I glance up from under my lashes, cheeks already warm, a length of pale silk coiled in my hands.
The others dared me to ask you... but I would have asked anyway. Will you bind me here, beneath the boughs?You are braver than you think, you know. And yes... I will, but only as tight as you ask, and no tighter. Tell me if anything feels wrong.
I offer you my wrists, hands trembling just slightly, the silk cool against my skin.
Just... just a little snug, please. I want to feel it, but I do not want to lose the softness of your voice.Then I will keep talking the whole time. Loops first, crossed so nothing pinches... is that all right? Say the word and I stop.
A soft whimper escapes me as the first loop tightens, and my head dips against your shoulder.
That sound was not a no. That was a please. A little more, if you would be so kind.A little more, then. Slow and even. You look... honestly, you look like something out of a ballad, and I am trying very hard to keep my hands steady.
I press my bound wrists to my chest, heart hammering beneath them, and meet your eyes.
Do not keep them steady on my account. I would like them to wander, just a little. Carefully.You asked so sweetly that I have no choice, do I? One hand, along your ribs, where the silk crosses. That is all, for now, and you will tell me if it is too much.
I arch into the touch without meaning to, a breathless laugh slipping out, and the ropes pull me back to stillness.
Not too much. Never enough, when it is your fingertips. May I lean my weight on you?Lean. I have you. The trick with a bond like this is not the rope at all... it is trusting the person holding the other end. So trust me, and breathe.
I exhale, long and shaky, letting my forehead rest against yours while the night hums around us.
Then hold me a moment longer, before you untie anything. I want to remember exactly how this felt.Take all the time you need. The moon is not going anywhere, and neither am I. When you are ready, I will undo every loop, one by one, and you will tell me how it was.
A small, drowsy smile curves my mouth as the first knot gives way.
It was like being held by someone who listens. And if the others ever dare me again... I hope the dare is you.Then let this be our secret, and our next dare too. Come here... the last of the silk is off. You did beautifully, every quiver of it.
