The Westhampton County Women’s Circle
by Freddie Clegg

Chapter 1: New In Westhampton

A New Home

Liz was particularly pleased with her new home. She still thought of herself as Liz rather than Elizabeth but maybe it was time to move on. Of course it had been a wrench moving away from the town where she and her husband had lived for so long out here to the ‘burbs’, but with Ben’s new job they couldn’t really have stayed where they were. And, of course, now that he was earning more they had been able to afford something bigger and in a nice part of town.

The welcome from the neighbors had been great. Liz had met half a dozen or so of them on the day she and Ben had moved in. She suspected that they had come around as much to see what sort of furniture she had as to welcome her to the estate, but Liz didn’t mind. It was nice that they were being friendly.

She wasn’t terribly good at names but she was trying to make the effort to remember them. There was Hannah Kleich next door; Julia Croft across the street whose husband worked for some computer company downtown; Laura Teal next door to her; Theresa - Terry - Parnes two doors down, Amanda Collier just across the way. And, who was the other one? Oh yes, Cassandra, Cassie, Cassie Block from the house at the end of the road. They had all seemed pleasant, friendly people; all good humored and unstuffy. “It’s more Hysteria Drive than Wisteria Drive, here honey,” Cassie had joked.

They were all about the same age as Ben and herself; all bright and all, obviously, pretty well set-up financially. After all the price of property around there meant they had to have a few bucks in the bank. Looking at the way the neighbors dressed, Liz felt conspicuously scruffy in her jeans and tee-shirt as she was unpacking boxes but, she reasoned to herself, you are allowed to look scruffy when you’re moving.

All in all, though, she’d been pleased that every one of the women she’d met seemed happy to see her. It looked like Westhampton was going to turn out to be a good move for her and Ben.

A Worrying Sound

Elizabeth Henkle peered in through the kitchen window of Hannah’s house, looking for her neighbor. Hannah had said for her to pop around at any time and it seemed to Liz that this was as good a time as any.

Hannah’s cat was sitting on the decking staring disconsolately at the house as if everyone was out but Liz could see that the kitchen door was ajar so presumably Hannah was at home. She pushed the door open and went inside clutching the jar of cookies that she had brought along as a friendly gesture.

“Hannah,” she called. “It’s Liz. I wondered if you had time for a coffee.” The warm smell of cinnamon doughnuts wafted across the kitchen but that was the only sign that anyone was around.

There wasn’t a reply. She put the cookie jar down on the kitchen counter and was just about to leave when she heard a peculiar noise. It sounded like someone was coughing or grunting quietly. The cat seemed uninterested but Liz was worried in case Hannah had fallen or had some other accident. She went in search of the noise. There wasn’t any sign of Hannah downstairs but as Liz headed back towards the kitchen she heard the sound again coming from somewhere upstairs. More worried now, Liz headed up the stairs towards where the noise was coming from. The closer she got, the more it sounded like groaning.

A Disturbing Discovery

Nothing had prepared Liz for what she saw when she opened to door to the room where the groaning noises were coming from.

Inside were five of her new found friends. All helplessly bound and gagged. All struggling trying to get free. Liz stood there, open mouthed and uncertain what the tableau before her meant.

Hannah was tied up on a chair by her dressing table, her wrists bound together behind the back of the chair, her ankles tied to the chair legs. Her mouth was covered with a scarf that was preventing her crying out and was obviously the cause of the groaning noises.

The other women were trussed up every bit as effectively. Laura was on the bed, her legs bent back until her ankles and wrists could be tied together. Cassie was tied up in a similar fashion on the floor. Amanda was trussed up with her wrists tied to one leg of the bed. Terry was standing up in Hannah’s walk-in closet, her wrists tied over her head to the closet rail and ropes around her ankles so that she was having to make every effort to keep standing.

Liz was scared, imagining that the women had been attacked as part of some robbery, frightened that whoever had done this might still be in the house. Even so, she didn’t hesitate and went to help Hannah.

“What on earth happened?” she asked, fumbling with the scarf tied across Hannah’s mouth. She got it free and saw that a cloth had been wedged between Hannah’s lips, filling her mouth to muffle her cries. She pulled that clear and then started trying to untie the knots in the ropes that bound her. “Was it a burglar. Has he been gone long? I’ll call the police as soon as I’ve set you free.”

Hannah was coughing and choking from the cloth that had been stuffed in her mouth. She shook her head. “No – cuch – uhhh – no, don’t do that.”

Liz managed to get the knots on the ropes around Hannah’s wrists free and then started on the ones that held her to the chair. “Don’t be silly,” she said as she finally managed to get Hannah free, “we’ve got to.”

Liz had started to free Laura, the woman that was laying on the bed. Hannah was sitting on the chair rubbing her wrists and disentangling herself from the lengths of rope. As Liz began trying to unpick the woman’s gag, she suddenly became aware that there was somebody standing in the doorway of the bedroom. Fearing that it might be the robber returning she span around quickly. It was Julia, standing with her hands on her hips watching Liz’s efforts.

“Oh,” said Liz. “You startled me. Quick come and help there’s been some sort of dreadful attack.”

Julia didn’t respond but went on watching Liz.

“Look, come and help. We’ve got to call the police to find out who did this and catch them.”

“We don’t need to,” Julia responded, not moving.

“We don’t need to?”

“I did it.”

“You did it?”

“This is going to take an awfully long time if you keep on repeating everything that I say and putting a question mark at the end of it. Here, let me help you and then we’ll explain.”

Chapter 2 : Explanations

Julia Explains

“It’s a sort of game,” Julia said.

She, Liz and Hannah were sitting in Hannah’s kitchen with cups of coffee and the jar of cookies that Liz had brought over earlier. The rest of the girls had gone, slipping out quietly after Liz and Julia had untied them.

“A game?” Liz was uncomprehending.

“You’re doing it again,” Julia said with a friendly smile, trying to put Liz at her ease. “Sure. Didn’t you ever play tie-up games when you were a kid or with your husband?”

“No,” Liz shook her head. “No, I never did. And Ben’s never suggested anything like that. Nothing kinky at all.”

Liz looked at Hannah with an expression that suggested she thought Liz wasn’t being entirely honest.

“Look, I haven’t. Never.”

“Well, we all have. And we do. It’s, like, a club and we play this sort of game.”

“Tying each other up?”

“Uhhuh.”

“It’s not so odd, Liz,” Hannah said. “Even if you’ve never thought about it, I bet you’ve enjoyed tales of damsels in distress or TV shows where the heroine is in danger from the fiendish villain. Heck didn’t you ever want to be Penelope Pitstop to Ben’s Dick Dastardly.”

The thought of Ben twirling an improbably large handlebar moustache wearing Dastardly’s hat, long coat and driving goggles made Liz laugh. “Well that’s a fun idea, I guess but I’ve never thought about it. Not at all.”

“Well, we’re sorry if we frightened you,” Julia cut in. “It must have been an awful shock. But don’t worry about it we’re not some bunch of wierdos. It’s just a way for us to have a little fun. Sometimes it gets a bit boring around here, when the men aren’t here.”

“Oh, yes, of course. I suppose you’re all lesbians, then?”

Julia laughed. Hannah grabbed hold of Liz’s hands. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said. “No we’re not. It’s not a sex thing,” the look on Julia’s face suggested to Liz that she didn’t agree, “although it is quite sexy. And lesbians aren’t just women whose men have gone out to work, you know.”

“I think Cassie might be,” Julia interrupted.

“Oh, be serious!” Hannah chided. “The point is Liz, this is just a sort of grown up game we play. We’re sorry if we’ve upset you and, please, just forget about it. We want you to be happy here in your new home and we certainly don’t want you to feel frightened or embarrassed by this.”

“Well, OK, I mean I’m sorry I spoiled your game. I guess I’ll knock next time and if there isn’t an answer I won’t come exploring.”

“That’s OK, Liz,” Julia smiled. “It was probably just as well you came in when you did. Hannah would never have got out of those ropes and she gets so cross if she can’t escape.”

“Oh, that’s unfair!” Hannah complained. “We would all have got free, given a bit of time.”

Liz was anxious to bring the bizarre conversation to an end. “Well, I’ve got to go now,” she said. “Ben will be home soon and I have to fix dinner.”

“OK,” the other two said.

“And call me if you want to talk about any of this,” Hannah added. “It must have been very upsetting for you. The last thing we want to do is to cause any distress.”

Liz nodded and took her leave. It had been the most peculiar afternoon.

Liz and Ben

Liz couldn’t explain to herself why she didn’t tell Ben about the afternoon’s events. Maybe it was the way that he leapt in to tell her all about his day without asking about hers. Maybe she was just a bit embarrassed about it all. And maybe, just maybe, she felt it was her secret and it really wasn’t anything to do with Ben.

Whatever the reason she hadn’t said anything and when Ben finally did get around to saying, “So how’s your day been?” while they were having a late night cup of decaff. She answered with a non-committal. “Oh fine, I had coffee with Hannah next door and one of the other girls.” It wasn’t actually a lie, but it was hardly the whole truth either.

“That’s nice,” Ben said. “It’ll be good if you get yourself tied in to the whole social scene.”

Liz almost dropped her coffee. Ben didn’t notice. “Are we going to bed?” he said. “I’ve had quite a day.”

Liz thought to herself, “You and me both,” but said nothing and followed her husband up.

She was laying in bed, the light out, Ben’s warm body inches from hers. She started thinking about what Hannah had said about fantasies. She really couldn’t remember anything of the kind. Then she was thinking what if it had been a burglary? What if there had been some tall, muscular, man in dark clothes? And a ski mask. Yes, and gloves, tight leather gloves. What if he’d grabbed her and tied her up and...

“Mmm, that’s nice.” It was Ben. Liz realized that she’d been pressing up alongside him. He turned and put his hands on her shoulders, ran one hand up to stroke her ear and then leant forward and kissed her. Aroused by her few moments of fantasy, she kissed him back and the two fell together. As Ben stroked her breasts she almost begged him to pinch and squeeze at them. As he nuzzled her neck, she wanted him to bite. As his hand ran down between her thighs and probed at her sex she was imagining her hands tied, herself helpless in his grasp. And as he penetrated her his face was hidden from her behind a fantasized mask.

