Embracing the Flames (Luxe Escape #3)

Whisper of Rope

Challenge Accepted

“Hello, Miss Lane. My name is Tono Nosaka. I’ve come here tonight to teach you harmony with the rope.”

I stand there in the doorway staring blankly at the striking man dressed in a white kimono with his dark hair and long bangs, and my mouth suddenly goes dry. I don’t know who he is, but I’m drawn in by his soulful brown eyes.

Still…it’s the bundle of red rope clutched in his hand that has my attention.

“Rytsar Durov asked that I come here tonight.”

As soon as I hear the name, I can’t hide my surprise. “Anton sent you?”

He raises an eyebrow. “Not many people call him by that name…but yes, Anton Durov asked that I come tonight.” Staring at me with those deep brown eyes, he explains, “Durov mentioned your hesitation with rope bondage. Since I am a Bakushi, Kinbaku master of the rope, he believed I could be of help to you.”

Shifting uncomfortably on my feet, my gaze drifts back to the bundle of rope in his hand. Thrown off by this unexpected lesson, I find myself giggling nervously. “I do remember Anton mentioning that you’ve known each other for years.”

His eyes light up. “It’s true. We met when I was eighteen and had just come to this country.”

“Wow. So you’ve known each other a really long time.”

He graces me with a gentle smile and chuckles.

It’s humbling to know that Anton is concerned for me enough to ask a longtime friend to help.

However, I feel duty-bound to speak plainly to this stranger.

It’s a hard lesson I learned recently, and I refuse to make the same mistake twice.

Unwilling to waste Tono Nosaka’s time, I tell him with regret, “I’m sorry, but I don’t like bondage of any kind. ”

“So I’ve heard.”

I frown, needing this rope master to understand that this is a hard limit for me. Looking him in the eyes so he understands, I state firmly, “Considering my strong aversion to it, I don’t think I ever will.”

“I have not come to force anything on you,” he assures me. “I’m only here to help you explore why it triggers you. Nothing more.”

Even though I can’t explain why, there’s something about this man’s presence that sets me at ease. I relax slightly as I glance around the large room lined with mirrored walls. Letting out a snort, I comment, “Seems like a huge room for only two people.”

He nods. “I requested the room for our lesson. I want you to see everything I am doing at all times.”

Tono Nosaka then adds in a serious tone, “As a stranger to you, I do not expect your trust. It is something I must earn tonight, and I promise I will do nothing to break it.”

Trust…

My smile falters despite his earnest demeanor. “I don’t trust people easily.”

“Nor should you,” he states. Crossing his feet, he sits down on the mat in one fluid motion.

Patting the area in front of him, he says gently, “Come. Sit with me.”

Struggling to process that he still wants to challenge me with rope, I hesitate for a second before sitting down to face him.

“You may address me as Tono for this session.”

I feel a sense of calm when I look in his eyes, and surprise myself by answering, “Yes, Tono.”

With permission given, he holds out the rope with both hands and asks me, “What do you feel when you look at this?”

I shudder as I stare at it. “Constriction…”

“Good. What else?”

I glance up at him and frown. “Powerlessness.”

He nods with a look of understanding. “What else?”

I fiddle with the ring on my finger as I rattle off the other words whispering in the back of my head, “Fear…anger…loss…”

I notice a look of concern in his eyes when he asks, “Loss?”

I stare down at the floor and swallow hard, unsure what to say now that he has me pressed for an answer. After several moments, I simply mutter, “Of power.”

“Ah…”

I dare to meet his gaze and am surprised to find myself relaxing despite my anxiety, as I stare into his kind eyes. “This is hard for me, Tono.”

“I know, hotaru,” he answers softly.

Feeling “seen” by this stranger brings tears to my eyes.

“You are safe with me.”

His words flow through me like a warm summer breeze, and my entire body begins to relax.

“First, I will start with something simple.”

I bite my bottom lip, afraid that no matter how simple it is, I’m going to be triggered by it.

“Turn away from me, hotaru,” he commands.

I instantly tense up, suddenly afraid again.

But Tono gently reminds me, “Remember, you can watch my every move in the reflection.”

I nod and take a deep breath, forcing myself to turn away from the Kinbaku Master. Keeping my gaze locked on his reflection in the mirror, I watch as he slides closer to me. Tono Nosaka is strikingly handsome, but it’s his eyes—so soulful and honest—that I can’t look away from.

He smiles when he catches my gaze, then wraps his arms around my torso, commanding, “Match my breath, hotaru.”

My nerves return, as well as the rate of my breathing. This close, his scent reminds me of a fresh breeze. However, I find it extremely difficult to match my breath with his. After several minutes of trying, I finally give up.

Frustrated, I shake my head. “I can’t!”

“You can,” he assures me. “Close your eyes and listen.”

I am acutely aware of his arms around me as I close my eyes. I strive to hear the rhythm of his breath, but the pounding in my chest makes it difficult to hear anything.

“You are safe,” he murmurs.

I swallow hard and nod.

Safe…

I repeat that word to myself over and over and eventually feel my heart start to slow down.

With each passing moment, I become more aware of my surroundings.

I can feel Tono’s breath against my neck, and soon I can even hear it.

It takes me a while to match it, because his breath is so much slower than mine.

But the second I do, he murmurs, “Yes…”

I feel as if time has slowed down as the two of us breathe in unison. It’s like nothing I have experienced before, and I lose myself in the quiet intimacy of it.

After a while, he commands, “Hold out your hands in front of you.”

