by Van ©2015
		Chapter 3

As Mistress Lynda predicted, Mistress Alicia and Slave Gabby managed to return to their room without being discovered by either the spa staff or their fellow guests.  After using her key-card to open the door, Alicia ushered her "bound and gagged" slave across the threshold, closed the door, and threw the deadbolt that also triggered the "PRIVACY" sign to display on the far side.

Alicia turned to find Gabby standing in the middle of the room and gazing at her with a somewhat shy, somewhat excited expression.  What a pretty picture, Alicia thought.  "I suppose you want me to untie you," she purred.

Gabby shrugged, forced what was probably an affirmation through the panties stuffed in her mouth—"Mrrrf."—then turned her back to her mistress.

Alicia strolled forward and unwrapped the gown "binding" Gabby's folded arms behind her back.  She dropped the gown to the floor, then stepped back.  "Put that away, then get ready for bed."

Gabby turned and faced Alicia, then transferred both shoes to her left hand and plucked the modest wad of her bikini panties from her mouth.  "I assume it's okay for me to un-gag myself?"

"Oh, no," Alicia chuckled.  "Keep that in, but you can remove it long enough to brush your teeth."

Gabby rolled her eyes.  "Mistress is so kind," she sighed, then reinserted the wad and gracefully stooped to pick up her gown.  She shook it out and hung the gown in the closet, dropped the shoes, then padded to the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Alicia was undressing.  She stepped out of her shoes, hung up her LBD, then removed her slip, bra, and panties.

As Gabby had the decided advantage of already being naked, she completed her evening toilette well ahead of her mistress and was waiting beside the bed when Alicia left the bathroom, turning off the light behind her.  The only lights in the suite were now a nightlight near the floor on the far side of the bed and a second nightlight in the bathroom, shining through the open door.

Alicia was nervous, and she suspected that Gabby was as well.  The naked blonde's gaze was on the floor, or perhaps on Alicia's toes, and her hands were behind her back.  Beautiful, Alicia sighed.  She is so beautiful.  Alicia realized her heart was hammering, again.

Gabby reached up and plucked the panties from her mouth, then made a vague gesture towards the bed.  "Uh, left, or right?"

Alicia suppressed a nervous giggle.  Might as well play my part, she decided.  "What did I tell you about those panties, slave?" she demanded.

Gabby shrugged.  "Uh, I just wanted to know which side of the bed you prefer, so that...  Never mind."  She stuffed the panties back in her mouth, then crossed her wrists behind her back, again.

Alicia smiled.  How could she not?  Gabby the beautiful, bumbling slave was adorable.  She snatched Gabby's previously discarded scarf from the bed, spun Gabby around—"Urrk?"—and began tying her wrists together.  The scarf was quite adequate to the task, but Alicia wasn't entirely sure of her bondage skills, her totally untested bondage skills.  She looped the narrowly folded scarf once, twice, cinched it between her captive's arms, then gave the ends a firm tug and tied a square-knot.

A delicate shiver shook Gabby's tan, lanky, gorgeous body.

Alicia almost apologized and loosened the scarf, then paused.  I... I never really thought about her reactions, Alicia mused.  The her in question was the anonymous slave she'd always fantasized about having at her mercy.  But this was no anonymous slave.  This was Gabby, her friend.  I won't be selfish, Alicia decided.  I'll make this good for both of us.  Somehow, this caused her nervousness to vanish, but she had no idea why.

"Get on the bed, slave," Alicia ordered, then strode to Gabby's chest of drawers, opened the top drawer, and selected a second scarf.  She shook it out and folded it into a narrow bandage as she returned to the bed.

Gabby was waiting, reclined on her side, her wrists bound behind her back and her mouth stuffed with her own panties.  She was a delicious sight, even if she was bound with silk and not rope and her bikini-style panties were so miniscule as to barely qualify as stuffing.

Alicia stepped around the bed so she was behind Gabby, slipped the folded scarf over her slave's head and across her worried blue eyes, cinched it tight behind her head and over her hair, and added a second hitch to make another square-knot.

Gabby opened her mouth and started expelling the panties—"Mrrrpfh!"—but Alicia put a stop to her rebellion with a tight hand-gag.

