Clockwork Butterfly, A (6 page)

Chapter 10

“They said yes!” shrieked Angelo when Lena burst into his chamber smiling.

“Twenty minutes,” Lena said in a sing-song voice, swinging her obi around her wrist. Until she’d walked through the door, she’d been brooding and fretting over what had happened between her and Mae the night before. But as soon as she saw Angelo’s face, his smile, his strong body coming to engulf her, her worries vanished into anticipation.

He pulled away from her abruptly and raised one eyebrow. “It’s a shame in a way,” he said, and Lena was confused. Panic quickly flooded back in; he didn’t want her to stay? He was getting bored with her?

“Why?” she asked, terrified of the answer.

“Well,” he said, unwrapping the obi from her wrist. “You’ve been so good and done exactly what we both wanted. What can I punish you for?”

“Ahh.” Lena sank down onto the sofa in relief. She was far too nervy for her own good. She must learn to relax. “I’m sure you can think of something.” Just then, her tiny butterfly landed on her shoulder. “Hello, what are you doing here?”

Lena picked it up carefully in her fingertips. It was exquisite, and she never tired of studying Angelo’s craftsmanship. The butterfly gently and, as smoothly as if it were real, slowly flapped its wings to reveal a new delicate carving on them.

“What’s this?” She sat up, tucking her legs underneath her, and tried to coax them open again. Angelo was smiling beside her.

“Touch the proboscis.” He motioned and Lena reached out to the feathery spiral. As her fingertip made contact, the wings opened again and rested there for her to see the new artwork. In the most intricate script were carved the words
I love you
.

Lena didn’t quite know what to do, say, or think until Angelo lifted the butterfly from her and tossed it up in the air, then pushed her on to her back, showering her with ferocious kisses. She watched the tiny creature flutter this way and that around the room while her body melted into Angelo’s embrace.

“I want to eat you up, ravish you, and come inside you,” said Angelo into her peaking flesh. When he was working her with his agile tongue, her entire skin became erogenous and she could barely think for the pleasure. Stars twinkled and burst wherever he kissed and Lena wriggled as his teeth joined in, raking her flesh and arousing every part of her.

“Angelo, stop. You’ve paralyzed me! Let me pleasure you now.” But the truth was she could have lay there for all eternity, succumbing to his loving.

He slipped his hands up underneath her back and pulled her robe over her head, using it to pin her to the armrest. Her arms and face were wrapped in the silk while the rest of her was exposed and naked. She arched her back, knowing that he was drinking in the sight of her. The throaty groan that lingered in her aural memory all night long was released from him as he touched first one nipple then both, circling them with his fingertips and then grabbing her breasts and kneading them. It was sublime and every now and then, he would lean in a little further, allowing her to feel his rock hard erection against her upper thigh. Liquid trickled from her pussy down into the crack of her buttocks then on to the velvet sofa. She was hot and sticky and needed to part her legs and open herself up to him. Angelo had other ideas.

“Are you hot, my love?” he asked.

She could hear in his voice that he was smiling and made ready to spread her thighs for him. She couldn’t. Angelo had another strap. She thought it must be the obi from his own kimono, but then realized it felt thick and lush, like velvet. A curtain tie? Lifting both her legs with one arm, he pushed the strapping under her and then over the top, winding and winding it around her thighs then knees then all the way down to her ankles. The heat in her pussy was becoming unbearable and she was desperate to let in some air.

She wriggled in her restraints, enjoying the feeling of being bound. She couldn’t quite understand how he would make love to her with her legs welded together like this. Usually, she was spread-eagled and he fucked hard, taking full advantage of how open she made herself for him.

The strap was finally knotted with a snap and Angelo snaked his way back up to her breasts, caressing and teasing her. Her breath was fierce and hot and held close to her face by the silk bindings over her arms and head. Arousal was taking over and her sex felt so empty. She coiled herself around his embraces and he kissed her neck near her ear.

“Angelo, I need you.” Lena was gasping and grinding her own juices into her puffy pussy lips and thighs, soaking her tight constraints. “Fuck me, Angelo. Release me and fuck me!”

“I’ll never release you,” he said wickedly, and as if she was a rag doll, flipped her swiftly over onto her front.

