The Tie That Binds

by Maura, Catharina

  I glance at his face. He’s lying back with his arms behind his head, his eyes on me. He doesn’t even try to hide his body. There’s not a trace of embarrassment on his face.

  I climb back on the bed and straddle him, his eyes widening as I do so. I lean over him and grab his wrists, tying one of his ties around each before linking them together. He doesn’t fight me. He just looks at me with heated eyes, as though he’s waiting to see what I’ll do next.

  I raise his arms and tie his knotted wrists to his bed frame. He tries to tug his hands loose but fails, and I smile in satisfaction.

  “What are you doing?” he murmurs, his voice husky. I glare at him, still infuriated. His eyes drop to my breasts and he tries to tug his tied wrist loose again. He fails and licks his lips, watching me hungrily.

  “Punishing you,” I bite out. I lie down on top of him and bury my hands in his hair, pulling on it hard enough to make him tilt his head. I lean in and place my lips against his neck, right below his ear, and bite down before sucking on his skin harshly.

  Daniel moans and turns his head to the side to give me better access. “Fuck, Alyssa,” he whispers, sounding turned on beyond reason. He bucks his hips against me, squirming until he’s sliding against me. My underwear prevents him from entering me but it doesn’t stop him from driving me crazy. It was meant to be me torturing him but before long I’m panting and close to coming.

  I tighten my grip on his hair and turn his head to settle my lips against the other side. I bite down bang in the middle of his neck and suck harshly, leaving a clearly visible kiss mark. Daniel moans loudly and I cover his mouth with my hand. He presses a soft kiss against my palm and thrusts against me more frantically. I love seeing him so out of control. So desperate for me.

  I lower my lips to his collarbone and he groans. “No,” he whispers. Moving down meant he’s no longer pressing his erection into me and he tugs on his restraints before hooking a leg around me to try and move me up. I chuckle and take my time giving him kiss marks on his collarbone, and then his chest before moving on to his abs. He’s breathing hard and watching me with heated eyes as I press my lips against his adonis belt, marking that too.

  I grin up at him as I follow the trail of hair on his lower abs down and down with my lips, pressing small kisses against his skin. Daniel is lying still, his body tense. He watches me with ardent eyes as I grab his throbbing erection, wrapping my fingers around the base.

  “Baby, you’d better let go of my dick now,” he murmurs. I smile at him. “Or what?” I ask, lowering my lips to kiss the very tip. He moans and bites down on his lips.

  “What if I don’t want to let go of your..dick?” I whisper, almost stumbling over the word. Daniel gulps and stares at me with wide eyes as I slowly take the tip of him into my mouth. His eyes fall closed and he moans loudly when I swirl my tongue.

  “Alyssa, baby. Please,” he moans. “Oh fuck, Lyss.”

  I bob my head up and down, taking him in deeper each time. With each of his moans I get wetter myself. I never thought this would turn me on as much as it does. I clench my thighs together as Daniel roughly pulls on his ties.

  “Baby, you gotta stop. I’m gonna come. Lyss, I — I can’t..”

  He tries to pull his hips away from me but instead I take him in deeper, trying my best to withstand the urge to gag. Daniel’s moans get louder and his pleas get more desperate.

  “Please, my love. Alyssa.. I can’t hold it..”

  He bucks his hips and pushes deeper into me, coming deep in my throat. I struggle to swallow it all down and pull away, coughing. I wipe my lips and look at him, pleased with what I’m seeing. He looks spent and intensely satisfied. Daniel looks at me through lowered lashes and grins lazily. The mere sight of him has my heart skipping a beat.

  “Baby..” he says. “I don’t think you quite understand the definition of punishment.”

  I burst out laughing and shake my head. “Don’t you provoke me. I’m tempted to leave you tied here naked so you’ll miss that damn date you should never have agreed to in the first place. If this wasn’t your mother’s house and if I didn’t love her so much I would’ve really done it.”

  I lean over him and loosen the tie just enough for him to be able to get out of it while giving myself enough time to escape his room in the meantime. I glance at him one more time, satisfied with the countless bites on his skin that mark him as mine.

