Black Widow (Duet)

by Lena Austin

  Calder looked into her impassive blue eyes. How could he say he found that detail unimportant? The best he could come up with was a shrug and a shake of the head.

  “I see. You figured since your career was over, it was a dead issue?”

  Calder nodded. His nipples throbbed with every heartbeat and were impossible to ignore. Worse, his arms were going to sleep. Soon, he’d be in severe pain. He set his jaw as best he could around the gag. He could take it. Kelly would not do permanent damage. But he couldn’t help the small adjustment his body made in response to the growing discomfort.

  “Getting uncomfortable, Calder?” Kelly asked in a dangerous voice. “It’s about to get worse. You see, I accepted your submission, and I now accept your wish to take training. I can both punish you for deceiving me and train you simultaneously.” She stepped out of sight.

  Calder felt her soft hand on his left buttock. She was stroking it. Her hand moved to the right cheek, repeating the caress. He shut his eyes and tried to reconcile the soft, pleasant strokes with the discomfort of his chest. When she moved her hand to caress the underside of each cheek, the pain went away. “Very nice, Calder. You can take more than I might have given you credit for.” The purr in her voice was back. “You lied, and I lied. The rest of this is all for the purpose of making you hit subspace. I want you to see and feel what it is to submit, totally. Then, we’ll talk.”

  The rabbit fur replaced her hand. He kept his eyes closed and stood rigidly still. With his legs spread almost to the level of discomfort by the ankle cuffs of the cross, he wasn’t surprised when the fur caressed between his legs and squeezed his balls tenderly. His eyes popped open, and his cock swelled further.

  Kelly moved around to his right again, but her head was bent to look directly at his hard-on. “Hold still, Calder. Be very still,” she cautioned.

  Her small hand grasped his cock firmly and pulled it away from his body. It had been nearly flat against his pubic mound. It felt so good that he had to groan.

  He couldn’t see, but something slipped down just below the head of his aching erection. A cock ring, perhaps? No, it was soft and flexible. His hips twitched before he could stop himself.

  “It’s only cotton rope, Calder.” Kelly’s voice held a touch of amusement. The rope wound around his cock, down to the base, firmly holding him up and hard. “This will restrict blood flow just enough so you can’t lose your erection, no matter what happens.”

  Calder thought he’d lose his mind when she positioned the rope carefully between his balls, separating them. He felt them try to move inside his body for protection, but the rope trapped them in their individual sacs. The pleasure was close to excruciating. He couldn’t stop the moan that escaped around the ball gag.

  “There’s more, Calder.” A rope cinched around his waist. It didn’t seem to be connected to the first, until BW pulled the first firmly and attached it to the “belt.” A knot now rested expertly against his anus. His eyes flew open wide.

  Kelly moved back to his right and leaned casually up against the wall where he could see her clearly. “You see, Calder, that knot serves a purpose,” she began conversationally. She reached over and tugged at his rope belt, and the knot moved, rubbing his ass. His breathing hitched. “Did you know that the male G-spot is in a man’s ass? Makes sense, doesn’t it?” Tug. Calder’s eyes glazed. “Oh, by the way, Calder. The rope around your cock ensures you can’t come, either. I can stimulate you all night, and you’ll never get a drop of release until I permit it. Understand?” Tug.

  Agonized, Calder could only shut his eyes and nod. He now understood pain and pleasure, in combination. His entire body screamed. It was like passing through a barrier, and he floated in a world where both resided simultaneously, where the pleasure was winning.

  From far away, Kelly’s voice still came in loud and clear. “You’re writhing, Calder. You’ve hit subspace. Good.” Distantly, he felt the fur caress the head of his cock, and he rode a new wave of pleasure.

  Kelly’s voice floated in. “Now, everything I say will be imprinted deeply within your memory.”

  Every fiber of his being heard her. He thought he nodded, but he couldn’t be sure anymore.

