Wednesday
"What was with all that 'mummy' stuff last night?"
"Huh?" Becca's memory from last night was a little fuzzy, but that was one unfortunate detail she couldn't forget.
The word had been burning at the back of Alex's brain too. "You kept calling yourself mummy."
Becca felt her face getting warm. "Dunno… " She wished he would just let it go. "I was pretty drunk. Guess it just… came out". She couldn't explain it. She didn't want to explain it to him.
"Huh. Didn't realise you were so kinky," he teased.
After he was made redundant, Alex tried looking for a new job… For a while. But a person can only take so much rejection. He'd play video games as a reward for putting in the effort, then as motivation to keep trying, then just to take his mind off how fucked the whole situation was.
Becca tried to support him, look after him when he wasn't feeling up to it. Until one day she woke up to the realisation that she was acting more like a mother than a girlfriend. She knew she should have addressed it. She just couldn't bring herself to hurt him. It wasn't his fault.
And now, her drunken 'flirting' had added an incestuous undertone to those feelings. Bringing it up now would be too humiliating.
"Anyway, you're one to talk," she said, "handcuffing yourself to the bed naked like that."
Alex laughed nervously and tried not to blush. He'd never really thought of himself as kinky; he was just trying to surprise her. But he couldn't deny she had a point.
"Heh. If you don't find a new job, maybe I'll just keep you as my sex slave," she teased, giving him a kiss on the top of the head as she headed for the door.
That struck a bad chord with Alex. She'd always been so supportive, so encouraging of his job search. But now her true feelings had been revealed. She didn't think he was going to get a new job! She thought he's just a loser who's only good for giving her pleasure.
"See you later, sweetie."
Well, he wasn't going to stand for that.
In the cool, air conditioned office, Becca was finding it hard to focus on the powerpoints about quarterly earnings and 'ee-ba-dah' (whatever that was). She felt as though last night had awoken something in her, a version of herself that had been hiding in some dark corner of her psyche. She wondered if she would come home to another surprise from Alex. Her heart raced with anticipation. Maybe she'd skip drinks with the team this evening. Then again, maybe she'd make him wait again. Let him get nicely frustrated before claiming her prize. She liked the sound of that.
Back at the house, Alex had a length of rope wrapped around his ankles. He had a different surprise in mind for Becca. He paused the tutorial video to check his knots; they didn't look as tidy as the ones in the video, but they felt sturdy. Alex felt good about this. She was definitely going to be surprised by what he had planned.
He was filled with a nervous energy that wasn't going away. Shortly after Becca left for work, he had gone for a walk around the lake. Then coming back - and realising he couldn't live on Frosties alone - he stopped by the supermarket for some food. He got himself a sandwich for lunch, and ingredients for a high-protein bolognese. He didn't know if Becca would be eating with the team again, but he got enough for two anyway.
Then he had set his mind to learning 'how to tie someone up for sex?' eventually falling down a 'shibari' rabbit hole. It had taken all of his will power not to masturbate as he consumed hours of rope bondage videos. His mind was consumed with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in months. This was important. He was going to do it right.
In the end, Becca's excitement got the better of her. At her first opportunity she made her excuses - she just wasn't feeling up to drinks tonight, you know? And that was fine. Her manager didn't want to force her. Becca always appreciated that about Sophie. And with that sorted, Becca rushed straight back to the house, eager to see what Alex had in store for the evening.
"I'm home…!"
No answer. She stepped out of her heels, leaving them by the door. She walked up to the bedroom and eased open the door. The bed was empty. The wardrobe was closed. She looked inside, as if she might find Alex hiding in there. Nothing. The toy box was in its corner, closed. What was going on, she wondered. Was this some new game? Back down in the living room, she saw lengths of rope draped over the sofa.
No sign of Alex.
She felt hands, gripping her wrists. Her hands, her arms were pulled behind her back, her wrists pressed together tight.
"Hey!" she shouted.
Alex's heart was pounding. He wrapped the short length of rope around her wrists, doubling and cinching and tying it off like he'd learned from the video. Becca tried to struggle, tried to pull her hands apart. He'd done it. He'd actually done it. He'd caught her.
"What are you doing? This isn't wha--"
He pressed a finger to her lips, just as she had done to him. "Shush 'mummy'," he said. He pulled out the ball gag that had been hanging from the back of his jeans, and pushed it into her mouth. A dark smile overtook Alex's face.
