From the Many Thrilling Adventures of Jodi McJoy!
		by Van © 2023
		Chapter 3

Status check:

Setting:  Blissful Beach Spa.  Tropical splendor.  A perfect day.  What did you expect?  It's Hawaii.

Griselda Bruno, Spa employee:  Built like an exceptionally beautiful and strong brick outhouse.  Smiling and wearing a purple, very skimpy string bikini.  Her left hand clutching Jodi's braided ginger hair.

Jodi McJoy (aka "Jacki Jouyeux"), Intrepid Investigative Reporter par excellance:  Naked.  Her wrists crossed and bound behind her back with her old friend, white 550-paracord.  More of the same pinning her arms to her torso and lashing her elbows semi-close-but-not-touching.  Black, ventilated ball-gag firmly plugging her mouth.  Green eyes wide in shock (see also alarm and discombobulation).  Heart pounding and breath coming in gagged pants.

So, what had Jodi so worked up?  (Other than her nudity, paracord bonds, ball-gag, and bikini-clad-Griselda's firm-but-gentle grip on her tightly braided ginger hair.)

In the center of the outdoor room Jodi and her amazonian escort had just entered was a massage table, but it wasn't one of those semi-flimsy portable numbers.  This table was narrow, well-padded, sturdy, and non-folding, with hefty teak legs, cross-bracing, and a stout frame.  The wood was darkly stained and the padding a rich shade of dark leather, possibly... chestnut in color?  Jodi decided to go with chestnut.  And it was definitely a massage table.  It had one of those padded oval cutouts at one end so a hypothetical massage-receiving-person could lie on her stomach with her face nestled in the opening so she could stare down at nothing while her hypothetical masseuse did things to her back, rump, and the backs of her legs.

Okay, it was a massage table, and a sturdy non-folding massage table at that.  So what?  Was that so bad?  Well... YES!!  Attached to the table were four padded leather cuffs, two at each end, the kind used to restrain unruly patients in hospitals and asylums!  Medical restraints!  Leather!  Brown leather!  Padded!  Inner and outer straps!  The old-school kind, not the modern nylon webbing kind that secure with special magnetic diddly-bobs!  The padded inner cuffs were wide, designed to wrap around wrists or ankles, the outer straps were narrower, and everything was brown!  And worse yet, several thick, wide (1½" or 2"), leather straps dangled from the edges of the table, ready to be tightened across the massage-martyr's body and buckled tight to render her even more helpless!  They were also brown!

Obviously, the cuffs and straps were there to put the 'Restrained' in 'Restrained Massage!'  And Jodi was the intended victim!

Granted, the use of the term "victim" was less than charitable, even inflammatory, but Jodi didn't care!  She wanted nothing to do with the table, and especially its waiting restraints!

"MRRRMF!"

"Easy, Jacki," Griselda purred, maintaining her grip on Jodi's convenient braid-handle as her charge squirmed and tugged on her bonds (but not the braid).

Oh-by-the-way, smiling and standing next to the table were a pair of bikini-clad women with Blissful Beach Spa name-tags that read "Angel Ortiz" and "Abuya Njeri."

Angel was tall, slender, and athletic, with brown skin, stunning features, and long, flowing brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.  Almost certainly she was a Latina, but of what variety Jodi wasn't at all sure.  Her nose was prominent, so Jodi suspected she might have a few Mayans among her ancestors.  Her bikini (what there was of it) was carmine-red.

Abuya was as African as a woman could get (in Jodi's opinion).  Her skin was dark, very dark, with hints of blue.  She was slightly shorter than Angel, but equally slender, muscular, and fit.  Also, her head was very nearly clean-shaven, leaving behind only a thin skullcap of tight black curls.  Also in Jodi's opinion, Abuya was both intriguing and gorgeous.  The shape of her head was... cool.  Her bikini was peacock-blue.

Both women greeted Jodi and Griselda's arrival with friendly, welcoming smiles, all the while looking Jodi's naked, bound, gagged, and squirming body up and down in what Jodi took to be a professionally assessing manner.  And then, both beauties shifted their happy smiles to Griselda.

"Oh, Grizzy," Abuya gushed, "you were absolutely correct!  She is every bit as cute as you said!"  By the way, the African beauty spoke with a lilting accent that Jodi found quite melodious.

