by Van ©2017
		Chapter 8

Eventually, Kelly's pulse rate returned to something resembling normal.  Lin's audience of partygoers came and went, sighed and gasped, made concerned and/or amused remarks (most too quietly for Kelly to hear), and sipped champagne; but mainly drank in the sight of Languishing Lin, like gawking tourists staring at the Mona Lisa in the Louvre... in a smartly dressed, sexy, and kinky sort of way.

As for Lin... Lin endured.  Hogtied and balanced on her knees and biting down on the hard rubber plug filling her mouth to support her elaborately bound body, Lin endured.  It was either that or release the plug, fall forward, and allow her stretched and clamped nipples to be pierced.

She's sooo strong... sooo beautiful, Kelly mused.

To Kelly, Lin was a living statue; a living, breathing, sweating, suffering statue.  She assumed some sort of mind-over-body meditation must be at play.  One thing for sure, in Lin's place—a shudder shook Kelly's leather-bound and collared form at the very thought—Kelly knew she would have long since failed.  She would have surrendered to gravity and fallen forward to the "comfort" of the platform, nipples be damned!

"H-how much longer?" Kelly demanded.

Wendy turned to their hostess.

Joan shrugged, a smile curling her lips that, given the circumstances, Kelly could only characterize as evil.  "Lin specified that the timing of her release should remain a secret, to add to the drama and suspense."

Wendy sighed, then gave Kelly a quick hug from the side.  "Lin is strong, Kelly," she said, then kissed the pouting maid's right cheek.  "I've seen her test herself like this before.  Lin will be fine."

"She's suffering," Kelly said quietly.

"She'll be fine," Wendy reiterated.  "How 'bout something to eat?"

"No," Kelly whined, still transfixed by Lin's plight.

"You might as well," Wendy chuckled, "and you said you were hungry.  She shifted her smile back to Lin.  "I assure you she'll be here when you get back... one way or the other."

Joan reached out, took hold of Wendy's hand, and pulled the loop of Kelly's leash from her wrist.  "I'll see that Kelly gets fed.  Why don't you circulate and make nice with everyone, then come find us?"

"Ever the considerate hostess," Wendy chuckled, kissed Kelly's startled lips, then strolled away, still sipping her champagne.

"Mistress!" Kelly complained in a whisper, but Wendy was already halfway across the room and was greeting a trio of forty-something women, two of whom were handcuffed together wrist to wrist.

"Come with me, Kelly," Joan purred.  "Your 'mistress' is right.  Lin will be here."

The leash went taut and Kelly had no choice but to follow Joan from the exhibition room, abandoning Lin to her cruel fate.

Two rooms away, in a neat row atop a long table covered with a white tablecloth, stainless steel chaffing dishes comprised a self-serve feast of entrees and side dishes.  A handful of partygoers shuffled down the line, loading plates, then wandered away to find places to eat.

Lin's ordeal remained foremost in Kelly's thoughts, but her stomach growled and focused on the food Joan began loading onto a plate.  Elegant, handwritten cards in front of each chaffing dish identified the choices she was making on Kelly's behalf:

• Marinated zucchini and summer squash;
• Roasted eggplant and tomatoes;
• Orzo with garbanzo beans, red onion, basil, and mint;
• Grilled lamb with salsa verde;
• Penne with spinach sauce;
• Sun-dried tomato and mozzarella kebabs.

All of it looked and smelled good and... Kelly had no complaints... but it would have been nice to have been consulted.  Of course, she was only a lowly maid in an LBD, armbinder, and collar, whereas Joan was her gorgeous hostess... and the one holding her leash.

All-in-all Kelly was satisfied with the arrangement, in an Oh-my-god-what's-she-gonna-do-to-me-next? sort of way.  She followed docilely as Joan led the way down a hallway, through an empty sitting room, down another hallway, and into a small room with a small cafe-style table and a pair of straight-back chairs.  It was deep in the house and far away from the party (as far as Kelly could tell).