  28

  I walk to the outdoor dining table silently, fuming. Daniel is sitting in the corner wearing a button-up that covers most of his kiss marks. The one right below his ear that’s still exposed he covered by putting a band aid on. He smiles at me and winks when I glare at him. I sit down opposite him in the seat that’s marked for Mary instead. I grab the name cards and blatantly switch mine with hers before nodding politely at Olivia and her mother, Dana.

  It doesn’t escape my attention that Olivia is in the seat next to him, right in the middle of the table, while I would’ve been next to her, at the other end of the table. In that seat it wouldn’t be that easy for me to speak to Daniel without leaning over Olivia. Mary placed Dana opposite Olivia while Dominic would’ve been sat opposite me. It’s clear what she’s doing and I don’t like it at all. With this set up Daniel and I would have been at opposites ends, unable to even see each other easily. I try my very best not to glare at Olivia. She’s pulled her seat so close to Daniel’s that she might as well be in his lap.

  We all rise when Mary walks up to us. She pauses and looks at me curiously and then at the one empty seat that’s left before greeting our guests with a smile.

  “Gosh, Olivia. You look prettier every time I see you. Isn’t she pretty, Daniel?” she says. I glance up at him to find him staring down at her with a sweet smile. My heart clenches painfully when he nods at his mother. Perhaps sitting where I can’t see him would’ve been easier. I look down so I’m not caught glaring at him.

  We all sit down as the staff takes our drink orders. I don’t hesitate to order a double gin and tonic. There’s no way I’m making it through this completely sober.

  “It’s so lovely to see you again, Alyssa. I was so sorry to hear about your father,” Olivia says, smiling at me. I nod at her politely and try my best to smile back. “Thank you, Olivia. It’s lovely to see you too.”

  One of the serving girls places down my drink and Olivia frowns. “Oh, Alyssa. You shouldn’t! You’re still underage, aren’t you?” she says, sounding genuinely concerned. I sigh, already tired of this lunch and the first course hasn’t even been served yet.

  “I’m twenty-two,” I murmur. Olivia chuckles. “Wow, you’ve grown up huh,” she says. She glances at Daniel and smiles. “Do you remember being twenty-two, Daniel? Fresh out of university. God, those were the good old days.”

  Daniel merely smiles at her noncommittally and she turns back towards me. “So you’ll be starting your career soon, huh? That must be exciting.”

  I smile at her and nod. “Yeah, I’m working for DM Consultancy,” I tell her, a tinge of pride ringing through my voice. She frowns at me. “Oh, Alyssa. Don’t you think it’ll be better to get a real job rather than relying on nepotism? Your father’s company will always be there, but it’s so important to work for an actual boss first. Someone who doesn’t care about your surname. I worked for my dad’s company for a while and it was so easy compared to working for the university. Take it from me, sweetie. It’ll really build character to work elsewhere. I have plenty of connections if you struggle to find a job.”

  She turns to Daniel and smiles at him. “Or Daniel can help you find something. I’m sure you’d help out your little’s brother’s friend, right?”

  She places her hand on his arm and grins at me. “He’s always been so supportive. He’s actually the one who introduced me to the professor I currently work for. I still had to go through the whole interview process, but it was nice to have someone to talk to beforehand.”

  I glance at her hand on his arm and then at
him before looking away. Just seeing her touch him so intimately annoys the hell out of me. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you, Olivia,” I say, nodding at her.

  No matter how hard I work, people will always think I don’t deserve my successes. This is the main reason my dad instructed me to use Carter as my surname at work, but it doesn’t make it any easier. We have plenty of staff who’ve been with us from the start of their careers and who have climbed their way up to executive positions, the way I’m doing. But just because my surname is Moriani people will always assume I was handed everything on a silver platter.

  “Actually, Alyssa does have a real job,” Daniel says, an edge to his tone. “She works harder than any of my other staff members and has been with DM since she was eighteen, often working sixteen hour days to get all her work done in addition to attending university. In four years she’s worked her way up to becoming a managing consultant. Are you insinuating that my company is guilty of nepotism when all we’re doing is nurturing talent? That we hire and promote unfairly?”

