Form
Sheena and I met at a party through a pair of mutual friends, Edward and Ben. Edward had helped me during a bust up and together we had briefly shared a moment of truth. It had sparked an interest in both of us and, putting my old relationship with Kanen firmly in the past, we were kind of seeing each other. Right now, I hung in the kitchen while Sheena mixed a drink, talking back over her shoulder to Ben.
“It’s got everything I want,” Sheena said. “Near to work, an extra bedroom for guests, even space for an office. Only the rent is way too high. Like everything else these days.”
“Why not a roommate?” asked Ben as he searched for another beer in the fridge. “You could share expenses.”
Sheena shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose I’d consider one, if it were a good match.”
“Where is this place?” I asked.
Sheena’s manner turned wary. “Uh, not far from here,” she said. “It’s in the Liberty District.”
“Liberty? Is light rail nearby?”
Sheena faced me full on; strangely she seemed eager to talk, in spite of her initial guardedness. “The train is just a couple of blocks away. There’s a small grocer around the corner. And there’s a nice, large park nearby.”
“A park?” I said. “That’s important?”
“I run,” Sheena said and shrugged, almost apologetically. “You might say it’s a habit I haven’t broken since high school. Not that you should, but after all the stress at work it helps clear my head and relax. I get out there and just go.”
Sheena’s legs reflected that. Tall, toned and fit, everything about her spoke of grace and athleticism. I was kind of surprised when she showed up alone to the party, but then maybe Sheena didn’t want a serious partner; a situation that I could easily understand with my own recent past.
“You know, this place you mentioned, it sounds like it’s near my college,” I said. “I’m doing graduate work for my degree in therapy.”
Sheena smiled and returned to mixing her drink. “Really, girl? You want to shrink people’s heads? That’s kind of cray.”
I laughed. “No, not that kind. Physical therapy. The kind that keeps people moving.”
“Oh?” Sheena paused and carefully put down the drink’s stirring stick. Later, when I thought about it that action and others of Sheena’s during our conversation seemed measured. Almost rehearsed. Yet she wanted to know more. “You ever do any running?”
“Not as often as I’d like. School, y’know. And the drive back to my place sometimes takes too long. By then I’m ready eat and then go couch potato.”
Sheena sipped her drink, eyes intent on me over the rim of the glass. “Not that I’m looking for a running partner, but - “
“Yeah, I know. A roommate would be nice. The right roommate.”
Ben wedged his way to the counter and grabbed a bottle opener for his selected long neck. “Looks like you both found the ‘perfect roommate’. So, when’s the wedding?”
We all laughed. The drinks made us all a little free and easy, maybe me a little bit more than the others. But before we could go on with the joke, setting fake wedding dates and deciding how many kids to have, Cathleen appeared next to Ben. Cathleen and I had known each other since freshman year but while I went on with my graduate studies Cathleen got a regular office job that she hated. Her shock of blonde hair, dark eyes and hour glass figure had attracted more than enough looks her way. All that attention had brought out a mercenary attitude in Cathleen, one of “What have you bought for me lately?” But at a beach party, the night of my break up with Kanen, I had come across her and Ben having sex. And sex of the dom sub variety. But Ben sure didn’t have money to just throw at her and, to all outward appearances, they didn’t act exclusive to each other. But after that night on the beach and during others like this one, Cathleen discreetly made sure Ben was never far from her personal bubble.
“Looks like you’re all have having a good time,” Cathleen said. “Listen, Ben, why don’t we leave these new lovers alone. Two’s company, you know.”
“Oh, three can be fun too,” Ben said. The booze had kind of loosened Ben’s tongue, but he submitted to Cathleen’s hand on his elbow and they moved out of the kitchen.
Sheena almost sniffed. “She sure keeps him on a tight leash.”
“Yeah, tight,” I said. “But she’s more apt to be at the end that’s clipped on a collar instead of holding it.” I grimaced and slapped a hand to my forehead. The drinks had gotten my tongue wagging. “Sorry. It’s the booze talking. Can we just forget I said that?”
Sheena’s eyebrows raised a little. Yes, there were things I knew about Cathleen, just like there were things she knew about me. Over the years Cathleen and I had known each other some secrets had a way of slipping out. But while Cathleen confided in me, there were things about myself that nothing would pry loose. But of the ones I did reveal, I trusted Cathleen to keep them close, as she did with me of hers. And now I had just blabbed about one. I was such a jerk! “Really, can you forget what I just said?”