"Don't worry, slave," Alicia purred, her smiling lips inches from Gabby's right ear.  "I won't hurt you.  Hurting you is the last thing on my mind."  She released her hand-gag, joined Gabby on the bed, and pulled her into a tight embrace.  "However," Alicia added, "do a bad job of pleasuring your mistress, and I may change my mind.  I owe you a spanking for your deplorable behavior at Mistress Lynda's, remember?"

"Mrrrf," Gabby agreed, nodding her blindfolded head.

Alicia plucked the panties from Gabby's mouth and they kissed.  It was a long, deep, wet kiss, with tongue, and it lasted a very long time.  More kisses followed, as did the squeezing of breasts and the teasing of erect nipples.  Also, Alicia's hands caressing Gabby's smooth, tan skin, and Gabby licked and kissed whatever features of her mistress' naked anatomy were available.

They also made love, taking turns wiggling and squirming until their lips were in a position to entertain their partner's other set of lips.  Both experienced orgasms, and they were good.  They were very good.  By the time an hour had passed, both lovers were shining with sweat and nearing exhaustion.

Alicia was nearing exhaustion, anyway.  She hadn't kept count of the number of times she'd caused Gabby to moan and shiver in orgasm, or the number of times her bound slave had returned the favor.  And Gabby wasn't finished yet.  Alicia was on her back with her legs splayed and her hands gently clutching Gabby's hair and the knot securing her blindfold.  The blonde's lips and tongue were busy entertaining her mistress, and her hands were resting on Alicia's thighs, her fingers delicately holding Alicia's labia apart as her tongue—

Alicia's eyes popped wide.  Her hands?  Gabby's wrists were no longer tied!  The scarf was still cinched around her right wrist, but she wasn't tied.  "Hey!"  Alicia lifted the blindfold from Gabby's eyes and tossed it to the side.  "You're not tied up."

Gabby blinked in the sudden light and her visibly moist lips curled in a saucy smile.  "I'm not?"  She went back to the task at hand, but Alicia tightened her grip and lifted her head away from her crotch, again.

"Why aren't you tied up?" Alicia demanded.

"Because Mistress needs bondage lessons," Gabby purred.  "Perhaps, if you ask Mistress Lynda...  Nicely, of course..."

Alicia smiled.  She couldn't help it.  She rolled her eyes and "forced" Gabby's face back into contact with her pussy.  "Finish what you started, slave," she chuckled.  "Then, we'll get some sleep."

Gabby went back to work and a shiver of delight rippled through Alicia's body.  Bondage lessons, she thought, what a wonderful idea.

Breakfast was light, delicious, and instantly forgotten.  Alicia was preoccupied with figuring out the best way to approach Lynda and ask for an introductory lesson in tying up slaves.  She was also enjoying Gabby's company, of course.  They'd shared the shower upon waking, and Gabby had done most of the soaping and scrubbing, using a washcloth to get both herself and her "mistress" ready for the new day—and "mistress" was in quotes in Alicia's mind because she'd failed so miserably in the binding of said slave.

Maybe there's a trick to tying knots in silk, Alicia thought.  Or maybe Gabby's been taking Houdini lessons.  Now that she thought about it, she really didn't know Gabby Hanson all that well—except in the Biblical sense.  For all I know she does take Houdini lessons.

Anyway, Gabby departed to take part in a yoga class and Alicia decided to take a stroll around the spa, wait for her breakfast to settle, then change into her running clothes.  Supposedly, there was a scenic two-point-six mile trail that followed a stream to a beaver pond, then wound through the woods and returned to the spa.  The activities brochure in their room said it was suitable for both a leisurely nature hike and a cross-country run.

In due course Alicia changed into anklets and cross-trainers, black, bicycle-style, Lycra running shorts, and a coral-pink sports bra, pulled her hair back in a tight ponytail, and strolled to the trail-head.  Much to her surprise and delight, she found that fate had resolved the question of when and how she could approach Mistress Lynda.

The owner of The Willows was dressed in an outfit very similar to Alicia's, only her shorts were black with lime-green accent stripes and her bra was lime-green with black accents.  Her hair was also in a tight ponytail.  She was stretching her hamstrings and obviously preparing for a run of her own.

