Bound By Law

Part 1

Naomi regarded me coolly, standing over me so that I had to struggle against the restraints just to meet her eyes. If there was one thing I'd learnt in our three weeks together, it was not to take my eyes off her. Not so long as my eyes were uncovered. There were two reasons for this: first, if I did, pain would follow; second, maintaining eye contact prolonged the inevitable.

And prolonging the inevitable was what I lived for.

"You're leaking," she informed me, dropping her gaze between my legs. Her voice was as unforgiving as black leather and hard as iron. "You know how I feel about that."

"Sorry, Madam," I said quickly.

She made a half-snort noise in the back of her throat. "It's disgusting. You disgust me, Veronica May. And it smells."

"Sorry."

"Smell it."

I breathed deeply, taking in my own scent. To me, it smelled of excitement. Our relationship was still new, still scary and thrilling and like a whirlwind. But there was something else. The smell was tinged with half remembered shame. Yes shame. Over being caught with my hands between my legs, long before I even knew what masturbation was. I felt my lip begin to quiver.

"Does it disgust you?"

"No."

She raised her eyebrows at the defiance. "No?" There was a flash of something, perhaps interest, perhaps compassion. It was quickly replaced with an unreadable expression. "No, what, Veronica May?"

"No, Madam. Sorry, Madam."

The winter sun through the apartment window made her hair look like strands of golden barley straw, caught up into a plait that trailed down between her bare shoulder blades. The satin of her strappy top was thin enough that the peaks of her nipples cast shadows of their own. It was deliberate. She wanted me to make mistakes, so that she would have an excuse to punish me.

"Well, you'll clean it up yourself," she said, turning to the sideboard where the keys were kept. "It's not my job to clean up your mess, is it, Veronica May?"

"No, Madam."

"No." She started to unfasten the cuff that held my left arm in the air, attached to the high chair back. "It's a good job the chair is made of leather. Otherwise this would be much harder on you."

When my arm came free, I winced. The circulation had been cut off long enough that my hand tingled with pins and needles. "Thank you, Madam," I said, maintaining the eye contact even as I tried to move my fingers.

"Well? What are you waiting for?"

"My arm is -"

"I don't want to hear it, Veronica May. No excuses."

"Forgive me."

She watched as I dragged my dead arm across my body, unmoved when I jumped at the feel of it against my bare thigh. She'd ordered me to leave my sweater on, said she would decide when she wanted to see my boobs, but had told me to take off everything below the waist before she tied me to the dining room chair.

Keeping my eyes on her, I felt for the mess that I'd made. It was difficult, the feeling in my fingers only vague, but I followed the damp trail from my pussy to the leather, then coated my fingertips in the juice.

"That's right," she said. "Now clean it all up."

Her apartment was spotless everywhere, but I trusted that she had made a special effort to disinfect and clean the chair before she tied me to it. Her attention to detail was impeccable. That fastidiousness, that need to control everything, was what attracted me to her in the first place.

When I found out we shared the same interests... I was smitten.

Wincing against the aching, tingling feeling throughout my arm, I lifted my hand to my face and put my fingers in my mouth, surprised by the spiciness of the flavour. Cinnamon. I almost laughed. Such tenderness when she cooked for me last night. My eyes started to drift closed, but I forced them open, my heart beating fast at the danger of letting myself get carried away.

The soft knock at her door made me jump and I stopped what I was doing.

"Ms. Walters?" It was a quiet, timid voice, and I recognised it immediately.

"Coming," Naomi called. She didn't drop her voice when she said to me, "I expect this mess to be cleaned up by the time I get back to you."

"Yes, Madam."

"Pardon me? Speak up, Veronica May."

My heart was thundering in my chest. If Teri heard me she would surely recognise -

"Well?" Naomi's voice was clipped, sharp.

"Yes, Madam," I repeated, louder, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks.

"Good."

She turned, taking a dismissive breath through her nose. There was a short connecting hall between her living room and the apartment door, but I was only barely out of sight when she opened it.

"Ms. Walters," Teri said. "Sorry to bother you on your day off."

"No bother." The change in Naomi made me shiver. The hard, cold woman who had been with me a moment ago had gone. This person was warm, soft, gentle. "What can I do for you, Teri?"

I continued cleaning the chair as the feeling came back into my hand. I shivered as I ran my fingertips as gently as I could through the folds of my pussy, trying not to spill any more juice, then licking them clean.

"I've brought the papers you asked for - for the O'Vale case. Mr. Jones said you would want them right away."

"Couldn't Veronica bring them over?"

"She never made it into the office today."

"Oh." Naomi sounded vaguely peeved, as if she was surprised that I wasn't at work. "Never mind then. Would you like to come in?"

I felt all the colour drain from my face. What was she doing? I turned my head frantically, wondering if she'd left some means of escape for me, looking for the key to the handcuffs, then a lock-pick, then a bloody hairpin as a last resort. When I couldn't find anything even vaguely useful, I reached my hand up to check that the cuffs weren't loose enough for me to free my other arm. My ankles were tied with rope, but if I could get my hands free...

"I thought I heard... well, that is, do you have company? I don't want to intrude."

"It's just me," Naomi said. "You're welcome to come in. You can have a coffee while I check over the papers."

"Oh, well, thank you, that's very kind."

My hand wouldn't come free. I wanted to cry out, but knew that I couldn't. She'd said she was here alone, and Teri would find me or she'd know it was my voice. She was only a couple of steps from being able to see me here. My heart thundered, sweat broke out on my skin and I could feel the tears welling in my eyes. I didn't know what Naomi expected me to do, but she surely didn't expect me to be here when Teri came through...

"Just through there."

What the bloody hell was she thinking? How would I ever look the other partners in the eyes again? Teri wouldn't keep this to herself, and I wouldn't blame her either. Naomi was a partner in the firm and I was a junior solicitor. It would be the juiciest gossip of the year. I had to do something...

Struggling against the cuffs was no use, they just chafed against my wrist and clicked noisily against the back of the chair, threatening to draw more attention.

Desperate, I dropped my free hand between my legs, covering myself in the hope of at least preserving some dignity, cringing as I caught a glimpse of Teri's reflection in the hall mirror, taking off her winter coat, handing it to Naomi.