focused on the knots under their fingertips and their subs’ well-being, while most of the subs had their eyes closed or on the ground. Jay had experienced all of that with his previous partners.
Just not to this extent. Not to the point where his world narrowed to a single person, their breathing and heartbeats falling into a matching rhythm. They’d been so in sync, it took Jay a few moments to remember that none of it was real.
He hopped up to stretch his legs, brushing his fingers along Aaron’s neck. “All done.”
“Mmm, yeah?” Aaron spoke with a drowsy mumble, as if waking from a dream. He lifted his head and straightened his spine, tugging at the restraints gently to test them out.
“How does it feel?” Jay asked.
“You did a great job. It’s more comfortable than I expected.”
“And nothing is loosening or tightening as you struggle?”
“No, it’s perfect.” Aaron met Jay’s gaze and gave him a loopy grin. “I like shibari.”
After showing the finished product to Mistress Onyx and waiting for her to check each knot before declaring his work a success, Jay took a picture so Aaron could see what it looked like, then undid the weave and rubbed Aaron’s shoulders and biceps to get the circulation going.
“Do you feel sore? Does anything hurt?” He wanted to make sure there was no pain or discomfort after his first complex bind. Aaron shook his head from side to side, a dreamy expression lighting up his face.
Did Aaron hit subspace just from being restrained? Jay had only witnessed it in the aftermath of intense scenes, yet here they were. Textbook subspace. Aaron was putty in his arms, and Jay wanted nothing more than to take care of him.
They left the building, Aaron’s weight pressing into Jay, unsteady but trusting. Jay hesitated, not sure where to go next. The club was out of the question, for obvious reasons. Jay wished he could take Aaron home—to either of their homes—but it seemed too forward. They didn’t even have each other’s phone numbers yet—something Jay intended to fix before the night was over.
“Did you drive here?” Jay asked.
“Mm, no. Took a cab,” Aaron said with a drawl.
“Right,” Jay muttered, the memory of watching Aaron climb out of the yellow car resurfacing in his mind. He was more affected than he realized if he was forgetting things that happened an hour ago. “There’s a great diner a few blocks away. Have you had dinner?”
Aaron considered the question and shrugged. “Does a bag of cheesy poofs count?”
“Dinner it is.” Jay ushered Aaron into his car, making sure he was comfortable before walking around to get into the driver’s seat.
