It was mid evening in a quiet, middle class suburban street. The time was early March and light rain was falling.
Elaine was making her way home to the small, neat two bedroom cottage she had lived in for several years.
She was thirty seven, slightly above average height, athletically slim with a figure some called attractive and good legs. She had an oval, pleasant looking face, pointed chin with straight brown hair worn in a page boy cut. Because of the gloomy forecast this evening she had worn her wet weather gear. An expensive blue trench coat, firmly belted, which emphasised her trim waist. She had taken the precaution of wearing ankle length black rubber rain boots.
Elaine was a teacher by occupation and had so far never married. There had been offers, even a brief engagement in the past but she had sensibly rejected any association she felt would not work out. She enjoyed the company of men and had had several short term love affairs, but none of these had lasted. She had always hoped for a permanent relationship but now, as the years went on, this seemed further away than ever.
Tonight she had been to a staff meeting at the local high school. A small gathering of nine people, including herself. Six of these were three married couples. The remaining three were an elderly spinster, due to retire soon and another lady her own age who was so unhappily lonely it was uncomfortable to be with her sometimes.
The meeting had been competently and efficiently run, resolutions quickly decided on and the whole conclave had ended sooner than expected. The married pairs were obviously pleased with this and dispersed happily, the other three had gone out into the night less cheerfully. Rain looked likely and Elaine had buttoned and belted her trench coat tightly around her. She declined a lift from the lonely lady, saying it was only about a mile to her home and she hoped to be there before the weather got worse. It started to rain slightly after she set out. She pulled a rain hat out of the waterproof carry bag in which she had brought some relevant papers, put it on and walked on into the drizzle.
The rain continued, but got no worse. She walked quickly and her wet weather gear kept her dry. She was about forty metres from her front gate when she saw a man standing under a tree on the nature strip outside it. She was not frightened. She was not that way inclined and anyway assaults never happened in this neighbourhood. Yet, she felt there was something familiar here. At first from the way he stood.
She approached, looking closely at him. He was wearing a long, smooth, black leather coat. Which looked expensive. And darkish coloured jeans. She looked at the face. Suddenly, memory placed him. It was Adam.
It all came back. She and Adam Breck had been at Teachers Training College together. They had dated, gone out together. Both had terminated their virginity one night after a dance. They had been each other’s first loves. And they had taught at the same high school afterwards. They were passionate lovers but there was no talk of marriage. Sensibly, both thought it was too early for that.
And then Adam became obsessed by Canada. Teachers from other places could earn much more than at home if they were prepared to work in rural Canada. They’d see some of the world, so he said. And they could make a lot of money.
Elaine was not so sure. She felt some of what he’d heard was exaggerated. She liked the idea of foreign travel, but to someplace more interesting than remote rural North America, thank you. They reasoned, argued, each tried to convince the other. Sadly, their once enthusiastic relationship deteriorated. Finally Adam went to Canada alone. They did not communicate. No letters passed between them.
That had been fourteen years ago. And now here he was, waiting outside her front gate as if they had only parted company a few days ago. He still had some of his youthful good looks. At least he had the grace not to have a patronising smile on his face.
“Hello,” she said, “Back from Canada, I see.” She could think of nothing else to say.
“Yes,” he began, his face expressionless, “Er, look. Could we please talk a while. I’ll go if you want me to.” He gestured towards her home. “Perhaps inside. It’s a little damp out here.” The vestige of a smile.
Over the years she had sometimes wondered what she would do if she ever saw him again. Speculation had ranged from giving him a dressing down to finding out what the Canadian back blocks were like. Curiosity got the better of her. Silently she turned and walked through the front gate. Indicating he should follow.
Her raincoat swished as she walked up the path. She remembered from the past that protective apparel such as this wet weather coat seemed to arouse him. It was partly rubberised. Even now she thought maliciously of teasing and perhaps discomforting him.
Once inside, she led him to her lounge room and indicated he should sit in one of her covered armchairs. She noted his leather coat was of very good quality. She had taken off her rain boots at the front door but left her trench coat on, noisily causing it to rustle and swish at every opportunity. He couldn’t take his eyes off it.
She clicked on a small heater and then stood in front of him thrusting both hands deep into her raincoat pockets. “Well then,” she smiled. “You want to talk? Then tell me about Canada.”