The waitress in Kelly recognized the venue as intimate, the perfect place for a cozy, private dinner.

The semi-helpless party guest in Kelly recognized the setup as someplace isolated and away from the dubious protection of Wendy and the other guests.

Was she frightened?  No, of course not.  Joan was Wendy's and Lin's friend, and eventually Wendy would get tired of chatting with her rich friends and leering at Lin's predicament and would realize she'd misplaced her plus-one.  Wendy would eventually come looking for her... after sampling the buffet and downing more champagne, chatting up more of her friends, perhaps going back for seconds, leering at Languishing Lin a little longer, etc., etc.  Eventually.

They settled into the chairs, Joan spread a napkin in Kelly's lap, then began feeding her from the plate.  A bottle of champagne waited in an ice bucket stand off to the side and conveniently close.

"My compliments to your caterer," Kelly muttered after chewing and swallowing a few fork-loads.

"Thank you," Joan purred, then filled a clean flute, held it for Kelly to take a bubbly sip... then took one herself.

Kelly chewed and swallowed more food, then decided she might as well take the offensive.  "So, who did that to Lin?"

Joan smiled.  "Lin has an extensive circle of like-minded artists and friends."

"Wendy and yourself included?" Kelly huffed.

"Yes," Joan confirmed, "but Wendy was busy all day with final negotiations for a new exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.  As host of the occasion I was fortunate enough to witness the preparations, but I never put hand to rope."

Hand to rope, Kelly thought as she accepted a final bite of food, followed by another gulp of champagne.

"You're enjoying your temporary employment, aren't you?" Joan inquired with a friendly smile.  "I can tell."

"Uh... yeah, sure," Kelly muttered.

"But you're afraid you may be in over your head?"

Kelly's heart was hammering again.  She wasn't sure how she should answer.  Should she lie?  Joan was Wendy and Lin's friend and seemed like a nice enough person—the nice person who was holding her leash.  Seconds ticked by while Joan waited patiently.  Kelly had to say something, so why not the truth?

"Is it that obvious?"

"A little," Joan chuckled.  "All I can tell you is that you're safe.  The York sisters won't let anything happen to you, and the same goes for Lin and myself."

Kelly nodded.  "So... you're all part of a circle of rich friends who are into rope?"

"Not precisely," Joan chuckled.  "We all appreciate rope restraints, but many of us have wider interests, even specialties.  I, myself, dabble in leather."

Kelly blinked uncertainly and squirmed against the inescapable leather armbinder encasing her fingers, hands, and arms—the leather armbinder.  "Leather?  You like leather?"

Joan nodded.  "I like the dedicated nature of leather.  Rope can be used in different ways for different purposes that have nothing to do with our hobby.  Leather restraints—like your armbinder—are designed for a single purpose and have no other use.  I like that."

Kelly blinked her eyes and twisted her leather-bound arms.  "Uh... I guess I see yer point."

"We differ in other ways," Joan added, a sly smile curling her lips as she refilled the champagne flute.

"Do tell," Kelly said as Joan held the flute to her lips so she could take another drink.

"Lin enjoys the martial arts aspect," Joan added.

"Hojōjutsu," Kelly nodded.

"Exactly," Joan agreed, then took a sip from the flute herself.  "There's also the artistic aspect."

Kelly nodded  "What about Wendy?"

Joan laughed, shook her head, and favored Kelly with a coy smile.  "Wicked girl.  I'm not going to gossip about Wendy, especially with her companion."

Kelly blushed, then managed a weak smile.  "It was worth a try."  She shook her head when Joan offered her another sip of champagne.  "What about you?  Aside from leather, how else do you differ from the others?  ...whoever these mysterious 'others' who aren't Lin or Mistress might be?"

Still smiling, Joan set down the flute, then stood and took the end of Kelly's leash in her right hand.  "Let me show you," she purred, tugging on the leash and lifting Kelly to her feet.

"Ya could just tell me," Kelly muttered, but (having no choice) obediently followed her hostess from the room.

