Bind of the Magi

The new fallen snow crunched under Mary’s white boots as she made her way briskly down the freshly ploughed streets that led to her home. Her breath made frosty puffs of fog in the crisp December air as she strode down the sidewalk, shopping bags in each gloved hand. She wore a red woollen coat that reached down to her knees, with a grey-black faux fur collar bundled tightly around her neck to keep cozy. Brightly coloured Christmas lights gleamed through the snow decked tree branches around her. The cool, clear air left a little tickle in the back of her throat and she fancied she could almost smell the turkeys roasting, the warm spices of mulling cider, the tang of mandarin oranges, and the sweet scent of peppermint springing forth with the warm glow from each passing window.

Christmas had always been Mary’s favourite time of year. All the shopping was done now; tomorrow she would be cooking a holiday feast for all their ‘orphaned’ friends who, like them, weren’t able to make it home to their own families for the holidays. But tonight was just for Joe and her.

They’d been married a little over a year and in that time their love had only grown stronger, their bond tighter. Each day she woke up, looked over at Joe sleeping, and felt she was the luckiest woman alive. She still got tingles down in her toes when she saw him smile. When he looked in her eyes, held her in his arms, covered her with soft, passionate kisses - she felt that nothing else in the world mattered.

Lately, they had not been able to spend much time together. They both loved the small starter home that hard work had allowed them to buy, but mortgages and other unexpected expenses meant they both had to work just to make ends meet. Mary worked as a receptionist for a small insurance firm while Joe was an apprentice carpenter. With their mounting bills, Joe worked overtime whenever he could, even taking second or third jobs “off the books” just to make ends meet. Often he was so exhausted he would barely be through the door before he was in bed, fast asleep.

Tonight would be different. They’d made a promise to each other, Christmas day was for their friends, but Christmas Eve was just for them. Because money was tight, they’d made a pledge: they could buy each other just one gift. Something special, a surprise. Something they knew the other would love.

As soon as the pledge was made, Mary knew what she would get for Joe. She felt a little shiver down her spine just to think of it. As she and Joe had grown closer, they had shared many things: their hopes, their dreams, their deepest fantasies. She’d been thrilled to discover that along with Joe’s caring and tenderness he had a wicked side. A side that wanted nothing more than to lash her to the bedposts and ravish her unmercifully. Through the cool night air, she felt her cheeks grow warm when she thought of the times they had had, her arms bound with soft silk scarves to the bedposts of their huge oaken bed (which he had crafted himself, turning the posts on his lathe, fastening the frame together with thick wooden pegs and hand tools) and Joe riding her all through the night. The first time he wrapped a scarf across her eyes she thought she might explode from the waves of pleasure that shot through her body, never knowing where his hands would be touching next.

He’d shared with her how sexy he found it to hear her mewing with pleasure, unable to talk or object, free to relax and enjoy the pleasure sweeping over her. They’d played with scarves as gags, knotting them in the middle and slipping them into her mouth, snugly knotting them behind her head. They both knew the gags were largely symbolic for even with the scarf in her mouth Mary could still talk quite intelligibly. Once, Joe even taped her mouth gently shut with layers of cloth surgical tape but Mary, mischievous scamp that she was, was still able to talk and be understood as Joe sat straddled on top of her. She remembered the gleam in his eye and the many tickle sessions she had endured for that behaviour!

Often, when the lovemaking was over, they would lie in bed together and he would tease her that someday he would get her a proper gag and stop once and for all this ‘ridiculous insolent chatter’. More tickle fights would ensue but Mary’s curiosity had been piqued. She would ask him what he meant by ‘proper gag’ and gradually he began to describe things he had seen in his ‘research’ on the internet. She shivered again as she recalled his descriptions: stuffed leather plugs, straps criss-crossing in all directions, firm panels, muzzles snugly pressed against the face to stifle any kind of sound. Of all those he described, she noticed his eyes would light up the most on the ‘pump gags’. Muzzles with some sort of inflatable bulb inside that could be pumped to plug the mouth of even the brattiest bride.

