Branded (33 page)

At first sight of the toy, she’d
expected to experience a claustrophobic feeling, like being
enclosed in a cave, when she put it on and yet she didn’t. Maybe it
would be different with the eyes covered and the ears and mouth
zipped. She didn’t know, but was eager to try it out and experience
what it had to offer firsthand.

There was no question. She knew
exactly how much pleasure she’d get being under her lover’s
undivided attention, and it was immense. Curiosity filled her and,
while she wasn’t sure what he’d do, she also didn’t want to know.
She wanted to be surprised by whatever Court chose to do to
pleasure her. It would be interesting because they’d always worked
from her list of do’s and don’ts. There were possibly things he
wanted to try that she didn’t know about.

“It’s up to you. This is a big
step, Sunny, and you need to be ready, comfortable, with putting
the hood on for real. How does it feel?” Her lover spoke calmly as
he carried their cups of tea to the table. “Cookies?”

“No, I’m good. Actually, I’m
excited to try this out for real. What did you have in mind? Is
there a scene brewing in your head?” She was excited to test the
limitations of what the new toy had to offer.

Pulling the hood off, she took a
sip of the calming tea and ran a finger over the rolled, smooth
edges surrounding each opening. Sunny looked up at Court and waited
for him to share with her what was on his mind. She could see the
activity in his soft brown eyes, but it was also all wrapped up in
love.

She knew him well enough to guess
he was afraid to take their relationship into unknown territory.
She feared nothing because she was with him. With his love, he
became her solid rock of security.

“Well, I was thinking we could take
things into our room and, um, that’s when I lose the plot. All I
can see is you in the hood, coming over and over again.” She sensed
a bit of hesitancy about him she hadn’t seen in a long time. She
knew he’d had more on his mind than usual, but this was different.
Sensory deprivation was a serious step for them to take, and she
was eager to take it.

“Sounds fine by me. Let’s go play.”
She made sure their eyes were connected when giving him her
answer.

“Don’t you want to wait, think more
about it first?”

“Nope. Like I said, I’m excited to
see what happens when all my senses are gone and I can only feel.
It doesn’t sound like a hardship to me, not when I get to
experience all you offer. In fact, it makes my heart race thinking
about the possibilities. I’m ready, lover. You bought the hood
because it intrigued you and it tickles my lust bone. Shoot, I’m
already wet and we’ve only talked. Let’s go for a kinky
ride.”

Sunny gave him no out except the
obvious. To pleasure her endlessly would be something they’d both
enjoy.

“Fine. Let’s talk rules.” He took a
deep breath as he lifted his head and smiled at her while taking
her hand to kiss it. “I love you so much, Sunny. The best thing to
ever happen to me was the night I watched you being fucked by a
dildo on a full-sized fake horse. Seeing you completely lost in the
moment, vulnerable in your pleasure, drew me to seek a closer look.
You’re a tiny little bit of all I find good in the
world.”

“Flattery will get you more than
you’re asking for, and more again. You know exactly what telling me
you love me will bring. I love you, have from our first date.
Steaks and dancing, still can’t believe you got me out on the
floor. I have three legs and no rhythm. There, you have my
embarrassing confession, which you already knew, now come on. It’s
time to hash out the finer points of this scene.” The more he
hesitated the more she wanted to get into the scene.

“The big issue we need to settle
would be how to pause or stop the action. Your mouth will be
covered with the muzzle. I don’t want to rely on maybe hearing you
scream. What I’m thinking is I give you a ball, possibly a belt,
something comfortable for you to hold. If we hit a point you want
to halt the action, you could let it go.” Apparently he’d given the
whole sensory deprivation thing some serious thought. She never
would’ve considered seeking a different way for saying
stop
.

“Yes, I’d hold a belt or tie, not a
ball. Not unless it’s one or both of yours,” she said with a laugh
in a bid to lighten the mood.

“Wicked woman, I’ll get you for
that.” And she knew he would.

“Are you going to tell me what
you’ve planned, or do you want to surprise me?” Sunny would
actually prefer not to know what he wanted to do. It wasn’t being
unprepared for what might happen as preferring to be in the moment
and experience it all first hand. She had an immeasurable amount of
trust in Court and how he’d treat her. They’d set up a stopping
mechanism and she’d use it if needed. She needed to know nothing
else about stopping the action.

“Which do you want?”

“Honestly, I’d prefer you don’t
tell me. I want us to let events happen organically. We’ve played
together sexually, endlessly, both easy stuff and hard. At this
point I think we know each other’s preferences. I trust you to give
me a great deal of pleasure in this new experience. If at some
point I feel the need to pause or stop, I’ll drop whatever is in my
hand.”

He looked at her carefully and she
sat calmly, returning his gaze. There was no hesitation with her.
No nerves or second guesses. She wanted what he offered and
apparently he found what he was looking for.

“Okay, fine, then we might as well
do it now. Go upstairs to our room, strip, and kneel facing the
foot of our bed. I’m going to gather what we need and bring it
upstairs.” Court stood, gathered their cups, and put them in the
sink. Leaning against the counter, he watched her as she remained
in her seat.

“We can wait,” he told her in a
soft voice she loved and had her going to him for a hug.

“No, no, I’m excited to do this and
a little anxious with the unknown, which is fine. Expected. No,
it’s good. I’m good. I love you,” she told him and stood on her
tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. “And I can’t wait for whatever
happens next.”

