Well here is chapter two! See I told you there would be more! I still can't believe the response I got from the first chapter! I have a storyline and all that good stuff planned out, along with some cannon elements to throw in, and yeah, I'm glad that you found me, and I'm glad that you came back for more!
As always, I need to thank sohypothetically. If you just realized how much time she spends helping not only me, but other writers, to make our thoughts and stories that we think about in the middle of the night, something that you can read… well she is wonderful! I also couldn't have done this without my cheerleaders, my m&m's. They not only cheer me on, but are more than happy to pre-read what I send for them. And are excited to do it!
And then for the hubs. He is still so supportive of me. And he did want to tie me into a hog-tie, but I did tell him no, and I tied him instead ;) I also need to thank the kinky ones who have made ropes something more than just tying wrists and ankles to bedposts. It has really turned into an art form. I found many videos on YouTube, just like Katniss did. Twisted Monk, Two Knotty Guys and Midori have some of the best. And even if you just tie your partner to the bed posts, please have scissors for the just in case! Play safe!
And again… this is about rope play. And sub-space. And don't forget the aftercare!
Katniss wakes up, not to the sound of her alarm like she usually does, but to the sound of a text message. She reaches quickly for her phone, wondering if it might be Prim. Instead, she sees a number that she doesn't recognize. She opens it up and it says, "When you come tonight, bring a bathing suit. Bikini if you have one. Or even a sports bra and boy shorts. I need you in tighter clothes because I need to do some test shots. By the way, this is Peeta."
When she moves so she can sit up, she feels a slight burn in-between her legs. She isn't sore, but she feels different. Not really knowing what else to say, she types, "Ok. See you tonight." She sends the message back to him and saves his number.
It's only five more minutes before her alarms rings, so she turns it off and gets ready for work.
The day crawls. Katniss finishes up the warehouse count, and Peeta spends the day in front of the computer. Its finally quitting time for Katniss, and she hurries home to take a quick shower and gets the bikini that Prim bought for her last year for their beach trip.
She tries not to think about how Peeta made her feel last night. He is a professional after all, she tells herself. There is even going to be some kind of contract. That has to be there to protect her, right?
She pulls up in the parking lot, and notices that she is ten minutes early. She decides to go on in. she opens the door and can hear music playing in the background. She doesn't recognize the tune, but it is relaxing all the same. She sees Peeta sitting with Finnick in the seating area. Finnick sees her first; Peeta looks up when he sees his friend wave her over to join them.
She sits down in the same spot as last night and notices right away the folder on the table beside the tea service. She just has time to notice that there are four cups on the tray when they are joined by another woman carrying the tea pot. It only takes Katniss a moment to recognize her as the model from the book. She sets down the tea pot, and offers Katniss her hand.
Finnick introduces her. "Annie, darling, this is Katniss. She is going to be taking your place. Katniss this is my beloved, Annie."
"It is very nice to meet you," Annie gushes, as she and Katniss shake hands. "I think you will like working with Peeta. He is so creative, and really tries to make you look beautiful."
She moves to sit in the other chair and Finnick grabs her hand and pulls her onto his lap instead. Katniss can't help the feeling of watching something really intimate; so she looks away and catches Peeta staring at her. She locks eyes with him and she sees that same look that he had last night. She feels herself blushing, she drops her eyes to her hands clasped in her lap.
Peeta clears his throat, and she looks up at him again. "Would you like some tea?"
"Yes, please." She watches him pour. "May I ask you two something?"
Peeta and Finnick smile that secret smile of theirs before Annie catches them. "Don't do that to her. She is going to think you two are keeping a big secret." Annie then says, "You are more than welcome to ask me."
Katniss smiles at Annie. "How did all this start?"
For some reason, Katniss isn't surprised that it's Finnick who speaks. "I grew up in N'orlins, or New Orleans to everyone outside of Louisiana. When Katrina hit, I was a young lad of 21. My parents packed everything we could fit into 2 trucks, and we came to North Carolina. I was on a trip to Atlanta to pick up Peeta here at the airport, and I was approached by a modeling agency. Long story short, I started modeling. Peeta here tagged along."
Then Peeta starts, "I was already taking pictures and starting to build a business. One day, someone was sick and they handed me the camera. Soon I was doing my own shoots. Then we went to a convention in Las Vegas."