So, scarcely able to believe her own audacity, she had looked through the history on his computer and found a shop that carried things like the ones he had described. Many an hour she spent, ogling restraining contraptions of all kinds, before finding the perfect gift. From Sax Leathers, an inflatable butterfly gag. The center section puffed up to fill the mouth while the two ‘wings’ would tuck in between her teeth and cheeks, filling them up like a happy, naughty chipmunk.

Many months of scrimping pennies had at last allowed her to order it and at last, just today, it had arrived. Packed in amongst the bags of brussel sprouts, parsnips, potatoes, and other holiday goodies was a plain brown parcel from Sax leathers that she had picked up that very afternoon. Mary giggled to herself as she thought of how she would look, all bundled up for Joe. Turning up the walk to the little bungalow that was home to her and Joe, she began to plan her evening. There were lots of groceries to put away and other last minute preparations to finish before Carol came over to help her get ready.

* * * *

It was finished. Many months of slipping off to his friend Chris’s basement workshop were finally at an end. Joe looked over his handiwork and knew that he had the perfect gift for Mary.

It had been early that summer that the two of them had taken a Sunday off and gone antiquing in the country. After many happy hours holding hands in the sunshine, wandering from shop to shop, poking through dusty little back rooms, she saw it: a beautiful old steamer trunk, easily over 100 years old. The wooden slats had all been sanded down and refinished with coat after coat of gleaming varnish which let the golden colour of the wood beneath shine through. Strong black iron bands reinforced the sides and guarded each corner of the big box and on the front, a hand forged iron hasp allowed the trunk to be locked with a huge antique padlock.

Naturally, they couldn’t afford it. Shouldn’t have even thought about it, really, but Mary kept coming back, drawn to it. Three times that afternoon she insisted that they go back into the little shop for just one last look at it. Joe knew that Mary enjoyed their little bondage games and had sometimes hinted that it made her feel like “a treasure”. He knew that she admired the craftsmanship of the old trunk but he couldn’t help wondering if secretly she was drawn to the idea that she could be the “treasure” locked inside the big box.

Since he couldn’t ever afford the real chest, Joe set about making his own reproduction. He had a pretty good memory for design and had even surreptitiously paced out the trunk on one of their many visits to get an idea of the dimensions.

The budget that he and Mary had set for their one gift for each other was just enough to cover materials and Chris helped out by providing the workshop. Evenings, nights, weekends - whenever Joe could squeeze some time around his work and his overtime, he was down in Chris’s basement, sawing, planeing, finishing joints, sanding the finish, creating his masterpiece. The corner joints were mortised together without a hair’s gap between them. Midway along each side he’d run extra bracing from top to bottom to strengthen them and over everything, straps of steel that he’d painted black and weathered to match the original ironwork. Another strap of steel wrapped around the lid of the chest, overlapping the bottom edge to form a tight flange when the lid was closed.

Joe learned that a plumber on one of his job sites was also an amateur blacksmith with a small forge in his backyard. Together they crafted a sturdy heart shaped hasp that was a pretty fair match for the one on the original. The one thing Joe hadn’t been able to find was an antique padlock but he figured that would give he and Mary an excuse to go antiquing again next summer.

Finishing had taken the longest time. Joe had lost track of the hours he had spent sanding, staining, and varnishing to produce the glossy finish that shone before him. Working around the crescent shaped holes that he had routed into each end to serve as handles was probably the hardest part of the job. He could have used thick leather straps for handles like the original but he had a feeling that handles that doubled as air holes could come in very handy.

It had been touch and go for the last week or so. Joe had worried that he wouldn’t finish in time but a last big push and everything was ready. Christmas eve and all the finishing coats were dry, it was ready to be delivered. He was looking forward to tonight, his special Christmas with Mary. With the work on the chest and all of his other overtime they had seen very little of each other lately. Tonight was sure to be special.

At breakfast that morning Joe had very nonchalantly asked Mary about her plans for the day.

“Well, I’m going out around 3:00 to pick up the last few things I need for the big dinner tomorrow. The shops will probably be a bit crazy but I should be home by 4:30 or 5:00. When are you off today?”