  Olivia blanches and my heart feels a bit more at ease to hear him standing up for me. Mary clears her throat and sends Daniel a warning look. “Of course not. That’s not what you meant, right Olivia? She’s just looking out for Alyssa. She doesn’t know much about DM, after all. Maybe you should show her around once.”

  Olivia nods. “Yes, I’m sorry if that came out wrong, Alyssa. I meant well. I would love to see DM once. Maybe I can bring you some lunch sometime, Daniel?”

  Mary nods happily. “Oh that’d be wonderful. How about sometime next week? I’ll give you Daniel’s secretary’s phone number so you can set up a lunch date.”

  My heart sinks. He hasn’t rejected her advances once. I take a large sip of my G&T, drowning out the conversation as I pick at my food. Olivia smiles at everything he says and in return he nods and listens intently as she tells him about her job. I can see why Mary selected her. She’s taller than me and thinner than me. She’s only half a head shorter than Daniel while I barely reach his chin, and she’s got a supermodel’s body that she undoubtedly works very hard for. Mary seems to know her son well.

  I look away and finish my second glass of gin and tonic while Olivia and Daniel reminisce about the events they’ve both attended. From the sounds of it they share more memories than I realised.

  Olivia giggles and I look up. “We got so drunk, do you remember?” she says. Daniel smiles at her fondly and my heart wrenches. Does he ever look at me like that? “We didn’t get drunk. You got drunk. I had to carry you home,” he says, laughing.

  I thought they were merely acquaintances, but it sounds like they’re pretty good friends at least. It makes sense. Their mothers are good friends and they’re close in age. Olivia is only three years younger than Daniel.

  “It’s been so long since we’ve had a chance to catch up. I’m so happy to see you today. We should really do dinner sometime soon. How about that new Italian place?” she says.

  Daniel smiles at her and glances at me. I look away, pretending to be bored, and finish my third G&T. My heart is aching and I feel oddly betrayed, even though Daniel hasn’t exactly done anything wrong yet. All he’s done is be polite and kind to her while honouring his mother’s arrangements. Mary was right. If I hadn’t known better I wouldn’t have thought anything of this lunch.

  “So, Alyssa,” Dana says. “You’ve grown up to be a beautiful hardworking young woman. You don’t happen to be dating anyone, do you?”

  I smile at her tightly. She takes my non-responsiveness as denial and nods happily.

  “You might remember my son, Oliver. He’s only a couple of years older than you are. He’s twenty-five. Perhaps you and he could go for drinks sometime? He only just moved back to London. It’d be nice for him to date a little. He’s become such a hermit these days.”

  I smile, remembering Oliver. He was always really sweet.

  “Actually, Dana.. I’m sorry, but I’m seeing some right now,” I say. She looks surprised and disappointed. “That’s too bad,” she murmurs. “I’ve heard such great things about you from Mary and from Christopher.”

  I look up at her with raised brows. “Christopher from Accounting at DM?” She nods and smiles. “I think he’s the head of the Finance now, but yes, him. He’s a family friend and speaks very highly of you.”

  I nod in understanding. “When I started he wasn’t the head of the department yet, so in my mind he’s always Christopher from Accounting. That’s still how he signs any emails he sends to me,” I say, chuckling.

  I sip my fourth G&T as dessert comes around, feeling pleasantly buzzed. I can’t wait for this to be over. I just want to go back to my bedroom and hide out in bed. I’m feeling hurt and insecure and I hate it. I felt so empowered this morning in Daniel’s bedroom, but here, now, it seems like it never even happened. He’s pleasantly chatting with Olivia and even though I’m sitting opposite him he’s barely spoken three words to me all afternoon. Is it that easy for him to separate intimacy and public appearances? This must be what all the women before me have felt like. It’s excruciating to feel so special in bed, only to be made to feel like I’m insignificant outside of it. I’m ready to call it a day when Mary smiles at Olivia brightly.

  “You did bring your swimsuit, didn’t you?” she says. Then she turns to Daniel and grins at him. “I told her you’d take her for a swim since the weather is so lovely out. We can all sit by the pool and sip some cocktails. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

  I groan. I’d rather burn in Hell.

