Touched Pt. 06

She paused in front of another set of sliding doors and used both hands to push them in opposite directions. The room they entered was small, but had an unusually high ceiling. Muted sunlight filtered down from above, casting the space below in an ethereal golden glow. Meters over their heads a single very thick wooden beam bisected the space; hanging from it was a hand forged iron chain that reached all the way to the floor. "At one time this was a bell tower, but when the house was retrofitted for earthquakes we had to make a few changes to comply with local codes, despite the fact that this place has outlived everything around it." She scoffed.

"W-Was this a church?" Catherine asked breathlessly, almost straining her neck as she tried to look up into the scintillating heights beyond the beam.

Karen turned to her and smiled softly. "Of sorts." She said, cackling again. Catherine's eyes wandered, noticing that one side of the room was organized somewhat like a kitchen, with a row of cabinets on the floor with a marble counter above. There was a small range and a sink too. Catherine turned slowly, wondering if the room held any more secrets. The wall behind her was another sliding door, and in each corner there were several small wooden tables and stools stacked neatly together. She felt her anxiety start to rise again, even though the relative domesticity of her surroundings had sowed some doubts. This was hardly the sex dungeon she'd been imagining.

Quietly and with an impressive degree of poise, the petite older woman brought over a single solid looking bench. It was basically an elemental "C" shape, three pieces of very thick and dark wood, joined seamlessly at hard right angles. Karen turned to Christine. "You will sit and you will watch and you will be quiet." She said, her voice taking on a tone that caused Catherine's skin to prickle. She shivered, despite the fact that it was uncomfortably warm in the snug spartan room. Christine nodded slowly, she was grinning too, but her expression looked slightly pained Catherine mused. Not very used to being ordered around, are you? She thought smugly, despite her own quickening pulse.

"And you." Karen said, gracefully stepping up to Catherine, who was easily a head taller than the petite Asian woman. "Will take off your clothes." Karen stepped back and held out her hands patently. Catherine glanced over at her daughter-in-law in law, hoping for a sign of approval or at least a nod of encouragement. Christine was already sitting obediently on the hard wooden bench, with her legs casually crossed, her hands resting on its back edge as she gazed bemusedly at her mother-in-law and gave her no indication at all about what she was thinking. Catherine inhaled deeply and awkwardly began to fumble with her ostentatious brass buttons. Quickly though she mastered her emotions and they fell one by one to her well practiced fingers.

With only a touch of shyness she stepped out of her denim dress and raised it, straightening, smoothing and folding it with the skill garnered from decades of meticulous housekeeping. Karen smiled with obvious appreciation. "It's a true pleasure to work with someone of your caliber. Honestly when your daughter-in-law first called I refused, I thought she wanted to bring a girlfriend, someone young like her. I've grown tired of girls you see, they're too soft, too immature." She said softly before leaning closer, taking Catherine's dress from her, respectfully with both hands, as her lips almost touched the naked woman's ear. "They're incapable of withstanding my passion, I could play, pretend, but... I had to hold back." She withdrew, turning and walking over to the row of cabinets where she blithely put away Catherine's dress in one of the slide-out drawers.

"Which is why I agreed to see you today Catherine. When Christine described you, I felt something that I haven't felt in years." Her voice became low, almost hoarse. "The urge to make art. And now that you're here." She said, slowly circling Catherine, her eyes roving up and down, seeming to analyze, appreciate and devour simultaneously. "I can see my instincts were correct. You languished for a lifetime, a sublime specimen, fruit of heaven, ripening in secret. And now, I will take you and pluck you from the tree and place you in the most supreme and splendorous suspension, a delicate, intricate web worthy of an empress... I will reveal your soul and put it on display for all the world to see." Catherine's heart thumped in her chest, her vagina clenched almost painfully, suddenly and surprisingly wet. Karen's words, her intensity, they'd resonated with something deep inside Catherine's body.