“Oh, we’re still pushing to finish the Taylor job, then Cavanaugh wants to take us all out for a quick drink to say thank you for all the hard work. I figure we wrap up the job by 4:00 at the latest, get cleaned up and have one quick beer… I should be home 6, 6:30 at the latest.”

“Then we have the whole evening for…our Christmas.”

Joe had to struggle to keep a straight face through that story. The truth was, they had finished the Taylor job yesterday and Cavanaugh’s thank you wasn’t a beer, it was giving the whole crew today off, with pay. When Mary was out shopping it would be the perfect time to bring the chest home and set up his surprise.

Chris had generously offered his pickup truck and help to get Joe’s project home. Getting it up the stairs from the workshop had been a bit of tricky job.

“Careful Joe,” Chris grunted. “Remember, ‘Flesh heals, wood doesn’t’”.

Joe gasped as he struggled to keep a grip on his end of the chest as they manhandled it up the staircase.

“Jeez, Chris. Why did you have to buy a house with three turns in the staircase? Could you make this any more awkward?”

“Hey, it’s an architectural feature, man. You pay extra for that. Just remember ‘PIV-OT…PIV-OT!’”

“Oh man, I am going to give you such a slap!”

Finally, they got it secured in the back of the pickup and pulled up in front of Joe’s bungalow.

“See this? A nice comfortable One Level home,” Joe panted as he backed his way through the front door.

“Yeah, yeah, Mr. Smart Guy. Where do you want it? Living room?”

“No, let’s set it up at the foot of the bed. I figure Mary might want to use it as a blanket box.”

A bit more nudging and heaving and the trunk was in position.

“Thanks again Chris, really. I couldn’t have done this without you.”

“No problem, dude. It’s really a beautiful piece. You do good work.”

“Thanks.”

Reaching into his pocket, Chris pulled out a rumpled paper bag. “Oh, one last thing. Early Christmas present for you.” He tossed the bag over to Joe. “I know you were kind of bummed that you couldn’t find the right lock for it. Well, when I was on the Sheffield job last week, guess what I found in a little second hand store on Main street.”

Joe opened the bag and saw a beautiful old brass padlock. It was as big as his hand and must have weighed several pounds. An old fashioned barrel key hung from the keyhole on the front and above it was a little metal flap that could swivel around to cover the keyhole when it was not in use.

“Even works, too after I gave it a good shot of WD-40. Just don’t lose the key,” Chris laughed, “I don’t think they’re making them anymore.”

“Thanks man. That’s really great.” Joe was choked for words “Thank you.”

“Ah, no biggie, you candy ass!” he said, punching Joe’s arm. “See you tomorrow! You warn that wife of yours I’m bringing my holiday sized appetite!”

Joe watched from the front window as Chris’s truck pulled away, then set about making his preparations.

* * * *

Mary had just finished putting all the groceries away when the doorbell rang. Pulling open the door she saw Carol standing on her doorstep, bundled up against the winter cold. Beneath her white woollen cap there was a twinkle in Carol’s eyes as she clutched a huge bright red and green gift bag by her side.

“5:30 on the dot! Are you all ready Mary?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be!” Mary giggled. “Now, get in here!” She practically yanked Carol through the door and helped her off with her winter gear. “Did you get everything?” she asked, looking down at the bag in Carol’s hand.

“Plus a few little goodies of my own. I do declare, Mrs. White! I had no idea you got up to such goings on!” she teased. Carol was one of Mary’s oldest friends, her roommate from college, and would often come over to keep Mary company when Joe had to work his long late shifts. Over a few too many glasses of wine at one of these sessions Mary had given in to Carol’s probing and let slip a few details of her and Joe’s “adventures”. From there, it was just a few short steps for Mary to enlist Carol’s help in setting up her surprise for Joe.

“I swear Carol, you tell anyone and I’ll…I’ll…”

“Don’t worry, fusspants. Your secret is safe with me. Now go get changed. We don’t have much time!”