Sheena put on what only could be called a poker face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Last thing I heard was Cathleen thinking it’s a good idea for us to talk.”
Okay. Okay, so Sheena was cool. This apartment thing might just work out. Yet, as easily as Sheena kept my secret, I should have suspected she kept some of her own.
Sheena broke in on my train of thought. “So, are you really interested in the apartment?”
All worries about my indiscretion regarding Cathleen’s and Ben’s relationship fled my mind. Sheena and I talked some more and the next day we checked out the incredibly still available apartment. It was perfect and I couldn’t believe our luck. Too good to be true echoed in my mind but I ignored the warning.
After that things happened in a blur. Even the signings. We finalized the lease at my then current, dingy apartment. Sheena had already signed her portion, and I scribbled my name on the tablet right below hers. There were other forms that also required my sig, much more than I thought were needed for a lease, but the apartment was so good that I sped through them. With lightning speed Sheena tapped the tablet, quickly emailed them all and let loose a long, heavy sigh. Looking back that was a clue that I missed, but at the time I put it down to relief that the apartment was now actually ours. We moved in on the first of next month.
Moving was a chore like it always is, but we got plenty of help from Ben and Edward. Not that I couldn’t do my fair share, but one box of Sheena’s was especially heavy. Making sure to lift with my legs I managed to elevate it from the sidewalk and kind of stagger upstairs. Plopping it down on the kitchen counter I saw through a crack in the folded cardboard flaps that it was full of books. Given the weight that figured. What I didn’t figure was that Sheena read for enjoyment. I pulled back the flaps a little and found skin on a couple of covers. Buff male skin and curved female skin. Romances? I glimpsed a title: “In Harness.”
“Oh, I was wondering where that was,” Sheena said. She scooped up the box like it didn’t weigh anything. Not in a “Give me that now” way, but definitely possessory. She disappeared into the chaos of her new bedroom.
On the book cover... Was that a leather collar on the woman’s throat?
***
So Sheena liked bondage. Big deal. I did too; my big secret that I never, ever confided to Cathleen. I had done it with a couple of guys and when I came, ohhh boy. Since those early encounters when sleep was elusive my hand would travel down to my crotch. I found myself thinking about a confident man. He stood over me, whip in hand, telling me to bend forward and raise my ass high, higher.
Sheena never mentioned the books, nor did I ask about them. We each had our own private rooms, and what went on in there remained private. Doing so helped establish the boundaries of our relationship. We saw each other, usually coming and going; Sheena with her job and I with my studies. Usually we met over breakfast, sometimes at dinner. There was even a show or two we liked to watch together, but that was pretty much it. But one night, as one show was ending, a commercial came on for another that promised a peek behind the everyday life of couples. One of the images showed what I could only call a power couple; a man and woman in business suits, not unlike the type that Sheena often wore to work. Then, in a flash, they were both dressed in leather, she a lot less than him. He stood behind her, while she knelt, hooded, with her wrists manacled together in front. Then it was gone.
“Wait, wait, go back,” I said.
Sheena had control of the remote. “What, for that commercial?” she asked.
“Oh, ah, no, no. I thought I saw a name I know on the show we just finished.”
Sheena ran the images back, put them on slow so that I could see all the names that had previously hurried past.
“No. No, I guess I was wrong,” I said. “Ok, go ahead.”
Sheena pressed normal speed and eventually the commercial ran again. The power couple in leather came and went. From the corner of my eye I could tell Sheena watched me closely. Did her eyes narrow? It was like she tried to take in every detail of my reaction to the too quick flash of leather. We watched another show after that, a comedy. Sheena was mostly quiet and so was I. I laughed once in a while but didn’t make any comment on the sit-com’s goings on. When that show finished Sheena announced she had an early morning and padded off to bed. I watched some news, but the image of the leather clad woman, and Sheena’s scrutiny of my reaction, weighed on my mind. Again, as I drifted off to sleep, there was a man, and this time his whip not only raised welts on my ass, but his cock took me from behind while he pulled at my hair and called me his bitch.