"Indeed," Angel nodded.  "Forgive my earlier skepticism.  Your enthusiasm is entirely understandable."  Angel also had an accent that Jodi thought confirmed a Hispanic background.

"Shut up!" Griselda barked in a smiling, tolerant rebuke.

Jodi glanced at her handler, ignoring the tug on her scalp, and did a severely restricted, wide-eyed, and gagged double-take.  Griselda was blushing!  It was unmistakable!  She's been gossiping and bragging about my 'cuteness' to the other staff?  That's... interesting.  Also, Jodi decided she was in full agreement with Abuya.  "Grizzy" was the perfect nickname for her Personal Concierge.  She probably hates it.  Unfortunately, Jodi was preoccupied with her impending Restrained Massage and would have to postpone further consideration of the remarkable possibility that Griselda might have some sort of infatuation with and/or crush on her petite ginger customer.

And speaking of impending Restrained Massages...

Griselda (aka Grizzy) dragged (led) Jodi towards the table, despite her continuous squirming and mewling objections.  "Mrrrpfrmrrr!"  Angel and Abuya moved to assist, not that Griselda actually needed their help handling a tiny little thing like Jodi McJoy, but they helped anyway.  Between the three of them, Jodi's spirited resistance was a truly trivial issue.

Jodi twisted and fought as she was untied and eased face down onto the table―"Mrrrm!"―and continued struggling as the cuffs were tightened and buckled around her wrists and ankles.  "Nrrrrrf!"  She was now loosely spreadeagled on her stomach on the padded surface with her face resting in the padded oval opening... when she wasn't lifting her gagged head and scowling at her handlers.  "Mrrrgh!"  Tugging, kicking, and squirming, Jodi found she had a little wiggle-room, but obviously she wasn't getting off the table until she was released.

Griselda, Angel, and Abuya smiled and watched Jodi's futile efforts for several seconds... and then it happened.

Angel and Abuya spun on their bare heels, padded to a teak side-table, and anointed their hands with a clear oil that had been warming over a candle in a glass vessel with a long spout.  They then padded back to the table and began ruthlessly running their oily hands all over Jodi's helpless body!  Her back, shoulders, arms, legs, and butt!  Jodi's entire posterior body received the bikini-clad beauties' slow, deep, gliding attention!  It was... horrible?  Actually, it felt pretty good... meaning very good.  Jodi's squirming resistance grew weaker... as did her mewling complaints―"Mrrrrr."―and eventually turned into slow, weak writhing... and what might been characterized as purring.  "Mmmm..."

It wasn't fair!  How could Jodi be outraged and offer the Righteous Resistance expected of a Brave Intrepid Reporter when her tormentors were obviously talented experts in the sensual art of massage?  Finally, Jodi decided she had no option but to close her eyes, draw deep, even breaths, and studiously ignore the waves of delicate pleasure coursing through her limp muscles as Angel and Abuya's glistening hands slid over her glistening skin.

Finally, pleased with the results they'd visited on Jodi's posterior half, her torturers (masseuses) unbuckled her wrist and ankle cuffs, flipped her over, and re-secured the cuffs.  Then, with Jodi on her back and face up, they proceeded to deal with her anterior half in the same slow, deep, detailed manner!

Jodi had valiantly resisted the cavalier manner in which her handlers had, uh, handled her, of course... or rather she rallied her totally relaxed body to valiantly resist... but didn't get around to it until the last of the narrow outer straps had been snapped tight around the last of the cuffs and it was far too late.

Part two of Jodi's massage was just as "horrible" as part one... and lasted just as long.  O the horror!

Eventually―limp as the proverbial noodle, naked, oily, and simultaneously tingling and totally relaxed from her gagged head to her glistening toes―Jodi closed her eyes, sighed through her ventilated ball-gag, lay perfectly still, and struggled to stay awake.  The thing was, she didn't need a nap.  It was morning for heaven's sake!  Jodi had work to do!  There was an entire luxurious tropical spa full of naked or nearly naked attractive women to explore!  Bondage perfidy was afoot!  Hinkiness and kinkiness that needed ferreting out and dragged into the sunshine!  And Jodi was just the ferret to do it!