"Daddy's in charge now."
Becca's eyes widened. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. She was supposed to be the one in charge. Alex was supposed to be her sex slave. Why was he doing this? Why wasn't he playing the game right?
A sharp slap to her arse broke her concentration. She let out a yelp of shock and pain that was muffled by the gag. She wanted to tell him to untie her. She wanted to curse him out. She wanted to kill him.
"That thing works pretty well, eh?"
Alex could feel his erection straining against his jeans. This was going even better than he'd imagined. He loved the way she looked with the gag in her mouth. Her glossy pink lips, stretched and pursed around the red ball. Her upper incisors peeked from behind her lips like a bunny rabbit.
He wanted to throw her down and fuck her right then and there. But he wasn't done with the ropes yet. No, he'd been practicing all day, and he was just getting started.
He took another length of rope and hung it off the back of her neck, knotted loose at her throat. He pulled it down, knotted again between her boobs, then pulled apart to wrap around under her arms to her back. He pulled the ropes tight, pushing up on her boobs, and knotted the rope at the center of her back. Then up over her shoulders, he looped the ropes around the strands between the two knots, then outwards and back over her arms - forming a diamond at her chest, and forcing her arms further backwards, pushing her chest forward.
Becca was entwined, the ropes squeezing and exaggerating her boobs. Alex examined his work. It was crude, to be sure; and yet, it had felt so good to be working with his hands, to construct something real, something like art. He tugged at the ropes, checking its sturdiness, making small adjustments. He felt a swell of pride.
Becca didn't like the way he was smiling. It was… weird. She didn't get it. And she didn't like that he was unbuttoning her blouse. He stopped just below the ropes and dragged the blouse open, the ropes holding it in place. Her pink bra was now fully on display, the impression of her stiff nipples clearly visible through the unpadded lace.
Alex couldn't resist. He pinched her nipples through the fabric of her bra and squeezed. She let out an angry little growl. She was really going to kill him. Alex found this adorable, and enjoyed her pained gasp when he released them. He considered… clothes pegs, maybe? No. That would be too cruel, he thought. This was enough for now.
He walked Becca over to the mirror that hung on the living room wall. He stood behind her, smiling at her reflection.
"What do you think?"
She was dumbstruck. Who was this woman she was staring at? This woman with her mouth held open around a red ball. This woman with her blouse pulled open, her bra on display for the whole world, her boobs squeezed in a spider's web of rope. She seemed so familiar to Becca. Who was she? And why did her eyes look so subdued?
"I think you look really fucking hot like this."
The woman seemed to blush, her eyes glancing away. From the corner of her eye, Becca could have sworn she saw the woman smiling.
"You're just missing one thing." He draped a pink leather strap, bejewelled, across her neck. He whispered in her ear, "now you're really mine."
She hated his smug tone and his smug grin, and yet she couldn't take her eyes off the collar. It looked so right around her slender neck, perfectly complimenting the pink of her exposed bra. She was mesmerised by this image - this version of herself - so unfamiliar. She was supposed to be the mistress, Alex was supposed to be the slave. So why did the rope and the collar and the gag look so right on her?
Behind her reflection, Becca caught sight of Alex pulling off his t-shirt. Before she got back, Alex had been doing push-ups, crunches, trying to exaggerate his muscle definition. Now Becca could smell the faint hint of his sweat, and it was… doing something to her. She felt a strange urge to get close, to breathe him in deeply. She wanted to run her tongue over the ridges of his muscles. If only her tongue wasn't trapped by this rubber ball he had forced into her mouth. Saliva dripped from her lips.
Alex picked up a long rope, and looped it through the D-ring on the front of her collar. "Let's head to the bedroom," he said with a smile. He grabbed the remaining bundles of rope off the sofa, and headed towards the stairs, pulling Becca along behind him like a stubborn puppy.
Becca's legs tensed with every step up the stairs, her toes trying to grip at the carpet through the thin nylon of her tights. She was all too aware that if she slipped, if she lost her balance, she wouldn't be able to use her arms to break her fall. Alex's indifference to her peril terrified her. She found it thrilling.
In the bedroom, Alex stood Becca at the side of the bed, and guided her down so that her upper body rested on the bed. Her legs hung off the side, the tips of her toes rested against the ground, and her knees hanging a foot or so in the air. Alex walked around to the other side of the bed, pulling with him the rope around her collar, and anchoring it around the bed frame - pinning her down.