"Ah, yes Vegas. I'm surprised we didn't get into more trouble out there." Finnick chuckles.
Annie hits his arm. "You don't always have to go looking for trouble."
He kisses her. "No, love. Trouble finds me. She is drawn to me."
They look into one another's eyes and start to laugh. Finnick covers her slight bulge with his palm and Katniss begins to guess what is happening when he says, "I love to feel him kicking me. He is swimming all around in there."
Instead of looking away, Katniss smiles along with them. Peeta begins again. "Anyway, there was another convention in another hotel while we were there. We went over one night and they were doing scenes—"
Katniss interrupts, "What are scenes?"
Annie answers, "It's roleplaying. Like, there might be a couple dripping candle wax on each other. There might be another whipping. Stuff like that."
Katniss nods, hoping that they take it as her understanding. She will have to Google all of this when she gets home.
"We watched one scene where a woman was tying up a man. Growing up, and helping Dad on the fishing boat on the weekends, I knew some about knots. But seeing someone tying someone up with ropes—"
Peeta interrupts Finnick, "We were fascinated. So we bought some videos on how to do it. Then we started playing around with the knots." He gestures towards some of the more complex pictures on the wall that she didn't notice the night before. There was a couple tied into what looks like a human heart. Another shows a couple tied into a tree. "I took some pictures, and everyone went crazy for them. I actually have a list of requested pieces that I'm hoping that you will be able to help me with." He reaches for her hand. "How does that sound?" His thumb traces the same path it did last night.
Does he even know that when he is rubbing her hand like that, she can't think straight? "I think I can do that. What is the contract about?"
"It's really just an agreement that we write down. Either one of can tear up the papers at any time. We can take away and add anytime to it." Peeta gives her some papers. "You can read them. I added the bit about our agreement about our safe word. And about showing your face. I have a demonstration next week at the club where your friends met me. Do you think you could help me with it?"
"I think so?" she stutters. "I'll have to be topless?"
He looks at her for a moment before he answers, "I think, since this will be your first one, you can have a bathing suit on. What did you bring to wear today?"
"A bikini."
"Why don't you go change and we will get started."
Katniss gets up, and so do Finnick and Annie. Annie throws her arms around her in an unexpected hug. Katniss returns it. "We have to go. I'm starving and Peeta has rules about eating in here." Annie says in her ear. She pulls away and says softly, "Peeta is a good guy. He seems tough and hard, and he is a bit of a perfectionist. But he is learning that there is beauty in the imperfect. He will be gentle with you." Then she says louder so the guys can hear her, "If he isn't, I'll beat him up!"
They all share a laugh and Finnick pulls Annie away. Katniss thinks about what Annie said. It helps to calm the nervousness she has been feeling since she arrived. They all exchange goodbyes and Katniss grabs her bag and goes to change into her sunset orange bikini.
She can still hear them talking, but they are too far away to make out what they are saying. Then it's quiet. She adjusts the straps, and swallowing her fear, she steps out from behind the screen. Why didn't she bring a cover-up? She looks around for Peeta, but doesn't see him anywhere. The music changes and he emerges from a hallway she hadn't noticed before.
He pauses and she can feel his eyes roaming over her. She knows what he is looking at, and instead of demanding what is wrong with her, he simply gestures for her to come over to him. She is starting to get some feeling back where she was burned, so when he lightly touches the scar that starts under her arm and extends to her belly button, she feels a surge of desire pool in her core.
"What happened?" he whispers.
"I was in a car wreck about five years ago."
"Why didn't you tell me yesterday about it?"
"I don't know?" she stutters. "I didn't think it would matter."
He steps back and seems like he is in deep thought. She starts to say something, when he interrupts, "I might not be able to put you in a chest rigging, but I can work around that." he circles her, examining her closely. "Are there anymore burnt places?"
She reaches up and removes her hair tie. She loosens her braid, and then starts to part her hair so he can see her scalp. There is another scar. It's a bald patch, only about three inches in length and half an inch wide, but now he knows why she wears a braid. She jumps a little when he gently touches her arm. "I am so sorry that this happened to you. Are you doing alright now?"
She gives him a nod, and says, "I was in the hospital for about a month. Prim, my sister, was in there longer. Her burns are on her legs."
