“Arms behind your back,” I told her as I approached the bed again.
She did as I said. I knelt behind her and started binding her arms and chest. Then I created a harness at her back stable enough to hoist her up with. It was very similar to the way I’d bound her the first time I’d fucked her in the ropes. This time it would be to give her a sense of safety. I’d ask her why she needed it when she was settled.
She didn’t protest when I encouraged her to stand up so I could tie her ropes to the pole suspended above my bed. Nor when I bound her legs and ankles and pulled them up so she was left hanging in place, not exactly face down, but almost. I stroked her skin, making sure all the knots were perfect, and she wasn’t going anywhere.
Scarlett let out a breath when I lay beneath her on the bed so we could look each other in the eye. I reached up and touched her face, reassuring her I was right there before dropping my hand to my chest. For a few minutes, she didn’t speak as she settled into her bindings. She barely shifted in them. She couldn’t move much, anyway, but to know this helped her was everything to me. I always wanted her to feel safe.
“What’s wrong?”
She closed her eyes and sighed.
“Being away from you, Drake and West reminded me of when Mason took me. I know I had Pres, but it’s still so raw for me. I don’t feel right in myself when I don’t have you all near me.”
If she hadn’t been suspended from my ceiling by ropes, I would have wrapped myself around her. As it was, I shifted up onto my elbows and rubbed my face against hers. She opened her eyes and looked into mine.
“Am I weak for needing you all so much?”
“No, we need you too, Scar.” I kissed her cheek. “And you’ve been through so much. You don’t have to be strong all the time. We’re here to catch you when you fall.”
A tear dripped onto my face. Fuck, she was clearly more emotional about all of this than I realised. I moved, wanting to get her down, but she let out a little sound of protest when my hands went to the ropes.
“No, please, I need it. Just stay with me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Please, Frankie. I’m just overwhelmed.”
I settled back down, but it didn’t stop me from reaching out and touching her shoulder, stroking her skin with my fingertips. A part of me needed the physical connection as much as she did.
Scarlett didn’t stop crying, allowing silent tears to drip down onto me. I didn’t wipe them away. They were evidence of her feelings. Her pain. And I would wear them to show her I wanted to rip the hurt from her chest. I would make it my own, so she didn’t have to carry the burden alone. No matter how much pain it caused me to see her this way, I’d let her get her feelings out.
After a few minutes ticked by, she let out a little choking sound.
“Frankie.”
I cupped her face, brushing under her eye with my thumb.
“What do you need?”
“I…”
“Should I get Drake and West in here? And Pres?”
She nodded, pressing her face into my palm. I held it there until she relaxed and then pulled it back to grab my phone from my pocket. I sent them a group text, warning them of the circumstances they’d find us in. Not like they hadn’t seen me bind her before, but her being suspended from my ceiling was different. This wasn’t for sexual gratification. Shibari was an art form and provided mental relaxation as well as stimulation. It was the part that initially attracted me. When I was tying the knots, it calmed me. I went into a different space. It was similar for the model, the feeling of being constricted provided safety and security. Not to mention the ropes looked beautiful on a body.
I pressed a kiss to Scarlett’s face after I’d dumped my phone on the bed. She strained for more, so I gave her my lips, allowing ours to mould together as I cupped her face.
“I love you,” I whispered against her mouth.
“Love you too,” she murmured back before seeking my tongue with hers.
I vaguely heard the bedroom door open, too focused on giving Scarlett what she needed. The pad of footsteps had me pulling back and stroking her cheek. When I finally turned to look at the three men standing at the end of the bed, Scarlett let out a soft sigh.
Prescott was the first to kneel on my bed and reach for Scarlett, stroking her hair, which she’d French braided. I moved back slightly to allow the other two access to her. West came around to look into her eyes whilst Drake knelt on her other side, stroking his hand along her bare thigh. None of them questioned what was happening or why she needed this.
She smiled when she saw West. He didn’t say a word, just touched her face to let her know he was right there. The silence spoke volumes. None of us wanted her to feel unsafe with us when she was at her most vulnerable, tied up and suspended from the bar above my bed. Her emotions on full display after her heart bled.
Another tear spilt from her eye. West leant down and licked it away, making her let out a shuddering breath. He cleaned her tears with his tongue. She shifted in her bindings. Drake held her steady as I put my hand on her calf.
The four of us waited when West pulled back. We didn’t want to rush her. Her breathing evened out after a few minutes. Then she looked at me.
“Let me down, please.”
I sprang into action, getting the others to hold her whilst I undid the bindings connecting her to the pole. Then we settled her on the bed, all kneeling around her as she lay there on her front, her hands still tied behind her.
“Do you want me to release you?”
She nodded, resting her cheek on the covers. I did as she asked, unbinding all the ropes from her body. The indents all over her skin calmed me. They were a symbol of our connection to each other. The safety she felt with me. Scarlett had let herself be at her most vulnerable with me and the others today.
She sat up and looked between us.
“I forgot to say hi.”
Raising up on her knees, she grabbed a hold of the back of Drake’s head and kissed him. He stroked her side but didn’t move to touch her further.
“Welcome home, little wisp,” he told her when they drew apart.
She practically pounced on West next, almost knocking him over. He didn’t seem to mind when she kissed him, wrapping her arms tight around his body. His hand went to hair, stroking the braid. She pulled back to look into his eyes.
“My beautiful little Scar.”
Her fingertips went to his mouth, stroking along his lips as if memorising them. Like she needed to trace the words he said. The two of them silently communicated for a long minute, then she moved closer to me. The way she looked at me spoke volumes.