Chapter 28 – Off the Ropes

Is… is it… is it over?

The bright spotlights panned away, the crew started moving again, and suddenly Chloe was no longer the object at the center, but a human being again.

Buck quickly removed the leather mask and gloves, loosened the leather cuffs on her feet and hands, and helped her out of her restraints.

“Hey, take it easy. I’ve got you.” His voice was warm. “That was pretty intense, wasn’t it?”

She could only nod. When the last restraint came off, she slumped against him. She held on to him because her trembling legs, which felt like jelly, could barely support her. He stroked her hair and whispered, “You did a fantastic job, Chloe.”

He held her for a moment until she was standing reasonably steady again.

“Are you okay?” His gaze was concerned, searching. “You were incredible in there, but I know it was a lot.”

“I…” Her voice cracked. She had almost screamed herself hoarse. “Yes, I’m fine. Just… wow.”

Melissa appeared with the fluffy bathrobe, which she draped around Chloe’s shoulders. Someone else pressed a bottle of water into her hand and she took a quick sip.

“You did well,” Buck said, patting her gently on the shoulder. “Really. Take a moment.”

He turned away to talk to the director, and Chloe sank down onto the edge of a padded bench at the edge of the set. Her whole body was still vibrating, a strange afterglow she didn’t quite know how to feel about. She drank the cool water greedily.

The crew bustled around her, someone was even wiping down the bondage rig with disinfectant already. No one stared at her.

She didn’t notice Ethan approaching her from the side until he was standing right in front of her. He still had his camera in his hand and the small monitor display open.

“That was…” His eyes behind his thick glasses looked almost feverish. “That was really powerful.”

Chloe pulled her bathrobe tighter around herself. “Thank you?”

“No, really.” He turned the camera toward her, and suddenly she was staring at herself. Her face at the moment of orgasm, contorted with pleasure, tears on her cheeks, her mouth open in a silent scream. “Look at that. That authenticity. You can’t fake that.”

Creepy much?

But she forced herself into an exhausted smile. “You captured that really well. The angles and everything.”

His eyes lit up. “Yes, I’m very happy with the decision to go for the extreme close-up at that exact moment, it was really a stroke of luck. See how your tears glisten in the light? That’s fantastic! Normally you’d have to do something like that in post-production. And the juxtaposition between the tension in your jaw and the surrender in your eyes…”

He continued talking, getting lost in technical details, while Chloe nodded and said, “Mhm.”

I don’t know if he really did anything to Sam, but he’s definitely got a screw loose.

“That reminds me,” she said when he paused for breath, “what you showed me with the camera earlier really helped me, I think. It kind of… calmed me down during the scene because I knew how it looked from the outside.”

“Really?” He beamed.

“Yes, absolutely! You have a real talent for explaining things.”

“If you want,” he leaned forward slightly, “I could show you more. I have a small studio at home, working on a few personal artistic projects. Nothing commercial, more like… experiments with light and form and…”

“Chloe?” Melissa’s voice cut harshly through his monologue. “We’re ready for the post-interview when you’re ready.”

She stood there, clipboard in hand, and the look she gave Ethan was as warm as a January morning in Alaska.

Ethan took a step back. “Yeah, sure. See you… around.” He disappeared relatively quickly with his camera, but still glanced at the preview monitor.

Melissa waited until he was out of earshot, then sat down next to Chloe. Her voice was soft and concerned. “Everything okay? Is he bothering you?”

“What? No, everything’s fine.”

“Are you sure?” Melissa frowned. “Ethan can be… difficult sometimes. There have been… situations…”

Bingo.

“Oh, really? No, I actually asked him about all the camera stuff because I’m interested. He was really helpful.” Chloe put on her best innocent smile. “But thanks for asking. That’s really sweet.”

Melissa didn’t look entirely convinced, but patted Chloe’s arm. “Okay. But if anything weird happens, let me know, okay?”

“I will.”

So everyone here knew about the problems with Ethan. Interesting. And yet he was still allowed to work here.

At least she was keeping an eye on him.

Melissa led Chloe to the post-interview setup. The bar stool was the same, but they were filming right in the room, with the bondage rig in the background. Ethan was nowhere to be seen though. Instead, a guy in his mid-thirties with a three-day stubble was filming.

Chloe sank onto the stool, wrapping the bathrobe tightly around herself. Her body felt like it had been kneaded, but in a strangely pleasant way. As if someone had massaged all the knots out of her muscles that she hadn’t even noticed.

“Okay,” said Melissa, standing back next to the camera. “Just relax, like before. Just tell us how it was.”

The red light came on.

“So, Chloe,” Melissa began in a warm voice, “how was it for you? Your first BDSM experience at Bound.com?”

The words bubbled out of Chloe, breathless and excited: “Oh my God, it was… so intense, in the best way! I never thought my body could take so much, you know? The Cardinal was incredible… I felt safe the whole time, even though he really pushed me to my limits.”

She laughed, a genuine, surprised laugh. “I learned so much about myself today. About what I can endure, what I… can enjoy.” A slight blush rose to her cheeks, but she continued. “And the professionalism here is just next level. Everyone made sure I felt comfortable and… that really made it possible for me to relax.”

“Was there anything that surprised you?”

Chloe thought for a moment, playing with a strand of hair. “How much I was able to let go. I’m usually pretty… controlled? But today I was able to just let it all go. All the stress, the tension of the last few weeks…” She paused briefly, then beamed. “I would shoot with you again in a heartbeat. Without hesitation.”

“We’re glad to hear that,” Melissa said with a smile. “Anything else you’d like to share with the viewers?”

“Just… thank you. To everyone here. You made my first BDSM experience something special.”

“Thank you so much, Chloe!”

“Cut!” The cameraman turned off the camera and immediately began dismantling his equipment.

Melissa came over to her with a delighted smile. “That was perfect, Chloe. Really authentic reactions.”

Because I wasn’t acting, Chloe thought with a slight shock. That wasn’t Chloe Heart talking. That was herself.

“If you like, you can get changed now,” Melissa continued. “We’re done for today.”

As Chloe slid off the stool, even Buck and the director came over to her again, the slight guy who hadn’t said a word during the entire shoot, who had simply let Buck and Chloe do their thing. “The footage turned out great,” he said in a quiet voice. He had a slight lisp.

Buck checked on her again. “Are you sure you are alright? That was a pretty intense scene for your first time. It’s totally normal if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed or emotional right now.”

Chloe nodded, feeling a lump in her throat. “I… yes, I may be a little emotional right now. But in a good way, I think?”

“That’s good.” He gently squeezed her shoulder. “Take care of yourself tonight, okay? Get some rest, let it all sink in, relax a little. You need to process something like that. And if anything comes up, feelings, thoughts, whatever, that’s normal. You revealed a lot about yourself today.”

“Thanks, Buck.” Her voice was quiet. “That’s… really sweet.”

He smiled. “We look out for each other here.”

This man, who had just tortured her for an hour until she screamed in despair, genuinely cared about her well-being.

Oh, the irony.

“Sunshine!”

The familiar voice made her flinch. She turned around and there was Ben Ziegler, marching across the set toward her. His dark blue suit stretched tight across his belly, his tie was crooked, and his face beamed with pride like an owner whose racehorse had just won the Kentucky Derby.

What the hell is he doing here?