Mary Jenkins glanced around as she entered the mess hall, then nodded her satisfaction. It was time for the midday meal, and her crew was already there waiting for her. All but one, and it was this one omission that led to her satisfaction.
It was bad enough that she’d been sent to this god-forsaken place to do her research. A small outpost deep in the wastes of northern Alaska was far from her first choice, but the government people pulling the strings had decided that her work was important enough to be kept secret. In a way, she could understand that, but did they have to saddle her with a freak as well?
As team leader, she had insisted on having all available information about the people assigned to work with her. This information included things gleaned from government surveillance of each person’s computer, cell phone, and other devices. This surveillance was, of course, never mentioned to the prospective team members, but it provided Mary with a wealth of information regarding those who had been assigned to her.
For the most part, what she learned was of no interest to her. The engineer, Jerry Mathias, did have a porn collection that she thought might be interesting to browse on lonely nights, but other than that, there was not much of interest.
Until she reached the final file. Brian Parks, it seemed, had a strong interest in fetish activities, particularly bondage. Included on his computer were a large number of images of women bound in various ways. Looking through them, Mary had found herself filled with disgust, though, for some reason, she’d found it very hard to look away.
She’d already requested that he be replaced, but that request had been denied. As an expert in biomechanics, Parks was, she had been told, indispensable and could not be replaced or removed from the team. Unable to rid herself of him, Mary had shunned him at every opportunity, a practice the rest of the small crew had quickly adopted. Nobody spoke to him unless their work required it. Parks had taken the hint, spending most of his time in his own quarters when not required to venture into the public areas for work related tasks. He even took his meals in his quarters, as he was obviously doing now.
With Parks gone, lunch was a relaxed meal, filled with discussions about the research being done, as well as increasingly vivid descriptions by each team member of what they planned to do once their six-month stay here was over. After only a week, some of those descriptions had reached a level of detail only possible to people sequestered far from anything resembling civilization. Mary found it all amusing.
Mary’s amusement waned after lunch when she discovered that a very important reading had not been recorded in the log. The instrument containing the reading was housed in a small hut separate from the main area, making it necessary to go outside.
“How long has it been since this was checked?” she demanded angrily.
“Well,” Mathias mumbled, “maybe about ten hours or so.”
“Ten hours?” Mary was stunned. “Jerry, you know this reading has to be monitored every six hours. Why hasn’t anyone checked it?”
Mathias glanced at the other team members, then turned his gaze back to Mary. “Have you looked outside?” he demanded. “Do you have any idea how bad the snow is blowing today? If that reading is so damn important, they should have put it in here where we can get to it without freezing our butts off.”
“Fine,” Mary snapped. “I’ll go do it. This time. But if there’s one more delay in this, I’ll hold you personally responsible.”
Muttering, Mary stalked off. In the changing room, she slowly drew on the multiple layers of protective clothing that would keep her alive in the sub-zero temperatures outside. Opening the door, she quickly attached her tether to the ring mounted just outside, then stepped into the wind-driven snow to make her way to the smaller hut.
Somehow, she made it to the hut quickly, despite visibility that hovered somewhere in the four to six inch range. This was the reason for the tether, to ensure that she could find her way back to the main dome. Even with all the protective clothing, she knew she could easily freeze to death if she ever became lost.
Taking the reading she needed, Mary wrote it down, afterwards shoving the pad into her coat. After carefully closing the door of the hut, she turned and began making her way back, puling herself along her tether.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind hit her, knocking her from her feet. Struggling to her feet, she fumbled about her, but her tether was gone. In her anger, she had neglected to attach it to herself, instead holding it in one hand. Now it had vanished, along with her chances of making it back. Desperately, she pushed forward, only to be knocked from her feet by another gust. The breath knocked out of her, Mary could only curl up on the frozen ground, already feeling the strength seeping from her as the intense cold began to work it’s way through her clothing.