“Yes, mistress.” Mary giggled as she strode into the bedroom. “I… oh my god…” Mary was speechless. There in front of her, at the foot of her bed, was the chest she had yearned for at the antique store all those months ago. Only… it wasn’t it. It was even better; newer, more vivid, crafted with such care. In an instant, she knew that Joe must have made it for her. The beautiful details, even the big iron hasp which was folded on top of the lid, taped down with a big red bow. She turned to Carol, her eyes welling with tears.

“He made this for me… All those nights, those weekends. No wonder he’s been so tired. Oh Carol, we’ve got to make his present extra special.”

“Dry those tears Mary. We will. We will make it special.” An idea came to her. “We can even make his gift part of it! Now quick, get ready. You have red ones.”

Mary sprang into action, pulling open her lingerie drawer. “Yes, they’ve always been his favourites.” Deftly, she plucked various items from the drawer and began laying them out on the bed. Moments later, Carol was stunned at her friend’s transformation: gone was her friend Mary, charming and loving wife. In her place stood this fiery goddess. A bright red satin corset hugged her curves, thinning her waist and pushing up her breasts deliciously. Across her mound lay the barest wisp of panties, a tiny triangle of red satin that matched her strict bustier. Garters dangling from the bottom of the corset held and caressed red silk stockings that traced every curve of her legs right up to her flirty behind. Beneath the stockings her calves arched as she stood on shiny red patent leather pumps with heels easily four inches high. From the shoes numerous straps looped around her ankles and buckled up, keeping her feet snugly secure.

“Wow…” Carol gasped.

“Yep. I told you he liked it. Hey, I just thought of something! That must be where Chris was this afternoon.”

“What?”

“Oh, I called Holly and Chris’s place while I was at the mall to ask if they could bring over some extra napkins when they come tomorrow and Holly said that Chris had been out all afternoon. Joe must have gotten Chris to drop off the trunk while he was at work.”

“Does everyone have keys to your house?” Carol laughed.

“No, silly. Just Chris and Holly and you, of course.”

“Of course. Well, my dear, I think it’s time to wrap this present.”

“Okay,” Mary took a deep breath. She was starting to get nervous again. “It’s not going to be itchy is it? I mean, you didn’t get scratchy rope or twine or something. I think I’d go crazy waiting for Joe if it was itchy.”

“Relax. You’re going to be very comfy. I found you can get some very good stuff in some rather unexpected places. Like a fabric store.”

Opening the gift bag, Carol pulled out yards and yards of shiny green rope. Or what looked like rope.

“It’s actually designed to be used for sash cords, curtain tiebacks, and other Christmassy type stuff but I thought it would suit our purposes pretty well, too.” The cord was about half an inch thick, tightly braided and satiny.

“I had a look at those websites you suggested so I think I can get you pretty secure. What do you think about a hogtie on top of this beautiful new box?”

Mary felt herself getting wet just at the thought of it. “I think he’d like that very much…”

“Okay then. Here, toss me a blanket from the closet and we’ll make sure you’re comfy.” Watching Mary glide across the room in her heels, Carol was again stunned at the transformation in her friend. Every move, every gesture just cried out desire. As she stretched up on her toes to reach the blanket on the top shelf, her pert little behind swayed, emphasising the beautiful hourglass figure above. “Joe is one lucky man Mary, you are hot!”

Mary blushed as she handed Carol the blanket and watched her nimbly fold it up to provide a soft place for her to lay on top of the trunk.

“Better get this out of the way. We don’t want it digging into that tender tummy of yours.” Carol un-taped the bow from the hasp on top of the chest then folded it down over the loop on the front so that the lid was tightly sealed.

“We can do something with this, though,” she said smiling wickedly. Undoing a loop of the ribbon from the bow, she wrapped it around Mary’s neck, knotting it loosely in the back to form a festive collar.

“Aren’t you a pretty little present. Okay, turn around now, hands behind your back.” Mary spun around and placed her hands palm to palm behind her back. She could hear rustling as Carol began arranging the ropes, then felt the cool slinky smoothness as they began wrapping around her wrists.

“I read a lot of articles on how to tie somebody securely and most of them recommended using this ‘larks head’ knot.” Carol took one of the longest cords, doubled it in half, and then fed the ends through the loop formed at the middle. This formed a new loop into which she tucked Mary’s wrists, pulling it snug then wrapping the ends around and around, up over Mary’s forearms.