She couldn't explain it, but tears came to her eyes. She choked on a single pathetic sob. What is happening to me? She wondered helplessly, repeating the older woman's words over and over in her mind, picking them apart, trying to isolate the grain of truth that was causing her to feel so many different emotions; so many in fact that she couldn't make sense of any of it. Not that there was time. Karen was rushing like wind, animated by some primal energy or madness, Catherine felt her right arm yanked into the air, and with a loud high-pitched click she found herself cuffed to the chain dangling from the ceiling. Just as quickly the small woman darted away, several of the drawers banged open, their contents disgorged and discarded. "No, no, no!" Karen shouted, her voice powerful and deep causing Catherine to tremble in fear. "Not good enough!" She continued her tirade. "Only one. Only one will do." She finished at a considerably lower volume.

Slowly but with great determination she strode over to the farthest and largest cabinet at the very end of the row. She opened the wooden door to reveal an intimidating wall of glistening steel polished to a mirror finish. There was a large dial in the center. She crouched down and shielded it from view with her body. For a moment the room became deathly silent, the only sound being the steady unnerving clicking as the combination was dialed into the safe. After several seconds there was a loud and very low click. The door swung slowly open revealing a dark cavity, Karen reached inside and reverently removed a large bundle wrapped in the finest white linen Catherine had ever seen. The old woman unwrapped it with excessive care, she paused, then ran over to the corner, grabbing one of the small tables. She carried and placed it near where Catherine stood, her arm swinging slowly over her head where it was cuffed to the chain.

"I cannot place this on the ground." Karen murmured by way of explanation. Catherine barely understood why the woman had said anything, she seemed possessed, as she returned to the safe and scooped up its contents. Reverently she returned to the table, gingerly lowering and depositing the linen-wrapped treasure. The four sides of the cloth sloughed over the tables sides, exposing what had been so lovingly concealed. Perhaps a dozen coils of red rope, wound and bundled in such a way that seemed more ceremonial than practical. Catherine looked down at them in utter confusion... And yet, her body trembled, her flesh tingled, every hair on her head felt electrified. There was something about these neatly arranged coils that filled her with terror and arousal.

Karen picked up the top coil as though it were a poisonous snake, her had actually flinched when it made contact, but she quickly regained her composure. "It has been thirty years since I opened that safe." She hissed, her teeth almost clenched together. "I thought I would never open it again." She murmured. Her other hand meticulously reached into the center of the coil and began threading the loose end through the twining folds that entrapped it. "This rope has been in my family for over a thousand years. It was made on the holy mountain, there are only rumors as to how and of what it was woven. Some said the mane of the great wolf, the first wolf. Other's, the pubes of an Oni." She snorted. "For millennia it was used and passed down, bringing countless women to the brink of madness. Turning them into wild beasts, sealing away their humanity with unending pleasure, and then taming them with unyielding force until they were as docile and servile as cows."

She drew out several centimeters of the rope which was now free from its tight windings, she looped it casually and brought the supple shape down softly between Catherine's breasts. The woman squealed and lurched backwards, swinging wildly and loosely around the orbit of the heavy chain. She would have fallen if not for her cuffed wrist. For a moment it was painful, but Karen had instantly reached out, grabbing her expertly under the arm with her free hand and pulling her back onto her feet. Catherine could hardly believe the smaller woman's strength, but her mind could not ponder that properly as the other far more immediate sensations she was experiencing took precedence. Her chest burned and throbbed, her nipples were so hard they hurt, just the slightest brush against the rope had nearly made her come. Her juices dripped down her inner thighs, sped on by her frantically wobbling knees.

"Oh god." She croaked, drooling on her shoulder as her head swung dizzily back and forth.

"No. There is no god here." Karen whispered loudly. Catherine tried to lift her head to look into the other woman's eyes, but none of her muscles were doing what she wanted them to, then just as she managed to open her mouth to ask the older woman a question, something hard and yet pleasantly smooth slid in between her teeth. Catherine relaxed naturally as she felt the smaller woman's strong hands sliding behind her neck and into the back of her hair, just below her pony tail. Karen was tying something tight, Catherine bit down with her teeth, feeling them sinking slightly into whatever was in her mouth, her eyes fluttered, she could only partially open them. She could smell a delicious sweet fragrance, like a field in spring, she could taste something like the scent of freshly cut grass. "Green bamboo." Karen whispered, her voice gentle, almost kind. "You can bite down as hard as you like."

