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Chapter Sixteen

Nora sat in the center of the bed looking over a bunch of toys that Samirah brought over plus a few others she plucked from the totes. Sam and I worked on assembling the suspension rig we intended to assist us in our playful desires.

"It can hold up to four-hundred pounds and it's stabilized." I grabbed the bar once we finished and showed her a few quick pull-ups. "Think it'll do?"

"For sure." Sam watched me, her hands on her legging-clad hips. "Fucking beastly arms, you have."

"Hardly." I smirked and dropped back down to the mat. "We should put an extra mat and pillows under just in case."

"Definitely."

I glanced over at Nora and saw her playing with Samirah's gift of elegant, silky hemp rope. Nora already fancied the strands of the same color that she found years ago, and her fascination with it seemed to grow with the longer coils. Her gaze appeared far away while she wound it around her wrists sloppily. My brow furrowed and Samirah followed my eyes after setting down the thick mat.

"What's wrong?" she asked, glancing between us.

"Not sure. Nor?" I called to her, but she didn't answer me right away. I shifted away from the setup to join her on the bed. "Nora."

She met my gaze, a small smile returning to her lips. "I like this color."

"You've always liked my purple rope." I smiled then placed my hands on top of her wrists. The way she tethered them wasn't pretty or knotted, but hastily twisted. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing." She slowly lifted her arms over her head, the longer piece of rope dangling. Her expression didn't appear amused or interested, but rather, sad.

I said nothing, then reached up and began unraveling her. She let me do it, holding her arms up until I tugged the rope away. A poignant smile made it to her lips, and she looked down to her hands now in her lap.

"Give me your arm," I whispered, and she held out her left arm. Slowly and with caution, I began to wrap the rope around her, tying off knots after every fourth wrap. She smiled while watching me create a silky rope gauntlet on her forearm from wrist to elbow. I made sure it wasn't tight, and a little bit loose so that it didn't restrict her circulation.

Samirah watched us while leaning against the bedpost, her feet crossed at the ankles. Nora's soft smile remained, and she flexed her fingers when I tied off the last knot.

"Like that?" I asked and she nodded.

"Very pretty. Can I keep it on?"

"Of course." I nudged her chin up so that she'd look at me. "My bindings are the only ones that will ever touch your skin," I said, with unexpected intensity.

She nodded, her brow narrowing as if matching mine.

I scratched my nails over the rope on her arm. "Good?"

Nora nodded, her fingers brushing over the fabric.

"Does that mean we get to Shibari with your sub today?" Sam asked, her eyes wild with excitement. "Purple rope across her milky skin sounds delectable."

Nora's cheeks flushed and she met my gaze, her lip between her teeth.

"Perhaps…" I ran my knuckles over her chin. "If she's a good girl."

"What's the criteria for good girl status, Beast?" Sam teased, grinning at Nora.

"At least six orgasms," I said, wagging my brows at Nora. "Right, babe?"

Nora laughed and scooted closer to me. "Uh huh. Easy task when you're in charge, Car." She leaned her head on my shoulder and I wrapped my arm around her.

Samirah joined us on the bed, her eyes twinkling with endless mischief as always when she gazed at my sub. "Is she a gusher?"

"Oh yeah." I grinned, then chuckled when Nora covered her face. "She is."

"Caroline!" Nora laughed, burrowing her face against the nape of my neck.