But she was sooooo relaxed... and her entire body felt sooooo good.  (Also she was naked, glistening, bound, and gagged.)

Suddenly, for the first time, the formerly dangling leather straps were stretched across Jodi's upper torso, waist, and thighs and buckled tight.  "Mrrrpfh!"  What an... outrage?  Jodi was now even more totally helpless than she'd been before, when she was "only" spreadeagled on the softly padded table by her wrists and ankles.  Jodi was trying to muster sufficient indignation to recommence squirming and wiggling, but was finding it difficult.  Her body was still tinging and relaxed.

And then another outrage happened!  Two outrages, actually.  (1.) Angel (Jodi thought it was Angel) gently lifted a sleep-mask, a blindfold with an elastic strap, and gently slipped it over her eyes.  (2.) Somebody was draping a lightweight cotton sheet over her body, covering her from toes to neck. (It was probably Abuya, as the last time Jodi checked Grizzy was standing off to the side, smiling, and gloating with her arms crossed under her barely-bikini-top-covered boobs.)

Again, Jodi struggled to summon the energy to manifest the proper level of umbrage and objection... but failed.  In fact... she went to sleep.  Go figure.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ z z z z z z z ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Huh?  Jodi snapped awake, blinked her green eyes several times, and realized that:

(A.)  She was awake;

(B.)  She wasn't blindfolded;

(C.)  She was still on the massage table, but was no longer spreadeagled and/or strapped down by leather cuffs and/or straps;

(D.)  The sheet she remembered being draped over her before falling asleep was gone―Blink-blink-blink!―like the blindfold;

(E.)  The ventilated ball-gag was no longer plugging her mouth, but was now dangling around her neck like a bizarre necklace; and...

(F.)  She was still naked.  (Actually, at this point in her "investigation," if Jodi had opened her eyes to find that she was wearing something, that would have been the first item on her list.)

Having fulfilled her quota of eye-blinks appropriate to the occasion, Jodi bolted upright on the massage table, swung her legs over the side, and looked around.  This triggered additional revelations:

(I.)  Angel and Abuya (with their bikinis, gorgeous bodies, and oily but talented hands) were nowhere to be seen;

(II.)  Griselda was still very much present, bikini-clad and smiling (gloating), with her arms crossed under her boobs.  It was as if she'd been doing that the entire time Jodi was asleep.

(III.)  Jodi had no real idea how much time had elapsed since her Hideous Restrained Massage Torture Ordeal, but her best guess was... "not much."  Also...

(IV.)  On the side-table, to the right of the massage-oil-setup Angel and Abuya had used to anoint their hands, lay a bundle of teal-green neoprene (wetsuit material) with zippers and straps!

Jodi focused on Griselda (meaning "Grizzy"), scowled, and glared!  Her body was still glistening (a little), but now it was with outrage.  "How dare you!" Jodi growled.

Griselda shrugged, still smiling the same irritatingly self-satisfied smirk.  "Standard Blissful Beach procedure," she chuckled, "as I explained earlier."

Jodi continued glaring and watched as "Grizzy" gracefully padded to the side-table and picked up the aforementioned teal-green neoprene bundle.  While this was happening, Jodi stole a surreptitious glance at the open "doorway" leading back to the maze of sandy pathways.  Could she win a sprint for freedom and disappear into the spa?  Probably not, she decided.  Her Personal Concierge had longer legs.  Jodi turned back to find Grizzy approaching, and dangling between her raised hands was what Jodi now recognized as a single-sleeve armbinder made of nylon fabric coated rubber!  Being a seasoned, street-smart investigative reporter, Jodi was at least somewhat cognizant of common BDSM gear.  Anyway, the binder was, indeed, teal-green neoprene, and all of its metal hardware was gunmetal-gray.

Jodi started blinking again, then decided to play what she'd decided to call the cute-card.  "Uh... so you think I'm cute, do ya?" she teased.  "And you told everybody?  Is that... ethical?"

This seemed to catch Griselda off-guard and her blush returned, but only briefly.  Her smile quickly reasserted itself and she continued forward, took hold of Jodi's upper arms and eased her off the table, spun her around, and forced her upper body down across the table. 

