Traps and Gretchen (Bayou Bishops #19)

Monster Knots

Gretchen’s breath came in shallow bursts as her body trembled beneath Neelo’s touch. The ropes that had once bound her wrists were slowly unwound, the tension slipping away with each careful movement of his hands. She could still feel the shadow of the binds on her skin, an almost comforting reminder of his steadfast presence. The ache in her wrists mirrored the deep longing inside her, the one that had been trapped for so long beneath the layers of pain and fear. Yet here she was, being released not just from the ropes but from everything.

Neelo’s fingers trailed along the sensitive flesh of her wrists as he removed the last coil of rope. It was a tender, unspoken apology for the wounds of her past, for the burden she had carried alone. She watched him through heavy eyes, every nerve in her body heightened, every sensation magnified as if she were experiencing life for the first time. The weight of the world had been lifted, but in its place was something heavier, more intimate. The warmth of his body, the heat of his breath. The kisses he placed where the ropes had pressed. All of it felt more… real.

Memories flared and her pulse followed. Unseen. Unheard. Abandoned. But he’d seen her somehow. Heard every silent scream she’d ever buried. His touch was gentle and firm as he moved to untie the knots around her ankles, the sensation pulling her further out of the past and into the present. His fingertips brushed the skin of her legs, his careful movements igniting a fire that began to spread through her veins. She felt strange, almost as though she had been asleep her entire life, waking up to being alive for the first time.

Her need spiked as he leaned over her, placing a soft kiss on her forehead, his lips lingering. A gasp escaped when his kiss found her mouth, his lips gentle but demanding, deepening the kiss. But even in his hunger, it was warm and careful—as if he were savoring every taste of her. It wasn’t just a kiss, it felt like a promise, a vow that she would never be left to suffer alone again. His fingers touched her face, cradling it in his hands as he kissed her to the edge of things never dreamed.

His weight pressed her deeper into the bed, the warmth of his body scattering the bad memories in her body. His weight was delicious, like an anchor holding her steady in the storm. His hips shifted and the hard length of his cock pressed against her thigh, stealing her breath. She opened her legs, longing for the hard push of him against all her intimate secret places.

“Kinbaku,” he whispered against her mouth, the familiar word sending a thrill down her spine.

Every part of her remembered that word as she struggled to pull him closer, taste more of him.

His response came in a low, throat growl, his teeth grazing her bottom lip as he spoke, “It’s what you will call out when you need me.” His hands, rough from years of wrestling rope, found her wrists again, this time pinning them softly above her head. “It’s what my body is to you,” he whispered, brushing his lips along her ear, sending shivers down her body. His grip on her wrists tightened, but not painfully—just enough to remind her that she was his, that he was holding her, binding her in a way no rope ever could.

Her breath hitched as more of his weight pressed into her, leaving no room for doubt, no room for fear. He carefully nipped at the sensitive skin of her neck then his kisses turned hungry, sucking at her pulse point, each pull of his lips sending waves of heat through her.

“I will trap your beautiful body with mine,” he promised, his voice low and thick with desire. “I will bind your needs with my hunger. Say it, Bee-shjoo,” he urged, his mouth a breath over hers. “Let me hear it.”

“Kinbaku,” she gasped, her heart pounding as he kissed her again, this time his hunger igniting every part of her. “Kinbaku,” she moaned, the foreign word so perfect on her tongue, as if she’d longed to say it all her life.

He pulled away from her so suddenly that she gasped from the loss of his warmth. The sight of him ripping the buttons from his shirt made her heart race faster as her gaze locked on the hard lines of his chest and abdomen. She drank in the ripple of muscles as he discarded the clothes, his eyes darkened with something primal as they locked onto hers.

He pushed down his jeans, freeing his beautiful cock completely, the sight setting off her moans. Her hands moved to her dress, pulling it up and over her head. Neelo stood next to the bed, his eyes now following her every movement, watching with intensity as she discarded her undergarments, leaving herself completely bare before him.

