New Hard Limit

“All I’m saying is it really hurt.” Cosmo Brown was singing Make ‘Em Laugh as they sprawled on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between them, alternating bites.

She took a handful and put extra salt on it, munched it piece by piece. “You got off easy. I hold back because I don’t want to break you too quickly most of the time.”

He looked offended. “Oh come on, I’m hardier than that. Like we’ve done no warm up before, it hurts, but it’s survivable. You’re not going to break me right away, it takes quite awhile with the stuff you have.”

She looked back at him, and raised an eyebrow. “Hang on a second.” She rubbed salt off her hands with her jeans, and pushed herself off the couch. Went into the bedroom and came back with a small padlock clamped between her thumb and forefinger. “Do you want to see just how quickly I can break you just using this?”

He leaned forward with his eyes narrowed, cautious but curious. “What, shove it into my eye or something?”

The lock moved back in forth in front of him like a watch in the hands of an erratic hypnotist. “Nope, don’t need to. It’ll be safe, sane, and consensual, no permanent damage, I’ll follow all your usual limits, and I’ll respect your safewords. So do you really want to see how quickly I can take you down?” She waited patiently, knowing that he would think not knowing would be worse than whatever she had planned. “Just with this.”

“Okay.” He stood up and started to undress as she walked over to his computer.

“Hey…” His voice was hesitant as she flicked through programs rapidly, quitting them one by one and then shutting down the computer.

She turned to face him as the screen went dark. She reached down and pulled the plug out of the surge protector as he swallowed hard. The lock slipped through a small hole in one of the prongs on the plug, clicked shut, and she dropped it on the floor. “Well? No email, no newsfeeds, no music…”

“I knew I should have kept my CDs…”

She laughed a cold, mirthless chuckle and stretched her arms. “I think I might turn in early, if there’s anything you wanted to tell me before I go to bed, now would be the time. I hope I can remember where I put the key in the morning, I might not be able to find it before I go to work, and then I have to get the oil changed tomorrow…”

His lips pursed, but he nodded. “Fine, you win, I tap out. Red. Please set my computer free ma’am. Although if my phone had a better data plan I could have lasted until morning at least.”

She grinned and slapped his ass as she sauntered by him on her way to the bedroom. “The key’s by the mouse. See you in the morning.”

“See you in the morning.”

Copyright Jerry Jones. Unauthorized use is prohibited.