Chapter 16
“What’s wrong?” Mistress Eve’s voice was sharp as she opened the door to her dungeon and saw Ruthi waiting for admittance, her eyes lowered but her body visibly trembling, and her face ashen and drawn.
Her breath came in short bursts, and she didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands, twisting them anxiously in front of her, as her lips quivered.
Gone was any trace of the confident director Eve had come to know. Damn. This is bad.
Eve had already received a phone call from Ms. Leighton, who told her what had happened on set that day, but she wanted to hear what had happened from Ruthi in her own words.
On the call, Ms. Leighton had explained that Ruthi was shaken but composed as everyone had left the set.
Still, Ms. Leighton warned Eve that Ruthi might visit her unexpectedly and to be prepared.
Ms. Leighton had guessed correctly, and standing before Eve now was a submissive on the verge of collapse, behaving as though Eve’s dungeon was a sanctuary where she could seek shelter and feel safe.
“Come.” Eve stepped back, gesturing behind her.
Ruthi all but sprang into the dungeon, then halted in her tracks, unsure of what to do.
Making a quick decision, the Domme said quietly, “Go into the aftercare area, little sub, and strip completely naked for me. I prefer you unclothed today. Then return quickly and stand in front of me. You do not have to kneel because I have something else planned. Go now.”
As Ruthi disappeared behind the door, Eve smoothed down her black leather mini skirt, teamed with a black corset and her stiletto heels, her hair in a French twist tonight.
Her priority was to calm her submissive during this session, rather than teach her additional protocol.
A badly shaken Ruthi was not going to do either of them any good.
When Ruthi returned, lowering her eyes when she reached the Domme with a blush spreading across her cheeks from her bare state, Eve turned on her heel before moving to the shibari bar.
The swing attached to the middle of the bar had been lowered so a person could easily sit in it, the two footrests with cuffs extended to the sides as far as they could go.
Another set of handcuffs resided at the top of the swing for a submissive’s hands.
“Sit, Ruthi,” the Domme bid her. “Then place your feet on the footrests and extend your hands upward to grab the cuffs at the top so I can secure you properly.”
When Ruthi was fully restrained, Eve picked up a bundle of dark pink rope lay on a table next to the bar.
Slowly, with a deliberately unhurried movement, the Domme began to wind the rope around Ruthi’s left arm.
“Shibari, which is also known as kinbaku, is a form of Japanese bondage,” she said quietly.
“Artistic rope tying such as shibari in dominance and submission involves restraining and binding a person in visually intricate patterns. In shibari, it is less about the completed knots as it is about enjoying and appreciating the process. The emphasis is on sensuality and the sensations the rope provides.”
Eve moved to Ruthi’s right arm. “Shibari has its roots in the ancient Japanese rope tying techniques used by samurai. The tying patterns can range from simple to highly intricate. I’m competent, but there are shibari masters out there who are almost otherworldly in their technique and expertise.
Perhaps I shall take you to a shibari rope bondage festival one day.
The artistry on display there is not to be believed. ”
After a few minutes of stillness, in which Eve felt Ruthi finally relax into her ropes as she continued her tying, her low calm voice broke the silence.
“I want you to tell me what happened today, little one. I was not at all pleased when my submissive turned up on my doorstep in the state you were in.” She let her fingers wander soothingly over Ruthi a bit as she felt the director start to tense.
“You are safe here, Ruthi. Anything that wants to get to you will have to go through me first. Trust in your Mistress and give me your burdens. Part of my responsibility as your Domme is taking those burdens from you, so you no longer have to carry them. Tell me.”
Slowly, haltingly, Ruthi told Eve what had happened on the set that day.
“Madeline might have been killed, Mistress. Thank God she was able to move as quickly as she did. Antonia caught the man who caused the accident.” Her voice trembled.
“When pressed, he said he was paid by someone who knows everything about ‘this place’ and ‘she’ wants to ruin Leighton’s ‘little paradise.’ He also told her that he would have gotten double whatever he had been promised if he made it look like an accident. ”
Eve didn’t stop her slow, deliberate movements with the rope even as her mind raced.
“No wonder you were upset. What an unpleasant situation,” she said finally.
“However, I think I’ve started to know you a bit, Ruthi.
That in itself would not have been enough to put you in the state you were in when you showed up at my door.
The director I know from our time together here and by her reputation would not have fallen to pieces over something like that, as nerve-wracking as it was. What is really going on?”
It was as if a dam burst. “What if I’m the target, Mistress Eve?” Ruthi cried before dissolving into tears, startling Eve. “What if Madeline was almost killed because of me? I would never live with myself if I was the one responsible for bringing all this trouble down on the Isle of Dreams.”
Knowing how much the shibari was keeping Ruthi anchored, as much as she wanted to free her submissive and hold her, Eve continued her rope work, keeping her voice low and calm. “Why don’t you explain to me exactly what you mean?”
Ruthi drew in a deep, shuddering breath.
“I swore to myself I would never open up to anyone about Lynn Crawford. Ever. But…but…the night everything blew up between the two of us, I think of as ‘The Incident’ in my mind.” She shuddered again.
“One night, when I had unexpectedly returned home a few days early from an out-of-town shoot, I found…I found Lynn in our bed with another woman.” Eve felt the shock arrow through her.
“Lynn’s head was buried between her legs, noisily sucking this moaning woman’s clit into her mouth with all the vigor of a high-powered vacuum cleaner hose.
” A tinge of anger colored her voice. “Meanwhile, she had her own hand working between her legs, trying to get herself off.”
