Time After Time

 

= Part 1 =

A tiny speck of silicon received an excess of electrons, forcing a change of state on the output bit. The timer chip mercifully timed out, cutting the power to the relay, which, in turn, shut off the power to the cylindrical vibrator that was clamped between Judy's legs and pressed against her sex. The vibrations abruptly ceased. Judy's breath hitched in her throat, while her thighs trembled with the strain of holding the vibrator in place. Her mind still spun from the force of her last crashing cum.

A few moments passed before Judy's low moaning ended. Her tense muscles began to relax, and her breathing slowly evened out. A smile came to dry lips, and she gave them a lick.

"Five minutes off, then three on," Judy thought to herself, now that she was able to think again. Those were the timer settings that seemed to give the desired results. Five minutes for her to get herself `in the mood'. Then three minutes of direct clitoral/genital stimulation from that crazy vibrator. "That works!" she said aloud.

Reaching across her bed, Judy grabbed the towel she'd left out to wipe herself, down there, and to clean her juices off the dildo. The chain of the handcuffs locked around her wrists tinkled with her movements. As she cleaned up, line of redness across one wrist caught her eye and she frowned. She turned her other hand over and saw the matching line: marks on her skin from her straining against the cuffs steely grasp.

Judy swung her legs over the side of the bed to sit up. It took seven steps for her to cross her bedroom, to the dresser, where she'd left her keys. While it would normally be three steps, the shackles she had locked on her ankles had a shortened chain that limited each step to about twelve inches. The shackles, and the cuffs, had been a parting gift to her from a former boyfriend. A cop.

Judy fumbled as she matched the key up with the keyhole on her left cuff. The cuffs and shackles weren't the usual shiny silver ones, but were black in colour. The dark finish made it even harder to get the key into the hole. But after a bit of fumbling, the key slid into its matching hole and she turned it. Then, tipping her wrist, the cuff dropped open. Judy moved the key to the other cuff and unlocked that one, then took the key out and set the handcuffs down on top of her bureau. Bending down, the process was repeated on her ankle shackles.

Opening the middle drawer of her bureau, Judy moved aside some underwear to place her restraints, along with the keys, in the far corner. She covered them with a few pairs of her panties. She grinned, as she remembered what Steve, her cop ex-boyfriend said, the first time he saw her do that.

"That's the first place people look, you know. In your underwear drawer."

Judy had thought of burglars, at the time, breaking into her apartment and heading straight for her drawer of dainties. But cops also look through girls underwear drawers sometimes. They could be looking for drugs, or guns, or other evidence. Like, evidence of a deviant lifestyle, perhaps?

Judy noted the excess space in her drawer, and stared at the overflowing laundry hamper in the corner. "Well," she thought, "what else does a single twenty-six year old girl have to do on a Saturday night, when the phone hasn't rung all day?" Moving to the window, Judy bent down to unplug the timer and the dildo from the wall socket. Those went into the bottom drawer of her bureau.

Judy picked up her laundry basket and emptied it onto the bed. She began to sort the clothes into piles: whites, colours, dry clean. While her hands were busy with her task, her mind wandered back to those sometimes crazy days with Steve.

It had been four years since she and Steve broke up. Four years since he'd left her, actually. They met when Judy worked as a waitress in a small coffee shop. Steve had entered the shop once or twice, and soon enough, they both took a good look at one another and things clicked. Judy didn't know it at the time, but Steve was the type of man she'd been looking for all her life. Well, almost the type.

Judy began serious dating in highschool, at the age of fifteen. At age sixteen, she lost her virginity to a tall skinny lad, a year older than her, in the back seat of his Mom's car. And so began a string of unfulfilling romances, that lasted until she met what she thought of as a real man. Steve.

It takes a certain type of personality to become a police officer. And the training they get tends to reinforce those characteristics. A cop has to be strong willed. He needs to be able to walk into any sort of situation, and immediately take charge. In an emergency, a cop is the one that people will look to to lead them to safety. When a cop tells you to do something, it's usually a good idea to follow his orders. Both for your safety in a crisis situation, and, because when a cop tells you to do something, he usually isn't all that interested in discussing it with you. Police officers give orders, and they simply expect their orders to be obeyed. So therefore, many of them tend to have, or tend to develop, a dominant personality.

Ever since Judy was a little girl, she'd always liked to be able to do things for other people. It wasn't until she'd grown older that she found a certain satisfaction in - not just helping others, but doing what others asked of her. Following orders, as she later came to realize. Judy liked doing things that she was told to do, and she liked it when it showed that her efforts were appreciated.

Well Steve the cop certainly liked giving orders, thought Judy, as she bundled her washing into a big plastic bag. She paused a moment to glance through the window. The sun was just setting over the row of buildings to her left, and the few clouds in the sky looked tinged with gold. And, she reminisced, he certainly knew how to show his appreciation for a task well done."

Judy's bum settled onto the bed as she cast her thoughts back to her time with Steve, and to one evening in particular.

It had been a Saturday, and Judy was doing some household chores at Steve's apartment. Steve had been acting testy all day. Something to do with work, she'd guessed. But by completing her tasks quietly and efficiently, she'd hoped to draw his attention away from his problems.

Around four, Steve had ordered her to shower and dress for the evening in the clothes she'd been told to bring. Judy put away the cleaning supplies she was using on the bedroom windows, and took a quick shower.

Since it was warm out, she'd brought her black stretchy tube top that Steve liked. Judy was blessed with those perfect kinds of breasts that make such a simple garment stay in place, without a lot of tugging and adjusting. Added to the top was a skirt, short and black, and made from a soft, and smoothly flowing, cotton weave. Underneath the top and skirt, she wore no underwear, of course.

Steve had asked her to bring black stockings, which she carefully rolled up one leg, then the other. The night promised to be warm, but she would be permitted to carry along a light sweater, in case it did get chilly later on. A pair of strappy sandals with two inch heels completed her outfit. Judy stood for inspection in the middle of Steve's livingroom.

"Nice. Very nice."

Judy demurely cast her gaze toward the floor. "Thank you, Sir."

Steve wore light gray casual pants, and a pale blue denim shirt with the top two buttons open. Judy saw his dark curly chest hair peeking over the top, and she'd wanted so much to run her fingers through it. But there would be time, she knew, later on. Time for that, and more.

Steve popped back into his bedroom for something. He returned with a light sport jacket over his arm, then opened the front door for her. Downstairs they went, to the parking garage and his Range Rover. Then off. Off into the city and another adventure. Dates with Steve had been getting ever more adventurous lately. So much so, that Judy had been starting to get worried. But each time she'd needed him to be there, he was there for her. Then after, safely back at his place, or hers, their passions would reach heights, ever higher.

Judy stood, picked up the bag with her washing inside, and went downstairs for the walk to the corner and the Laundromat. But her thoughts stubbornly remained on the past. Her past, and those sometimes terrifying, but nonetheless thrilling, times with Steve.

Outside, on her street, the pavement was still warm from the afternoon sun. The setting sun cast the shadows in an eerie reddish glow, in stark contrast to the street corner, where its last rays thrust past the buildings to highlight the bustle of people and cars moving toward their destinations. A group of teenage boys approached her, all bluster and blow, but they didn't even notice her except to give her a wide berth. Judy grinned once they'd passed, and headed toward the corner with her bag of laundry, and a pocket full of change.

It had been an evening much like this one, she thought. The last of the sunlight had flashed in her eyes as they drove along the Parkway, while the buildings and the trees sped by. Steve had looked calmer, now that they were moving, she supposed. She watched him for a minute, until he noticed her. He glanced her way, and he flashed her that easy smile of his, and she knew that the evening would be one to remember. Of course she'd had no way of knowing how memorable it would really be.

The restaurant had been crowded, but they were shown to a booth off to one side. Judy sat first, sliding in along the bench while Steve tipped the maitre d'. Then he slipped in beside her. After the drinks were ordered and they arrived, Steve reached into the pocket of his jacket for something. Judy remembered hearing the sound, and she'd almost choked on her drink. She looked down into Steve's hand and then froze.

The Laundromat was nearly empty. Judy picked out a machine. She had two loads to do: one went into one washer, the other into the one beside it. She plugged in the correct change, pushed both levers, and sat down.

She and Steve had played with his handcuffs and shackles before, but never in such a crowded and public place as the restaurant was. "Lift up your foot," he had commanded. And, of course, with almost no hesitation, Judy complied. A tiny chill ran down her spine as she recalled the feel of the hard metal, when it touched her nylon clad skin.

Steve hooked one leg shackle around her delicate ankle, and cupped his hands around it to muffle the ratcheting sound as he closed it. "Other leg," he said. The table had a central post, and Steve got the chain around it before closing the shackle around her other ankle. Judy knew she wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

The restaurant hadn't been too brightly lit, and under the table was darker still, so with the shackles and chain having that black anodized finish, and them over her black stockings, they'd hardly be noticed by anyone. Judy heard the clink of the handcuffs still in his pocket as Steve moved his jacket aside. Then he picked up his drink, and flashed her a grin, and she fell into that familiar feeling of being safe and secure while with him. Well, she remembered thinking, secured, at least.

They both had the spaghetti and meatballs, and when the dessert came, vanilla ice-cream with a splash of Kahlua over top, Steve reached for his jacket. Taking one of Judy's hands, and the cuffs from the coat pocket, he moved her arm back and her hand behind her. The restaurant was more noisy by then, and the rapid fire staccato of the cuff closing was barely audible to her. Once again, with her other hand, and Judy then needed some assistance in the eating of her ice-cream.

Although she kept nervously looking around, no one else seemed to be paying any attention to her. She'd turn to him as he'd bring a spoonful of ice-cream to her lips. Then she'd get self conscious again, and her eyes would scan the room for anyone that might have noticed a girl all chained up and being spoon fed.

Finally Steve had had enough. "Judy!" Her focus went to him. He fixed her with a hard look that spoke volumes to her. Judy's deepest fear had always been being seen by someone while she was in bondage. Though she enjoyed being chained up and made helpless, she knew she'd be mortified in having someone see her like that. Maybe they'd start laughing at her, or start making some kind of fuss over her. To her, bondage was something personal and private. But with Steve, her being in bondage was like a kind of sign, for others that may happen to notice, that told of his mastery over her.

He lifted another spoonful of slightly melted ice-cream to her lips. Judy felt that she'd best stop worrying if people were looking at her. She let her eyes dip to the spoon and his hand, and with a grin that was only a bit forced, she opened her mouth. From then on, Judy made a point of paying less attention to the people around them, and more on the man she was with.

Once she'd finished having her dessert fed to her, Steve patted her lips with the napkin. She leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. She tried hard to push aside thoughts of everyone staring and sniggering at the girl sitting there all chained up, and she leaned in close to Steve, her Master. He'd lift a glass to her from time to time, so that she may sip some wine, or water, and after a while the cheque came. Steve found his keys and tapped a finger on her thigh. Judy lifted one leg, then the other, and the ankle shackles were quietly returned to Steve's jacket pocket.

After paying the bill, Steve stood up. Judy looked up at him. Steve picked up her sweater and held it for her. Judy soon realized that her hands weren't going to be freed just yet, so she slid over on the bench toward him. Steve draped the sweater around her shoulders, letting the sleeves hang, and he did up the top button for her. He lightly took her arm as she stood.

Steve led the way, as Judy fell into step meekly behind. She tried hard not to obsess over the fact she was walking past so many people with her hands securely handcuffed behind her back. A trip and a fall would be disastrous, and extremely embarrassing. But such things really rarely happen in real life. Why should she stumble over something now? She was feeling quite vulnerable, though Steve was right there with her. She was also feeling very exposed, despite the back of her sweater that neatly hid her hands and the restraints locked around her wrists.

They reached the front of the restaurant without incident. Judy felt Steve's hand on her arm, as he reached across her to grab a couple of mints from a bowl on the front desk. Judy caught their reflection in the big mirror there. What she saw was a nice looking girl standing beside a handsome man. The girl was dressed in a cute little black outfit, and she stood proudly with her hands clasped behind her while her gentleman friend popped a mint into his mouth. But then Judy looked a little closer, and she saw that the girl had wide, scared bunny rabbit eyes.

Steve's fingers were on her cheeks, turning her face toward him. He pushed a candy past her lips while giving her another hard look. That look reminded her who was in charge, and whose job it was merely to follow, and obey. Judy felt her face soften as she relaxed a bit. She told herself that there was nothing weird going on. She was safe while she was with Steve, she silently willed herself to believe. She was Ok.

Outside in the parking lot, Steve opened the Rover's door for her. "Get in." His tone told her that he was not pleased with her. Inside the vehicle he turned to her, but it was only to fasten her seat belt around her. Judy squirmed around a bit, to get her hands comfortable, but not too much. She knew she was expected to sit there quietly until told otherwise.

