Master Garret

*Author’s Note: Thank you once again for your kind words and for reading this series. As I said before this is new territory for me so I am not as confident in it as I am with my other writings. I do realize that this story may not be enjoyable for some, perhaps even boring. I do apologize for this and I hope it will get better soon.

I do speak of subspace in this chapter, it may not be something you have experienced or the way you have experienced it, it is simply a way I have experienced it. Jonathan is very aware of what is happening to him while in this space.

Once again, this chapter has no sex in it.

As before, if you are here because of The Contract, please know that this is a different Jonathan than the one you already know. This Jonathan is still learning and we’ll be on that journey with him. Things may be get darker in this story.

I will gladly accept your constructive criticism and would be grateful of your advice.

I do hope you enjoy.*

*

It took at least a week for Jonathan to feel comfortable in his role again, but Garret patiently helped him through it. He was hesitant again and had lost the confidence that he had previously gained. They talked through Jonathan’s fears but he did not want to talk any further about Scott, and Garret did not press him. Soon his submissive started leaning into his touches again, lost that nervous trepidation. While Garret knew that he would have to continue being slow and gentle, now more so than ever, he decided it was time for the next step.

He led Jonathan to the playroom, his submissive could tell something was different today. The room looked no different than usual, but Jonathan felt goosebumps as he stripped and knelt, anticipating something.

Garret held a length of soft rope in his hands.

“Today, Jonathan, I’m going to tie you up.”

A statement, matter of fact.

Jonathan knew that Garret liked to tie up his submissives. His specialty was suspension art. Tying his submissives in intricate ways and putting them on display. Jonathan had always been fascinated while watching his friend do this to others. He felt a thrill at the thought that it was about to be done to him.

Garret smirked as he watched this play out on Jonathan’s face.

“We’ll take it slow, as usual, and work up to the really intricate stuff. It can be a little intense at first. I’ll just use some different knots on you at first before we get to the suspension. Do you remember what Cecille said to me at the party?”

“About doing another demonstration, Sir?” Jonathan asked.

“Yes,” Garret purred as he walked around Jonathan, trailing the end of the rope across the kneeling man’s back. “I’ll be performing at another of her parties in a few more weeks, and I have the perfect model in mind to perform with me.”

Jonathan shivered, knowing that the model was him.

Garret had him stand and put his arms behind his back, crossed, and hands holding his elbows.

“Stay still, just like that,” Garret ordered and began to work with the rope.

Jonathan closed his eyes focused on his breathing. Feeling the rope wrap around him, tightening, twisting, crisscrossing on his body, listening to the soft instructions from Garret. The sensations and low murmur of Garret’s voice made him shiver, made him slip into a space where he had never been. He felt as if he was floating, but anchored securely by the rope that Garret held. Nothing else existed to him then. Just him, Garret, and the rope.

Garret watched him closely and he wrapped the rope and tied the knots. He smiled in satisfaction as he saw Jonathan relax and simply enjoy the sensations. Garret suspected that Jonathan had slipped into a form of subspace and was truly living in the moment. He continued to bind the rope around Jonathan, planting gentle kisses here and there as he went, trailing gentle fingers across sensitive skin. As he finished, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. The rope crossed around Jonathan’s chest and formed a V on his back, wrapping around his forearms. Knots lined Jonathan’s spine and tendrils of rope branched out to curl around his biceps. The rope continued to crisscross down his lower back and tightly sculpted rear. Had this not been the first time Garret had tied Jonathan, he would have placed knots in strategic erotic zones to drive his submissive crazy, but that would wait for another day. Jonathan looked wonderful wrapped up in rope.

Garret cupped Jonathan’s cheek on one hand and softly kissed him.

“Kneel,” he whispered and marveled as his bound submissive dutifully and gracefully sank to his knees. “You did wonderful, Jonathan. I’m going to untie you now.”

He masterfully unraveled a few of the knots and the rope loosened and fell away. He gathered Jonathan to him and held him. Crooning to him and stroking his back, watching his face as Jonathan slowly came back to reality.

“What...what happened?” Jonathan asked when he was fully aware again.

