It began with a flip comment.  Silly words I tossed back at him one evening.  Some offhand wisecrack about dominatrix boots.  Just teasing him in that comfortable way we seem to have with each other.  His response was immediate and though it made me laugh, it touched off something inside me I'm still not sure I fully understand. 

"Oh, Christ....dominatrix boots.  Would you?  Could you?  Heh....heh....heh...."  

I lack the skill to tell you what those words made me feel, Diary.  It was something beyond playful teasing.  Beyond the warm flutter of desire.  Beyond the sexual thrill of the unknown.  Even beyond the giddy high we were still riding after I'd asked him if I could be on his list.  Actually, it felt very much like that night on Tortola when I had to make a similar choice; a choice I knew would have serious, lasting repercussions.  Do I retreat or do I delve headlong into deeper intimacy? 

I wish I could tell you the choice was an easy one.  In truth, it was not so much a choice as it was an automatic, instinctive response.  In my heart of hearts, I cannot deny him and in truth, I have absolutely no desire to do so.  I wondered exactly how big a smirk was on his face when I gave him my answer.

"What a girl...."  Smartass.  I love how he is with me.  "What size shoes do you wear?"  An interesting question.  I answered him, wondering what secret plans and clever tricks he had up his sleeve.  "All rightie then.  We'll just see if you'll go through with it."

Hmmm....Go through with what?  God.  Our games.  How I love them.  "Yeah?  You daring me?"

"You'd never survive."  His voice held a hint of something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.  There was an edge to his words that carried with it a frisson of danger.  It excited me.

"You send them and I'll wear them for you."  Anywhere he liked.  My heart beat faster at the very thought of it. 

"No, no, no."  No?  "Honey, that's not the way it works.  I'll have them with me next time I see you."

"Hmm... so you wouldn't want to send them before hand so I could meet you already wearing them?"  I love how he never makes anything easy for me.  But then again, nothing of any real worth ever comes easily.   

"No.  Absolutely not."  He was emphatic. 

Okay then.  If he was going to up the ante, so was I.  "So, you tell me then exactly what it is you'd like."

"Really?"  Hint of pleasant surprise in his voice although it lost none of its edge.  "You think you could do it?"  A direct challenge more than a question, really.  His carnal experience far outstrips mine and I knew I was playing with fire but it didn't keep me from responding in the affirmative.  He knows I cannot resist a challenge.  He also knows I trust him.  It is a dangerous combination.   

Though his words intrigued me, it was the tone in them that sent tingles of apprehensive excitement racing along my nerve endings.  It was thick with sexual promise and the heady sense of 'We'll just see if you can hold your own with me, little girl,' but there was a darker feel to it too.  Not malevolence exactly, but it was infused with a power he normally kept well leashed with me.  With most women, I would imagine.  Unapologetic dominance.         

"Okay then.  I want you to come in my house.  Go into my living room. Strip... and put the boots on."  A thousand miles apart and he gave me a full body blush, just like that.  He paused, read something in my soft intake of air and continued.  "And then put on the blindfold and wait there for me."

An intense wave of heat shuddered violently through my body.  

"Call it a symbolic gesture of trust.  You trust me by wearing the blindfold.  I trust you by wanting you with me in my home with the lights on."  His smoky voice rasped softly into my ear.  "Don't worry, honey.  You'll get to see it all.  I'll take the blindfold off.....eventually."    

Oh.....God.  

HEATHER: [It took a bit of finessing, but we managed it.  All our schedules allowed us was a single night, but in some ways that was better.  Opening up his private haven to me was a big deal and I didn't want him to feel he was revealing too much too fast.  No, this was better.  We would have this night first and then more nights later after I got back from my holiday with Lach.  This one night was like a taste of the intimacies to come.  An exchange of intimate secrets.  He would share the secrets of his home, and in return, I told him to ask one of me... something he felt was worthy of the ones he would be revealing.  He did not disappoint, nor did he ask me something I could easily answer.  Boots.  A blindfold.  A man.  Many things waited for me at his home; things I would buy with secrets of my own.]

DINO: [She should be here soon, that is if she's accepted the asking price.  It pleased me that she wished bring a secret of equal worth to the table.  Negotiation.  There is always a point where things are so fragile that a puff of air can scatter everything into the wind.  That is where we are.  I wonder if the secret I requested of her is too much.  I asked her to tell me a fantasy she had that would reveal a part of her she was afraid to show anyone else.  It will require some soul searching on her part, but I think it shows what I consider the act of opening my haven to mean -  it will show a part of me that I am fearful of showing anyone else.  This night will be a test; we each retain control of what will be revealed - me with the blindfold and she with her silence.  In a sense, a proof of life.  This night will define, for both of us, what we will reveal the next time lie together in my bed.]

HEATHER: [Butterflies flutter wildly in my belly as the taxi pulls up outside his home.  Last chance to stop this before things get... complicated.  This is scarier than I thought it would be.  The note Dino sent with the driver is clutched in my fingers, as is the flower he sent along with it.  A crimson daylily.  In the last few months, I've come to know a lot about the meaning of certain flowers.  This one means 'beautiful flirt'.  I wonder if he knows that.]

DINO: [From my vantage point, even in the twilight I can see her cab outside and an anticipatory thrill shoots through me like a sharp wind.  I wonder if she's discovered the secret to Palermo red yet.  I bet she has.  She's a smart girl... and she says I have good taste.  I do, in shoes as well as women.  Heh.  It seems like forever before she gets out of the taxi.  Second thoughts?  She's right to have them. In my mind, I'm willing her to commit to this.  Dismiss the cabbie.  Make sure he leaves.  Come to me....if you dare.]                    

HEATHER: [My heart's in my throat as I watch the red taillights of the cab disappear through the trees.  Alone in the woods.  It's a little spooky here by myself.  The wind is creaking through the trees.  It is barely audible above the blood roaring in my ears.  I take in everything.  My artist's eye drinks in the details.  I know there are things here he wants me to see.  He is a master of subtlety, of conversation held in nothing but shadow and nuance.] 

DINO: [I see her look and smile nervously, fingering the flower in her hands.  A variety I found called Midnight Magic.  Black red petals with a velvety sheen.  A fitting gift, one chosen purposefully to set the tone for this evening.  She appreciates the details.  I wonder how many she will catch.  Will she notice how subtle the lighting is?  Only the ground level lights are on.  The overheads are only memories.  The light is purposefully dim, but she can safely walk to my door.  That is the first instruction written on the note she carries in her tiny hand.]

HEATHER: [The grandeur of the forest seems to swallow the sound of my footsteps as I approach the door.  The note says to let myself in but I can't help stopping here for a moment.  I have the distinct sense that I will be different after this....but I trust him so I screw up my courage and come inside, closing the heavy door after myself and breathing in deeply, both to calm myself and to take in the scent of this place.  It smells masculine.  A man's home.  Cedar.  Leather.  Tobacco.  A hint of his cologne.]

DINO: [I smile as she stops before my door.  She is adventuresome yet cautious.  Her thoughts are written across her face.  She is thinking this will change her.  I have the same sense.  This will change me too.  I have no wish for her to see or hear me, but I swear a silent promise to her that I will remember this moment and hold her innocence in mind in all that I do tonight.]

HEATHER: [Music.  Soft and low.  Something stringed.  Touch of an eastern flare.  The purring rumble of deep bass.  The sound calls to me.  Thankfully, I have been instructed to follow it, to go further into the house to the living room.  As I do, I feel the bass in a physical way.  Like a hum.  A touch... but not a touch.  Another subtlety, softly dragging me deeper into this game.]