It wasn’t long before she came, beating him to the moment.

The two of them lay together.

“Westhampton must agree with you,” Ben said.

“Mmm,” was all his wife could reply as they both drifted off to sleep.

Liz & Hannah

Liz woke up feeling confused about the events of the previous day and what she saw as her untypical reaction in bed that night. Ben was friendly and more affectionate than usual as he grabbed his case after breakfast and headed off to his work. But then, Liz thought with a smile, he always was after a shag.

She cleared away the breakfast things, nibbling absent-mindedly on a piece of left over toast, piling the plates and cups in the sink. As she stacked the cereals back in the pantry one of the boxes tipped over, scattering a shower of cornflakes across the pantry floor. Liz looked down at the mess in irritation. It had all been a bit of a rush; she hadn’t even got dressed yet. There she was in her dressing gown, with nothing on underneath it and she hadn’t showered. Just imagine what it would be like if someone broke into her house right now! Perhaps she’d hear a noise and, wondering what it was, go to look. There would be a masked man crouched over her jewelry box in the bedroom. And he’d turn around to confront her when he realized he’d been discovered. And she’d throw up her hands in fright as he pulled out a knife and threatened her with it, forcing her down on the floor and tying her wrists with the belt of her dressing gown. And he’d be looking down at her as she struggled on the floor, her dressing gown falling open as she did so. And...

“Oh, shit!” Liz realized that the water in the sink was starting to flow over the side and down onto the kitchen floor. She dashed across the kitchen to turn the tap off. “Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“Is this not a good time?” It was Hannah’s voice. She was standing at the kitchen door.

“What? Oh. No, it’s all right. I just forgot about the sink. Come on in. This won’t take a minute to clean up.” She stepped into her utility room and returned with a floor mop and bucket. Luckily she had stopped the tap before too much water had been spilled and it didn’t take her long to mop up the mess.

“Do you want a coffee?” she said to Hannah. “Assuming you don’t mind me sitting here in this and I can make some without spilling something or dropping something. I feel really ham-fisted this morning.”

“Just as long as that wasn’t anything to do with yesterday,” Hannah said. “I really did feel bad about what happened.”

The two of them sat down at Liz’s kitchen table. “That’s OK,” said Liz, pulling her dressing gown around her. “It was a shock, of course but if that’s what turns you on then it’s fine by me.”

“Well, thanks for being so understanding.”

Liz smiled. There was a silence.

Hannah broke it. “Did you say there was coffee?”

“Oh, yes, sure, sorry. Umm, here..” Liz grabbed some cups from a cupboard and picked up the jug of coffee from the warmer and poured.

“Mmm,” said Hannah appreciatively. “That smells good. What is it?”

“Oh, I’m not sure, Columbian I think. Yes. It’s quite a mellow blend – good for breakfast and ... “ Liz broke off suddenly. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’ve got to ask. I mean how did all that club stuff start? “

“I thought you weren’t interested.”

“I’m not. Well, not in all that, no. But it is kind of fascinating, I guess. I think anyone would be a bit curious.”

“I suppose so. Well, I’m not sure. We’ve always got together for coffee since I moved in about two years ago. Then I think it was Mandy and Cassie. They’d been to some sex toy party and they’d come back with all sorts of stuff that they brought in to show us. And Mandy and Laura were fooling around with a pair of handcuffs and then... Well, I’m not sure. Someone said they’d played some bondage games with their husband and someone else said their husband liked the idea of it but they hadn’t really been able to get their own nerve up to try. And, after a lot of toing and froing someone else said they’d show Terry – ah, that’s who it was! - they’d show Terry what she could get her husband to do. Who was that? Oh, Mandy I think. So. Yes. Well, Mandy tied Terry up and we were all sitting around laughing and everyone was really into it and then someone said Terry had better come back and tell us how she’d got on.”

“And she did?”

“Uh-huh. And it was a great success. So some of the others wanted to try And one of them said that her husband wanted to be the one tied up and then Cassie said she could get someone to come from the sex toys company and demonstrate some of their stuff and it just snowballed from there.”

“And now?” Liz took a sip of her coffee. It was cold.

“Well we meet once a month. We go around to each other’s houses. Yesterday was my turn. And sometimes we tie each other up or sometimes someone gives a talk on some technique or other that they’ve tried. I guess we’re just like any other women’s group. You know a book club or a sewing circle or a quilting club.”

“Except you do bondage.”

“Except we do bondage.”

“It is a bit different then. From most other sorts of women’s clubs, I mean.”

“Well, yes. We don’t put adverts in the local paper inviting people along to join. Or really talk about it on the welcome wagon.”

Liz looked across at Hannah over her cold cup of coffee. She really didn’t know why she said what she said next, except that it seemed the best thing to say after how she had felt with ben the night before and her quick, sink filling fantasy that morning. “But could I, if I wanted to?”

Hannah looked non-plussed. “But didn’t you say...”

“I know what I said. But ... well, I’ll confess I’ve found this all a bit arousing and a lot fascinating. I’d just like to learn more. Not join in necessarily, just find out a bit more about it. Could I come along to one of your meetings? Just to see what it’s like. Not to join in or anything.”

“Well, it’s not really up to me. But, actually, I don’t know who it would be up to. I guess we could ask the group. We’ve not had anyone want to join before, it just sprung up from the group of us and we all knew each other already. Let me make a few calls. I’ll let you know.”

Chapter 3 : Inauguration

Morning Coffee

Hannah called Liz back the following day.

“I’ve had a chat with the others,” she said.

“And?” Liz responded.

“I take it you’re still interested?”

Liz thought back to yesterday afternoon. She had spent the entire afternoon trawling the internet to see what she could find. Some of it had been fascinating; some of it horrific. Some of it she’d found a real turn on.

“Yes,” she said determinedly, “I’m still interested.”

“OK. Well here’s what folk think. They are a bit nervous of someone just coming along to watch one of our tie-up sessions. It’s not that they’re embarrassed but we all do it for what we get out of it, not really from any exhibitionist thing.”

“Oh,” Liz was set back a bit. “Yes, I can see that, I hadn’t really thought it through I suppose. I guess it’s different when you are all joining in. It’s just – well, I don’t know if I’m ready to join in myself yet.”

“I can see that. But look here’s an alternative. Our next meeting is more a sort of ‘show and tell’, each of us is going to talk about a movie or a book with a bondage scene in it that we really like. Nobody’s going to be doing anything, we’ll just be chatting. The other girls would all be fine with it if you wanted to come along to that.”

“That might be fun,” Liz said. “I don’t know that I can contribute though.”

“That’s all right. You can bring some cake. We’re all doing that too!”

“OK, it’s a deal,” Liz smiled. “Where and when?”

“Thursday next, three o’clock over at Laura’s.”

“I’ll be there. Definitely.”

First Group Meeting

Liz spent quite a while puzzling over the forthcoming meeting. Even Ben accused her of being distracted by something. It was difficult though. What do you wear to a woman’s group meeting where you’re going to discuss bondage movies?

In the end Liz decided she would treat it like any other social event. It was a hot summery day and she chose a pale green, cotton, shirtwaister dress that she knew would feel cool and look smartly casual.

The choice of cake took considerably less time. She had been renowned for her triple-choc cake where she’d lived before. It was definitely time, Liz thought, to introduce the ladies of Westhampton to its delights.

So, when Liz arrived at Laura’s place, she was welcomed cheerily; even more so when the others saw the cake she had brought.

“Mmmm,” said Theresa, whose girth was rather larger than that of the others. “I say we forget about the rest of the meeting and just get to the cakes.”

The rest of the girls were already there. Liz’s choice of dress had been just right. All the others had chosen smart, summery dresses, taking advantage of the first really warm day of the year.

Laura, who was obviously chairing the meeting, wasn’t having any of it. “I don’t think so!” she scolded. “Come on through to the lounge. Everyone can do their chat and then we can have some cake.”

Theresa gave a pretended sulky look but then smiled and followed the others through. Laura had drawn up a series of chairs in a semi-circle in front of television and they all sat down.

“Well, welcome everybody,” she said, kicking things off. “And especially welcome to Liz. We all hope you enjoy yourself, Liz.” The others nodded in agreement, not seeming at all embarrassed just as Hannah had said.

“Now you know we each agreed to bring along a video or a DVD to talk about how it influenced us. Luckily we’ve all managed to find a different one each – thanks to Cassie for changing her choice so it didn’t clash with Mandy. So, who is going to kick things off? How about you Hannah?”

Hannah looked around got to her feet and took up her place beside the television. She took a DVD case out of her handbag and slipped the silver disk into the player beneath the TV.

“The film I’ve chosen is ‘The Collector’. I know it’s a bit corny and it’s over forty years old now but it’s a film that I remember as having a big influence on me when I was growing up. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a man, played by Terry Stamp..”

“Oooh, he’s always a good villain,” Theresa interrupted. Hannah looked at her in a way that made Liz think this wasn’t uncommon.

“.. a man who kidnaps a girl and keeps her captive. He’s hoping that she will come to love him. It’s a strange tale because she’s more intelligent than him but he’s more cunning than her. And it all turns out badly; for her at any rate.”

“Boo! Spoiler!” called Theresa.

“But it does have some delicious scenes in it. This is probably my favorite.” Hannah punched her way through the scene selection menu on the DVD. A woman is walking up a street as a van pulls by her. “I couldn’t walk past a van on the same side of the road for moths after I saw this,” Hannah said. “I felt they made this scene where he grabs and chloroforms her so real. It still gives me chills to watch it. But this is another favorite of mine too.” She skipped the DVD back to the scene selection menu and made another choice. Now the girl is being taken by the man through a house, she was shown into a bathroom, an old style room with a big gas water heater. He tells her she can wash. She undresses. He’s embarrassed. Then there’s a knock at the door of the house. He’s got a caller. He ties her wrists to the pipes in the bathroom, pushes a face cloth into her mouth and uses the belt of her dressing gown to tie it there as a gag. He leaves her to go the door. She struggles trying to get free. “Wow,” Hannah said. “I mean that was so exciting for me when I first saw that. To be feeling that helpless and that close to rescue. My mother wondered why I got so keen on taking baths and how come my face cloth got so chewed up!”

