Reprise

Step-Something

6 - Reprise

Chloe stood before the apartment door. It was 5pm precisely, which was when Ben had instructed her to arrive.

She knew that she didn't

have

to be there. She was beyond uneasy at what was going to happen to her once she'd entered Ben's apartment. But she also knew that in a strange way she

needed

to be.

She had a feeling that she and Lucas wouldn't be together much longer. As much as she liked him - maybe more than liked - he wouldn't be able to give her what she needed. She hadn't brought up her desire to give control over to another and take the consequences. She was beyond doubt that he wouldn't want to take her that way.

If she could see Ben occasionally, maybe that would satisfy her cravings, and she'd be able to stay with Lucas. Or, if not Ben, someone else to whom she could give herself over. If she could find someone she trusted. She felt guilty, though, since Lucas had been so faithful to her.

So the text from Ben hadn't been something she could ignore, even though the idea of seeing him again scared her. Those tools he had... she shivered in panic, but it was eager anticipation, not fear, that caused the sudden goosebumps on her arms.

He'd told her to come straight in. She took a deep breath and rang the bell anyway, not wanting to be rude, but immediately tried the front door latch. The door opened, and she stepped into the familiar living room.

The dark rolltop desk was open. It had a sheet of drawing paper taped to it. On the paper, in hot pink, was the word "Candy." She moved over to it, finding a handwritten note on the desk.

Candy. You will change your clothes for these. Change completely. There is a box of underwear by the desk. Do not wear your own. Everything is new and laundered. When you're changed, there is a blindfold above this note. Wear it. Ensure that you can see nothing. When you're changed and blindfolded, say "I'm done." - Ben

Her sense of horror overrode her excitement, just as it had done on her first visit. Change clothes and blindfold herself? What the hell? She trusted Ben for - well, for

something

. Trusted him not to abuse her, perhaps. That's as far as it could go, since pain and control were what he offered. She trusted him not to abuse the control. Didn't she? Could she trust him with these bizarre instructions?

She stood before the desk in indecision. She should walk out. She really should. But how would she know what he was offering if she did?

Still unresolved, she looked at the clothing. A thin sweatsuit - black zip-front top and pants. At least it was in her color. Very unflattering, though. She thought he'd want to see her in leather, so she was wearing leather pants, boots, and a low black tee with an open leather jacket.

The box of underwear had two pairs of panties and an assortment of bras. She realized as she was choosing which to try that she must have decided to go through with the script, and began to strip.

The black t-shirt bra was comfortable, so she left it on. She grabbed the first pair of panties that came to hand and stepped into them. Then she slipped into the pants and top. Both were a little tighter than they looked. Without a mirror to check, she felt that they looked better than she'd expected, especially if she unzipped the top to show a little cleavage.

Before taking the blindfold, she folded her own clothes and set them on the couch. Then she bound the blindfold about her head. Once it was in place it was effective. She could see nothing, not even the level of brightness around her. If she waved her hands before her eyes there was no change in the dark.

Chloe sighed nervously, then said, "I'm done."

She didn't know how she'd been heard, but a door opened, and soft footsteps approached her. Bare feet, judging by the near-silence of the steps. Fingers tugged at the blindfold, likely checking that it was in place. Ben didn't speak, but a gentle tug on her sleeve guided her through the room.

Ben's cologne seemed out of place. Stronger and more floral than she remembered. Or maybe he didn't wear cologne at all. The pull on her sleeve led her into another room. Ben's bedroom, if she recalled the geography of the apartment correctly. Her hand was guided to the back of a chair, and she assumed that she was to sit. After feeling around the chair to figure out where the seat was, she sat.

Each hand was guided behind the chair. She felt her wrists being wrapped in rope. Nails occasionally grazed her skin. That seemed discordant too. She hadn't noticed Ben's nails being especially long.

Her wrists weren't bound together. In fact, they were separated by about the width of the back of the chair. But then they were drawn together, the rope between them apparently pulled together into a knot, anchored to the chair back.

"You're Chloe?" came a voice.

Chloe started in panic. She tried to stand, but lifted the chair. Hands steadied it, and guided her back into it. The voice had

not

been Ben's. It had been a woman's soprano.

"Who are you?" Chloe demanded.

"I'm a friend of Ben's," the woman said. "Call me Annie. Do you have a safeword?"