DINO: [My note has instructed her to come into my living room and look around.  To explore this one room until she feels comfortable.  I want her to investigate, to get to where she no longer feels there might be a significant mystery surrounding her.  She's feeling the bass now.  I wasn't sure if she could before, but it is clear she does now.  A sound stroking her as I will stroke her later.  I wonder if she can sense me watching.]         

HEATHER: [I can feel his eyes on me.  Like the music.  A touch - but not a touch.  I wonder how long he will make me wait before he reveals himself.  That thought is never far from my mind as I take in his private space.  It is not what I expected.  I imagined something more modern, filled with grays, brushed steel, lots of glass.  It is more....organic.  Lots of dark wood.  Earth tones.  Natural fibers.  A shoji screen with rice paper panels.  A small fountain trickling over smooth river stones.  A large pot of black bamboo sits in one corner.  Bronze wind chimes hang in another.  They tinkle prettily under my fingers.  One wall is rust colored.  The rest are beige.  I like it.  It feels warm.  Serene.  Inviting, but in a different way than a woman makes a house a home.]    

DINO: [This is more difficult than I expected, but I love seeing her in my space and I can't help but be pleased she is unable to keep from touching my things.  I have left a glass of red wine for her on the coffee table.  She is savoring it slowly as she explores.  I am sipping a single malt scotch.  Macallan.  It's older than she is.  I chose it for a reason.  Scotch this damned good should be savored slowly and I know she will take her time.  My eyes make note of what captures her interest.  Where she lingers.  I wonder if she has any idea how much she is giving away.]

HEATHER: [I'm looking at everything.  Touching too.  I can't help myself....running my fingertips over the back of the couch and across his furniture, down the spines of the books and over his collection of CDs.  I am thankful he left me a glass of wine.  It is steadying my nerves, relaxing me as I familiarize myself with this space.  I take another sip and wonder if he is sipping at some scotch.  I bet he is.  Does he need it like I needed this wine?  The thought makes me smile.]

DINO: [A smile.  I wonder what she's thinking and I imagine how her mouth would taste if I kissed her right now.  My hand drops to my groin.  I'm not yet hard but I feel myself twitch against my palm in anticipation of tonight's games.  In the note, I've instructed her to wait to open the box on the couch and read the note tucked inside until she has reached the comfort level where she is willing to go further with me in this night.  Her eyes have touched it a few times but she is not yet ready.  I pour myself another drink.  The waiting is difficult.  The scotch helps.  For many reasons.]

HEATHER: [I smell the faint scent of vanilla.  Candles.  Something is hiding on the shelf beside them.  It seems to find its way into my hands as if by magic but the more I look around this room, the more often I find my eyes drawn back to the couch and that box... but I like savoring this place.  I can feel myself beginning to relax.  Beginning to gain confidence.  Beginning to entrust myself into his care.]

DINO: [Of everything she could have chosen to carry around with her while she explored, she has picked one of my most treasured possessions.  I usually keep it in a glass case.  About a month ago I took it out.  I am not surprised it has found its way into her hands.  It often does the same with me.  We are in tune.  I feel it.  I know she feels it.]

HEATHER: [In my fingers is a little wooden carving.  It's a rounded, stylized figure of a horse.  Looks Japanese.  It is with some surprise I realize that I have been carrying it around with me while I explored.  I hope he doesn't mind.  It seems made for touching.  I am drawn to it.  I wonder where it came from.  There is so much about him I don't know.]

DINO:  [I was once sent on temporary duty to a base in northern Japan.  It was a rough assignment that took a lot out of me.  I went back there after I was out of the Marines trying to chase out the bad memories, trying to figure things out.  So there I was, driving around, the vaguest sense of knowing where I wanted to be going.  I was in this forest, the Aamori Preserve, when I chanced upon a shrine.  Zen Buddhist.  This place - it was the very antithesis if why I'd once been in this area.] 

DINO:  [Nobody was around; at least that's what I thought.  I don't miss much, but then again, that often means I see things I don't want to see.  In this case, however, I saw what I wanted to see.  Peace.  Serenity.  The meaning for why I'd come back.  When I went back to my car, I found that figurine sitting on the seat.  Now, any other time in my life, I would have hunted down the person who'd been able to do that without me knowing, but this time, I simply took the gift and knew someone else in the universe understood me in that moment.]

DINO: [The figurine she carries -  it is a potent symbol of the honor and duty of the Samarai warrior.  I hope to earn it someday.  I am closer to it now than I might have ever been.  There is something about the freedom to be the man I'd like to be that I want to experience in this World.  It is my hope that as she touches this connection to my past and my future that she feels comfortable enough to begin her own journey of discovery this night.]            

HEATHER: [It sounds silly, but touching this figurine of his has settled something deep inside me.  I replace it carefully where I found it and walk to the couch.  It is time to face both the box and my fears.  I open it and the smell of leather immediately assaults me.  I suck in a deep breath and smile.  The boots are gorgeous.]

DINO: [I see her eyes widen as the Palermo red leather comes into view.  She is smiling because I got the color right.  I hope.  My gift to her.  It is the color of the petals on the flower I gave her earlier.  Such a deep red it is almost black.  The leather is soft, supple and deceptive -  just like her at times.  It is my turn to smile as she is unable to keep from stroking the leather even before she reads the note.  She is such a sensual creature.  It bodes well for this night.]

HEATHER: [The boots are exquisite.  I know good etiquette says to read the note before you acknowledge the gift, but the leather was too fine not to stroke with my fingers before I read the note tucked away inside.  His handwriting is neater than I expected it to be.  The instructions are simple.  Take off everything that I am wearing and wear only what's in the box.  When I am ready to continue, sit and wait for him on the ottoman.  A wave of heat suffuses my body.  I wonder if he can see my hand shake as I replace the note.  Do I really want to know?]  

DINO: [Her hands are shaking.  She will be wondering if I caught that.  I did.  I also caught the way she pressed her legs together and I know that is the exact moment she first felt a rush of slippery desire imagining what I will do to her tonight.  She is playing games in her mind.  'How much does he know... Is he watching?'  Would she really expect me not to watch?  I learn more by watching her in these moments than seems possible.]

HEATHER: [I remove the boots and find there is one other item inside the box - a blindfold, made from the softest silk.  It is dyed to match the boots.  I remain still but I feel like the world is spinning around me.  Vertigo.  I feel like he's inside my head.  Reading my every thought.  When I saw the color of the boots I knew, I just KNEW the blindfold would be dyed to match.]  Get out of my head. 

DINO: [I wonder if she's aware she's whispering aloud.  It is in her head I most desire being.  Tonight, anyway.  I don't want to inhabit her mind.  I like knowing it will take me time to learn her mysteries....but tonight, I want to touch upon some part of ourselves we haven't yet shared.  I wonder if any aspect of the blindfold frightens or concerns her.  It should.  On some level, it means she is giving up control and I think if she looks inside herself she will find a part of her that might not be totally comfortable with that even though she has said she trusts me implicitly.  That, to me, is a good thing.  It then becomes a conscious act on her part to lay that aside and really trust in me in a way she never has before.]

HEATHER:  [I finger the blindfold with a touch close to reverence.  It scares me a little.  I trust him not to hurt me but that does not negate my fear of the unknown.  I know he's vastly more experienced than I am and have the sense that his knowledge puts me at a distinct disadvantage, something I find both scary and exciting.  I cannot help but wonder if he's done this before, and if he has, did the woman he did it with know things I do not?  I hope he will not be disappointed in me.] 

