Author's note: Special thanks to all who have expressed their enthusiasm for this plot. I have to admit, I was a little nervous about posting because I have seen so may EO stories garnering much-deserved praise. I was genuinely concerned about getting flamed. I hope this chapter and the nextdon't go too far afield for your tastes. -JO

Chapter Four: The Rules

When they got to the bedroom, it was already aglow with warm, golden candlelight. For a split second, Elliot's mind flashed on an image of the house burning down, but then he dismissed it. He knew he tended to be hyper-vigilant and was prone to overreacting. He also knew Kathy would have taken every necessary precaution to prevent any mishaps. As she turned toward him and loosened his tie, he took a deep breath and deliberately returned himself to the moment, determined not to let his worrywart nature ruin the evening.

Slowly, they undressed each other, doing a sinuous lover's dance of kisses and touches, gasps and whispered words, sighs and longing looks as they peeled away the layers of clothing and the layers of barriers that had grown between them. He sat on the foot of the bed and drew her toward him. She pushed him back on the mattress and knelt astride his narrow hips. With kisses and caresses, she encouraged him to slide up until he was in the center of the bed, and then she lay atop him, her naked body pressed against the length of his, her breasts to his chest, their legs entwined.

"Would you like to play a game?" she asked breathlessly, and put her hands down to her sides to interlace her fingers with his.

"A game?" he gasped in confusion as she moved against him. "You mean like chess?"

"Mmm . . . I think it will be a lot more fun than that," she teased, bringing their arms above their heads, "but the strategy might be similar."

"I suppose . . . I could give it . . . a try." He panted his words between kisses because her weight made it difficult for him to catch his breath. "What is it called?"

"Truth or Consequences," she said, running her hands up and down his arms, gently massaging his rock-hard muscles.

"Hmmm," he thought a moment as he kissed her deeply. "Tell me the rules."

"Well, the first one is absolutely the most important," she murmured, still caressing his arms. "You have to trust me."

"Done," he said confidently. "I have no problem with that."

"Even though I left you?" she asked a bit surprised that he had so easily acceded to her first demand.

"You left . . . " He kissed her.

" . . . because I drove you away . . . " He turned his head to nibble her neck and chuckled when she moaned with pleasure.

". . . by shutting you out," he explained to show that he did understand where things had gone wrong.

"You didn't do it to hurt me . . . " he gasped, still having to work to breathe. "You did it . . . to protect . . . yourself."

She sat up and slid up his body so that she was straddling his ribs, and though he could breathe easier, now, he missed the warmth of her skin all over his own flesh.

"I can't blame you for that, Kath," he finished easily, now that his lungs could fully expand. "I know you'd never betray me."

She sighed in relief and ran her hands up his arms once more to massage his palms with her thumbs. "Good," she said, "because I am really going to test you tonight."

He heard the ratcheting sound as the cold metal rings clasped around his wrists, and he jumped reflexively. He pulled against them and discovered he was fastened to the headboard. He struggled with his bonds, his breath coming fast and shallow, and only the knowledge that his wife was there and would never hurt him kept him from going into a full-blown panic.

She remained astride him and smothered him with kisses and caresses, talking to him the whole time until finally, he was calm and capable of coherent speech again.

"Kath? What . . . Why?"

"A measure of trust," she said, caressing his face, giving him tiny kisses on his cheek, neck, forehead, and the tender skin on the inside of his biceps. "Are you ok to go on?"

He bit his lip, carefully considering his response, and then replied, "I think so, but no more surprises, ok?"

"No," she promised him. "No more surprises." She continued lightly stroking his arms and naked torso until she heard him sigh in relief and felt him relax under her touch.

"So, what are the rest of the rules of this game?" he finally asked.

"It's easy to play," she said, tracing circles on his chest with her fingertips. "There are only four more rules. One, I get to ask you ten questions, plus follow-ups. Two, you answer them truthfully and immediately or you suffer the consequences, and 'I don't know' is not an answer. Three, you can pass on any one question, but then you have to answer the rest, and four, you can stop the game any time just by saying so."

While rules three and four certainly made him more willing to play, rules one and two left him a little nervous. "H-how many follow up questions do you get?" he asked.

"As many as it takes, I suppose," Kathy replied with a teasing smile as she leaned forward to rub noses with him Eskimo style. She had thought this evening through carefully and knew that would scare him, but, if she let him talk her down to one or two, he might be willing to play. Throughout their marriage, his inability to confide in her had been a problem. He had never lied to her per se, and he was a good man, so she knew his secrets were nothing shameful. He just didn't want to upset her, so he never spoke of the things that were upsetting him. Over time, he had shut her out, but if she could get him to buy into the game, maybe together they could create a safe, comfortable way for him to occasionally share what was on his mind.