Though there were fourteen years to cover, there wasn’t much to say. He’d spent ten years teaching at a small, largely indigenous Inuit settlement on the shores of Hudson Bay. Rewarding work in many ways but you wouldn’t want to spend your life there. Then three more years in Toronto, doing a very technical computer course. At which he’d become very proficient.
Now he was back here. With the education department again but now in a highly specialised programming section.
“So, you see,” he wound up. “I’m somewhat better off but it’s been a long slog. And not all of it greatly interesting.” He looked at her and smiled, “Just as well you didn’t come with me. You’d never have liked the Arctic.” She nodded silently.
They talked a while. He looked around at her home. “A nice little place you’ve got here. But does anything ever happen in this placid suburban backwater?”
She sat down in another armchair, facing him. Her hands were still in her pockets, the proofed fabric rustling.
“About three weeks ago we had some excitement here.” She explained, “A solitary middle aged lady living across the street. Wealthy, living by herself in a cluttered household of memorabilia and inherited heirlooms. One night in mid February two men broke in. Though there for some time, they did no damage and only took one large old oil painting. This, it seems, was the work of some 19th Century artist, not greatly valuable but perhaps a worthwhile item to an interested person. The police had a theory that some less than scrupulous collector wanted to add it to his private collection. And this was how he chose to acquire it.
Anyway, these two, having gained entry, bound and gagged the old dear, very considerately it seems, and removed the artwork. The curious thing is that this took two or three hours. How long does it take to tie up one unresisting lady and wrap up one painting?”
Adam, Elaine noticed, listened to this with interest. “She wasn’t hurt at all? No lasting traumas?”
“Nothing like that," she went on,” In fact, since that night she seems to have taken a new lease of life. Cheerful, smiling usually happy these days. Before she was reclusive, withdrawn, frequently bad tempered. She tells everyone she always disliked the painting but was prevented from getting rid of it by a clause in an old will that said it was never to leave family ownership. Now she’s trying to claim insurance.”
“And how was she tied up? Were the ropes constrictive?”
You're very inquisitive, aren’t you? thought Elaine. You want to know all the details. You sound like a bondage enthusiast. She replied, “They’d thoughtfully come with varying lengths of soft, cloth sashes. And a soft, wet, dampened, folded face washer to go in her mouth as a gag. Held in place with another short sash. She was very securely tied. Wrists, upper arms, forearms around the waist, above the knees and around the ankles.” He went on with enquiries as to how long she was tied up and how she was finally released.
“And all this took two, three hours? Apart from taking the artwork, what else could they possibly have done?”
Elaine was by now finding these queries amusing. She shrugged her rain coated shoulders and, smiling broadly, said, “Who knows? Perhaps they entertained her, or did she entertain them?” At this she laughed outright. “I know I told you it was mid February. More correctly it was February 14th. Valentine’s Day! Who knows what form any entertainment took?” This was too much for her. She dissolved in a paroxysm of mirth, rolling and writhing in the chair, her coat rustling and crackling.
His face was serious. “You find this amusing?”
She got to her feet at this and stood in front of him, her hands still in her pockets, “I find you amusing Sir. All you’ve done is ask about how this lady was tied up. You sound like a bondage kink yourself.”
He was taken aback. “I’m sorry.”
Elaine’s mind had been racing in the short time they had been together. She had thought of Adam many times in the years since he went away. She’d had lovers in this period but none, she felt, as good as he. Now he was back again. To stay it seemed. What to do? So what if he had a taste for a bound and helpless partner? Thoughtfully, she wondered if there might be something in this direction for both of them. Quickly, she resolved to give this matter further and immediate investigation.
Slowly, she allowed a smile to creep onto her face. "I don’t disapprove. I’d have said something long ago if I did.” Silence. The smile, softly enigmatic, remained. She shook the hanging skirts of her raincoat. The waterproof fabric clattered and rustled. The smile broadened and she whispered.
“You’d like to tie me up in this, wouldn’t you? And gag me too? And perhaps take full sexual advantage of me while I was utterly helpless?”
Silence. And then a small voice, “Since you mention it specifically, yes. Yes, I would. But would you?