DINO: [Her face is an open book.  She is wondering about my experiences with other women.  Comparing herself to them.  I wonder if she is finding herself lacking or if she knows that the women of my past will always pale in comparison to what she gives me.]

HEATHER: [I am afraid....although the knowledge that I am not just the first Sister but also the first woman he's taken to his bed here makes me feel good.  Special.  Surely, I won't be that much of a disappointment if he has bestowed upon me that singular honor.  I feel a renewed sense of power.  I will rise to this challenge and meet him head on.  I stand and begin to undress.]

DINO: [She's playing with me.  Smiling as she folds up her clothes instead of just tossing them aside haphazardly.  I am enjoying watching her torment me.  It shows me that she might have given up some control but that she will challenge me to keep it.  In truth, it is what I hoped to see.  She never disappoints.]

HEATHER: [I am thankful for the fire he prepared for me.  It made this space more warm and welcoming but it is also keeping me from shivering as I slide off the last scrap of my clothing.  I feel very vulnerable, naked in a strange place.  Now I understand why he wished for me to familiarize myself with it first.  It takes some time to get the boots on.  They have to be laced up completely along the sides.  It is an arduous process, but the end result is stunning.  A strip of skin from ankle to mid thigh is visible, contrasting beautifully with the deep red of the leather and the dark lacing.  I like intricate things.  Though time consuming, is a process I find enjoyable.  I only hope he doesn't arouse me to my breaking point only to order me to remove them before he takes me.  In that case, I believe I'd be much less inclined to enjoy the lengthy process.]           

DINO: [The laces are intricate and time consuming.  I thought she would be cursing me.  I should have known better.  She is an artist.  She likes the details.  Her fingers are quick and sure.  I finish off the last of my scotch knowing my moment will soon be at hand.  I must be ready.]

HEATHER: [There.  Done.  I rise and walk from one end of the room to the other to give the boots a little test drive, leaving the blindfold aside for the moment.  I feel awkward and self-conscious, like any other woman wouldn't have had to try them out, but I wanted to be sure I can walk in these after the blindfold goes on.  I hope he's not laughing at me and thinking what an unsophisticated little girl I am.  I am unaware my steps have begun to fall in time to the beat of the music playing in the background.] 

DINO: [Wow.  She should see herself....This moment, it's everything I imagined it to be - and more.  What a view.  Swaying right in time to the beat.  Jesus.  Watching a woman who's exploring herself after exploring me.  Right now, I wouldn't trade places with any man on Earth.  She's beautiful.  I am a man who likes contrasts.  I love the color of her dark hair against her fair skin and also the contrast where the deep red of the boot meets the creamy skin of her thigh.  My hand could span the distance between the top of the boot and the pretty dark curls between her legs.  Mmmm....that's different than before....but nice.  Very nice.  Curry's preference, no doubt.  Mine too, truth be told.  She's bushing.  I am reminded I am giving an innocent a taste of sexual darkness.  That thought excites me even more than the sight of her in those boots.]

HEATHER:  [I can feel the blush rise as I walk.  I imagine it's nearly the same shade as the leather.  I hope so, anyway.  Two reds can so often clash.  Heh.  That thought brings a smile to my face.  The redhead would certainly appreciate that humor.  He also has a good eye for color.  The silk of the blindfold is exactly the same color of the leather.  I sit back down on the ottoman and drape the silk across my thighs as I swallow the last sip of my wine.  The words of the song tease at the edges of my consciousness.  The moment of truth is at hand and I'm not at all sure I'll be able to handle it.  Still, I want to try.]

DINO: [This was my night to hold her and I was going to make damn sure she never forgot so much as a single moment of it.  Watching her prepare to put on the blindfold, I realize something.  She's worn her hair up in a high ponytail.  Shows me she's thinking ahead.  It will make it easier to tie the blindfold on without snagging her hair.  This is the first real test.  I wish I knew what she was thinking as she decides whether or not she will let me lead her into the darkness.]   

HEATHER: [He wishes to take from me my sight.  It is the most difficult sense for me to lose.  Like a musician being denied sound.  He knows me so well.  I wonder how much he will require of me this night.  I am torn.  I want him to ask a lot of me.  A true challenge.  But I don't want him to ask too much.  How many secrets will I give up to him tonight?]

DINO: [She's motionless.  Thinking.  Not tying it on.  Not setting it aside.  Of course, she's also naked on my ottoman.  That tells me she is willing to take the risk.  Still, she can always call it quits.  We would just finish the bottle of wine and have a nice evening.  The note I left made that clear.  The decision is up to her.]

HEATHER: [I would love to say that the idea of stopping this never once crossed my mind... but it did.  Fleetingly.  I am thankful he has given me an out but I have always liked things that take a fair amount of trouble.  Working for something makes the achievement mean something.  I take a deep breath and lift the blindfold to my eyes.  A blush rises as I fumble with it.  My fingers refuse to work the way I want them to.  I am too nervous, nothing but a silly girl playing at a woman's game.]

DINO: [Her hands are shaking.  She's having trouble tying the knot.  Jesus.  I wonder if she has any idea how beautiful that makes her to me to know she is not jaded.  She is free of any taint of darkness.  Mine to mark as I will.  I feel a heady sense of power that I know I must lock away inside myself if I am to play this game properly.  She has delayed long enough.  The blindfold is secure.  Her hands are clasped in her lap.  All that remains is for her to call me.  To speak my name to show me she is ready.  She dares much to play this game with a man like me.]        

HEATHER: [Blind.  My heart is beating very fast inside my chest.  One thing remains.  One last tumbler to be put in place in order to set this in motion.  His name.  I speak it with more confidence than I feel, clear and strong to show him I am not afraid.]  Dean...?

DINO: [I can't help but smile.  Such bravado.  She doesn't fool me.  Her voice might be steady but I can see her pulse beating a wild rhythm in the hollow of her throat.  She is a rabbit run to ground.  I don't answer her call.  I make her wait.  Watching for clues that will tell me when I should make my move.]

HEATHER: [He is making me wait.  Somehow, I knew he would.  I have never played this game but I know anticipation always heightens the moment.  Head cocked, I strain hard to hear him.  It is frustrating.  I hear nothing but the music.  What sounds can it be hiding?  I think he must be using it for that reason.  Without sight, my hearing is heightened.  I try to listen for him but it is impossible not to focus on the music.  It's low but the bass is throbbing into me... pulling me down deeper.  The waiting has become torture.]  

DINO: [The music is getting to her.  She is restless.  Nervous.  Shifting on the ottoman and still I make her wait.  She will think I am using the music to mask my movement.  I could, but even if I'd left it off she wouldn't have been able to hear me.  I have too many years practice at creeping in unheard.  I am one sneaky fucker.  Heh.  Serves me well, both in the field and at home.]     

HEATHER: [I think I will go mad.  Where is he?  Suddenly, I hear a noise.  It sounds like it's coming from the doorway.  My head turns sharply.  As it does, I feel his touch.]

DINO: [She starts at my touch.  I have been with her so long and she never even knew.  My fingers brush right at the hairline between her thighs.  It is a bold first move.  A definite signal.]

HEATHER: Dean...  [His name falls from my lips, half question, half gasp.  I laugh nervously but get no response.  It makes me feel as if I am standing at the edge of a sheer cliff.  I can hear his breathing.  It is not above me anymore but closer, lower.  I can tell he's crouched down before me, studying me.  Watching.  Waiting.]       