"What?" Chloe asked.

"A safeword. Didn't you arrange one with Ben? You can use it now, if you want. You should hear me out, first."

"I don't have a safeword," Chloe replied. She knew what one was, it had been a big factor in the books she loved, but she and Ben hadn't negotiated one.

"Choose one, before we go any further," the woman said. "You can use it at any time and we'll be done."

'I don't know..." Chloe began, then, "Swordfish. That's my safeword." She had no idea why it had popped into her head, but it certainly wasn't a word that would be part of a conversation.

"Ben calls you Candy." It was a statement, rather than a question.

"Yes," Chloe said.

"Would you prefer Chloe or Candy?" the woman asked.

"Chl... no. I'm Candy, here," Chloe said, defiantly. She was a different person with Ben. She deserved a different name.

"Well, Candy," the voice said. It seemed to be moving around her, though she couldn't hear the woman moving. "Ben has told us about the book, and your heroine. You know that she isn't just about pain. She will take any partner, man or woman, right?"

"Y-yes," Chloe agreed.

"Are you like her, Candy?" the voice asked. It seemed to be directly in front of her.

"Not... not in that way," Chloe said, speaking to the air before her. "I don't... think so."

A finger touched her lips and circled around. "Are you sure, Candy? Would you like to be sure?"

Chloe's heart raced at the touch. "I think I'm sure. Who are you?" she asked, again.

"I'm a friend of Ben's," she said again. "He

gave

you to me." She emphasized the word, but then amended, "Well, he

loaned

you to me, I guess. You can call me miss, or mistress. Miss Annie, if you like."

"I don't know why I'm here, Miss Annie. Or why you're here."

She felt a movement of air close by her, then a breath on her ear. "You can keep it that way," the woman whispered. "Say swordfish. I give you my word that I will untie you and you can leave. Ben will not be disappointed. He promised me that, and I promised him that I would respect your wishes. Even if the ass didn't give you a safeword. Never do anything that makes you uncomfortable without a safeword, Candy."

"No, Miss Annie," she said.

"Ben knows the books. I know the books. My friend knows the books. He felt that you might want to explore the other aspects of

her

nature."

"I see, miss," Chloe said. Then, "Wait... your friend? Who is that?"

"She's here too, Candy," the woman said. "You can call her Miss Amelia. I give you my word on her behalf, too. Swordfish. Use it whenever you need. Do you need to use it now, Candy?"

Chloe's breath caught, and it was a moment before she felt able to answer. "Not yet, Miss Annie," she said, in a small voice.

A finger touched her throat, then traced down her chest to the zipper of her top. The touch went away, then the zipper opened further, to about her navel. The finger returned to trace the edge of her breasts. Chloe found her heart racing again.

She sensed the woman approaching her. Then a weight touched her thighs. It was light, at first, but became progressively heavier as the woman eased herself into Chloe's lap. Soft lips brushed against hers, then backed away.

Fingers touched her jaw, then she found herself being drawn back to the woman's lips. The lips teased Chloe's closed mouth. She found it increasingly difficult to resist parting her own lips. When she did, the woman's mouth covered hers, prying them further apart and moving against them.

Chloe found the near-kiss sensual, and realized it was turning her on just as a kiss from a man would. She allowed herself to respond with a little more enthusiasm, and the woman took advantage of the change, her lips moving against Chloe's.

Fingers drew lines down from Chloe's shoulders to her breasts, over the surface of the sweatsuit top. They circled and lightly squeezed the tips of her breasts as a tongue darted between her lips. Chloe groaned as her arousal grew.

The hands continued down to her thighs. They rested there for a moment, then she felt a pressure as thumbs squeezed inward, against her sex.

The woman began to bounce slowly in her lap, her mouth moving against Chloe's as her body rocked. She felt excitement growing in her chest.

There was a whispering sound, and the woman chuckled and drew back. "Miss Amelia thinks your hair looks like cotton candy, Candy. She wants to taste it."

The sound was the first real indication that Chloe had that there was someone else in the room. "I don't think it would taste good," she said, surprised at how husky her voice sounded.

"She'll find something that does," came Annie's voice.

As the woman returned for a kiss, Chloe felt her hair being moved aside, then other lips pressed to her neck. The movement of lips and tongue thrilled her, and she realized she was becoming wet.

