Ties that Bind

JoAnne pulled her car into the garage and turned off the engine. Leaning her head against the headrest she exhaled deeply. The end of another long night at work. For a second she savored the peacefulness before gathering her purse and keys and opening the door.

The house was dark as she entered, it was 2:30 in the morning, everyone had gone to bed hours before. She slipped her shoes off and closed the door quietly. Before she could flip the light on a hand covered her mouth. "Shhhhh." The instant of panic subsided at the sound of her husbands voice. He let go of her mouth, but just as quickly covered her eyes with a scarf of some sort.

"What are you doing?" she demanded in a whisper, raising her hand in an attempt to remove the blindfold.

"I didn't say you could speak," came his reply as he batted her hand away.

"Stop this," she protested as he slipped her purse strap off her shoulder.

His tone was stern as he ordered her again not to speak. "If you can't keep quiet I'll use your panties to gag you," he threatened.

"You wouldn't do that, now stop it, this isn't funny," she argued, becoming agitated with his game. He quickly pushed her into the wall, grabbing her wrists and pulling them behind her back. "I'm not in the mood, I've had a long night and I'm tired. I just want to shower and go to sleep," she said angrily as he secured her hands with what felt like a necktie. Once her hands were tied he moved his hands to the waistband of her pants, yanking them off along with her panties in one quick motion. She struggled against the restraints until she felt her panties being forced into her mouth.

"I warned you," His tone was stern, but beneath it she detected a note of playfulness. Still, she was in no mood for this tonight. She began to think of ways to avenge herself.

A gentle nudge on her back propelled her forward and she took a tentative step. She could maneuver through the house with no lights, but wondered what obstacles may have been left in the path by their three children. The tile floor stopped and she felt the familiar carpet of the hallway. She continued her indignant protest as best she could in her state. They reached their bedroom, but passed through it until they reached the door to their private bathroom.

The click of the doorknob told her he was opening it, and as the steamy warmth of the room greeted her he nudged her forward again. The scent of sandalwood filled her nostrils, she inhaled deeply it's aroma, both sensual and soothing. Refusing to allow him victory she pulled her body away from him as he closed the door. His half laugh made her realize the futility of her situation.

His hand caressed her cheek, then moved to her hair where he removed the tight clasp holding it back. As her unruly auburn hair cascaded down he intertwined his fingers in it and pulled it away from her face roughly. For some reason unknown his roughness awakened a primal instinct in her and she began to feel aroused. His lips moved to her cheek, then her neck, she expected him to move to her lips and hoped he would remove the awful gag, but he did not. Instead his hands moved to her shirt, unbuttoning it first.

She laughed inwardly at the first flaw in his plan when her shirt reached her bound wrists. He would have to release them to complete the task, but stopped when she heard the material tearing as he destroyed her top instead. She berated him through the gag, but knew not a word was discernable. He quickly removed her bra with the same technique. Now she was furious. She imagined the sight she must be, red-faced, blindfolded, gagged, bound and now entirely naked. As his arms wrapped around her she launched an all out struggle for her freedom, but she was no match for his strength. Feeling him hardening against her only increased her wrath. She wrestled until her face was streaked with tears and her body weak. When she finally ceased he was still there, holding her just as firmly although the combination of humid air and sweat from fighting against him had made her body slippery.

His grip loosened and he began kissing her again, moving his lips to her breasts and lightly suckling each nipple in turn. He led her to the waiting bathtub and helped her step in. She lowered herself into the water with some difficulty, but he assured her it would be ok. As the warm water engulfed her body she found herself torn between continuing to be annoyed or surrendering to him. As his strong hands soothed her tired shoulders her resolve was weakened by both her own exhaustion and a curiosity of what was in store for her.

"If you promise to be a very good girl I'll take the gag out of your mouth," His voice was calm and friendly. "Do you want that?" She nodded her head eagerly. "Will you be a very good girl?" Again she vigorously nodded. She felt the panties being removed from her mouth and as soon as they were out she made rapid spitting motions.

"Yuck," she pouted, sticking her tongue out and turning her head toward him.

He laughed softly, "It was your choice," he reminded her. "Now be good, so I don't have to put them back."

" I didn't think you would actually do it," she retorted. "What's with you tonight anyway? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Tell me about your night, how was work?" He ignored her question and steered the conversation to a new subject.

"The usual," she sighed, "Not enough nurses for too many patients." She drew a deep breath as if to continue, but then changed her mind and grew silent again.

After a minute he broke the stillness again. "Jo, are you happy?"

His question puzzled her. "Happy?" she repeated, "With what? with my job?"

"No," he answered

"With what then? You mean this? What you're doing now?" She furrowed her brow to show her confusion.

"With us? Are you happy with our marriage?"

"Oh," Now she was really surprised, and a little afraid. Thoughts raced through her mind. Where was this going? Was he unhappy? Did he want to leave her? Uncertainly filled her instantly.

"Well?" he asked.

She wanted to launch a barrage of questions, but he was waiting for her answer. "Yes," she replied, almost timidly.

"Really?" His tone implied doubt. She nodded, suddenly wishing she could see his face.

"Why?" Her whisper belied her bewilderment. "Are you happy?" She turned his question around.

Again he ignored her, intent on his own purpose. "Are you really happy?"

She groped around her mind, trying to find the words that would answer his question. It wasn't like when they were newlyweds, they certainly had more time to spend together then. That was 12 years ago, now they had kids, and jobs, and a full schedule of social obligations. The typical lifestyle that was expected of couples in their social class. "Things are good between us," she finally said. "Comfortable."

"Comfortable," he echoed. "Not far from mundane, or boring." His tone was not condemning her for her choice of words, rather she heard agreement in his voice.

"Yeah, I guess so." She conceded, realizing there was a bit of distance growing between them.

"Is comfortable what you want?" he asked, brushing his lips across her neck.

"I don't know, what choice do we have?" She said, thinking it would be nearly impossible to change their course now, anything they could do would create a domino effect for many people.

"I want to take you out of your comfort zone," He offered.

"Like tonight?" She asked, her voice filled with uncertainty.

Even with the blindfold on she could tell he was smiling. "This is only the beginning, baby."

He helped her out of the bath, cut the tie around her wrists and wrapped her in a soft dry towel. She moved into his arms meekly, and after he slipped the blindfold off her eyes she laid her head on his chest, knowing things would never be the same.