New Toys

She woke to the half-light of dawn, and stretched fully, languidly.  Turning to her left, she began to massage the chest of the man lying next to her. The reflexive’ humming she elicited as he too stretched was what she expected.
"Hey," she nuzzled his ear.

He grunted.

"Hey, why did you take it off?" She bit his ear.

"What?" His eyes snapped open. Moaning, he flipped to his stomach and buried his face in the pillow.

"Why," came his muffled voice, "Did you wake me up?" He turned a  bleary eye to the clock. "It's fifteen to six! I couldn't have gotten to sleep before three! "

"You took it off." She rubbed his back, her hand finding buttocks and thighs. "And I want to `know why you did."

“You were enjoying yourself too much,” he said, propping himself up on one elbow. ‘Part of this whole scene is doing something to someone that they don’t like. You like it, so the purpose is defeated.”
'Aw, she again rubbed his chest, I was still experimenting."

"Experimenting? Ha! I put that thing on you at ten in the morning. I fed you in it and I let you out only when you needed to wipe your  lips and cheeks."

She lay back down and crossed her arms petulantly.

"Damned poetic way of saying I needed to piss and shit! 

"I try."

'Well, I didn't see you complaining much while you were manning your 
Nikon. How much film did you use? Two, three rolls?"

"Five."

"And," she poked his sternum, warming to the discussion. "And I  didn't notice you throwing away the money we've earned or burning the thousand other photos you have of me."

"Two thousand photos."

'See, you enjoy yourself too." She faced him across the darkness. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like it on again. I'm still conducting research, trying to find a" way out."

"What? Are you crazy?"

"Of course, that's why I have it, isn't it?"

"Tell me," he said, linking his fingers behind his head, "How many  books did you study, how many people did you pump? How long did you  spend designing it? Designing it for the sole purpose of eliminating any such possibility. And... "

"All I ask is a favor."

"And," he continued, ignoring the interruption, "Then you spent I  don't know how long or how much making it."

"Now wait a minute. I used my share of the money we got for those pictures of me and it didn't cost you a cent. Besides, as far as I  have been able to determine, it was worth every effort. "

"You're as bad as an eight-year-old."

"Some of us just never grow up."

"When will you stop playing with it?"

"Just like an eight-year-old, I'll stop. when I grow tired of it. And I'm not tired of it yet."

"Alright," he turned on the bedside lamp. "Anything to get some sleep. C'mere."

It probably would have been easier if they had gotten off the bed,  but neither of them seemed to think of this as he lifted up something from the floor.

"Whew," he wrinkled his nose. "The first day and your sweat makes it  reek!"

"What do you want me to do, put, corks in my pores? Besides, as you  put it, that's also part of 'the scene'."

"Bah. Turn around."

While he held it in front of her, she slipped her arms into the sleeves. He zipped closed the back and pulled the five straps across the back and the crotch strap taut.

"I can tighten the straps one hole tighter this time."

'Silly, leather stretches when it gets wet. Wait," she stopped his movement, 'I'll tell you when."

“Just don’t take all night,” he said, watching her turn to face him and move her enclosed hands slowly and sensually up and down her leather coated torso. He admitted to himself that she had done a good job; the garment that covered her from pelvis to neck fit like a second skin.
"Well?"

"Oh, alright," she muttered while turning her back to him again, then crossing her arms across her chest, left arm over right, 

He threaded the straps sprouting from the ends of the sleeves through the loops attached to the sides of the jacket and fastened them behind her back to their two mated buckles.

"Satisfied?"

She clumsily turned to sit cross-legged facing him and tugged mightily at the restraint with her pinioned arms.

"Yes.

"Good," he turned out the light.

the bed rocked slightly as she moved about in the dark. He was drifting off to sleep when he felt an unmistakable sensation.

"Hey," he shouted as he grabbed her head from between his legs and turned on the light.

"That tickles and you know 1 don't like to be tickled!."

She giggled at him.

"I know what you're trying to pull," he said getting up and going to the closet. "And it's going to work."

She didn’t move to avoid the leather cuffs being placed around her ankles and didn’t fight the retaining strap he wound through the metal staples and cinched. She watched expectantly as he fastened the wide strap over the mattress to the reinforced bed rails and motioned her to lie down.
She squirmed until she was on her side of the bed, the wide strap underneath her shoulder blades.

He took the smaller strap riveted to the bed strap and pulled it between her upper arms and body. She assisted by forcing her arms as far away from her body as her bindings allowed until he buckled the strap, crossing from armpit to armpit, just above her breasts. A set of straps were looped around her ankle restraints and tightened, stretching her legs toward the foot of the bed.
"Thanks," she murmured, pursing her lips to blow him an imaginary kiss.

"Don't mention it," he said, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling.

As he turned out the light, he felt the bed vibrating in concert with her striving to escape from her bonds. His hand trailed lightly up and down her side, resting finally on her thigh. Closing his eyes, he felt the muscle contorting’ and knotting under his fingers as she battled the straitjacket. He thought briefly of getting his camera but decided it could wait until he woke. He fell asleep smiling.
Later, exhausted from her useless endeavor, still feebly twisting her arms and body against the tight, unrelenting grip, she too fell  asleep.