Slowly, Mary became aware of motion. It was a rough, uneven, lurching kind of motion, but the simple fact that she was somehow moving was enough to vaguely register on her frozen brain. Distantly, she heard a door close, and the motion became smoother.
Mary next felt something against her back, realizing slowly that she had been placed on a soft surface. Barely felt tuggings became noticeable, and a part of her mind told her that her outer clothing was being removed. Next, she felt an incredible warmth along the entire front of her body. With a moan, she struggled with her stiffened muscles, striving to push herself into that glorious warmth.
As the warmth seeped into her, Mary’s senses slowly began returning to normal. She was surprised to note that not only her outer clothing, but all her clothes had been removed. Even more surprising was the source of the warmth. A nude human body lay atop her, heavy blankets drawn over both to trap the heat of this other body. Slowly, as the warmth from that other body continued to penetrate her own limbs, her body and mind began to recover.
“How…… how did I get here?”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” came a soft voice from beside her ear, the last voice she wanted to hear at this particular moment. She felt movement, and then the face of Brian Parks looked down at her.
“What the hell?” she spluttered. “Get off me, you freak!”
Parks smiled softly. “Well,” he said just as softly, “if you’re able to talk like that, I guess you’re going to be fine.” Moving quickly but gently, he slid from under the blanket. Rising to his feet, he quickly began dressing.
“I’ll have Jean come in and take a look at you,” he said, turning toward the door. “But I think you’ll be fine once you’ve had a chance to recover.” Before Mary could reply, he was gone, the door closing softly behind him.
Alone, Mary examined her situation. She was, she quickly found, not completely naked, her panties still safely in place. She moved to rise, then quickly burrowed back under the blanket, content to wait until Jean Stokes, the team medic, came to have a look at her.
At the knock on his door, Brian looked up from the monitor. Rising, he opened to door to find Mary standing outside, looking decidedly uncomfortable.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked. In reply, Brian stepped back and ushered her inside.
Glancing around as if almost afraid of what she might see, Mary settled into a chair. “I want to talk to you about what happened,” she said. “How did I wind up in my own bed, nearly naked, with you laying on top of me?”
Brian frowned. “ I’d just gone to the lab,” he said, “to copy some data I needed. When I stepped into the mess hall on my way back, the rest of the crew was there, freaking out. I finally got one of them to tell me that you’d gone outside and not come back. Nobody seemed to know what to do. So I went outside and found you.”
“I’m glad you did,” Mary said. “But what about the bed?”
“You were nearly frozen,” Brian replied. “Hypothermia hadn’t set in yet, but the cold had already sapped your strength. Your body had to be warmed, but very carefully. Too much heat could do as much damage as none at all. I decided that direct transfer of body heat was the safest way. No heat pads, no temperature settings to monitor, just a slow, gentle transfer of heat from one body to another.” He smiled gently. “It may be old fashioned, but it’s still one of the best and safest methods around.”
“But why you?”
“I didn’t feel there was time to discuss the matter with the others. And I thought that, considering the circumstances, you would appreciate the effort. Even from a freak.”
Stung by his sharp words, Mary began to protest, only to be silenced by an upraised hand.
“Technically,” Brian continued, “you did have the right to look into my computer. This is, after all, a classified research project, though for reasons I can’t begin to fathom. This did not, however, give you the right to judge and condemn me based on what you saw there.”
“Brian, I…..” Again, an upraised hand silenced her.
“Don’t bother denying it. I know you were in my computer by remote. It may surprise you to know that our security services are quite modern. Their computers use biotechnology. I happen to be a consultant they keep on retainer, so I have links to their system for maintenance purposes. I watched you digging through my files. I saw what you looked at, and I saw what you didn’t bother with. I also saw how long you stayed in my image collection. And because of that, you call me a freak. You didn’t even bother to get to know me, to find out anything about me. You made a snap judgment based on incomplete information.”
“What I saw was enough!” Mary burst out. “You obviously enjoy binding women, making them helpless, degrading and humiliating them, forcing your own sick will on them. What else do I need to know?”