“Subspace,” Garret explained. “Submissives can sometimes slip into a...hmmm...euphoric headspace. It is difficult to explain, and it’s different for everyone. I experienced it a few times myself, nothing existed but myself and my Domme, and everything seemed more intense and real. Rope seems to get you there. What did you think about being tied?”

Jonathan relaxed against Garret and searched his thoughts.

“I enjoyed it, Sir,” he said truthfully. “I felt sensations I had never felt before. Utterly helpless yet...completely controlled and safe. I lost myself in just feeling everything, didn’t try to hold onto any control. Just...gave it all to you.”

“Good,” Garret whispered and placed a kiss against Jonathan’s temple. “That’s very good.”

...

Jonathan dressed carefully in the clothes Garret had helped him pick out for the party. Dark grey dress slacks, a deep plum dress shirt, no tie, and shiny black dress shoes. He left the black leather collar on the bed for Garret to place on him once he was ready. He left the top two buttons undone on the shirt as Garret had done for the last party. His hands shook a little on the buttons and he willed himself to relax.

He was going to be tied in front of people today.

Not only tied, but suspended.

They had worked on getting him used to the ropes for the past few weeks. Jonathan greatly enjoyed it, but the thought of other people watching gave him some anxiety. Garret assured him over and over that he would do well and tried to soothe Jonathan’s fears. It was just one more step.

Garret knocked on the door and entered. He smiled and admired his finely dressed submissive. He took the collar and gently settled it around the younger man’s neck.

“You’ll be excellent,” Garret reassured once again.

At the party, Cecille excitedly greeted them.

“Oh Garret I’m so pleased that you’ll be demonstrating for us again. It’s been so long since we’ve seen a good show!” she beamed and took Jonathan’s hand. “You’ll do lovely, dear. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Jonathan smiled gratefully at her and took in the room.

This party did not have as many guests as the first. This one was for a closer circle of people that Cecille considered her friends. There was still a big crowd though, and Jonathan couldn’t shake his nerves. He grabbed a glass of something that looked alcoholic from a passing waiter and was about to take a long drink when it was removed from his hand. Garret gave him a disapproving look as he took the glass.

“No. I don’t want you inebriated for this. I want you sober.” He returned the glass to another tray.

Blushing at the admonishment, Jonathan followed Garret into the fray. He didn’t say much as they mingled. He merely listened, smiled and laughed when appropriate, but didn’t have much to say as he kept to his own thoughts. The others smiled knowingly and let him be, some of the submissives knew what he was going through as they had been in a similar position.

“Come, there’s something we must do before the performance,” Garret said after some mingling and motioned for Jonathan to follow.

He followed Garret out of the ballroom and into a quiet corridor lined with doors to rooms. These were the private rooms that Cecille set aside for her guests to use during her parties. Obediently, he entered the room that Garret indicated and stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw there.

Samantha, kneeling in the center of the room.

A tall, broad shouldered man stood a few steps behind her, he recognized the dominant as Sebastian. A good fit, he found himself thinking.

Samantha stole a glance his way and he could see her eyes widen. So she hadn’t known they would both be here either. The situation hit him. His former submissive was about to see him not as a dominant, but as a submissive. And she would see him trussed up for the world to see later. What would she think of him? Would she laugh? He turned to Garret, his eyes pleading.

Garret’s expression was serious and he simply indicated the space before Samantha.

“Kneel.”

Jonathan closed his eyes and hesitated for just a moment, then stood before Samantha and gracefully sank to his knees, falling naturally into the proper position.

Now, face to face, Samantha could see him fully and her eyes practically popped out of her head they were so wide. She took in his position and the collar around his neck. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

“You’re both here because of some unfinished business between you,” Garret explained. “You will be civil.” He instructed Jonathan and went to the edge of the room.

“I expect the same,” Sebastian warned Samantha in his deep, baritone voice before he joined Garret.

The two submissives looked at one another, expressions of shock, fear, and uncertainty played across their faces.

Jonathan dropped his gaze first and his shoulders slumped a little.

“Samantha, I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you while you were with me. Master Garret explained it to me, and he is right that I should have known better.” He took a deep breath. “The truth is, I wasn’t ready to fully commit to a submissive. I believed that I was but I’m simply too inexperienced and...” he smirked slightly, “I lack the proper discipline. Talking to you at the auction I should have known that you and I were not a proper fit together, but I saw you as a challenge that I thought I could handle. I neglected your needs and didn’t listen to what you were trying to tell me. For all of this, I am deeply sorry and hope that you will forgive me.”

