First published Nov. 24th. New readers may want to begin at Chapter One.
After dinner, they drove home for coffee and a poker rematch, this time with a new deck of cards. They both sat on the floor, playing on the low coffee table that doubled as a traditional Japanese dinner table.
There was a thick white carpet underneath the table that resembled Mongolian lamb, but Shinichi's soft spot for animals had resulted in the purchase of a synthetic version that cost several times more than the genuine article. Melina lit several candles she had bought in Osaka. Bright lights seemed to trigger her migraines, especially late in the day.
Melina had acquired a taste for the local sake and, as a consequence, was playing a less cautious game than usual. She had removed her shoes and stockings, but still wore the black silk wrap dress she had worn to dinner.
Finally Melina's luck ran out along with her playing chips - they had agreed not to play for money - and they completed their migration to Shinichi's side of the table. She was a gracious loser. She congratulated him on his victory by bowing low, as a villager might bow to passing samurai. As she knelt, face almost touching the carpet, she felt Shinichi's hand on the back of her head as he removed the pins from her hair. She rose, only to realize that his hand was still in her hair, holding her gently but firmly.
He brought her face close to his and kissed her deeply, roughly, keeping his hold on her. "Not so fast, my hotaru," he said. She froze, wide-eyed. While she recognized desire in his eyes, she also detected an additional persona, intriguing and dark. The sorcerer of their first sexual encounter was back.
Shinichi ran his fingertips over her mouth, saying nothing. He seemed to be considering a decision. Finally he began speaking in Japanese. "While I appreciate your confession of cheating at cards, I also feel that the score between us begs to be properly settled," he said. His face showed no emotion. "Please lie down here," he said, moving the table over.
She lay down where he indicated, heart racing with fear and anticipation. He reached down and removed the long silk belt from her dress. Next, he took both her arms and held them above her head, crossing her wrists like Reni's Saint Sebastien before tying them tightly together. He then tied both ends to a sofa leg.
For a few seconds, the gentle Shinichi returned. "If you want me to stop, just say the word stop and I will do so immediately. Do you understand?" She nodded silently, her fear gone but heart still beating fast. Suddenly he disappeared, and she realized that he was blindfolding her with a white linen handkerchief. Then she heard him walk away.
He returned in a couple of minutes. She felt him open the front of her dress, already sliding half-off without the sash. Then she felt a small, cold object on her skin between her breasts, underneath her lace bra. She realized that he was cutting off her bra with a small knife. The cold steel moved to her hips, one at a time, as he slowly cut off her panties.
She lay still, feeling a deep erotic thrill course through her body. What was he planning? The blindfold amplified her remaining senses, adding to her sense of arousal. Soon she realized that Shinichi was sitting next to her with a drink. The cubes rattled as he removed a single ice cube, held it to her mouth. She sucked the drops from the ice, recognizing Cardhu whisky. Even in its watery state she could taste its sweet, smoky layers and bitter finish. He took the ice away, returned it to the glass.
Suddenly she felt his cold fingers sliding down her belly until they reached her nether lips. He parted her legs, then slid one, then a second finger easily inside her, as she was already wet and ready. Next, he began rubbing her clit with his thumb, keeping both fingers inside her. Gradually he increased the pressure until she began to whimper, feeling the beginnings of an orgasm. She tried to move closer to him but her wrists were tied too tightly.
Even with the blindfold firmly in place, Melina could sense Shinichi's eyes upon her. He wants to watch me come, she thought. Torn between release and shyness, she tried without success to delay the inevitable - or so she thought. As her clit swelled and hardened, she suddenly felt his thumb disappear, then his fingers. She gasped in surprise, feeling she had been suddenly dragged off a diving board against her will. Then she realized her punishment.
She felt his breath close to her ear as she tried to catch her breath. "That was a close call, wasn't it?" he whispered. He rubbed her small pink nipples with his still-damp fingers until they were angry and red, almost rock-hard.
Melina's first evening with Shinichi had made previous sexual encounters appear dull in comparision, as if her memory had filmed them in grainy monotone. Now, as he began teasing her a second time, she felt if she were drowning in brilliant, liquid colours, every nerve invisibly charged.
She heard ice rattle again, expecting another taste of whisky, but instead Shinichi applied the ice to her tender clit. Her entire body stiffened as she tried not to cry out. She felt him slide the melting ice slowly down her inner thighs, leaving a wet trail. He began teasing her again, realizing that she was even wetter and warmer than before. He exposed her clit with two fingers for closer inspection as she writhed helplessly. Her wetness spread to her inner thighs as he worked her. He watched her arch her hips helplessly as he left her on the edge again.
Although he had began to plan his punishment during the drive home, Shinichi was traveling a new path. Although he had fantasized about similar situations of dominance since he was a teenager, he had never even suggested it to any woman. Like Melina, he had relied on his intuition, patiently waiting for the right time and the right woman.
He surveyed his bound captive, now visibly trembling, the black silk she lay upon contrasting sharply with her white skin. Several applications of ice had caused her mouth to redden and swell. He leaned over to check that her wrists were secured but not painful, then raised her hips, sliding a thin cushion underneath them.
Melina heard him slowly remove his trousers, then felt his hands on her thighs as he spread them wide. She silently begged him to fuck her as hard and as long as he wished, but for a long minute she heard nothing. Then she felt him slide his hands under her knees, pushing them up and forward as he finally, slowly entered her.
By now, Shinichi had observed the rhythm and pace that most effectively brought her to orgasm. Twice he carefully brought her to the edge, feeling her wetness and tension increasing by the minute as he buried himself inside her, only to withdraw with just seconds to spare.
The second time he pulled out, she could almost see his cock, huge, purplish and shiny, just outside her body that was now drenched with sweat. Her frustration was now tangible to both of them, and almost more than she could bear.
His intuition told him to release her. He reached forward and untied her wrists before entering her for the final time. He looked down, watching her outer lips stretch to accommodate him, her swollen, red clit exposed. As he slowly pumped inside her she suddenly came with a jolt, her spasms intensifying instead of decreasing, as if she were somehow coming in reverse. Her thighs closed around Shinichi's sides as he came, his eyes closed, whispering something Melina didn't understand.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006 at 9:59AM 