“You're so beautiful, Bee-shjoo,” he whispered, his voice reverent as he climbed back on the bed, encasing her hips in his hot hands and holding her in place beneath him. His body pressed against hers again, the heat of his skin a shockwave through her.

She arched into him as hard as she could. “Kinbaku,” she gasped, getting his urgent, deep kiss as their bodies molded together, the tension between them a tightly wound cord. “Don’t ever let me go,” she cried.

Neelo’s eyes locked onto hers, dark with intent as he moved his body against hers with a slow deliberation, his hot muscles mapping every inch of her. He slid his legs between hers, pushing them apart as he settled his hips between them, his chest pressing against her breasts. Gretchen’s gasps and moans were one as heat radiated off him, the weight of his body grounding her. She wanted to move, to shift beneath him, but his hips held hers firmly in place, a bold reminder of his control. He caught her wrists again, pulling them gently above her head, pinning them with one hand while the other moved down the length of her body.

“Kinbaku,” he murmured against her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her neck. “I am the rope that binds you. I am the snare that keeps you safe.”

His words wrapped around her, the intensity in his voice making her tremble. His fingers slid along the length of her arm, down to the crook of her elbow, the soft stroke making her squirm under his dominance. His hand moved like a hot tether, binding her to its desire and will everywhere it touched.

“You will always be safe with me,” he whispered, his lips brushing her neck as his hand continued its slow, deliberate descent down her body. “You’ll always be safe with me.”

Gretchen’s body vibrated with need beneath his, the tension building as his weight pinned her more firmly against the bed. He shifted his body, opening her legs wider, his hips grinding gently. She gasped, the friction sending a wave of desire through her core. His mouth and teeth adored her collarbone as his fingers trailed down her side, making her shiver.

His delicate touch ignited fires wherever it went, creating shallow bursts of her breaths. Oh God. He was a hot, burning restraint as his hand explored her with an excruciating, firm exactness. Every glide and grip felt like a promise, a vow, a threat. He would never let her go. He would hold her together. And he was daring her to doubt it.

“Kinbaku isn’t just about being tied up,” Neelo whispered, his lips brushing the shell of her ear. “It’s about knowing you’re bound to me in every way. That I will never let you fall apart.”

He lifted his leg, pressing his knee into the bed beside her hip, still using his body to trap her in place. The raw strength in his muscles as he flexed all over her drew out her lust in long moans. He kissed the length of her jaw, his lips soft and full against her skin. “Kinbaku,” she begged, wanting so much more.

His hand on her wrists tightened as his fingers slid right over her open pussy, a slow glide before he imprisoned her most intimate part in a hard grip. She cried out, again squirming under his heavy frame as his hunger rumbled in his chest, right on her breast.

“My weight on your body is my vow,” he murmured between suckles on her nipple. “The grind of my hips and hand against your pussy…” he shuddered. “That is a contract.” He dipped his middle finger inside her.

“Kinbaku!” she cried out, the pleasure jolting as her fingers curled helplessly under the iron grip of his hand. She watched with racing heart as his gorgeous mouth opened wide and took as much of her breast as he could, pressing the palm of his hand firmly against her clit as he fingered her. “Neelo!”

“Do you feel it, Bee-shjoo?” he whispered on her wet nipple, his finger taking slow plunges inside her, searching and feeling her. “Do you feel this sacred cord tying us together?”

Her breath hitched as she trembled and gasped her, “Yes!” She could feel it. So much. She had never felt anything like it, the way he made her feel both trapped and free at the same time. Held together by his obsession.

“Say it,” he urged softly, his hot breaths at her ear now. “Tell me what you need.”

“Kinbaku,” she gasped, the word spilling from her lips as her body arched harder beneath him.

He groaned softly, a second finger joining his first, both thrusting and dueling against her core, stretching her until she cried out from the ecstasy. He was kissing her again, so deep and hungry, as if he couldn’t get enough of her. He pressed his hips harder into her, turning the heat up to unbearable, bringing her legs in a lock around him.