The other girls laughed but Liz felt it was as much a laugh of tension released as one of a real appreciation of the joke.

Hannah went on for a short while showing some of the other scenes and then came to a conclusion. “Well,” she said, “that’s the one that did it for me. How about you others?”

The rest of the group gave a round of applause. Hannah blushed. Laura said, “Well thank you Hannah for getting us started. Julia perhaps you’ll tell us about your choice...”

Julia and Hannah changed places and Julia slid her disk into the player. “I’ve chosen, ‘Secretary’, “ she said. “Although I have to confess that it’s mainly for the title sequence.” She let it run showing Maggie Gylenhall in tight skirt and white blouse trying to carry out her secretarial tasks with her wrists chained to a long pole that held them out at shoulder level. “There’s some things I don’t like in this film. I mean James Spader is just a bit too creepy for me and I don’t like the way they imply that it’s all related to the Maggie Gylenhall character’s thing for self-harming but this scene is great and so is the spanking sequence later on.”

Julia chatted on for a while and then let Terry, and the others take their turn. Liz watched in fascination as scenes from Belle De Jour, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Star Wars – Return of the Jedi were played out on the screen. Each of them had fired a spark in one of the girls. While none of them felt that the films had been the cause of their enthusiasms they all felt that their choice had awakened something or just given them a sense of thrill and excitement that had added to an existing interest.

With the last of the films, Laura went out to the kitchen and returned with a jug of coffee, a pot of tea, cups, saucers and plates and the cakes contributed by all the members of the group. They all sat around helping themselves and chatting.

“So, what did you think Liz?” Hannah said.

“It was fun,” she said. “Like a Tupperware party but a bit stranger, I guess. I suppose I was surprised that there were so many scenes like this in normal everyday films. I mean of course it makes sense when you think about it. It turns up a lot on television. In thrillers or wherever.”

“Yes, there’s always a girl deciding to take a short cut down a dark alley or through a deserted farmyard.”

“And it is quite sexy, isn’t it? I mean when you said about the sense of being helpless but so close to rescue; I could really understand that.”

“I hope we haven’t scared you,” Julia joined in the conversation.

“No, not at all. I can see exactly why you are all so keen on it. Maybe I’ll find a way of giving it a go myself.”

“Well, don’t rush into anything,” Hannah said.

Liz’s First Time

“I thought we should get together after yesterday.” Liz’s tone as she called Hannah was insistent.

“Liz, no one is trying to bounce you into anything. You know that don’t you?”

“Yes, of course. Don’t worry. I’m not being ‘bounced’; except maybe by my own enthusiasm!”

“Well, that too. This is just something we do for fun, you know. It’s not like – well – a lifestyle choice or anything.”

“Fun is something I’m in favor of. Look, I really want to talk about this some more. Can I come round?”

“Well,” Hannah hesitated for a moment. Liz, in her eagerness didn’t pick up on it. “Well, all right. Come on. Give me five minutes or so.”

When Liz arrived, she was impressed by what she saw. “Wow!” she said, “You look fabulous!” Hannah was dressed in a tight black sweater that fitted closely over her tits, black slacks that clung to her legs and were tucked into short high heeled boots. “I hope this wasn’t for my benefit.”

Hannah’s dark hair was piled on her head. A strand came loose flicking down across her face. She pushed it back. “Thanks,” she said. “And no, sorry to disappoint but it wasn’t for your benefit. Come and look.”

She showed Liz into the corridor and opened the door to the closet. There inside on the floor between the boots and shoes and beneath the coats hanging from the rail above was a helpless Julia. At the sight of Hannah and her guest, Julia growled from behind the scarf that was tied across her mouth. Hannah wagged an admonishing finger at Julia and closed the closet door.

“Look, I didn’t mean to interrupt. You should have said...”

“It’s fine. It won’t hurt her to realize she isn’t the whole center of attention. Come on through to the lounge if you want to chat.”

Liz and Hannah sat down. Liz, looking back towards the door into the hall, said, “I don’t understand. I thought that Julia did the tying up. How come she’s the one in the closet?”

“It’s not as black and white as that,” Hannah answered. “I suppose we all take our turns at tying and being tied. I think Julia prefers to be tying but sometimes it’s good for her to feel what it’s like to be on the receiving end of things. Which do you think you’ll prefer?”

Startled by Hannah’s direct question and not having considered the matter before, Liz stammered a response. “Errr, well, being tied, of course.”

“Why ‘of course’? You’re an up-front person that likes to take control of things – even if it’s only yourself. I can tell that from the way you’ve approached this whole thing.”

Liz felt embarrassed. “Well, maybe. I do like to take the initiative if I don’t think things are going my way but I’m not sure that says anything about this. Is she all right in there?” Liz nodded towards the closet in the hall.

Hannah nodded. “She’s fine. Not too happy but safe enough.”

“So, how do we start?”

“You see what I mean about being upfront?” Hannah said, making Liz smile. “Well, if you wanted to try something simple now, I could tie you up and just let you get the feel of it. I need to go and deal with our friend in the cupboard and it would give you something to do while you wait. How about that?”

“OK,” said Liz slowly, realizing that now she was going to have to go through with it but still excited by the prospect of being rendered helpless by this woman in black.

Hannah gave her a reassuring smile. “I’ve got some rope here that I didn’t use on Julia. Hold your hands out.”

Liz did as she was asked, watching closely as Hannah began to knot and wind the ropes around her wrists. The rope was soft and white against her skin and while Hannah didn’t pull it tightly, Liz could see that she would find it difficult to free herself. Hannah finished off tying Liz’s wrists by threading the rope between her wrists and pulling it around where the strands crossed. As she drew the rope through and knotted it the ropes around her wrists tightened further, locking them together.

“Hey, that’s going to be difficult to shift,” Liz said.

“That’s the idea,” Hannah responded with a smile. “Now for your ankles. I’ll do the same to them.” As she finished she said to Liz, “That will do for a start. See how it feels. I’ll go and see what Julia needs.”

With that Hannah stood up and left Liz on the couch. There were a few thumps and bumps from the hall and then all was quiet. Liz tried to test her bonds, finding, to her surprise, that even though her wrists were tied in front of here she really couldn’t do much about it. Certainly she couldn’t get her fingers on the knots that Hannah had buried between her wrists. Then she tried to get at the knot that tied her ankles together. That wasn’t much more successful. She ended up slipping from the couch onto the floor. The effort in trying to reach down and around her ankles was already starting to make her sweat. Then she thought of trying to use her mouth to pick at the knots on her wrists. She knelt up and brought her hands up to her face trying to get her teeth on the elusive knots without success; Hannah had been far too efficient in tying her up. Now she was rolling on the floor in frustration trying to flex her arms and legs in an attempt to loosen the ropes.

All at once Liz realized that she was excited, challenged by the knots, aroused by her inability to free herself and the sensation of the ropes around her wrists and her ankles. In the same moment, she sensed that Hannah had returned. She looked across towards the door and saw Hannah’s spike heeled boots.

“Two problem captives!” Hannah scolded. “How are you finding that?”

“It’s harder to get free than it looks. I thought it would be easy with my hands in front of me but it’s not.”

“Thanks,” said Hannah, happy to accept the complement whether or not it was intended. “Julia is having the same trouble.”

“I’m not surprised!”

“Maybe not. I’m going to untie you though.” Liz looked disappointed. “I promised Julia I’d spend time with her today and it’s not fair if I neglect her too much. You’ve had a taste of what this can be like. Go home and think about it. If you want to try some more at our next meeting I’m sure I can fix things for you to come along again.”

“I could just stay here while you and Julia play. You could gag and blindfold me. I wouldn’t be any trouble.”

“I’d make sure that you wouldn’t,” said Hannah in a way that Liz found still more exciting, “but you would be my responsibility and I don’t want to have two captives to worry about. Go home Liz. We’ll have plenty of chances to play another time.” She set to untying the ropes from Liz’s wrists and ankles.

Liz looked sulky for a moment but then smiled. “OK,” she said. “And thank you for this. It’s certainly opened my eyes. I’ll call you.”

“Good,” said Hannah, appreciatively. “I’m sure we’ll have some fun.”

Chapter 4 : Girl’s Night In

Party Plan

“So how did you get this idea?” Hannah was intrigued by Terry’s suggestion. She, Terry and Liz had bumped into each other at the supermarket and Terry had told them of her idea for a group meeting as they were walking back to the car park.

“Well, I was thinking back to the first meeting Liz came to and how she said she felt it was just like a Tupperware party but a bit stranger. Then I thought well, maybe there’s a party-plan for bondage toys.”

“Surely there can’t be!” Liz exclaimed. “I mean, I suppose there are places that sell those sorts of things but it’s hardly the sort of thing you’d find on the shopping channels, is it?”

“Depends on your cable provider,” Terry giggled. “You’re right though, it’s not that organized but I spoke to the owner of the shop where I’ve bought the odd thing and he’d be up to coming along to one of our meetings.”

“He?” said Hannah with a concerned look on her face. “I’m not sure what the other girls will think about that.”

“With seven of us and one of him, I think he’d be the one to be more worried,” Terry said. “I’m sure they’ll all think it’s OK. He’s a nice man and he knows what he’s talking about. I’ve known him for years.”

They got to their cars. Liz turned to Hannah and Terry and said, “Well, it sounds like fun to me. If you’ve known him for that long I’m sure it will be OK.”

“Well!” exclaimed Hannah. “If the others feel like that I guess we’ll go ahead. I’ll call around and see what they say.”