***
A gradual change came over Sheena. She still did her usual stuff; working, running, the occasional date. Yet from her came a growing frustration. Also, sometimes the next day she moved as if physically hurting or winced when she sat down. Over time Sheena more often stayed in her room. As for me, tests were coming up and most of my energy was spent studying, but often, when I went lights out, Sheena’s light was still on, bleeding from underneath her door. Sometimes I heard the tap tap tap of computer keys.
And then finals were over. I realized I had spent way too much time hunkered over a desk and or interning at the physical treatment clinic. I needed to get back outside. Exercise. Fresh air.
Even though Sheena had become withdrawn she kept up her running. In fact, almost obsessively so, like she was in some kind of training. So, when I came across her in her running outfit one Wednesday morning I figured this was the perfect opportunity.
“You running? Can I come with you?”
Sheena gave a start, threw me a quick glance, then looked away. “Well...I move pretty fast. I don’t think...”
“...that I can keep up? Oh, c’mon. You’re not going to pull that shit on me. Your legs may be longer, but that doesn’t mean they work faster. Or are you scared I’ll just flat outlast you?”
I meant it as a joke, only Sheena didn’t take it that way. Her eyes flashed. “Listen, stump, try to keep up ‘cause I’m not waiting on you.” She grabbed her phone, texted something quick while I changed and we were out the door.
We didn’t go to the neighborhood park. Instead, Sheena drove right on by and before I could say anything she said, “I’m going where I can really stretch things out. It’ll take a little longer to get there, but it’ll be worth it.”
A definite tension in the air, Sheena’s hands tightly gripped the wheel, her nails white in stark contrast to her smooth, dark skin. After what seemed a longer than promised drive we turned off into a regional park, the kind where acres of land were set aside not so much as a place where there were jungle gyms or swings for the kids, but more wild. Where one could wander for hours lost in the natural world. The parking lot was empty, probably because it was midweek, late morning, and everyone else was at work. Maybe that was why Sheena wanted to come here at this time, to avoid the weekend crowds and congested trails.
Sheena rolled into a spot near the start of the jogging trail, its soft, dirt path leading off on a slight upward incline between thick undergrowth. Engine off, Sheena sat back in her seat and stared at the path.
“What is it?” I said. “You worried about something that isn’t there?”
Sheena shook her head. “No. Nothing that I don’t expect.” Then with a jerk on the door handle and a more than needed hard push on the door she was out. But then, she did a strange thing. She got back in the car and pushed the driver’s seat all the way back. I mean, all the way, so that a big person wouldn’t have to adjust it.
It was turning out to be a warm day, so we lost our sweatpants and allowed the breeze to fan our legs. As we stretched out Sheena kept scanning the park’s distant, tall eucalyptus trees, as if trying to see behind the trunks and dense brush. A bird gave a sharp cry and Sheena just about jumped, but quickly hid it. A few more leg stretches, then tying off her hair in a pony-tail she half-muttered, “Alright, I’m ready.” Funny, it seemed like she wasn’t talking to me, or even herself, but someone else. Then she yelled out to the sky “You hear me? Ready!”
She turned to me. “Let’s go.”
“I was wondering what took you so long,” I said. Hey, if Sheena wanted to throw some shade so could I. “Let’s see if you really can keep up.”
Sheena pressed her lips together and headed for the jogger’s path. She got a bit of a lead but I soon caught up, matching her pace. But not for long. Sheena’s long legs ate up a lot more ground than mine, plus after a mile she picked up the pace and soon left me behind. Not too far, but enough for me to get the message. Well, if she really wanted to be alone...
What was on her mind? Sheena had been up late nearly every night, her light still on, the soft tap of the computer keys filling the silence. I would see her in the morning and the rings under her eyes indicated that she had hardly got any sleep. And her anxiety had increased so that today she almost bit off my head. Running was supposed to help relieve tension and, given the fast pace she set today she was a full believer. The jogging trail curved, climbed to the left and within moments Sheena was gone from my sight.
I slowed down and stopped to catch my breath. Well, shit. I almost turned around and headed back to the car, but if I did it would only prove Sheena was right about my not being in her league. My stubborn streak roused I started up again, putting on a little burst of speed, then slowed back down as I ascended the trail’s curve.
The curve ended and a steep hill climbed up and up. No sign of Sheena. I plowed ahead and called out, “Sheena? Sheena where are you?”