“The trick is to make sure you cinch it up tight.” Tucking the loose ends between Mary’s arms she split them so that one rope fell down the front and one down the back. She pulled both ends back through the original larks head loop down by Mary’s wrists then back up to the top, cinching them tightly around the horizontal loops and tying the ends together snugly, safely away from any naughty probing fingers.

“I practiced a few times on my legs to make sure these knots would be secure,” Carol continued, pulling out another cord and starting a new loop, just below Mary’s elbows. “I didn’t want to risk tying my arms together and getting stuck,” she said, gently tugging Mary’s elbows towards each other. “We don’t all have the luxury of a big strong man to come save us if we get stuck.”

Carol used even more cinch wraps around the elbow tie, keeping it secure without pulling Mary’s elbows so close together that her circulation would be cut off. It now looked like a thick green coil of rope, looping Mary’s arms together just below the elbows.

“One more loop up top,” Carol continued, wrapping another loop above Mary’s elbows this time. As Mary’s arms pulled back it forced her breasts forward, straining even more against the firm confines of her corset.

“Wow, Carol. You’re pretty good at this.”

“Well, Christmas comes but once a year. Gotta make it special.” Taking another length of rope, Carol doubled it and looped it through the middle once more, passing the whole works over Mary’s head, shoulders, down to her waist so that the loops pinned her arms down against her body.

“Okay, Mary, down you go.” Gently, she guided her friend along to the side of the trunk and eased her down until her tummy was lying down on the blanket on top of the trunk. More loops went around Mary’s ankles and above and below her knees before Carol took one last cord to complete the hogtie.

“Alright sweetie, let’s truss you up like a Christmas turkey.” Folding Mary’s legs back she pressed her feet down against her buttocks and held them in place with her hand as she readied the last rope. Again, she doubled it and this time fed the loop in the middle behind the cinch rope above Mary’s elbows. Feeding the ends through the loop once more, she pulled the knot tight then fed the ends around the ropes joining Mary’s ankles. Tugging gently she forced Mary’s feet back further and further until they pressed against her behind with no wiggle room at all. Carol wound the ends of the rope back and forth between the elbow and ankle ropes three more times before tying them off and tucking the ends of the rope away from Mary’s prying fingers.

“That ought to hold you!” Mary tried wriggling around and was amazed at how little mobility her friend had left her with.

Carol bent over and checked Mary’s arms, fingers, and toes to make sure they were getting plenty of circulation and hadn’t gone cold. The knots were snug but the ropes were soft and Mary’s limbs were warm and secure.

“Now, where’s that last little surprise of yours?” Carol asked, kneeling down to look into Mary’s eyes.

“Oh my goodness! I almost forgot. It’s in the box on the kitchen counter.”

Carol brought the box back into the room and pulled out the gag from inside.

“Oooh! Yes, I think this could keep even you quiet. Okay, open wide!”

Mary stretched her mouth open wide as she could. Carol slid the gag inside, then used her fingers to begin tucking the cheek flaps into her mouth, first on the left side, then on the right, grunting and giggling a little as she stretched Mary’s lips to cover it. With all the pieces firmly tucked into place, she looked down into Mary’s eyes as she began slowly squeezing the inflation bulb. Carol watched the surprise and delight on Mary’s face as her cheeks began to bulge tighter and tighter as the inside of the gag swelled, filling her mouth completely.

“Any last words?”

“mmmmgggg….mmmmmgggg”. The faintest of moans, the tiniest of mews was all that Mary could produce.

“Just one last thing, to keep that from slipping out.” Carol reached into her bag and pulled out a long strip of red satin fabric. It was eight inches across and over 20 feet long. Smoothing the center of the fabric over Mary’s lips, Carol began winding it around her head, again and again, multiple layers of soft red satin forming a muzzle over the entire lower half of Mary’s face, holding the gag in place. Knotting the ends behind Mary’s head, she smoothed the satin over her cheeks one last time before lifting Mary’s chin in her hands.