A side door led to a narrow hallway, which led to a narrow staircase, which led up two flights to what was clearly a back hallway in the service area of the mansion.  They continued forward, entered a wider hallway decorated with prints and small paintings, and were back in the residence.

"Nice place," Kelly said (nervously).

"Thank you," Joan purred.

They entered a large bedroom.  If forced to guess, Kelly would say it was the master bedroom.

"I have two closets," Joan announced.

So, it is the master bedroom, Kelly thought, or maybe the mistress bedroom.

Joan gestured towards a closed door.  "Clothes," she announced, then pointed to a second door and her smile widened.  "Hobby supplies."

Kelly swallowed nervously as she followed her hostess through the second door.  Joan flipped a switch and Kelly found herself staring at a walk-in closet devoted to leather bondage gear!  There were armbinders, body-harnesses (meaning tangles of linked straps that were probably body-harnesses), neat rows of single straps of various lengths and widths, as well as—"Gulp!"—an array of gags and hoods.

Every category of damsel-silencer was represented: ball-gags, plug-gags, bit-gags, panel-gags, ring-gags, harness-gags, different permutations thereof, as well as...  What the hell is that thing? Kelly wondered, staring at a complicated harness/hood with steel fittings and... other attached hardware.  She had no idea how the thing worked and hoped she wasn't about to find out.

The hoods were equally diverse.  Kelly recognized Gwen-hoods, hoods with eye-holes, hoods without eye-holes, and hefty, well-padded isolation-hoods.  Everything, the entire collection, was black leather with the same gleaming, slightly pebbled finish as Kelly's binder.  She noticed a gap in the row of armbinders and surmised she was wearing the "missing" item.

"Uh... nice," Kelly said quietly.  "All of this must have really set you back."

"Thank you, Kelly," Joan purred.  "And as a successful lawyer I can afford to indulge my interests."  She closed the closet door behind them and turned a deadbolt, locking them in the closet... which Kelly didn't find at all menacing.  "In answer to your earlier question..."  She led Kelly to the array of gags.  "In addition to leather, I rather enjoy exploring the realm of... control."

Kelly's heart pounded as she stared at the gags.  "Uh... what do ya mean by 'control'?"

Joan began running her right hand across the hanging leather, steel, and rubber silencers.  "Lin orchestrates the precise, almost balletic application of force to make her 'arrests'." Joan purred.  She selected a combination panel-ball-gag and lifted it from its hook.  "I enjoy crafting, shall we say, scenarios that involve capture and restraint."

"Can we talk about this?" Kelly whined as the gag's rubber ball approached her mouth. "Mrrrpfh!"  Apparently not.  Soon, the ball plugged her mouth and Joan was tightening and securing the gag's strap and buckle at the nape of her neck.  She stutter-stepped in place, but the tight armbinder and securely strapped-on high-heels rendered any resistance on her part token at best.  "Mrrrf!"  A breathing hole pierced the ball and the front of the panel, allowing her to breathe through her mouth if required... in a limited fashion.

"Consider the following scenario," Joan continued as she unbuckled and removed Kelly's collar and leash and hung them from hooks, no doubt returning them to their proper places in her leather collection.  "Suppose a 'villainess' sets her sights on a pretty young damsel.  So, she invites her to a party, tricks her into wearing an armbinder, then isolates her from her friends and acquaintances behind multiple soundproof doors.  And then, just for good measure, she gags her."

Eyes wide, Kelly tested the armbinder, again, and tried forcing the gag from her mouth.  To say the least, both attempts were miserable failures.  Kelly found herself having very little difficulty imagining Joan's scenario.  She was living it!

Meanwhile, Joan opened a small drawer, produced a short length of gleaming steel chain, the kind with nested links, and knelt at Kelly's feet.  Before Kelly realized what was happening, Joan had closed a pair of clips around the straps supporting her shoes' ankle-straps!  "Mrrrf!"  Kelly's feet were now rather precariously hobbled about six inches apart!  She realized she might have been able to kick and squirm and impede the process, if she'd been quicker on the draw (and had wanted to risk making Joan angry), but it was too late now.