Angelo pulled her hard and twisted her body around so that her upper half was on the sofa and her bottom was raised up, primed on the armrest, while her legs hung, knees just missing the floor. Her toes wriggled into the carpet and she imagined what she must look like with her ass in the air all juicy and inviting. Another wave of arousal washed through her pussy and she realized just how tight the strapping was. Her feet were tingling and she squirmed again, only managing to make the bonds tighter around her thighs. The flesh from her ass must be spilling out, she thought, over the obi, accentuating her behind. She pressed her rump higher and wished him to enter her.

Suddenly, a finger corkscrewed right into her pussy, burrowing deep into her slippery depths.
So it was possible.
She was accessible in this pose. She pulsed back onto the digit and ground her mound into the armrest, trying to get some relief to her clit, which was building into having all sensation in the universe centered on it. It was the most exhilarating and frustrating position she’d been in, and still twisting in the obi around her head and arms, she decided she liked it. A lot. He could do what he liked with her. She would take anything.

Her pussy was burning up as it twitched around his finger. He eased her buttocks apart and inserted another, scissoring and sliding in and out, in and out. Lena was groaning and writhing. It wasn’t enough. She needed his cock.

“Please, please, Angelo, I can’t wait any longer.”

Her excitement grew to fever pitch as he gripped her hips and pulled her ass high off the sofa. He slammed his cock fully into her soaking pussy. Her tits bounced up and down, the lush cushions grazing her nipples and adding to the sensory overload. She was bound so tightly that her pussy lips and thighs pressed against her clit, making it bulge and heave with every thrust of his perfect rod. She couldn’t believe how huge it felt, slamming in and retreating time and time again. Her juices spilled out over her bindings and the backs of her thighs. Her vision blurred and all thoughts ceased until the only thing left was her burning pussy sucking and squeezing Angelo’s cock. Her clit swelled and a trillion pleasure bubbles burst over her as she came again and again while Angelo pumped his love into her.

She lay in that smiling, peaceful place with her body rocking back and forth to his rhythm like flotsam at a gentle high tide. She felt like she’d entered another realm.

His thrusting changed from the slow rhythmic undulation into a fevered fucking again and Lena realized what was about to happen. She violently wriggled free from the silk around her arms and head.

“Angelo, stop!” she shouted and flung herself to the floor, landing like a sack of potatoes. “Stop!” She was panicking and tried to reach the vial. Angelo was hunched over with his cock in his hand, furiously pumping away, obviously lost in sexual abandon. Lena grabbed at the beaker on the table and caught it just before it smashed on the floor. “Angelo, quick, here.”

He came to and a look of horror passed over his face. She had to get the vial to him, now. She couldn’t move; her legs were tied so tight she couldn’t feel them anymore. Doing the only thing she could think of, she threw the vial at Angelo. He caught it in his left hand and slipped it over the end of his cock just as the thick cream spurted out, splattering the vial full.

A look of shock and bewilderment overtook his face as he flopped down on the sofa and passed it to Lena.

“I was totally gone there,” he said, looking pained. “I could have come inside you. I wanted to, Lena. I don’t know if I could stop myself again.”

“We have to be careful, Angelo. You know what will happen if you do.”

“Yes, I know.”

Lena held the vial up with an outstretched arm. “I can’t move, you’ll have to take care of this.”

“Oh.” He smiled and reached for the beaker, taking it gently and placing it in the portal. “It’s a good thing we’ve got that extra twenty minutes. That will take a while to remove.” He knelt down beside her and carefully started to unwrap the velvet strapping.

Her flesh was streaked red and white where the fabric had sliced into her. He kneaded his thumbs into the ridges, smoothing them out and forcing feeling back into them. Lena breathed in hard as blood rushed in to the hollow welts. The last binding fell to the floor and Angelo massaged her ankles and calves, bringing on a strange pins-and-needles sensation that crept up her legs and washed over her. Lena sighed and lay back as he lifted her leg to his mouth, sucking and nibbling with his teeth and tongue. Lena thought she would melt through the carpet with the delight of it.

“I’m sorry I damaged you,” said Angelo between mouthfuls of her thigh. His eyes looked full of genuine regret.

