Idolatria Ch. 05

"Now..." He cleared his throat. "I assume the terms of our play are agreeable. With that in mind, I have a few terms of my own - rules that you will follow."

Levi's body seemed to have tensed, his shoulders and back raised and straightened. The cadence and tone of his voice were harder. I felt my own muscles tightening in response.

"First," he said, "you will address me at all times as 'Sir'. This is how you will show respect."

I nodded slowly.

"As well, I expect you on your knees unless otherwise directed. You may sit for now," he added, seeing me scoot in my chair. "You will try to answer anything I ask you directly, to the best of your ability. And I ask that you be honest with me - don't hide anything you're feeling, or I cannot help you. Do you understand?"

I took a deep breath. "I... think so," I said, then quickly added "... Sir."

Levi gave me an approving smile. "Good boy. Now... stand up."

My first order, I thought. Guess we've started. I got to my feet.

Levi put his fingers to his mouth, eyes wandering me from top to bottom and back again. I wondered momentarily what he was looking for... I could almost feel his gaze roaming my body, even fully clothed.

"You're wearing an undershirt?" he asked.

I looked down, double-checking for myself. "Yeah."

"Yeah?" Levi repeated, raising an eyebrow.

I felt my cheeks flush. "Yes, Sir."

"Good. Remove everything except your underclothes."

The heat drained from my stomach and into my face. "Take off... Everything?"

He lounged back, resting his knuckles under his jaw. "Do you object?"

"No," I said immediately. It came out before I'd really thought about it... but then again, he wasn't asking me to get naked. I undid my shirt, the same blue button-up I'd worn the first week I spoke to him.

Levi didn't take his eyes off me the whole time I stripped... but he wasn't ogling me. Every time I looked, he was watching my face. My shoes I slipped off and stuck under my chair; my shirt and jeans I folded on the seat. "My socks, too?" I asked.

"Not if you don't want to," he told me.

As I gave myself a once-over, I caught something else. Hesitantly, I lifted the cross pendant on its chain from my chest. "Um... What about this?"

He contemplated my pendant, a finger laying across his lips. "Leave it on," he decided.

So I stood in Levi's kitchen that way - plain white socks, blue cotton boxer briefs, white tee, and my necklace. I felt... well, exposed. "Why, um... Why'd you need my clothes off?"

"To allow you more range of motion. And because I don't want to mess up your clothes." Levi uncrossed his legs and got up, chin high, a hand resting lazily at his hip. "Kneel."

It was a single syllable. Levi's voice was no louder than it ever was. And yet I felt his voice in the base of my spine, right down to the soles of my feet. There was the slightest hesitation as my brain shifted from processing to acting, and I slowly got to my knees, watching his figure shadow over me. Unsure of what to do with my hands, I folded them in my lap.

Levi looked down at me, his eyes rather than his face lowered. "Good boy," he said after a moment. "Stay. I'm going to prepare something."

I felt the thud of Levi's boots through my knees as he walked away. Once he was gone, I became aware of my chest pounding. Holy fuck. He was an entirely different person, a multiplication of the Levi who had locked me in his car... or pretended to, anyway.

No, that wasn't really it. He wasn't different... It was more like he'd simply taken the safety off.

A jangling clamor announced Levi's return. By the time he came back into the kitchen, my knees were starting to hurt. Kneeling on linoleum was harder than it sounded. I was expecting him to have changed his clothes or something - leather pants, maybe? But he was wearing the same dark gray jeans, boots, and the black v-neck shirt that clung to the breadth of his chest. The only difference was that he was now carrying a bundle of what looked like more leather cuffs, and there was a sort of satchel on his hip with straps around his waist and left thigh.

Levi slapped his handful of leather gear on the table, and I jumped at how heavy it sounded. "What's that?" I asked.

"Basic restraints," he said, sinking back into his seat. "I don't expect to be doing anything strenuous with you... But I'd like you to feel what it's like. Give me your hands."

At his direction, I scooted forward and put my hands on his lap. The cuffs he had were only slightly different than the ones he'd shown me downstairs - they were lined with something that looked like black fur. Just as I had done before, he took my hand - far more firmly than I'd held his - and secured the cuff around my wrist, two fingers against my skin beneath it. He made it look effortless. Once the cuff was in place, he let go, and my hand fell heavy with the weight of it... And I felt the pull of my arm all the way in my stomach.