Hands slipped around from behind and cupped her breasts through the top. Erotic sensations were building from four places, now: the kiss, the lips on her neck, the hands on her breasts, and the thumbs squeezing her sex as the woman in her lap rocked her hips.

Chloe began to moan into the kiss, which seemed to trigger the woman to probe deeper with her tongue, making Chloe's moans louder, more full of need.

The kiss ended. Chloe used the time to catch her breath. Then the lips against her neck also drew back. A moment later, the sound of a kiss came from beside her ear, and hair tickled her neck. She realized that the other two were kissing each other, and from the small sounds that were emerging from both women, there was some serious passion.

Chloe didn't understand why that turned her on, but her heart thumped hard, and her breathing deepened. Her hips began to move against the thumbs pressing against her. Her own breathing became ragged as her excitement swelled.

The woman in her lap noticed. The sounds of the kiss ended, and the weight shifted back. "Looks like our little Candy is discovering something about herself," the woman said.

"Ah see that," came a voice from behind her. Chloe almost jumped. The other woman - Amelia, she assumed - had been almost completely silent to that point. Even now her voice was soft. It was lower-pitched than the first woman's, with a slight drawl that gave Chloe a tingling feeling. Then the first woman continued as the duo's spokesman. "So, no swordfish?"

Chloe didn't speak. She shook her head, trusting that the woman could see her, even if the reverse wasn't true.

"Good," said the woman. Then, apparently to her partner, "Untie the rope. Let's take a look at our prize."

Amelia didn't unfasten the bonds around her wrists, just unhooked the rope from the chair. With the help of a pair of hands - she wasn't sure whose - Chloe stood, and the chair was tipped to slide it away without the need to free her.

One of the two women moved to stand before her. She could hear her light breathing and sense her closeness. Fingers traced her chin, running down to the edge of her breasts. Chloe quivered in anticipation as the fingers moved back up to her neck, then drew her forward for a kiss, which became rapidly intense. She felt the wetness between her thighs grow.

"Y'all's kissin' is leavin' me out and makin' me lonely," came Miss Amelia's voice from behind. "I think y'all need to be punished."

Annie broke the kiss. Her fingers were exploring the midpoint of Chloe's bra. "You'll get your turn," she said, "and don't forget our agreement."

"Right," said the deeper voice. "Ah recall. But I'm allowed to punish Candy, ain't I?"

"Right up until she says the word," said Annie. "She might."

"Hey, that's not fair," yelped Chloe. Her heart skipped a beat.

Annie's finger left her chest. A moment later she felt the woman's hand cupping her sex. Her other hand took the back of Chloe's neck and pulled her in for a harsh, demanding kiss.

A moment later, Chloe felt a hand grip the waistband of her sweat pants, holding her in place. Then stinging pain erupted on her right butt cheek. She groaned into the kiss, her thighs tensing, pressing her sex hard into Annie's grip.

Another sharp swat. Chloe jerked and started to pant, her pussy burning with need.

One more stinging blow, this time on her left buttock. Chloe's clit was like a rock, firm against the pressure of Annie's palm. The muscles of her thighs contracted, her hips pressing hard against the hand. She groaned and tried to say, "Again," but it was an indefinite sound in the kiss as Annie slurped her tongue.