  “You never asked, but I’m telling you about my husband anyway. I don’t think Denny really loved me. He said he did and showered me with gifts, but he never showed it with the little things that are free and easy to give. A spontaneous kiss, a flower plucked and handed to me fresh, all the small romantic things.”

  All the things Calder had done. It made him happy to hear it, and he floated further.

  “Denny was an investment realtor. He only worked with the wealthy, making million-dollar deals. He was gone a lot, and when he came home he didn’t want to hear voices, or a phone ring. He demanded absolute quiet, not even music. And he certainly didn’t want to hear about his wife’s day.

  “The only time he wanted me to talk was when I was beating him. Yep, I was the Domme, not Denny. I tried now and then to interest him in switching, just for me, but it didn’t work. He was a lousy Dom. It was probably the only thing we had in common.”

  Calder attempted to nod. He’d dominated Kelly, just the once. He’d be happy to do it again. Especially now that he understood subspace.

  She shrugged. Were his eyes open? He guessed so. “What did I have to talk about anyway? How I burned the biscuits daydreaming and had to make a fresh batch? How I went shopping? He didn’t care if I redecorated, if I hired a professional and it looked elegant and expensive.

  “And if I remained elegant and expensive, too. I had to be the perfect decoration -- discreet, quiet, and well-dressed. I ran from shopping to the gym, and back home to either cook dinner or get dressed for an evening out with clients.”

  God, that sounded boring, Calder mused absently. The furry caressing had stopped.

  “Finally, my brain was turning to mush. I craved human conversation and feeling intelligent. I also was rebelling against that vapid, perfect little wife who never stepped a toe out of line.” Her voice hitched, like she was trying to hold back tears.

  “So, I turned pro. Worked for an escort service, since I was already great arm candy. But, when my client went back to the hotel room, I picked up my kit and performed BDSM services. Never sex. Never. Denny couldn’t be jealous of that.

  “It took a year to build up the client base and the infamous little black book. I renovated the basement into a professional dungeon and took clients there. Denny loved it. Not only was I making money hand over fist he could invest for me, but also the dungeon was his little playground. Managing both our businesses was a nightmare of organization, but at least I was busier than I ever thought possible. My appointment book was full of dinner parties with Denny in the early evening, clients late into the night, and I slept all day while Denny worked.” Her voice was contemptuous.

  Something in Calder’s brain snapped into awareness. He was coming back.

  “The hell of it all was I was still neglected emotionally. Denny figured since I was so busy, I didn’t need any romance. My clients brought me flowers, didn’t they? Yeah, just before they hit their knees and begged for a beating.

  “I’ve been the vapid trophy wife, and I’ve been the Black Widow. Never an equal. Never just a woman with a brain and a heart.”

  A tear tracked slowly down her cheek. “You did that for me, Calder. You were innocent of Black Widow’s influence and didn’t need or want a status symbol.”

  Calder writhed violently in the cuffs, no matter what the cost was in pain. He wanted, more than he’d ever wanted anything, to cuddle Kelly. He thought his hands would fall off, but he clutched the ball so tightly he thought it might burst. His eyes glazed, and he thought he might pass out.

  Kelly’s eyes narrowed, and she regained some composure. “No, Calder, not yet. I’ve made my decision, as you suggested. I want you in my life, but you get to choose how. And I’m not removing the gag until you know the full scope of your choices. Deal?”<
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  Calder nodded, so weak he could barely hold himself upright. The logical part of his brain was clicking online. This must be the shock portion of submission. It didn’t help to know that. The rest of him didn’t give a damn.

  “Fine. Fight to stand upright, Calder. I’ll release your ankles first.” She suited words to action. As tenderly as she’d treated her first sub, she unbuckled his legs and held them until they found solid purchase on the floor.

  Calder couldn’t describe the relief. The rope belt still had him in discomfort, but at least he was standing, if a bit wobbly. He was now grateful for the cuffs on his wrists that kept him upright.

  “Calder. Calder, listen to me,” came the gentle voice of Kelly. “I’m going to release your wrists. You will have to remain upright as best you can. You’re too big for me to carry. Once you’re free, I’m going to make you kneel right at the base of the cross. I won’t make you walk. Can you do this?”

