Hummingbird Ch. 02

"Huh," he said to himself. It wasn't the bedroom, of course. It was the Other Room, the one with just the bed and the chair in it. Maybe Linda had been worried about one of their friends wandering into it by accident, wondering why there was a chair with tethers on its arms and legs and a bare bed in what looked like the spare room, so she'd had a lock installed. But why a deadbolt? She could have just changed the doorknob to one with a lock.

From downstairs he heard the rattle of the front door. "Linda?" he called. He checked his watch, she was early getting back. The door swung open and he walked over to the landing and looked down. But it wasn't Linda. It was... Cassie?

"Hi there," she said. She looked up at him and smiled, then turned and closed the door behind her.

"Cassie?" he said. He paused. "You have a house key?" he asked. He had so many questions, this was only one of them but it was the one that popped out first.

"Linda lent it to me," she said. She locked the door and came up, her heels clicking on the stairs.

Patrick hadn't seen her in weeks, not since the night she and Justin had come over. "Um," he began. She was on his level now, smiling at him brightly. "Linda knows you're here?" he ventured.

"Oh yes," Cassie said. She went past him and over to the bolted door. She had a key in her hand and she slid into the deadbolt and turned it. There was a faint click and then she opened the door. She looked over her shoulder at Patrick. "Coming in?" she asked.

Patrick went in. He was in a daze - it felt like one of those dreams where everything follows naturally from the thing before but none of it really makes sense. Cassie was at the dresser, striking a match, lighting the candles. The room looked a bit different, then he saw that there were tethers looped around the bedposts now. Patrick looked at Cassie. She motioned towards the bed then walked over and killed the overhead light. The room flickered in the candlelight.

"You'll be on the bed tonight," she told him conversationally. Patrick stared at her. She was wearing a long loose black top and gray pants, with gold bangles looped around her right wrist. She smiled at him again and sat down on the chair, crossing one knee over the other. "Go ahead and sit down," she said. "I'll explain."

Patrick glanced at the bed, then lowered himself onto it. "Where's Linda?" he asked.

"She's out," Cassie said. She smiled at him.

"Out," echoed Patrick. He looked back at Cassie. "You want to tell me what's going on?"

"You mean, 'What the hell is going on?' "

Patrick blinked. "Sure," he said. "Whatever."

"Or even," Cassie said. "What the fuck is going on?" Her eyes twinkled.

"Cassie," Patrick said,

"Well, what did Linda tell you?" Cassie asked.

"She said she was going to be out," Patrick said. "I guess I assumed..."

"Ah?"

"With her usual group of friends," he said slowly.

"Ah..." Cassie nodded. "But..." Then she stopped.

"But that's not true?" Patrick asked.

Cassie shook her head. "Just one friend," she said softly. "And he's not one of her usual crowd."

Patrick exhaled. "I see," he mumbled.

Cassie was watching him. "How does that make you feel?" she asked softly.

Patrick shook his head. "Okay," he said. "Linda is...out. With a friend or whatever, that's between her and me. What exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh," Cassie said. "Linda asked me to stop by." She paused. "We've been talking, Linda and me. She's a bit confused and I'm helping her to think things through."

"I see," Patrick said. He paused. He didn't really see. "I didn't realize you guys were friends," he said.

Cassie nodded slowly. "Well, we weren't," she admitted. "But the thing is..." She looked away for a moment then back at him. "Thing is... well, a lot of women who've gone through... what she did with Justin. They feel conflicted. Worried, you know? I sent her a text a few days afterwards, told her if she wanted to check in, talk through it, she could just get in touch."

"I see," Patrick said.

"It's a tricky thing," Cassie explained. "It's not something she might feel like chatting about with her regular girlfriends, they might not understand and she might be afraid they would judge her."

"Yeah," Patrick agreed. "I can see that."

"And of course, she can talk to you but you're not... well you have a vested interest here." Cassie smiled. "A cock in the fight, you might say."

"So..." Patrick paused. "She replied?"

"Not right away," Cassie said. "She needed to think about it. A few days later."

"And then..."

"We met up a few times," Cassie said. "Chatted." She smiled. "Why don't you take your shirt off?" she asked.

Patrick looked at her sharply.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to seduce you." She nodded at the bed. "It's time for you to lie down," she added. "We can talk then."

Patrick stared at her.

Cassie's smile widened. "Get undressed," she said softly. "Then lie down and I'll fasten the tethers." She paused. "That way you'll be all ready when Linda gets back."