"Do you think you can still do this with me? Let's try a corset and see how it feels. Ok?"
That is when she notices that the table he used last night is out again, and on it are coils of rope and the scissors. She gives him a nod, and she doesn't mind when he reaches out to touch the scar again. She knows that he doesn't pity her, and she appreciates that. "Prim bought me this bikini last year. She said that I was done hiding."
He smiles at her and agrees. "You shouldn't hide at all." she starts to re-braid her hair and he stops her with a touch. "Why don't you leave it down? It won't be in the way."
She simply nods as he picks up and unwinds the bright red rope. For some reason, watching him run his hands over the rope until he finds the ends is mesmerizing. His movements still and she looks up to him. He quietly says, "Can you put your hands on top of your head?"
Silently, she does what she is told and he places the section of rope above her breasts. He moves behind her, and she shivers in anticipation when she feels his warm breath on the back of her neck. She can smell cinnamon on it and before she thinks she says, "What did you have for supper? I can smell the cinnamon and chocolate."
He pauses for a second before he chuckles. "Annie brought me a cinnamon bun hot chocolate from Starbucks."
He comes back into her view. "What is that? It sounds heavenly."
"When I first met Annie she was working at that one on Charlotte Street. Finnick and I went in one day and I didn't know what I wanted, so she made me that. It's a pump of mocha, cinnamon dolce, vanilla, and caramel. They taste like you are drinking a cinnamon bun from my family's bakery. I don't drink them all the time, but every once in a while, Annie will bring me one." He disappears to follow the rope as he winds it around her, and she can feel him threading the rope through and bringing it underneath her breasts. He repeats the pattern, bringing the rope above her breasts. It feels like he is making some kind of knot, and she goose-pimples in response. He brings the rope over her shoulder and turns her so she is facing him again. He runs his fingers along the rope that dips in between her breasts, and eases the rope underneath the others.
His touch burns her skin like she is on fire. His head is bowed, following the rope as he winds it around her. He hasn't told her to drop her hands, so they still rest on the top of her head. The top of his head is inches away from her nose, and before she realizes what she is doing, she catches herself as she starts to lean closer to him so she can smell him better…
He puts his hand on her ribcage and steadies her. "Are you ok? You were leaning a little bit."
She wishes she could fight the flush she knows darkens her cheeks. "I lost my balance."
He smiles, threads the rope back through, and brings it over her other shoulder, brushing her skin as he goes. This time he stops and she can feel him tying the rope into a knot. He turns her again so he can admire his handiwork.
He picks up another strand from the table and loosens it. Once again, she watches him find the ends and then the middle of the rope. It feels like his touch lingers on her when he brings the middle of the rope through the front of the harness. "This is a larks-head loop," he informs her, breaking into her thoughts.
He pulls the rope through and steps closer to her than he has been before, bringing the rope around her torso. She can't help the breath that catches when she feels him guiding the rope, closer than he's been before. He pauses, but doesn't look up at her.
She can feel his touch lingering on the rope that is already around her. He continues winding, and she continues to lean into him, getting closer and closer. Getting another sniff, she knows that smell now. He smells of sunshine and the meadow that is out beside her house.
His touch lingers on her scar as he places the rope over it. He goes ahead and wraps her torso with a couple more strands of the rope, covering about half of the scar. "How does that feel?"
She takes a deep breath, and wills herself to relax. She has spent so much time protecting that part of her, it feels weird to have someone touch her there. She is surprised that the ropes aren't hurting her at all. In fact, it feels like they are protecting her and enveloping her in an embrace. She blinks fast to fight the tears of relief that try to escape. "It feels good," she chokes out. "It really does." she gives him a smile that she hasn't smiled in years.
He returns it, and holds her where the rope embraces her. She almost feels like he is going to kiss her when he asks instead, "Are you going to do the workshop with me next week?"
"What are you going to be doing exactly? Will it be a scene like what Annie was talking about?"
"No. At this one, I will be showing couples how to start using ropes with each other. It won't be anything hard core."
"I guess it will be ok?"
He watches her for a moment like he wants to say something besides, "It will be." he continues, "I will be teaching them the harness I used on you last night, the harness you are wearing now, and different ways to tie the hands and feet. Most also want to know how to hog-tie someone and there is a combination chest and leg tie also. I thought we could practice a couple of them."