Fuck THIS, Eve thought with anger flickering in her chest, knowing there was still much more to the story. “Little one, do you want me to unbind you so I can hold you while you finish telling me what happened?” she asked Ruthi calmly. “Or would it help to stay in my ropes for now?”
“This helps, being like this,” Ruthi whispered.
“I feel safe.” Nodding, Eve resumed tying as Ruthi went on.
“When they noticed me standing in the bedroom doorway, they both screamed. That broke my momentary paralysis, so I scooped up the luggage I had dropped and fled, ignoring Lynn’s screeched entreaties to come back.
I was in such shock, I didn’t know where to go or what to do, so I mindlessly drove south from my home in Beverly Hills for a while.
Finally, a hotel in Lake Forest, about sixty miles away, appeared.
For about a week, all I did was hunker down and cry, not eating because the thought made me want to vomit, and refused to answer Lynn’s phone calls.
There was a constant stream of voicemails that clogged my mailbox, which I kept deleting. ”
Ignoring the tears streaming down her face, Ruthi gave Eve a look of despair.
“After that week, I felt a bit calmer and more able to cope with the destruction of my relationship, so I returned home, steeling myself for the inevitable confrontation with Lynn. And then, I received my second shock, unlocking my front door and walking into a house that had been all but stripped bare. The only things remaining were the handful of belongings I’d brought to the relationship when Lynn and I had moved in together.
She had taken every single scrap of furniture and furnishings I had bought when I’d completely furnished the house for her. ”
This bitch is dead, Eve thought but merely nodded, waiting for Ruthi to go on.
“On top of her betrayal, in revenge for me refusing all contact with her and not automatically forgiving her indiscretion, the incessant phone calls started up again, these from industry insiders who asked if what Lynn was saying was true. That I had been abusive and had thrown her out of our house with only the clothes on her back. Lynn was determined not to look like the bad guy. It was… it was traumatic because everyone sided with Lynn over the accusations at first. Projects dried up and no one would return my phone calls. Life became a nightmare for some time, with me wondering daily if I should pack it in and go back to my native state, turning my back on California forever.”
“But she lied,” Eve said, keeping her voice even although she was livid. “None of it was your fault.”
Despite her tears, Ruthi laughed a bit. “That’s the conclusion I eventually came to, that I had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Plus, I’m stubborn.” She blushed when Eve quirked an eyebrow at her as if saying, “no kidding.” “I vowed I was going to stay and fight until I reclaimed what had been so maliciously taken from me. In the end, straightening the mess out had taken quite a while, but I’d eventually been able to prove it was Lynn who had cheated on me, that she was the one who been abusive, vengeful, and had stolen everything from me when I was shell-shocked and had left for a while to recover from the shock of finding Lynn fucking another woman in our bed.
The rumor mill exploded with the news, but I did my best to ignore it and went about reassembling the tattered shreds of my life. ”
Eve nodded, feeling Ruthi relax even further from the soothing motion and feel of the rope.
“And, in retaliation for Lynn’s cruel lies and vindictive behavior, you ensured Lynn Crawford was finished in Hollywood by the time you were done.
I think anyone connected to Hollywood on any level is familiar with that part of the story. ”
“I did,” Ruthi said. “My own career recovered quite nicely. I sold the house in Beverly Hills, a place I’d never wanted, frankly, but Lynn had insisted on, and moved into an apartment close by, where I still live today.
But Mistress Eve?” The tears started again.
“What if Lynn has found a way to strike back at me and is the one responsible for sabotaging the set? What if everyone is in danger because of me? They don’t deserve to have this happen to them.
I know I’m a hard ass and..” She blushed again.
“I haven’t been a very nice person since Lynn cheated on me and put me through hell, but I don’t want to be that woman anymore.
Neither do these people deserve to be the target of some vindictive witch when it’s not their fault. ”
“Little one. Look at me.” Eve stopped her tying for a moment and put one finger under Ruthi’s chin as her tearful submissive looked back at her.
“First of all, it’s more than apparent that Lynn Crawford is dumber than a box of rocks, so I don’t think she has the intelligence to be responsible for anything that has happened here this week.
” A laugh startled out of Ruthi as her eyes widened.
“Second, you need to understand that I am extremely proud of you for sharing this story with me as you have. What you did took a great deal of bravery, in light of everything you have been through. We still have a lot of talking to do to work our way through this. But, remember how I told you that trust was the most important thing between a Domme and her submissive?” Ruthi nodded.
“You took a huge step toward that today. There’s still work to be done, that’s true.
However, I have every confidence we can get there because you chose to trust. And that, beautiful one, is the greatest gift a Domme can ever receive from her submissive. ”
Later, once Ruthi was stable and gone, Mistress Eve Mondragon looked at the stars from her balcony and thought about the events of the day, knowing she still had a bit of a mess to untangle despite the enormous progress that had been made.
One thing was perfectly clear, however. Eve was in love with Ruthi Shay.
What the director had been through would have brought most women to their knees, but Ruthi had stubbornly fought on, finally finding the courage within herself to reach for her heart’s desire.
With every breath in her, Eve vowed she would do everything in her power to ensure she was worthy of the submission, trust, and bravery Ruthi gave to her.
“You are mine, little one,” Eve whispered into the darkness.
“I don’t know where our journey will take us when we leave the Isle of Dreams, but I refuse to let the universe separate us.
You feel the same way as I…I know you do.
And if this island was meant to bring us our hearts’ secret desires, nothing will keep us apart when we leave, if only you are willing to pledge yourself to me in all ways. No matter what it takes.”