The older woman picked up the red rope again, this time she didn't flinch. Catherine only caught it from the corner of her left eye as she twisted gently by her wrist. The pain was gone, her legs weren't wobbling anymore. She wondered dreamily how Karen could hold the rope so casually, after what just a grazing touch had done to her. "There's strength in you, beyond what you can imagine." The older woman breathed in Catherine's ear, her single sharp tooth catching the light, glistening menacingly. "The feeling will diminish, as the rope binds you, bear it and be reborn." The words were more like thoughts, blending into Catherine's wavering stream of consciousness. How could any of this be real? She wondered, feeling a laugh beginning to bubble up from somewhere deep inside her fluttering belly. Karen stood in front of her, short but stout, her legs spread in a powerful stance, bundle of glimmering red rope in one hand, long measured length in the other. "Prepare yourself." She said.

Catherine grunted through her gag, feeling more drool pour down her bottom lip onto her breasts, and then the red rope was snaking around her neck and every nerve in her body was on fire. Her head jerked back, spine snapping rigid, her eyes opened wider than they ever had before. She gazed up mindlessly into the luminous abyss above her head. Eyes darting and fixing on the flashes of light reflected from the chain as it swayed with every breath and movement she made. The immense wooden beam, an impossibly dark black line cutting reality in two, she could feel herself falling up into it, getting lost in those welcoming shadows as the red rope snaked around her body. Everywhere it touched her flesh came alive, her arousal went beyond any rational limit, it felt like her skin was coming; as the rope slipped and sawed across it, tightening, squeezing, digging into her being.

Karen's dauntless hands wove their magic, the rope like flowing red ink, her fingers like paint brushes, wielded with such care and precision that even through the brain melting pleasure Catherine could feel the significance and the artistry of the older woman's skill. Her jaw ached, her teeth ground against the bamboo, wearing deep dents that prevented her mouth from going completely out of control. A gradual rhythm emerged as she noted the way the chain swayed above her, Karen would wrap the rope around her, pull it tight, twist it deftly, tuck and weave the folded end through one of the openings she'd already made and repeat the process. This pattern was only broken when occasionally she'd tie a knot or two, these always found their way into some recess or fold of Catherine's flesh, putting pressure or tension on some cluster of nerves she had never known she had.

Her body always responded, instantly, without the slightest resistance or hesitation. She'd come, and come hard, shuddering, shaking, writhing, twisting like a limp dangling streamer in a gale. Karen would strategically support her, bring her back to her senses, slowly guide her gelatinous body back into position and continue her assault. Each consecutive time though, Catherine became aware that her body felt less fluid, her mobility remained the same but the gradual accumulation of tightly structured areas, constrained and defined by the patterns of knots and geometric shapes, prevented her from slumping or shuddering as easily. Her state of arousal had increased though, steadily the entire time, she could barely feel the individual strands of rope any more, even the knots felt strangely subliminal. Reality had flipped at some point, instead of orgasms she had brief breaks between a seemingly indefinite series of climaxes.

Suddenly out of nowhere she would shiver and feel sweaty and cold, the lights would dim and her legs would slap together, every muscle in her lower body relaxing at the same time. This was a "pause", why or how, she didn't know. In this brief respite she had a few seconds to ponder her situation, to reflect on the pure insanity of the circumstances. A flicker of clarity, curiosity, denial, outrage, amusement, disbelief, and finally resolve. Then her body would bring her low once more, her pussy clenching, gushing, dripping, then relaxing, contracting, quivering... Her mind dissolved, lost in the swirl of sex and sensations. She stood in a warm puddle of her own making, her feet splashing each time she stumbled, drool pouring down her chest, flowing just as freely as the juices between her legs.

Suddenly the pattern changed. She felt herself being pulled forward by the waist. Her face swung within millimeters of Karen's cool evaluating gaze. "You've done well so far to hold on for so long. Now you will face your greatest test. Two knots I will tie, and two you will feel more than all the others combined. Now is your last chance to decide if you are brave enough to give me everything. If you have any doubts, you will die." Karen tugged the rope that dangled snugly between Catherine's legs, she could feel it trailing down her lower back, between her ass cheeks, bending loosely around her anus. She was in the middle of coming, groaning into her gag, but from a great distance her nagging consciousness pondered the meaning of this riddle.