"Moving on..."  Joan stood, smiled, and took a tight grip on Kelly's short hair with her right hand.

"Mrrrk!"

"Control," Joan purred, as she reached back into the drawer and produced some sort of complicated steel clip, flipped a switch on the wall next to the cabinet, then led (meaning dragged by the hair) Kelly to the center of the closet.  The hobble required Kelly to take about four or five rapid baby-steps for every one of Joan's normal steps, but she managed.

Kelly heard the hum of a motor, looked up, and watched as a steel ring on the end of a wire cable lowered from a steel-lined hole in the ceiling.  The motor stopped when the cable reached breast height.  Still clutching Kelly's hair with one hand, Joan thumbed open one end of the clip and snapped it through the cable's terminal ring.  She then squeezed the sides of the clip and inserted it into the breathing hole in Kelly's gag.  A metallic click reverberated through the ball and Kelly's mouth, Joan released her hair, then strolled back to the cabinet.

The cable shook as Kelly tossed her head.  Then, she heard the motor hum once again, and the cable began to shorten.  "Mrrk?"  A smile curling her lips, Joan's thumb was on the wall-switch.  The cable continued reeling into the ceiling—"Mrrr!"—and didn't stop until the heels of Kelly's hobble-shoes left the carpet, she went up on her toes (meaning even further up onto her toes), and had no choice but to lift her chin.

Staring up at the opening where the cable disappeared into the ceiling, Kelly's heart hammered as Joan returned to her side.  The captive's nostrils flared and her breasts heaved as she stutter-stepped in place.

"Now," Joan continued, "if our hypothetical villainess was into breath-control, a simple noose would be enough to exert physical control."  She stepped even closer and smiled into Kelly's wide, green eyes.  "Personally, I find such activities to be dangerous and cruel."  She combed her fingers through Kelly's short, red locks.  "Braiding the hair and using it to exert control is another option, but not always, like with your cute little pixie-cut."  She leaned close and whispered in Kelly's ear.  "In any case, I've found that the practice of tethering a gag is always effective."

Her pulse still racing, Kelly felt Joan's fingers tug at the strings securing the halter-top of her LBD.  The bow slithered apart, Joan tugged the strings from under the armbinder straps crisscrossing her chest, and the LBD's breast-cups fell away, baring her breasts.

"Mrrrf."  A shudder of... shame shook Kelly's body.  Truth be told, more precise descriptions of what she was feeling might be 'excitement' or 'arousal', but she decided to go with 'shame'.

"Mrrrrr."

Joan unzipped the LBD and tugged it down Kelly's hips.  It fell to the floor around Kelly's hobbled feet, and her shame problem became acute.  And then, things got worse.  Joan hooked her thumbs in the waistband of Kelly's pantyhose and pulled them down her legs.

"Mrrrpfh!"

Kelly was now naked, not counting the gag, armbinder, hobble-shoes, and tangle of black cloth and nylon around her feet.

Joan took a step back and smiled at Kelly's shivering, naked form.  "Our hypothetical villainess believes a damsel is at her most vulnerable when she's naked, inescapably bound, and thoroughly gagged," she purred.  "It's also when she's at her most beautiful."

Kelly couldn't help but blush, although the gag's panel may have disguised the fact.  She could do nothing to disguise the erect nature of her nipples.

Joan stepped to a hanging array of what Kelly thought were probably body-harnesses... made a leisurely selection... and returned.

Thanks to her naked, helpless, up-on-her toes, and tethered-by-her-gag-to-the-ceiling pose, Kelly couldn't visually examine the probable harness in any degree of detail.

Joan secured a buckle behind Kelly's neck, leaving the majority of the mass of straps, steel-rings, and buckles dangling down her front, then began tightening and securing its many other straps and buckles.