"Mistress Alicia," Lynda said as Alicia approached, "good morning.  Care to join me for a run?"

"Good morning," Alicia answered.  "Yes, thank you."  She joined Lynda in her stretching exercises, stealing glances at her companion's stunning, athletic body.  The Lycra was doing heroic duty containing Lynda's generous breasts and strong thighs.  Lynda was beautiful, very beautiful.  Alicia knew she was no slouch in the fitness or mammalian endowment categories, but Lynda was... an amazon goddess.

Finally stretched and ready, they began their run.  The scenery was spectacular, both the natural landscape and Lynda's jogging (and joggling) body.  Lynda set the pace.  It was deliberate enough to allow them to talk, and talk they did.  Lynda shared amusing anecdotes about the trials and tribulations of running a spa, while Alicia described the trials (literally) and triumphs of the practice of corporate law.  Before she realized it, the trail-head was reappearing up ahead and the run was nearing its end.  As they slowed to a cool-down walk, Alicia decided it was now or never.

"I really enjoyed your Kinbaku demonstration last night, Lynda," Alicia said.

"It was my pleasure," Lynda chuckled, "and Kimberly's as well, believe it or not."

Alicia nodded.  "Uh, I was wondering..."

"Yes?" Lynda purred.

Alicia didn't know why she was suddenly so nervous, but she was.  "Could you... Could I, uh...  Can you teach me how to do that?  The bondage, I mean."

Lynda smiled.  "I understand.  Perhaps I can."  She motioned to a side trail.  "I usually take a sauna after a run.  If you'd care to join me, we can discuss it further."

"Uh, okay."  The trail led around the main spa to Lynda's apartments, and Alicia followed her hostess through a side gate in the hedges.  They entered the earth-sheltered estate and made their way to what was obviously a home gym, a well-equipped and luxurious home gym.

Lynda removed her running shoes and anklets, then pulled her sports-bra over her head and dropped it in a hamper.  "Put your clothes here and I'll have them laundered," she offered.

Alicia's eyes were on Lynda's naked breasts (without leering or gawking, of course).  "How will I get back to my room?"

Lynda smiled and pulled down her running shorts.  "I'm sure I can find something around here for you to wear."

Alicia removed her running clothes, placing her shoes next to Lynda's, and her anklets, panties, running shorts and sports-bra in the hamper.  The entrance to the sauna was a plain wooden door with a small window at eye level.  The space beyond was about ten feet square, large for a sauna, in Alicia's experience, and lined with cedar throughout, with two tiers of cedar benches.  A stainless steel heater was in the center, surrounded by a cedar screen.  The air was dry and stifling hot, well over 120 degrees in Alicia's estimate.  Obviously, Lynda had turned on the heater before her run.  Either that or it was on a timer.

Lynda drew water into a wooden bucket from a small tap, then wet one of the upper benches, including its sloping backrest.  Alicia noted the tap's handle was clad in the ubiquitous cedar.  Otherwise, Lynda probably would have burned her hand.  Lynda doused the lava rocks atop the heater with the water remaining in the bucket, and with a loud hiss steam filled the air.

"Come, sit with me," Lynda said with a friendly smile, patting the wet bench, then climbed up and sat, herself.

Alicia sat next to her hostess.  She is so beautiful, Alicia thought.  Nude and at her ease, her perfect, tan body beginning to shine in the heat, Lynda was magnificent.

"Now," Lynda said after they both were comfortable, "you'd like me to teach you Kinbaku."

"I realize we don't have time for more than the very basics," Alicia said, "but can you teach me something?"

Lynda smiled.  "I studied under a Kinbaku Master for two years," she said.  "During the first six months I never touched a single strand of rope, except to wash, stretch, and condition new rope at my Master's direction.  However, during that time, a great deal of rope touched me."

Alicia nodded, then her eyes widened.  "You mean..."

Lynda nodded.  "To learn the art of tight binding, one must first be tightly bound."

"I see," Alicia whispered.  Her body was now flushed and shining with sweat... as was Lynda's.  "I... I don't have six months available to be tied up.  I'm needed at work.  Can't you just... you know... show me how to tie up Kimberly... or Gabby?"

Lynda's smile never wavered.  "I know of only one way to teach the art.  I realize our time is limited, but I must begin your instruction my way."