"Why the lock?" Patrick asked.

"What lock?"

"The lock. On this door. There wasn't one this morning."

"Oh right," Cassie said. "That lock." Her lips curled. "I suggested that to Linda."'

"Why?" Patrick asked.

"Start unbuttoning," Cassie said. "And I'll tell you."

Patrick stared at her then his hand moved up to his neck and undid a button, then another.

"You see," Cassie said. "It's important for Linda to be in charge. For this room to be a special room, only to be used when Linda wants to use it. Not for whenever you feel like jacking off."

Patrick froze. Cassie grinned again.

"Keep unbuttoning," she said. "At this rate you won't even have your shirt off by the time Linda gets home and I promised her you'd be ready for her. We don't want to disappoint her, do we?"

Patrick undid another button, his eyes fixed on Cassie. Then another. Cassie nodded approvingly.

"Linda felt bad," she said. "About the other night. With Justin. Like she had done something wrong."

"Yeah," Patrick said. "She... we talked about it."

Cassie nodded. "Yes, she told me." She paused. "But..."

All the buttons were open now. Patrick looked over at her.

"But what?" he asked.

"Take your shirt off," Cassie said. "I guess the two of you made some kind of a deal. Where when you both felt like it, she'd have sex with somebody while you watched? That's what she said, anyway."

Patrick frowned. "Something like that," he agreed. He unbuttoned his cuffs.

"Well," said Cassie. "That sounds very sweet and civilized but I think it's missing the point."

"What point?" Patrick hesitated then slowly drew one arm up his sleeve.

"The point is that Linda should be in charge."

The other arm came up the sleeve and then the shirt was in Patrick's hands. He looked at it.

"Just toss it over there in the corner," Cassie said. "Now your pants." Patrick looked at her then balled up the shirt and tossed it away. He started unbuckling his belt.

"I think Linda and I know what we want," he said evenly.

"Oh you know what you want," Cassie said."And luckily you both want the same thing. You just don't want to admit it. Either one of you."

"Oh," Patrick said. The belt was off. He rolled it into a loop and tossed it lightly into the corner with the shirt. "What do we want?" He smiled.

"You want Linda to dominate you," Cassie said. "Sexually, I mean."

Patrick stared at her. He felt the blood rising in his face. "Oh?" he said at last.

"Yes," Cassie said. "And that's what she wants too. To dominate you."

Patrick glanced at the bed. "You mean like the tethers?" he asked.

"That's part of it."

He glanced back at her. "What do you mean?"

Cassie paused. "Why did you stop undressing?" she asked.

"I want to know what's going on," Patrick said.

"Okay," Cassie said. "Linda is out on a date."

Patrick paused. "Yeah," he said.

"A guy she knows, name is Carlos or something, she said she'd mentioned him to you."

"Carlo," Patrick said. "Yeah."

"She said she'd kind of gone out with him before. While you were... at home waiting for her."

Patrick didn't say anything.

"She told me she wasn't sure what they would do tonight," Cassie said. Her voice sank to a husky whisper. "She said they hadn't had sex when they went out before." She paused. "What she said was that they hadn't actually had sex."

"No," Patrick said thickly.

"Do you know what they actually did do?" Cassie asked in that same soft husky voice.

Patrick swallowed. "Some of it," he said.

Cassie was watching him closely. "What?" She asked.

"He massaged her legs," Patrick said. "Her feet and her legs. Her... thighs."

"Mm hmm?"

"He touched her... touched her pussy," Patrick said. He swallowed again. "I think he went down on her. Kissed her. Licked her."

Cassie's eyes were huge. She nodded encouragingly. "Did she come?" she asked.

"I think so," Patrick said. He paused. "Yes," he admitted. "She came. She said it was... amazing."

Cassie nodded slowly. "You need to take off your pants," she said softly.

Patrick turned away from Cassie and unzipped, then pushed his pants down. He crouched down and freed the legs of his pants from his feet and stepped out of them. All he had on now was his boxers. His erection throbbed inside them, pushing the front outward in an obvious bulge.

"Turn around," Cassie told him.

He hesitated then turned.

"Oh my," Cassie said. She was looking at him, her eyes gleaming in the candlelight. "I see it really turns you on to think about, doesn't it? Linda coming? With another man?"

Patrick didn't answer.

"Another man's hands exploring her, his lips and tongue... pleasing her." She sighed. "Did she reciprocate?"

"Did she..."

"Did she stroke him?"