Kelly quickly confirmed that the tangle of leather and steel was, indeed, a body harness.  Soon, lateral straps yoked her shoulders (in addition to the armbinder straps already yoking her shoulders) and horizontal straps pinned her armbinder-bound fingers, wrists, and arms against her spine.  Vertical straps traveled down her front from chest to crotch, linked together by three steel rings, the first above her breasts, the second below, and the third centered over her bellybutton.

Finally, a vertical strap fell from the top of the harness, down her back between the armbinder and her spine, and served to anchor the lateral and horizontal straps.  Oh-by-the-way, it narrowed in a distressing manner in the vicinity of the small of her back, cleaved her butt-cheeks and labia, then buckled to the front of the harness.  Kelly squirmed and tested her new bonds.  The harness was tight, uncomfortably tight, and the cleaving strap was carrying on a dialogue with her pussy, which was purring again, and echoes of the purring rippled up her spine in the form of fluttering waves of titillating energy.

Joan's demonstration of how a hypothetical villainess might use her hideously expensive and custom designed collection of leather goods to exert complete control of the naked body of a hypothetical damsel was...  Outrageous?  Yes.  Improper?  Of course.  Fun?  Kelly's pussy certainly thought so, but it would be improper damsel etiquette for Kelly to coquettishly smile and shiver with delight.  Luckily, whatever reactions she might be sharing with her hostess were rendered more-or-less ambiguous by her gag, bonds, and stretched pose.

Also—and it was no small thing—although Kelly barely knew Joan and the evilly smiling brunette was doing a very credible imitation of non-hypothetical villainess, Kelly was sure that it was, in fact, imitation.  Joan was Wendy's friend, Lin's friend, and Kelly was sure she wasn't in actual danger—meaning danger danger, as opposed to damsel-in-distress pretend danger.  Anyway, nothing ventured nothing gained, and it wasn't like she was the one in control of the situation... or her own immediate fate.

Next, Joan used a pair of straps to bind Kelly's legs together first at the mid-thighs... and then above her knees.  She then unbuckled the ankle-straps of Kelly's high-heel pumps and helped her carefully step out of the shoes and free of the tangle of pantyhose and LBD.  Kelly was still up on her toes, of course.  She watched from the corner of one eye as Joan folded and placed the LBD on a straight chair... added the pantyhose and shoes... then walked to the wall, flipped the cable control switch, and lifted additional leather straps from various hooks.

The cable reeled out and Kelly came down off her toes.  This was a good thing, of course, but she glared at her hostess, just to let her know she was nobody's frightened, simpering damsel (or so Kelly kept telling herself).

Clutching a bundle of straps in one hand, Joan smiled, and with a twist of her right hand removed the clip from Kelly's gag.  "Our hypothetical villainess," she continued, "might choose to control the movements of our hypothetical damsel by any one of several means."  With a coy smile she reached out and cupped Kelly's breasts—then quickly pinched her nipples between her forefingers and thumbs and held on, keeping Kelly from backing away.

Kelly blinked in distress (but not pain).  "Mrrrf?"

"A collar and leash is one possibility," Joan purred, "or she could use a pair of nipple-clamps and a leash."

Kelly shivered as Joan gently rubbed her erect nipples between her fingers.

"There's also the use of corporal persuasion in the form of riding crops, whips, floggers, electric prods, etc."  She leaned close and planted a teasing kiss on the panel of Kelly's gag, directly over her plugged mouth.  "Personally, I don't enjoy the application of pain.  Not real pain, anyway.  I assume your feelings on the subject are similar?"

Kelly nodded rather frantically.

"Good," Kelly chuckled.  She walked to the door and turned the deadbolt, then pulled it open.  "Bathroom," she ordered, making an imperious gesture.

Kelly heaved the required and expected Tragic Sigh, then started shuffling from the closet and into the main bedroom.  With her thighs and knees bound with leather straps she set a slow pace, but was doing much better when her feet had been strapped in the high-heeled-hobble-shoes.  The body-harness' narrow crotch-strap slid back and forth through her pussy with every step, but the action was more stimulating than distressing... at least for now.