"Hey!" Jodi complained.  Her boobs were squashed against the padding and her frowning/pouting face turned to the side and also pressed against the brown leather.  "Answer the question, Grizzy!" she demanded.  She couldn't see if her handler was still blushing, but her perfectly reasonable question was being ignored.  "Well?  Hey!  Grizzy!  No!"  Jodi was whining, but whining was appropriate!  Grizzy was forcing her arms into the armbinder!   As usual, resistance was futile.  Her Personal Concierge really was that skilled and strong.

Zippppp!

"Hey!" Jodi reiterated.  Her arms were now behind her back and inside the sleeve with her hands palm-to-palm and scrunched into the base, her forearms and elbows crushed together―Okay, her elbows were pressed together―and Grizzy was stretching and buckling a pair of broad neoprene straps around her already inescapably binder-bound arms.  One strap tightened around her wrists and and the other around her upper arms, just above her aforementioned pressed-together elbows!  It was... restrictive.  Finally, a pair of narrower neoprene straps were draped over her shoulders, crisscrossed over her chest (above her outraged and out-thrust breasts), then buckled, clipped, or snapped to the top of the binder near her armpits.  Incidentally, the binder's buckles weren't the usual tongue-and-hole affairs, but some sort of friction-buckle design with spring-loaded snap-covers; but Jodi wasn't in a position to adequately study the technical details.

Apparently satisfied with the completion of her immediate task, Griselda took a step back.

Jodi's reaction, not unexpectedly, was to awkwardly lift herself off the table and stand erect, spin 180°, and begin vigorously testing her new restraint.  She twisted at the hips, rolled her shoulders, repeatedly bent forward at the waist, and lifted her binder-bound arms away from her back and butt.  "Ohhhhh!"  While this was happening, her braid flopped around, as did her boobs, as did the loosely buckled ball-gag still around her neck in ugly-necklace-mode.  Finally, Jodi ceased her struggling, turned, and stared daggers at her handler.  "Why?" she demanded angrily.

"Why neoprene?" Griselda purred.  "We're going swimming in the ocean, remember?"

"No!" Jodi huffed, stamping her right foot.  "Why am I tied up at all!"

Griselda smiled with irritating serenity.  "Standard Blissful Beach procedure."

Jodi continued glaring at her Personal Concierge for several simmering seconds... then responded in the only way currently possible.  "Ohhh!" she reiterated, twisted and tugged on the armbinder one last futile and ineffectual time, this time stomping her bare feet on the sand.  She then stood straight and resumed glaring at Grizzy-the-Amazon-Princess.

Still smiling, Griselda once again took hold of Jodi's braid and led her from the Restrained Massage Outdoor Torture Chamber and back into the sandy maze.

Jodi trudged in gloomy silence... then lifted her chin and blinked in surprise.

Approaching down the path was another female Blissful Beach staff member who was neither Grizzy, Angel, nor Abuya!  Jodi knew she was staff because she was wearing a name-tag and a skimpy, pearl-white string-bikini with a diaphanous, gauze-thin sarong riding her hips.  It flapped in the breeze as she padded past, and while it was an Aloha-style print, the colors were washed out to the point of being a mere hint.  Also, not to Jodi's great surprise, the woman was beautiful, physically fit, and curvaceous, and she was Asian, probably Chinese, with long, straight black hair, gorgeous features, prominent cheek-bones, a warm smile, and sparkling brown eyes.

"Good morning, Griselda," the woman greeted her fellow employee as they approached.

"'Mornin', Lan-ying," Grizzy replied.  They didn't stop.

"You were absolutely correct," Lan-ying called back over her shoulder as she continued on her way.  "She is cute.  Very cute.  I was wrong to doubt you."

"Shut up, Lan-ying," Griselda muttered in good-natured response.

Melodious laughter faded into the distance as Lan-ying turned a corner and was gone.

Jodi turned her head, carefully, as Grizzy still had a firm grip on her braid.  Her handler was staring straight ahead, but she was also blushing again... maybe... just a little.  Perhaps I really do have an arrow in my quiver after all, Jodi decided, suppressing a smile.  "So..." the ginger prisoner said quietly, "you have been bragging about my cuteness.   Isn't that... interesting."