He suddenly shifted his body weight, keeping her left side pinned as he took hold of her right leg and slowly pushed it up toward her shoulder. When she was nearly in a split, he brought his full weight back against her in this position, eliciting non-stop gasps and moans.

“Mmmm, Kinbaku,” he whispered at her mouth, sliding his cock along her folds.

“Oh God,” she panted, squirming against his heavy weight, fighting to move her hands under his biting fingers. “Oh yes,” she begged, fighting to reach his teasing mouth on hers while flicking her hips to get more of him inside her. “Neelo, please!”

“Say it,” he shuddered, barely moving himself in her opening.

“Kinbaku!”

“ Fucking louder,” he ordered, his hand moving under her butt.

When his thumb pushed against the opening of her rectum, the word flew out. “KINBAKU!”

He gave a long, strained groan, rocking his cock in her opening while pressing on that shocking spot. “You’re my good girl now? This sweet pussy and ass belong to me? To your monster ?”

“YES!”

His hips slammed into hers and his cock shattered her into a million glorious pieces. Before she could recover, he was fucking her, holding her leg pinned next to her head, his cock a war hammer, busting through every wall, obliterating every darkness. There was nowhere to hide from him, there was no escaping her beautiful, terrifying monster as he devoured all her parts and pieces, smashing them deeper into him.

As he fed every drop of his hunger with her body, she felt the freeing power of this unforgiving trap . Every pound and feral thrust became boosters beneath her new wings, shooting her far, far, from the darkest dark and all its nightmares.

As he met her in that place, her every breath filled with her saving word, “My husband! Oh my love, my Kinbaku !”

****

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were their shared breaths, ragged and shocked. Neelo lay above her, his body still pressed against hers, holding her in place, but now, everything felt different. The tension that had filled the air, the desperate need to hold her, to bind her, was replaced with something soft and deep. Release. Every knot of pain and fear she’d held on to had been undone. He’d Finished it, just as Fetch had spoken.

He felt her trembling beneath him, her body still shaken by the aftershocks of such a release. He raised his head and eased her leg slowly back down, bringing little whimpers of pain as he stared at her beautiful face, still lost in rapture.

Her eyes fluttered open finally and for a long moment, he just stared at her, drinking in every part of her. The sight of her raw and open in the aftermath of what they’d just shared, made everything tighten inside him. His heart pounded in his chest as he searched her flushed face, carefully kissing her parted lips. Victory filled him at seeing the vulnerable look that said she’d been freed from all the fear and darkness. And he’d been there through it all. He’d helped her let go.

Something raw and powerful surged through him, something that made his throat tighten with emotion.

He lowered his lips to her forehead, pressing a soft kiss there. “Bee-shjoo,” he called softly, his chest nearly too tight to speak. “Are you all mine?”

Her eyes welled up with tears, bringing a flicker of concern until soft peace settled in her eyes as she gave tiny nods. His heart swelled as he rolled onto his side, pulling her close against his chest, wrapping his arms around her. He would shield her from every danger in the world. Her body relaxed into his, and he let out a long, shaky breath, his muscles humming with purpose. They lay intertwined in the quiet as the weight of everything settled around them. His heart still raced with the intensity of it all, but peace and calm cradled them. He could feel it in the way her body melted into his, as though she had finally found her safe place.

Neelo stroked gently down her back, soothing her, grounding her. Her breathing slowed and she relaxed more, nestling closer to him. He held her tighter, feeling the exact weight of her in his arms. “I’ll always have you, Bee-shjoo,” he murmured through the thick emotion, meaning every word. “I’ll never let you go.”

A contented moan came on her soft breath as her fingers tightened around his arm. She pressed herself closer as though feeding off of his presence. He pressed his lips to her hair, closing his eyes as he held her, feeling the rise and fall of her chest against his. The room was quiet, but inside him, everything was alive. He had never known something this strong, this consuming. But here it was, wrapped around him like the tightest knot, binding him to her in a way that nothing could ever break. Not time, not pain, not fear.

She was his.

He was hers.

And freedom was theirs.

****