  29

  “I’m not feeling all that well. I think I’ll sit this one out and go take a nap,” I murmur, smiling politely. I can’t watch Daniel with Olivia any longer. My heart aches and I’m tired. I just want to get into bed and fall asleep with the hope that tomorrow might be better. At least I get to go back to work tomorrow.

  Dominic shakes his head and grabs my hand. “Nope, you’re coming,” he says. He pulls me away from the rest of the group a little. The two of us fall behind them and he throws his arm over my shoulder.

  “You got it bad, huh?” he murmurs. I frown at him, confused. “You know he’s just messing with you, right? His eyes were on you every time you looked away. He’s just trying to make you jealous.”

  I pause and glare at him. “What are you talking about?” I bite out, unwilling to play games with him. He sighs and a brief expression of hurt flashes through his eyes before he smiles at me. He gently pats my hair and strokes my cheek.

  “All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, Alyssa. I know I’m selfish. I know I’ve been a terrible friend to you. But I do truly love you. You’re my heart, Alyssa. I want the world for you.”

  He hesitates and inhales deeply. “I also know you better than anyone else, and I know you’ve never once looked at me the way you were looking at Daniel today. You usually hide it so well that I didn’t realise..”

  He shakes his head. “It’s nothing. Go put on your red bikini. You know the one, right? You look wicked hot in it. Go put that on, and trust me just one more time. Can you do that for me?” I look away, unwilling. Dominic cups my cheek gently. “Trust me, Lyss. I would never do anything to hurt you. Do this for me now, and I swear you won’t regret it.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t feel like it. I don’t want to swim. I just want to leave.” Dominic pulls me against him and hugs me tightly. “I know, Lyss. I know. But if you do that, if you run away now.. then you and Daniel will keep going around in circles. My brother is hard to read, but I know exactly what he’s thinking. If you want to be with him, then you’ll need to chase him aggressively, until he finally gets it through his thick skull that it’s him you want. Until he finally believes it. So come to the pool with me and trust me. Let me make at least some of my behaviour up to you.”

  I hesitate but he pushes me into the direction of the house before following me there, as though he doesn’t trust that I’ll actually come back out. He looks pleased when I walk back out
wearing the bikini he told me to wear and offers me his arm. He changed in record time and has a spare pair of swim shorts in his hands. “For Daniel,” he says, winking at me.

  When we reach the pool Daniel’s eyes find mine immediately. He stares at Dominic’s hand around my shoulder and grits his teeth. Dominic chuckles and leans into me. “He’s stupid for thinking he wouldn’t pay for making my best friend suffer through that bullshit lunch.”

  A small smile tugs at my lips and I shake my head at him. “Don’t provoke him,” I tell him quietly. “I don’t want to do that to him.”

  Dominic smiles at me with a twinge of longing and presses a long kiss to my cheek. “I wish, Alyssa. I fucking wish,” he whispers.

  “Where were you two?” Daniel shouts. He walks up to us looking furious. “Went to change, bro,” Dominic says. “Do you like the bikini I picked for Alyssa?”

  I look at him through narrowed eyes. This bastard. He winks at me and holds my hand, twirling me around. Daniel’s eyes drop to my breasts and he grits his teeth. The bikini I’m wearing showcases my body perfectly. The tiny bottoms are shaped so that my waist looks small while my ass looks nice and round, and the top has enough support to push my already full boobs up. Even I think it’s sexy as hell.

  Dominic hands Daniel the spare swim shorts he brought and Mary walks up to us, excited. “Oh, fantastic. See, problem solved, Daniel.” She glances between us curiously, an amused look in her eyes. Daniel shakes his head. “I really don’t think that’ll be a good idea, mum,” he says, looking at her sternly. I laugh mockingly. So he doesn’t want Olivia to see his kiss marks. I brush past him, regretting coming here at all.

  Daniel grabs my wrist and pulls me back. I stumble and brace myself against his chest. He looks at me intensely like he wants to say something but then he shakes his head and lets go of me, his eyes lingering on my body angrily.