50. TheRope #4
The knot around my chest pulls when I inhale, binding me to him in ways that have nothing to do with rope. “I’m not afraid of you anymore, Anomaly Hunter.”
He leans in even closer, his voice a dark ribbon wrapping around my skin, caressing it. “That’s my girl. Smart and intuitive.” The way he compliments me, soft but unyielding, makes my breath stutter.
I nod without meaning to, and he smiles against my temple.
I can feel him pressing himself against me again.
“I want you to really concentrate on all of this,” he whispers.
“Not just the rope. Me. My patience. My control. I want you to know you’re always safe with me.
I want you to learn how strong you can be when you let someone else hold the rope. ”
He crosses to the wall and takes down a sword, not just any sword, but the katana from the RedRoom. Its polished steel gleams even in the low light. I see myself reflected in the edges as he steps back in front of me.
I’m pretty sure I can’t be harmed in my holo-form, but still, for some reason, I feel no fear. I close my eyes. In the dark, behind my lids, I see the mask, the crimson glow of the RedRoom, and lose myself there. This is really happening between us. Just like DreamNet.
He tilts my chin up with two fingers. “Watashi o mite—look at me, Little Taiyō.”
I focus in on eyes so dark, they’re just pools of shadow that swallow the light whole. They don’t just look at me, they consume me. A thousand things unsaid flicker in them: hunger, restraint, but especially the arrogance of a man who masters everything in his reach. I’m no different.
His smile sharpens, predator and protector combining as one. “This isn’t about fear. It’s about trust. About you choosing me. You making the decision that from now on you will trust me fully. No doubts. No uncertainty.”
I breathe deeply; it’s a turning point in our relationship, or whatever this is. The rope could be undone with his fingers in seconds. But that isn’t the point.
He bows to me, sword lying across his palms. A moment of respect, as if he’s stepping onto the mat. When he straightens, his gaze finds mine again, and then, to my shock, he kneels before me.
Kael Ryudon kneels for no one. Not man. Not machine.
A deliberate kneel at my feet, the katana still laid across his palms like an offering.
His voice is deep and deadly serious. “I don’t kneel to anyone, Taiyō. Never have. Never will.” The blade tilts, catching the neon glow of the room. “But for you”—his eyes shift, dark liquid swirling like ink and flame—“submission. It’s trust. My trust. My vow to you.”
He lays the sword at my feet, slowly rising to kiss me through the lace of my panties, his breath so hot I think I may shatter right here and now.
“Spread those legs for me.” I feel him give my ankles a slight nudge.
The rope doesn’t allow for much, maybe an inch.
He leans away, still on his knees, and I see the katana between my ankles, the flat of the blade cool against my holo-skin.
A shiver runs up my spine. I don’t dare move.
I can’t. This is another test. Will I trust him not just with my body but with my heart, accepting that he will always protect me?
“You have no idea how dangerous this is, me on my knees, you bound. It isn’t just you risking everything here.” He’s bent over, his hands flexing and tightening over the hilt, almost in a state of conscious meditation.
With a sudden single motion, the katana raises in front of me, steel reflecting the neon-stained skyline in the dim light of the room.
He slices. The rope gives with a single flick of his wrist, precise and clean, the fibers falling away like flower petals.
My legs are free, but the sword lingers near my ankle as if he’s reluctant to move.
I hear him exhale with relief. “And when I free you”—his thumb brushes the inside of my ankle, slowly—“you’ll always come back to me. I’m the one choosing to stay with you. I need you to do the same.”
“Kael.” My voice is breathy and full of emotion. Tears swell. Who knew this hardened man could be so tender? I move toward him.
He remains frozen. He stays close on his knees and wraps his hands around my thighs. He looks up at me with a desire that threatens to consume him. If he could keep me tied up forever, I believe he would. I realize a part of me wouldn’t mind.
“That’s the difference, Taiyō. The rope binds. The blade frees. Both require trust. Both require surrender.”
My pulse hammers, and it’s not because he cut me loose or because he released me from standing in one place.
It’s because I know this...
I can no longer run from him, fight him, or hate him. I’m choosing to stay and trust him. Not only with my life but my heart. I want him. No, not just to save me but to love me. Commit to only me.
And that scares me more than anything Vikktor, LINK, or even Eli could do to me.
What happens when you place your salvation in the hands of one of the most brilliant but darkest minds in the city?
Credence. That’s what.