Lena propped herself up on her elbows. “What do you mean?” She was hurt that he thought that. “You didn’t damage me! You make me whole. You give me what I ask for. If anything, I want more. I want to wear your love like scars of glory. I want you to brand my body so everyone knows I’m yours.” She stopped, suddenly feeling like she’d gone too far. Maybe he wasn’t really into dominating her.

The ridges had faded into smooth red slashes. They too would fade. Lena wished they wouldn’t.

“This is your one minute warning,” the intercom bleated.

Lena rolled her eyes, trying to lighten the tone. “Why does she have to be so severe?” she said, cocking her head and rubbing Angelo’s shoulder.

He crawled over her body, pushing her back on to the carpet. “I’ll do anything for you, anything.” He leaned in and gave her a heart-stopping kiss. The kind of kiss where souls intertwine.

When he withdrew, she felt changed. After all they’d done together, this had been the most intimate thing of her life. He’d let something of himself into her and she to him. He stared into her eyes and let out a long sigh. As the breath ended, the butterflies scattered on shelves around the room slowly opened their wings.

“Ten seconds…”

Lena jumped up, dragging her kimono around her and searching for her obi. As she ran to the door in a panic, he handed it to her and bowed.

“Tomorrow,” he whispered and slowly pushed the door closed. Lena’s fingers trailed down the cold steel.

“Tomorrow…” She mouthed silently as Marguerite pulled her away.

“This came for you.” She thrust a letter into Lena’s hands.

When they got to the dressing room and Marguerite had left, Lena sat with the letter in her lap and turned it over. She knew the handwriting better than she knew her own. Her mother. Lena had sent a few letters over the past weeks, but she’d struggled to know what to write. In a way, she’d felt a little betrayed by her mother for not giving her any clue about her sexuality. Her lack of knowledge now made her cringe. It wasn’t her mother’s fault, she was only doing what she thought was her duty but still… This new letter must be in response to the last one she sent about her promotion to collector already.

Her eyes closed and her head flopped back onto the wall. Her mother. She’d always thought they’d been close, but if she was honest, she’d barely thought about her at all. And when she had, it was threaded with bitterness about not being prepared for her life in the manor. Then she’d balance those thoughts with the memory of Mae’s expert lessons. If she’d not been so naïve, she’d never have been given such special preparation. So she guessed maybe it was a blessing after all.

Lena sat up straight as a thought struck her. What if the woman who birthed her was actually here, in this manor? New emotions of fear, excitement, and guilt spread through her chest. It couldn’t be possible, surely. She’d be far too old to be an active birther now. But then, what if birthers went on to be Archmatrias? Lena tried to remember if any of the Archmatrias had green eyes like hers.

The stupid feeling washed over her again. The chain of motherhood wasn’t as simple as that. Eggs were harvested, embryos made, then implanted in the birthers. It took three different people to form the baby, then another to raise it. It made sense of course. There was only a small amount of birthers, so they had to use donor eggs to keep the population diverse.

In effect, she had three mothers. Who was more of her mother? The woman who she’d called Mama from the moment she could talk, who’d raised her, fed her, taught her? Or the woman who’d given her shelter in her womb for nine months, passing nutrients from her own body, sharing her essence, keeping her safe to grow and form? Or the one who’d passed on her genetic self? In anatomy, they’d been taught that if you were sent to become a donor, it was because you produced viable eggs; eggs that had been formed while you were still in the womb. The woman that shared her genes had held her in her body since even before she was formed. The thought blew Lena’s mind. She had survived inside three women’s wombs.

She carefully opened the letter. It was long and full of words like “proud” and “duty”. Lena could imagine her mother clutching her news to her breast, rushing around the village with her face skyward, smiling.

Lena felt cold. She didn’t know why. Would it make a difference to meet her birther? Or her donor? Why had these things never occurred to her before now? It was just taken for granted that the woman you lived with was your mother.

Lena got dressed and slipped the letter into her skirt pocket.

* * * *

“What are you doing here?” Mae hissed as Lena slid in behind the desk beside her. The Archmatria was using a long cane to point to various markings and statements on the board.