Joan led the way into the opulent master bath, then released the crotch-strap, plunked Kelly down on the commode, released her thigh-strap and transferred it to ankle-binding duty, then released the above-the-knees strap.  "Tinkle," she ordered.

Kelly blushed.  'Tinkle,' she silently huffed.  They all use the same vocabulary.  They must compare notes.  The "they" in question was the York Sisters, Lin, Joan, and (she assumed) the mysterious fellow players who had bound Lin for her "art installation" down at the party.  She followed Joan's order and emptied her bladder, then "suffered" the humiliation of Joan dragging her to her bound feet and using a wet washcloth to scrub her crotch squeaky clean.

Joan restored the butt-cheek and labia-cleaving crotch-strap, then pointed out the bathroom door.  "Bed," she ordered.

Kelly favored her hostess and captor with an even stare.  Her ankles were strapped together, which rather limited her locomotive options.  So now I'm supposed to hop?

Joan smiled back.

Apparently so.  Kelly heaved another sigh, then hopped through the bathroom door.  Boob-flopping was involved.  Pussy-strap sliding happened.  It was embarrassing and humiliating (and kinky).

They reentered the bedroom and, kangaroo-style, Kelly made her way to the large, king-size bed... and flopped down onto the taut bedspread.

"Good girl," Joan chuckled, then strapped Kelly's legs together below her knees, around her shins and calves, then moved the temporary ankle-strap back to her mid-thighs.  Next, she used a leather mini-harness to bind Kelly's ankles, feet, and big toes.  Its connecting strap severely limited all efforts at flexing her feet.

Kelly tested her bonds, old and new, as soon as Joan finished buckling the ankles-feet-toes-harness and stepped back.  She wiggled and kicked, squirmed and twisted, confirming that the tight, flesh-dimpling leather straps had converted her to a giant pink inchworm (with black stripes).  Together with the armbinder and ball-panel-gag, she knew herself to be helpless... completely helpless... and totally at Joan's mercy.  Her heart continued hammering, her breasts heaving, and her pussy purring.  It was... horrible?

Who was she kidding?  Kelly was having a ball!  Was she frightened and worried about what Joan was gonna do to her next?  Of course, but in a nice way.  It was part of the fun.

Joan smiled down at Kelly as the naked captive continued her fruitless struggles.

Kelly squirmed in her bonds and stared back, batting her big green eyes for added effect.

"Well," Joan said finally, "I've neglected my other guests long enough.  Why don't you rest for a while?  I'll be locking the door behind me, of course, and with your feet and toes strapped together hopping around is no longer an option, so it's just as well."  She leaned close and cupped Kelly's breasts, gave them a gentle squeeze, then kissed her guest on her right nipple... left nipple... and forehead.

"Mrrrk?"  Kelly watched as Joan turned and strolled to the bedroom door, flipped off the overhead lights, then pulled the door closed.  Kelly was alone.  She heard a key turn in the lock... and was truly alone.

Nightlights close to the floorboard glowed on either side of the bed, so once her eyes adjusted Kelly wasn't in total darkness... but she was alone.

Alone.  Helpless.  Naked.  Gagged.  Inescapably bound in leather.

So, Kelly decided, guess I'll 'rest for a while'.

Languishing again, Kelly thought.  Her leather bonds were tight but the bed was comfortable, so it wasn't bad... as languishing went.  It was better than languishing on the hard floor of the "Time-out Room" in the York sisters' basement, that was for sure.

Minutes passed and Kelly continued languishing.

This was Kelly's first experience with leather, not counting the belts she'd sometimes used in the past for her self-bondage exercises.  The harness was... tight.  Its elements creaked and flexed as she struggled, just a little.  It was barely noticeable, but what else did Kelly have to focus on? ...or to occupy her time? ...other than worrying about what Joan was going to do to her once the party ended? 