She isn't exactly sure what she is getting herself into even though she watches some videos on it all last night on YouTube. For some reason, when he says 'hog-tie', it makes her want to run out the door. She must have a worried look on her face, because he looks concerned when she says, "Hog-tie? People really want to know how to hog-tie someone?"
"They do. It's a show of dominance." He picks up a coil of rope. "It's not up to us to ask why they might want to do something. It's up to us to show them how to do it without killing or seriously injuring their play partner. Let me finish the corset, and then I'll show you the hog-tie." She can't help the shiver that runs down her spine. She knows he feels it too when he puts down the rope and rests his hands on her, on top of the ropes he just coiled around her. I know that you don't trust me yet. Do you?"
He waits for her to shake her head, and she whispers, "I want to though."
He pulls her close into an unexpected hug. His hands feel so good to her attention-starved body. She starts to melt against him when he whispers in her ear, "Baby, you have to trust me. I'm not going to ask you to do anything that you aren't ready to do." He moves his head so she can nuzzle his neck. "And I know that you can do this. If I didn't think you could, I wouldn't have picked you." He wraps his arms around her bringing her close to him. This time, when she quivers, it's in anticipation. It's because he whispers in her ear. "Everything I have asked you to do, you have done wonderfully. How about if we do this? I'll start the tie, and when you start to feel uncomfortable, you can use your safe word. What is your safe word?"
"Mockingjay," she says softly.
"Hmmm," he mummers. "I'm proud of you for remembering it." She signs into his embrace even more when he runs his fingers through her hair. "I'm going to get you out of the corset. Ok?"
All she can do is nod. He moves her to a stool so she can sit. He uncoils the rope from her body, rubbing the indentions it's left on her body. He leaves the chest harness on and guides her to a mat in the corner of the room. She inhales, fighting the anxiety, and he rubs her back. "We don't have to do this now if you are that nervous."
"No. I want to try."
He thinks for a moment and then suggests, "I have an idea. How about if I get a blindfold?"
"If you think it might help?"
He takes off his t-shirt. Before she realizes what he is doing, he ties it over her eyes. She immediately starts to relax as she breathes in his scent. "Now, get on your knees, here on the mat." He helps her, and she focuses on his voice as he gives her more directions. He says simply, "Lie down." And guides her onto her stomach. Then he leads her hands behind her back, where he ties them to the chest harness. She can feel him sitting back as he asks, "How does that feel?"
She wiggles a little bit. "That's ok."
He pats her shoulder. "Can we keep going?"
"Yes."
He picks her legs up, and she can feel him tying her ankles together. "Now, I'm going to attach your ankles to your harness. Then I'm going to pull you into an arch." He slowly pulls the rope, and she can feel the rope pulling her feet up. He then feels where the rope is against her neck. "Is the rope rubbing there? Does it feel ok?"
All she can do is nod, and try to relax into the ropes. She didn't think that she would even remotely enjoy this, and she isn't sure how she feels about being so vulnerable. "Can you remove your shirt, now?"
He pulls it off of her, and she misses the warmth. She relaxes into the ropes, testing them to see how they hold her weight. She even starts to smile. "How do you feel?" he asks.
She sighs. "I don't think I feel the ropes anymore."
Understanding dawns on his face. "It sounds like you entering sub-space." He loosens the rope helps her to relax into the mat.
She puts her head on his t-shirt and he un-ties her ankles and hands. He pulls the rope off of her, and she rolls over, tries to sit up and topples on over. "Why do I feel drunk?" she asks.
He helps her up, and unties the rest of the rope that is around her. She is unsteady on her feet, so he scoops her up and carries her down the hallway she saw him come from earlier. He gently sets her down on the couch and covers her with the throw on the back. She brings the throw to her nose and breathes deeply, enjoying his scent again. He reappears, with a glass of ice water. He helps her to drink, and then pulls her, with a squeak, onto his lap.
He adjusts them, until they fit together, skin-to-skin. Her head rests on his shoulder, and his hand is on her back, rubbing the dents left by the rope. "You like to feel that don't you?"