They drove back across town, then down to the park by the river. Steve found a quiet spot and stopped. He got out, then came around to open her door and help her out. At the edge of the parking lot they stopped, and Steve reached into his jacket pocket again.

Steve replaced the shackles on Judy's ankles. He took the handcuffs off, just long enough for her to put on her sweater, then he refastened her hands behind her back again. Then they started walking. Along the way, Steve started his lecture.

It seemed that her conduct in the restaurant hadn't been up to his strict standards. Her looking around and feeling self conscious over being chained up in public had told him she still didn't trust him. "Did anyone see your bondage and make an issue over it?" he'd asked. "No," she admitted. Though anyone could have noticed at any time, she thought, but didn't say. And what if someone in the restaurant started making a commotion over her being chained up? What if they'd have called the cops? That thought brought a small smile to her lips. Fortunately, in the dark, Steve didn't notice her smirking.

"I really thought you trusted me, Judy. I really thought we had something special. But I guess I was wrong. I guess you're just not ready for the kind of commitment that I'm looking for." Steve could be such a pompous ass at times. Still, Judy wasn't ready to have it all end just yet. She had hoped that, in time, his attitudes would mellow a bit. This master slave thing was often a lot of fun. But no one can live full time like that. Right?

Judy caught herself staring at the man seated at the end of the row of washing machines. He looked to be about middle aged, or older, and he was obviously homeless, judging by the bundle buggy of bags and stuff beside him. He had striped down to nearly nothing, likely because nearly every stitch he owned was in the machine getting washed.

The man didn't see her watching him. He was reading a book. Judy recognized the title from her college days. Mandatory reading. Plato's Republic. Judy gave her head a tiny shake, and returned to the past.

They'd been seated on a park bench by the river, watching the moonlight being reflected off the water. Judy had wanted nothing more than for Steve to bring her back to his place, or her's, and for them to make wild love together. Then, maybe in the morning, he would unlock her bonds and they'd spend a quiet Sunday together doing something. But such was not to be.

"I have to go," he'd abruptly stated. "You can find your own way home."

And he stood to go. "But!" Judy remembered gasping, "What about these cuffs and shackles?" "Keep 'em!" was the reply. And he was gone.

They'd played these sorts of games before: the damsel in distress, chained and helpless. Lost in the wilds. One time it had been in a park like that one, and a group of boys had approached her. She'd been chained to a tree then, one ankle locked to it, and when the boys looked like they were going to get too close, Steve had appeared right then to keep her secret safe. Other times too; she could often sense him near, watching over her so that no harm would come to her in her helpless state.

But this time, she remembered thinking, it was different. As she watched him go, she'd had a sinking feeling that it was for real. There would be no one watching over her and making sure she arrived home safely. She really was going to be stuck, chained, and alone.

A shudder trickled down Judy's spine as she sat on the hard plastic Laundromat chair. The washing machines changed gears - shifting into their rinse cycles. Judy had sat on that park bench by the river for over an hour, thinking that perhaps it was only another of his silly tests, and that he'd soon return. He'd bring her flowers - or flowery words at least - and they'd have their night of pleasure after all. But then, reluctantly, with the moon tracking toward the western horizon and the sounds of the city winding down for the night, Judy had come to realize that she had just been dumped. And in a most inauspicious way.

Tentatively she had tested the cuffs to see if she could have slipped her hands out of them. But naturally Steve, being a cop and all, had made sure that such an easy escape would be impossible. Then Judy stretched out her legs and looked down at the shackles and chain. In the dark they wouldn't be seen by someone right off. But the rattle of the chain would be heard if she was walking, and with it being so short, walking home from the park would take forever. Still, it was pretty certain that Steve wasn't coming back for her. And even if this was all some kind of test, and he was somewhere nearby, waiting for her, she figured she'd better at least make some kind of a start on following his last order.

Judy stood up. She turned toward home and started slowly walking. Anyone seeing her, she thought, would think her drunk, or stoned, shuffling slowly through a dark urban park in the middle of the night. Until they got closer, that is, and noticed the handcuffs and shackles on her. Then what? Judy hadn't wanted to think too much about that. Would the person have helped her? Or would they have seen it as a chance to have a little fun with a helpless and defenseless young girl. While the city was relatively safe, there were always those who'd likely try and rob her, or worse.

Judy made it back to the empty parking lot. Looking around, there wasn't another soul in sight. Steve could still have been nearby though, watching over her, watching her. Judy looked down at her feet again. In the lights of the parking lot, the black shackles on her ankles were only slightly visible against her stockings. She knew though, that the handcuffs - also black anodized - would be quite noticeable around her wrists and against the light gray of her sweater. She'd tried tugging the slightly too short sleeves down to hide the cuffs, but that had only pulled the sweater down off her shoulders and made it tight across her boobs. She could get her hands under the back of the sweater though, and as she set out across the parking lot, she hoped that the cuffs around her wrists were hidden.

Beyond the entrance to the parking lot lay the bustle of the city. Even at that late hour, buses and taxis carried people to and fro. If Judy had some money with her, she could take a cab home. It might get difficult or embarrassing when it came time to pay, with her hands locked behind her, but at least she'd get home. But as it was, Steve never let her carry money when they went out. That had been just one more way he used to secure his control over her.

Judy made it through the parking lot, to the short road that led in from the main street. Then she froze. Turning in from the street was a group of four young men, heading toward her. It was too late to hide; they'd seen her. Judy's heart started doing flip flops inside her chest.

Many times while playing these games, Steve had told her not to overreact if something happened. "So what if someone sees you in bondage. Why care what some stranger thinks?" He'd also told her not to show fear, too. "Never let 'em see you sweat." That was cop training, she'd thought, but still. What other options were open to her?

Judy brought her feet together with the chain mostly hidden between them. She stood still, with her head held high, and tried to be not looking at anything in particular. She looked past the group of men coming at her, as though she was waiting for someone else coming in off the street. A wisp of hair blew across one eye, but there was nothing she could have done about that. She held onto the back of her sweater to hide the handcuffs, and she tried to give the impression of calmly waiting.

The four men closed the distance, but they weren't being threatening toward her. They all had looked at her, but she hadn't spared them a glance. It had only been when one of them made a half-hearted cat call, that she'd shot out a heavy lidded glare that had them quickly turning and going on their way. Judy then turned slightly in their direction, so if one of them had glanced back, he wouldn't have noticed the handcuffs.

When the men had gone, Judy let out a breath and leaned against a railing. Although she'd been chained, helpless, powerless to stop any attack on her person, she'd managed to mount an effective defense, simply by putting on a false air of bravado. Steve had been right. If you look like you're scared, or are trying to hide something, people tend to pick up on that and then they want to know more. But if you act bored or uninterested, people leave you alone. That's what he'd been trying to get her to understand.

Judy then quickly looked up, scanning the trees and bushes around her. Now that she'd learned a lesson from this, she felt certain that Steve was nearby, ready to show up and take her home. Judy started moving again, making her slow shuffling way toward the street. Once there, she looked left and right, searching the few parked cars for Steve's Range Rover. But she saw no such vehicle.

Near a bus stop there were a few benches, so Judy sat on one. She tucked her feet under the bench, so that the shackles weren't so visible, and she waited. She waited for what seemed like over an hour, but Steve never showed up. No knight in shining armour had appeared to rescue her and take her safely home. It began to dawn on her that Steve had meant it. He'd really had enough of her, and her unwillingness to place her full trust in him.

The noise of a bus pulling up to the stop broke into her thoughts. An elderly lady got off, and then Judy noticed the driver staring at her. At first she thought he had seen her bondage, and was about to say something to her about it. A few other people on the bus seemed to be staring at her too, and, like always, Judy had thought she was about to die of embarrassment. But then she quickly realized that the driver was only waiting to see if she wanted to get on.

That particular bus would have taken her very close to home. But even if she'd had the exact change, putting it into the fare box with her hands locked behind her would surely have drawn unwanted attention. And even so, her short ankle chain would likely have made climbing that first step up into the bus impossible. After a pause, the driver had closed the door and driven away, leaving Judy to sit there alone.

Judy then looked up and down the street. There was no one around her, so she brought her feet out from under the bench to stretch her legs. She looked down and spread her feet to the limit of the chain. And then, there, on the pavement between her feet, she saw a quarter. It had been just lying there, all bright and shiny with hope, and it gave Judy an idea.

Judy knew her close friend, Susan, from their college days. Although they hadn't spoken for a while, Judy knew the girl's phone number. And as luck would have it, there were a couple of pay phones just down the street. Judy could call her friend, who'd been her safety net during her days of early self bondage experiments, and, if she was home, she could come and pick her up.

There was still no one around to see her, so Judy got off the bench. She squatted down to try and pick up the coin, but her fingertips couldn't reach it. She had no choice but to sit down on the pavement, and feel around behind her until she had the coin in her hand. The cement was cool under her bare bum, and once she managed to pick up the coin it was a struggle to get up on her feet again. Finally, quarter in hand, Judy started walking toward the pay phones.

The phone was mounted too high, so her hands ended up being useless. She shouldered the receiver off its hook. She lay the quarter down on the little shelf underneath, then turned around, bent down, and got the coin between her lips. Trying not to think about the germs she was catching, she lined the quarter up with the coin slot on the phone and she pushed it in with her tongue.

Because she'd had to use her nose, Judy literally paid close attention to the buttons she was pushing. Getting a wrong number would have meant she would lose her quarter, and she'd have to go searching for another. After she'd pressed the last number, she struggled with her shoulder and chin to get the receiver close to her face. Then she heard it start ringing.

If Sue had had an answering machine, Judy would have been screwed. It was the middle of the night. Sue wouldn't check her messages until morning, if then. That would leave Judy sitting waiting for a friend that may never show up. And in daylight, Judy and her bondage would surely have been noticed. The phone rang three times. Four times. Five. Judy started to have hope. An answering machine would have picked up by then.

The phone rang and rang. With each ring, Judy's heart sank a little lower. She dare not move, because the receiver was slipping off her shoulder. Eleven. Twelve. Fifteen. Susan was really her only hope, at that point. Finally, Judy heard a click, and a very groggy girl's voice answered.

"Hell . . . lo?"

"Yes. Is that you, Sue?"

". . . Yeah . . . . Who . . . ?"

Judy was able to breathe a great sigh of relief. "Sue, it's Judy. Remember how I use to ask you to be around when I'd do self bondage? Well; it's like this . . ."

Judy told Sue about Steve, and about her current predicament. So half an hour later, a cab pulled up beside the bus stop near the park entrance, and Sue got out to help her friend inside. Then, it was a twenty minute ride back to Sue's apartment.

Upstairs, Judy helped her friend search for a handcuff key that Sue knew she had around someplace. When they found it, inside a drawer in the kitchen, Sue helped get the cuffs and shackles off Judy. Then they sat down over a pot of tea.

"You have to dump him, Judy," her friend had told her. "After doing that to you? Abandoning you like that? Lose the creep."

But Judy had already known it was over. Steve was always a stickler for having his orders obeyed, no matter how dumb they seemed to be. His last words to her had been, "Find your own way home." Getting her friend to help her, surely would have been seen as yet another breach of his stupid rules.

Judy looked down, and she realized she'd been rubbing the marks on her wrists. The marks made by the handcuffs just a few hours ago, when she had masturbated with her vibrator. Looking up, she noticed that the homeless man in his underwear was now sitting by the dryers. Judy saw that her two machines were stopped, so she got up and started unloading them. Both loads would fit in one dryer, so she carried everything over to one, fed in the coins, and started the machine. She glanced down the row, and saw that the man was writing in a worn notebook while referring to the text of the philosophy book. Judy gave her head a tiny shake.

Feeling the need for a coffee, Judy left the Laundromat to go across the street to the Starbucks. Inside, the place smelled of coffee, and cinnamon, and other yummy things. Judy passed by a few booths, and at the counter she ordered a large regular.

When she reached for the paper cup of coffee, she again noticed the red mark on her wrist. On the way out, she turned her other hand as she pushed open the door, to gaze at the matching line on her other wrist. Judy grinned, but something to her right caught her eye. A man was sitting alone at a booth by the door. He was dressed nicely in a three-piece suit, with the jacket neatly hung over the chair beside him. He had a newspaper open before him, and he'd been making notes on some paper beside it. And his eyes were glued to the reddish coloured lines on Judy's wrists.

The man's gaze leapt from her hands to her face, as she slipped past the door and out. The man had the most lovely deep blue eyes that Judy had ever seen. Back in the Laundromat, Judy sat in front of the dryer, set her coffee down beside her, and let her mind soar off to fantasy land.