As far as Kelly could tell, she was alone in the mansion.  She knew she wasn't, of course, but the party might as well be on the moon.  She certainly didn't expect any of her fellow guests to blunder into the bedroom and rescue her... except maybe Wendy, but even that was iffy.  Would Wendy demand her temporary maid back before returning home?  Or would she join Joan in... doing things to her?

More minutes passed... and eventually became an hour.

Kelly's heart rate had long since returned to normal.  Her pussy-purring had settled into a titillating background hum, not unlike the buzzing of an under-powered vibrator set on "trickle-tickle."  Kelly knew most vibrators had no such setting and there was no vibrator; but something was happening between her bound legs... other than the narrow crotch-strap sliding back and forth in response to her weak, recurring struggles and efforts to roll on the bed and find comfort.  Yes, something was definitely happening.

Kelly whimpered through her gag...  "Mrrrf."  ...and continued languishing.  She closed her eyes, and...

Kelly opened her eyes and blinked in the near darkness.  I fell asleep! she realized.  A key was rattling in the bedroom door and a whispered conversation was happening in the hallway.  Kelly squirmed in her leather bonds and tried to listen.  She could definitely hear voices... but the door was still closed and she couldn't tell who was talking, nor could she make out what was being said.

Finally, the door opened and someone entered the bedroom.  Kelly couldn't tell who it was in the dim light, but the newcomer was definitely female, and almost certainly naked.  The door closed and Kelly heard the key turn in the lock from the far side.  She still couldn't identify the new arrival, who was padding towards the master bathroom, not the bed.  The bathroom door opened and closed.

Once again Kelly's heart was pounding, but her pussy had gone quiet.  It had even stopped humming.  Apparently, her hoo-haw was waiting to learn the identity of the new arrival before committing to any more serious purring.  Water started running in the bathroom... a lot of water.  Earlier, while tinkling on command, Kelly had noted that the bathroom had a soaking tub and she surmised it was now in the process of filling.

Kelly squirmed in her bonds, few other options being available, and returned to her languishing.

Eventually the sound of flowing water stopped... and was replaced by the sound of intermittent splashing.  Kelly surmised the newcomer was enjoying a bath.  There was also a low-level wet noise that Kelly diagnosed as the bubbling of Jacuzzi-style water-jets.

More minutes passed... wet, bubbly, and naked minutes for the unidentified occupant of the tub... dry, bound, and naked minutes for Kelly on the bed.

Finally, after the unknown bather's fingers had sufficient time to become wrinkled and pruney (Kelly assumed), she heard the sound of the bathtub emptying... then the sound of a hand-dryer.  Whoever is in there has hair, she deduced, which wasn't exactly a stunning insight.  Eventually, the dryer noise stopped... the bathroom door opened and closed... and the still unidentified, but definitely female, figure approached the bed.  She was, indeed, naked... and her hair was dark... and she was Lin!

Kelly's pulse kicked into high gear and her pussy began silently trilling like a tribble being petted by Uhura.  Lin!

Unsmiling, Lin heaved a sigh and stared down at Kelly.

Kelly shivered in her bonds.  She couldn't tell if Lin was suffering from rope marks.  Given the severity of her recent art-installation-bondage, Kelly was sure Lin's body had to be crisscrossed with red lines, or at least pink lines, but the glow of the nightlights was insufficient for her to examine Lin's smooth, firm skin in any detail.  Glistening curves?  Loose, straight, midnight-black hair?  Yes and yes.  Rope marks?  No, or at least none that she could see.

"I made it very clear that I was tired and needed a good night's sleep," Lin said.  "What are you doing here?"

Kelly blinked her eyes and mewled through her gag, making the best answer she could.  "Mrrrf."

Lin shook her head,  "Joan," she sighed, then flopped down onto the bed.  "I'll deal with her later.  As for you, young lady..."  She rolled over, reached out and opened a drawer in the bedside table, then rolled back and knelt over Kelly with her knees and lower legs on either side of the captive's thighs.

