An Unlocked Mind (Secrets #2)(53)

“Which brings us back to why we’re here. What’s your word?” Vic demanded.

“Peacock,” Rob replied. He’d gone to the zoo once and a peacock had nipped him. Rob had hated them ever since.

“All right. Peacock it is. You say it, and everything stops. Now, I want you to kneel down beside the chair.”

“Damn. What is it with you guys and making men kneel?” Rob groused as he took up the position.

“It’s a sign of respect. It shows that you’re willing to do what a Dom asks of you.” Vic paused for a moment. “You don’t have to do this, you know. We have no agreement regarding BDSM—we’ve signed no contracts. You’re perfectly fine to say no.”

Rob huffed. “I’m already down here. May as well get this over with.”

“You have to be the cheekiest person I’ve ever met,” Vic said with a laugh. “Okay, I watched you over the last few weeks and I’ve come to a realization. Do you know what your problem is?” he asked, as he circled the kneeling Rob, placing light touches on his head and shoulders as he did so.

“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” Rob answered in a snarky tone that earned him a smack to the back of the head. “Hey!”

“You’ve never in your life learned to simply stay still. You can’t stay in one moment. You run from everything. Your past. Your present. And your future. So today we’re going to work on that. Stand up.”

What the hell? “But you just made me kneel!” Rob grumbled as he got to his feet. Again.

Vic didn’t answer. He turned and walked over to another door. A brief glimpse through the crack told Rob it was a walk-in wardrobe. When Vic came back, he held a strange-looking device, a thick bar with cuffs at either end. “Hands in front of you,” he instructed. When Rob complied, Vic locked one part of the device around Rob’s wrists, then placed the other around his ankles.

Rob stared down at his fettered body. “Er….” His heartbeat picked up its pace.

It was all he managed to get out before Vic picked him up as though he weighed nothing, carried him to the bed, and laid him on top of it. He stood beside the bed and regarded Rob with a neutral expression.

“For the next hour, you’re going to lie here and simply live in the moment.”

“What? This is ridiculous. Let me up!” Rob squirmed, pulling at his bonds.

“Do you want to safeword?”

“Yes! I… no. I don’t want to.” He tried to tell himself he didn’t want this, but a small thrill ran through him. “But what if I have to pee?”

Vic arched his eyebrows and smirked. “Then you’ll tell me.” He retrieved a book from the table, returned to the bed, and lay down next to Rob.

“You’re going to stay here?” Rob asked incredulously.

Vic stared at him. “Of course. I would never risk your health by leaving you alone. That would be dangerous.” He smiled. “And now you’re going to be quiet. No talking allowed. Just stay there and be in the moment. Be still.” He sat back and opened his book.

For the life of him, Rob couldn’t understand what Vic hoped to accomplish. This whole thing is a complete waste of time. Of course he could stay still.

But the more he thought about it, the more agitated he became.

“Let me up,” he insisted.

“It’s only been ten minutes,” Vic replied blandly.

“I don’t care. Let me up.” Rob knew it was no use struggling. Words were all he had left.

“No” was the simple reply. “Tell me your safeword and I will, but otherwise you stay where you are.”

Peacock. The word was on the tip of Rob’s tongue. He could end this crap just by saying it. But… no. I’m not gonna give him the satisfaction. He closed his eyes, figuring he’d fall asleep, but the position wasn’t the most comfortable.

Some time passed, how much Rob couldn’t be sure, but little by little, he began to relax. As he did, other things around him became more pronounced. The sounds of Vic turning the page. Vic’s breathing. The warmth of Vic’s skin as their arms brushed. The more still he became, the more Rob began to find comfort in those things. It was as if Vic had flipped a switch in his brain, and Rob had begun to power down.

“And that’s an hour. You did very well, Rob.”

Wait. What? “How long?” There was no way they’d been there that long.

“You lay there for the full hour. I’m quite proud of you,” Vic replied as he removed the hardware, then checked Rob’s wrists and ankles. When he seemed satisfied everything was as it should be, he turned his attention back to Rob.

Rob’s brain was not computing. It couldn’t have been an hour. Vic had to have released him early. He glanced at the clock beside the bed, but that only confirmed what Vic was saying. “But….”

Vic arched an eyebrow. “But?”

Rob had no words to explain that he’d finally begun to be… still. It seemed as if, for that brief span, the outside world had ceased to exist and Rob was at peace.

Then Vic smiled, as if he knew what Rob struggled to say. “If you think it helped, we’ll make a list of things for you to work on each week. This will be one of them. Spending time to simply be.”