Patrick nodded. "Yes," he whispered.

"Went down on him?"

"I think so..." He swallowed. "Yes," he said.

"And he came?"

"Yes," Patrick mumbled.

There was a long pause. "Take off your underwear," Cassie said at last.

He stared at her, frozen, then hooked his thumbs in his waistband and pushed his boxers down. They fell to the floor making a little black puddle around his feet. Cassie let out a long breath.

"Just look at you," she said. "All turned on and nowhere to come." She chuckled. "Lie down," she told him. "On your back."

Patrick lowered himself on the bed and scooted up towards the headboard. His erection curved up from his belly, vibrating slightly. Cassie got up and walked over to the bed and for a moment he thought she was going to touch his cock but instead she knelt and took his wrist and looped one of the restraints around it.

"Linda told me about it," she said. "How, right from the start you would get off on thinking about her being fucked." She glanced at him. "How she thought it was weird but also got off on it."

Patrick grunted. The restraint tightened around his wrist, snugly but not uncomfortably.

"She said you had this fantasy of her being felt up in a movie theater while sitting next to you. That was the first one you shared with her." Cassie looked at him, pushed some hair off her face.

"She told you a lot," Patrick said.

"She needed to tell someone," Cassie told him. "After that night with Justin here... I think she felt like she'd crossed a line. She was worried." Cassie shrugged. "And once she started telling me, I guess it all just tumbled out." She got up and moved around the bed to his other wrist.

Patrick twiddled the fingers on the hand that was restrained. "I see," he said.

"And so I told her, Why not lean into it?"

"Lean into what?"

"Being in charge. Taking charge. Making sure what happened was what she wanted."

"You mean fucking other men?"

"Well that of course. She said she'd done that even before Justin and you were fine with it. Better than fine."

"Yeah," Patrick agreed.

Cassie shrugged. "That's wonderful and I'm sure you guys enjoyed thinking about it and talking about it but... even the other night with Justin. I think she could be doing more to take things up a notch."

"More than fucking Justin?"

"She should be fucking with your mind," Cassie said. "Spicing things up. Adding a little romance."

Patrick thought he hadn't heard right. "Romance?"

"Romance," Cassie said. "Suspense. Keep you wondering. That's what we gals have going for us, we can keep you guys on the hook, always wondering what we're thinking. So why not take it to the next level? Have you wondering what she's doing and where she's doing it and who she's doing it with?" She stood up. "How does that feel?"

"Um... I don't know," Patrick said.

"The tether," Cassie explained. "Too tight?"

"Oh, no," Patrick said. "It's fine."

"Good," Cassie said. She moved to the foot of the bed and picked up the tether there. "But, since we're talking about it, how does it feel?"

Patrick paused. "It?" he asked softly.

The tether looped around his ankle and Cassie tightened it. She grinned at him. "I guess I'm being silly," she said. "It's obvious from the state of you how feel about it. Anyway, we know what you like." She moved to the other ankle. "Almost done," she said.

"Right," Patrick said. He swallowed. "Um, how long do you think I'll be..."

"Tied up?"

"Yeah."

Cassie glanced at her watch. "Another hour maybe? Linda said she wouldn't be out late this time, Carlos..."

"Carlo."

"Carlo then. Carlo has to go to work." She looked at Patrick. "What kind of work does he do that starts at this time of night?"

"He's a musician," Patrick said.

"Ah," Cassie nodded. "I was wondering." She pulled the last tether tight and stood up.

"Cassie," Patrick said. "I still don't understand what you're... how come you're here?"

Cassie's eyebrows went up. "Aren't you enjoying talking to me?" she asked.

"No, it's not that. It's more... if Linda told me she was... going out. On a date." He paused. "I'd be okay with it." He looked at Cassie. "We've done it before."

Cassie nodded. "Well," she said. "There's a few things here." She went back and sat down on the chair. "First off, we don't, Linda doesn't, want you jacking off the whole time she's out."

"I wouldn't do that," Patrick protested.

Cassie ignored him. She was studying the fingernails on one of her hands. "Plus," she said. "I'm here to help you see the enormity of what's happening." She looked at him. "Your beautiful darling wife is off at this moment having the time of her life, enjoying having a lover please her as only a woman can be pleased, while you're tied down imagining the scene." She paused. "That's pretty fucking big, isn't it?"

Patrick swallowed. "I think I could imagine it without any help," he said stiffly.