= End part 1 =

 

= Part 2 =

Brent Hastings set down his pen and watched the pretty blond girl, coffee cup in hand, cross the street and enter the Laundromat on the opposite corner. He brought his own cup of now cold coffee to his lips and took a sip. Frowning as the bitter liquid passed over his tongue, he replaced the cup on the table and glanced down at the newspaper he had spread out before him. He closed his eyes, and let his finger drop to the page. The page held the stock market closing numbers from the day before. Brent opened his eyes to see which listing his fingertip had landed on. He then made a note on the paper beside him.

Brent Hastings was a strong believer in fate. He'd stopped on his drive home at this particular coffee shop because he'd had an overwhelming sensation that something good was going to happen there. Since he also believed that good things happen in three's, after seeing the pretty girl with the handcuff marks on her wrists, he fully expected that fate would also lend a hand in selecting a good stock pick. The possible third good thing, which would be the girl having the right sort of character, would be proven during first contact with her.

Brent gathered up his paper and notes, picked up his suit jacket, and left the shop through the same door that, only a few minutes before, the girl had passed through. He paused with his hand on the handle, in the same place the girl's hand had been on it, and he smiled. Then, outside, he turned toward the street where he'd parked.

Brent wheeled his vintage Mustang convertable, through the intersection and past the Laundromat. He parked just down the street. He'd taken a guess which way the girl would turn to go home, and, after a twenty minute wait, his guess was proven right. The pretty blond woman stepped out from the Laundromat, and started walking toward where he was parked.

The top of his car was open, and the windows were down, so when the girl was beside his car, Brent casually called to her.

"That looks heavy," he said of the bag of clothes. "Would you like a lift?"

Judy looked toward the Mustang, and saw the man with the lovely blue eyes seated inside. The colour of the man's eyes matched the colour of his car.

"No thank you," she answered warily. "I haven't that far to go."

Judy let her eyes travel over the interior of the classic car. The seats were done in that old style red and white cloth, yet they looked soft and inviting. The dash held a state of the art CD stereo, which had a faceplate closely matching the style of the other instruments. Her eyes returned to the face of the man seated comfortably behind the wheel.

"Then could I have," he gently asked, "a few moments of your time? I'd like to ask you something."

Judy caught her reflection in the thick, chrome plated windshield frame. She put her bag of clothes down beside the car, and she let a fingertip touch the corner of that silvery frame. Her other hand came to rest on the top of the car door.

Brent's eyes held hers, though he did notice the marks still on her wrists. After a second, Judy also glanced at one of her wrists, and she lowered her hands. "What do you want to know?" she asked, although she was beginning to guess. Her suspicions were quickly confirmed.

"While I don't wish to embarrass you," he began, "in the coffee shop, I noticed the markings about your wrists. I just couldn't leave here without asking you about them. You probably know that there's lots of people who enjoy a bit of play, with things like rope, or handcuffs. I myself find these sorts of games to be most enjoyable. Perhaps you do also?"

Judy looked at the buildings across the street. She looked down at her feet, just to confirm that she had indeed taken off the shackles she'd had on earlier. Her eyes followed the line of the car door as it smoothly flowed into the back fender, then, dipping down, joined with the chrome of the rear bumper. She'd rather look anywhere than at those deep blue eyes, behind which, her private pleasures appeared to be lain bare.

Finally, Judy met the gaze of the man seated in the car. How could this man have read her secrets from a couple of red lines on her arms? She could simply say that she'd burned herself on the oven door, or something. She should just say that she didn't know what he was talking about, and then walk away. But there was something in those eyes, those twin pools of liquid sapphire, that made lying to this man out of the question. Besides, he did have a snazzy car.

"Yes," she found herself saying. She lowered her eyes to the center console beside the man. She focused on the gearshift knob. There were no shift markings on the top of the worn leather-covered ball; only a small silver pony emblem.

The emblem was set slightly down in the leather covering. The little silver pony was surrounded by soft, well worn, black leather. Judy wondered what it would feel like to be that little pony. How would it feel to be trapped by the leather on top of that metal shifter rod, and to get slapped by the man's hand each time he had to change gears.

Judy looked at the man's hands. One was resting lightly on the steering wheel and the other was on the seat beside him. She noted that he wore no wedding ring, not that that meant much these days. His hands were strong, but they looked clean and soft. He could be someone who worked in an office, she thought. Judy's gaze returned to those deep blue eyes, and the man spoke again.

"My name's Brent," he said. After a pause, he asked, "Yours?"

"Judy," she stammered out.

"Well get in, Judy. I'll give you a ride to your building."

As he said this, he reached over and opened the passenger side door. Something about his tone of voice had touched Judy in a special place. That voice had her hefting her bag of laundry up and into the back seat of his car before she even realized what she was doing. She paused a moment with one foot inside the car, and one foot still safely on the pavement.

Brent sensed the moment of hesitation before it happened, and he was ready with an easy smile to calm the girl's jitters. "It's only a lift down the street to your building," he said in a calming voice. "Nothing more. Unless,"  he added with a theatrical leer, "you'd like there to be."

His look made her smile. She swung into the seat beside Brent, and closed the car door. "We'll try the ride first," she said. "After that, we'll see."

Brave girl, thought Brent, as he reached to turn the key. The engine caught, and his hand came down to cover the little leather bound pony shifter. Judy watched as, first the shadow of his hand passed over the little silver pony, then the tiny creature was engulfed by his palm and fingers. Judy glanced up at Brent's face, but he'd turned to watch for oncoming cars.

The Mustang rolled easily away from the curb and accelerated along the street. Brent asked Judy, "Tell me where." After a moment, she said, "That one. Where the yellow railing is." Brent pulled the car over against the curb once more.

His hand lifted from the little silver pony. Judy looked, and thought she saw the tiny creature grinning at her. The moment was broken when Brent asked her:

"What's your phone number, Judy. I'd like to take you out to dinner. Perhaps next weekend?"

Brent had an electronic organizer out and was poised to enter her number. Judy found herself reciting her telephone number. She watched, as he typed it into the device.

"I'll call you around mid week," he said to her.

Judy's hand went to the doorhandle and she opened the car door. Then, remembering her manners, she said, "Thank you for the ride, Sir."

Brent smiled to himself and kept silent. This one's had some training, he thought. He waited for Judy to collect her laundry bag from the back seat, and then said, "It was nice to meet you, Judy. I'll call you."

Judy watched as Brent drove away. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts and images. For one, she couldn't shake the sight of the man's penetrating deep blue eyes. She felt that Brent had used those eyes to first strip her naked, then study every thought and secret she ever had. On the one hand something like that would have been frightening and invasive to her. Yet she felt more of a sense of relief that the man had somehow read her mind, and had found her to his liking.

Picking up her laundry bag, Judy dug in her pocket for her keys. She turned toward her apartment building.

Brent felt it as a slight tingling in his palm every time he changed gears. He gunned the Mustang to dodge around a slow polk, then cut left and powered up the expressway ramp. At the top, he shoved the stick into third and nipped in ahead of an eighteen wheeler. The little blue beast responded so well to his commands.

He then glanced down at the silver pony on the shift knob. The girl had seemed fascinated with it. Brent let his palm come to rest lightly over it. "What say you, my friend?" he asked of the emblem. "Will she be worth pursuing?"

Of course he already knew the answer to that. Her responses during their brief meeting had been textbook submissive. She hadn't tried to be coy or flirty with him; that would have been a mistake. She'd been wary, but she hadn't shown fear. She understood power: who had it, and who served under it.

Brent lightly traced the outline of the silver pony with a fingertip. He felt the softness of the leather. The covering was starting to close in over the edges of the emblem. He grinned then, with the riddle solved. "Wrapped up in leather," he thought to himself. He laughed, and gunned the car.

Brent Hastings lived on a small farm outside of town. He'd bought the place fifteen years ago, partly as an investment, but mostly because it offered him the privacy and the space he needed. It had a nice barn that he'd outfitted as a workshop. There, he dabbled in one of his hobbies. The fixing up and selling of old cars.

The farmhouse he'd had renovated to more modern tastes. He had all the creature comforts anyone would need. His money came, not from buying and selling cars, but from buying and selling stocks. While some years his earnings were slim, the good times more than made up for it.

Monday morning he was on the phone to his stock broker buying twenty thousand dollars worth of Seacord Pharmaceutical. That had been the name of the company his fingertip had randomly landed on in the Starbucks the other day. That evening, after the market had closed, the news reported that Seacord Pharmaceutical had just had their new heart drug approved for sale. By midday Tuesday, the stock had jumped over 20 percent and was still climbing. Brent cashed his shares in on Wednesday, just before the market closed, for a tidy fifteen thousand dollar profit. Later on in the evening, he phoned Judy.

Judy was reading when the phone rang. At first she thought the caller was just another telemarketer, and she answered with a somewhat disinterested, "Hello."

"Judy? This is Brent Hastings. We met last Saturday and I told you that I'd call. I'd like to have dinner with you, say, this Friday night?"

Judy's heart was racing. Brent Hastings had been on her mind since they'd first met. She dared not hope that he'd actually phone her, for having him never call would have been too depressing to think about.

"I get off work at five," Judy was saying. She made an effort to quell the nervousness in her voice. "Could we meet here, at my place?"

"Say around seven? The building with the yellow railing out front, right?"

"That's right. Number 1240, apartment four." Judy listened to the pause and she pictured Brent making a note in his organizer. She could almost count the keystrokes. He'd then look up, and then . . . .

"There's a fish place in the east end that's pretty good," he was saying. "Casual dress would be fine. I'll see you then?"

"That'll be nice. Thank you . . .  Brent." Judy almost called him sir, but thought the better of it. No sense going into that just yet.

However Brent caught that tiny moment of indecision, and he grinned. "Bye, Judy." He was smiling as he hung up the phone. Yes, he thought to himself, good things do come in threes.

Brent and Judy's date on Friday night went well. The restaurant was nice, the food better than average, and Brent learned a whole lot more about this girl he'd met.

Judy talked a lot to cover up her nervousness. The trouble was she let on more than she'd really wanted to tell. However Brent was a good listener, and he'd seemed genuinely interested in hearing what she had to say. He'd stop her to ask a question from time to time, but by the time they were ready to leave, Judy began to realize that she still knew very little about the man she was sitting opposite to.

On the walk to the car Judy began asking a few questions of her own. She found out about Brent's part time job, restoring old cars, and about what he called his full time job, playing the stock market.

"I've made obscene amounts of cash some years," he told her. "Then, some years I don't make anything. Well," he added, "hardly anything. The trick is to not go nuts when the dough's rolling in. You have to remember that the next few years might not be so good."

Judy's jaw dropped when she heard that Brent only "worked" a few hours a week managing his stock portfolio. Yet he was able to live quite comfortably on the income derived from his investments.

"I live on a small farm about an hour's drive from here," he told her when they'd reached his car, a bright orange '74 Duster. With the 455 Hemi, naturally. "They're saying it'll be warm and sunny tomorrow. Would you like to come up with me?"

Brent studied the girl's face as she climbed into the car. He saw her indecision, and he added, "I'll make us a mean chicken cacciatore for supper tomorrow."

Judy looked up. He cooks, too? Well he'd have to, if he lived alone. "All right," she found herself saying. "Will I be staying the night? I don't have any clothes." She hastily added, "With me, that is." Then she fell silent. It would be up to him, she thought, whether she stayed the night at his house. She should not have presumed her invitation.

Brent walked around the car and climbed in behind the wheel. He gave her a glance as he found his keys. "We'll stop by your place," he easily said, "and you can grab some stuff. Don't forget your bathing suit. There's a pool there, and a hot tub."

They made a quick stop off at Judy's place, where Brent sat on her couch while she packed a few things. Then it was off to the country along a winding two lane road, the inky blackness pierced here and there by the lights of other houses. Signs of civilization became less and less frequent. Soon after, Brent slowed the car, and he turned into a driveway that was marked by an open wrought iron gate, and a mail box on a low post. "Here we are," he stated.

Lights came on atop the gateposts as they drove past. They followed his driveway through thick woods until it let out at a clearing and his farm house. More lights switched on as motion sensors picked up on their arrival.

"Wow!" Judy said, once she got a look at the house. The original two story farmhouse sat between a single story addition on one side, and a double garage on the other. Brent pushed a remote that was clipped to the visor, and one of the garage doors rolled up. He parked the orange Duster beside a dark green Model A Ford, that sat in the other bay.

Brent retrieved Judy's bag from the back seat of the Duster. As he came around, he handed it to her, then picked out a key and opened the door to the house.

Brent led the way, flipping on lights, while Judy followed along getting the tour of the house. Upstairs, Brent opened a door that led to what looked like a guest bedroom. Judy set her bag down inside. Then the two returned to the kitchen where Brent opened a bottle of wine from the fridge.

