Obsessive Compulsion by CE Kilgore Page B

I’d rather
face the wrath of some jarhead in camouflage than ever have
Victoria disappointed in me again.
    I restrain his wrists, and I ask the same
question I did last week. “Is that good, Twitch?”
    “Yes,” he starts, then stops with a quick
glance to Victoria. When his eyes turn back to me, they are filled
with unexpected shame. “It’s a little tight, Miss Scarlet.”
    I know I tied it exactly like I did last
week, which means he lied to me before. A puff of air flutters past
my lips, highlighting my dislike for this discovery. “Would you
like me to retie it?”
    “Yes, please,” he whispers as he lowers his
gaze from mine, giving me his final admission to his dishonesty. He did lie to me last week.
    I begin untying the rope, but Victoria steps
in. “Stop. Miss Scarlet, what have you determined by Twitch’s
behavior with the wrist binding?”
    I don’t hesitate to call Ian out on it. “He
was dishonest with me last week when he said the binding was fine.
Didn’t you, Twitch?”
    Ian’s lip stutters and he nods, his head
lowering further. “Yes, Miss Scarlet. I’m very sorry.”
    Victoria tsks with a slow shake of the head.
“What is the first rule of Submission, Twitch?”
    “Honesty with your partner,” he replies.
    “Honesty.” Victoria repeats the word and
lets it hang in the room for a few long moments. “Honesty is the
foundation of everything we do here. Without it, you can’t trust.
Without trust, you can’t build a proper bond. When honesty and
trust breaks down between partners, it all falls apart.”
    I glance from Ian’s lowered head to Victoria
as her voice loses its commanding tone near the end. I’m sure it
has something to do with whatever is going on between her, Saul and
Austin. It’s none of my business, but I hope, whatever it is, it
works out for them. The club needs all three of them, and so does
Emma’s new family. I glance back at Ian. Maybe my new family,
too.
    “The fact that Miss Scarlet can read your
body language so well,” Victoria continues, “is an encouraging
sign. So, I will let your infraction go unpunished. This time. I assume you’ve learned your lesson?”
    “Yes, Mistress,” Ian keeps his head bowed
for a moment longer then slowly raises his hazel eyes to me. “I
promise. I will never lie to you again.”
    The way he’s looking at me, into me, leaves
no room for doubt. A smile slips onto my lips as I reach out to
caress his cheek with a gloved hand. “I know you won’t, sweetie.
Now, hold still while I retie your wrists.”
    “Yes, Miss Scarlet. Thank you.”
    He returns my smile as I step to his side
and redo the knot. A flicking glance to Victoria rewards me with an
approving nod. After two attempts, Ian is satisfied with the
tension level against his wrists. I slip two fingers between the
rope and his wrists so I can gage it for next time.
    “Very good,” Victoria raises an eyebrow at
my action. “When you mentioned you had prior experience with
binding, I didn’t know it was this extensive. I thought you were
like Emma – completely new .”
    “I am, Mistress Cat.” I move back to the
front of Ian and keep my eyes locked with his. “I’ve used ropes and
binding for art displays and naive bedroom play. I’m grateful for
your guidance so I can do this properly for Twitch.”
    She nods once, seemingly satisfied with my
answer. “Proceed.”
    I ask Ian to sit and then look around the
room. “Last Friday, I blindfolded him with gauze, but you didn’t
bring any?”
    “Correct,” she affirms. “When you mentioned
the blindfolding, I knew that was part of the problem. With Twitch,
because of his OCD, a blindfold takes away his ability to focus and
channel his compulsive urges where they need to be – on you. Isn’t
that right, Twitch?”
    Ian’s head lowers again. “Yes, Mistress.”
I’m angry again for a split second until he raises his gaze back to
mine. “I didn’t actually know until I freaked out last time, I
swear.