He watched as Samantha regarded him carefully.

“Master Jonathan...”

He held up a hand.

“No, please. It is just Jonathan.”

Samantha hesitated, she didn’t quite understand. “...Jonathan. I am also very sorry. I’m sorry I called you an asshole, son of a bitch, bastard, and any other hurtful name that I may have called you. I was so frustrated with you that you couldn’t figure out what I wanted, that you wouldn’t play the way I wanted. Master Sebastian has helped me understand that I should have talked to you, invoked a safe word to make you listen and actually communicated with you rather than being a disobedient little brat. I’m sorry that I refused to submit to you and tell you why I wasn’t happy. I do forgive you, and I hope that you can forgive me as well.”

Jonathan dipped his head. “Of course I do.”

They both relaxed a little and regarded each other in silence.

Samantha broke the silence first with a burning question.

“Ma...Jonathan. What is going on?”

“Master Garret proposed a way to help me become a better Dom. By becoming a submissive I can better understand a submissive’s feelings, fears and desires in situations I may put one through. For the foreseeable future, I am his submissive.” He fingered the collar around his neck.

Samantha’s eyebrows had raised. “That is...an interesting situation.”

They looked up as their dominants approached.

“Good luck on your journey, Jonathan,” she said as Sebastian had her rise. “It was good to talk to you again.”

They smiled at each other as she and Sebastian left the room.

“How do you feel?” Garret asked, standing before his kneeling submissive.

“Better, it felt good to say that. Though it would have been nice to have been prepared for that, Sir.”

“Careful lad, almost sounds like you’re challenging me there.” But he smirked as he said it. “If I had warned you, you might have turned tail and refused to leave the car. I saw the way you looked at me when you saw her. It’s one thing for your friends to see you submit, but it’s another thing entirely for someone you took control of to see you submit before her. Another lesson, Jonathan.” He checked his watch. “Ah, and we’re right on time. Come, Cecille is about to introduce tonight’s entertainment.”

He took Jonathan’s hand and led him back into the ballroom where the crowd was starting to gather. A small stage had been erected at one end of the room. One section of it was curtained off, the other contained a suspension frame and coils of rope.

Jonathan stopped at the entrance to the ballroom as he saw the gathering crowd and Garret paused as he felt Jonathan’s hand pull back against his. He turned to look at Jonathan to see panic rising in his submissive’s eyes.

“Garret...I...I don’t think I can.” Jonathan said, voice barely a whisper.

Garret noted the slight tremor to Jonathan’s voice, and let the forgotten honorific pass. He stood close to his submissive and placed comforting hands on Jonathan’s shoulders.

“Yes, you can. Remember, just listen to me and you’ll do fine. It’s just you and me up there, no one else matters, it’s like no one else is even here. Just give in to it, and I’ll guide you through it. If you truly could not do this then we wouldn’t even be here. If at any point I see that you can’t handle this, I promise that you will be out of those ropes in an instant and everything stops. Do you trust me, Jonathan?”

Jonathan held his master’s gaze. “Of course I do, Sir.”

“Then trust me to guide you through this. I believe that you are able to do this, and will be utterly magnificent.” He firmly retook Jonathan’s hand. “Come, and let’s give them a show they won’t forget anytime soon.”

Jonathan nodded and followed, his heart thudding, and then Cecille was talking.

“Ladies and gentlemen I am very pleased to introduce Master Garret and his submissive, Jonathan! They will give us a lovely performance on rope tonight. Please, enjoy!”

Garret squeezed Jonathan’s hand once then led him onto the stage as the crowd clapped. Garret let go and indicated a spot on the stage, Jonathan automatically went into the kneeling position. He caught sight of Samantha, who smiled warmly at him before he looked away and focused his gaze on the floor before him.

“Thank you, Cecille. Jonathan and I have some lovely knots to show you tonight. Without further ado, we shall begin. I ask you all to stay quiet, no loud talking or other startling noises to distract dear Jonathan.” He motioned to the string quartet in the corner and they started playing a soft, relaxing tune. Garret turned to Jonathan and knelt down to whisper in his ear. “Remember, it’s just you and me. Trust me that you can do this. If at any point you don’t feel safe, you just have to say your safe words and I’ll get you out. It’s just one more step. Now, up, and let’s remove those clothes.”