Then the pressure eased and the hand withdrew. Annie's lips left hers and Chloe stood alone, not knowing which was more painful, the throbbing of her buttocks or the unmet need of her swollen clit and overheated pussy.

~~~~~

Annie's fingers had stayed on the back of Chloe's neck. Now they moved up to twine into her hair, gripping tight. She used that grip to direct Chloe through the room. The fingers tugged painfully at her hair as they pulled her to a halt. Then the hand pushed her forward slowly until she walked into an object. The soft covering over the hard surface identified it as Ben's bed.

"Up," said Annie's voice. That wasn't really something she could do, with her hands still bound behind her. She felt the two women take her arms and help her to climb up, and then to lie down on her back.

The rope between Chloe's wrists kept her hands by her side. She couldn't have lifted them over her head, even standing. Lying down, the rope under her back, she couldn't move them at all.

Even as she was considering how helpless she was, she felt a rope coil around her right foot, then immediately around her left foot, before she could react. Once her feet were restrained to only a few inches of movement, her captor - she wasn't sure which woman it was - took her time fastening the knots. Then the rope was looped higher, just below her knees, and tied off again. Not only was she restrained, she'd now lost the ability to lash out with her feet. She hadn't planned to, and she was sure that doing so would have earned her more punishment, but now she felt entirely in the power of these two devious women. She still had her safeword, but only Annie's promise that they'd abide by it. She didn't want to test that promise.

Chloe felt the mattress sink as one of the women - again, she didn't know which - climbed up. The mattress bounced a little, with a creaking sound, as the woman moved close, then sat on her thighs. Now, unable to move her arms or legs, Chloe was pinned firmly in place.

The woman sitting on her moved a little. She felt feet drawing up beside her as the woman moved into a squat. "Do you like this, Candy?" said the woman. That voice was Annie's. "Do you like feeling a girl's body against yours?"

"Yes, Miss Annie," said Chloe.

Annie's fingers moved under her top, over her belly, just above the waistband of her sweatpants. They met in the center, at the knot in the drawstring. "How do you feel about a girl undressing you, Candy?" she asked.

Chloe thought about how the women would have to free her hands and legs to get her clothes off. With a flash of her everyday snark, she said, "Maybe you should have done that before tying me up."

"Maybe we should have," agreed Annie. The tone of her voice suggested amusement.

Chloe felt the drawstring slide as the woman tugged on it. The sweatpants became loose, then moved a few inches down her thighs. She still had the grey boyshorts she'd grabbed from the underwear collection. She felt the woman lean forward, then thumbs pressed into the sides of her sex, through the thin shorts. She imagined a large damp circle on the front of the grey fabric, growing at the rekindled tingling in her sex.

The mattress rocked again. Annie's fingers were squeezing and releasing her sex, but she could tell that the woman wasn't moving about, which meant Amelia must have also climbed onto the bed. When the movements stopped, she sensed that Amelia was behind her head, which made her uneasy.

Chloe's hips began to roll as Annie's fingers stoked her arousal. She could sense the woman behind her moving. When something touched her neck, she jumped. The jolt made her pant harder for a moment. She realized what she had felt. Amelia must have leaned forward, her hair brushing Chloe's neck.

A moment later she felt lips part her own. Amelia was kissing her. It felt doubly strange to be kissed not only by a woman, but one whose face was upside down. Both contributed to her excitement, and she felt her hips rising further against Annie's fingers.

Chloe felt Amelia take hold of her top's zipper and draw it down. This time it slid down completely and Amelia unhooked it, parting her top. The hands moved upward over her belly and began to cup her breasts through the bra.

Again, Chloe felt that she was being overwhelmed by erotic stimulation. This wasn't what she had expected when she chose to visit Ben. Her face felt a flush of heat.

The inverted lips left hers. She felt Miss Amelia lifting her body into a sitting position. Her hands didn't altogether leave Chloe's breasts. Instead, they moved towards the tip of her bra and pinched her nipples hard. Chloe groaned at the sudden shock of arousal.

"So, Annie," drawled Amelia, "lil' Cotton Candy has a point here. How do we get her naked now she's all tied up?"

"I'm sure you'll think of something, Amelia," came the voice of the woman sitting on Chloe's thighs.

"Weyull..." the other woman said, "I think Ben said he kept a knife around here. Whaddya say we just cut them off?"

"We can try that," replied Annie.

Amelia's fingers left Chloe's breasts. She felt the mattress twist slightly as the woman leaned to one side. Then there was the sound of a drawer opening, and its contents being rifled.

The drawer closed. "That's quite a knife," came Annie's voice.

"Ah'm gonna need help," said her partner.

Annie stopped squeezing Chloe's sex. The women were silent for a moment, then one of them lifted her bra by its center. "Hold this up so there's room," said Amelia.

"Okay," said Annie. "Jesus, take care with that thing."

Suddenly nervous, Chloe held her breath. She felt Amelia move close. Then a blade touched the center of her chest. Her blood ran cold.

"Shit," came Amelia's voice.

"I told you to be careful with that thing," said Annie. Chloe felt her bra drawn further from her body. "Try that, but for God's sake watch what you're doing."

The bra moved as though it were being sawed through, then suddenly lost all tension. Chloe felt the cups being tossed to either side of her chest, the touch of moving air confirming that her breasts were now uncovered. She shivered. The room wasn't cold, but her heart was racing after the touch of the knife.