DINO: [My fingers move quickly and I penetrate her deeply.  Still no words from me.  Her fingers are clutching the edge of the ottoman, her mouth opens and shuts but no sound comes out.  I sense she wants to say something but she is too riveted to what may happen next.  She is wet and tight.  Tense around my fingers.]

HEATHER: [God!  I'm reeling.  Shocked into stillness by the sudden, intrusive intimacy.  I have not seen him since the Temple and now, without so much as a single word, his hand is between my legs and his fingers are pressed deep inside me.  It takes all of my willpower not to wrap both hands around his thick wrist.]

DINO: [I lean in against her ear as I slip my fingers from her body.]  Give me your hand.  [My voice is cold, devoid of any real emotion.  I have gone within, someplace I need to be in these moments to play this game with her but I am also where she needs me to be.]

HEATHER: [The tone of his voice raises the hair at my nape.  It is steely and flat where it is usually rich and warm.  It makes me think he must be somewhere deep inside himself to talk to me so.  It is frightening, and yet the fact that it does not waver thrills me.  He is firmly in control.  All that remains is for me to follow him into the darkness.  I reach out my right hand, breathless and aware it is trembling.  I am dizzy.  Afraid.  Excited.]

DINO: [I take her hand and pull her to her feet.  She is lithe and the motion is graceful but she is unused to the heels, gripping my hand tightly in hers to steady herself.  I let her wait, just standing there, the both of us in total silence.  I know she is dying to know what will come next.  She is aware of my scrutiny, which only makes the oppressive anticipation she's experiencing feel more intense.  I wait until she shivers before putting my hand on her elbow.]  Let me guide you.  Just walk where I direct you.

HEATHER: [I nod, still unable to find my tongue.  I am glad we are moving, it is preferable to being still and yet it is frightening.  This is the only room in which I feel comfortable.  In which I know my surroundings.  The farther away from it we move, the more nervous I become.  He begins to lead me down a hall I glimpsed from the living room but did not explore.  My heels clack loudly on the wood floor.  I try to make a joke to ease my fears.]  The long walk....The green mile... [I laugh but he does not.  Oh, God.]

DINO: [Her nerves are ramping up a bit.  Good.  I wonder what she will make of this next experience.  I pull her to a stop and turn her.  I know she will be able to hear me opening a door.  I lead her forward.  She is listening intently now.  Good girl.  I pull her to a stop and move away from her.  The heels are very high and without my support, she seems to wobble just a bit.]  Open your stance.  Spread your legs.

HEATHER: [I am straining to glean anything I can with the senses left to me.  The air in here is cooler and the room sounds hollow to me.  A hard floor.  Nothing to absorb the sound.  No rugs.  Probably minimal furniture.  Where am I?  I'm so busy trying to read my surroundings that I am caught unaware when he steps away.  I suck in a deep breath and move my legs apart as he's instructed, finding my balance.  At first there is only silence and then his voice comes to me from somewhere across the room.]

DINO: Heather, what are you willing to do for me tonight?  [Her chest rises and falls.  I can see the pulse at her throat.  It is thready and fast.  I wait for her answer.  She knows I will know if she's lying to me.]

HEATHER: [My initial response is to say 'anything' but both of us know that isn't true and I never say anything I don't mean.  I am also aware he will know if I'm lying.  I give him the most truthful answer I can.]  I am willing to take a risk.  [Is that the right answer?  IS there a right answer?  The longer we play this game, the more naïve I feel.  It makes me more aware of his experience.  His dominance.  I am beginning to understand.]      

DINO: [She can't see me smile but she has given the perfect answer.  My next question comes from another area of the room and I enjoy the way her head whips around as she tries to work out where I am.]  Heather, are you willing to tell me what you fear might happen tonight?

HEATHER: [I'm so nervous I can hear my own heartbeat but his question is easy to answer.]  I fear you might ask me to take too big a risk.  [A hundred 'what if' scenarios play through my head.  I push them aside and force myself to remember that this is Dino.  He would never hurt me.]

DINO: [I sigh but it is so soft that I know she cannot hear it.  My next question comes from behind her.  Again her head darts around, still trying to get a fix on me.]  Heather, are you willing to tell me what one thing you dreamed would happen tonight?

HEATHER:  Yes.  [My next words are decisive.]  I dream of you sharing something with me that you haven't shared with any other Sister.  [Selfish, I suppose, but true.  I am giving him something I have never given another Brother.  I have taken a bold step towards him.  I want to know he is willing to take a bold step towards me.  I want to walk this path together.] 

DINO: [The next time I speak, it is a breath of air across her ear.  I am standing right at her back, close enough to smell her, to feel her body heat.]  Heather, your hands. Put them in the small of your back and hold them there. Let me show you a new way of looking at yourself.  [Her hands move without hesitation.  Good.  It was a command not a suggestion.  She's learning.  She clasps them together at the small of her back, the long slender fingers of her right hand gripping her left wrist.  I don't bind them.  This particular prison is more effective when it's of her own making.  My breath drifts across her other ear this time.]  Keep your hands there at all times.

HEATHER: [His words make me shiver, as does his breath across my cheek.  I can detect the faint scent of scotch in addition to the warm, masculine scent of his body.  I am also aware I can't hear him move which leads me to believe he's barefoot.  I immediately wonder if he is naked too.  The thought that he might be clothed while I am not makes me feel even more vulnerable.]

DINO: [As I move away from her, she is now aware of me in a way she hasn't been before.  Her senses are seeing my movements, like radar in a vacuum.  She is straining to hear me.  I see her chest rise as she tries to catch my scent.  Her fingers flutter restlessly at her back.  I know she wants to touch me.  She is ready.]   

HEATHER: [I gasp and jerk like a marionette on a string as something soft touches my skin, right at my upper thigh.  It drifts higher... circles my nipples.  I tense as it runs up my neck.  It takes a considerable amount of effort not to move away from it.  I can't tell what it is.  It is soft and ticklish.  He drags it down my arms and I feel it wisp across my wrists.  A moment later I feel him come up flush against my back.  My hands are caught between us and now I have my answer.  Skin to skin.  He is naked.]

DINO: [I move quickly, before she can really process what I am doing or gauge the level of my arousal.]  Open your mouth.  [Now a warning.  She doesn't have the discipline not to react.]  Don't move your hands.  [The softness that was teasing her skin now becomes a weapon as I slide the silken gag in place and tie it behind her head.  She trembles but obeys me.] 

HEATHER: [So much trust in this one simple act.  Obeying him was difficult.  Now I am unable to tell him anything.  I cannot ask him to stop.  Blind and mute, unable to touch.  I feel like a hooded falcon, dependent on him for everything.] 

DINO: [My fingers drift along her jaw.]  Do you know what's great about this gag?  [She shakes her head and I plant a kiss over her lips around the deep red silk.]  It gives you freedom. [This time, I don't step away.  My hands want to claim her.  Her skin.  All of it.]

HEATHER: [Freedom?  It seems an odd notion that bound and gagged I am free, but he's right.  He has given me boundaries and I am utterly free to express myself inside of them in any way that I choose.  I can feel his body heat as he moves around me.  He is in front of me now.  I can feel his breath on my face, feel his very presence.  It is both disturbing and exciting.  Even without touch, I can feel how much bigger he is, how much more powerful.  I feel exquisitely small and feminine in contrast to his unapologetic masculinity.]

