CHAPTER 107

Sofia took a deep breath and then released it. "I can't stop thinking about when you fucked me when I was all tied up, and it keeps messing with me because no matter how much I masturbate, I—shit, are you okay?"

She stood up and rushed to his side of the table to slap his back with an enormous palm as he struggled to cough up the cheese he had inhaled upon hearing her statement. He kept coughing once the cheese was out, his throat raw from choking on it.

"I'm...okay..." He cleared his throat and grabbed one of the goblets and took a sip. It was a very rich merlot, but it helped almost right away. "I'm very sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Well, you did." She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"Um, yeah, so about what you were saying. Do you want to do it again? I mean, it might require some setup unless you want to use Ratu's shedding room again or something."

"Hmm?" She looked over her shoulder at him. "Did you just say that we could do...that?"

"Yeah, I did." When Sofia had gotten caught in a vine trap, she had stalled for time, getting off on being tied up until he had fucked her while she was suspended from the ceiling. "After our first time together, I kind of thought it was a one time thing, so never pursued it. But you have to understand that I'm more than happy to do things like that with you. Honestly, it was kind of fun."

"I see." She walked to the edge of the room and turned around. "Are you sure? Like, if I had prepared in advance, we could do something like that...now, maybe?"

"I'm happy to do it now, but am on a bit of a schedule. The last thing I want is to rush through it, some things take time."

"About that." She turned to one of the shelves nearby and patted on a stack of books. "I already pulled everything I could find on underworld gateways, on the off chance you agreed. If nothing else, the cheese and wine might put you in the mood for a friendly chat, but this is the best possible outcome."

"You really put a lot of thought into this, didn't you?" He smiled. It was a nice change seeing the softer side of the cyclops.

"You have no idea," she said, then tapped her staff on the ground. "Lignum."

The chair shifted beneath him and wooden bands wrapped around his wrists and ankles, pinning him in place. Stunned, he tried to free himself and caused the chair to tip dangerously to one side.

"Sofia, what's going on?" he cried as his chair tipped back into position.

She leaned the staff against the wall and walked toward him. One finger went under his chin and tilted his head up so that he was looking into her face. However, if he shifted his gaze down, he could see the thick valley of her breasts through a gap in her robe.

"You agreed to this, remember?" Her voice was full of menace and she ran her finger up his chin and through his hair. "But I suppose you thought that I would be the one who was restrained, didn't you?"

"Um, yeah," he admitted. "You caught me completely off guard, actually."

"Of course I did. It's because I have no intention of harming you." She stepped back and pulled off her robe. Beneath, she wore a light blue gown that was cinched in place at her waist, and she sat down on the table and crossed her long legs. "But seriously, we should begin with some ground rules."

He laughed. It wasn't what he had had in mind, but now that he knew what she was up to, he was game. "Okay, let's talk. What do you want?"

"I'll be brief. I want you helpless, I want to talk shit to you and maybe humiliate you a bit, and just have my way with you."

"That's... fine, I guess, but what do you want from me specifically?" He wiggled his hands to show that he was rooted in place. "Oh, and the chair thing was a nice touch. Didn't know this was a thing."

"Yeah, the chair thing took me a bit to figure out. It's one of the defenses I can activate with the staff." She smirked. "What I want from you is for you not to take anything I say personally, maybe grovel a bit. You see, I got off so hard on being helpless last time, and all I can think about is doing the same thing to you. I think part of that is the pride of the cyclops. You make me so wet, Caretaker, and I both love and hate you for it."

"Okay, well, if that's the case, then some limits. Don't bring up my mother, that's a given." He scrunched up his face, trying to remember what was said during their last encounter. "And don't bring up Cecilia. I don't mind you crossing a few lines, but those are sensitive subjects."

She nodded. "Sounds good. Do you want a safe word?"

A thrill shot through him. Already, seeing Sofia standing over him was making his senses sharper, and his magic was hungry to take him over. It would be easy to get carried away, but that safety net still needed to be established.

That's right, lover, Naia said inside his head. The first step requires trust.

"I'll shout something about overdue books if you've gone too far."

"Hmmph." She crossed her legs, giving him a glimpse of her bare thighs as the gown parted. "Then shall we get started?"

"Sip of wine first?" he asked. She obliged by holding the goblet to his lips and tipping it up. He sucked down as much as he could, relishing the bold flavor of the merlot. "Yeah, I'm good now."

Sofia circled the chair, her fingers trailing along his shoulders. "Look at you, in trouble again. I can't tell if you're incompetent, or just plain stupid."

"I like to think—" He gasped when she yanked his chair back. He was looking up at her now, her face twisted into an angry mask.