Alicia closed her eyes and tried to think cool thoughts.  Finally, she opened her eyes and focused on Lynda's incredibly beautiful, smiling, sweat-slick face.  "All right, I put myself in your hands, mistress."

"Call me Teacher," Lynda purred, "and I'll call you Student."

Alicia nodded.  "Yes, Teacher."  She closed her eyes, again, ignoring the sweat dripping from the tip of her nose.  What the hell have I gotten myself into? she wondered.

Basking in the heat eventually became enduring the heat, but Alicia took her cue from Lynda, waiting for her hostess (and soon to be teacher) to announce when enough was enough.  When that announcement finally came, Alicia was quite ready.

Lynda led Alicia to a shower alcove and insisted she go first.  After a quick rinse under the shockingly cold stream, she accepted a towel and a cold bottle of sports drink and dried herself, pausing now and then to take a drink of the cool, lemon-lime beverage and watch Lynda take her shower.

"So," Alicia said nervously as she dried her hair, "do you want to do this tonight?  I mean the lesson, of course."

Still gloriously nude (like Alicia), Lynda was also drying her hair.  "Time is short, remember?" she purred.  "We'll start your lessons immediately."  She pointed to a cotton robe hanging from a wooden peg.  "Robe."

Alicia took the robe from the peg and held it open for Lynda.  It had half-sleeves, a short bottom hem, and was in a very attractive black and white print.  Lynda slid her arms through the sleeves and Alicia realized it was a happi coat, barely reaching Lynda's mid-thighs.

Lynda closed the coat and cinched its sash, then pointed at the towels.  "Hamper," she ordered, and Alicia picked up the damp towels and deposited them in the hamper.  "Now," Lynda continued, "Student, follow me."

Alicia padded behind Lynda down a side corridor and into the "studio," the empty, wood-paneled room that had been the site of Lynda's after dinner demonstration of the night before.  Without being told, Alicia walked to the center of the room, gracefully settled to her knees, and placed her hands atop her head, as Kimberly had done.

Lynda smiled.  "Excellent.  You have good instincts, Student," she purred, "but place your hands on your lap.  You are my student, not my slave."

"Yes, Teacher," Alicia sighed, lowered her arms, and placed the backs of her hands on her upper thighs.  She stared down at her palms and gracefully curled fingers, and tried to ignore her rapidly beating heart.  She heard the faint creak of a hinge in need of a little oil, the pad of her teacher's feet, then jumped at the thud of several neat bundles of coiled rope dropping to the carpet at her side.

Lynda knelt behind her student, released a long coil of rope, doubled it and found its center, and set to work.  "We'll start with a simple box-tie," she explained.

Doubled strands of rope tightened around Alicia's upper body—once, twice, then three times—passing above her breasts and pinning her upper arms to her sides.  This was followed by three more passes, this time below her breasts.  Next, a pair of strands cinched the lower ropes between Alicia's arms and torso on the right, passed forward, up and behind her head to yoke her shoulders, then down and back to cinch the lower ropes on the left.

Alicia found the process of being bound to be an intimate experience, with Lynda embracing her from behind, as needed.  Rope slithered and tightened, repeatedly, and finally, the remaining free end was passed under the shoulder yoke at the nape of her neck and Lynda gave it a firm downward tug.  Alicia gasped as everything tightened up, considerably.

"And now for your wrists," Lynda said as she prepared a second coil of rope.  She then folded Alicia's arms behind her back, with her wrists crossed and her forearms lifted just past the horizontal, then lashed her wrists against her spine and through the nexus of the other ropes.  She tied a complex knot and leaned back, but Alicia could tell that several feet of rope remained.

"And that is a box-tie," Lynda said.  "Have you been tied before, Student?"

Alicia gave her upper body a squirm before answering.  "Y-yes, Teacher," she stammered, "but not like this."

"Tell me of your earlier experiences," Lynda ordered as she readied another coil of rope.

"There isn't much to tell, Teacher," Alicia sighed.  "Childhood games.  Once, at a slumber party when I was... fifteen.  It was play, all for fun."

"I see," Lynda chuckled.  "Legs in front," she ordered, "with ankles crossed."

