[Author's note: The party is over, the Lost and Found has closed down. In the aftermath, Adam has finally decided to take Eve home. At last (after
Latex Date Night
), Eve has penetrated his Fortress of Solitude... what will she discover?]
---
ALLOWED INSIDE
Adam woke alone, which wasn't what troubled him. He was used to waking up on his own, stretched out in his clean, white sheets. Last night, though, he'd brought someone home for the first time in a very long time, curling up next to her body in the dark. He rolled his shoulders, feeling stiffness there from the previous night's activities and lack of sleep, and reluctantly hauled himself out of bed to go and find his houseguest. Eve had stripped her costume off before they got into bed, as had he, and now he found himself looking down at a tangle of fancy-dress clothing on his floor. He went to the ensuite and pulled on a bathrobe before venturing out into the rest of the house.
It had seemed natural, last night, the conversation about whether she'd like to come back to his for the night. In the cab, she'd snuggled against him sleepily, as they had wound up into the hills to his place. He'd shown her around, feeling strangely like he was walking around naked. It was as if he was exposing himself to Eve, showing her the parts of him that he kept hidden. He'd taken her to his bedroom at last, and they'd stripped out of their costumes to slip between the sheets, bodies entwined, holding each other until they'd fallen asleep. It had felt strange and also intimately familiar at the same time.
Eve wasn't in the kitchen, or the living area. He stood in the middle of the house, listening, but there was no sound. Perhaps she'd gone already, slipping out without waking him. Maybe coming home with him had been too weird for her and she'd left. He wrapped the robe tighter around himself and wandered out to the conservatory.
The door opened silently, swinging away from him, letting the earthy scents of moisture and vegetation filter through to him. He passed quietly between the orchid displays, their riot of colour and form distracting him momentarily, before seeing the back of her head through the foliage. She said nothing as he approached, coming up behind her.
Eve was sitting cross-legged on a padded leather stool from the kitchen, facing away from him, towards the expansive glass windows, looking out over the lush, rolling landscape beyond. She had dressed herself in a harness, the dark leather straps cinching her neck, looping around her shoulders, elbows and wrists, circling her waist and then feeding down between the delectable curves of her buttocks. Straps ran vertically, intersecting with each loop, running down her legs to bind the leather straps encircling her upper thighs, knees and ankles. Each intersection bore a shiny metal ring, contrasting brightly against her rich honey-brown skin. She had gathered her hair up, tying it in a bun, exposing the back of her neck and the ring embedded in the leather. Her hands rested lightly on her knees. She didn't move.
Adam circled around her, unwilling to speak and break the silence, shatter the moment. He came to a halt in front of her, but she didn't acknowledge him. Her eyes were closed, her chest rising and falling in a slow, measured cadence. Adam's eyes drifted down to the fullness of her naked breasts, encircled by leather straps the ran down to the waist band and finally between her legs. She had adjusted the buckles until the harness was tight against her skin. Her lips curved into a smile and she opened her eyes.
"Morning," she purred, lifting her chin, fixing her eyes on his face and then on his lips.
It felt like a request, and Adam leaned forward to deliver a soft kiss on her mouth.
"Morning, Eve," he murmured.
"Sleep well?"
Adam shrugged. "I suppose. A little tired still."
"Thought you might be, so I let you sleep."
His eyes drifted down her body. "I see you've been exploring while I was asleep."
Eve grinned. "I needed something else to wear. The Cheshire Cat's done."
"I have a laundry."
"I prefer this."
Adam gave a little laugh. "Out of everything I have, you chose the harness."
"There weren't many options in the female attire category. This is a bit of a bachelor pad."
Adam placed his hands on top of hers, resting on her knees. He looked down at her with a quiet smile.
"So, what do you think, Eve?"
"About what?"
"What did you discover on your sweep?"
Eve pouted, feigning innocence.
"It's fine," Adam continued, "I know you can't help yourself."
Eve's expression didn't change, but then she seemed to relent.
"Sorry, force of habit."
"Goes with the territory, right?"
"Something like that."
"No such thing as an off-duty cop?"
"I guess."
"Gotta make sure you'll make it through to retirement."
Eve grinned up at him, playing the game.
"No battle plan survives contact with the enemy," she responded.
Adam didn't answer, but he kissed her again, taking her cheek gently into his hand, feeling the softness of her skin.
"So, you're finally inside the fortress," he murmured, "What did you find?"
"Aside from the sex harness and all the gear in the rest of your collection?"
"Aside from the obvious and expected."
"Not much."
"Does that surprise you?"
Eve wrinkled her nose. "Kinda."
She looped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer to the stool.
"It means one of two things," she continued.
"Oh?"
"Either you have no dark secrets, or your secrets are so dark that you've gone out of your way to protect them."
Adam smiled. "Secrets, you said. Of course, they'd be protected. My work is highly classified."
Eve made a show of looking around them. "Why, are some of these species endangered?"
Adam nuzzled her neck, bestowing small kisses on the side of her neck above her collar. He looped a finger through the ring on the front.
"I'm a collector of rare and beautiful things," he murmured.
Eve's breath was warm against his cheek.
"Have you collected me?" she asked.
"I want to."
"What would you trade for this specimen?"
Adam paused, letting his fingers trace the straps of her harness, following them down to her chest. Delicately, he cupped her breasts.
"Just about anything," he whispered.
Eve's hands parted his robe, sliding within. He felt her fingers wrap around his burgeoning erection, but he took her wrists, pinning them back against her knees.
"Don't move," he said.
Eve remained in place, cross-legged on the stool, as Adam stepped around her. He opened a drawer and extracted a coil of thread. Without speaking to her, he threaded it through the harness rings, securing her wrists to her knees.
"Up," he said, helping her into a kneeling position.