With a self-conscious giggle, she
left the kitchen and made her way upstairs to their bedroom. Sunny
was beside herself with excitement. Since they’d last talked about
it, she’d considered what it would be like to cut off all her
senses except the ability to feel. She had no idea what it would be
like, and not knowing fed her curiosity further. Now she was going
to find out and couldn’t wait to get started.

While she started to take off her
clothes, she wondered how many orgasms she was about to experience.
Too many to count, she was sure, but the quality would far surpass
the quantity.

Kneeling with her arms behind her
back, head down and facing their bed, Sunny was ready for their
adventure to start. For a while her lover had walked in and out of
the room. First he built a fire in the fireplace behind her. It
wasn’t roaring, although it felt nice and warm, soothing. The
crackling relaxed her nerves.

She wasn’t sure what he was doing,
but it entailed a lot of back and forth. Unable to see him, she
guessed he was bringing in what he wanted on hand for when she wore
the hood. No way would he leave her alone once they were
playing.

They’d established a high level of
trust when playing. There was no guessing where they stood with
each other. Actually, there was little she didn’t know about her
man, and yet he managed to surprise her. Marriage had been an
occasional topic of discussion between them and it was something
she wanted.

They both wanted to get married,
but had agreed not to rush. It was a big step to take and would
eventually happen—maybe next year, or when they were fifty, sixty
or possibly eighty. Whenever. She already was his partner for life
in their hearts. In her mind, finalizing their vows wouldn’t make
it more important than it already was.

Grinning, she shook her head to
dislodge where her brain went and let it drift on to something
else, something less serious that also involved sex. Of course, she
thought of the present and the scene they were about to start.
Sunny assumed he would do things with her besides the sensory
deprivation, but nothing new or different. She had no idea of any
specifics, only how setting it up meant him walking in and out of
the bedroom.

If he wanted to pique her interest
with what might happen next, he’d already done that in
spades.

It was odd, but her excitement grew
with each trip he made back into the room. A volcano smoldered
inside her body. With only his footsteps, breathing, and existing
in the same space as her, Sunny experienced physical passion. The
signs of being turned on were there by her hardened nipples, how
she breathed more deeply, and a delicious throbbing between her
legs where a pool of moisture formed.

This wasn’t stress sweat, but need,
and it gathered momentum with each step he made.

Closing her eyes, she tried to
focus on calming her mind and body. She needed to talk them both
back from the edge of climaxing without a touch. She wanted him,
badly, and found it easy to get excited about anticipating his
hands and mouth on her. The unknown pushed her desire for
gratification even further. They were about to do a scene and she
couldn’t wait to get started.

Thankfully, as usual with them,
they were on the same page.

“Are you ready?” he asked from
where he stood behind her, close enough that his breath traced down
her back. Her nipples tightened further and poked out from her
breasts. They weren’t big, but they were hers—besides, they suited
her boyish figure.

Of course she was ready. However,
it took a few moments for consent to form verbally. “Ready,
Sir.”

“Let me help you stand,” he told
her and rested his hands on her shoulders. With her nod, he helped
her up and turned her to face him. At some point he’d removed his
shirt and shoes and wore only his jeans. There was no belt leaving
them to hang low and entice her to touch the exposed
flesh.

She needed to cast her mind to
something else before she came by herself.

No belt. Maybe he’d set it aside
for her to use later. With a shake of her head, Sunny pushed away
the temptation to guess what may or may not happen. She set about
clearing the mental space she needed to participate in and enjoy
their scene.

Court bent down to pick up
something. The second she caught a glimpse of it, her breath froze
in the back of her throat. It was the hood. She was excited for
whatever would to happen next, but also a little
intimidated.

The unknown element of what they
were about to do started to overwhelm her. With effort, she turned
away any negative aspects trying to push into her mind and the
scene, and willingly embraced the unknown. Sunny reminded herself
that not knowing what to expect excited her. She breathed deeply
and finally found her mental place for their playtime to take
root.

Settling in, she waited for him to
start in earnest.

The hood dropped over her head and
rested there while he fussed with it, pulling it down until it sat
in place. The eyes were uncovered, ears and muzzle unzipped,
strings unwoven and the hood stayed unbuckled. The leather tenderly
rested over her face while she waited for him to close her
off.

Her lover turned her back around
and started to tighten the strings down her skull. Inch by inch he
firmly pulled the strings before moving on to the next strands of
leather. Once they were all tight and secure, he didn’t tie the
ends off but instead came back around and held her
hands.

“What order do you want me to close
things off? Eyes, ears, mouth?”

After taking a moment to think, she
told him her preference. “I want to hear your voice to the end. I
guess mouth, eyes, and ears last.”

“Fair enough,” he offered with a
hint of a grin.

Once he placed a kiss on her lips,
he held the muzzle together and zipped it closed. She could breathe
fine, through her nose and mouth, and told him how she could. Even
though she said something, it was obvious he couldn’t hear her. He
asked his own question which she heard fine.

“You okay?” he asked while rubbing
his hands soothingly up and down her arms.

Because she now understood he could
only hear her mumbling, she nodded her head and tried to show him
with her eyes she was doing fine. The more she thought about it,
the more excited she was about what he was going to do to her in
this scene. Sensory deprivation may be scary for some, but it
wasn’t for her. She would only feel now, and she was excited for
the scene to start in earnest.

Next he snapped the eye coverings
on and turned her again to retighten the strands of the
mask.

The darkness was not all bad, she
decided while he worked on the back of the hood. Her breathing
deepened, her heartbeat sped up as well, and then Court stepped
away from her. She was surprised at how isolated and alone she
felt. Nothing but blackness surrounded her and she moved her hands
out to find something. Fingers met nothing solid, only
air.