He stops for a moment, and then chuckles. "I like to see the results of my work. To me, one of the most beautiful things about what I do is a woman bearing the marks of my rope work. I know it sounds barbaric—"
"No, it doesn't." She realizes in her foggy, endorphin-flooded brain that she needs to be careful, she just isn't sure of what. "I like it. I like the feel of the rope on me. That is why I came back."
Now when he rubs her back, he rubs all of it. And then he hugs her tight. She returns his embrace, feeling for the first time in years that she is home. She sighs, and thinks, "He feels so good."
He stops rubbing her back, but she then starts to touch him. She lazily opens one eye to watch her fingers trace his collar bone, blazing her own path on his skin. They travel down his arm, squeezing the firm bicep. She moves her hand to his chest, and draws her fingers along his muscles, smiling when he quivers under her touch. "He is so beautiful." She thinks again, enjoying the feel of his abs. Finally she rests her hand over his heart, and keeps it there, as she enjoys the fluttering underneath her hand.
"Will I always feel this way when we are finished?" she asks.
"You might. You feel this way because of how nervous you felt about being hog-tied. You did really well. I'm so proud of you."
Why does his praise make her stomach flip? She yawns, and closes her eyes to rest for a moment. Before she realizes it, she is asleep.
She is already relaxed, but he knows the moment when she falls asleep she goes even limper in his arms. 'Well I guess that means she isn't ready to drive home after all.' He thinks, he doesn't say his thoughts out loud like she did. No one has ever called him beautiful before. His creations, yes. Him, no. he isn't sure what to think about it.
He shouldn't be holding her like this. He never held any of his other models, but they didn't panic like she had when he mentioned hog-tying them. And it's not like he can't call someone to come over to play. Cashmere has hinted around about doing that for years. But he just can't bring himself to do it. No one else has stirred up the desire he is feeling either. He has worked so hard over the years to keep his reputation clean in the industry. Unlike so many others, who don't mind taking their relationship with their models further, he never did that. He can either think of Katniss as an excuse to finally get to play as they work together, or he needs to stay away and keep it strictly professional. It's hard to think about her like that though. Especially when she is pressed against him, clinging to him, with her hand over his heart.
For just a moment, he allows himself to smell the top of her head. Even though fall is here with the leaves turning, and raining down, she smells like a fresh spring day. He takes another deep whiff, and decides, yes, she smells like summer. She is even wearing his favorite color, sunset orange. He doesn't even notice when he pulls her in tighter and she sighs in her sleep. His eyes start to feel heavy too, and he can't fight them closing.
She wiggles against the arm holding her down. Why is Prim in her bed? She must have had a nightmare and got in the bed with her sometime in the night. She grunts and rolls over to check on her before she goes to pee. She sees blond curls, but they are shorter than Prim's hair ever was.
She gasps when she realizes whose curls she is admiring. He lifts his face up and blinks a couple of times until he focuses on her. She backs up and ends up falling off of the couch. She jumps to her feet and says, "I've got to pee." Before she rushes to where she knows the bathroom is in the studio.
'Why am I still here? Oh yeah, I'm wasn't in any shape to drive home.' She quickly changes into her regular clothes behind the screen and checks her cell phone. She can't believe that its 1:55 am. Tucking it into her pants, she goes back to his loft to tell him that she is leaving so he can lock the door.
She walks in, seeing him looking out over the view of the city lights. He hears her approaching, and turns to watch her cross the room. He has, she assumes, taken his contacts out and put on his glasses. 'Damn. He has abs like that, and he has to have glasses too?' She keeps on walking to him, even though she can feel herself getting weak in the knees.
"I need to be getting home. I have to work in the morning."
"What is today? Wednesday? Can you come by tonight? Once you have some more experience you won't have to come over as much." He reaches into his pants pocket and gets out a check that he hands her. "That should make us even."
The check says two hundred and fifty dollars. "But I didn't work that much—"
"Yes, you did. I paid you for subspace. That is that drunk feeling you were feeling." He kisses her on the forehead and takes her arm to guide her to the door. He unlocks it, and looks around the parking lot before he walks out with her. She unlocks her Jeep door, and slides in. He stands in the open door, and she sees the longing on his face. Before she can say anything, he says goodnight, then asks her to text him when she gets home. He closes the door of the Jeep. She watches him in her rear view mirror until he is out of sight.
I hope you enjoyed...