“All done. You sure you’re going to be okay?”

Mary nodded enthusiastically.

“Okay. You guys have fun! I’ll be back at 9:00 tomorrow morning to help you get the turkey ready. Merry Christmas!”

Carol began gathering her things together. Picking her bag up off the floor, she noticed the big brass padlock sitting on the ground in front of the trunk.

Dang, must have knocked that off by mistake, she thought. Feeding the padlock through the hasp, she snapped it shut, leaving the key sticking out of the keyhole. There, much tidier

“Oops! Almost forgot!” she giggled, reaching into the bag and pulling out a gift tag. With a firm smack, she slapped the tag on Mary’s behind, eliciting a startled mew from Mary. As she went out the door, she took one last look at her tightly trussed friend, with the words “Do Not Open Until Christmas” now shining from her behind.

* * * *

Joe really wanted to give Mary a twofold surprise. The first part was the trunk itself. The second was that they would be having much more time for each other now. Cavanaugh had been so impressed with his work over the last few months, come the new year he was making Joe a partner. More time overseeing the different job sites but much less crippling overtime.

And man, I could use a break Joe thought, trying to stifle a yawn. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to stay awake to finish his preparations. First, he slipped off his boots and hid them beside the dresser. He didn’t want Mary to know he was home early. Next, he got a big red ribbon that he’d purchased from the card store earlier that week and taped it to the front of the box. For some reason, the tape wouldn’t stick to the varnish he’d used. Finally, he just folded the hasp up on top of the trunk and taped the ribbon on there.

Now, somewhere to hide to surprise her. That could be tricky. There weren’t a lot of hiding places in a 600 square foot bungalow. His eyes fell back on the trunk. Well, why not? Try it out, see if it’s going to be comfortable for Mary.

Slipping off his jacket, he tucked it under the bed, then gently lifted the lid. The inside smelled rich and woody. Joe stepped carefully into the box, then sat down and pulled his knees into his chest. Nope, not going to fit that way. Maybe if I scooch down. Sliding along his backside, he lay down until his back was on the floor of the trunk and his butt cheeks pressed up against the far side. Once again tucking his knees into his chest he could see there would be just enough clearance for the lid to close. Oh Man! She is going to freak out when she opens the lid and finds me, he thought to himself. Slowly, he reached up above himself and gently pulled the lid closed.

Looking around the warm cocoon, he could see two shafts of light shining into the box from the two handle holes he’d cut into the ends. This is cozy. She’s going to be surprised… man, am I sleepy… just got to close my eyes for a second… surprised… man… so… sleeeppyyy….

* * * *

Again and again, Mary tried wriggling around. Carol had done an amazing job of immobilizing her. She smiled as she thought of how she must look, all red and green, a perfect Christmas parcel.

Squirming around, she noticed something beside the dresser. Joe’s boots. Joe never went out without those boots. If they’re here that must mean…

With a start, Joe snapped awake. He could swear he’d heard some sort of rustling or squirming sound. What time is it? Can’t see my watch in here. Well, I’ll just crack the lid for a quick peek. Pushing upwards, he found the lid wouldn’t budge. No matter how hard he pushed or pounded, it was stuck. Oh great, the latch must have fallen down. He figured he and Mary would have a good laugh over this when she got home.

Some kind of squirming, pounding sound from inside the trunk? Oh no!

“mmmm! Mmmmggg!”

“Mary, is that you?”

“mmmg!”

“One grunt for yes, two grunts for no”

“mmmgg!”

“Can you open the trunk, I seem to be stuck.”

“mmmggg mmmmggg”

“Oh don’t tell me, you’re kind of tied up too?”

Mary smiled. “mmmggg”

“Oh great. Carol’s still coming over before everyone else tomorrow, right?”

“mmmggg”

“Aren’t we a pair. I wanted to be underneath you tonight but this wasn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

Me either! Mary thought. “mmmgg ermmmger”

“Well, it’s good to be with you, anyway I can. I love you Mary.”

“mmmg mmmooo”

“Merry Christmas, darling.”

“Mmmmgg gmmmg”

 

09.02.06