For D

Sometimes going all the way

Is just the start

Stuart lay on his front and tried to work out how he was going to get out of this one. It didn't help that he'd literally walked into the trap. They'd been waiting for him. He wished he had asked Jo to come with him, but he really wasn't sure about what he thought he'd seen, and it was supposed to be only a quick look.

At least Jo would be worried by now and looking for him.

He shifted slightly, trying to process it all in his head. He'd been so concentrated on looking for that photograph that he'd seen, he'd let them get the drop on him. He'd felt the cold metal press into the back of his neck. Stu was brave but not stupid, the gun moved into his view long enough that he knew he didn't have much of a chance as a calm female voice explained that she was very sorry but he'd blundered in and they needed to put him out of commission for a while. A pair of hands appeared in his field of view with some kind of stretched cloth between them, instinctively he ducked his head back, and closed his eyes. The material was pulled across his face and wrapped firmly around his head, pinning his eyes closed, the blindfold was very effective. They then used his own cuffs to secure his hands behind his back and hustled him out of a door, into some kind of vehicle.

He had no idea how long they'd driven for, but they arrived somewhere, hustled him out, up and down some steps, over some kind of board bridge, he thought. He could hear water. He was pushed down some narrow stairs. They'd removed the cuffs and his jacket, then they'd proceeded to truss him up like an ovenready turkey.

His arms were pulled behind his back, palm to elbow, rope went round each shoulder, then down securing his arms in position with the rope wrapped firmly round at mid forearm, rope going around his upper arms trapping them firmly against his body. By the time she was finished, he could move his fingers and that was it. He strained to reach upwards hoping to find an end to the rope that bound him, and he heard the satisfaction in her voice as she informed him that all the knots were well out of reach of his fingers. And that the rope was attached to a ring well above his head, so he wouldn't be going anywhere.

Two pairs of hands guided him to lie down on something that was probably a bed. They'd left him some water, so he wouldn't get dehydrated, and she apologised for it all being rather awkward and uncomfortable for him, but the blindfold had to stay on. Someone would come, she wasn't planning on hurting him, in fact she needed to avoid doing that, so they would tell the station where he was. Gentle hands guided his head so that he could find the tube to drink from. Then they left him.

He tried wriggling. He tried to reach up with his bound arms, his fingers straining to twist round. Not a chance. He was bound and blindfolded just waiting for something to happen.

He tried to relax, his shoulders ached a bit with his arms pinned behind him, but the grip of the ropes on his skin and around his body were surprisingly comfortable. He couldn't move, and he couldn't free himself, but he wasn't in severe discomfort. Whoever had just tied him was obviously an expert.

He drifted, his thoughts becoming slowly more jumbled. He couldn't seem to get past the feeling of the ropes gripping his body, of helplessness, of memories that kept rising to the surface, memories were stirring his emotions, he became aware that he badly needed to take care of business, he was becoming aroused by the memory of another time and place, a pair of hands, a woman's hands. He moved, his need was becoming stronger, and the fact that he could do nothing about it made him feel more aroused. He turned on his side, bringing his knees up slightly, he was now far past desperate.

Hours passed, he couldn't tell it was day or night, he was blind and helpless and his entire body was screaming with need. Need for a woman who would never return that feeling.

"Well, that's another fine mess you've got yourself into."

He turned his head, he couldn't see her, but he knew she was there. Hands stripped away the blindfold. And he blinked, looking up at her. Jo's eyes were looking down, and he felt the heat rising in his cheeks, as she smiled. There were times when he wondered if she knew. Knew that he would do anything for love. That she was as necessary to him as breathing. That sometimes that need for her gripped him like the ropes pinning his arms.

She helped him sit up and unfastened the rope end from the ring in the ceiling. He looked around him, realising he was on a boat. He was so busy taking in his surroundings in attempt to control his emotions, he didn't realise she was talking to him.

"Earth to Stu...Turn round, or do you want to stay like that."

"No, of course not." Even though he could feel the heat rising in his cheeks manifesting his confusion, once again, some wicked corner of his soul was actually enjoying the sensation of being tied, for a second he wondered if he'd reached a stage of desperation that merited professional attention. I would do anything for love... but I won't do that... It was as though someone had spoken, he turned his head, looking at Jo... I would do anything for you... He dragged himself back to the present. Dreaming about what he could never have was making him crazy. The rational part of him knew he should put in for another transfer, away, far away. The emotional part of him couldn't bear it. If he didn't get his near daily dose of Jo, he would die.

He shifted around, awkwardly, and Jo sat on the bed behind him. Her fingers traced the bindings pinning his arms. Shibari, she hadn't seen that in a long time, not since Tess had introduced her to it years ago. For a moment she wondered about the person who had tied him. The black rope, the contrast with Stu's exotic dusky skin, and his white shirt, surely the person doing the tying knew the effect. They'd used black vet wrap to blindfold him, surely a coincidence, but taken with the black rope and the way he'd been tied, it all seemed too much of one. None of it was a coincidence, it was the clue to what was going on.

Stu felt strangely disappointed as the ropes loosened and his hands were freed.

"I'm almost afraid to ask, did you find anything, but the trouble you got yourself into?"

"They jumped me before I could."

"They?"

"Two of them."

"Height, weight, sex?"

"Female... tallish... white."

"Oh great... so you didn't see either of them."

"Errr... no." he blushed. "they blindfolded me before I could."

"Stu!"

"They had a gun." He shivered slightly, in spite of his natural instinct for bravado, proving to the world that he was a tough guy, the gun had unnerved him somewhat.

She turned to face him, his eyes looked down, she put an arm round his neck and hugged him. Damn...

His arm slid round her waist and hugged her to him. Every fibre of his being wanted to hold her close forever.

Something about the entire incident was tugging at her mind...

Mind games... that's what this is ... mind games... so who's the target... Me? or Stu?

Jo looked sideways at her partner. It was entirely possible that Stu had got himself into a mess. Sometimes he got carried away with his own invincibility. The results were inevitably a panic situation in which Stu frantically tried to dig himself out of whatever crisis he had managed to precipitate. He'd mellowed, but there was still something of the cocky glory boy in Stu. This wasn't down to him.

This time... this time was different. Something was teasing at the edges of Jo's memory, she had the feeling that she was the target, that Stu was the pawn in a game that was being played. But what's the game? Controlling the game, that's the key? This was a set up. That's why the call came through to me.

If she didn't get a handle on this and find the key quickly, she could sense danger for both her and her partner. Someone was after them, and they would hurt Stu to get to her. She couldn't even explain how she knew any of this. Put on paper, it would seem mad, fantastical, impossible. No one would believe it.