As Hannah was agreeing that she’d put Terry’s idea to the others, Liz burst out laughing. She pointed across the car park to the people busily coming and going, pushing trolleys to their cars, helping kids from their car seats, staggering with bags and packages. “What on earth would they all say if they knew what we were talking about?” she grinned.

“Probably, ‘Can we join in too?’ if you’re anything to go by.” said Terry, wryly.

“Ouch,” said Liz, with a smile, “I guess I asked for that.” She pulled open the door of her own car. “Oh, my! I have to dash. Ben is home early tonight and I’ve done nothing about dinner yet. I hope this idea comes off.”

The other two waved as she drove away.

Sir Geoffery’s Arrival

Hannah found that all of the other group members thought that Terry’s idea sounded like a good one and Terry had no difficulty in persuading her friend to come along. Terry provided the venue. All the girls’ husbands were off at a football game.

The group was assembled in Terry’s living room, chatting together about almost anything except the anticipated events of the evening as they enjoyed their first glass of wine.

Terry called them to order. “Settle down, girls. It’s time to start. We are very lucky to have our guest this evening. He has had many years of experience of bondage play and he is the proprietor of ‘Shackles and Tackle’, one of the most successful suppliers of bondage toys and equipment. He also owns and operates the well known BDSM play venue, ‘The Cellar’. I’d like you all to welcome, Sir Geoffrey.”

The girls clapped politely as a man came into the room with an almost embarrassed look on his face. Sir Geoffrey was thin, tall and wearing steel rimmed glasses with blued lenses. Liz guessed that he was in his mid-fifties, perhaps. His hair was grey but there was still plenty of it – he wore it long, pulled back into a pony tail. His skin had the tanned, weather beaten, look of someone that had spent much of their working life out-doors but the care with which he was dressed made him seem more like a banker than a ranch hand. He wore a well cut black suit over a white shirt buttoned to the collar and a black waistcoat with six silver and pearl buttons down the front. The faintly cowboy style of the waistcoat was echoed by the toes of his boots, black leather with silver trim, that Liz could see as he walked towards them.

“Thank you, ladies,” Sir Geoffrey said, touching his finger to the brim of an unseen Stetson in acknowledgment of their welcome. Liz tried to place his accent. Somewhere in the west, she thought, Colorado perhaps, maybe Wyoming. Or perhaps she was being misled by his appearance. She could see him stepping out of a casino in Deadwood. Terry showed him to a seat and offered him a drink. Sir Geoffrey took some sparkling water and toasted the assembled group. “It’s very good to be here,” he said. “I hope you’ll find this interesting. I must confess I’ve not done anything like this before – you ladies are real pioneers, if you don’t mind me saying.”

Liz found herself drifting off into fantasies of being dragged from a covered wagon by native American braves and tied to a totem pole while they danced around her. “Still, I’ve brought along some of the most popular items from our store together with some of the new things we’re working on. You’re welcome to try any of them and I’ll certainly be happy to hear any of your comments.”

Liz was mesmerized by the quiet, polite, tone of his voice. She felt he was staring straight at her, his eyes piercing behind the blued lenses of his spectacle.

“Now, Theresa here,” Sir Geoffrey went on. Terry looked shocked, normally nobody called her by her proper name. “Theresa says that most of you have had some experience of bondage but that it has mainly involved rope or tape. I thought I’d bring along some of our other products to perhaps open up a few ideas. Is that OK?”

The girls, all of them with their attention fixed on their visitor, nodded enthusiastically. Sir Geoffery, smiled, got to his feet and stepped out into the corridor. He returned with a wheeled suit case, sat down again and unzipped the top. “I wonder if I could prevail on one of you ladies to assist me in this,” he said, peering into the case. “To model some of these items for us.”

“Go on, Terry,” Laura called.

“No, not me, I’ve got to see to the drinks and things,” Terry demurred. “How about you Julia?”

“Tell you what,” said Julia, not actually refusing but not accepting either, “I think it should be our newest member. Come on Liz, why don’t you help Sir Geoffery?”

Liz looked around at the others. She was nervous but they all seemed to think this was a good idea. In the end she thought, well, if that’s my right of passage, so be it.

“All right,” she said getting to her feet. “I will. What do you want me to do?”

“Excellent,” said Sir Geoffery, offering his hand as Liz came forward to a round of encouraging clapping and stood beside his chair. “Just stand there for a moment.”

The First Presentation

“Well, where to start?” Sir Geoffery looked pensive for a moment. “If what you are looking for is to restrain your submissive then this is one of my favorites.” He reached into the case and pulled out a collection of straps and buckles. He turned to Liz, “Now, if you could just turn around and put your arms behind you.”

Liz felt a scary thrill run through as she did as Sir Geoffery asked. She looked out at the rest of the group as he started to fit the straps around her arms, drawing them firmly into place and buckling the fastenings. The sensation of being strapped into the harness was strange, as each strap was tightened in turn, she felt her arms locked together behind her, as though her arms and hands had been replaced by this rigid single limb, stiffly immobile behind her. The straps from the harness up and around her shoulders forced her to stand with her shoulders back. She felt uncomfortably aware of the fact that this was also throwing her chest forward.

But almost more exciting than the sensation of being bound was the feeling of the stares of the rest of the group on her, watching closely as Sir Geoffery fastened the binder in place. Just as arousing was the realization that while some were watching Sir Geoffery closely, others were watching her and her response to the experience..

“Now this is certainly one of the more expensive toys you might chose to invest in,” said Sir Geoffery, encouraging Liz to spin around so that the girls could see how he had immobilized her. “This single arm binder works well, as you can see. Each of the buckles here can have a padlock fixed to it for extra security and as is usual on an item like this there is a ring at the end of the sleeve so that the captive can be bent forward by the use of a chain fixed to some overhead point.” Sir Geoffery gripped the ring and lifted. Liz, unable to resist, felt herself tip forward.

“Ohh!” she exclaimed, not expecting the ease with which the simple movement threw her off balance.

Sir Geoffery went on. “But here are some more affordable items.” He looked into his case and took out two carefully tooled and stitched leather bands. “These have been designed to be used in a number of ways,” he said, slowly unbuckling each of them. “They can of course be used to secure the wrists or ankles but they are also long enough to be used above the knee. If I may?” He nodded to Liz, showing her the straps.

Liz, almost surprised to be asked for her permission, smiled and said, “Yes, of course.”

Sir Geoffery bent down and fastened one of the bands around each of her legs. Liz felt a little uncomfortable to have this strange man moving her skirt out of the way and touching her legs, however briefly, as he buckled the straps in place. They fitted snugly, Liz thought, not uncomfortable at all. Sir Geoffery hadn’t finished though. With a metallic click Sir Geoffery had fastened the two bands together and Liz found that she couldn’t move her legs at all. A moment later she felt him pulling her arms backwards. A short length of chain fixed the end of her arm binder to the links that connected her leg bands. She felt very helpless indeed.

Quiet Time

“Well,” said Sir Geoffery, “we have our captive helpless.” Liz wasn’t sure that she liked herself being referred to as ‘our captive’ but Sir Geoffery wasn’t waiting for her to interrupt. “And next I’d like to look at some ways to keep her quiet.”

He took a wooden box from inside his case and opened it. As he lifted the lid two trays slid smoothly out to display a range of different gags.

“Now what I would like one of you to do is to come and select a gag for Liz here. Then when we’ve fitted it to her you can all try one or more of the others. Who’s going to help me out with Liz?”

“I’ll be happy to,” Julia volunteered quickly. Liz looked concerned, worried in case Julia’s jealousy over her encounter was prompting her enthusiasm.

“In which case,” said Sir Geoffery, “please select one of these for our helper here.”

“Hmm,” said Julia looking at the range of devices laid out on their trays. “So many choices. But I think this one looks as though it will do the job.” She picked up a wire frame with a cruel looking ratchet attached to it.

“Aha,” said Sir Geoffery, with approval, “ a medical gag. The Hodgkinson. An interesting choice. If you just slide that between her lips.” Liz could not resist as Julia, with a cool as a cucumber look on her face, pushed the metal frame into place. “And then if you work that lever. You’ll find the gag spreads her mouth open as far as you like – or at least as far as she can go!” Liz gave a cry in the back of her throat as the gag stretched her mouth wider than she had ever thought it could go. “Probably far enough,” said Sir Geoffery. “Thank you. Now, as I said, a most interesting choice. Mostly gags are selected for their sound muffling qualities but this is one of the most humiliating for the captive to wear. The mouth is held open, the jaw soon begins to ache and, I’m afraid, the captive does tend to drool. They do look and, I must say, feel rather foolish.” Liz gave a whimpering objection, the sound catching in her throat as she tried to swallow her saliva in a fruitless attempt to prove him wrong. “Now perhaps you’d all like to come a chose one to try for yourselves.

The girls came forward in a group, bustling around the helpless and embarrassingly silenced Liz. Each of them picked up one of the gags and made her way back to her seat.

“Please, put them on ladies,” Sir Geoffery asked.

One by one they did so. Hannah fitted a ball gag in place, Julia a rubber bit. Laura had chosen an head harness with a built in leather strap across the mouth while Cassie, to the rest of the group’s raucous comments, had picked one shaped like a penis that fitted deep into her mouth. Terry had found an inflatable gag that fitted behind the teeth and filled her mouth until her cheeks bulged. The other medical gag and a ring gag had been left in the box.

Liz, conscious of how absurd she felt still couldn’t help thinking that the assembled group of women looked unbelievably bizarre. All six of them, dressed in their normal every day clothes, were sitting in a semi circle looking towards Sir Geoffery and all six were silenced in one way or another at their own hands.

Sir Geoffery folded his arms and said, “Well it’s normally at this point in the presentation that I ask if there are any questions....”

The noises that the girls made in response to Sir Geoffery’s joke hardly constituted laughter but that was what they intended.

“Seriously though,” he went on. “That’s probably enough from me. Why don’t you come and have a look at the other things that I’ve got in my case here. I’m very happy to let you try them out. And, of course you’ll always be welcome at The Cellar. And in the mean time, can you thank my lovely assistant here – and then perhaps I can relieve her discomfort.”