DINO: [I brush my fingers down her throat, a soft petting motion.  She swallows deeply and I kiss her right there, loving the way her neck arches.  It is instinctive, really.  It is the way animals show submission.  Seeing it from her this way fires my blood and makes my dick twitch.  I touch her breasts, softly at first, feeling their weight while I tell her how beautiful they are and then I let my mouth love her there, sucking and licking.  Feasting on her.]

HEATHER: [To be denied everything but the feel of his hands and mouth is exquisite.  I know I am blushing.  I can feel the heat of it spread down my cheeks and across my chest.  It gets worse when he tells me how alluring he thinks it is to see it there.  I can hear how much he is enjoying tasting my skin.  The urge to slide my hands into his hair and hold him to me is difficult to suppress.  Behind my back, my hands curl into fists.  It is a challenge to have control over my own hands but not to disobey his order to keep them clasped behind my back... but for now, my will is stronger than my desire.  I breathe in sharply when I feel him sink to his knees before me.]

DINO: [I can smell her desire for me.  It's making my mouth water.]  Spread your legs wider.  [I want to see.  She obeys, but when I don't immediately touch her as she is expecting, her brow furrows.  I am enjoying watching her try so hard to stay in control of her emotions.]

HEATHER:  [I move my legs apart as he's instructed but I can't resist tapping my foot to shine him on a little when he doesn't touch me.  I also can't help but hope it hides a little of my apprehension.  I don't know what to expect.  The anticipation has me tightly strung.]

DINO: [I swallow a smile at her rebellious little gesture but she can't fool me.  I know she has the most tenuous control over her emotions.  I want to see how far I can push her before it snaps.  My hands touch her skin just above the boot and I lean in to kiss her there.  It is not a chaste kiss.  My mouth is open, wet on her thigh.  I smile against her skin as I feel her squirm and lean into me.  My nose is inches from her cunt.]  You smell delicious. 

HEATHER: [A wave of heat suffuses my body at the first touch of his mouth.  It is hot, searing a path up my thigh.  I feel the wet rasp of his tongue.  The gentle pressure of his teeth.  I lean into him, pressing forward as much as I can given the balance required by the boots.]   

DINO: [That is not a part of this game.]  I won't help you maintain your balance so be careful you don't fall.  [I hope she is paying attention.  The bulk of my attention is... elsewhere.  I kiss my way up her inner thigh.  So slow.  So close....but before I reach the part of her I know she thinks I'm aiming for, I pull back and begin to kiss the other leg.]

HEATHER: [I make a sound somewhere between a mewl and a hum when he denies me the pleasure of his mouth where I am dying for him to touch me most.  I am lightheaded with anticipation.  His mouth is kissing up the inside of my other thigh now and his fingers are lightly touching my cheeks, right where they meet my legs... so light, like a tickle.  His mouth is moving up... up... so close.  I.....I want.  Oh, God.  I want.]  

DINO: [I stop and pull back right before I reach where I should go.  Her snort of air tells me she does not approve.  It makes me laugh.  She just cannot believe that I could leave her like that and walk away.  She is learning to circumvent the gag, however.  Learning how to tell me how she feels without words.  It is an important lesson.  I chuckle at the way she's drawn her delicate brows into what I know is a frown.]  You didn't think it would be that easy, did you, Heather?

HEATHER: [I'm a bit miffed at him but I shake my head 'no'.  It would be disappointing if it was that easy but I also don't want to make it too easy for him.  I can feel how wet I am, a warm droplet rolls down the inside of my thigh and I wonder if I've dripped onto the floor between my feet, but I don't close my legs.  I want him to see what he's missing.  I like the idea of him having to work at making me submit to his will.]

DINO: [I watch intently, wondering exactly how she is going to try to get control back.  She has not closed her legs to me.  Interesting.  I see her chin come up.  There is defiance there.  And pride.  It is most attractive.  But now she is distracted by her emotions when she should be trying to use her senses to see what I'm doing.  I am able to sneak up on her again.]

HEATHER: [God!  I feel him again.  The words 'rookie mistake' ring in my brain and I'm again aware I'm playing games with someone who knows far more than I do.  I should have been listening.  I won't make that mistake again.  Something not-skin touches me.  What's that?!  He's clasping something to my nipples.  They are long since hard and I can feel him putting something there, weighing them down a bit.  It is cold.  There is no pain, just pressure.  I feel a blush rise.]

DINO:  This is to keep your attention to this part of your body. A part of your body that is most fetching when you are blushing like you are.  [I kiss her right in that spot she knows is blushing the worst of all... right below her neck.  It is a deeper pink than her nipples.  I wonder if she has any idea how gorgeous she is to me in that moment, wearing nothing but my gifts and the reactions I have wrung from her body.  Time to have some fun.  I giggle in her ear.]  You, okay, baby?  [Her snort of displeasure is immediate.  I knew she'd not like me making light when she is really beginning to pay attention to the sexual issues going on.  I wait for her response.]

HEATHER: [I'm annoyed with his teasing but I nod anyway.  I don't want to stop playing this game and I recognize a wind up when I hear one.  This time, I remember to listen as he moves away... and this time, I hear a metallic clicking.  It is rude and intrusive - like handcuffs clicking as they are tightened.  My brother had a pair growing up.  It reminds me of that sound.  Dino would probably think that's cheating but it allows me some small measure of peace.]

DINO: [I watch her reaction carefully.  How does it make her feel?  Nervous?  Curious?  Attentive?  The line between erotic anxiety and true fear is a fine one.  I tread carefully, unwilling to cross it with her in this manner.  She is shifting uncomfortably and sweating but she hasn't flinched.  That's my girl.  Come play with me, honey.] 

HEATHER: [The sound is louder.  He is letting me hear him approach... something metallic, jingling as he walks.  That can't be good.  He wants me to know something.  I am being allowed to hear this sound for a reason.  I feel the sharp itchy prickle of sweat.  Be gentle with me.]

DINO: [I can see her sweat.  It's above her lip and along her chest.  God, it's so beautiful.  I can't help myself.  I lick above her lip and kiss onto her chest.  I am too weak for her in this moment.  It takes me a few minutes to regain control of myself and it's not helping me to hear the noise she's making.  I know if the gag were off, she'd be moaning.]

HEATHER: [I am dying to kiss him.  This is the first time I've ever really minded the gag.  His touch electrifies my senses.  I moan deep in my throat.  I want him to know I want him.  I am still afraid of what he might do to me, but I am getting to the point where it doesn't matter.  I want him to touch me again.]

DINO: [I pause to collect myself and then I make the jingle noise again.  Her chin drops and I wonder if she's worried.  My next touch is so unexpected, she groans around the gag so loud that if I hadn't been hard before, that would have done it.  I tickle her with its softness.  The opposite of what she expected.  Diversion.  Surprise.  A trick.  Something to raise her expectations so I could surprise her.]

HEATHER: [I was expecting metal.  Something cold and sharp, like the sound.  I was not expecting softness.  It feels different than before when he tickled me with the gag.  What is it that's running over my breasts....up my neck....over the gag, teasing the lips underneath?  It comes to me as I feel it run so slowly down my spine.  A feather.]      

DINO: [You know, I'm in the midst of torturing her and I think she likes it.  Heh.  Running the tip down her spine....across her wrists....over her fingers.  She has been a good girl.  They are still clasped tightly at the small of her back.  I change tactics.  Twirling it down her sweet ass.  Ah, but I have to do that again.  God, it really is sweet.  Down her legs and then back up again.  I can't keep away from it.]

HEATHER: [I know he is learning about me, about which places make me moan and which places make me squirm but I am learning about him too.  I take notice of the places he returns to until the feather centers between my legs and any rational thought I have left scatters like ashes in the wind.]    