Alicia extended one leg, then the other, settled onto her butt, and crossed her ankles as ordered.

Lynda knelt at Alicia's feet and began binding them together.  Doubled strands tightened around and between Alicia's ankles.  Lynda cinched the rope as she worked, and when she tied the final knot, less than an inch of free ends remained and Alicia's ankles were crossed to stay.

"On your stomach," Lynda ordered, and somewhat awkwardly, Alicia complied.  "And now, we'll add a nice frog-tie."

Rope slithered and tightened and Lynda lashed Alicia's thighs to her lower legs, first on the left, and then on the right.  When she was finished, neat rows of strands dimpled the flesh of her thighs, passed across her shins, and were cinched between her thighs and calves.

"I think this will do, for the moment," Lynda announced, then stood, padded to a small built-in cabinet, opened the door, and lifted a hairbrush from a shelf.  She then closed the door and padded back to smile down at Alicia.  "Escape," she ordered, then began brushing her own long, tousled hair.

"Are you kidding?" Alicia demanded.

Lynda smiled, continuing to pull the brush through her dark locks.  "Escape, student.  Do your best."

Alicia rolled her eyes, then set to work.  She tugged and twisted, writhed and wiggled, and made no progress whatsoever.  She continued struggling, knowing it was pointless, but trying her best to carry out her teacher's orders.

And Lynda watched, her lips curled in a cruel smile.  (It looked cruel to Alicia, anyway, given the context.)  Teacher continued brushing her hair.

Alicia rolled onto her side, bent at the waist, as far as her bonds would allow, and squirmed and struggled.  No matter what position she tried or how she struggled, none of the ropes slackened, anywhere.  She groped for any available knots with her fluttering fingers, and found none.  She knew there were knots, of course, plenty of knots, but none were anywhere near her hands.  She succeeded in capturing the free ends dangling from her wrist bonds in her right hand at one point, but that did her no good whatsoever.

"Well, we could do this all day, I suppose," Lynda drawled, "but I have to get to the office and get some work done today.  Up on your knees, Student."

Alicia blinked in surprise.  Is she kidding?  The box- and frog-tied captive resumed struggling, but now she had a less generalized goal, and one that might actually be doable.  She rolled and twisted, and finally, after nearly a minute of effort, succeeded in lifting herself onto her splayed knees and balancing her weight back on her toes.  Several strands of tousled hair draped across her face.  She shook her head, restoring some order, then pursed her lips and attempted to blow the remainders from her face, with limited success.

Still smiling, Lynda padded behind her student, and knelt.  "Settle your weight back on my thighs," she ordered, and Alicia did so.

Alicia closed her eyes and squirmed in her bonds as teacher began brushing her hair.  The student realized that her heart rate was still elevated, but a delicate thrill was shivering between her legs as teacher's slow, gentle brush restored order to her raven locks.

"If I untied you right now," Lynda purred, "and summoned Kimberly, could you duplicate what I've done?"

"I... I think so, Teacher," Alicia answered.

"Strand for strand.  Hitch for hitch.  Knot for knot.  In the exact same order."

Alicia sighed.  "No, Teacher."

Lynda continued brushing Alicia's hair for several seconds.  "I was just as unfocused at the beginning of my studies," she said finally.

Alicia realized Lynda was gathering her hair in a tight ponytail, and enforcing it with several tight loops of rope.  "What are you—"

"Silence," Lynda ordered.  "Never question your teacher."

"Yes, Teacher," Alicia whispered.  It was all happening behind her head, but she was sure Lynda had doubled her ponytail back on itself and was wrapping it in more rope.  She felt rope being hitched and knotted, then the remaining free ends fell against her bound hands.  "Oh!"  Teacher had scooted back a couple of feet, taking Alicia's bound body with her, and now Alicia was resting with her head, shoulders, and bound arms and hands in teacher's lap.

Lynda smiled down at her student for several seconds.  "Now, let's clarify the situation a little," she purred.

Alicia's gaze was locked with Lynda's.  "Teacher?"

"Do you really want instruction in Kinbaku?" Lynda asked, then reached out, placed her right hand on Alicia's right breast, and gently squeezed.  "Or do you want instruction in how to be a mistress?"