"Have you lived here long?" asked Judy.

"About eight years now," Brent answered, sitting across the table from her.

Emboldened by the seemingly relaxed atmosphere, Judy attempted to pry a bit more information from him. "And you live here all alone?"

"That's right," Brent simply said. Inside though, he was grinning. He'd wondered when the girl's curiosity would start to surface. While it's nice to be accepting and trusting, these days it pays to be cautious as well.

"I never married," he stated, answering what would have been her next question. "There was someone, before. We split up a couple of years ago. She just couldn't take the isolation out here. I like it, though. This is my retreat, this place. I can work, I do a bit of gardening. I sometimes hunt in the Fall. Being out here in the country keeps me grounded in reality."

"I guess it is pretty private here," Judy ventured.

Brent caught her meaning instantly, whether it was intended or not. He stood up to retrieve the wine bottle from the counter. "You can run around outside naked all day, and nobody'll bother you," he said.

Judy was grinning when he turned to her. He refilled her glass. He decided to press the advantage.

"The property is one hundred acres," he told her. "To the north and east is government land, so nobody lives there. About a mile behind us is a nice little lake. We could take a run out there tomorrow, if you'd like. Pack a lunch."

"That sounds like fun," Judy replied.

Brent put on his serious face. "I want you to understand that no harm will come to you this weekend, Judy. If you're up for some real fun, I can make this a memorable time for the both of us."

"I don't understand," Judy said, although she thought she knew full well where this conversation was leading.

Brent heard her words, but he also saw the spark of excitement light up her eyes, and knew he had her hooked. Rather than explain, he stood up and went to the kitchen pantry. Opening the door, he reached for a shoe box on an upper shelf. Brent set the box on the table before Judy.

Brent lifted the lid, and Judy looked inside. The first things she recognized were the shiny brass padlocks, of which there were four. Some lengths of silver coloured chain snaked along the bottom of the box, and were attached to four black leather cuffs. The cuffs, padded inside with what looked to be thick white cloth, came in two sizes. Wrist size, and ankle size. Judy looked up with a grin on her face.

"As I said," Brent said, "we can have some memorable fun this weekend. We can take things as far as you'd like. But remember, it's entirely up to you how far things go. I'm not going to pressure you into doing anything that you don't want to do. I will, however, insist on certain stipulations."

"Like what?" Judy asked.

"Well, for one," Brent began, "if you decide to put on those restraints now, they'll stay on until you're ready to leave. And there's another thing that I'd want you to do, if you'll agree."

"And that is . . .  ?"

"You'll have to be nude when the chains go on, and you can't wear clothing while you have them on. A blanket to cover yourself will be provided, but otherwise, nothing else is to be worn except the cuffs and chains."

"Even outside?"

"Especially outside. Remember, there's no one around for miles. People don't wander around out here, so you won't be seen by anyone but me. Agreed?"

Brent reached into the box to gather up the four locks and the keys. He began to open each lock. Judy saw that the locks were all keyed alike, and she watched as each one popped open with a click. Each click of a lock seemed to reverberate in a small place inside her brain.

Here she was being offered a chance to be bound for a long period of time, in relative safety. If what Brent was saying was right, there'd be no other people coming around and seeing her chained up. Not being allowed to wear any clothes was something she hadn't expected, but now, the more she thought of it, the more excited she got. Could she do it? Could she put on this man's chains, and run around his property completely naked?

With her previous partner, Steve, it had always been in urban areas that they'd played these games. While the chance of getting caught, of having her be seen chained up by someone, frightened her, that very thing seemed to be what Steve had wanted the most. He'd almost dared others to catch a glimpse of Judy, tied helplessly in chains, so that they could witness his mastery over her. While the part of her being chained and helpless was appealing to her, having strangers see her like that was not.

However, now, Brent was going to let her explore her fantasies in the relative safety of his large, and private property. Judy reached into the box to lift out one set of cuffs. Her fingertips stroked the soft lining of one, a wrist cuff, judging by the size. She held the leather strap open and tested its strength by pulling slightly on the ends. The attached chain tinkled with her movements.

Brent sat quietly, watching, as Judy handled his restraints. He'd had the sets of cuffs custom made several years ago for the woman he'd lived with. The cuffs had seen much use over the years. That use showed now in the wear marks on the inside lining, and on the outside, as nicks and scratches in the black coloured leather. Brent knew that the cuffs were comfortable for the wearer, but also strong, and quite inescapable. Laminated between the leather and the liner, was a strip of hardened spring steel, which Judy realized was there when she let go of one end and the cuff sprang back to its circular shape again.

Brent's stare grew more intent when Judy rolled one cuff around her wrist. The spring steel pulled the cuff closed in a close fit, with the tabs for the lock lining up perfectly. Judy moved the cuff around, and up and down, on her wrist. The fit was a bit loose, but perfect nonetheless. She looked up, and was speared by those twin, bright blue pools.

As an answer to the man's question, Judy slipped the cuff off her wrist, placed the set on the table, then began unbuttoning her blouse. She slowly, and sometimes haltingly, as though she wasn't yet quite committed to the idea, removed all of her clothes. Her panties were the last to come off. Judy stood with her thumbs hooked in the waistband for a few moments, as if holding tight to that last vestige of her modesty, before smoothly sliding them down to the floor to join her other garments. Judy gathered up her clothes, and carefully placed them on a chair. Then, she stood naked before Brent. Her new Master.

"Sir," was all she could say, a gentle whisper that, to Brent, was the sweetest of music.

Judy stood there, naked, in the middle of this man's kitchen, waiting for him to make the next move. She knew that she'd be expected to remain standing, and to not show nervousness or fear. She knew that, now that she had committed herself to her decision, he'd expect her to give over her complete trust to him, this man, who, she reminded herself, she'd only just gotten to know.

Judy lowered her eyes to the floor, but then caught sight of her breasts, and her two nipples, which looked like they were about ready to explode. She shuddered slightly and closed her eyes. She could feel the flush of her shame, or of her heat, and it was spreading, colouring her face and chest. Judy opened her eyes, to see Brent staring at her with his lips curved in a slight grin, and her blush deepened. The blackness of the uncurtained kitchen window caught her eye and she almost ducked down, imagining countless pairs of eyes hidden behind the darkness, all looking at her in her nakedness. But she willed herself to hold her ground, not wishing to show weakness in the face of her new Master.

Finally, Brent slid back his chair and rose. He stepped around the table to face the girl. Taking her chin between two of his fingers, he raised her eyes to his. Behind those eyes he saw fear, of course, and indecision, still, but there was something else there too. There was a drive there. A drive for self understanding, and for the excitement of adventure. And Brent let the girl see his smile.

He first picked up the wrist cuffs that she'd recently held in her hands. When Brent bent the leather strap open, Judy held out one wrist. He placed the cuff against her skin, and let it wrap her wrist in its soft grasp. Taking a lock from the table, Brent slipped the shackle through the holes in the two tabs, where the chain attached. Brent turned the body of the lock, and pushed it home. The click of the lock closing was heard, and felt, deep inside Judy's brain.

The second cuff went on her other wrist, and Brent took a step back. Judy let the weight of the cuffs and chain drag her hands down. The chain was cool against her upper thighs when it touched her there. Her fingers grasped the links of the chain to hold it, to feel the strength of it. She moved her arms apart, and she felt it. She tugged her wrists against the length of steel chain that would now define her movements. Brent took the set of ankle cuffs, and the remaining two locks, and bent down. He knelt before her.

Judy spread her feet apart slightly, to give him access. She felt each cuff as they enclosed the skin around her ankles with soft, stiff, strength. The locks clicked home, and when they did, Judy then understood that she was now under the power of someone else. However it had come about, by her willingly allowing it to happen, or by, as she often liked to think, someone else having taken it away by force, her freedom was now gone.

Brent stood, but he did not stay to admire his handiwork, as Judy thought he might. Instead, he turned to the table, picked up the wine bottle and his glass, and simply said to her, "Come." Opening the back door and flipping on the outside lights, Brent left the kitchen and his captive standing inside it. Judy took a few tentative steps, testing the limits of her new hobble, and followed her captor outdoors.

Brent had seated himself on a lounge chair, beside what looked to be a pool straight out of a home and garden TV show. Underwater lights around the sides made the water sparkle and, from what Judy could see in the darkness, one side of the pool led into a wooded area, complete with a rocky waterfall, all outlined in tiny garden floodlights. For a moment Judy forgot about her situation, about the fact that she was outside, nude, and chained, and simply stood there, taking it all in. But then she heard the softly spoken command when Brent called to her again, and she responded.

Judy was jarred back into reality when she tried to take too big a step, and she stumbled as her hobble chain pulled tight. Although she recovered her footing quickly, she did not miss the disapproving glance that she earned. Moving toward Brent's chair, she went to kneel on the hard concrete beside it.

"You may sit," he told her, "on the end, here."

Although Judy thought Brent expected her to reply, she did not wish to seem too cowed by him. So instead of "thank you sir," for allowing her a corner of his chair, she said, "The pool looks lovely." However, without even realizing it herself, she added, "Sir."

"Would you like to go in for a dip?" he asked.

"Yes," Judy replied. "But won't your cuffs get wrecked from getting wet?"

Surely she isn't expecting to have them taken off so soon, thought Brent. No, he realized. He watched the girl as she carefully, almost reverently, turned one cuff on her wrist and looked at it. She's only expressing concern that the leather might get ruined.

"I'll expect that you'll clean and oil the leathers tomorrow," he casually stated.

This brought a grin to Judy's lips that had Brent smiling too. After a nod from him, Judy stood and went to the edge of the pool. Testing the water first with a toe, and finding it pleasantly warm, Judy sat on the edge to let her feet dip into the water.

The cuffs on her ankles felt strange, submerged in the water. Judy slipped off the edge and stood, chest deep, in refreshingly warm water. She moved her hands back and forth a few times. The cuffs and chain presented substantial drag. She doubted if she could swim any marathons like that. Judy pushed off.

There are very few swimming strokes that work when your hands and feet are linked by short chains. Judy started off slow, and tried several different positions, and was soon doing easy laps of Brent's pool using a modified dog paddle style. Brent watched, pleased with the girl's willingness to try new things, and with the way she seemed to be enjoying herself.

After a while, Judy climbed the steps at the shallow end and got out. Brent stood to get her a towel from a small cabana beside the house. He held open the towel, and wrapped the dripping girl in it. Judy stood while Brent dried her off.

Brent patted the towel where it lay across Judy's nude body. This was the first time they'd really touched, thought Judy. And under such strange circumstances, too. Brent moved to stand behind her, and he raised the towel to dry her hair. The front started to fall open, and she instinctively reached to hold it closed about her. But as she did, she thought that Brent might see the action as a show of modesty and, after him stressing that they'd not have to fear prying eyes while on his property, proof that she didn't trust him. So instead of grabbing the sides of the towel and wrapping herself in it, she just took hold of one side and wiped off her face.

Brent's hands patted the soft towel on her back, and around her waist. He gently rubbed across her bum and down her thighs. Then he had her turn around to face him. As she turned, Brent draped the towel over her shoulders once more. Then, in one fluid motion, his hands went to her breasts for the briefest of touches, before sliding past, around her back, and pulling her body close to him. His lips found hers, and they kissed.

= End part 2 =

 

= Part 3 =

It was their first kiss, and the feelings it generated in Judy nearly overwhelmed her. They were the perfect height, the two of them, with her barefoot, and Brent wearing just sandals. Her wrist chain was trapped between their tummies and it held her hands at his sides. She could feel his muscles through the thin tee shirt he wore.

Brent's tongue teased her lips to part, then tentatively pushed past, softly making contact with the tip of hers. Then, more forcefully, Brent pressed harder against her mouth, forcing her to tip her head back. His hand traveled up her back, brushing the towel aside, reaching for her head to hold it tightly against his lips. Judy grew weak in the knees. But she could not fall: Brent had her body held tightly against his.

Judy opened her eyes, and her vision was filled with his two brilliant blues, drinking her in in a heavy lidded stare. His hold on her tightened as he drew her lower lip between his teeth and bit down gently, but firmly, enough to hold her there and to further impress his dominance on her. Judy felt herself falling backwards, and, taking a step back, she realized that Brent was standing on her ankle chain. She couldn't run, even if she'd wanted to.

The kiss broke, with the presence of his lips now a palpable absence. Judy's head moved forward to find only air. Brent's arms supported her until she regained her balance, then he let her go. Then he took a step back, to survey the aftermath of their contact.

The girl's face and chest were flushed deep red. Her fingertips fluttered across her belly, nervously, not knowing where to go. But as Brent watched, her hands lowered, and one finger reached out to press lightly against her clit.