DINO: [Such a pretty view for me.  I move closer, twirling the feather lightly between her legs.  Right.  There.  At.  The.  Top.  Of.  Her.  Thighs.  But from behind.  So close.  An unexpected way to approach.   It flits across her wetness and she keens, sagging at the knees.]  Don't fall down, girl.  [I say it harshly but I have a steadying hand on her hip.  She is breathing so hard.  Christ, imagine what I am seeing.  She is so wet it is almost obscene.  I know she is wondering what she must look like to me and I can tell she's excited by what I might see.  I can sense where she is in her mind.  I want her to submit.  Now.  I withdraw the feather and wait for it.]

HEATHER: [I am dragging in rough deep breaths.  I want more.  This is agony to be held on the edge like this.  Please, I need to come.  Please!  How do I tell him?  I have no more pride, only the need for him to release me from my torment.  My chin drops.  What else can I do?  I move my leg and touch him gently with my knee.  He is so close that I can feel his breath.  Please.  Please hear me.  Please.....]     

DINO: [I am waiting for one more signal.  Come on, honey.  Think.  A low sound in her throat and my dominance is complete.  I give her both the feather and my words, simultaneously.]  Come for me, Heather. Come right now.  [I say it hard and louder than I've been talking.  It shocks her but frees her nonetheless.]

HEATHER: [It is his words that capitulate me into flight.  The little flutters become a throbbing ache as my body contacts sharply.  I jerk in his arms and shudder violently as I give myself up to him.] 

DINO: [Her legs press together tightly and she comes hard with a hoarse cry.  From behind, I hold her around the waist, just being a part of what she is experiencing.  She has withheld nothing from me.  She is so into this.  It thrills me like nothing I've felt before to just hold her while she feels this way, to be a part of it... I want to be a part of this but I also want something more.  I struggle with myself.  This is harder than I thought it would be.]  Shhh... [I whisper in her ear.  Soothing words.]  You are so beautiful to me.  Come back to me, Heather.  Come back... [Her breathing slows and evens out as I continue to croon to her.  I can't resist touching her breasts.  I forget about the clamps until I bump them.  She whimpers at the reminder.  It wakes me up.]  I'm going to walk away now. You need to stand on your own. [I say it without emotion.  Back in the zone.  Just that quick.]

HEATHER: [I feel bereft without his touch but it forces me to be more aware.  His voice has changed, losing its warmth once again.  I wonder where he has gone but I manage to stand alone as he steps away.  I am not perfectly steady yet, but I can keep my feet without help.  What I just experienced was shockingly intense - both the feeling itself as well as the sense of being exposed.  Unlike every other sexual experience I've ever had with him, this time he was detached enough to watch objectively.  I wonder if it was as intense for him as it was for me.  I feel... swirly, lost in a haze of sexual pleasure.]

DINO: [She is still breathing hard, not listening yet.  Still inside herself.  Suddenly, I am at her side.  I touch her face, stroke down her cheek and marvel at the tears.  She leans into my touch.]  I need your trust right now, Heather.  [I make my voice soft.  I am the slightest bit worried.  I do not want this to be too intense for her.  It's a fine line but I am committed to what I want this night so I go forward with it.]  I want you to trust that I would never hurt you. Can you do that?  [I wait for her nod.]  I want you to lean forward and trust that I won't let you fall.   

HEATHER: [I am a little afraid.  More than a little, really.  I think about that night on the beach.  I trusted him then.  This is harder... but I do it.  I feel my heart begin to beat faster as I start to move.]

DINO: [She hesitates only to decide how she will do it but instinct prevails as I knew it would.  I watch her bend over from the waist....slowly....seeing if she can determine when I will stop her - but I don't.  Tentatively, she bends further.  Come on, honey.  Trust me.  I won't let you fall.]

HEATHER: [Just as I am really beginning to wonder what's going on, my cheek touches something soft and smooth.  It smells like leather.  A moment later, I feel the same sensation against my breasts.  I test it with my weight slowly and decide it is something sturdy.  It's hard not to touch it with my hands.  It is flat like a table but without my sight, I can't be sure exactly what it is.  Whatever it is, I know I'm resting on something meant to hold my weight but also meant keep me in an awkward position.]

DINO: [I breathe slowly and let her take her time becoming comfortable with the notion she is resting against something that will bear her weight.  When she begins to relax, I speak into the silence.]  Spread your legs.  [It is an invasive position, making her even more vulnerable.  Naked.  Bent over.  Legs spread.  Forbidden to use her hands.  And I am about to make it worse.]

HEATHER: [I feel acutely vulnerable in this position.  He could do anything he wanted to me like this.  Anything.  I struggle not to use my hands.  That is the hardest part for me.  Worse than the gag.  He has changed things enough that I am anxious again but I still want him to come closer.  I want him to touch me again even as the idea makes me shiver with apprehension.] 

DINO: [The feather again.  I start at her ankles and work my way up, making sure she can feel it through the laces on the boots.  Up....up.....up.....  She is squirming by the time it clears the leather and begins to tickle the backs of her thighs.  Over her cheeks, taking my time.  This time, I take too long at her spine.  She begins to move with the feather.  I can't tell if she's seeking to move away from it or toward it.]

HEATHER: [I wiggle and shift as he teases me with it.  It feels so good.  An almost-touch like the bass.  Like the rasp of his voice.  My senses are on fire, every nerve in my body is screaming for him to touch me.  I am riveted to the feather.  It is all I have in my mind.  It is such a sweet torture but I am too familiar with it now for it to elicit the same response that it did before.  I need something more this time.]  

DINO: [I tickle and tease.  Can I make her come with the feather even when it isn't on her clit?  I don't think so.  The noises she is making in her throat do not hold any of the frantic notes they did before.  It shouldn't be scary now.  Her responses tell me that it is not.  Good.  This is right where we should be, and this is the moment I feel things shift.  It is no longer about whether or not one of us is in control.  Now it is about working together.  I have been behind her the whole time, but now I let her feel my presence.]

HEATHER: [I can feel him behind me now and I wonder if he likes the view.  I know I am spread before him in absolute supplication.  I feel him wrap one hand around my ankle.  His free hand touches my wrists and moves my hands up a bit higher.  He has an incredible amount of power in this position.  He could break my arm.  He could rape me.  He could do anything he liked and yet I felt only the softest touch of his lips at first, right there in the small of my back.  His touch becomes less soft and more passionate.  Lingering open-mouthed kisses.  A sucking caress.  A lick.  I moan softly into the gag.  It feels so good and yet it is still not enough.  I want more.]

DINO: [Kissing and licking, I am in heaven.  I cannot resist giving her a little nip right there on the most delicious part of her rump just because I can barely control my desires.  She gives me a little squeal but I think she's enjoying my enjoyment of her body.  Yes, she is enjoying this.  The noises she's making into the gag tell me she wants me to hear how much she likes it.  My cock is so hard it hurts.  I am leaving drops of passion on the floor now as she did earlier.  My hips move instinctively, seeing relief from my intense arousal.  I shunt it aside and refocus on her.]   

HEATHER:  [I feel like a collection of randomly firing nerves.  He has stimulated both my body and my senses until I am brought low by even the slightest touch.  The brush of his lips.  His breath, hot on my skin.  The wet drag of his tongue.  I am dying.  Mewling.  Please...] 