As Levi turned his attention to my left wrist, I examined the restraint on my right, the metal chiming like a bell as I turned it over. The lining was soft, only slightly interrupting the pressure against my skin. There was something innately wrong about the starkness of black leather against the pale underbelly of my arm... But at the same time, it captivated me.

"Is this... real fur?" I asked.

"Fleece," Levi answered, adjusting the buckle under his fingers. "I've made ones with fur... Not my favorite to work with." Both cuffs in place, he released my wrist and dropped it back to my lap. He reached for something else on the table - leg cuffs this time? But the thing he was holding was slimmer, and wider in diameter...

"This is a play collar," he said, his voice firm. "Collars carry a certain amount of significance in the lifestyle - wearing one is often a mark of ownership."

The collar matched the cuffs pretty closely, minus the fur... and where a tag would go on a dog collar, there was another large metal ring, wide enough to get two fingers into easily. The air shivered in my lungs.

"So if I wear this... It means you own me?" I asked carefully.

Levi shook his head. "This one's only for play. It's just to give you the experience." He unbuckled the back and smiled at me, mouth warm, eyes sharp. "If I claimed you, you'd have a custom-made collar. Lower your head."

I put my head down, forehead grazing Levi's knee. His fingers brushed the hair from the nape of my neck, and I felt the sensation run down my spine like a trickle of water. The collar came up under my throat and tightened around my neck, then slackened a fraction of an inch.

"Look up, boy."

It was an odd feeling. The collar wasn't soft, but the sleek inside didn't scratch or rub my skin wrong at all, and the cold leather was slowly warming with my body heat. The ever-present, mild pressure around my neck shifted as I raised my face to meet Levi's, and the metal ring came to rest at the hollow of my throat.

Levi's eyes gave nothing away. Soundlessly, he brought his hand up under my chin and lifted it with his fingertips. Finally, he grinned.

"It actually looks very nice with your necklace," he said.

I caught a smile working onto my face and pushed it back, lowering my eyes instead. "Thanks... I think."

Levi turned his attention to his glass and promptly drained it, then tapped it on the table. "Refresh this," he said.

Out of habit I realized I was waiting for a "please", but it wasn't coming. "Okay," I said, and started getting to my feet.

"Ah," said Levi in warning. "No. On the floor, boy."

I fell back to my knees. "You said to -"

"For now, I would like you to remain on your knees unless told otherwise, or unless it's necessary to get up," he said. "And Ash... if I give you an order, please answer appropriately so I know you understand."

Nothing Levi said should have made my face burn as much as it did. I bowed my head. "Yes, Sir."

Initially, I tried to crawl in a way that didn't feel awkward, but I quickly discovered that being on my hands and knees was going to be ungainly no matter what I did. The rings on my wrists jangled and clattered against the floor, and I had to lift my knees so they didn't rub raw on the linoleum. It wasn't a long trip; the fridge was only two steps away (by foot). I knelt up, opened the fridge, and got the bottle, then had to figure out the logistics of getting it back to the table. I ended up hugging it with one arm while I three-legged it across the floor, leaned up to fill Levi's glass under his discerning eye, then hobbled back to put the bottle away.

My order complete, I crawled back to his feet and, feeling strangely forward, I put my head down until my forehead touched the floor between his boots.

"Very good boy," Levi purred. "You might just have a knack for this. Now, stay. I have some business to tend to real quick."

I thought he'd get up and leave me stranded there on the floor. When he didn't, I looked up to see that he was simply sitting and flicking through his phone, occasionally taking a sip of his drink. He caught my eye and smiled.

"I'm just replying to a few emails," he said. "I'll be done soon."

I shifted back on my knees and sighed, relaxing somewhat. It was weird how heavy my hands felt in my lap... How hard the tension felt at my neck, but never enough to worry my breath. I let my eyes rest on Levi's boots. I had never really taken note of them in any great detail... They came halfway up his calves, laced from top to bottom, and straps around the ankle hinged on metal rings at his heels. The leather was polished, but not slick... And there was a scent to it, a mix of acrid hide and Levi's unique something.

"You like them?"

I blinked and looked up. Levi was smiling warmly down at me.

"I... Yes. Sir." I returned his smile and let my eyes fall again. It was a strange habit to learn, talking to him this way. "They're really nice."

Levi's smirk broadened, and he pushed one foot out in front of me. "Kiss it."