Grizzy's response (other than continuing to blush) was to call an abrupt halt, unbuckle Jodi's ball-gag-necklace, pop the ventilated mouth-plug into Jodi's startled mouth―"Mrrrf!"―then buckle the strap tight―"Nrm!"―at the nape of her neck.  She then regained her grip on Jodi's braid and they resumed their journey.

Jodi supposed she should be glaring and staring daggers, as usual, but found she couldn't.  She was too... amused.  It was probably camouflaged by her ball-gag-enforced grimace, but she knew she was actually smiling.  Maybe I have found an opening I can exploit, she thought, but it's best to bide my time a little longer, then dial up the cuteness to eleven and try a little parsimonious and experimental flirting.  Grizzy might start going easy on me and make a mistake I can exploit to sneak away and finally start doing some serious snooping.  Among other things, Jodi was getting anxious to check out the big building looming on the side of the spa away from the beach.

Speaking of the beach, they reached the end of the path, left the shade of the palms and partial cover of the hedges... and there was the sand, the surf, and the Pacific beyond.

As it turned out, cavorting in the surf and swimming in the deeper water off shore was invigorating fun... even if you are naked and your hands and arms are bound behind your back and zipped, strapped, and buckled into a tight, inescapable, teal-green neoprene arm-binder.  Who knew?  Certainly not Jodi McJoy!

It wasn't the sort of aquatic activity Jodi might have pursued on her own, but at the moment she had no choice.  For one thing, it would be exceeding awkward and possibly dangerous as a solo activity, but not to worry.  Not only was Griselda an expert rigger and handler, but also a strong swimmer, and she never left Jodi's side.  In fact, she spent most of the swim with her nearly-naked bikini-clad body pressed against Jodi's binder-bound but otherwise completely naked body!  Jodi would have objected, of course―"Mrrrf!"―if it wasn't for the ventilated ball-gag still plugging her mouth.

Anyway... Jodi knew Grizzy would take care of her and she wasn't in any real danger.  Also, Jodi had quickly learned that she could use her tongue to block the hole on the back side of the hollow ball-gag-ball and prevent seawater from flooding her mouth.  This was particularly useful when they passed through the surf and whenever Grizzy either allowed Jodi's head to duck underwater or deliberately and callously dunked her.  Jodi couldn't prove her grab-handed handler was deliberately dunking her, but she wouldn't put it past her.  The grinning amazon probably thought it was funny.

Anyhoo... the naked captive and her grinning lifeguard cavorted for about half an hour... then Grizzy led Jodi back across the surf line.  They planted their feet... were buffeted by the waves... and made their way back to the beach until the nearly spent waves were periodically sloshing against their lower legs.

Jodi could see they were exiting the water further away from the dock than where they had entered and she had a closer view of the guests and staff members in the lounge chair and umbrella area, but unfortunately she was distracted from finally being able to make a possible celebrity sighting by the arrival of yet another new staff member.  The newcomer was emerging from the water only a few yards behind them, and whoever she was, she was wearing a black bikini.  (Hence Jodi's assumption that she was Blissful Beach staff.)

Carla Tarantola

"Griselda!" the woman shouted with a broad smile.

Grizzy turned and beamed at the newcomer.  "Hey, Boss!"

Jodi blinked and stared at Grizzy's alleged boss.  She was a petite brunette―and by petite Jodi meant she was about the same diminutive height as Jodi herself.  Also, she was a sexy little package with Big Brown Eyes.  Her dark hair was wet (like the rest of her), slicked back in a short, tight ponytail, and her features were... girlish.  There was no other way to put it.  Also, she was older than Grizzy and therefore older than Jodi.  Just how much older?  Well... older.  Anyway, she really was incredibly girlish, curvaceous, and in good shape.

And just in case it isn't already clear, Grizzy's tiny little boss was devilishly attractive.  Also, after careful consideration, Jodi decided the term "waifish" applied.  That said, her smile was undeniably quirky... and possibly a little sinister... but in all fairness Jodi knew her impression was colored by being naked, ball-gagged, and armbinder-bound.

Once again Griselda had a firm grip on Jodi's braid, thus controlling her ability to make a naked, bound, and gagged break for it.  "Allow me to make the introductions," Grizzy purred.  "Jacki Joyeux, Carla Tarantola, our Director of Spa Services.  Carla, Jacki Joyeux."