Had her hands gone to her breasts, to tease her own swollen nipples and to caress her flesh, Brent would have been disappointed. That would have been the tease, the coy flirtation that would have said, "Look at me. I'm so beautiful." But instead, and as he hoped she would, Judy's fingers, likely without conscious thought from her, stalked through her downy curls to splay open the lips of her vagina. Brent watched, intently, as the pinkness of her tiny clitty peeked into view. He saw her shudder as her fingertip connected with it.

Brent reached out to hook his finger in the chain near her left wrist cuff. "Come with me," he ordered. They passed the chair he'd sat in and he reached down for the wine bottle and his glass. "The raccoons will play with these and probably break them," he explained. Inside the kitchen he set the glass and the bottle down.

Judy was led up the stairs to the master bedroom. Her ankle chain clacked and rattled on the wood stairs and in the hallway. Along the way they passed by the guest bedroom, and Judy's bag of clothes. Except for maybe a toothbrush, thought Judy, I won't be needing much out of there.

Judy was led to the bed and made to sit on the edge. Brent stood before her and began to undress. Judy watched him. She pushed a finger underneath her wrist cuff. The inside felt wet and cool from her swim earlier. The wet cuffs didn't slide as easily on her skin as when they'd been dry, she observed. But they still felt good to her. Like they belonged on her.

Brent was down to his undershorts. Boxers, Judy noticed. He'd tossed his shorts and his tee shirt on a chair in the corner of the bedroom after he'd taken them off, and now his fingers were under the waistband of his final article of clothing. Down they slid on his thighs, and his manhood sprang free. He lifted one foot, then the other, then flipped his shorts in the direction his other clothes had taken.

Brent stood, naked, before his pretty captive girl. Now that they were in the more formal setting of his bedroom, the place he generally thought sex should occur, he felt free to look at Judy in a more sexual way. Her breasts stood magnificent. There would be time enough later on to sample their sweetness. Her tummy pooched out slightly when she sat, and that was because she was carrying a few extra pounds there. It was Ok, though. Brent liked a more fuller look to his women.

However Judy's legs were somewhat skinny. The ankle cuffs were rather loose around her ankles. He'd have to get her going on the exercise bike if he decided he was going to keep her around. And he wondered, as he took in her beauty, would this girl be worth keeping around? This he intended to find out in the next little while.

Moving closer, Brent stood in front of the girl. Her hands raised and she lightly touched his penis. Cradling it with one hand, her other hand closed around the shaft, which responded to her touch by growing stiffer. A drop of pre-cum glistened at the tip. Judy brought her face closer, to taste of that drop of wetness.

Brent's head involuntarily fell back when the girl took his member into her mouth. There was no hesitation from her; she took nearly the whole of its length down in one go. He felt her eyes on him, and he looked down, to see her looking up at him with his root firmly lodged deep in her throat. Judy drew back, inch by tantalizing inch, until just the tip was barely between her lips. She grinned at him, gave him the barest hint of a tease, then took it down again. Brent let his eyes close, and he gave in to the feelings the girl was giving him.

Pubic hair tickled her nose. She felt him twitch when a hair on his thigh got snagged in her chain, and she vowed to be more careful. Judy began a slow, teasing, up and down motion on his cock which soon had him reaching for her shoulders to steady himself. Judy drew back and let the tip drop from her lips with a wet sounding plop. She looked up at him again.

Brent opened his eyes and saw Judy looking at him, waiting for him to lead her into the next move. He didn't need much coaxing. Brent stepped around her to kneel on the bed, and Judy slid backwards to lie on her back. She reached back to grab a pillow and tuck it under her head, but before she was able to bring her hands down again, Brent was prone on top of her. He was working at fitting his cock home.

Judy wanted to raise her legs to ease the way, but the chain linking her feet prevented it. Brent hooked a foot over the chain to drag her feet down again, then he pushed his feet under the chain leaving Judy free to raise her legs up. With her knees by his side and the chain across his bum, Brent was able to line himself up with her and drive it in.

Judy felt the sudden rush of fullness as Brent's cock pushed into her. Despite his size, it glided in easily because she was so wet. Had been, she realized, ever since he'd chained her. Judy brought her hands down with her wrist chain across his back. She held on tightly, squeezing his body with her legs and her hands. Her feet were getting yanked upwards with each thrust because of the chain pressed against his bum.

Brent had wanted this first time to last, but the girl under him was simply responding so beautifully. He got an arm over one of hers and, holding it down, he felt her wrist chain go tight across his back. He also felt the chain connecting her feet pressing hard against his backside. The girl would doubtless be feeling the pull of all four cuffs holding her tightly against him. Brent slowed a bit to thrust a few strokes in deeper, and was rewarded with a shudder and a tightening as the girl orgasmed. He slowed a bit more to sync up with the ebb and flow of her cum, then rode her through it. Then, when she was holding on a peak, Brent picked up the pace and drove on.

She was powerless against the unstoppable force of this monstrous beast pounding her insides. Her chains held her tightly to him and his weight bore her down, fixing her in place like she was glued to the bed. She'd cum, a crashingly mindblowing cum, and was even now being driven headlong to the brink of another. Judy threw back her head and gasped air. Her teeth began chattering, then, a low guttural sound escaped from her throat. Every muscle in her body tensed, preparing for the onslaught. Her mind teetered on the edge for a long moment, and then she tipped over into another orgasm.

He watched her face contort, then heard her moan of ecstasy. He felt the force of her cum as a vise grip on his penis. Brent could hold on no longer himself. He slowed his thrusts, pushed in deep, and he came. Wave after wave of his release flooded through his brain as he pumped a big load of cum into the chained girl beneath him. And when he was done, when he'd pumped himself as dry as a desert, he slumped on top of the girl and they panted hot breath into each other's ears.

It was just a few minutes before Brent disentangled himself from Judy's chains, and rolled off her to lay sprawled on his back. His breathing slowed, then quietened, and after a little while Judy heard the slight nasal rasp of his snoring. He was asleep. Judy slid to the side of the bed and stood up. She tried to walk with her feet apart, so her chain wouldn't hit the floor and make noise, while she went to the toilet. She peed, and cleaned up a bit, all the while thinking what a wonderful lover she'd found in this mysterious man she'd chanced to meet.

Back in bed, Brent shifted over when she settled in beside him but he didn't wake. It was some time later on when Judy felt a warm hand come to rest upon her tummy. She'd always been a bit self conscious about her spare tire, as she'd sometimes heard it called, and she tensed when Brent's hand moved over her belly. His hand lightly squeezed the area around her belly button, then slipped down toward her sex. A finger gently insinuated itself between her thighs, right at her opening, and came to rest there. Judy looked, but the room was too dark to see his face. Yet she knew that he was still asleep.

Hanging over top of the window was one of those roll up blinds made from strips of bamboo. It was up, and sunlight streamed into the room, washing the foot of the bed with light. Judy felt its warmth on her feet through the thin sheet that covered her and Brent.

Brent's hand still lay between her thighs, and she was wondering how to get up to go to the bathroom when he stirred beside her. His eyes opened, flashing deep blue irises, which rivaled the blueness of the morning sky.

"Mmmmm," he murmured contentedly. "Morning, darlin'."

"Morning yourself, kind sir." Judy's hand slid up his arm and her chain snaked along his wrist. "Permission to go make your breakfast?"

"Nope," he stated. "You're the guest this weekend. It's my job to fix us something."

"Then could I take a shower?"

"Sure. Help yourself."

Brent watched the girl as she stood. He turned on his side and held his head in one hand as she walked out of his bedroom. His eyes traced the curves of her back. Their lovemaking session last night had left him drained and very satisfied. If the girl had been holding back, as he suspected she had been at times, she'd have passions aplenty just waiting for him to tap into. Yes, he thought as he arose, this one could definitely be a keeper.

Downstairs, Brent fixed up a breakfast of buckwheat pancakes, a light fluffy omelet with chopped ham and veggies, and some coffee. Judy walked into the kitchen and was handed a glass of juice. Brent could see that she was becoming more comfortable in her chains, and also, with her being nude. She took a seat where he'd poured a coffee for her.

Over breakfast they got to know one another a bit more. One of Brent's neighbors raised horses, which he'd sometimes borrow in exchange for car repairs, or other handy work. Brent suggested that he'd go get a couple, and they'd ride out to the lake behind his property. Judy said that sounded like fun. So after they'd eaten, Judy offered to clean up while he went over to pick up the horses.

Judy was sitting on the front porch swing by the time Brent returned, riding one horse, a second in tow behind. One thing she hadn't figured on was that her ankle chain would make it impossible to sit on a horse the normal way. However knowing a bit about this man, his taking her chains off wasn't going to be an option. Though what he did next surprised and shocked Judy a little.

Brent helped Judy up onto the animal's back, but he had her lay across the saddle on her stomach. Then, using a couple pieces of rope, he tied the center link of her wrist and ankle chains to each opposing stirrup, crossing the ropes and chains tight underneath the horse. Brent then left her like that for a moment to go inside.

Judy raised her head up to look around the yard. She tried to quell her rising panic. Here she was, totally naked, in chains, and tied down across a horse, like a piece of baggage no less, in broad daylight in the middle of someone's front lawn. Did Brent get mail delivery? This scene would certainly make the mailman's day. Judy could picture the guy guffawing back at the post office about the 'nekid chick he saw tied to a horse!'. Then she remembered seeing the mail box that was out by the road, but that only heightened her anxiety. Could she be seen from the road? The way she was facing she couldn't tell. She let her head fall, and felt her face flush with her shame.

But was it really all shame she was feeling? Judy tested her bonds. She pulled her hands and feet against the chain and ropes that held her down. The animal under her shook its big head and sidestepped, making her tense and hold still. If the creature decided to bolt with her on it's back, that would be another pretty sight! Would the beast return to the neighbor's barn? Or would it gallop straight to the nearest town with her helplessly strapped to its back? Judy quickly looked up at the sound of the front door opening and, relieved, saw Brent coming out and carrying what could be their lunch.

Brent went to his captive to look at her. He saw that her face was quite red, and she appeared to be somewhat agitated. Her smile was definitely a bit forced. Brent stroked her horse, and her, in an attempt to calm them both.

"Ready?" he asked her.

"As much as I'll ever be," she quipped, trying not to show her fear. But she hid it poorly.

"Come on," he said. "You'll feel better when we get going."

Climbing up on his horse, and with the other animal and his captive in tow, they set off.

Brent led them around the house and across the back lawn. They rode past the pool and a patch of garden, to an opening in the brush surrounding the yard. This led onto a trail through a meadow like setting with a few small bushes scattered throughout. Off to one side was a grove of pine trees.

Judy soon got tired of trying to hold her head up to see around her, so she settled into the saddle and contented herself with an upside down view of the world. She hadn't seen any signs of anyone else around, and the only sounds were the steady thump - thump of the horses hooves on the dirt trail. That, and the soft twittering of birds.

Here she was, smack in the middle of a fantasy, wilder than anything even she could have imagined, and all she could think about was getting caught by some stranger and being ridiculed for doing it. Judy tried to get her mind into this scene that Brent had no doubt carefully set up for her to enjoy, and yet too many nagging doubts remained for her to simply let go and have fun. And behind it all was the fact that she really didn't know all that much about the man she'd allowed to chain her up, and now drag her off into the woods.

"Nearly there!" Brent called to her.

His voice carried a confidence that Judy wished she could possess even a small part of.

The trail came to a slightly steep drop-off, and Brent reigned in Judy's horse so it wouldn't shy away. He urged his own horse down the hill and toward a treed area beside a small lake. The water looked a bit swampy, but when they got closer Judy could see a clear sandy area, and that's where they stopped. Brent tied his horse to a bush and went to Judy.

He untied her from the saddle stirrups and helped her stand. Judy was a bit stiff from the trip, but happy to have arrived safely. Brent had a blanket which he spread on the ground and Judy sat, watching him.

The two horses were led to a shady spot under a tree where there was some grass to munch on. Brent loosely tied their reins to a branch. Then, taking a pack from his saddle, he returned to sit beside his naked chained girl.

The morning was warming up nicely, and Brent pulled his tee shirt off over his head. Judy moved a bit closer to him, and placed her hand on his arm. She lightly stroked the fine hairs there, letting her chain brush his skin. Brent's fingers found her chain, and he grabbed it, holding it tightly. Judy felt the tug on her cuffs and she looked up at him.

Brent looked like he was going to say something else for a moment. But instead, he asked her, "would you like to go in for a swim?"

"I will if you will," she answered.

Brent stood up, pulling on Judy's wrist chain to bring her to her feet. He slipped off the shorts he was wearing and kicked off his sandals. Judy was looking around her, and when she turned to him she grinned at his sudden nakedness. The two of them walked down to the water and in.