"Could you?" Cassie smiled at him. "Tell me about it."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me what you imagine them doing." She crossed one leg over the other and looked at him.

"Um," he said. "Probably fucking, I guess."

Cassie shook her head. "You see what I mean," she said softly. "That's not very interesting. Almost clinical. What does Linda like?"

"You mean in bed?"

"I didn't mean her favorite ice cream flavor," Cassie said. "Although I guess ice cream could be fun too if you like things cold and sticky. What gets Linda going? Having you go down on her?"

"Um, yeah," Patrick said.

"Okay," said Cassie. She closed her eyes. "Imagine her sitting up on the edge of the bed, leaning back on her elbows, with her legs spread apart." Cassie opened her eyes and looked at him. "Should she be fully naked?"

Patrick was staring at her. "I don't know," he said thickly.

"Let's say she's still wearing her top. And her boots of course, we gals do love our footwear." She winked at him. "But nothing else on below the waist. And her legs spread apart so Carlos can go down on her." She paused. "Are you imagining it? The look on her face? Half closed eyes? Tongue moving across her lips?"

Patrick blinked. "God," he said.

"You can see the back of his head, he's pushing into her, teasing her with his tongue. She has her eyes closed now and she's trying to push herself up off the bed to get closer to that marvelous tongue but he's holding her thighs so she can't lift up." Cassie was watching him. Her voice dropped. "She's getting closer and closer to coming and he can tell, can literally smell it on her."

"Jesus," Patrick said.

"That's when she sits up and grabs his shoulders, pulls him up on the bed. She has to have him inside her." Cassie's voice was dreamy. "She wants to come with him inside her. Wants the feeling to go on and on..." She looked over at Patrick. "Now isn't that better than 'probably fucking'?"

Patrick didn't say anything.

Cassie looked at his cock, even more fully erect than before. "I can see that you agree," she said softly.

Patrick stirred. "So what do you get out of it?" he demanded.

She smirked. "Maybe I like tying naked men to beds and telling them sexy stories about their wives."

Patrick didn't have an answer for that. He licked his lips.

"I wonder if she'll come home tonight," Cassie said. She was still staring at his erection and she saw it twitch. She smiled.

"I thought he had to go to work, that she would come home then."

"That's what she said. But think about it. It's their first time fucking each other. You think they're watching the clock?"

Patrick was silent.

"And you would know better than me whether Carlos would be likely to say 'enough with the fucking, I need to go play my tambourine' instead of staying in bed with her. Isn't she any fun to fuck?'

"Piano," Patrick said. "He's a piano player."

"Well I bet he's tickling her ivories right now," Cassie said. She closed her eyes, then opened them again.

"It's really important that you understand what she's doing," Cassie continued. "She's being the woman she was meant to be. She isn't your woman anymore. She's her own woman. If that means spending nine hours fucking Carlo and then coming home full of his spunk and too tired for you, that's her prerogative."

"Cassie," Patrick said. "Can you untie me?"

She stared at him. "Of course," she said.

He blinked. "Really?"

"Of course," she repeated. "But then..." She paused dramatically.

"What?"

"Then it's all over," Cassie said. "No more Linda going out on dates. No more sitting home wondering what she's up to and who she's with. Normal vanilla ice cream marriage. If that's what you want." She shrugged. "You don't need me to tell you that you wouldn't like that much."

"I don't understand," Patrick burst out. "What does me being tied up have to do with Linda, uh, going out."

Cassie shook her head vigorously. "You still don't get it," she said. "This isn't about Linda getting laid. Well," she added. "Maybe that's part of it." She grinned. "What it's about is her controlling you. Controlling you the most basic way a woman can control her man, by going out and having sex without him, because she fucking can. And you have to play by her rules."

"That's crazy," Patrick objected.

"I'm not the one lying there with a hard-on thinking about my wife having her pussy thoroughly licked, if you want to talk about crazy," Cassie observed. "I think if Linda wants you tied up and you want her to keep playing these games you should put up with it. But that's just my opinion."

"It's all your idea," Patrick said. "These rules."

Cassie shrugged. "I did make some suggestions," she admitted. "It does make it more fun if you're really thinking about her all the time."

There was a sound from downstairs, a key in the lock and then the door opening.

"Ah," said Cassie. "She's home."

They heard the sound of boots on the stairs, then Linda was standing in the doorway. Patrick gazed at her, struck dumb by her loveliness and the fact that she had come back to him. Linda looked at him, her eyes traveling down his body until they came to his erect cock. She looked at Cassie.