There were parts of the cupboards they'd never reached before.
"We could still get a cleaner," Eliot suggested.
Cass rocked back on her heels, dark curls dust-streaked and flying in all directions. "They wouldn't know what stuff's ours."
"Our valuables, right."
She swiped his leg, "there are things here I'd like to keep. Mostly you."
"Afraid they'd sweep me up?"
Their lack of possessions was a standing joke. They'd met in a place they didn't live; conducted a relationship in airport lounges, hotel rooms, train stations. Moving out of their first house was bittersweet, even if it was just a rental. Part of her was turned on - like she always was - by new possibilities, new places to explore. But there was something about this domesticity -
"Have you taken the bedroom boxes out?"
"Yep."
Cass dove into the cupboard. She knew he'd be watching the ripe curve of her bum in the worn skinny jeans, so she gave a little wiggle. Leaning down he smacked her lightly.
"You want a drink?"
She did, but she also wanted to get the job done. She'd moved so many times it had become a ritual. Once you start, keep moving until every shelf and drawer is empty, every suitcase full, everything in between stuffed in black bags and carried to a dumpster. Moving wasn't time for fooling around.
"Honey?"
"Let me get this done first," she said, voice muffled by the chipboard cupboard doors.
Eliot opened the fridge. She heard a bottle-top pop. "I'll clean the bathroom."
Cass crouched amidst a pile of yellowed Tupperware and mismatched dishes to watch him leave, eyes skimming the familiar lines of his broad shoulders and rippling arms. She lingered on his ass, imagined squeezing, feeling its firm contours beneath her fingers.
"Love you."
"Love you too."
Two years ago she expected none of this. Cass enjoyed the occasional fling when someone caught her eye but she wasn't looking for a relationship. Then Eliot crashed through her atmosphere and rocked the planet out of orbit. For the first time, she'd throw caution aside and followed her gut. Despite some bumps, she never had reason to doubt or second-guess. Everything they did together felt like a piece of something bigger, like it mattered.
It was the kind of 24-caret love story she scoffed at as corny, but it was happening to her, and it felt better than she'd dared imagine. For the first time in her adult life she was moving with someone.
Cass plunged back into the cupboard, extracting odds and ends. She was at the right age to "settle down" but she'd never thought like that. Her life was rich and exciting. She wasn't looking for someone. But Eliot found her and he was too good to resist. She smiled, he was more than good.
On their first date he kissed her till her knees buckled - which took about 10 seconds. He could make her melt like butter on a hot plate. Cass's pussy twitched as she thought about their first night together. Instinctively she pressed her thighs together, the thick seams of her jeans creating a pleasant friction at her crotch. There was the time he bent her over the hood of his car and alternated spanking and thrusting till her cum gushed down her legs.
Grabbing the final item she retreated from the cupboard, breathing hard.
"What's that?" Eliot set his empty bottle on the counter. "Upstairs bathroom is done."
"A crock-pot, I think. Vintage. Check out this cord."
Eliot came over and rubbed the woven fabric of the electrical extension between his thumb and forefinger. "Like bondage rope."
"Shall we try it?" Cass blurted.
"I thought you were all work and no play."
"We don't have to."
Eliot pulled her close, locking his arms around her torso. "You suggested it sweetheart." He ran his hand down her back to rest on her bum. "You want to be tied up?"
He squeezed his legs against hers so she could feel him hardening against her.
"It was just a suggestion."
"I liked it. My suggestion is you take off that tee-shirt."
He loosed her enough so she could peel off her top, freeing round, slightly pointed breasts. The creamy skim tightened in the coolness, accentuating her toast-coloured areola. Eliot smack her right breast lightly, fingers catching the nipple which hardened instantly.
"You like that?"
His fingers snapped against her other breast and were rewarded with a second firm nub. Cass had never really liked have her breasts played with until Eliot. He made her cum once just by rolling, nibbling and flicking her nipples. The memory sent a fresh flow of moisture to her already damp crotch.
Without another word, Eliot positioned her by the kitchen island, set the crock pot on it, and began binding her wrists. He was good with knots, one of his many dexterities. She relaxed, leaning against the support, savouring the brush of his fingers and the pressure of the cord.
"Is that too tight?"
"No, I like it." Cass loved being restrained. She had never trusted anyone else enough to indulge in this turn on but with Eliot she could let go completely.
When her hands were trussed he stepped back. "Mmmmm. You look good enough to eat." His eyes traced the curve of her neck and shoulder, the fullness of her bosom, the stippled line of ribs. Then his hand followed, brushing her skin so lightly it felt like a breath of air. She moaned and leaned into him.
