Chapter 9
JAY
Jay paced the sidewalk in front of the small, unassuming complex that hosted tonight’s workshop. He was early. Ever since their morning conversation, Jay hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything, too captivated by the vivid picture Aaron had painted for him.
He still wasn’t sure how Aaron had turned the tables on him so quickly.
One minute, Jay was mustering the courage to invite Aaron to the workshop, anxious about offending or embarrassing him, and then…
One sentence was all it took for Aaron to ignite a deep, smoldering lust inside him.
His day had passed in a haze of fantasies—Aaron naked, whimpering, trembling, struggling against his restraints, his legs spread open, his pert ass up on offer.
Beelining home as soon as he was done with work, he got off in the shower.
Twice. He told himself it was a necessary precaution so he wouldn’t get hard during the workshop, but that was a flimsy excuse.
There was nothing in the world that would stop him from being aroused by Aaron’s pliant body under his control, silken ropes against smooth skin.
Aaron arrived with a few minutes to spare, climbing out of a cab and greeting Jay with a wave from across the street.
Jay hesitated as Aaron approached. What did you say to someone after an entire day of fantasizing about them?
Aaron’s new look didn’t help. He’d swapped his suit for a bright purple tee and spandex shorts that didn’t leave much to imagination. A hint of eyeliner completed the look.
Delicious.
Jay cleared his throat and tore his gaze away before he crossed into creepy territory. “You look great.”
“Not exactly club attire.” Aaron shrugged with an apologetic smile. “I figured I need to be comfortable in case you twist me into a pretzel.”
“I’m not sure I have the skills for that yet. I’m relatively new to this practice.” Jay shepherded him to the door and held it open.
“How far along are you? Are you even allowed to practice on humans yet?” Aaron smirked at his own joke.
“It’s the third workshop. I have some of the more complex knots down, and I’ve been practicing at home.
” Jay returned the smirk. “You’ll be my human guinea pig.
” He could have mentioned he’d had plenty of experience with restraints, but shibari was an art form.
Comparing it to a simple knot he used to tie someone’s hands behind their back before a quick fuck was like comparing a gourmet meal to gas-station hot dogs.
“So you’re saying I should be nice to you if I want you to untie me?” Aaron gave him a heated look before glancing around the lobby, probably searching for a sign. He wouldn’t find one. All club events were discreet, the location shared only with the registered members.
Jay slid closer to Aaron while he was distracted, leaning in to hover his lips next to Aaron’s ear. “Room 1194.” There was a hitch in Aaron’s breathing, and when he didn’t move, Jay nudged him in the right direction, trying to ignore the delicious heat emanating from his body.
Aaron glanced back at Jay with a coy smile before striding away. Somehow, he knew the effect he had on Jay.
They walked into a well-lit room. It may have functioned as a conference room at one point, but without any furniture, it was a large, open space. Yoga mats formed a half circle around Mistress Onyx, their shibari instructor.
“Why, what a pleasure to see you,” she purred at Aaron when they claimed an empty spot right in front of her. He greeted her with a polite smile before lowering himself to the ground, clearly not interested in attracting attention to himself.
One by one, the room filled with familiar faces, many of them coming over to say hi to Jay and look at Aaron with curiosity.
Their reactions made sense—Jay had never brought a partner along to one of these workshops—but he still didn’t like how openly some of the Doms stared at his Aaron.
Jay barely stifled the urge to shout—He’s mine!
—and instead dropped to the floor beside him, close enough to stake his claim to anyone who dared glance their way.
He wasn’t sure what to do with the surge of possessiveness consuming him. Jealousy was a foreign concept—at least it used to be. Jay had never felt so protective of anyone he dated in the past, and he wasn’t even dating Aaron. They were just friends.
Thankfully, the workshop began before Jay could start baring his teeth and growling. Once everyone’s attention snapped to Mistress Onyx, she didn’t waste any time, quickly going over the knots they’d already learned and asking for a demonstration.
Jay kneeled behind Aaron and created a few simple knots and weaves around his arm, making sure he was okay every few minutes.
After the fourth time Jay asked if he was comfortable, Aaron giggled and promised to let him know the second something was wrong.
Halfway through the hour, Mistress Onyx announced they were ready to practice binding both arms. Aaron perked up and rearranged himself into a kneeling position, head bowed, arms stretched behind his back.
For the past thirty minutes, Jay had been lost in the intricacies of the ropework, only vaguely aware of Aaron’s presence.
Now, the sight of Aaron’s submission snapped him back to full awareness.
The light scent of his cologne, the slight flush creeping around his neck, and the firm body kneeling before him in a sign of obedience—it hit Jay all at once.
His cock stirred, and heat spread through his body, as if his blood was on fire.
He was glad Aaron faced away and couldn’t witness his attempt to adjust himself in his jeans.
Mistress Onyx caught him in the act and pursed her lips in amusement.
He gestured at Aaron with a shrug, as if to say, Can you blame me?
After rummaging through his bag, he fished out the silky rainbow rope. Organizers provided simple black cotton for practice, but participants were allowed to bring their own. After Aaron had agreed to accompany him, it was an easy decision to throw the colorful coil in his bag.