DINO:  [I kiss down to where her cheeks meet her legs - that spot I teased before when I was tickling her there so lightly with my fingertips... only this time, I am kissing.  From this position, I kiss right into her slit.  She groans loudly into the gag.  She did not expect me to do that.  She thought I'd go on teasing her but I'm serious now.  She moves with me, trying to get more from me, all the while not quite certain what to do.  Her cries are getting frantic.  This is more intense than she thought it would be.  She wants....but she almost doesn't want.  Last time, I nearly burned her to ashes.  This time will surpass that.]

HEATHER: [It is almost too much.  I cannot stand it.  I writhe to get away.  I writhe to keep in contact with his mouth.  His lips.  His teeth.  Oh God, his tongue.  Diving in.  Finding all my most sensitive spots.  Kissing.  Suckling.  If he stops, I'll die.  If he doesn't stop, I'll die a different death.  I can't even think.  My world has been reduced to the electric connection between his mouth and my sex.]   

DINO: [Her back stiffens as I latch on to her clit with perfect control.  I suck.  Hard.  All I want in this moment is for her to be coming so hard that she can barely move.  Her wild rhythmic cries tell me she's close.  She's pushing herself back against my mouth and I'm spreading her as far as I can, relentless in pursuit of her orgasm.  Come on!  Give it up to me!]

HEATHER: [White implosion.  It swallows me up like an eddy of fire, licking up from between my legs to engulf my entire body.  My legs shake as it takes me hard, harder than the first time.  The senses I have been denied make the ones I have left more acute.  It is too much.  I feel too exposed.  Blind and mute, I come on his mouth, screaming my pleasure into the gag until the blackness begins to pull at the edges of my consciousness.  I sag heavily, letting the solid surface below me bear my full weight as the force of my orgasm leaves me weak and spent.]

DINO: [I drink her up and her coming makes me lose all my will to go further with her.  I cannot handle this aspect of it.  It is more than I realized it would be with her but she is giving me so much....  I am left with only one desire.  Even before she stops coming I am on my feet and thrusting against her.  I have taken all she can give and I still want more.]

HEATHER: [I cry out as I lose his mouth.  His hands are gripping my hips hard.  An animal sound is torn from him as he rises swiftly to his feet and positions himself behind me.  Not touching him with my hands is killing me.  He is a wild thing and I have driven him to this.  A rush of feminine power suffuses my body.  I want him to take me like this, rough and out of control.  I ache to be filled and I want to feel him fuck and rut.  I know that is what he wants.  The bruising grip he has on me tells me so.]

DINO: [She let me in - although she couldn't have stopped me from taking her.  I couldn't stop myself.  I wrap my arm around her waist and push deep, forcing a grunt from her.  I am not gentle.  This is what she has driven me to.  It was supposed to be her that lost control but in this moment, I am the one who is lost.  She knows what I want.  Her back arches and she welcomes me in.  I want to be inside.  Inside.  Deep.  Inside.  Where it's safe.]  Safe.....

HEATHER: [He is completely out of control.  He isn't hurting me but he's far from gentle.  Now it is my turn to observe him.  I am too satiated, too pleasure-soaked to come again but it grants me an awareness of him I wouldn't have otherwise had.  I can feel every last inch of him, feel the tip of his cock hit my cervix with each deep thrust, sending sparks juddering out from my center.  He is panting harshly.  I smell us, sweat and sex and leather.  I hear flesh impact flesh as much as I feel it.  The force of his thrusts have driven me forward until my hips are pinned between the hard edge of the table and the unforgiving bulk of his body.  I can feel his power.  He is a magnificent animal and yet the word he is uttering seems not to fit with his actions.  Safe.  An odd word to use, given our respective positions.]   

DINO: [Safe.  I am murmuring that word to her over and over.]  Safe....safe....safe...  [Saying it low and steady as I rut and pump in so hard, knowing it seems all wrong for this moment.  Knowing she will ask me about it later.  It is a part of what I give up to her in this night.  A trust I have in her that I don't seem to have with other women... though, that's so unfair to compare, I know.  I hold her hard to secure her to me in my last final moments.  I press deep, press home to take myself over and my surrender is complete.]   

HEATHER: [I am humbled to receive him this way.  Everything laid bare to me.  Blind, I finally see his true self.  It is beautiful.  Unfettered.  His body shudders, straining hard over mine and his throat closes tight as I squeeze down, cradling him in the only way left to me.  He is silent now.  I feel his heartbeat.  Feel his body pulse.  Feel a fluid warmth bloom where we are so intimately connected.  His gift eases the friction.  His arms enfold me tenderly as his hips rock once, twice, glorying in the slippery, agonizing slide of over-sensitized flesh before he comes to rest against my womb.  I cannot give him a sweeter, more intimate embrace.]  

DINO: [I collapse against her back.  Safe.  She won't hurt me.  She has never told me that but I have always known it.  She doesn't play with people.  My face is pressed into her back.  I whisper her name and feel her clench around me in response.  I wonder if she can feel my tears.  I am not ashamed of them.  Another salty trickle from my body.  Now she has them both.  I wipe my tears against her skin and kiss her back softly as I catch my breath.]

HEATHER: [Tears.  From such a man, they are a gift beyond measure.  The blindfold hides my own wet eyes and the gag keeps me from telling him how I feel, but I let my body speak for me and know that he will understand.]  

DINO: [When I recover, I am unsure for the first time all night but I try to cover it up and I withdraw as gently as I can.  I watch it happen.  It is both crude and beautiful.  I am spent, my dick hangs heavily against my thigh, wet and plump.  She is pink and soft, a dewy flower open to me.  We are both wet with our labor and our passion.  I help her up and let her lean against the table she's been stretched over while I remove the clamps, brushing my thumbs soothingly over her tender nipples.  She's unsteady and instinctively seeks the shelter of my body.  I give it without hesitation, whispering to her that she is free now, that she can move her hands.  While she flexes them, I take off the blindfold and we look at each other for the first time.  Both of us are deeply moved by what we see.]

HEATHER: [I want to touch him.  It seems odd to see him for the first time just now.  I feel shy.  I want to duck my head and hide my face in his neck but I cannot look away from his eyes.  To do so would be an insult to all that has passed between us this night.  He holds my eyes as he reaches behind me to undo the gag.  I know what he wants now and I will gladly give it to him.] 

DINO: [I feel her touch my chest but all I want to do is touch her lips.  I force myself to go slow, starting with the lightest kiss.  The first one of our visit and the last of the secrets I will take from her this night.  She knows what this moment is for me and allows me to have it, allows me to control the kiss but shows me, in all the silent ways I have taught her tonight, that she wants more.  We kiss more deeply and soon we are wrapped around each other and I am bending her over to kiss her.]

HEATHER: [I am drowning in him.  I feel the rough stubble under my palms, run my fingers through his sweaty hair.  His skin is warm and moist where it is pressed to mine.  He smells of us.  Of sex.  Of sweat.  Of man.  I can taste myself on his mouth.  I can taste scotch and a hint of smoke in his kiss.  I can taste love.]

DINO: [I break the kiss when, and only when, I sense our bodies are finished speaking.  I lift my head to meet her eyes and I know what I see there is reflected in my own gaze.  I smile and touch her face softly.]  Shall I undo the boots before I carry you to my bed? Or were you hoping to sleep in them?  [I ask it lightly but it is the moment when I first really talk to her, instead of at her, as I've been doing all night.]

HEATHER: [I smile, reluctant to give up his arms but I want to sleep in a naked tangle with him.  I am ready for the boots to come off.  They've served their purpose.]  Off please, Dean.  [Still, I can't help but tease him just a little.]  