  Calder forced himself to nod. He felt like his bones were jelly. It was an effort to plant his feet firmly and make them take his weight. He felt Kelly release his left cuff. He leaned on the cross, sacrificing pride so he wouldn’t fall on her.

  “Okay, Calder. I’m going to release your right wrist.” She touched his hand and took the ball. In his muddled state, he tried to grab for it. It was his lifeline to Kelly.

  “It’s all right, Calder. It served its purpose,” she crooned into his ear. “You proved your sincerity and didn’t drop it. I’ve got it now.” She unbuckled the cuff.

  Calder sank to his knees slowly, using the cross to make it a controlled fall. Kelly caught him halfway down and eased him into the kneeling position. He took the ball back as soon as it came into range of his vision.

  Kelly brought him a cool cola, its sides dripping with condensation, and a chocolate bar. She set them near him.

  “Here’s your choice, Calder. Before I un-gag you, you must decide. If you choose to continue the Dom training as it stands now, we will be no more than friends. I don’t have sex with my subs. There are too many complications.

  “However, you have a second choice. You can be my partner. I will teach you all the aspects of my business, but privately, and in my own good time. I don’t need a sub. I’d prefer a partner. In exchange for this, I’ll help you with your book. And, we can enjoy a healthy sexual relationship.”

  Calder allowed the gag to be removed. He still couldn’t speak, so he pointed to a table in the corner. There, hidden from casual sight, was the burgundy box. He waited and opened his cola can with trembling hands.

  Kelly went to the table and found the box. Glancing once at Calder with an unreadable expression, she opened the box.

  Calder slugged down the cola to get his throat wet. “I accept the partnership offer. But I’d prefer a partnership based on marriage, if you’d accept.” He swayed but didn’t fall over.

  Kelly closed the box and knelt in front of Calder, then put the chocolate in his hand. “Eat. You aren’t far enough out of subspace to make a marriage proposal at this time.”

  Calder took the candy but smiled weakly. “No, I had it in my jacket pocket the night we discovered the truth about each other. But things got out of hand. I love you, Kelly. All of you. And I want you to be in my life. More than a partner. More than BDSM. It’s all or nothing.”

  Kelly bit her lip. She reached over and removed his nipple clamps. The rush of pain/pleasure was indescribable. Calder closed his eyes and forced himself not to tremble. He bit into the chocolate, hoping it would help.

  Kelly pondered, and fingered the worn little box in her lap. “All of me? Not just Black Widow?” she asked in a small voice without looking up.

  “I admit to a fondness for other aspects, like the girl who watches Bogart with me at three AM and has a Scooby Doo alarm clock, but yeah, you’re a package deal.” He quirked a smile. “And I’m looking forward to more, uh, training, but as your partner. I’ve got a lot left to learn.” He put down his cola and took another bite of chocolate. It was helping.

  Kelly made a sound that was somewhere between a snort and a snigger. Her arm reached behind Calder and released the rope between his legs.

  The immediate rush of circulation made Calder yelp. Before the sound echoed back off the walls, Kelly had pounced, tossing Calder on his back. “Then I accept! And your training continues right now!”

  Calder moaned as she kissed him very thoroughly, and slowly unwound the rope from his still hard cock. He moaned again and wrapped his arms around her. The release from the rope was close to an orgasm. “Does this mean I get to come now?”

  “What? Do you think I’m going to make you wait until our honeymoon?”

  Epilogue

  Ruben Grimes sat in the back of the room and sniffed happily at the aromas coming from the reception banquet. It was worth the trip to Denver to see his newest best-selling author team finally tie the knot. The Tie that Binds had hit the NY Times Extended list incredibly quickly. Ruben had found it both funny and very profitable.

  At least the wedding march was traditional, but Ruben was having trouble adjusting to a large portion of the wedding guests being dressed either in leather or nearly nothing at all. Good thing Calder warned me not to bring the missus. Ruben chuckled to himself. Cassie would have started with a conniption and worked up from there.