The lake had a mostly sandy bottom that stayed shallow for quite a way out. Deeper in it got mucky, but by then you could swim. They splashed around a bit before coming together again. Brent pulled Judy in for a kiss.

As before, Judy felt her feelings for this man begin to overwhelm her senses. He pulled her body close to him and lightly brushed her lips with his. Then, more forcefully, pushing open her lips with his tongue, he drew her into the kiss.

Their heat rose quickly, and when their lips finally parted, they held each other tightly with the both of them breathing hard. Brent steered Judy toward shallower water where he lowered himself to his knees, drawing her down with him. Brent lay back, propped up on his elbows, while Judy straddled him. Her ankle chain stretched tight across his thighs, forcing her feet up off the bottom, but it didn't prevent her from fitting his stiff cock inside of her. Brent reached for her to pull her down, and their lips found each other's again.

Judy lifted up to catch her breath. Brent's hands went to her breasts, to feel the fullness of her luscious mounds. He ran a thumb across each of the pert nipples, eliciting moans, and a tightening around his cock. Judy began slowly stroking him with gentle up and down motions, but soon neither of them could hold back their lust for one another and they began to fuck in earnest.

Judy rocked her body back to fill herself with wonderfully hard cock. Brent ground himself against her. Soon, she was right into pounding herself up and down on Brent with such force, that his bum was sinking into the sand beneath him. After a time her feet were touching the sand that had pushed up around Brent's sides. Brent supported his head out of the water with one hand, while enjoying the show of his naked girl bouncing up and down on his lap. Judy's hands came down on his chest with her fists balled tight, and she came.

Her vagina seemed to be sending ripples down his cock, from base to tip, almost like she was trying to milk him. Brent had never felt anything so powerful as that before. Judy opened her eyes and saw him grinning at her. She smiled, then lowered her lips to his for a brief kiss. Her bottom traced little circles on him with his rod buried deeply inside of her.

Brent grabbed hold of her chain to wrap it in his fist. Holding her tightly by her wrist restraints, he pushed deeply up into her. Judy raised her bottom with him, then let him drop and draw himself from her grasping pussy. Then, she lowered herself to engulf his manhood. She began rocking herself on him once more.

Their movements became more frenzied, and not long after, Brent, then Judy, each let loose the forces of their sweet release. Brent, forgetting about the water they were laying in, threw back his head and got a mouthful. Judy, still in the grip of her orgasm, took hold of his head and lifted him up. Brent sat up quickly with Judy still on him, and he began coughing and sputtering out lake water. When he was done, and breathing again, they both looked at one another and burst out laughing.

"Death by drowning during orgasm," Brent grinned. "What a way to go!"

Judy gave him a quick kiss, then swung her leg off him. Ropes of cum floated in the water around them, and they both headed for deeper water to wash themselves off before returning to shore and the blanket. There, Brent pulled a towel from under his pack and he used it to wipe his face, before handing it to Judy. She dried herself off, then settled herself on the blanket. Brent lay down beside her and they relaxed for a while in the warmth of the day.

After a while, Brent opened the pack he'd brought and took out a thermos of coffee. He poured himself a cup, and another for Judy, handing her hers. Then he stood looking out over the lake while drinking the warm brew.

"I like to come here often," he began. "It's rare that I'll meet anyone else out here. It's a nice place to come and think. To reminisce."

Judy watched him, not sure if she should comment or not. He seemed to be feeling a sadness that ran contrary to the gorgeous day, and to the wonderful sex that they'd just experienced. Judy's chain tinkled lightly as she drank.

Brent looked at her. "Are you comfortable, Judy? You Ok with what's happened so far?"

"Well yes, mostly. The trip here was a bit frightening, but we made it all right. It was kind of exciting, now that I think about it."

He sat beside her on a corner of the blanket and looked out over the water again. It was obvious to her that Brent wanted to say something, but was having trouble finding the right words. She moved a bit closer to place a hand on his leg. Brent looked down, then at her, locking eyes with her.

"I believe I understand what you're looking for, Judy. I think you need to understand where I'm coming from, though. The woman I lived with before, left because she felt I'd become too possessive toward her. She thought I was treating her too much like property. Do you know what I'm talking about here?"

"You'd like a full time sex slave."

The words were out of her mouth before she'd even thought about them. Sex slave was a catch all phrase for someone who serves another in various ways, generally including sexually. Judy did like to do things for others. She liked to serve. And sex was always fun too. But the term sex slave inferred being owned by another and, therefore, to her mind, having to mold your identity to someone else's idea of how you should think, act, and be.

Brent watched the wheels turning inside the girl's head. Yes, she knew full well what he was talking about. He pressed on.

"I'd like you to look at this weekend as the way your life could be if we decided to get together. Or more to the point, if I decide that we'd be good together." Brent watched Judy's face for a reaction toward his last statement. Seeing none, he laid the rest of it out for her.

"The term 'sex slave' gives many people a negative impression of a relationship that can be something profoundly beautiful. But basically yes, sex slave is an apt description of what I'm looking for in a companion."

Judy sat silently, fidgeting with her wrist chain. The links tinkling softly added to the sounds of birds twittering around the peaceful lake. Judy's vision of this idyllic weekend with this man, Brent, was starting to unravel.

Steve the cop had wanted to own her too, she thought. He'd wanted to mold her into his image of what a girlfriend should be. And now that she'd found another man who seemed to enjoy doing the same sorts of things she liked to do, here was someone else that wanted to turn her into something that she didn't really want to be. A sex slave.

Yes, the idea of her as a chained slave girl appealed to her greatly. She enjoyed playing the servant girl, and the bondage aspect was also lots of fun. But damnit, she was still a person with wants and needs! For her to forget all that, forget who she was, and become someone else, permanently it seemed, for that was what the term slave girl meant to her, was something she didn't feel she could do.

"You want me to become something I'm not," she said to him. "You want me to give up my own identity, and change into your version of the perfect girl."

Brent looked up, somewhat surprised at the girl's directness. He'd never really thought of it quite like that. True, there would be things that he'd like to change in her, but giving up one's identity was pretty strong stuff. Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he realized it was true. There were many things about this girl, Judy, that he'd want to change. Not the least of which was her name. He'd already been thinking of another name, a pet name, to call her by.

"I . . . ahhh . . . "

That tiny hesitation spoke volumes to her. She'd hit the nail smack on the head.

". . . yes," he continued, "there are things that I'd like you to try and change. There are things I'd like you to do, that you might not want to do."

"Such as?"

"Such as the way you are right now. Supposing I asked you to stay naked and chained all the time. Would you?"

"And what, always stay inside the house?"

"I said last night that you'd be permitted a blanket to wrap yourself in. Supposing you used it like a cape, or as some sort of wrap dress. Would you drive into town and pick up some groceries like that, if I asked you to?"

Judy felt her eyes grow wide, expressing the shock she was feeling. Are you fucking nuts? She'd wanted to scream it in his face, but didn't. Oh sure, parade through town naked and in chains. Wearing some scrap of a blanket, as if that would ward off everyone's stares and crass comments.

"I could never do that," she stated, looking down.

But couldn't she? Judy thought back to the morning, when she'd been alone, cleaning up from breakfast. Brent had gone next door to fetch the horses. She'd finished the dishes, and had walked past a large mirror in the hallway. She'd turned, and looked at her reflection in the morning light. Naked, and chained. Chained for sure, with the black leather cuffs on wrists and ankles stark testament. Linked together with bits of shiny steel chain. She'd moved her feet apart to the limit of the restraint and stared at herself. She'd spread her hands apart, and raised them, letting the chain rub up her tummy and catch under her breasts. Then higher, letting the chain brush over her nipples, which by that time had grown rock hard.

She'd had an idea then. She'd go outside like she was, and be sitting on the porch waiting for Brent's return. He'd see her there, his little chained slave girl, and he'd be pleased. And that was what she'd done. It had taken her bit of opening the door a crack and peeking out, making sure no one was out there, but eventually she'd done it. She'd stood outside on his front porch in the bright morning sunlight, and she'd been not just chained, but naked as a jaybird to boot. And it had felt good!

If she had seen anyone else come around, she'd have dived for the door and the security of inside the house. But no one had come around, and the longer she'd stood there, with the sunlight warm on her skin, and the chains on her shiny and bright, the better she'd felt about being in, dare she think it, what should be her natural state. Chained and naked.

Brent's voice broke into her thoughts. "Couldn't you?" he asked.

How does he do that, Judy wondered? How does he seem to see through to my thoughts like that? She searched his face for an answer, but found instead a patient coaxing that now drew from her an old refrain. It was an argument she'd had before.

"If it was only you and I," she began, "I'd have no problem wearing your chains as long as you'd like me to. But," and Judy looked down, embarrassed for even having to admit it, "I'd die if just anyone saw me like this."

"Why concern yourself with what strangers think? There's always someone who'll object to almost anything."

Here we go again, thought Judy. That's just like what Steve used to say.

"Think back to when I first spoke to you, Judy"

Judy glanced out over the lake. She wished she didn't have to keep playing these kinds of games.

"What was it that made me take notice of you?"

"I glanced at you in the coffee shop," she answered, after a moment's thought. Had she smiled at him then? She did remember her reaction to those two beautifully blue eyes.

"When I stopped you by my car," Brent prompted. "Think, Judy. What did I say drew me to talk to you?"

Judy thought back to his car, that shiny blue Mustang with the top down. She'd put one hand on the windshield frame, and one on the door, and leaned in. She remembered thinking that she should jut her ass out like the hookers do, when talking to some stranger in a car. The image made her grin, and she glanced down at the leather cuffs around her wrists. She'd unconsciously been playing with them. And then it came to her what Brent was driving at.

She'd had two red marks on her wrists from her handcuffs that day. She'd done a little self bondage session that afternoon, just before she'd gone out to the Laundromat, and the cuffs had left two fading red lines on her wrists. Fading, yes, but obvious enough to anyone who was looking for such things.

"I'd seen marks like that before," Brent told her, seeing her staring at her wrists. "Those lines on your wrists had to have been made by handcuffs pressing tightly against your skin."

Judy felt her face flush with shame. She cursed those cuffs and shackles that Steve had left her trapped in that day he'd dumped her. She had wanted to throw them out, but instead, had taken them home with her. And it was only a few days later, when she'd been sitting and thinking of that night she'd spent locked in his chains and trying to get home without being caught by anyone, that they'd called to her.

She'd taken them out of the plastic bag they were in and she'd looked at them. She had a handcuff key someplace and she found it, then tried it in the cuffs and the shackles. It fit.

She'd spread the four open steel rings out on her bed. Her fingertip traced the inside surfaces, and she felt the cold, hard, smoothness of the metal that had pressed against her skin with an unforgiving grip that night. She remembered tugging her hands against the short chain linking them together. She remembered looking down at her feet, locked in the shackles, her steps being limited to the length of the chain connecting them, and no further.

She remembered how she'd felt that night, trapped in the metallic grip of the cuffs and shackles. Helpless. Scared, at times. Excited beyond imagination.

Her fingertips had slipped beyond the open handcuff, then her hand, then the half circle had been at her wrist. Judy had reached for the upper half and swung it over until it closed the circle. Then, with a bit of pressure, the ratcheting lock clicked once, and then again. The circle of steel closed down further, becoming smaller. And eventually, Judy's hand would no longer fit through the ring of steel, and the cuff was fixed in place around her wrist.

She'd raised her hand with the cuffs hanging down, and she'd lifted the closed cuff up, until it was pressing against the base of her hand. Just like she was doing now, sitting on Brent's blanket by his lake, with the leather cuffs she now wore.

Brent watched the girl as she played with the cuffs on her wrists. Her eyes were half closed, and she looked like she was a million miles away. The flush of embarrassment on her face was changing to one of excitement. And as her breathing quickened, and her nipples stiffened, Brent's curiosity peaked.

"Tell me what you're thinking about, Judy," he softly asked her. "Tell me everything."

And Judy told him the story.

= End part 3 =

Time After Time                               (C) Dino  2003

= Part 4 =

Brent sat silently, while Judy told the story of how she'd ended up chained in a city park at night, then left there to find her own way home. She told him something about her former boyfriend, Steve, and how he had also wanted to make her into his own personal sex slave. The way she talked about him caused Brent to see a lot of himself in the way he thought about women. It's funny, he thought, how, even with the problems Judy had had with this Steve fellow, she'd become attracted to another man with a similar type character.

Brent was pleased with the way the girl had opened up to him. When she ran out of things to say, he took her hand in his, leaned close, and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Judy leaned into him and he held her tightly to him. His hand lightly stroked up and down her back, while he mulled over what she'd told him.