DINO: [Heh.  Sassy thing that she is, she props one right up in front of me.  With a chuckle, I kneel down and undo the laces, sliding it off slowly.  I reach for the second and do the same.  My semen shines wetly on her inner thigh.  I watch it make a pearly trail down the inside of her leg as I work the laces.  A very male satisfaction burns through me.  I feel pride.  And humility.  From my knees, I look up to find her watching me.] 

HEATHER: [He's good with intricate things.  Even better than I am with the laces.  The thought makes me smile.  I give him a little squeeze with the hand I have braced on his shoulder.] You made short work of that.

DINO: [Of course I did.  I want her naked in my bed.  I have undressed a lot of women in my day, but that is not what gives me this skill.  War has a way of making a man proficient with his hands.  Especially if he wants to live.  I don't have to tell her this.  She knows.  I smile and shrug.]  Good fingers, you know?  [Her smile is mischievous.]

HEATHER: Yes, I believe I've just had a lesson in how good your fingers are. [His deep growl eclipses my naughty giggle and he rises swiftly, sweeping me up in his arms and marches off, straight up the stairs to his bedroom.  This room I remember.  The bed.  The mantle.  Our seashell.  The little dog figurine.  His touchstones.  A room filled with precious things.]

DINO: [With a low chuckle of my own, I toss her in the bed and climb in over her.  She is the first woman I've taken to this bed.  My bed.  This is my haven.  My sanctuary.  The only memories I want here are ones I make to last a lifetime.  I told her that once.  I do not have to guess if she remembers.  The soft look on her face tells me she does.  With a knowing nod, I watch her wet her lips.  I am aware her throat will be parched after wearing the gag for so long.  I reach for the glass of water I have left on the night table in anticipation of her need and raise it to my lips.  I take a swallow for myself and then draw in another for her, passing it from my mouth to hers in an intimate kiss.  She is thirsty.  We drain the rest of the glass in the same fashion.  Afterwards, I pull her close and our bodies tangle, moist and satiated.  She whispers something in my ear and sighs happily.  It makes me smile.]  

HEATHER: [It feels good to be here.  Right.  I am at a different place in my head than I was last time.  A better place.  Drinking from his lips is an unexpected intimacy.  And one I very much like.  I purr into his ear when he pulls me close and blush a little as he slides his thigh between mine.  They are slick with his semen.  I trace the lines in his face with my fingertips and whisper into his ear.]  I'm wet with you.   

DINO:  [She is and I like it.]  I want to sleep here with you all night. And I want you just like you are, right after what we've done, no cleaning up. I want me all over you tonight.  [Her eyes warm at my heartfelt words.  She whispers to me that she likes that.  A lot.  Likes my scent on her.  It is a very animal thing to say but it resonates with me deeply.  I feel like an animal, wet and ripe with the earthy scent of sex, wrapped up with her in my den.  I rumble my contentment to her.]

HEATHER: [I snuggle closer and our hands touch.  I smile into his neck as our fingers twine together.  My eyes close.  I feel so safe with him like this.]  Safe.  [Almost not a word.  Just a slow sigh of contentment shaped into the ghost of something recognizable.]

DINO: [I give an answering sigh as I relax completely against her.  Safe is how I feel.  Safe with a part of me I hadn't expected to have on display tonight, but that is a discussion we will have later.  We might say a lot of things, but unspoken between us is that we will talk about this night.  But not just now.  Now we will simply enjoy the way it's made us feel.  What it's taught us about ourselves.  The questions it's answered for us.]

HEATHER: [We shift as we cuddle until it is me holding him instead of the other way around.  I think it is not often he simply lets himself be a man.  Not a soldier.  Not a negotiator.  Not smooth or slick.  He usually likes to talk and cuddle, to be the one holding his lover, but tonight he just wants to crash and that he feels safe enough with me to let me watch over him while he sleeps is a humbling gift.]

DINO: [In this moment, I am more man than friend or lover.  I will probably be asleep before she stops touching me but I want to give her one last thing before it takes me.]  Let me whisper a secret.  [She moves closer and I nuzzle into her hair.]  You have shared something with me that I've never shared with any woman and what that says about you is that you bring a new element to my life. So you go to sleep tonight knowing this and I go to sleep feeling it. [And so it goes.]      

Nearly eight weeks has passed since I was last in this bed.  So much has happened since then but the memory of that night still makes me smile.  The boots, the blindfold... the man.  I love him.  He loves me.  That we have exchanged that sentiment is only one of the many things that have changed between us since I was last here.

He now knows that I knew him before in my portal; that I once loved him as a brother before I loved him as a man.  This time, I brought another secret with me and shared it with him the first night we were together.  We have spent most of this visit talking about them both, about what they mean for us and for our relationship.   

An exchange of intimate secrets.  He revealed his share too.  It is our way, like for like, so neither one of us feels we are out on a limb alone.  This visit was different than any that I've had with him before - for lots of reasons.  Before, our time was always so short, so focused.  A single night on the beach.  A single night in the Temple.  A single night in his bed.  We've never really gotten to spend a few days together before... and to be able to have that here, in his haven, was a precious gift.

It was an intimacy of an entirely different kind.  We cooked together, bathed together, napped together.  We watched each other shave and dress and undress and a hundred other silly little intimate things.  There's just something so revealing about watching how another person touches their body, how carelessly intimate they can be.  A familiarity they have with themselves that you don't and an obliviousness for what their bodies can do to us.  Watching them in that moment, it's like they're so unaware that they're touching some small area of themselves that an admirer would give anything to touch- yet they're so nonchalant.   

It isn't necessarily sexual things, just intimate things.  They can tell you so much.   Like how he likes to watch me shave my legs or how he's careful with the razor when it glides over the curve of his jaw or how he puts the dishrag over his shoulder when he's washing the dishes so he can dry them right away - unused to using the dishwasher even though he has one because living alone, he doesn't dirty enough dishes to make it worth running.  Like watching his hands cradle a tumbler or scotch or watching his quiet enjoyment of a cigarette out on the back deck in the evenings.  Or like watching Jack's history unfold in a darkened theater, hand in hand.  Cuddling afterwards on the car ride home, my head on his shoulder and my hand on his leg.  He smelled of popcorn and man and tasted of Junior Mints.  Heh.    

I was floored when I saw he'd put the red leather boots I'd left behind in his closet.  He'd asked me if I was going to model them for Lachlan or Terry and I told him no, that they were just for him.  Just for us.  Oh, Diary, you should have seen the warm smile on his face when I told him that... but when I left them here, I never imagined he'd put them in his closet.  See, little things like that.  Little things that can sometimes seem so big.   

I smiled up at the ceiling as he pulled me tighter into him.  It was a cold night.  I was wearing one of his shirts and his scent was all around me.  His head was on my chest and I could feel his warm breaths against my breasts through the thin material.  His taste was in my mouth and his arm was draped over my stomach, his fingers curled protectively around my hip as he slept. 

My eyes wandered the room and settled on the mantle and on his collection of touchstones.  The little dog my Dean had given me now rested there.  I returned it to him as promised.  It truly did belong to him.  All these years I carried thoughts of its owner inside me... and now my unknown soldier has a face.  Terry's.  No words exist to express the emotions that knowledge invoked in me.  His blood.  His life.  The man my Dean couldn't save.  The man this Dean did save. 

I felt him shift and smile against my neck.  He whispered something to me and I whispered back, snuggling in close.  And as my eyes closed, the last thing I saw was his mantle and those two little carvings, one dark and one light, sitting side by side, home at last.  Safe.