“There will be conditions. This is a shared thing but I am allowing it to happen and want to be in charge. So I give the orders. Which means I’ll have to be ungagged at least part of the time,” the smile continued. “Agreed?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
The bargain was sealed with a kiss. She led him out of the room, her trench coat whispering.
A pair of nail scissors was collected, also a threadbare towel from an old clothes box and two small hand towels. Both parties visited the toilet and then adjourned to Elaine’s neat, tidy bedroom. And her double bed.
Both faced each other. Elaine barefoot, she’d left her rain boots inside the front door. “I’ll remain fully clothed and you can remove what’s necessary as required.” She smoothed her raincoat, making it swish, “But, I think you’ll want me to wear this.” Both smiled.
Adam took off his leather coat and laid it carefully on a chest of drawers. His shoes he aligned neatly under the bed. Elaine placed the small towels on the pillows.
She smiled archly. “In times to come we might possibly come up with some very elaborate scenarios. But for now let’s say I’m an old maid spinster, desperately lonely and grossly sexually deprived who’s come home one evening and found a professional crim there to steal some valuable item on order. He’s told her it’s unfortunately necessary to tie and gag her. She hopes he’ll take full sexual advantage of her while she’s helpless.”
Adam took the old towel and after making a series of scissor nicks along one end, tore it into a series of wide strips. These he placed on the bed. “And now,” he said to his partner - captive, “If you would stand here Madame, I will get on with the business of making you incapable.” Elaine took her hands out of her pockets and stood as requested, beside the bed. Without being asked she turned away from him and crossed her hands behind her back.
He looped one of the cut strips several times around her wrists and knotted it carefully. Next two sashes joined together were used to bind her upper arms tightly to her body. To make it more secure he cinched this lashing firmly under each armpit. Lastly, another long length was wound and tied around her trim waist, securing her forearms. The proofed fabric crackled and rustled.
Her upper body now secure, he gently turned her round to face him. And, planting a kiss on her mouth, he said, "And now my dear, if you’ll just sit on the bed and cross your feet.” She did this. He knelt before her and wound a strip several times around her ankles and tied it firmly. Lastly, he undid the three bottom buttons of her raincoat, flung the flaps aside and lifted her skirt. He used a knotted double length to bind her thighs above the knees. He bound with care, keeping the strips flat and untwisted. Feeling she’d be more comfortable that way.
“There,” he said, pulling the coat flaps back into place and leaning back on his heels. He got to his feet and stood in front of his seated captive, now securely bound hand and foot. “There,” he said again, “Pretty as a picture. I’d love a photograph. You don’t know how desirably lovely you look. But no. Nothing like that at this stage.” He turned aside, “There’s only one thing missing.”
“I know. A gag,” she murmured, “There’re face washers in the bathroom down the passageway. You can wet one in the hand basin.” He went away, coming back moments later carefully folding such an item. “And remember,” she said, "I’m calling the shots. Two grunts or two shakes of the head mean take it out and restore the power of speech.” He nodded dutifully.
“Leave it for about five, ten minutes after you put it in. Let me savour the situation. You can look at me, wander around the bedroom, whatever. I'll let you know when to un-gag me. And we’ll take it from there. Understood?” He nodded again.
The carefully folded, wet gag was forced into her mouth, made as comfortable as possible and secured with the last of the torn towel strips, covering the lower part of her face and knotted at the back of her head. Elaine was now seated on her own bed, effectively tied hand and foot and very securely gagged.
At first she sat quietly, then tested her bonds, first her arms, then her legs. She writhed, struggled. Her restraints held firm. She was reasonably comfortable but could not do a thing. She tested her gag, tried to speak. All she could do was mew faintly. Here she was, in her own home, seated on her own bed, deprived of speech…and completely helpless. The only noise came from the rustling of her rubberised trench coat.
Adam watched, then turned and walked idly round the bedroom. He touched nothing, simply noted that it was simply but neatly furnished. He liked that in a woman. Behind him Elaine alternatively strained against her bindings or sat quietly. Finally she made two grunts.
