77. Chapter 75
Darcy
My focus has been absolutely fucked today. I’m lucky I had all practical classes where most of my students are midway through their projects and only need minor guidance, because there is absolutely no way I would have been able to get through teaching anything else.
Was she on a date?
Derek has mentioned the jock before, and now that I’ve seen him with my own eyes, I can see why Derek and Xavier have been twisted in a knot over the kid.
He is perfect for Emmy. The right age, good-looking, and from what I understand, his future is set whether he goes down the professional hockey route or joins his father’s business.
And he has proved several times now, from what I can gather, that he’ll show up for her when she needs him.
The fact that he has squared off with Derek a couple of times as well says a lot about the guy.
With a huff, I drop the pink ropes onto my studio floor, the sound not quite enough of a thud to be satisfying. Today I’m working with a gradient of red to pink and then white, not that the colors matter in my sketches, but I like to use them to help me set the emotion while I draw.
For the horizontal suspension I have in mind, I’ll be using the darker ropes around her body, then going lighter up to the beam hanging from the ceiling, so that it looks like she’s falling.
If this turns out the way I believe it will, this suspension will be one of the three main pieces, which means we will have to return to it, over and over, until it is perfect.
Straightening, I stare down at the bundles of ropes, trying to determine if I need any additional length, when there is a knock and the door opens, letting in noise from downstairs. I take a deep breath, force a pleasant look onto my face, then turn to face Emmy.
She’s half in, half out of the door, gaze darting around the room, looking for something.
Or someone.
I try not to let her apprehension mess with my mental state even more and give her the answer she is searching for. “It’s just you and me today.”
Where I’m expecting to see relief, I end up with a complicated expression that is hard to read. Relief is there, but also, maybe disappointment?
Emmy steps into the room and closes the door. “Hey.”
I drink in the sight of her.
She’s changed out of her outfit from this morning and gone with charcoal leggings and a huge white knit sweater that is long enough to be a dress. With her dark hair out, flowing in waves down her back, all she needs are some fluffy boots and a beanie and she would look like a snow bunny.
I stuff my hands into my pockets and nod at her, concentrating on modulating my tone so that it comes out even. “Hey.”
She shifts on the spot. “I brought the clothes you usually have me wear. Sorry for running out in them last time.”
Her cheeks are rosy with her apology. Not that she needed to give one. We had sprung Hudson on her. As much as we hoped it would go well, we knew there was a chance it wouldn’t.
Swallowing, I nod again, feeling like one of those bobblehead dolls. “I’m sorry too. I should have told you Hudson was going to be here. I won’t do that to you again. If there is ever another model here, I will let you know in advance.”
She breaks eye contact. “Thanks. I…I’d appreciate that.”
I take a massive breath of air and expel it, trying to ease some of the goddamn tension suffocating me. “Okay, well, if you want to go and get changed, we can get started when you’re ready.”
Emmy’s eyes land on the ropes at my feet, shoot over to the beam and the large metal ring currently hanging from it, and snap back over to my face. “Are we doing a suspension today?”
My lips twitch, a smile trying to form. “Yes, you’ll be in a supine position—” I cut myself off when her brows furrow. “You’ll be on your back when the suspension is complete.”
Her eyes fall back to the ropes, and that bottom lip disappears into her mouth as she nods, but she doesn’t move toward the changing area where there is another surprise waiting for her.
I give her a moment, however it’s clear she’s lost in her thoughts, so I give her a little prompt. “You can change when you are ready, I’m going to set up my cameras for today. This will be your first time in the position, so we won’t spend too long in it.”
It’s like watching someone flicking her switch on. She jolts in place and then power walks over to the dressing area.
I don’t make it even a few steps toward the cabinet with my camera equipment before there is a gasp and a flustered Emmy comes back around the changing screen.
“You brought the red pillow here!” This time her cheeks are more than rosy, the hue spreading down her neck to her chest.
I have to admit, seeing her eyes burning with the fire that has suddenly filled her eases something within me.
That Friday night will haunt me until the day I die, and I wasn’t the one who lived through it.
Seeing life, even if it is this mix of anger and exasperation, is something I will celebrate.
Continuing on my walk to the cabinet, I throw my answer back over my shoulder at her. If I don’t act like it’s a big deal, then hopefully she will match my energy. “Yeah, I thought it would be more comfortable than a mismatch of my pillows.”