The girls all started clapping. Terry released the valve on her own gag and was the first to speak. “Well thank you, Sir Geoffery, I think I can speak for us all,” she looked around at the others, all still wearing their various silencers, “I think I have to speak for us all! That was great fun. Thank you very much indeed.”

Liz looked at Julia’s smirking grin. Although she hadn’t minded Sir Geoffery’s attentions, she wasn’t so sure that the rest had been fun at all.

Chapter 5 : Bottom or Top

Answering Machine

Hannah’s answering machine had five messages when she got back from the shops. Three of them were from Liz. The other two were the short click and buzz of someone hanging up as the answering machine cut in.

“Give me a call when you get back, if you’re free,” the last message said. “I wondered if you had time for coffee and, well, for coffee anyway.

Hannah pressed the button to clear her messages. Liz was showing all the enthusiastic signs of a convert, potentially annoying but, Hannah thought, understandable. To Hannah, Liz seemed like a woman that had never really thought about passion in her life and had now discovered something that brought out feelings that she didn’t fully understand and wasn’t entirely in control of.

Hannah called Liz. Liz managed to let the phone ring once before picking it up. “Hullo, Liz?” Hannah asked. “I wondered if you were still free for that coffee?”

“Yes, yes, please, do come over...”Liz’s response tumbled out. Soon after, Hannah joined her.

Bedroom Scene

Two cups and a jug of coffee, milk, sugar and biscuits stood on the low table in front of the couch in Liz’s lounge.

The coffee was cold. One cup, Liz’s, had not been touched.

Upstairs in the bedroom, behind drawn curtains, Liz was enthusiastically encouraging Hannah. “Don’t worry about those stockings, you can use those,” she said as Hannah held up a fistful of Liz’s hose from a drawer in her dressing table.

“All right,” said Hannah. “Face down, hands behind you. You’ll find this more uncomfortable than the rope. The stockings can really cut into your wrists, I’ll tie them over the cuffs of your blouse.”

“Don’t worry, I want to feel the tightness.”

“All right,” Hannah pulled the nylon tight and knotted it. “Now your ankles,” she said and did the same. Liz wriggled experimentally, testing the way that the bonds held her. Hannah smiled. “If you really want to feel helpless there’s a couple of other things I can do.”

“Mmm, please,” said Liz, rolling on to her belly.

“All right.” Hannah took another stocking and pulled it around Liz’s elbows, pulling them closer together behind her back.

“Ohhh,” Liz moaned, quietly at the discomfort the addition caused. Hannah, unphazed by Liz’s response, took the loose ends of the stockings that tied Liz’s wrists and ankles and used them to draw them together. “Ahh,” Liz reacted, “that’s cruel. That’s really cruel. I can hardly move.”

“Isn’t that the idea?” said Hannah sitting down on the bed beside her.

Liz looked up at Hannah. “I guess so,” she said, a little sheepishly. She gave an experimental wriggle. She didn’t think she would be able to free herself, no matter how much she struggled. There was something missing though. “Can you gag me too?” she asked.

Hannah looked down at Liz and smiled, remembering the first times she had surrendered to the embrace of ropes and straps and seeing in Liz’s bright eyes and flushed complexion the same combination of delight and desire. “Of course. Have you got a scarf or something like that?”

“Mmm,” Liz nodded. “Over there in the closet. There’s a drawer with a few in there.”

Hannah followed Liz’s nod and found a scarf. She spun the square of red and gold cloth until it made a narrow strip and then knotted it until she had made a big ball of cloth in the centre. “Open,” she ordered and, as Liz obeyed, she pushed the knot between Liz’s lips and deep into her mouth. Hannah knotted the scarf behind Liz’s head. Liz tried to say “Thank you”, surprised at how full her mouth felt and how little sense the resulting sound made.

Liz tested the strength of her bonds and the effectiveness of her gag, wriggling and grunting. Soon she was lost in her own fantasy; forced in here by a masked burglar, thrown on the bed, wrestled into submission and bound and gagged. She was aware that she was becoming more and more aroused, aware too that Hannah was watching closely, evidently concerned for her safety, or perhaps for something more.

Suddenly Hannah’s hand flew to the back pocket of her jeans. “Oops,” she said, “my phone. Shh for a minute.” She pulled the mobile out and flipped it open. Liz saw her swallow and lick her lips as she calmed herself to answer it. “Hannah Kleich,” she said.

There was a pause. “Oh, hi. Yes sure. Of course. No, not now. I can’t. It’s – difficult – sorry. No, not now. Julia, not now.” With a frown she flipped the phone shut and cut off the call. “Sorry,” she said to Liz. “I should have turned it off.”

Somehow Hannah’s remark seemed unbelievably funny. Turning off your phone in the cinema, the theatre, a restaurant, in a business meeting all seemed like the polite thing to do. But because you had a friend bound and gagged with her own hose, sprawled on her bed? That was a real case of ‘modern manners’ thought Liz.

Liz struggled for a while longer, feeling more and more aroused but conscious too of Hannah’s increasing distraction. Hannah was trying to look stern as Liz tried to free herself but she was evidently worried about the call. Liz relaxed, rolled over and grunted, “Untie me, please.” It came out as “ungg hi eee – gleeesh” but Hannah seemed to know what she was asking. She loosened off the knotted scarf and Liz pushed it from between her lips. Then she started on the stockings that bound Liz’s wrists, elbows and ankles.

“Sorry about that,” she said. “It was disrupting.”

“Don’t worry,” Liz said. “I’ve enjoyed myself. Thank you. And actually it was a bit sexy having you talk to someone on the phone while I was helpless.”

“Well,” Hannah said. “I’m sorry anyway. Julia can be a bit jealous, I guess.”

Liz looked down at her wrists. Dark groves in her skin showed where the stockings had held her. “I see what you meant about the marks,” she said. “I’ll be wearing long sleeves for a while, I guess.” She looked out at the bright sunshine, it looked like it was going to be a hot day. “Never mind,” she said. “It was worth it.”

Chapter 6 : Night Hawks

Confrontation

“I think we need to talk.” Liz said bluntly. “I wasn’t happy about things during the session with Sir Geoffery and I feel we have got some things that we need to sort out between ourselves.”

Liz was surprised with herself. She wasn’t usually this up-front, especially about personal relationships, even with her husband. Somehow, though, this was different. She had discovered this extraordinary new aspect to her life and she was determined not to let her enjoyment be spoiled by any issues that Julia had.

Her assertive approach startled Julia. “Oh,” she said, “yes. Well, if you want to talk. Sure. What do you suggest?”

“Let’s meet for a coffee. I know it’s late but the new place on the edge of town will still be open, I’ll meet you there in a quarter of an hour. OK?”

“Well, yes. OK.”

Liz, pleased with how she had handled it, put the phone down and called to her husband Ben. “I’m off out for a while, love.”

“It’s almost 11:00 honey. Will you be OK?”

“I’m just meeting Julia for a coffee at that new place. I’ll be back not long after midnight. Don’t wait up,” she said and headed for her car.

Diner Booth

She parked outside the Coffee Stop Diner just as Julia pulled up in her Toyota. The diner didn’t look busy. It was hardly surprising given the time. There was just one other car in the car park, a battered old pick up. There were only a couple of lights on inside the diner but the door opened when they pushed it and although there was no sign of a waitress or any other customers come to that Julia and Liz chose a booth and sat down opposite one another.

Liz looked around. There was still no sign of a waitress. “All right,” she said. “I’m going to be straight about this. Do you have some sort of problem with Hannah and me playing together?”

“Hey, hang on,” Julia protested, “what gives you that idea?”

“You mean apart from the problems she had on the phone with you when we were together and the business at Terry’s with Sir Geoffery’s display?”

“I was just joining in, being part of the fun. Why should it be more than that?”

“It shouldn’t but it is, isn’t it? I saw the look on your face when you chose that gag. You were punishing me for something. Look, if it’s a problem with Hannah then fair enough. If you two have got some sort of exclusive thing going on then I don’t mind. But I didn’t think it was like that and I don’t think Hannah does either. If you do, then you and she have some things to sort out.”

Julia looked non-plussed by Liz’s plain speaking. She opened her mouth to speak and then threw her hands to her mouth, a wide eyed look of fear on her face. As Liz was about turn to look over her shoulder at where Julia was staring she heard a rough voice say, “What the fuck!” and another say “Oh, shit man, this is more trouble!”

Off to the kitchens

Liz saw at once what had scared Julia. The two men were dressed in black and both wore sinister ski-masks covering their faces. The taller of the two was standing right behind Liz. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her from the booth. “Just keep fucking quiet, lady,” he snarled, “or things could get really nasty.” He pulled a knife from his pocket and with a click Liz felt a terrifying prick behind her ear as the blade touched her neck. Julia gawped in fright. He turned his head to his friend. “Grab the stupid looking one,” he said. “We’ll put them in the back with the others. But lock the fucking door first, this time.”

The other man slid past Liz and her captor to shut the front door of the diner and then came back for Julia. He pulled her to her feet and the two girls were pushed forward towards the door that led through to the kitchens.

As soon as they got there it was clear that the men had more on their minds than robbery. On the floor of the kitchen, three of the diner’s waitresses and the chef lay, bound, gagged and blindfolded with strips of grey tape. The three waitresses bore the signs of having given the men some sexual amusement, their pink, short skirted uniforms in varying states of disarray. All four reacted in fear to the sound of the men reappearing.

The girl nearest to them, who was struggling face down on the floor, had her skirt pushed up over her waist and her panties pulled down to where the strips of tape were wound around her knees. Behind her, a dark haired girl had been tied to the leg of the serving counter. Her dress had been pulled open at the front and her bra pushed up to expose her tits. The third had been tied kneeling by a chair; her wrists taped to the arms of the chair, her knees taped to the front legs so that she was facing whoever was sitting on the chair with her head at the level of their knees. From the wet streaks down the front of her dress that Liz could see as the girl struggled round to face them it seemed obvious that she’d been tied there and then forced to give one or both of the men a blow job while they sat in comfort.