He hastened to her side and removed her gag. She asked for a drink of water. He brought some in a tooth mug from the bathroom and wiped her lips with one of the hand towels. She thanked him and then spoke seriously. “I wasn’t entirely joking when I suggested a scenario of a cruelly deprived old virgin. I personally haven’t made love in months. But now you’re here.” She smiled, “But first, tell me. What were the sexual opportunities in a small remote Hudson Bay settlement?”
“Rather limited. Only about three hundred population. Many of them related. Very insular. But,” he explained, “There was one lady. A widow, lost her husband in an industrial accident. Who for some reason the rest seem to reject. I never knew why. But who was thought to be an acceptable companion for an expatriate schoolteacher. We had a discreet but comfortable association for a couple of years.”
“But then she suddenly ended it. Said she was going to take up with an old flame in another part of Canada. No other explanation.This abrupt parting didn’t affect me as much as I thought it would. Shortly after, I left the place myself,” he shrugged.
Elaine smiled, “Well, you and I are old flames, aren’t we? We seem to have come together again. And I don’t mind telling you as a result of my present situation I’m as randy as anyone could imagine. I’m moist, wet and probably dripping. And so Sir, I’ve got some further instructions for you. Untie my ankles and legs and stand me up on that lambswool rug beside the bed.’”
He did all of this. She stood with feet slightly apart. “You and I are going to be lovers. I need it after long deprivation and I’m going to have it. And you’d better please me.”
“I shall do my best Madame.”
“You’d better,” He moved toward her other bindings, “Leave those. That’s what’s turning me on. Loosen my trench coat belt and undo three lower buttons.” He did this and the skirts of her raincoat flapped open. “Now, reach inside. The catch of my skirt is at the back. Undo it, unzip it and let it fall. Then pull my knickers down on top of it.”
He fumbled a little with this. Clearly not used to undressing bound women. Mentally, privately both of them made a note that something would have to be done about this.
But finally she stood on the rug with her woollen skirt and underwear about her lower calves. She stepped out of them. He picked both up, folded them and placed them neatly on a nearby chest of drawers.
She stood before him, her arms still bound, her raincoat rustling. She looked straight in his face. At first silently, then she spoke softly, “You and I are going to become lovers. For me it’s been a very long time since I’ve had a good one and I’m asking you to be gentle. And, please, do what I ask, at least to begin with.” She put her head on his shoulder.
He put his cheek against her neck. “I wouldn’t do anything else.”
Wordlessly, he put one pillow on the bed where her bottom would be and then helped her lie down on her back. Deftly he removed his jeans and underpants and put them on the chest of drawers, next to her folded skirt. Then he lay down, carefully beside her. At first they lay a while without moving, then he slowly started to nuzzle her cheek. She closed her eyes and spoke slowly.
“Enter me now if you’re ready.” She added, “There’s lubricant in the bedside drawer on your left, but I assure you it won’t be necessary. When you’re in place just lie there for a while without moving. Just let me, both of us, savour it first. For me it’s been a really long time since I’ve had a decent lovemaking. And then let’s try and relive the magic of those university days.”
He admitted, “It’s been a long time for me too.”
They lay in silence for some time and then she indicated she was ripe for penetration. Though past his first youth, Adam was still very athletic, as was his bound partner. In one swift movement he mounted and entered her. “Ooh darling, darling.”she moaned, “Deep, deep as you can go, and then hold it, hold it there. Ooooh!”
From then on and most of the night it was pure ecstasy.
Eight hours later they were both seated in Elaine’s kitchen. Strain and tension were gone from their faces. Both looked pleasantly satiated. Adam was fully dressed, except for his leather coat. Elaine wore a warm looking blue dressing gown, tied at the waist. And soft lambswool slippers.They were eating a light breakfast, and sipping large mugs of strong tea. Outside, it was still raining.
Hanging beside the back door on a plastic hanger was Elaine’s blue trench coat. Dry now, ready for use. She looked at it.
“They don’t make them with rubberised fabric any more. It’s all plastic or nylon now. Perhaps I should get one of them.”
“Don’t. Those plastic, nylon ones are terrible. Keep that one forever.
A knowing smile. “Well, perhaps I’ll keep it here. Around the house,” the smile broadened, “And for other purposes. That way, if not used for wet weather wear, it’ll probably last a very long time.”
They looked at each other. “And maybe I’ll get a nylon one for prosaic trips to the shopping centre.” They both laughed.