Brian glared at her coldly. “For your information, I don’t force my will on anyone. Yes, I have bound several women over the years, and yes, I did gain great pleasure from their helplessness. But so did they. And, for your further edification, every single woman I have ever bound was there because she wanted to be.”
“How could any woman want to be treated like that?” Mary demanded, drawing a shrug from Brian that did nothing to cool her temper.
“I’m afraid you’d have to ask them that question,” he said softly. “I believe you’d find the answers to be as varied as the women involved. But the answers usually fall into a couple of groups.”
“Insanity and depravity?” Mary asked scornfully. For a moment, Brian simply gazed at her, then he slowly rose to his feet.
“Would you trust me for just a moment?” he asked softly. “Call it a debt for saving your life, if that makes it any easier.”
“Make what easier?”
“Stand here please.” Uncertainly, Mary rose and moved to the place on the floor he’d indicated, then stiffened as he moved behind her.
“Just relax,” he said, and at the sound of his voice, Mary started. His voice, normally so calm, efficient, almost mechanical in it’s lack of emotion, had suddenly become almost incredibly soft. “No harm will come to you, I promise. Put your hands together in front of you, please.”
Surprised to find herself trembling slightly, Mary did so, then watched as he reached around her with his right hand. His thumb and forefinger encircled her right wrist, the lower two fingers wrapping around her left wrist. His middle finger rested between her wrists, almost seeming like a kind of buffer.
“Now,” he said softly into her ear, “try to get loose.” Mary began pulling and twisting her wrists, amazed to discover herself unable, even with both arms, to break his grip and free her hands. With a moan, she threw herself into the struggle, only to freeze in surprise as he suddenly released her wrists.
“It’s ok,” came his soft voice in her ear. “Just relax. You’re perfectly safe.” As the tension slowly eased out of her, he once more took her wrists in his grasp.
“Now,” he continued, “you are, for all intents and purposes, helpless. You are unable to do anything on your own, correct?”
Puzzled by the way this was going, Mary replied, “Not entirely helpless. I can still screammmmppph!” The sudden appearance of Brian’s other hand, placed firmly but gently over her mouth, cut off her reply.
“Ok, now you are helpless. You are unable, either physically or vocally, to prevent me from doing anything I want.” There was a soft chuckle in her ear. “Of course, in order to do anything, I would have to either release your hands or uncover your mouth. So the very act of making you helpless prevents me from doing anything else, would you say?”
Considering his words, Mary forced herself to relax. Yes, he did have her helpless, but if he moved one hand to try anything, she would be able to fight him, or at least scream for help. Still uncertain as to why he’d placed her in this position, she mmmphd a question into his hand.
“You are helpless,” he said softly, as if he’d understood her. “You have no control, no say, in what happens to you now. You can do nothing, so nothing can be expected of you.” For a moment, he paused, letting his words sink in, then continued.
“Out there,” he said, “you’re in charge. You make the decisions, you give the orders. You also have the responsibility for this facility and everyone in it. Out there, everything you do or say matters”.
“In here, at this moment, you have none of that. No decisions, no responsibilities. Here, now, you are not the boss, the one in charge. You are simply you.” As he spoke, she felt his hand slip from over her mouth.
“I don’t understand,” she said softly, making no move to free her wrists from his now relaxed grip.
“It’s simple”, he replied. “Out there, you have an image you have to present. You’re the leader, so you have to be strong, sure, confident at all times. No doubts, no uncertainties. And certainly no feminine thoughts or feelings to get in the way”.
“Here, none of that matters. When you’re helpless, you can let all of that go for a while. Authority, responsibility, all the masks and walls you have to have in order to present the proper image to those around you. Out there, you’re the boss. In here, right now, you are simply a woman. Helpless to decide, you are still free to feel, experience, respond.”
Mary stood quietly in his grasp, considering his words.