It had been an expensive impulse buy from years ago, never used. Now Jay wondered if he’d been saving it to decorate Aaron’s naked body with a mesh of every color of the rainbow. If he’d been waiting for Aaron this whole time.
A silly thought. They barely knew each other. It was a bit early to declare Aaron his soulmate.
Taking a deep breath, Jay pushed aside all thoughts and wrapped the rope around Aaron’s torso in the first step of the weave.
As he worked, his thumb grazed across one of Aaron’s nipples, eliciting a soft gasp.
Jay froze in hesitation, waiting for Aaron’s reaction to the accidental touch.
After detecting a faint hum of assent, he let out a sigh of relief, then adjusted the rope around Aaron’s pecs and tightened it.
Aaron rocked forward, his head still bowed. A quiet smile played on his lips.
Jay finished the knot and gave it a little tug to check the tension.
Another soft whimper escaped Aaron’s throat, sending a thrill through Jay’s chest. He hadn’t expected Aaron to be this responsive to the subtlest touch.
If this were a real scene, if Aaron had agreed to play and give over control, Jay knew exactly how to unravel him.
But this wasn’t a scene. Aaron had agreed to come and be a living mannequin, nothing more. No matter how tempting those little sounds were, Jay refused to cross that line.
With a steadying breath, he moved on to Aaron’s arms and began a diamond weave. After a few minutes of silence, he leaned close and whispered, his voice low and raspy in Aaron’s ear, “Still okay?”
Aaron nodded, his murmur barely reaching Jay’s ears. “I’m good.”
When Jay tied the final knot and sat back on his heels, it was like waking from a trance. He’d been laser-focused on Aaron, forgetting everything else, but now, soft voices and the rustle of ropes began to register.
The loss of awareness was nothing new. Despite the shared space, every couple at these workshops ended up in their own little bubble—the Doms focused on the knots under their fingertips and their subs’ well-being, while most of the subs had their eyes closed or on the ground.
Jay had experienced all of that with his previous partners.
Just not to this extent. Not to the point where his world narrowed to a single person, their breathing and heartbeats falling into a matching rhythm. They’d been so in sync, it took Jay a few moments to remember that none of it was real.
He hopped up to stretch his legs, brushing his fingers along Aaron’s neck. “All done.”
“Mmm, yeah?” Aaron spoke with a drowsy mumble, as if waking from a dream. He lifted his head and straightened his spine, tugging at the restraints gently to test them out.
“How does it feel?” Jay asked.
“You did a great job. It’s more comfortable than I expected.”
“And nothing is loosening or tightening as you struggle?”
“No, it’s perfect.” Aaron met Jay’s gaze and gave him a loopy grin. “I like shibari.”
After showing the finished product to Mistress Onyx and waiting for her to check each knot before declaring his work a success, Jay took a picture so Aaron could see what it looked like, then undid the weave and rubbed Aaron’s shoulders and biceps to get the circulation going.
“Do you feel sore? Does anything hurt?” He wanted to make sure there was no pain or discomfort after his first complex bind. Aaron shook his head from side to side, a dreamy expression lighting up his face.
Did Aaron hit subspace just from being restrained? Jay had only witnessed it in the aftermath of intense scenes, yet here they were. Textbook subspace. Aaron was putty in his arms, and Jay wanted nothing more than to take care of him.
They left the building, Aaron’s weight pressing into Jay, unsteady but trusting.
Jay hesitated, not sure where to go next.
The club was out of the question, for obvious reasons.
Jay wished he could take Aaron home—to either of their homes—but it seemed too forward.
They didn’t even have each other’s phone numbers yet—something Jay intended to fix before the night was over.
“Did you drive here?” Jay asked.
“Mm, no. Took a cab,” Aaron said with a drawl.
“Right,” Jay muttered, the memory of watching Aaron climb out of the yellow car resurfacing in his mind. He was more affected than he realized if he was forgetting things that happened an hour ago. “There’s a great diner a few blocks away. Have you had dinner?”
Aaron considered the question and shrugged. “Does a bag of cheesy poofs count?”
“Dinner it is.” Jay ushered Aaron into his car, making sure he was comfortable before walking around to get into the driver’s seat.
The short drive passed in silence, but Aaron got more talkative once they were settled in a booth.
He blushed bright red every time they made eye contact, so Jay tried steering the conversation to safe topics—work, books, weekend plans.
By the end of the meal, when everything seemed to be back to normal, Jay asked for Aaron’s number under the guise of texting him the photo from the workshop.
Aaron pulled out his phone and waited for the message to arrive, saving Jay’s contact on the spot.
As they walked out into the night, Jay offered him a ride home, but Aaron smiled and shook his head.
Jay might have argued, but he didn’t want to overstep.
Aaron had already made himself more vulnerable than expected, and Jay wanted to respect his boundaries.
Aaron’s rideshare didn’t take long to arrive. As they parted, Aaron surprised Jay by leaning over to kiss him on the cheek before wishing him a good night.
Jay’s skin burned with Aaron’s touch the entire drive home, his body vibrating with nervous energy.