Only Karen's blazing black eyes seemed to hold her attention and pull her from her stupor. Die? Die!? Somewhere deep inside her guts she could feel it, that flickering light that was her life, suddenly so precarious and vulnerable after all these countless years of complacent safety and boredom. Her body was on the brink of death, a delicate balance that could be disturbed by a single wayward thought. Karen was serious. The flame flickered and then flashed, flaring up into an inferno, scorching her from the inside. Die! Die!! What a fucking joke! Her eyes streamed with tears. I've been dead for years. I am dead! She growled through her gag, biting down so hard that the bamboo actually cracked. Maybe the orgasms were driving her insane, but she felt more alive in that moment than she had in her entire life.

I will live. She thought simply, succinctly, the thought rippling and roiling through her climax addled brain like meteor crashing into the ocean. "So be it." Karen hissed. Crouching down between Catherine's legs, pulling the rope impossibly tight, turning and wrapping the doubled strand around her fist, tying an incredible knot. Then she tied a second right next to the first. "Don't die." She whispered softly as she slowly rose back up to her full diminutive height. Gripping the loop of rope with both hands she dragged it ruthlessly upward. Catherine's eyes went wide again and she squealed, the bamboo cracking and splintering between her teeth. The first knot buried itself deep in her asshole, the second plunged ruthlessly into her pussy. In a single instant she was filled and fucked, both holes clenching powerlessly as the mystical rope and the unyielding knots penetrated her deeper and deeper.

Karen drew the loop tight, drawing it through the diamond that pointed down towards Catherine's swollen clit, and neatly framed her belly button. Karen pulled until the crotch rope had submerged itself in Catherine's flesh, she made the final weaving loops in the front before deftly drawing the remaining slack back down between Catherine's legs. Moving around behind the woman she aesthetically secured the last remaining loop in the complicated web at the base of Catherine's lower back. Her masterpiece was complete, her magnum opus. Karen laughed at the silly western phrase, there was no analog in Japanese, but if there was, this would be it. She stepped back, panting, sweat pouring down her forehead, her fingers trembled.

Her memory flashed back to thirty years ago, she'd still been a student then, still learning 'the ropes'. She chuckled bitterly. In her arrogance she'd used the red ropes on her best friend, they'd been young, stupid, and hopelessly in love. It had seemed like a fun game to her then, she hadn't understood the power they possessed, or the strength and endurance of the human body. Chitose had died, atypical premature heart-failure it had been called. She hadn't been blamed for the death, it was ruled an accident and her family's wealth and influence had swept what little scandal there might have been quietly under the rug. But Karen had never forgotten or stopped feeling guilty and responsible, naturally, she'd spent the last thirty years of her life trying to recover, trying to reclaim a sense of trust in herself.

Until today, she had thought her life would end before that time would come. Now, standing here, in front of her greatest creation she wept softly. Catherine spun slowly in place, her entire body on display. Not a single knot or twist of rope was out of place. Catherine took slow, steady, heaving breaths, her brain was like a bombing test site out in the desert, an endless rain of orgasmic munitions exploded there, the shock waves scouring every twig and grain of sand until only bedrock remained. But it wasn't like before, her sense of self, her loss of control, had been reversed. She could see the possibilities before her, limitless potentialities all of her choosing... Her body no longer an enemy but an ally she never realized she had. The orgasms seemed to sustain her sanity and focus now, they fueled her desire to live one of these alternative lives; and she wouldn't let go of this precious gift.

She could almost feel herself condensing around it, this pure faultless core of pleasure, reconstituting her personality, her being. All the pieces were falling into place, locking, fusing. When she emerged from her euphoric haze a complete and whole woman would descend. Someone she could be proud of, a powerful, sensual creature capable of anything. She twisted gracefully, dancing in the air as gravity and momentum subtly guided her down from heaven. Karen slowly and purposefully walked over to the far wall of the room, grasping the opaque sliding doors and thrusting them powerfully apart. Light and fresh air flooded the room. Aside from a narrow veranda that concealed nothing, the new vista opened onto a vast courtyard, a garden in full bloom. The scent of roses and jasmine was heavy in the air, and just as it struck her fully Catherine had stopped turning.