The park was quiet and my shoes lightly scrunched on the path. I picked up the pace, trying to at least get Sheena back in sight. But the best laid plans and all that... I topped the hill.
No Sheena. The path zigzagged downward. Wait, what was that way down there? Some bushes off to the left of the trail waved as if from a stiff breeze. But there wasn’t any wind. If there were I would have felt it on the top of the hill, where there was less resistance to the air currents. But down there amongst the heavier growth didn’t make any sense.
Gathering my breath like I was about to take a deep dive I descended the narrow trail, the bushes and trees on either side got taller, the air close and warm. “Sheena?” I called. “Sheena, I’m sorry if I pissed you off...”
I rounded a bend, laying there about five feet in front of me was one of Sheena’s shoes. The dirt around it was all scuffed up, like several other feet had been there too.
I skidded to a stop. Slowly, I bent down, picked up the shoe. “Sheena?” I said and glanced around. The bushes here were especially tall and thick. “Sheena? Where are you?”
Nothing. Not even a bird called in reply. My voice fell flat in the dense undergrowth.
I stood there, helpless, with no clue as to what to do next. But then a rustle off to the right, as if some leaves and branches were kicked, caught my ear. I glanced sharply in the general direction but didn’t see anything. There was no way to tell if anyone was hiding even just mere feet away. But then the noise came again. Something was there, stirring around.
I pushed against a layer of thorny leaves on thin branches, their sharp edges scratching at my bare arms. Closing my eyes in protection and lowering my head, my blind steps half-skidded down a steep slope. Once past the thick brush I opened my eyes a slit, and then they burst wide.
Sheena!
She was tied up! Fucking tied up! Long legs roped together, white cords stood out against dark skin. More rope wrapped her waist and above and below her breasts, one of which spilled out from behind her tank top and sports bra. Her shorts were pulled down around her hips, but not all the way, probably due to her struggles while the ropes from the waist and chest melded her arms tight in back. A thick gag with tons of wadding stuffed her mouth.
“Sheena! Oh my god! Sheena, what the hell?! Who did this?”
I dove into untying the ropes. The ankles were nearest and that’s what I concentrated on. Fuck! Those knots were tight! As I struggled Sheena shook her head and ‘mmpph’ed behind the gag. She even pulled her legs back, nearly tearing out one of my fingernails. What the hell?
I tried to pull her back toward me, but even tied up Sheena’s strength was too much. We got into a crazy kind of tug of war, Sheena’s legs curling back while I worked the knot.
“Sheena, what the fuck? Hold still!” But then I was suddenly pushed forward and sprawled across Sheena’s stomach. A large hand clamped over my mouth and a thick arm wrapped around my waist and hoisted me up as both my hands clawed at the huge paw. Nothing I could do dislodged it as I squirmed in the tight embrace and my legs pumped in the air.
“Get a stick,” rumbled the bear that held me. “A good one.”
There was some rummaging around off to my left, then another huge shape stood in front of me. For a brief moment I was ungagged as the hand pulled away, but then a small, smooth tree branch, about half a foot long, maybe an inch thick, was forced past my teeth, deep across my mouth. I was quickly bent forward and a leather thong pressed against the back of my neck, then wrapped around either end of the wooden gag. Then, almost as fast, more leather thongs tied my wrists and ankles. I fell the rest of the short way to the ground, landing with an “oomph”, then my legs were bent in back and tied off to my wrists. Just like that I went from potential rescuer to actual captive.
Laying on my stomach, I could see Sheena. Her wide eyes flicked from me to the two giants that stood over us. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them, loud and clear. And Sheena’s eyes only got wider and wider.
“Is this the one we came for?” said one. From the corner of my eye I saw a huge hand and finger pointing at Sheena.
“No. The other.” A woman? Where had she come from? And she seemed to be trying to disguise her voice, like she was talking past her hand over her mouth. “We got what we came for. As for this one,” a pointed boot gave Sheena a bit of a shove, “she was let loose as a test. Bait. She’s earned her reward.”
Did I know that voice?
“Reward? Yeah, sure.” The man chuckled.
“Oh, that’s fine,” rumbled the other man, the bear. “And what about their friends, family? What if they come looking for them? Especially this one?” His own blunt boot rocked me a little.