“This is what some women call the freedom of helplessness. The more helpless your body becomes, the more it frees your spirit to feel, and to respond. This is what some women, and some men as well, enjoy the most. The ability to let go of everything and just be.”
“And the others?” Mary asked, realizing with a silent start that she had somehow pressed herself back against him. She could feel his warmth through their clothing, the very warmth that had saved her life. She felt, also, the bulge of his cock pressing against the cleft of her ass. Somehow, this didn’t seem as important, or as wrong, as it might have before.
“For others,” Brian replied, “there’s the fear factor.”
“Fear?”
“Yes, fear. Now, naturally, this is not something you would want to do with someone you don’t trust. To be honest, I’m surprised you trusted me even this far. But even with someone you trust completely, there’s always the ‘what if’ factor. What if he decides to do something to you that you hadn’t agreed on in advance, something you might not even have considered? For that matter, what if, once he has you completely helpless, he trips, falls and hits his head? Or the doorbell rings? For some, the chances of something like that happening, no matter how remote, add to the sensation of helplessness.”
“And the helplessness is key?”
“Basically. Myself, I would never bind a women without first receiving her permission, or her request that I do so. And there are always limits to what I can do, what I am willing to do. No pain, or no excessive pain for some, no disfiguring marks, things like that. But within those limits, once a women allows herself to become helpless at my hands, anything goes. And no matter what I do, she always knows there’s nothing she can do to stop it. For some, it’s the simple fact of their helplessness that is the attraction.”
“What if they ask you to stop?” Feeling Brian’s free hand beginning to unbutton her blouse, Mary stiffened slightly, but made no move or sound to stop him as he slid his fingers inside, slipping them beneath her bra to gently knead her breast.
“That would depend,” he replied, his fingers gently working her nipple to hardness. “For some, that is also part of the attraction.. They want to struggle, to beg, plead, and they want it to do them absolutely no good.”
“So if I asked you to stop right now, you wouldn’t?”
“For you, yes, I would stop as soon as you asked me to. We haven’t agreed to anything else.”
“But what if something is genuinely wrong, some reason she needs you to stop? How do you know?”
“That’s what safe words are for.”
“And what are safe words?”
“A safe word is a word you would normally not use. So when I hear it, I know something isn’t right, and I need to release you.” Mary could feel his smile behind her. “Or release you enough to find out what’s wrong.”
“How do you choose a word?”
“Actually, it’s rather easy. What’s your middle name?”
Mary flushed slightly. “Ellen.”
“And I take it you’re not fond of that name?”
“I am not,” she replied stiffly.
“Which would make it a perfect safe word. It’s not something you would normally say, unless you just happened to be talking about someone else by that name.”
“So I could say ‘no’, ‘stop’, things like that, and you would pretty much ignore me. But if I said ‘Ellen’, you would stop and let me go?”
“That’s the way it works. Of course, for you, ‘no’ would suffice if you wanted me to stop. Do you want me to stop?”
Mary hesitated. “Not really, but I think you should. I haven’t been with a man since we got here, so I’m not sure I can trust my own responses. Especially being helpless like this.”
“Are you? Look down.”
Mary glanced down and started. Her hands were free, yet remained crossed as if he still held them. His own hands were crossed in front of her, on cupping each breast under her blouse. Stunned, she realized that she’d not even noticed when he’d released her wrists. She shivered slightly.
“Now I know you need to stop,” she said in an almost pleading voice. “If I’m that distracted, it’s hard to say what might happen.”
Brian gently pinched each hard nipple, then slipped his hands from under her blouse. Pushing aside her slightly shaking hands as they reached for the buttons of her blouse, he fastened them for her, then stepped away. Commanding her body not to tremble, Mary turned to face him.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For saving my life. And for explaining. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I-I think I have some things to think about.” Turning, she moved silently out the door.
Behind her, Brian simply smile, shook his head, then returned to his computer.
06.11.10
story continues in Mary's Revelation 2
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