The bottom dropped from my stomach. Levi's boot sat there before me, awaiting me, and yet it seemed a mile away, and the collar was impossibly tight on my windpipe... Kiss... Kiss it. He was asking this of me... as a show of respect. Of my submission.

Blindly I put my hands back on the floor and forced my head down, and the scent of leather enveloped me as I pressed my lips briefly to the toe of Levi's boot.

"Good boy," he said lightly.

My heart shouldn't have pounded the way it did. I took a deep breath and settled back on my heels, avoiding his eyes. But he was getting up, tucking his phone away, and unzipping the pouch on his thigh. When I glanced up, he hooked his fingers into the ring on my collar and pulled me up onto my knees - not choking, but startling me. He clipped something to it and released me.

"Let's take a walk."

Levi was holding a strap linked to my collar like a leash. Ice ran through my gut. "We're not - not outside -"

"No," he replied. "Just to the living room. Come."

He pulled my lead before I could process it. I stumbled and crawled after him, having trouble keeping up with his pace.

The living room was hardly bigger than the kitchen, but cozy enough, and my knees were grateful for the thick, dark blue area rug taking up most of the floor. There was a couch in gray suede with angled arms and little legs, flanked by similar armchairs and sitting across from a mid-sized TV on a low cabinet.

No seats for me, apparently - Levi led me to a spot right in front of the couch, unclipped my leash, and sat himself down, indicating the floor to me. I knelt obediently... and then, on pure impulse, quickly kissed the top of his boot again.

"Good boy," Levi marveled. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

I flushed. Enjoying? I didn't know if I'd go that far... but everything kept surprising me. I wasn't quite sure how it made me feel. "I... can I ask something?" I said.

"Shoot."

"Does being a submissive... normally involve a lot of being a dog?"

Levi chuckled. "There are circles that take it further. No, we're not engaging in petplay currently."

"Yeah, but..." I frowned and played with one of the cuffs. "The collar, crawling around, being told 'good boy'... That's like being a dog, right?"

"The qualities that we value in both dogs and submissives can overlap quite a lot," he smiled. "Obedience. Loyalty. Affection. But you aren't being seen as a dog. And when you obey, when you please me, you are being a good boy."

I shifted on my knees. "So... where does the tying me up thing factor in?"

"It's a form of control. A display of power. And it's fun. Pick your reason."

"Fun?" I repeated incredulously.

Levi laughed... Kind laughter, not cruel. "Oh, definitely. I think bondage can be very fun."

"Like... Like how?"

"Ah, no. If you want something, ask properly."

My face burned afresh. Levi's smile was expectant, granting no quarter. I put my head down, not quite believing the words in my mouth. "Please, Sir, will you... tie me up?"

"Much better." Levi stood and circled around my back. "Up. Put your hands behind your neck."

I climbed to my feet and folded my hands over the back of my neck, thumbs pressing to the buckle of my collar. I kept my head forward, not knowing what he was doing behind me, until he held my waist and gently kicked my feet further apart. Apparently satisfied with the space between my legs, he came back around to my front, checking his hip pouch. "Now, what can I do with you?" he teased. "Nothing serious, obviously."

"What would you consider 'serious'? Sir?"

"Well, I could fit you with a full leather rig and suspend you from the ceiling. But not today." He smiled, pulling something out of his pouch and unwrapping it from itself - rope. Slim, tightly woven, and dyed a deep blue, unlike any kind of rope I'd seen. Something told me I wouldn't find this at Lowe's. "But I'm just going to do a simple harness on you. Stay still."

Levi let the rope uncoil and pool at his feet as he measured out a point on it, making a quick knot and a loop in its center. He lifted my chin with a finger and pulled the whole thing around my neck, laying it loose, just under the collar and my folded hands.

"So you're... Making a harness out of rope?" I asked, trying to watch his hands.

He pushed my chin back up. "Yes," he said. He began working along the rope down my front as he spoke, every so often pulling and examining his work. "This is called a hishi karada, or simply karada - it's one of the base components used in what's called shibari, Japanese rope bondage." He paused, and I was able to look down long enough to see that he'd made several simple knots at intervals down the rope, tying the two pieces together... Before he lifted my head again. "Be a good boy and hold still. You'll see when it's done."

I kept my feet apart and head back against my hands. It didn't feel like Levi had actually tied anything around me, as much as he'd fussed... The rope was still just hanging from me like a ridiculously long necktie.

He moved behind me, and without warning, his hands came up between my thighs. I jumped.