  Calder appeared, flanked by the best man. Both were in leather tuxes, and Ruben smothered another chuckle. Calder had certainly relaxed in recent months.

  The bride swept by, marching on her own, with one attendant following. Ruben had to gasp as he nearly broke his neck at the attendant’s lack of attire. He didn’t call that scrap of red cloth covering the bare essentials anything like clothing.

  The bride’s black leather bustier, bouquet made of leather strips on handles, and tiny thong wasn’t exactly traditional either, but Ruben wasn’t about to complain. He wasn’t going to complain about anything, not when fully half the crowd carried nasty looking whips and things he didn’t want to name.

  “Who comes before us this day?” boomed the official.

  “I am Kelly Forsythe, The Black Widow.”

  “And I am Calder Burgess, now called Demon Lord.”

  The official called out to the crowd, “If there be any here who object to this bondage, give tongue that we may hear and consider what you have to say.”

  There was a pause. Ruben could have sworn he would have heard a mouse sneeze, had there been one with the temerity to interrupt. The official smiled and continued. “This bond is not meant to be a fetter. We have enough of that.”

  The crowd chuckled, and some even laughed.

  “A bonding is a partnership, not two people becoming one. Two minds cannot fuse, two souls cannot merge, and two hearts cannot keep to the same time. If two are foolish enough to try this, one must overwhelm the other, and that is not love, nor is it compassion, nor responsibility. You’re two who choose to walk the same path, to bridge the differences between you with love. You must remember and respect those differences and learn to understand them, for they are part of what made you to love in the first place.

  “Love is patient. Love is willing to compromise. Love is willing to admit it is wrong. There will be hard times; you must face them as bound Dominants do, side-by-side, not using the weapon of your knowledge to tear at each other. There will be sadness as well as joy, and you must support one another through the grief and the sorrow. There will be pain, but pain shared is pain halved, as joy shared is joy doubled, and you must each sacrifice your own comfort to share the pain of the other.”

  “We know of pain,” Calder and Kelly answered together. “We pledge to face it, with joy, together.”

  “And yet you must do all this and manage to keep each other from wrong actions, for a bonding means that you also pledged to help one another at all times. You must lead each other by example. Guide and be willing to be guided. Being bonded does not mean that you accept what is truly wrong; being bonded means that you m
ust strive that you both remain in the right. You must not pledge yourselves thinking that you can change each other. That is foolish, and disrespectful, for no one has the right to change another. You must not pledge yourselves thinking that there will be no strife between you. That is fantasy, for you’re two and not one, and there will inevitably be conflict that will be up to you to resolve. You must not pledge yourselves thinking that all will be well from this moment on. That is a dream, and dreamers must eventually awaken. You must come to this bondage fully ready, fully committed, and fully respectful of each other.”

  “We so pledge these things,” the couple intoned.

  Ruben had to marvel at their perfect unison. He didn’t get this BDSM thing at all, but apparently, they did.

  “Bind each other, then, as you have pledged,” commanded the official.

  Kelly handed her attendant her bouquet and exchanged it for a leather collar with a leash. Calder got his collar from his groomsman, and it too had a chain leash.

  Ruben forced his eyes not to bug out as Kelly and Calder put the collars on each other. He supposed it was the BDSM equivalent of wedding rings.

  “I will now say a version of the Apache Wedding Blessing.” The official took a deep breath. “Now you will no longer fear the storm, for you find shelter in each other. Now the cold cannot harm you, for you warm each other with love. Now when strength fails, you will be the wind at the other’s back. Now the darkness holds no danger, for you will be the light to each other’s path. Now you will defy despair, for you will bring hope to each other’s heart. Now there will be no more loneliness, for there will always be a hand reaching out to hold you when all seems darkest. Where there were two paths, there is now one. May your days together be long upon the earth, and each day blessed with joy in each other.”

  A smattering of applause broke out and ended as soon as the official acknowledged it. “You may exchange your gifts to one another,” he intoned.