The chef had faired no better. It looked as though her whites had been cut off her as she lay helpless. Now she was virtually naked, except for her cap, surround by tatters of her clothing that were only held to her body by the tape that had her helpless.

“Hullo again ladies, we were sure you’d be missing us so we thought we’d come back. Ain’t that what you waitresses say, ‘Come back and see us soon.’ - eh, girls?”

The four of them squealed in distressed response.

“Don’t worry ladies, we’ve finished with you,” the man holding Julia said.

“This time...” Liz’s captor cut in.

“But we’ve got two new playmates to deal with.” Liz could see the look of fear on Julia’s face as her captor said the word playmate. She was feeling scared herself but wasn’t going to show it, if she could help it. “Right ladies, through to the office.” He said as he wrenched Liz forward by her arm, slamming her against the door frame as he pushed her forward. The impact stunned Liz and she half stumbled, half fell into the room pitching forward on her hands and knees. “Stay down, there, darling.” The man threatened.

“You can join her,” the other man snapped as he pushed Julia down beside Liz.

The two girls looked around, in one corner was what had obviously been the men’s main objective. A small safe sat on the floor with its door open and a few papers scattered in front of it. The rest was completely empty.

Then they saw the men’s other victim.

The Office

The restaurant’s manageress was sprawled on the floor beside the safe. She had been tied to a chair but she had tipped it over in her efforts to free herself and was now laying, half stunned, looking up at the two men and their two new captives. Her head was inches from the handset of a phone that she had knocked from the desk in an attempt to summon help.

The man that had grabbed Liz bent down and picked it up. “Now that was naughty,” he said, chidingly. “And such wasted effort.” As he put the handset back in its cradle he grabbed the phone wire, showing the woman the torn end where it had already been pulled from the wall socket.

The woman growled into her gag, drawing an amused chuckle from the man. He picked the woman and her chair up, set it back on its four legs, and pushed it back against a pillar. He shucked a black rucsac from his shoulder, rummaged inside it and pulled out a hank of rope. Swiftly he looped the rope around the girls waist pulling her back against the pillar, tied a few knots and then, cruelly, took another loop across her throat. “If you don’t want to strangle yourself stay still,” he snapped. “Understand?” The woman gave a muffled squeal of fright and sat frozen, straight upright against the post.

“Now you’re being better behaved,” the man smirked. “You know, we were so busy getting into the safe that we didn’t take any time to play.” He ran a finger down the woman’s neck and down the of the collar of her blouse to where her cleavage finally disappeared beneath white cotton. The manageress growled, the tpe and what ever was stuffing her mouth making her objections unintelligible.

“Let’s sort these two out first,” the other man said, turning back to Liz and Julia. “All right ladies, you obviously wanted to spend some time together so we’ll let you.” He nodded to his partner and the two of them went to work.

Julia and Liz were pushed together face to face and then their arms were dragged around behind the other’s back before their wrists were tied. More ropes followed around their waists pulling them tightly against one another. Their ankles were tied so that their legs were wrapped around each other too, the knots pulled more cruelly tight than anything that either of the girls had experienced in their play with their friends.

“Here’s a good one,” the first man said, his hand pushing between the two girl’s bellies to loop another length of rope around the one that went around Julia’s waist. He pulled it back, jerking it tightly up against her crotch and then tied it off again around Liz’s wrists. “Just to give you girls a bit of fun after we’ve gone.” he pulled at Liz’s wrists. The cords cut into them as the rope tightened but for Julia the sensation was quite different. As the rope across her crotch became taut it pressed against her and as the man pulled on Liz’s wrists the sawing motion of the rope between her legs began to have an effect that was completely inappropriate for her situation. The other man could see Julia’s reaction and she could tell he was grinning behind his mask. He took some rope and did the same for Julia’s wrists and Liz’s crotch and it was clear to the two girls that the more they struggled to escape the more the ropes between their legs would contribute to distracting them from their purpose.

“This is fun but we’d better get going,” the first man said. “You got any more of them napkins to keep these two quiet.”

“Sure,” said the other, not waiting for Liz or Julia to respond but wadding one into each mouth. Liz felt the stiff cloth pushing her tongue down and stuffing her cheeks until she thought her mouth would burst. It was far worse than anything that had been done to her by Sir Geoffery or Hannah. The man didn’t pause though and pulled strips of tape across her face, sealing her mouth shut. Julia got the same treatment in spite of her trying to pull her head away.

Friendly Embrace

Julia and Liz started to struggle to escape almost as soon as the thieves had gone. Face to face and sprawled on the floor the two women were soon sweating from their efforts.

Now that the immediate threat from the men had gone, Liz found herself disturbingly aroused by the situation. Even more disconcerting, the effect of the rope pulling across her crotch was making things worse, the tingling sensation in her sex was making it difficult for her to concentrate on her efforts to escape. Not only that, but Julia was nuzzling her face against Liz’s. Surely, Liz thought, she isn’t trying to get off on this? Then she realized that Julia was trying to dislodge the tape around her mouth, hoping to snag a corner of the tape gags that silenced them. Liz tried pushing back against Julia. To an observer it looked as though the two were engaged in a passionate kiss but the girls’ efforts were less about pleasure and more about trying to relieve their situation, albeit without success.

It was as Liz and Julia rolled, struggling on the floor that Liz felt something hard in the back pocket of Julia’s jeans. Realizing that it was Julia’s mobile phone, Liz started to try to push the phone out of the pocket. Julia, misunderstanding Liz’s fumbling at her backside, grunted in protest but Liz kept at her task. Eventually Julia recognized what Liz was trying to do and Liz’s efforts succeeded. The phone popped out of Julia’s pocket and fell to the floor. The two rolled around so that Julia could get her hands on the phone. It took her some time, fumbling with her hands tied behind Liz’s back, to first of all switch it on and then to dial 911. Once the operator answered, the two girls engaged in energetic, muffled grunting trying to convey their situation.

Luckily their plight was recognized, the call traced, and not long after the flash of police beacons could be seen reflected on the ceiling of the restaurant’s office.

Liz, Julia and the restaurant staff were soon freed by the police. The officers did what they could to calm the distressed women. The chef and the waitresses had borne the brunt of the robber’s attentions. Two women police officers busied themselves in trying to provide what comfort they could while at the same time trying to get as much information as possible about the robbery and assault. The manageress had been terrified by the men as they threatened her in order to get her to open the safe and then had been in fear of her life, tied with the rope tightly across her throat and was still shaking as she was wrapped in blanket and led out to an ambulance. Liz and Julia were relatively unscathed and, after the police had taken their details, they were allowed to leave.

Outside, as they went to their cars, Julia spoke, “I guess I ought to say thanks,” she said. “If you hadn’t got the phone out of my pocket, we’d still be on the floor back there.”

Liz smiled. “That’s OK. I guess we were both really scared. Playing around with bondage is one thing but when there’s someone holding a knife at your throat for real you get a new perspective on it.”

“A new perspective! Boy, you sure take a philosophical view! I was so frightened I couldn’t think straight at all. After they pushed that cloth in my mouth and taped it over it was all I could do to breathe.”

“You’re OK now though?”

Julia nodded. “Yes. We never got our coffee though.”

Liz laughed. “No we didn’t. Dreadful service, wasn’t it?”

Julia laughed too. “Look,” she said, “going back to what you said before. I’m sorry about the Hannah thing. I guess I was being a bit jealous. I think she and I need to have a talk. I’ll try and put things right. OK?”

“Sure,” said Liz. “Let’s talk again soon. Somewhere a bit safer next time!”

Liz climbed into her pick up to head home. She looked at her watch. Half past one. Ben would be worrying about her.

Chapter 7 : Chez Sir Geoffery

Liz & Ben

Liz had to tell Ben about her adventure with Julia, although she left out some of the details, particularly about the delightful sensation of the rope across her crotch and the unexpected way in which she had found it exciting as well as very frightening. Naturally he was horrified, probably even more horrified than Liz was herself. After all, she had had the opportunity to get used to the sensations of being bound and gagged, even if it was in more friendly circumstances.

Ben was so concerned about his wife’s experiences that he was very worried when Liz announced that she would be going out the following evening.

“Look, love,” he said with sympathy, “I know that you’ll get a lot of support from your new friends but no one will mind if you miss a meeting. What’s so special about tonight’s anyway?”

“Oh,” said Liz, elusively, “it’s a follow up to our guest speaker, from last week. He’s showing us some more about his business. It would be rude if we don’t have as good an audience as we can, wouldn’t it?”

“Well,” said Ben, giving way reluctantly. “As long as you feel OK. Perhaps it will take your mind off that terrible business at the diner.”

That’s not very likely, Liz thought to herself as she got the car out of the garage and headed off for the eastern side of town where Sir Geoffery had what he called, his studio. But even though that was the case there was no way she was going to pass up the opportunity presenting itself.

Sir Geoffery’s Welcome

For the visit to Sir Geoffery’s studio had decided that the best look was black. A roll neck sweater, tight trousers, a and a broad leather belt cinching in her waist were teamed with her favorite short pixie boots with their spiky heels and pointed toes. She’d looked in the mirror before she left and thought that the outfit struck just the right tone..

Sir Geoffery’s studio was in an old clapperboard house in a neighborhood that had seen better days. The houses may not have been as elegant as those in other parts of town but they housed an amiable group of residents who did what they could to keep their properties well maintained.

Liz parked up outside and, seeing that the glow of lights inside seemed to indicate that her friends were already there, headed for the wicket gate that lead to the side of the house. Sir Geoffery himself welcomed Liz at the door. “Come in,” he said, “your friends were just telling me of your terrible experience.”

Liz smiled. “Yes,” she said. “It was frightening but I’m OK, really.”