Her biggest problem appeared to be her fear of being seen by strangers while in bondage, and then being ridiculed. Generally, being rendered helpless by some sort of bondage is a frightening experience for most people. Being unable to defend yourself leaves you open to attack by anyone wanting to hurt you, or rape you, as Judy alluded to in her tale. However only once during Judy's ordeal that night did she say she had any real fear for her safety, and she'd been able to diffuse the situation herself, with a simple, yet effective, bluff.

So could this be all that was keeping Judy from completely enjoying bondage situations? Fear of some stranger's disapproval? Brent tried to think up a way to show her how silly it was, to give up one's happiness in order to conform to what society dictates you should do. However he wouldn't want to come off sounding like her former boyfriend. Whatever tactics he'd used on her certainly hadn't worked.

What she really needed was to be in an accepting environment, thought Brent. And fortunately, he happened to know a couple of people who could provide such an environment for her. Brent reached over for his pack and began to take out the makings of lunch.

"We'll have a bite to eat," he told Judy while he sorted out the food, "then we'll bring the horses back. I'd like you to meet Brian and Kim today. Brian owns the farm next door, and he's the one that lent us the horses."

Judy looked puzzled, and asked, "Are they friends of yours?" She wondered if her bondage time was about to end?

"Very good friends," was his reply.

Brent had brought a long loaf of crusty bread and some spreadable cheeses. He opened the lid of a small tin of meat. Two glasses, and a container of non-alcoholic apple cider, rounded out the meal. Judy was eager to know more about these friends she was about to meet, but decided not to press Brent for answers. She contented herself with enjoying the day, and with the amazing situation she was in.

"These friends of mine," Brent began, once they were enjoying the impromptu lunch, "are very much into these kinds of power exchange games. I think it would be helpful for you to see that there are people who don't look down on the things you like to do."

Judy asked, "Do they live as master and slave?"

"I guess you could say that they do. It's nothing so formal though. You'll see when we get there."

After they'd finished eating lunch, Brent packed everything up in his pack and brought the horses near. He asked Judy if she thought she'd like to try riding side saddle, like the ladies use to do way back when. Judy's ankle chain prevented her from putting her legs around the animal the usual way. So with some help from Brent, she managed to get herself sitting upright in the saddle with her leg hooked over the pommel. It was preferable to the way she'd arrived - strapped down over it. Brent handed her the blanket and then, mounting his horse, they left the lake.

They hadn't gone far when Judy noticed a fork in the trail. Brent led his horse left, and Judy's followed along. Judy soon began to feel that this wasn't the way they'd gone when they were going to the lake. Her suspicions were confirmed, when the trail opened from thick forest to a fenced field. Brent got down to unfasten the wire, creating an opening where they could pass through into the open field. A few nearby cows watched Brent lead his horse in.

"Brent, where are we going?" Judy asked.

"To bring back the horses," he simply stated.

"But I don't have any clothes," Judy said. She tried to stop her voice from rising in pitch as she spoke, but it was clear to Brent that her fears of being seen by strangers were returning. He tried a bit of humour to lighten the mood.

"Well I gave you a blanket to cover yourself," he said. "What more do you need?" After a pause, while he refastened the fence, Brent informed her, "Brian and Kim aren't going to be bothered by the way you look."

"Maybe so, but I can't have people see me like this!"

Judy's rising panic threatened to spook her horse, and Brent made a grab for its bridle before he could bolt. He snaked his other hand up under the blanket Judy had draped over her, and he stroked her thigh. Her bare foot brushed against the inside of his elbow, with the links of her chain cool against his arm. Brent smiled at the girl, trying to calm her.

"I've known Brian and Kim for years," he said to her. "He's the one that told me when my house came up for sale. I think when you meet Kim, and talk to her for a while, your fears will be put to rest. The way you look right now is nothing unusual to them."

"You mean they play these kinds of bondage games too?"

"It's quite a bit more than a game to them. You'll just have to trust me, Judy. Come on. You'll see when we get there."

Brent gave Judy's thigh a final squeeze, then climbed back up on his horse. The cows mostly ignored the pair of humans, as they rode to the other side of the field where the gate was. Judy could see barns and a farmhouse in the distance. Suddenly, she noticed a man driving a tractor across a field, and he was coming straight for them. Judy felt her heart skip a beat.

Brent wanted her to trust him but, like always, when faced with having someone discover her kinky little secrets, Judy's panic began to take over. She began a rather futile attempt to arrange the blanket to cover as much of herself as possible. Brent glanced back, and he couldn't help but smile at her distress.

"Relax, Judy. It's only Brian." Brent switched to a more commanding voice. He didn't want it to appear that he was angry with her, but he knew that she'd listen to him if he spoke firmly to her. He knew that, deep down, she wanted him to tell her what she should do.

"I want you to stop fidgeting with that blanket now," he told her. "When Brian gets here, you'll greet him in a proper manner. All right?"

Judy let the blanket fall over her legs. She smoothed down a wrinkle, and then looked up. She surprised herself when her smile came automatically.

"Yes Sir."

Those two little words were out of her mouth, and they felt good to her. Brent's face had a no nonsense expression that she drew strength from. She would place her trust in this man. She would.

Brian drove the tractor alongside the fence rail and shut off the noisy engine. He was a wiry man of what looked to be average height, and his face was tanned and lined from years of outdoor work. An easy smile was on his lips, and when he tipped back his hat, Judy saw pale gray eyes that spoke of a peace and a contentment with life.

"Morning folks." Brian addressed Brent, but his eyes were for Judy. Though it wasn't her chained feet exposed at the bottom of her blanket that drew his stare, or the cuff on the wrist of the hand that held her only covering around her. It wasn't the fact of her obviously being naked underneath that held his interest. It was her face that he was looking at.

Judy felt a strange calm envelop her. She cast her gaze down. "Good morning, Sir."

With a grin, Brian turned back to Brent. "When I first saw you with this girl . . ."

"Judy," Brent added.

". . . I thought that . . . well, never mind. It's nice to see those chains put to use again."

Judy looked up in shock, but neither man was watching her. She was up on a horse, chained and naked, yet the two men were treating the scene as something entirely normal. Brent asked Brian, "Is Kim around? I'd like Judy to meet her."

"Ahhh, well she sure is. She'll be in the kitchen. Go on over, and I'll meet you at the barn."

Brian started up the tractor. He dropped the clutch and the machine lurched forward. Brent gave his horse a nudge and got it moving. Judy's horse followed along.

At the barn, it was Brian that helped a somewhat reluctant Judy down off her horse. She froze when the blanket she was wearing fell open, but the sudden flash of her nudity didn't seem to faze the man. She could have been fully clothed underneath, for all the interest he showed. And when her feet were down on the ground, Brian helped her to drape the wrap over her shoulders.

"You'll find Kim inside," Brian told Judy. "Just go right on in the back door there," he said, pointing.

Judy looked to Brent. "Go ahead," he told her. "I'm just going to help Brian with the horses."

She nodded, and then she remembered her manners. "Yes sir," she said. "Thank you for letting me ride your horse, sir," she said to Brian. "We had a very lovely morning."

Brian gave her a nod. "You're very welcome, darling."

Judy turned and started walking toward the farmhouse. She passed by a white Ford. One of Brent's, she recognized, from seeing it parked beside the house when they'd arrived. As she walked, the sun warmed earth felt good against her bare feet. There seemed to be nothing unusual about the fact that she was chained and naked, and she let the front of her blanket fall open so the sun could warm her chest and her tummy. It really was a glorious day.

Several windows of the house were raised, and curtains fluttered gently in the breeze. Anyone could be standing behind one of those curtains, she thought, watching her shuffling in her chains across the yard. Judy reached the back porch and the screen door. She couldn't see into the house, and so anyone could be standing there too, watching her, studying her. They'd see that she wore no clothes, and they'd see the chains and cuffs on her. Judy reached out and put her hand on the door handle.

Should she knock, or call out? Brian did tell her to go on in. Judy pulled open the door and the screech of the spring announced her arrival.

Judy called out, "Hello?" The sound of a lid being placed on a pot drew her attention to her left, and she froze. Across the country kitchen, Kim turned from the stove with what may have been a smile on her face. It was hard to tell for sure though, because of the bit gag she wore in her mouth.

As Judy expected from her name, Kim had some Asian in her lineage. She stood perhaps five foot two in bare feet, and had long, black hair, that fell straight down to her waist. She looked to be around Judy's age, maybe a little older. The bit in her mouth was black rubber, and it was attached to a miniature, human size bridle, made with thin black leather straps and shiny metal rings and rivets.

"Hello . . .  Kim?" Judy said. The girl nodded, yes, then glanced out the window. "My name's Judy. I came with Brent Hastings, from next door."

The two women stood facing each other in the sunlit room. A pot of what smelled like soup gently bubbled on the stove. The gray slate tile floor felt smooth and cool against Judy's feet. Kim's eyes lowered, and Judy realized she was looking at the cuffs and chains she had on. Yet, seeing the bondage the girl was wearing, Judy could hardly be embarrassed about hers.

Judy wasn't sure how she should react. She thought to herself, this has to be the strangest situation that she'd ever been in. Kim turned to the counter and placed her hand on a tea pot. She looked toward Judy and extended her hand, as though offering her something.

"Tea?" Judy surmised. Perhaps something normal, like a nice cup of tea, would make the situation a bit easier to take. "Yes, please. I'd love some," she replied.

Kim filled a kettle from a jug, and placed it on the burner. She motioned to Judy to sit, which she did. A few minutes later, Brian and Brent walked in. Judy turned to look, and she had to suppress a giggle. Brian, true to country form, had a stalk of grass in his mouth.

"Kim's being punished," Brian was saying, "for being a bit too mouthy to me this morning. Though I'm starting to believe that she acts up because she likes it when I have to correct her behavior."

Judy's eyes grew wide when Brian pulled out a ring of keys and went to Kim. When he moved her hair from the back of her neck, she saw the small silver coloured lock holding the bit and bridle around her head. Brian opened the lock, and pulled the assembly from her face. Kim worked her jaw for a moment, then lifted up on tip toe and kissed Brian on the cheek.

"Thank you, Master."

Could this be real, thought Judy? Do these people live as master and slave?

Kim then addressed Brent. "Would you stay for coffee, or tea, sir? I've some fresh made biscuits here."

"Yes, thank you, Kim," Brent replied.

"Have you two had lunch?" Brian asked.

"We had a bit of a snack down by the lake," Brent replied. "You hungry, Jude?"

"Huh?" Judy felt like she was in a fog. "I, uh . . ."

This can't be happening, she thought to herself. She was watching Brian put Kim's bit and bridle away on a peg inside one of the kitchen cupboards. Though rather than the usual dishes or glasses inside this particular cupboard, there were racks, and small shelves, that held chains, cuffs similar to the ones she was wearing, and an assortment of other things too. Things that she'd really rather not acknowledge being in there. Things like a red rubber coated paddle, or a row of four or five phallus shaped plugs of various sizes.

Kim's lilting voice, speaking to her master, cut into Judy's thoughts. "The soup is almost ready, Sir."

"Well there you have it," Brian exclaimed, closing the sex toy cupboard. "No need to go away hungry now, is there?"

"Ok, thanks." Brent pulled out a chair beside Judy's and sat down. Brian sat opposite to her. Judy became aware that the men's attentions were shifting towards her.

Kim was moving around the kitchen with practiced ease, setting out cups, and sugar, milk, on the table. She wore nothing, not even a ring on a finger, yet her nudity seemed simply natural to her. Judy shifted her blanket wrap slightly, hiding herself in its security. Could she ever feel as free as Kim does?

"You needn't feel any embarrassment here, Judy."

Brent spoke softly to Judy. She thought, how does he do that? How does he seem to know what I'm thinking all the time? But then she remembered pulling her blanket closer around her. That would have been a good clue as to how uncomfortable she was feeling, sitting naked and chained up in these people's kitchen.

"Judy?" It was Brian speaking to her this time. "These things we do, Kim and I, they're not so unusual, you know. Brent and I are involved with a rather large group of like-minded folks, who like to do the same kinds of things that you enjoy. We all try to meet up once a year for a weekend of fun and games."

"That's right," Brent told her. "Next time we get together you should try to come along. Perhaps in a large group of people dressed, or undressed, the same way, you'd feel more at ease."

"Well," Judy began, "I'd like to be less self conscious about doing these things, but I can't help feeling that it's all so weird. It's like," Judy began feeling silly just talking about her old fears, "everyone who sees me like this," she rattled a chain for emphasis, "is secretly laughing at me."

Kim came to the table with two pots. She set the tea pot down close to Judy, then she poured coffees for the men. She sat down next to Judy. Kim took one of Judy's hands in hers, and she spoke directly to her.