Kelly's eyes popped wide.  "Urrrk?"  The nightlights were bright enough for her to make out the object in Lin's hands.  It had a curiously shaped head, but was definitely a wand-style vibrator!  "Nrrrf!" Kelly complained (or perhaps exulted) and squirmed her upper body.  Lin's weight prevented her from kicking her bound legs.  She watched as Lin unbuckled the body-harness' crotch-strap, threaded it through a slot in the base of the vibrator's plow-shaped head, then slid the tapered base of the vibrator's shaft under the strap binding her mid-thighs together, nestled the vibrator between her thighs, then re-secured the harness-strap's buckle.  The vibrator's head had now taken over the duty of actually cleaving her labia, but the harness' crotch-strap was still exerting pressure and very much remained in charge.  The curious shape Kelly had noticed earlier was obviously intended to maximize pussy contact without penetration (or significant penetration, anyway), and she conceded that it was a highly successful design.

"I don't have the energy for any nonsense," Lin purred, "so be a good girl and don't disturb my sleep.  Understand?"

Kelly nodded, rather frantically as she wanted to make sure Lin could see her response in the dark.

Oh-by-the-way, Kelly noticed that Lin's nipples were erect but intact, meaning they weren't pierced by rings or posts or anything else, as far as she could tell.  Apparently, Lin had won her endurance battle and defeated the evil nipple-piercing clamps that had been part of her installation.  Bravo!  That meant Joan owed Lin modeling services, if Kelly remembered correctly, which she found to be an entirely favorable outcome.  I hope Lin does something really nasty to her, Kelly thought.  She had no doubt that the resulting sculpture would be a masterpiece.

Meanwhile, Lin reached for the base of the vibrator, just managing to ease her fingers past Kelly's thighs, and gave it a twist.

Kelly shivered in her bonds.  The wand was vibrating, which wasn't exactly a huge surprise.  She hadn't expected the thing start singing or reciting poetry.  But... as vibration went... it was very low level.  It was definitely there, buzzing away against some of her absolutely favorite nerve endings, but at a very low level!

"Mrrrf!"

"Quiet," Lin ordered as she climbed off Kelly's shivering form and settled beside her on the bed.  "Remember what I said.  Don't make me punish you."  And with that, she closed her eyes and (as far as Kelly could tell in the semi-darkness) went to sleep!

Kelly fought to control her shivering body, stifling the whimpers threatening to force their way through her gag, and did her best to disregard the vibratory efforts of her new best friend.  Kelly's erotic pump was well primed (so to speak); but, thankfully, the efforts of the friend in question were barely there.  Could she eventually ride the waves of pathetically weak, but impossible to totally ignore, stimulation to a satisfying orgasm?  Maybe, but could she do so without thrashing and mewling and waking up Lin?  That was the real question!  Waking up Lin would be rude.  She had earned her beauty rest.  Also, Kelly could do without any punishment, meaning punishment in addition to being tightly strapped in leather and insufficiently vibrated.

Kelly wished there was just a little more light in the bedroom, enough for her to watch Lin as she slept... or pretended to sleep.  She could just make out the smile curling Lin's lips, and the dim illumination highlighted her bedmate's prominent cheekbones... and the curve of her shoulder... and hip... and her cascade of raven-black hair.  But Kelly wanted to see more.  Breasts would be nice.

Kelly also wanted the vibrator to either kick into high gear and get serious... or stop.  It did neither, but simply continued its ultra-low-level buzz.  Kelly heaved a deep, silent, gagged sigh.  She could tell it was going to be very difficult to for her to get any sleep like this... bound, helpless, next to Lin... and being barely vibrated.  Maybe I'll dream, she thought.  And if I do maybe I'll start thrashing and rolling around and will wake to find Lin giving me a spanking... or putting clamps on my nipples... or something.

The under-vibrated and well-restrained prisoner closed her eyes and continued trying to ignore her situation.

It was going to be a long night.