She sighed as she came in through the door, shoving the door shut with her heel, throwing her coat on the back of her chair, slinging her handbag with it and dumping her keys on the table. She felt like hell, and passing the blackened window, she caught her own reflection. She looked like hell. She rubbed her eyes with a small sigh.

It had been a hell of a day, a long tiring day that made you ferret in your bag for paracetamol. It wasn't a bad day. If it had been a bad day, she would have come home in a steaming bad mood and taken it out on her new toy, but as it was, she was just tired and achy and irratible. She kicked off her heels and walked in her stocking feet to the door of her bedroom, pushing it open with the tip of her finger.

There he was, at the foot of her bed, in almost the same position as she'd left him, it pleased her slightly to see that he'd obviously struggled. He was knelt at the very bottom of her bed, only a millimetre of mattress stopping him from faceplanting the floor and stripped down to his bare skin, his skin was rippled with goosebumps as the fan in the corner blew cold air across him. He shivered slightly as she watched, arms straining on the rope behind him.

His arms were tightly cinched together at the elbows with dark grey-blue rope, more binding his crossed wrists, the rope extending right up to the headboard, the rope woven through the wrought metal, holding his arms out in a perfect horizontal line and forcing him to bow forwards slightly. His knees were held apart, each one tied to the corner of the bed, and his ankles were crossed behind him, tightly knotted together too. She'd been feeling so much more adventurous this morning. Damn work. She'd had plans...

She sighed slightly, and his head snapped up, turning in her direction, ears pricking back, trying vainly to see her through the purple silk scarf tied around his eyes. The purple matched the bedspread, the rich midnight purple of the collar around his neck, and the bite-gag through his mouth. He always had hated the bite-gag the most, she remembered, or at least, he always protested the most when she forced it into him.

She stayed perfectly still and silent, and he relapsed, then shivered again. Damn it, she really wasn't in the mood. She wanted to soak in the bath, but couldn't be bothered to run one, she wanted to just collapse and die, but he was on her bed and she couldn't be bothered with him either right now. She walked over to the other side of the room, clicking the fan off as she passed and plugged her IPod into the docking station.

He'd gone quiet now, she realised. He was desperately listening, trying to work out what she was going to do next. She flicked through her IPod... then her finger hesitated over a song... then she shrugged and pressed play. Soft piano music rang through the air, undercut with string instruments, and as the singer crooned over the top, she headed for him, stopping a step away to just look at him.

She'd known from the first moment she'd seen him, she wanted him. He was only a few inches taller than her, his skin slightly tanned a soft gold, his hair, cropped longish around his face, a metallic blue. A Cyber-punk, he'd told her, that night in the bar, laughing over his pint. His right eyebrow was pierced, as was his tongue and both ears...

And it had been so easy to slip something in his drink while he wasn't looking.

She reached out, running a hand over his chest, feeling the instinctive flinch of surprise. His skin was almost icily cold under her warm hand, and she ran her palms gently over his captive form, feeling the hardness of his clearly defined pecs and abs under his skin, then wrapped her arms around his neck and gently leant her head on his shoulder.

"... exile, it takes your mind... again. You got sucker's luck, have you given up..." Her IPod crooned, and she blew a long breath out, finally able to breathe properly.

He was tense under her... then slowly seemed to relax too, nuzzling into her hair. She sighed again and straightened up, untying the ropes from the bottom bedposts and pushing him gently backwards. He gave a surprised squeak as he fell back, landing on his butt with an adorably confused look... and she laughed despite herself, climbing onto the bed next to him, and untying the rope attaching him to the bedpost, converting it into a belt-like strap, holding his arms behind his back, loosening the ties on his elbows, then gently pushing him back to the bedspread, so he was lying on his back, pale gold on purple.

"You lose so much, have you given up? Does it feel like a trial?"

Strange, he hadn't struggled at all tonight... she lay down next to him, laying her head on his shoulder, and this time, he didn't flinch, not even when she started to stroke his chest with her fingertips. She reached up, hesitated, then murmured into his ear.

"Even try to yell and I'll gag you for a week," She warned. "Hear me?"

He nodded, eager, she thought, another smile being drawn from her. She unbuckled the gag, pulling it away and shutting it in the top drawer of her chest of drawers, before lying down next to him again, running her fingers over his chest again.

"Does it trouble your mind like you trouble mine?"

He turned his head towards her, giving a small sigh.

"Why?" He asked her quietly.

"Because I've had a shit day at work, and I don't want to play," She said wearily.

He smiled slightly.

"No, I actually meant, why me?"

She looked up at him, tracing his sharp jaw, then caressing his throat with her thumb.

"2 reasons. One, you're damn gorgeous."

He gave a start of laughter at at that, and she reached up and kissed him gently on the forehead, stroking his metallic blue hair, then leaned in to kiss him properly. He jumped, taken by surprise, then tilted his head, kissing her back. When she leant back, breaking it off, he was still smiling. He raised his pierced eyebrow.

"And 2?" He prompted.

She propped herself up on her elbow, grinning herself, her hand splayed over his heart.

"Well hunny, you've just got suckers luck," She stated.

And revelled in his chuckle, as despite himself, he laughed.