"Relax," he said calmly. "I'm not doing anything to you. Stay still."

The loose ropes pulled up and back through my legs, and I felt him pull at the knot he'd left at the back of my neck. After a beat, he reached up around my chest, fed the ropes through the spaces at my front, then pulled them back to my spine... At first, everything still felt loose around my body, but as he repeated this pattern, the ropes tightened around my torso and hips, and across my groin... The moment the line began pressing uncomfortably against my dick, Levi's fingers followed and pulled it apart with the same pattern he'd done down my front, and left it in such a way that the rope framed my junk and met up again at a knot that pressed into my taint... He kept his hands quick and clean, never once touching me there, but the pressure of the harness was inciting an equal sensation deep in my stomach... I swallowed and ignored it.

Several quick tugs and ties were made at my back, and Levi reached around my front to pull the ropes into place across my chest and stomach. Another moment later and he let go, walking around my front to inspect his work. "Not bad," he said. "It suits you. Put your hands down. You can take a look now."

I did. The ocean-blue rope was now cross-crossed around my body, a diamond pattern down my center line, its points meeting ropes that surrounded my entire torso, under my arms, over my hips, framing my breast... And just tight enough that I could feel the point where every knot pushed into my flesh.

"So how would you... use this?" I asked. "It doesn't really stop me from moving."

"The karada by itself won't restrict your movement," said Levi. "But this can be worn under your clothes in public... and I think you'll find it hard to ignore how it feels when you do move. Additionally, it can be used as a series of anchor points -"

Levi grabbed hold of the ring at my right wrist and brought it roughly with him behind me, forcing my breath inwards in a gasp. Just as quickly, he seized my other hand, crossed my wrists, and forced them up behind me, nearly to my shoulderblades. My back arched to compensate as the cuffs were tied and bound to the crisscross of ropes at my spine... and when Levi released me, I was rendered helpless.

"... To bind your limbs to," he finished, his voice low, proud.

Out of instinct, I strained. My hands were positioned in such a way that I couldn't reach where the cuffs were tied, nor could I get at the buckles to release myself. I had never been held this way, completely robbed of my arms... My heart was pounding, fear and excitement speeding my pulse, and I could feel the struggle from my wrists to my chest, to my core, to my thighs...

"Relax, Ash. You're not in danger." Levi laid a hand over my crossed wrists and rubbed a thumb against my palm soothingly... His other hand wound around my front, weaving into the knotted lattice at my chest, which thudded that much harder. "Just breathe. I've got you."

It wasn't until he said something that I realized I was panting. I swallowed and tried to slow my breaths, to deepen the air in my lungs... My body was straining despite itself, Levi's hands firm and holding me in place. But I wasn't in danger. He was right. I knew that. I closed my eyes and let my head hang, exhaling carefully. He'd only bound my hands. Only harnessed me in rope... rope that rubbed between my legs, cradled my... Under my... Why was it so tight there? I looked down, and my beating blood ran cold.

My dick was fucking hard.

The shape of my boxer briefs stretching skyward over me filled my stomach with ice. My body was betraying me. My immediate impulse was to hide, to get away - but when my muscles met resistance and I remembered my bindings, I panicked.

"No," I blurted out. I jerked forward. Levi's grip tightened and held me steady. The blood rushed to my face. "No - Levi, let me go -"

"Ash - easy. You're safe. Tell me what -"

"Levi, let go - let go!"

"If you fight like that, you're going to hurt yourself - Ash, relax -"

"BLUEBELL!" I cried. "Bluebell... Bluebell...!"

Levi's grip on me changed at once. He got hold of my bicep and the back of my shirt, forcing me forward, then onto my knees, then carefully guided me onto my stomach on the floor.

"Hold still," he ordered sharply.

I couldn't. My arms jerked, and Levi held me tighter.

"Ash, lie down and hold still. It's okay. We're done. No more. I'm getting you out now."

I shuddered and pressed my forehead to the plush rug, trying desperately to ignore the insistent throb of my dick pinned under me. Levi quickly undid the cuffs and let my hands down by my sides, then released the latch on my collar. After a moment, he slipped something under the ropes on my back and, with a loud snip, freed me from the harness as well. He hadn't bothered to wait to untie me - he'd cut the ropes. The moment I felt my restraints fall away, I scrambled for the couch and clung to the armrest like it was a life raft, keeping my back to Levi.