“That’ll be taken care of.”
“Huh? Just what d’ya mean...”
“I said, don’t worry, and don’t go thinking about things that you shouldn’t. We didn’t have much warning about this opportunity but things will work out. Just don’t let her see your faces.”
“No shit.”
A cloth was tied around my head and my sight plunged into darkness. Flipped over on my side two arms lifted me up, bent hogtied to the sky. They weren’t quite as strong as the bear’s, but strong enough. Eventually the blindfold slipped, just the barest amount, and slowly, so slowly, I turned to my head to see where we were going.
There was Sheena, slung over the bear’s shoulder. As he lumbered along she “oomph”ed and squealed as her ride was not nearly as smooth as mine. Her hair, still tied off in a pony-tail, hung down well past the bear’s waist. But, what the hell? Why was a blindfold forced on me and not her? She lifted up her head and I caught a glimpse of her eyes that strangely were not filled with outright fear but a more subtle apprehension. She kind of struggled, flailing her tied legs and wriggling the upper torso, but it wasn’t a frantic move like a “Let me out go now!” kind of thing. And when the bear gave her a couple of firm slaps on her ass it was as if she expected (wanted?) that.
I slowly realized we were retracing our way along the jogging trail. Up the twisting path, then back down the straight, steep hill. If these two captors had any fear of anyone else coming along they didn’t show it. Then their shoes scraped over asphalt and we were back at the parking lot. From under the blindfold I spied Sheena’s car, and next to it was a blue pick-up truck with a low camper shell over the rear bed. Sheena was set down on her feet while the bear swung open the truck’s tailgate, then was scooped up and shoved inside, head first.
“Get in there,” said the bear. “Go on! Use those legs! Now slide over. Move!” A couple more slaps and an echoing squeal from Sheena completed her packing away. Then the bear backed up and stood aside.
“Alright, darling,” said my captor. “Don’t give us any trouble.”
Still hogtied I was pushed through the narrow opening. The blindfold was pulled up and away and I found Sheena was also now hogtied. Her eyes were closed and her face showed an almost serene quality. The bear’s hand reached in and slapped her ass.
Outside the bear said, “You take care of the truck. I’ll follow in the car. The sooner we get there, the better.”
During the ride I worked at my knots, or tried to, but the leather was tight and unforgiving. In one quick turn I rolled over on my side and Sheena and I wound up staring at each other. I glanced down toward her crotch and found that her shorts were wet. And not from piss. Looking back at her bared breast the nipple stood straight out.
Sheena was turned on? But then I remembered that box of books, the cover of one with a leather collar and... and... slowly the warmth grew between my legs.
Oh my god! My own panties were wet too! And I could smell the odor! Sex. Just pure lubrication for a cock to be stuck inside me. My thoughts were flooded with an image of a man, pulling my hair, calling me his bitch...
And then the truck stopped. A final lurch, then two doors were opened and slammed, one on the truck, the other distant, both echoing like we had driven into an enclosed space. The camper shell door swung up and a dull light bled through.
A pair of hands reached in, grabbed Sheena by her tied legs and roughly pulled her out. Sheena squealed, perhaps tried a half-hearted squirm or two, but out she went. I didn’t see her again for...I don’t how long.
Before I was lifted out the hogtie was removed. My legs lowered and I breathed in relief, but the break was short lived because soon I was tottering on my bound feet. A bright light shone in my face, effectively blinding me again. I closed my eyes, but still saw red underneath my eyelids. And I heard just fine.
“What a lovely, pert young thing,” said a woman, confident, assured. Not the same one as at the park. “I had read the reports, even seen a couple of photos, but seeing her in the flesh is wonderful.”
“Standard intake?” said the bear.
“For the most part,” said the woman. “You have the forms?”
“Right here, Livia.”
I raised my head just the barest amount, at last I could see something. The woman named Livia bent forward slightly as her serious, yet striking face studied the cell phone. Her dark hair was done up in back and added an air of no nonsense. Loose scrubs did a lot to hide her figure but the breasts were definitely there.
Livia glanced up, our eyes met and I cringed fearing that she knew I could see her. But then she looked back down at the phone. A couple of finger swipes and she nodded.
“Alright, got it,” she said. “Strip and wash. She’s marked for room thirty-four. Maximum security.”