"I used to feel funny doing these things too, once. But I overcame my fear of being ridiculed." Kim touched the cuff on Judy's wrist, turning it around on her wrist as she spoke. "You have to embrace that which gives you pleasure, Judy. That doesn't have to mean you should flaunt it in people's faces, though. There is a time and a place for everything. But you need to be Ok with who you are, and with what you like to do. You have to be true, first, to your own feelings."

Brent asked, "Judy. Down at the lake this morning, on a scale of one to ten, how happy were you? How at peace were you, with your chains, with being naked?"

Judy thought for just a moment. While there'd been times she thought someone would stumble by and see her, on the whole, it had been pretty much one of the most awesome experiences of her life.

"A nine," she told Brent, and then paused. "A ten," she added, looking down.

Kim poured a cup of tea for Judy, and one for herself. "I feel like that most of the time," she said. "Brian has allowed me to share his farm, and it's a place that I can do the things I like, and feel safe and comfortable in."

"People have seen Kim," added Brian, "out in the fields naked. Chained, sometimes. Some might find it strange, and some might just find it funny. But it's a fact that most people don't really care what other people do for fun. So long as you're not hurting someone, or bothering people, people will generally let you alone and not interfere."

Judy looked at Kim, who was sitting casually, sipping her tea. She gave Judy a warm smile. Judy began to feel silly with the blanket wrapped around her. What was she trying to hide underneath it? She wasn't ashamed of her body. She always tried to keep herself looking good. Was it the cuffs and chains she was locked into? They were Brent's chains after all, and things like that certainly seemed quite normal to Brian and Kim. Judy sat back in her chair, letting the blanket fall open. With a shrug of her shoulders, it slipped off her and dropped to the back of the chair. She looked up to see three friendly faces grinning encouragingly at her.

"Let's eat," said Brian, standing.

Brian and Kim served up a hearty country lunch of chicken and barley soup, with hot biscuits and cream cheese. There was some light conversation about things in general, and as time passed, Judy began to feel more and more comfortable. However, sitting with a group of accepting friends was one thing. Having some strangers see her the way she was would be something else.

The two men were looking through the fridge, searching for ingredients for Brent's chicken dish that had been promised to Judy to get her to come up.

"You know," offered Brian, "you could drive into town with Judy and get her to wait in the car while you shop. That might be an interesting little adventure for her."

"Say, that's not a bad idea." Brent turned to Judy. "You up for a drive into town? I want to get some fresh chicken for dinner, and I think I'm out of olive oil too."

"I guess," Judy replied. "Sure."

"All you'd have to do is wait in the car while I run into the food store," Brent told her. "I shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes or so."

Now why will I have to wait in the car, wondered Judy? Then the answer hit her.

"I'm guessing," Judy ventured, "that we're not stopping back at your place to unlock these chains, or to let me get some clothes."

"Something like that, yeah."

Judy sighed. She was all ready with all the reasons why she didn't want this trip to town, risking possible exposure to strangers, but she stopped herself. She'd played it safe and comfortable all her life, and where had it gotten her? A few adventures that could have been really great, if she hadn't been so paranoid over being caught by someone doing them? Perhaps it was finally time to throw caution to the wind and just go for it.

"All right," Judy stated, trying hard to convince herself that it really would be all right.

Brent, and Kim, were all smiles, as Judy helped Kim clean up the lunch dishes. On the way to the front door, Brent invited Brian and Kim to supper that evening.

Outside, Judy looked for storm clouds that might foretell disaster for this little adventure, but the skies had remained sunny and bright. She tried willing herself to believe that her trip to town would be just another normal thing to do.

"Come around seven," Brent told Brian and Kim, as he opened the car door for Judy. Judy climbed in and arranged the blanket to cover herself as best she could. Brent closed her door, then went around to the other side and got in.

Judy looked back through the back window as they drove away. Brian and Kim stood in front of the front porch, waving at them. The scene looked like it could have been from some famous painting, except for the fact of Kim's nudity. Judy turned back to face front with a small grin on her face.

They drove for about twenty minutes along a straight country road. Occasionally a car would approach and pass them, and each time Judy would feel a tinge of embarrassment over her situation, even though no one could really see into the car at the speed they were going. That, she thought, would surely change when they got into town.

Signs of population became more frequent, and then the road dipped into a small valley. The town lay spread out before them. Brent was forced to slow to practically a crawl, as Saturday afternoon cottagers jammed the town's main street. Cars seemed to be going every which way, and the sidewalks were crowded with folks out for a stroll, or picking up last minute weekend supplies. Up ahead, a car was pulling out from the curb, opening up a parking spot. Brent pulled in. Then he turned to Judy.

"Why don't you wait in the car, while I go pick up what I need?" he said to her with a grin.

"Ha, ha," she answered back. She noticed Brent's face fall a bit at her remark, but he could hardly fault her for feeling extremely nervous over the position she was in. Still, she did lower her head in an attempt to make the best of things. "Hurry back, Master," she whispered.

A grin came to Brent's lips, and he knew that Judy would be all right. He elected to sit with her for a moment longer to be sure.

"Take a look at the people around us, Judy," he told her.

Judy looked to her right. The people passing Brent's car, just inches from where she was seated, hardly glanced at the car, or at her. The shop windows, or the hustle-bustle of the busy town road, held more interest than one occupant of one car would. To her right, the drivers of the cars that passed them, only glanced at Brent and his car to see if a parking spot was about to open up. Nobody once looked directly at Judy. And even if someone did, she realized, all they'd see was someone waiting in a car, wearing what could pass for a loose blouse or dress.

"Relax," Brent told her, giving her thigh a squeeze. "I won't be long."

Brent looked back, then opened his door. Slipping out of the car, he crossed behind it, walking toward the food store a half a block behind them. Judy watched him in the rear view mirror until he became lost in the crowd. She took a deep breath to try and calm herself, and she waited.

It started to get hot in the car, with the air conditioning off. Judy could open a window, but they were operated electrically. Although Brent had left the key in the ignition, she'd have to reach over the center console to turn it. Looking down, she brought one hand out from under her blanket.

The black leather cuff around her wrist looked a lot like those you could buy in any fashion store. If she kept the lock and chain underneath her arm, the leather cuff would appear to be simply a form of jewelry. Judy held the chain tight with her other hand, so it would lay flat against the underside of her arm, and slowly, she reached for the ignition key.

Her blanket started to slip off from her shoulder. Judy had to make a grab for it before it fell off, exposing her side, and maybe a breast, to the public. A flash of bright steel caught her eye as the chain linking her hands came into view, and she grabbed the edge of her blanket to cover herself. Judy could feel her face burning as her panic rose, and she nervously looked all around her. People on the street continued to pass by the car, and not one person was paying any attention to her, or her predicament.

A trickle of sweat rolled down her back, as Judy stopped to think. Yes, she was sitting naked and in chains, but with all the people around her, no one suspected what her true situation was. Not only that, but as Brent, and even as Steve had said to her, time and time again, nobody really cared. People have their own lives to live. Besides, if anyone doesn't like what somebody is doing, they simply shouldn't look.

Judy decided to set herself the task of getting a window open a little. Holding on to the edge of her blanket, and to the chain linking her wrists together, she leaned over the car's center console, reaching for the ignition key. She glanced down when her fingers touched the key, to make sure she was still covered. Then she turned the key on. The ding of the seatbelt reminder sounded. Judy leaned back, pressed the window button on her door, and the window began to roll down.

Nice and calm, Judy thought to herself. No, there's nothing unusual going on in this car for anyone to get alarmed over. She released the button when the window was about half way down. Refreshingly fresh air billowed into the car. Judy instantly felt better, and not just for the welcome coolness, but for completing her task without drawing the suspicions of anyone nearby. She carefully reached for the key again, and switched it back to the off position.

Now, with the window beside her open, the people passing by seemed that much closer. Still though, nobody was looking inside the car, and so Judy decided to up the stakes a little. She left her hands out on top of the blanket, with both black cuffs around her wrists exposed.

Though she was careful to hide the locks and chain under her arms, this small act of rebellion, showing off the cuffs on her wrists, made Judy feel good about herself. Going against societies dictates in private was one thing, but flaunting it in public was another. That was something that Judy felt she was going to have to start getting use to doing. However Judy wasn't quite prepared for what was about to happen.

It was one of those things that you talk about with a grin, years later. Though when it happened, Judy had just wished that the ground would have opened up and swallowed her.

Judy was smiling to herself, toying with the cuff on her wrist, when a car horn sounded at the intersection ahead. Looking up, quick movement on the sidewalk caught her eye. Judy saw a small, brown dog, making its way through the crowds along the sidewalk. The animal looked lost, and it seemed to be searching for its owner. It must have run out onto the road up ahead, thought Judy.

The dog stopped just ahead of where they'd parked. Something across the road seemed to have captured its interest, and Judy looked, following the dog's stare. A woman and a young boy seemed to be searching for something. Maybe the dog belonged to them?

For Judy, it was one of those moments when things get all quiet and time seems to slow down. The little brown dog ran right out between the parked cars and onto the busy road. Horns began to blare, and tires started to screech. A car coming in the opposite direction swerved to miss the animal, but then couldn't stop in time. The car crossed the center of the road, and right into the path of an oncoming car. Although neither car was traveling fast, the impact drove the fronts of both cars into the side of Brent's.

Judy saw the driver's door of Brent's car buckle inwards, and a second later she was showered with bits of glass as the window exploded. Instinctively, she brought her hands up to protect her eyes and to brush the glass from her face and hair. Someone was screaming, and everyone around had stopped to look. People were getting out of cars, and people were coming over to the accident scene with offers to help. Across the road, a boy was clutching a brown dog tightly while the animal was wagging his tail and licking the boy's face.

Someone pulled open the car door beside Judy. A man leaned in close to her, and asked her if she was all right. Judy opened her eyes and looked at the man. He had his hand extended toward her as if to help her from the car and, somewhat stunned by what had just happened, she took it. It was then that she saw the cuffs and chain on her wrists, and she remembered that she was naked under her blanket. And chained. And now she was surrounded by perhaps thirty curious people, all wanting to get a good look at her. Judy did the only thing she could do under those kinds of circumstances. She closed her eyes, she slumped back in her seat, and she fainted dead away.

Fortunately, Brent arrived on the scene just then. He'd seen the commotion around his car and had come on the run. He brushed aside the stunned fellow that was trying to help Judy from the car.

"What the hell happened here!" Brent bellowed.

Brent knew that most people don't want to deal with someone who's obviously angry. As he hoped, all attention was drawn from Judy, to him.

Brent leaned into his car to check Judy. She seemed to be uninjured, except for a few tiny scrapes on her arms and legs due to flying glass. As he arranged her blanket to cover her, she opened her eyes.

"Judy?" Brent asked. Judy began looking around her and Brent saw she was starting to get panicky. "Judy, you're all right. Ok? Now I want you to just sit tight, and I'll straighten out this mess. Understand me?"

"There was a little dog," she began. "He ran right out . . . ."

"Judy," Brent told her, "calm down. Everything's going to be Ok."

Brent stood up and closed the car door. A police car was pulling up behind one of the cars that had nosed into his, and Brent walked toward it. Other people also began to gather around the police officer, who'd gotten out of his car and was trying to direct traffic around the accident scene.

Judy went from being the center of attention, to simply a hapless victim of a traffic mishap who was sitting, covered with a blanket, waiting for things to get sorted out. One of the other cars couldn't be driven and had to be towed out. Although Brent's door was badly damaged, his car was still drivable. So in the interests of getting traffic moving again, the policeman, after getting information from all concerned parties, asked Brent to get his car out of there. Brent took Judy back to his place.

Kim and Brian had a good laugh, when they heard the story over dinner that evening. Brian also had a tale or two to tell about bondage games that had somehow gone wrong. Nevertheless, he said, "You have to believe that things will always work out all right in the end. You'll miss out on a lot of fun, if you're too afraid to take a chance once in a while."

Judy did have to admit that things had worked out well that afternoon. Several people had seen that she'd been, not only nude under that blanket, but locked up in cuffs and chains as well. Yet nobody laughed at her, or told the policeman that she was naked and doing 'weird' stuff.

Judy listened to the rhythmic clinking of her ankle chain as she walked, carrying a tray of coffee things to the dinner table. She'd seen the looks of shock, and the grins, too, on the faces of the people that had seen her that afternoon. But apart from that, no one had made any disparaging comments about her being naked or chained.

She set the tray down on Brent's table. Kim, nude also, as well as wearing restraints similar to the ones she had on, was smiling at her. Maybe, Judy thought, these ideas about bondage, and being someone's sex slave, aren't so far fetched after all.

= End of story: Time After Time =