"As many as it takes? Oh, I don't think so!" he laughed, and she was relieved to see he was getting into the spirit things. "You wouldn't have to use any strategy at all. How about one follow up question?"

"Four," she countered.

"Two!" he offered.

"Done!" she could tell by his expression that he'd expected her to insist on three. "I'd suggest we shake on it . . . but I know you're a little tied up at the moment."

He unconsciously tugged at the handcuffs and grimaced. "What are these for anyway, and what kind of consequences did you have in mind?"

"Lie to me, and you'll find out," she taunted, rubbing circles on his nipples with her thumbs.

"No, seriously, Kath . . .Ohh!" He tried to squirm away from her. He loved what she was doing to him, but he wasn't used to giving away control, and it made him uneasy and overly sensitive.

She saw the anxiety in his eyes and knew she had teased as much as she dared. "I won't hurt you, and I won't embarrass you," she promised, laying her hand over his heart and feeling it pound beneath the skin. "You have my word. No one else will ever know about this, and you might even find you enjoy the consequences, but you won't know what they are until you get caught in a lie."

"What do you mean, 'until' I get caught. Don't you mean 'unless'?"

She seemed thoughtful for a moment and then said, "Nah, I mean 'until.' I have at least one question you won't be able to answer honestly."

"Oh, come on, Kath. Do you really think you can make me lie to you?"

"Oh, I can't make you do anything, Elliot, but you won't be able to stop yourself."

"I don't believe you."

"Wait and see."

The conversation was clearly going nowhere, so he decided to shift gears again. "Why are you doing this?" he asked.

She decided to be honest with her motives. "I want to help you find a way to talk to me," she said. "If we can't talk, our marriage really is over. I'm hoping that, in the context of a game, you might be able to open up to me a little more."

"Where did you get that idea?"

For a long time, she just sat there with her hand on his chest, waiting for the pounding to slow. When it finally did, she scooted back until she felt his arousal pressing against her bottom. Then she moved her hands to his ribs, and felt them expand and contract as he breathed. It was nice to touch his skin again, to feel his vitality and warmth. She had missed him so much.

"Kath?"

She blinked, looked almost startled, and sighed. "I've been seeing a new marriage counselor since I moved out," she confessed with a wry smile. "I never expected to be gone this long. I thought, after a week or two, you'd be begging me to come home, and when you didn't I grew more and more determined that you would."

Her voice was shaking, but she kept talking as she walked her fingers up and down his sides, counting the ribs. He really had lost a little weight. Her husband had no idea yet how much she was about to ask of him, so she wanted to show him her own commitment to the process and give him an example to follow.

"I always knew I wanted to try again, El, and I was sure you'd give me that chance. The divorce papers were supposed to be just the kick in the butt you needed to make you realize how much you needed me. I never counted on you being as stubborn as I was, and I'm sorry for being so manipulative."

"It's ok," he told her. "I'm glad that's all you were doing because if you really wanted to be gone, we wouldn't be here now. And I'm sorry for being so pigheaded."

"Do you want to know why I left?" she asked.

"Kathy, I was an ass," he said bluntly. "That's reason enough."

"Maybe it is," she agreed, "but the real reason I left was that I was afraid I was going to do or say something I couldn't take back or make better. I never wanted to hurt you, but one way or another it was going to happen. I figured being apart for a while would give us a chance to fix things, but if I stayed, I was going to do something terrible that we'd never get over."

"You mean you were protecting me?" he asked, emphasizing the irony of the situation.

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so, despite how much I resented you doing the same for me." There were a few quiet moments as she continued caressing him, gently touching him everywhere her hands could reach. Slowly he relaxed, giving himself over to her completely, and when he sighed contentedly, she asked, "So, are you game?"

"You'll stop if I ask you to?"

"Not if you just say stop," she explained. "You might just say that reflexively if you have to suffer any consequences, but if you really want to quit, tell me to 'end the game' and I will."

"Ok, so it's a safe word, then. Saying 'end the game' will do just that?"

She nodded. "Yep, that's it."

"Ok, then, I guess I'm ready to play."

She grinned and squirmed against him a little bit, loving the low moan of desire it pulled out of him. "Then let's get started!"