With a deep breath, Jonathan stood with Garret and kept his eyes on his dominant as his clothes were removed. He was soon completely bare and exposed before all of the people that he knew in nothing but his collar, he felt the heat rise in his cheeks and a shiver passed through him from head to toe. Garret slipped a soft cloth over Jonathan’s eyes and secured it, Jonathan could no longer see the room. That made him relax a little as it helped him tune out the people that were watching. He heard Garret start to explain to the crowd about the ropes and techniques he was going to use on Jonathan. At first, Jonathan listened to the words and the explanations of how the ropes were tied and used. But he made himself relax and just listen to the gentle sound of his master’s voice. The meanings of the words that weren’t meant for him fell away and all that was left was the comforting tones. Then the ropes were there. Wrapping and entwining around Jonathan as Garret spoke, keeping his voice low and gentle. He had Jonathan in a position similar to the first time he tied him, arms crossed behind his back, hands on his elbows. This harness was tied like that first time, though more rope was used in front to evenly distribute his weight when he was suspended and metal rings were threaded through the ropes on his back.

He simply listened as Garret spoke, living for those moments when Garret whispered words only for him. Words that encouraged, comforted, and soothed. He felt himself slip into that space again. The crowd completely fell away and it was only him, Garret, and the ropes binding him. His breath shuddered and he let out a soft moan.

“Steady,” Garret breathed in his ear as he bound him. “Kneel, then lie face down on the floor.”

Jonathan did as he was bid, Garret supported him by firmly holding the rope harness tied at his back. Since Jonathan could not use his arms he eased him down from the kneeling position with the harness until Jonathan was resting flat.

“He’s gone into subspace now,” Garret spoke quietly to the crowd as he continued to bind Jonathan. “The rope is a powerful thing to him, brings him to that state of being as he’s bound.”

No one said a word in the crowd as they watched Jonathan’s beautiful form become entwined in the rope. It felt like no one even breathed.

Jonathan simply felt and slipped deeper into the sensations. He felt every millimeter of the rope on his skin, how it was soft and rough, how it was tight and secure, how it bound him completely. How Master Garret bound him completely.

Garret continued the supporting harness around Jonathan’s hips and down his thighs. With the base done, the suspension could begin. He motioned to someone off to the side of the stage and Richard stepped up next to him. Garret instructed him and had him lift Jonathan by the ropes and hold him so Garret could secure him to the frame. Garret clipped carabiners connected to strong rope on the frame to the rings on Jonathan’s harness. He dismissed Richard once Jonathan was secure.

Jonathan felt the ropes tighten, felt the pressure on his chest and hips. But he did not panic. Here in the ropes he was safe.

Garret started to weave his art. He stopped speaking to the crowd and lived the moment with Jonathan. He took Jonathan’s right leg and held it straight as he wove a pattern of rope around it, securing it to the frame in a web as he went along. Garret bent Jonathan’s left leg, lifting it out from his hip as far as was comfortable without stretching, and placed the sole of his foot flat against his right thigh. If Jonathan had been standing this would look like the tree yoga pose. He wove the rope around that leg, binding it to Jonathan’s right thigh, and securing it in another web of rope to the harness. Then he entwined ropes around Jonathan’s upper chest, nearer his collar bone, and wrapped them under his armpits and around his shoulders. After threading a metal ring through and connecting the rope between Jonathan’s shoulder blades, he gently pulled the rope back to connect it to another carabiner on the frame. This caused Jonathan’s back to arch backward. Jonathan groaned softly as his body was curved back, his eyes fluttered beneath the blindfold as he reveled in the sensations.

“And there he is, beautifully bound and suspended,” Garret said to the crowd with a sweeping gesture toward Jonathan. “You may come up to see the ropes, but do not touch.”

As Cecille’s guests came up on the stage to get a closer look at the knots and design, Garret leaned in to Jonathan’s ear to whisper to him. He gave no orders or demands, he simply spoke to Jonathan. Telling him the reactions of the crowd, how he looked being tied, telling Jonathan to just feel and listen to the sound of his voice.