"Pleased to meet you," Carla purred, her big brown peepers locked with Jodi's blinking green orbs.  She waded close through the lapping waves... then draped her right arm across Jodi's shoulders in a friendly (and involuntary) sideways embrace.  At the same time, her left hand slid between Jodi's thighs and caressed the squirming ginger's pussy!

"MRRRMPFH!"

As far as Jodi was concerned, all doubts as to the sinister nature of Carla's smile were firmly resolved!  Carla's gorgeous, waifish smirk was definitely sinister!  Also girlish and wicked!  Jodi shuddered and squirmed in place.  She considered trying to kick the petite brunette someplace important, especially when Carla's hand stopped petting her pussy, slid up Jodi's dripping wet body, and gently clutched her right breast―meaning Jodi's right breast!  Unfortunately, sandwiched between the evil, pipsqueak, brunette boss and her smiling, amazonian, brunette employee, and with Grizzy still clutching her braid, and standing knee deep in the churning Pacific, kicking anything with precision was an iffy proposition.

"Nrrrm!"

"She certainly is a cutie," Carla purred, "just like you said.  Take good care of her."

"My pleasure, boss!" Grizzy purred.

Carla released Jodi's boob, released her across-the-shoulders-sideways-embrace, then turned and splashed away, heading back towards the breaking waves, obviously to continue her swim.

Griselda leaned close and kissed Jodi's forehead.  "Sorry about that," she chuckled, then led (dragged) Jodi from the water, onto the wet sand, and up the gentle slope to the dry sand above.

Jodi didn't know whether to be outraged, angry, or excited... so she went with all three (with the excitement coming from the rapidly fading thrill still quivering through her offended pussy).  She'd been groped by Grizzy's diminutive and wickedly waifish boss!

Their obvious destination was a shower station several yards further up the beach.  A freshwater rinse was in order.

The direct path to the shower led them even closer to the lounge and umbrella area, and Jodi could now confirm (to her investigative satisfaction) that the occupants of the loungers were all naked (like Jodi herself) and the standing women were wearing either string-bikinis or skimpy one-piece swimsuits similar to the revealing little black number Grizzy had worn yesterday, and were therefore almost certainly Staff.  (Was Jodi's arrival really only yesterday?  Had she really been here less than 24 hours?  It seemed longer.)  Also, Jodi was now convinced the reclined women were all restrained by exceedingly thin cords, or possibly translucent fishing line!  Some were spreadeagled on their well-padded loungers, and one appeared to be cocooned in a taut, stretched, tubular web of clear cord (or line) from head to toe, with her arms at her sides and her legs together!  She was like a Christmas tree that had been run through one of those bundling machines!

Is that who I think it is?  Naaaaah!

However, there was one woman reclined on an extra-large lounger that was practically a daybed who didn't appear to be bound in any way.  She was a tall, slender, shapely blonde with a killer full-body tan, was reclined on her back like all the other naked guests (Jodi assumed they were all guests) and―

"Mrrrf?"

Jodi froze in place, her green eyes popped wide, and she stared in wonder at the blonde in question (not necessarily in that order).  She was sure she recognized the neither bound nor gagged Viking-beanpole-woman!  Maybe.  This might be Jodi's very first celebrity sighting!  Her first real breakthrough in her seriously stymied investigation!  Jodi was now seriously convinced (meaning suspicious) that the blonde was a famous actress!  The problem was, Jodi's viewing angle wasn't perfect, the distance was still pretty far, and various bikini-clad staff members kept buzzing around the blonde and getting in the way!  Move, dammit!  Move!  Is that who I think it is? Jodi thought.... then decided she had to be wrong.  Naaaaah!

Suddenly, Grizzy tugged on her braid―Ow!―and Jodi had no choice but to resume their journey up the beach to the shower.

Jodi looked back over her shoulder (as much as Grizzy's firm grip on her braid would allow), and watched as a couple of bikini-clad staff members stretched a net of transparent cord or line across the blonde-who-looked-sorta-like-a-famous-actress and the lounger.  The net in question appeared to be built into the far side of the lounger, maybe on a roller mounted under the frame.  The staff members somehow secured the net to the near side of the frame, it stretched tight, and the blonde was now trapped on the lounger under a taut, nearly invisible web!