Sir Geoffery showed the way into the house. Hannah and Julia were all ready there. They had come to the same conclusion about the venue’s dress code, Liz noted; Hannah in a black pants suit with a well cut jacket over a silk camisole and Julia in something altogether more flirty; a short, high necked dress with sheer black tights that disappeared into stiletto heeled patent court shoes.

“Well welcome ladies,” Sir Geoffery said. “I understand that it’s just yourselves, this evening.”

Liz was puzzled. She had been expecting most of the others to be there too.

“Now, before we go on to look at the studio itself, I’d like to say a few words that that I say to all my guests here. Bondage is about many different things to different people. For some it is a simple question of the sensations of the ropes or the straps. It may be a matter of the aesthetics of the bound body. For others it is part of something broader, bound together – if you’ll pardon the expression – with questions of dominance and submission, or humiliation or punishment. Whichever it is for each of you, please make sure that you understand the desires of the others.”

The three women nodded in agreement. Sir Geoffery smiled.

“Well,” he said. “Let’s have a look at the studio.”

Into the Studio

“Let me explain about the studio,“ Sir Geoffery began. “I started it as a display space for some of the bigger toys that my suppliers offer but then I found people were asking to rent it out so I decided to set it up as a sort of play space that couples or groups could use for their own fun or experimentation as well. It’s very much a community resource though, I don't host events or sessions and I don't participate in other people's.” Liz felt a bit disappointed, she could imagine that a session with Sir Geoffery might be considerable fun. “It's up to whoever wants to use the space to come up with their own scenarios and so on. I am always interested in the equipment side of course so I like to hear people's views on new devices but what they do with them, as long as they play safe, is up to them.”

The room was quite brightly lit. That made sense, Liz thought, you want to be able to see what you are doing. There was plenty of conventional bondage equipment ranged on racks around the wall, all carefully organized into category, color and size. Straps, lengths of rope, chain, gags, hoods and other restraints lined one wall while on the other a selection of whips, floggers, crops, canes and paddles was arranged just as neatly. Sir Geoffery saw Liz's gaze follow the lines of equipment, impressed. “I guess I'm a bit OCD about it,” he said, “but I justify it by saying you have to be able to find what you need when you want it.”

“I bet you have your CD's alphabetized too,” Liz laughed.

“Oh yes,” Sir Geoffery smiled. “I'm a stickler.”

Liz felt a fluttering in her stomach. Something about the way that Sir Geoffery said that simple phrase stimulated a whole series of fantasies in which she submitted to his direction and suffered the consequences of the slightest failure to perform exactly as she was directed.

“Now, ladies, if you will excuse me, I will leave you to amuse yourselves.” He paused at the door. “I suppose I don’t need to remind you that you should have a safety word? If you need me I’ll be upstairs.”

It wasn’t what Liz had expected. She had thought she Liz turned to Hannah. Julia was off examining the toys around the room. “What is this, Hannah? How come the others aren’t here? This is a fabulous playroom but what’s going on?”

“I thought we all needed to get together. Especially after your ordeal. Where better than here?” Hannah’s approach was blunt.

“I think I owe you two an apology.” Julia looked embarrassed. “I suppose I was being jealous. About you, Liz, joining in.”

“And maybe I was a bit too quick to leap in as well. That was what I was wanting to say over at the Diner.” Liz was keen to keep the placatory tone going.

“Before we were so rudely interrupted.” Julia laughed.

“Frightfully bad form, darling!” Hannnah’s plummy response had the other two laughing. They all knew that events in the diner could have turned out far worse.

“Well, we needn’t worry about interruptions here,” Liz was determined not to let the opportunity to use Sir Geoffery’s equipment go to waste. “How are we going to organize this?”

Julia picked up a set of leather cuffs. “I’d really like to try these and I think Hannah should to, so why don’t you pick some stuff Liz and do your worst on us?”

Liz looked a little disappointed for a moment. “Well,” she said. “I want to feel what some of this stuff is like too. But maybe I can put something on myself when I’ve made you helpless. What did Sir Geoffery mean about ‘safe word’?”

“It’s something you say to stop the scene; if something’s gone wrong and you really aren’t having fun anymore. Something nonsense. Julia’s is ‘polyanna’. She says that and everything stops.”

Julia blushed. She hated the word and hated the fact that she’d had to use it several times with Hannah.

“That’s not going to work if I use one of these on you,” Liz held up two of the largest rubber ball gags from the rack on the wall.

“No, you’re right. If you’re gagged you need something you can do without speaking,”

“Nod your head vigorously. That’ll make it clear. Right come on you two, hands behind you!”

“And this is the girl that said ‘being tied of course’ when I asked her which way she wanted to play!” Hannah smiled as Liz fastened the leather cuffs around her wrists.

“How about the bondage chair?” Julia suggested, pointing to a heavy oak seat in one corner of the room.

Liz led her new victim across to it and sat her down. She found a high leather collar and fitted it around Hannah’s neck. A clip on thick frame of the chair was positioned just right to fasten to a ring at the back of the collar. This leather straps around Hannah’s waist and chest did more to hold her on the seat and more straps around her thighs and ankles stopped her wriggling her legs.

“Oh, that’s very good,” Hannah said. “I can barely move and whatever I do these straps push back at me. Mmm!”

“Can you still nod?”

“Sort of,” Hannah replied with an experimental bob of her head. The neck collar stopped any real movement but it would be obvious if she was trying to nod.

“All right then,” Liz said, happy that the safety signal would work. “It must be gag time.”

“How about this?” Julia passed Liz a bright red rubber ball gag.

It was only as Liz went to push it into Hannah’s mouth that she realized just how big it was. With her mouth wide open, Hannah could only just get the gag in and she was grunting with discomfort even before Liz had finished bucking the gag’s strap behind her head. Liz caught sight of Julia’s smirk of satisfaction and determined not to let her get away with humiliating Hannah unpunished.

“Well, how about you?” Liz turned her attention to Julia. “And how about this?” She picked up a long steel bar with cuffs fastened to either end. Suddenly Julia looked less keen than she had been but Liz didn’t let that discourage her. She grabbed one of Julia’s wrists and buckled the strap around it before pulling her other arm out so that she could do the same for the other wrist.

“Hey!” Julia exclaimed. “That’s not comfortable!”

“No,” Liz responded, “and neither will this be.” It was the work of a moment for Liz to clip chains to either end of the rod that spread Julia’s arms. Hauling on the other end of the chains, Liz grinned as Julia realized the chains ran up over a pulley in the playrooms ceiling. She soon found herself standing on tip-toe, her wrists held wide apart by the bar. “Just one more thing.” Liz found another spreader bar and did for Julia’s ankles what had already been done for her wrists, making balancing even harder for Julia as she swayed from side to side. “Since you think big gags are a good idea, let’s try this.” Liz reached across to the rack of silencers and picked out a ball gag every bit as large as the one that Julia had given her for Hannah.

“Oh, no,” Julia protested shaking her head and trying to move as far away from Liz as the chains on her wrists would allow. Encumbered as she was by the spreaders her resistance lasted only a moment or two before Liz was able to wedge the ball between her teeth. “Ganngh!” Julia protested as Liz buckled the strap.

With Julia silenced, Liz stepped back and looked at her two captives. She had to confess to herself that she really enjoyed the sense of power she got from having made them helpless. It was obvious from the way that Hannah was looking at her that she had exceeded her expectations of how good she would be at putting Sir Geoffery’s toys to use. As for Julia, Liz could see that she was suffering some embarrassment from the way that her short skirt was riding up as she struggled to stand upright, on tip toe because of the way that the chains had hoisted her up towards the ceiling. Liz couldn’t help grinning, especially when she thought of how worried she had been about the idea of getting anyone else tied up.

For Liz though, the problem was that, with Julia and Hannah both helpless, she felt a bit left out, somehow deprived of the sensation of being helpless and struggling against her bonds, not able to enjoy any of Sir Geoffery’s toys. She made what, she would agree later, was one of her less good decisions. Why shouldn’t she try out some of the toys on herself anyway?

Do It Yourself

On one of the shelves that ran along the left hand wall, an array of masks and hoods offered a range of alternative “Head Trips” as the sign above them said. While Julia swayed and Hannah struggled on the chair, Liz looked at the array of masks, hoods and harnesses. A rubber pig face mask stood next to ones of politicians, film stars and, bizarrely, Martha Lane Fox. Respirator style masks, leather head bags and clingy rubber hoods stood side by side. Liz picked up a leather harness that held its own built in ball gag.

Wedging the ball between her lips, she started to fit the straps around her own head. She hadn’t thought that doing something like this to yourself would be sexy. After all, she reasoned, tickling yourself doesn’t work. Almost as soon as the ball was in her mouth, though, she felt herself absorbed by the feelings of helplessness that she now found herself delighting in. A grunted “iss ungs eerly goog” to Julia who was closest to her didn’t seem to get her any sort of response though.

Liz buckled and tightened the straps that ran around her head like a cage. It was a bit awkward. Some of the buckles were up behind her head and the leather was stiff. She caught her hair in the straps and pulled it painfully a couple of time but, in the end it was finished and she had the harness fitted tightly to her head, a band across her forehead pressing tightly, straps down either side of her nose linked to the gag strap stopping any chance of her removing the gag, a thick heavy strap around her throat making sure that the harness stayed in place. The tightness of the straps and the hard filling sensation in her mouth were both powerfully exciting.

Liz’s excitement clouded her next decision. Keen to see what other sensations of restraint she could enjoy, she found a whole series of polished metal restraints neatly placed on another shelf. Liz had never realsiied that there were so many different sorts of hand cuffs. Each had its keys hanging from a series of pegs on a board at the end of the shelf. Each was neatly labeled. “Thumbcuffs” read the label over the smallest, “Clejuso Regular”, “Clejuso Hinged”, “Rigid Wrist Cuff”, “Knee Shackle”, “Ankle Shackle”. Liz lifted up the rigid wrist cuff. A dark painted shape on the shelf showed just where it should be returned to; another tribute to Sir Geoffery’s tidiness.