Alicia shivered, then squirmed in her inescapable bonds.  "I..."  That shiver was back between her legs.  The fact that Lynda was toying with her right nipple probably had something to do with it, but mainly it was the situation in general.  "Both, Teacher."

"I see," Lynda chuckled.  "Unfortunately, as we've already discussed, time is short."  She eased Alicia off her lap, then stood and strolled to another cabinet.

Alicia couldn't see exactly what she was doing, but Lynda returned with—"Oh!"—a ball-gag, a roll of three-inch medical tape, and a pair of bandage scissors.

Lynda knelt and lifted Alicia's head and shoulders back onto her lap.  "Lucky for you, the first lessons of Kinbaku for Dummies and Topping-101 are virtually identical.  "Open."

Alicia swallowed, nervously.  "L-Lynda, I—"

"Mistress," Lynda interrupted.  "You will call me Mistress, or you will be punished.  Now, open."

Alicia swallowed, again, then opened her mouth.  She was either following mistress' order or was about to say something.  Not even Alicia was sure.  Anyway, Lynda thrust the two-inch, red rubber ball into her mouth, turned her head to the side, threaded and tightened the strap through its buckle—"Mrrf!"—then secured the buckle.  The gag filled Alicia's mouth to capacity, more-or-less, and the strap was tight enough to dimple her cheeks.  Lynda eased Alicia's head back onto her lap, and she watched as Mistress pulled a six-inch strip of milky white tape from the roll, snipped it free with the scissors, stretched it over Alicia's already ball-gagged mouth, and smoothed the panel with her strong fingers, insuring the tape's adhesive had a firm, even grip on her lower face from ear to ear and nose to chin.

"I love the look of Elastoplast," Lynda purred, smiling down at her student—or was it now her slave?  She placed two fingers of her right hand against the side of Alicia's neck.  "Oh my.  Your heart is racing."  Her smile widened and her hand returned to Alicia's right breast.  "Not surprising, I suppose."

Alicia closed her eyes and shivered as Lynda gently squeezed her right nipple.

"I'm sure you remember my telling you that these walls are soundproof," Lynda said, "so... why the gag?"  The gentle teasing of Alicia's nipple suddenly tightened into a tight pinch.

"Mrrrrpfh!"

"Do I really need to explain?" Lynda purred.  "Have you ever felt this helpless, slave?"

Alicia shivered, again, as Lynda's hand left her breast.  The nipple-pinch had been painful, but not that painful.  "Nrrf!"  Lynda had rolled her off her lap and onto her stomach, and now was doing something with the rope still dangling from her wrist bonds.  "Mrrrrr!"  Lynda had threaded the rope through her ankle bonds and was pulling out the slack, arching her back.

"Last night I said that next time I'd show you my hogtie," Lynda explained, "and mistress always keeps her word."

Next, Lynda threaded the rope under the shoulder-yoking ropes at the nape of Alicia's neck, and pulled out even more slack!  Soon, Alicia's back was in a serious arch, her thighs and breasts were off the floor, and Lynda began tying knots.

It was horrible... simply horrible.  (So why was that thrill shivering between Alicia's legs, again?)  And then, she felt the rope binding her hair being threaded through her hogtie bonds.  "Mrrk?"  The slack was removed, her head was pulled back, and that rope knotted as well.  Alicia could wiggle and squirm, a little, but that was it.  She didn't know it was possible to be this helpless, not until now.

Lynda stepped into Alicia's limited field of view.  "Concentrate on your feelings of helplessness.  Consider your total dependence on your mistress for your every need.  Begin thinking about the many ways you might bring her pleasure, and how utterly unimportant your pleasure is in the scheme of things... other than as entertainment for your mistress, as a diversion, something to relieve her boredom."  She tightened the sash of her happi coat, turned, and padded to the door.  "To be a mistress, first one must learn to be a slave."

To her horror and distress, Alicia watched as Lynda made her exit, closing the door behind her.  "Mrrrf?"  Slave?  I need to learn to be a slave?  She struggled and squirmed.  All this accomplished was to tug on her scalp.  Ouch!  It was pointless.

Alicia was, indeed, helpless... and totally dependent on her mistress.  My mistress, she mused.  Exactly how long is this lesson?  When will she let me go?