"Eyes front," Jacki chuckled as she gave Jodi's braid a gentle tug.  "It's rude to stare."

Jodi heaved a sigh and faced forward as ordered.  They were now too far away for her to see much of anything anyway.  It was frustrating.

They stepped onto the duckboards of the shower station, Griselda turned a knob, and a veritable monsoon of cold water fell, immediately drenching their bodies and rinsing away the residual seawater.  Grizzy used her hands to expedite the process by running them up and down Jodi and herself.  Then, after several seconds... she spun her charge around and unbuckled, unzipped, and removed Jodi's teal-green neoprene armbinder.

Still ball-gagged but no longer bound, Jodi took advantage of the situation to execute a glorious full-body stretch―"Mrrrm!"―roll her shoulders a few times, windmill her arms, flex her fingers, then continued rinsing herself under the cascading water.  Also... she cautiously and surreptitiously reached for the buckle of her ball-gag.

"No."

That was Grizzy, of course.  She'd been busy rinsing the armbinder, inside and out, but obviously wasn't too busy to miss Jodi's perfectly reasonable and totally understandable attempt to remove her gag.  Jodi frowned (in a grimacing, ball-gagged sort of way) and resumed running her hands over her body.  She also gazed at the nearest entrance to the spa's maze of tastefully landscaped and semi-hedge-lined pathways.  It wasn't very far.  Maybe... fifteen yards?  If I wait 'til Grizzy turns her back...

"Stay."

Jodi heaved a gagged sigh.  Who am I kidding, she mused.  She'd run me down like a cheetah after a baby antelope.

Griselda turned off the shower and led her naked, dripping wet, still ball-gagged, otherwise unrestrained, and undeniably cute (even when she was pouting and grumpy) guest towards the green pathway.  Grizzy was also dripping wet, of course, and her hair was dark, combed back by her fingers, and totally saturated.  Jodi's equally wet hair was still in its braid.  The disgruntled ginger had long since given up worrying about her hair.  Braided, repeatedly soaked, then allowed to air dry?  It was a lost cause and would probably require professional intervention once it was finally un-braided.

Anyway...  (Sigh.)  Grizzy led Jodi into the leafy maze... they made a few turns... then entered another outdoor room with a teak table and chairs.  Actually, it may have been the very same space where they'd enjoyed that delicious breakfast.  Jodi wasn't sure.  Waiting on a tray on the table were a covered plate, an insulated carafe, and a pair of overturned tumblers.

Grizzy pulled back a chair, Jodi settled into the comfy cushion, then her ever-smiling, ever helpful handler reached under Jodi's braid, unbuckled the ball-gag, re-secured the buckle on its first hole, then reached around and plucked the black, ventilated sphere from Jodi's mouth, and once again the gag was in ugly-necklace-mode.

Jodi licked her lips, worked her jaws, swallowed, and sullenly watched as Grizzy settled into the chair on her right.  At least I'm not tied up, she silently huffed.  It was true!  Jodi wasn't tied up at all!  And she wasn't gagged!  She was still naked and a little wet, but her skin was drying rapidly and her braided hair would dry eventually.  Her bare feet were a sandy mess, of course, but once she finished drying she'd be able to brush them clean with her hands... assuming she remained untied.

Still smiling her usual gorgeous and infuriating smile, Grizzy lifted the cover from the plate, revealing a generous and tastefully arranged array of mini-sandwich-wraps on a bed of leafy green lettuce and garnished with chunks of tropical fruit and various fresh vegetable.

"Lunch," Grizzy announced (unnecessarily) as she flipped over the tumblers, lifted the carafe, and filled them with some sort of fruity concoction.

Jodi hadn't realized she was ready for lunch, but she was.  Hopefully, none of the food was poisoned.  Frowning, she selected one of the wraps... and took a tentative bite.  Yum!  It was some sort of juicy, savory meat, probably something like Mongolian Beef, as well as some sort of crunchy slaw, probably cabbage-based.  It was delicious.  Finishing the mini-wrap with two more bites, she sampled the beverage.  It was cold, fruity, tropical, and refreshing.