Picking up a pair of ankle shackles, Liz put them on. The short chain between the shackles and the high heels of her short boots made walking challenging but certainly contributed to her enjoyable feelings of helplessness. She turned and saw Hannah looking at her disapprovingly, but thought Liz why shouldn’t she have some fun too. A set of shackles, labeled “slave bangles” drew Liz’s attention. The cuffs were heavy and smooth with rounded edges. They looked like they were made of brass, as did the length of chain between them that was coiled up on the shelf. Liz closed one of the cuffs experimentally around her wrist with a solid, satisfying clunk. She giggled and looked up at Hannah. Hannah was nodding enthusiastically at her. “Go for it, Liz!” Hannah’s look seemed to be saying so Liz did just that, clicking the other cuff in place. As that clicked shut, Liz held out her arms towards Hannah and Julia, “Ooogh, gime elgless goo.” she grunted through her gag.

Hannah looked exasperated, which Liz didn’t understand given her earlier enthusiasm. Liz went to show Hannah the bangles close up but she only got a foot or so from the shelf when she was jerked to a halt. Liz looked around surprised at being stopped in her tracks. Under the shelf, the chain linking her cuffs was fastened to a ring in the wall. She hadn’t noticed.

Annoyed by her own foolishness and more than a bit embarrassed at how she had almost fallen over when the chain stopped her, she went back to the shelf to unlock the cuffs. It was then that she discovered that the chain wasn’t long enough to let her reach the rack of keys either. “Eeeegh!” she squealed. Hannah and Julia both now looked annoyed as all three girls realized that they would have to stay helpless until someone discovered them.

It took quite a time. All three girls moaning in unison failed to attract Sir Geoffere’s attention. Liz sank to the floor beside the shelf, uncomfortable and unable to free herself. Julia had no choice but to dangle from the chains that held her wrists in the air on their bar and Hannah, perhaps the least uncomfortable of the three could only surrender to the stiff straps that held her secure.

Sir Geoffery didn’t return for over an hour.

Not So Safe

Seeing the three women all helpless provided Sir Geoffery with considerable amusement. “It is conventional,” he said in his affable tones, “for at least one of you to be the top and the others the bottom. Otherwise it gets very complicated. He could see Liz blushing even behind the straps of her head harness and quickly realized from her position what had happened. “It probably would have been better if you got the keys first,” he said good humouredly as he picked them off the rack.

As soon as Liz was freed from her shackles, she set to unbuckling her head harness and pulled the rubber ball free of her mouth. She pulled a handkerchief from the pocket of her trousers and wiped the streaks of drool from her chin. “I’m so sorry,” she said as she joined with Sir Geoffery in freeing Hannah and Julia.

“You idiot,” Hannah chided as her own gag was pulled free. “Why on earth didn’t you stop when I nodded?”

“I’m sorry, I thought you were encouraging me. It looked like you were urging me on, why wouldn’t it?”

“Because we said that was the safety signal. Remember?”

As soon as Hannah said it, Liz realized how stupid she had been. “Oh no! Of course. That was dumb!”

Julia groaned as Sir Geoffery loosened the chain that had held her on tip toe. “Oh, my arms! They must be a foot longer.”

“Oh well,” Sir Geoffery smiled, “no harm done and some lessons learned, I think. It just goes ot show how careful you have to be with these games. I suspect that’s enough of the playroom for the time being. Perhaps you’d like some tea, ladies?”

The three women accepted his offer gratefully and sat themselves comfortably in the large arm chairs of Sir Geoffery’s lounge. Finally freed the three had to confess that while it had been an uncomfortable hour for them, it had been quite erotic as well.

“I suppose it was the not knowing when we might get free,” Liz said.

“You were thinking about ‘when’?. I was more concerned ‘if’!” Julia reacted. She sat there trying to rub some blood back into her wrists. Her arms felt like they had lost all sensation. “But it was rather sexy, feeling myself strung up there in a position where I couldn’t have stopped anyone handling me. If Sir Geoffery had come back or someone else I imagined his hands all over me.”

“Well it was an experience,” Hannah admitted, “even if I think I’ll never move my neck again. That collar was so stiff!”

Sir Geoffery re-appeared. “Tea as promised,” he said reaching down to small round table and ringing a brass hand bell that sat there.

As the three girls looked up another woman that none of them recognized appeared. She wore a black maids dress and carried a tray of tea things. Unsurprisingly, given the venue for their afternoon refreshments, she also wore heavy shackles and a thick leather padding gag that covered the lower half of her face. Sir Geoffery clapped his hands and the slave-maid set to serving Sir Geoffery’s guests. As she finished, a wave of a hand from Sir Geoffery dismissed her.

Hannah picked up her cup of tea and watched as the fettered girl left them. “You know, Liz,” she said, “I’ve just worked out how you can make amends for today.”

Liz was pretty sure what Hannah had in mind. “What a very good idea,” Julia added.

Liz was finding it difficult to see how she might avoid this. Sir Geoffery looked on in quiet amusement too. He could guess what the other girls were planning as well.

Chapter 8 : A Change in Direction

Liz Pays The Price

The Westhampton Ladies Circle was meeting in the home of Hannah Kleich. Hannah welcomed the group explaining the theme for their meeting.

“I know,” she began, “that many of you missed out on our recent visit to Sir Geoffery’s studio. It was a shame of course but Julia, Liz and myself had a most, what shall we say, instructive afternoon. Sir Geoffery has been kind enough to lend us some of his equipment again and we thought that we should take the opportunity to try out a few things. If at the end of this evening any of you wish to purchase any of the items, just let me know and I’ll arrange it.

“Now, I think you will know about the problems that Liz, Julia and I had with our visit. As a result of that, Liz has agreed to help out this evening…. Mrs Elizabeth Henkle …..”

There was an impromptu round of applause from Cassie and the others. Julia emerged from the hall where she had been waiting. She was wearing the items from Sir Geoffery’s collection that she’d fitted to herself on the visit to his studio with Julia and Hannah, but that wasn’t all.

Hannah had decided that Liz really needed to pay a forfeit for the mistake at Sir Geoffery’s that had left Julia and herself helpless for so long. She had told Liz that she was going to be the maid to serve drinks at their next Ladies Circle meeting. After some protests, Liz had seen that Hannah’s point of view was fair and she had given in. As well as showing off the head harness, gag and shackles, Liz had also been told to get herself into a maid’s uniform and, in some ways, that had been the most humiliating part of the forfeit for Liz.

At first Liz had thought she’d be able to get something mail order or off the Internet but Hannah had vetoed the idea. “Oh no!” she’d said. “You can go and buy one over the counter. There’s a workwear place downtown that specializes in all that sort of stuff. You make sure that you turn up dressed the part.”

Liz had done as she was told. It was a curious sensation, she had never thought of herself as someone that liked to be bossed around but Hannah’s implacable manner and Liz’s own sense of responsibility for the unfortunate incident had been enough to propel her to the shop and to overcome the curious looks she got from the staff who seemed to know that she wasn’t buying the outfit for her normal day job.

In the end Liz had decided to make the best of it and when she appeared for the rest of the Circle she was wearing a black maid’s dress with short white cuffed sleeves and a white collar, a pressed white apron and, balanced on top of the head harness that held her gagged, a maid’s cap.

The applause continued as she carried her tray of drinks into the room, taking short steps limited by the chain between her ankle fetters. Liz felt quite smug at the success of her uniform and at Hannah’s look of approval at the way Liz had followed her instructions to the letter.

As Hannah had directed she passed drinks around to the assembled gathering and then, once all had been served, stood back, her tray in hand, while the other members of the Circle chatted amiably.

For Liz, there was something delightfully arousing about standing here alongside friends that were ignoring her as though she were just a piece of furniture and knowing that she wouldn’t be freed from her shackles, the head harness and the gag until Hannah decided to undo her chains.

A New Constitution

Cassie and Theresa were standing beside Liz as they sipped their wine. “Are you going to try out any of Sir Geoffery’s toys?” Cassie asked.

“Well, I did wonder about trying out one or two on Julia, if Hannah doesn’t mind. Mrs Croft has been looking very smug tonight as a result of the misfortunes of our maid here. I think she might benefit from a short period of enforced silence and lack of movement.”

Cassie laughed, “I think you’re right, but I want to try out some of those toys myself. I love the look of that collar with the bar that keeps your hands spread right apart.

It’s like in Secretary – that clip Julia showed us.”

“Oh yes, just the sort of thing you might use to make life difficult for a maid about the house, too.” Terry stole a sideways look at a discomforted Liz as the two of them made their way out of the room.

“And, I’ve been thinking,” Theresa said as they got to the door. “Maybe we’ve been a bit too restrictive with the aims of this little group. I know we all started off interested in bondage, but perhaps we should be thinking about exploring domination as well. It does seem hard to have one without the other.”

“You’re right. I’ve found it fun to have our maidservant waiting on us tonight. Maybe we should do more of that sort of thing. We’ll have to re-write our constitution; add enjoying domination to experimenting with bondage!”

Terry laughed at the idea of anything so formal. “I don’t know about that but we can talk to Hannah about it and see what she thinks. I’m sure Liz and Julia will be happy to go along with it.”

As Liz stood back against the wall, holding her tray, her mouth aching from the gag and her head feeling as though it was being pressed in by the straps of her harness. With her wrists and ankles sore from the rubbing of her manacles, she felt contradicting responses. On one hand, it was all very exciting. Standing there, being ignored and talked about as though she wasn’t there was humiliating but somehow she found it very sexy. On the other hand, she was quite convinced that Hannah and Theresa would be well able to come up with a whole series of humiliating scenarios for Julia and herself and she might not enjoy some of those at all.

In the end though, she’d have to wait and see what happened and besides, she thought, looking around the room, there were all the glasses to clear up. And that’s what a maid does, isn’t it?

Liz stood quietly while the others got ready to leave. This wasn’t at all what she had expected when she moved to Westhampton.

THE END

© 2011 Freddie Clegg. All characters fictitious. Download PDF copies of other stories by Freddie Clegg at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freddies_tales/