He looped a length of rope double around her right leg, just above the knee. He knotted it, just like he'd seen in the video, to keep it from tightening. This would keep it from cutting off circulation, the video had explained. He pulled the rope, wrapping it around the leg of the bed, pulling her leg to the side. He repeated with the left, her legs now pulled and held apart, causing her skirt to ride up.
She wanted to fight it. She tried to fight it. But now, all she could do was wiggle her hands, her feet, her hips. Alex was enjoying this show. He stood behind her, now pulling her skirt all the way up to expose her backside. He grabbed the nylon between her legs with each hand, and pulled it apart; the thin synthetic fabric ripping easily.
Inch by inch, Alex had exposed Becca, until he finally pulled aside the only modesty she had left. Becca trembled at the cool air, and Alex's fingers running through her wetness. He was driving her mad, treating her like this. She hated him for taking away the power she had just gotten a taste for; and yet, right then, she desperately wanted him to claim her.
She didn't have to ask. Alex had waited as long as he could, and now he had to have her. He guided his cock around the layers of fabric, sliding easily into her warmth. Becca's throat betrayed her as she let out a satisfied moan.
She was stuck. She couldn't move. He'd taken her voice, he'd taken her freedom. She had no control, no power. All she could do was lay there, be in that moment, feeling the sensation of Alex as he pressed into and out of her. And as the pleasure built, he was taking her thoughts, her concerns, her petty anxieties. All that work stuff, the SKOs and and the spreadsheets and the whatever else; none of that mattered. She was powerless beneath him, and her mind was clear. She was present. She was enjoying the ride. She'd never felt more free.
It was the first time Alex had felt any sort of power since he had been made redundant. Unwanted. Worthless. But now he was in control. Now he was the one in charge. And for now, no-one, not even Becca, could take that away from him.
Becca closed her eyes, and her body relaxed into the bed. All the tension she had been holding in melted away. She wanted to hate him for doing this to her. She hated how much she was enjoying it. Being helpless. Her gag-filled mouth conceded a smile.
Alex pressed his hand into Becca's back. He was a wild animal, ravenous. This gorgeous woman beneath him - she was all his. He had claimed her. And now he was going to--
"Oh shit," the words escaped Alex's mouth. He tried in vain to hold back the orgasm, but it overtook him, more intense for trying to resist it. His cock was throbbing, and he tried desperately to pull out of Becca as fast as he could, as if that could make a difference.
Becca was pulled back from her cloud of bliss. What was he doing back there? She felt something wet splash against her thigh and… oh no. He didn't, he wouldn't. No, no, no! The panic hit Becca like a tsunami. It was like a nightmare - she'd been tied down and…
She was pulled under. Thrashing about, until she was drowning in an ocean of guilty pleasure. Her body stiffened, her face pressed into the bed. She wanted to cry, but only let out a sad, muffled moan, as her body trembled in the after-glow.
Alex had fucked up. He knew he'd fucked up. He'd gotten caught up in the moment, caught up in the ropes, and he'd forgotten. That had to be it. A thought intruded the back of his mind: maybe having a kid wouldn't be so bad? Maybe it would give his life purpose again. He tried to push the idea away.
The game was over. It had gotten too real. Becca didn't have to fight her bonds or make a scene. He untied her hands, her legs. He removed her collar. She pulled the gag from her own mouth and turned to look at him. She didn't have to tell him. Alex left. She needed to be alone.
He turned on the hob, started boiling the spaghetti, frying the mince. Maybe he could make it better, or… do SOMETHING right.
Becca pulled off her shredded tights, pulled her skirt back down. She straightened her blouse to cover her bra, and tidied her hair. Tried to put herself back together. How was she supposed to get this rope from around her chest? She wasn't going to ask Alex. She twisted her arms until they ached, trying to reach her back. She picked at the knots with her long nails, getting more and more annoyed until finally…
She could breathe again.
It was an honest mistake. Deep down, she knew it was. Becca made a mental note: she would have to find time during lunch tomorrow to slip out to a pharmacist. She wasn't ready for something like… that. It wasn't the right time for her; for either of them.
This wouldn't have happened if she had been in charge - like she was supposed to be. Tomorrow would be their last night at Brett's house. Their last night with Brett's toys. She was going to make Alex understand.