With controlled movements, I open the door and then my camera case.
“But that’s—it’s not—how?” She splutters out a bunch of words, never quite completing a sentence.
With my camera in hand, I turn around. “Did you not find it comfortable last time you used it?”
The poor thing has no idea what to do with the memories my words force on her. Present Day Emmy is furious at me. But Past Emmy? She is remembering how we fucked her like a sex doll and how much she really, really enjoyed it.
It is a fucking amazing look on her.
So I raise my camera and take a picture of her.
“You are such a dick,” she states, a little of the fight leaving her.
“I’m not trying to be. You’re going to be suspended from shoulders to ankles for a while. I was trying to think of your comfort. I guess I could have brought a mattress in here instead. It would only perpetuate the rumors that I live here, though.”
“I…what? Live here?” The fight is completely gone now, and we are back to confused.
Maybe this is how I keep her distracted and talking to me? Instead of giving her space to find her way back to me, maybe I need to change tactics and work at keeping her on her toes. If I can keep that fabulous fucking mind busy, then it will give her body time to remember me.
I wave my arm in the air, as if waving smoke away. “Just a thing among the artists downstairs. Apparently, I’m never not here.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “But you work at NU.”
I shrug and spread my arms out wide. “Most of them work, too, so they wouldn’t see me not being here during business hours.
When I opened this place, Derek and Hudson helped me set up an arts committee that fundraises for the scholarships the students need.
The scholarships are enough for their supplies, but unfortunately, we aren’t at the stage where we can pay them a stipend. Yet.”
There is apparently no reply for that, since she turns around and disappears back behind the screen. It only takes a couple of minutes before she returns in her nude set. I’m looking forward to when the first outfit arrives. Margot let me know that delivery is set for next week.
Putting her in the suspensions with the fabric trailing from her body is going to be fabulous. I just wish I could suspend her from higher points to get the full effect. Something to explore at a later date.
I gesture toward the space below the beam and ring.
“Like I said before, we are going to do a suspension scene today. If at any time you start to feel discomfort, tingling, numbness, headache, or any other type of strain, you need to tell me. If this does happen, the first thing I will do is lower you to the ground, and then I will get you free of the ropes.”
Placing my camera down on a rolling table, I push the entire thing over to my ropes. I open the top drawer and take out my safety shears, showing them to her as I place them next to the camera. “Depending on your urgency, I can either cut you out or untie you.”
Emmy nods as she walks toward the center of the room. She shivers a little as she stops directly under the ring.
My eyes narrow. “Are you cold?”
She shrugs and folds her arms over her chest, covering her pebbled nipples. “Probably just from taking my sweater off. I’ll be fine.”
Annoyance tries to spark inside of me, but I shove that shit down. Instead, I go over to the air conditioning panel and increase the heat. I’d prefer I be in discomfort than her.
When I turn around, she is finishing rolling her eyes. If I were any of the others, she’d be bent over and getting a spanking right now. But me? I love the little glimpses of the brat she lets out when she thinks we aren’t looking.
Walking back toward her, I stop to pick up one of the red bundles and meet her in the center of the room. “Ready?”
Emmy nods before gesturing at the floor. “Do I need to lie down?”
I shake my head as I work the ends of the rope free from the hank, then unravel it. “No, we are going to start with your arms. Once those are secure, I’ll move down to your hips and legs. If you could tie your hair up in a simple knot, I’ll release it once I have you in position.”
Once I find the midpoint, I hold up the looped rope between us as I show her the position I want her to place her arms in.
“Bring your arms up in front of you, and press your inner wrists and forearms together as best you can. Keep your hands relaxed, like you are holding a bowl. Yes, like that. Do you feel any strain in your shoulders or biceps?”
She pauses for a moment, hands forming an open cup around her jaw as she takes my question seriously, which I appreciate more than she will ever understand. Eventually she shakes her head. “No, no strain.”
With Emmy holding the pose, I loop the midpoint around her wrists, twice, manipulating the rope to create enough length that I can work the midpoint back up behind the wrist loops and use the rest of the length to tie it off.
As I check for tension, running my fingers between her wrists and the rope, I glance at her face, remembering Hudson’s request for music last time. “Would you like some music?”
That gorgeous lower lip disappears into her mouth for a moment before a handful of quiet words send a zap of electricity down my spine.
“Actually, I’d like to cash in the favor you owe me, you know, the one from the pick-the-car bet?”