Meanwhile, Griselda was also partaking of the wraps and fruit and vegetable selection. It was the same as at breakfast.  This was Grizzy's lunch as well.  I suppose it makes sense, Jodi conceded.  It's way more efficient this way.  Otherwise, she'd have to leave me tied up someplace while she went to a hypothetical staff cafeteria for her meals.  This is definitely better.  Also, it makes her my food-taster.  No poison.

Jodi continued eating in sullen silence.  The wraps were all different in filling and flavor and quite yummy.  Also, the fruit and veggies were perfectly ripe and/or crisp, as appropriate.  Suddenly, it occurred to Jodi that she was squandering an opportunity.  Being grumpy and resentful might be appropriate (as well as personally fulfilling), but it wasn't advancing her journalistic agenda.

"So... you think I'm cute," Jodi purred, her lips curled in a coy smile.  She then popped a chunk of papaya in her mouth and chewed, her sparkling green eyes focused on Grizzy.

Grizzy finished taking a sip of juice and set down her tumbler.  She was still smiling, but much to Jodi's disappointment, she wasn't blushing.

"It's an objective assessment," Griselda responded, then took a bite of a wrap with a white meat filling Jodi suspected was either chicken or pork.  The bikini-clad amazon chewed and gazed back at her ginger charge.

Jodi swallowed the papaya chunk and reached for another wrap.  Grizzy's response had been disappointing, but the brunette amazon's possible obsession with Jodi's objectively assessed cuteness remained an opening available for possible exploitation.

Jodi tried another tack.  "When am I going to be allowed to just... take a walk," she inquired, then took a bite of the wrap―Yum!  Shrimp!―chewed, and swallowed.  "Not tied up or gagged, I mean," she continued.  "When do I get to just wander around and see the place?  Do you have a gift shop?  I might be talked into purchasing a coffee mug, possibly even a t-shirt."  She took a second bite of the shrimp-wrap, chewed, and focused on her Personal Concierge in polite inquiry.

Griselda took a sip of juice before answering.  "You booked our 'Economy-B' package, Jacki," she purred.  "At Blissful Beach we always see that our guests get their full money's worth."

Obviously, the 'B' stands for 'Bondage,' Jodi sighed, wondering why she hadn't figured that out earlier.  She then amped up her cuteness; and yes, Jodi McJoy was quite adept at controlling her level of radiated cuteness.  She also batted her big green eyes (which were two of her most potent manipulative weapons, together with her dimples).  "Pleeease?  Just for the afternoon?  I'd really like to stretch my legs, and you don't even have to untie me!  I'm already untied!"

"Sorry, Jacki," Griselda chuckled.  "I'm not allowed to alter a guest's treatment plan.  I hope you understand."

Jodi returned to being grumpy.  "And I suppose clothes are also out of the question."

Griselda smiled, reached for the next-to-the-last wrap on the plate, took a bite, and shook her head.

"Not even a bikini?"

Griselda shook her head again and continued to chew.

Jodi heaved a disappointed sigh (calibrated for maximum cuteness).  "Probably just as well.  If I was wearin' somethin' people might mistake me for staff and put me to work."  She lifted the remaining wrap and gave it a tentative bite  Yum!  It was some sort of spicy, but not too spicy, chicken, with roasted peppers and crisp lettuce, possibly Thai cuisine.

Griselda finished her wrap, Jodi finished hers as well, then watched as Grizzy rose from her chair and strolled to the teak sideboard-cabinet Jodi had noticed but dismissed when they entered the venue.  She'd assumed it contained condiments or linen or something similarly meal related.  Then, her eyes popped wide as Griselda opened a drawer and pulled out one of several neatly wrapped bundles of what was probably ¼" braided nylon rope or cord, and this time all of it was in a pretty shade of purple, or possibly mulberry.

Jodi swallowed the last of the wrap, followed up with a final gulp of juice, and continued watching as Grizzy released the coil, doubled the thin-rope/thick-cord, found its center, and prepared it for use.

Jodi eyed the opening back to the the sandy maze, reconsidering the cheetah-versus-antelope issue... but she knew escaping and evading her handler for very long remained an extreme long shot.

"Grizzy!" Jodi whined, but it was a pointless (albeit cute) gesture.  Her smiling, the bikini-clad, amazonian handler/rigger was slowly padding in her direction, the purple rope ready in her hands.