When I do, he places the rope bundle in them and explains, “This is jute. I dyed and conditioned it specifically for our session today.”

“This rope?”

“Jute,” he corrects me.

I let out a small gasp, touched that he would do such a thing. “You dyed this for me?”

“Yes, hotaru.”

A smile plays on my lips as I stare at the red jute with new appreciation.

“I want you to feel the suppleness of the fibers and take in its unique scent.”

Tracing my fingers over the rope, I’m surprised to find that it is soft. My curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, “Why did you choose the color red?”

His warm chuckle fills the room. “I’m impressed that you asked. Red represents both peace and power in my culture.”

I stare at the rope and am overcome with a sense of hope, realizing that this isn’t a tool meant to imprison me…but a gift.

Looking into the mirror at his reflection, I murmur, “Thank you.”

He nods, then takes the rope from my hands. “Face forward, hotaru, and keep your chin level. The bind I am making is called a hair corset.”

My heart begins to race again as I watch him take the rope and unwind it before laying it in his lap. He then pulls my hair back and secures it in a loose ponytail.

My scalp tingles in response to the intimate contact.

Holding my ponytail in one hand, he picks up the jute with the other and loops it around my hair, securing it tight.

Then he begins to braid the rope in an alternating pattern down my ponytail.

Tono carefully smoothes my hair with each layer of braided knots he creates as he works down the length of my ponytail.

He takes his time, wearing a peaceful and concentrated expression as he works. Every movement is slow and precise as he binds my hair, and the ends of the rope tickle my back as he works.

All my anxiety slowly washes away as he works his magic and I close my eyes—no longer afraid. I can feel my entire body begin to relax before long, and I sit there in a state of pleasant silence.

When he finally stops and announces, “It is finished,” I’m surprised by the disappointment I feel.

Opening my eyes, I smile at his reflection, then turn my head back and forth so I can better see the intricate braid he’s created. “Wow, it really does look like the laces of a corset.”

He leans his chin over my shoulder. When he smiles, I feel pleasant shivers run down my spine. “Do you like it, hotaru?”

I turn my head to look at him directly. “It’s beautiful.”

He looks pleased and nods.

I watch in the mirror as Tono curves the braid into a dramatic loop. As if by magic, it stays in position, and I gasp in amazement. “How does it keep that shape?”

“It’s the tight weave of the braid,” he explains, then shows me the different positions he can shape my corseted hair into.

I giggle to myself. I never would have suspected that a bondage master would have such a playful side to him.

Tono explains, “In Kinbaku, the process of untying the jute is as important as tying the knots themselves.” He then proceeds to undo the intricate knots he’s just created.

I sit there transfixed as I watch him in the mirror, marveling at the peaceful expression on the man’s face as he undoes his intricate creation. The process of the untying feels like a whole new scene unto itself.

When he is done, and the jute falls away, I feel a lightening of my spirit.

The entire experience is both surprising and confusing to me. Evidently, my bemusement must show on my face, because when the two of us are facing each other again, he asks, “What are you thinking?”

I glance down at the mat when I confess, “It didn’t feel like real bondage.”

“How so?”

“I didn’t feel constricted or powerless.”

“That was intentional, hotaru,” he states. “The rope can take on many forms. There are no limits.”

I laugh when I tell him, “I actually liked this, Tono. The whole experience.”

“Now that you understand the process, would you like to try something a little more challenging?”

My heart skips a beat, and I immediately start fiddling with the ring on my finger. “I don’t want to spoil this experience.”

He nods, then briefly glances at the ring. “That is an unusual ring.”

I look down at my father’s high school ring and smile proudly. “It was my Dad’s.”

“Was?”

I suck in my breath. Unprepared to talk about my father, I just shrug as I stare at his ring.

“Look at me,” Tono says, tilting my chin up with his finger to meet his gaze. “It is good that you honor your father.”

My throat closes up, and I have to choke out the words. “I really loved him…”

Tono’s compassionate smile is comforting like a hug. “Your father must have been a good man.”

I nod, my bottom lip trembling. The words tumble out of their own accord, “I was six when I lost him…”

“A vulnerable age to lose someone you love.”

I close my eyes as the unwanted memories I’ve kept buried come flooding back. I suddenly find myself struggling hard to keep back the tears. “My mother told me he died instantly in the car crash…but she lied.”

When Tono looks at me with compassion, I recoil. The last thing I want is to confront the thing I have run from for so long.

Afraid, I lash out at him, “You lied to me!”

Instead of becoming defensive, Tono asks in a calm voice, “In what way have I broken your trust?”

“You promised you wouldn’t push me.”

“Have I,” he replies in the tone of a statement rather than a question.

“I don’t want to talk about my father!” I growl.

“I haven’t asked you to, hotaru.”

My eyes flash with anger. “Did Anton tell you about my father? I can’t believe he would dare break that confidence. It was a private moment!”

“He did not say anything,” Tono responds. “I simply asked you about the ring on your finger.”

I frown, realizing I’ve rushed to a conclusion without any justification. Even worse, I just yelled at the man who has been nothing but kind to me. Feeling incredibly foolish, I sputter in apology, “I’m sorry I overreacted just now.”

I close my eyes and let out a painful sigh before explaining, “I’m not over my father’s death. It still cuts like a knife…”

“I understand and accept your apology.”

Finding it too painful to speak, I look up to meet Tono’s gaze and mouth the words, Thank you.

“Shall we continue with another simple binding?”

I nod, grateful that he is still willing to work with me after my unwarranted outburst.

“For this decorative tie, I would like you to undress down to your G-string and leggings.”