JoAnna Smith - Seaman Apprentice free porn video

JOANNA SMITH – SEAMAN APPRENTICE

By Sailor 861

JoAnna Smith, 34, looked out her living room window with "harley anddavie," her very chatty parakeets, at the sheets of rain pelting downon a grey, muggy mid-September Sunday morning in downtown Philadelphia andglumly summed up the year in five words: fate, discovery, incident, interlude,introspection.

Her shoulders, breasts and sex still ached from a B and D session gone terriblywrong a month ago. But she was slowly recuperating, her mind drifting backnow and then to a more pleasant late-summer interlude with someone she hadreally cared for, as she tried to ease the present pain out of her body andmind.

Fate had drawn submissive JoAnna purely by accident to William, a guy shemet in the bdsmlibrary chatroom, and she soon found herself caught up in atornado of emotions as the two of them struggled to come to terms with a Dsrelationship they could live with. Although JoAnna was quietly pleased withher serendipitous discovery of a man, somewhat older than her, who cared forher deeply in the special way she wanted, she was a little unsure of herselfas she gave more and more of herself to the ex-navy guy she barely knew.

Finally, she did agree to meet William in New York City to attend LaBoheme at the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center and shereluctantly found herself falling in love with her quiet, handsome lover.His quiet strength, his soothing words of comfort, his presence set JoAnna'sheart aflame and she began to realize intuitively she would belong to thisman somehow, some way.

After her memorable weekend affair she had returned home, recharged, renewedand restored, ready to rejoin the human race as a happy, joyous, free and sexywoman.

Then, she had to wait weeks until she heard from him again but they werereunited joyously at his house near the Atlantic Ocean in North Carolina andbecame fast lovers once again.

William had excelled, she thought, in treating her as a lady and as his submissivein the days and weeks leading up to the big trip to New York City to see theopera La Boheme and she was reluctant to leave him thatsad, last day at JFK airport to fly alone back to Philadelphia. Their subsequentreunion in rural North Carolina was just as tender and loving as their timein New York and she had to leave him, yet again, wondering where her relationshipwith him was destined to end.

Seated alone and lonely on the little commuter jet heading back to PhiladelphiaInternational Airport, she wistfully wished her weekend could have been a week,or two, William having treated her so gently, so kindly, so lovingly – andin that subtle, dominant way she craved.

Memories of her satisfying lovemaking with chained ankles, the sites of thebig, modern port city of Halifax and the quiet, romantic moments they had spenttogether – even the extraordinarily beautiful opera that held her inthrall that first, long weekend in New York City -- would stay with her fora lifetime.

But fate would intrude and disrupt JoAnna's life in a way she had never thoughtpossible.

JoAnna didn't hear from William as often as she would have liked and onlyafter he contacted her weeks later did she learn he had to be treated surgicallyfor an old, service-related shoulder injury that left him unable to type anylonger than a minute at a time. He was in too much pain, he had emailed, tophone and JoAnna was heartbroken her lover had had to suffer without her knowing.

They continued to write, less frequently, but JoAnna could still detect William'spassion for her and their mutual interest in and exploration of her submissiveside. She fostered hopes they would once again be reunited, somehow, somewhere,but only time would tell.

While William was convalescing, at home in North Carolina, the season changeand school openings had JoAnna scampering to keep up with the never-endingcustomers in the busy children's clothing store she worked at.

Once the surge peaked and died down, JoAnna's life began to return to itsnormal workaday routine and she was just as lonely as before without William.Her sister and her mum called on her from time to time but it just wasn't thesame.

"Now, at last, I can spend a little time writing about that subjectI have wanted to explore for a long time," JoAnna told Harley, as sheturned to look at her birdcage and the chirpy inmates. " TheSubmissive Female and her Needs -- for fun, pleasure and, quitepossibly, profit – and to show those at bdsmlibrary, and Sailor861, hertrue thoughts about how women really think and feel aboutbeing bound for sex – or just plain bound.

Her only regret, as she sat facing the blank opaque screen, was that Williamwas not writing her as often as she would have liked: his short and longerchats with her were always exciting and she looked forward to seeing his friendly,chatty greetings on MSN and emails that set her heart a-throb.

Reading his sexy, little stories he had begun to sent her so regularly, shewas able to relate more closely to his fictitious heroines, even though sheknew he struggled with the female voice, the female experience and the femalepoint of view; although, she had to admit, grudgingly, he did a pretty goodjob – for a man – in presenting the woman's perspective, or "gestalt," inhis works.

Next door, her gay, but zany neighbours, Kyle Martin, 36, and Mike (Michelle)Nicols, 31, JoAnna's longtime confidantes, were always fun to be around – morning,noon or night. Infrequently, they spoke about bondage and JoAnna tried to poke,plumb and cajole them to reveal to her their hidden secrets but they craftilysteered their conversations onto other things, such as her bondageexperiences, which interested them even more.

Mike, a good-looking, young man in his usual male attire, loved to cross-dressconvincingly and role-play the part as Kyle's "wife" and, JoAnnathought, he did a fairly creditable job when they came over to her house severaltimes as a happy man and "wife."

JoAnna always poked fun at the younger Mike, asking if (s)he had any plansto bear children.

"We're trying, JoAnna., we're trying," he would reply lightly. "Butthe pregnancy tests always keep coming back negative. So we try some more.I dunno what we're doing wrong, JoAnna. Can you help?"

"Er, I don't think so, Mike; uh, 'Michelle;' maybe you should see anob-gyn? Or maybe a psychiatrist?"

Gales of laughter would rock JoAnna's tidy, little kitchen when "Michelle" andher man would come over to show JoAnna Mike's new, feminine spring appareland the new pair of stick-on silicone boobs that swayed so convincingly underhis sports shirts.

JoAnna always enjoyed their company and they always left her laughing untiltears rolled down her face as they shared a few beers and played poker tilthe wee hours.

Finally, one day in mid-July, JoAnna confronted "Michelle" in thebackyard while (s)he was hanging out the laundry, which included a long lineof female garments, and said: "Mitch, I need your assistance."

"Sure, anything you say, cin.," he said in his baritone voice,showing her his brand-new silicone boobs that poked through his light turquoiseT-shirt.

"Nice, eh? They're 38Cs."

"Yes, very nice," JoAnna replied. "Now listen. Can you introduceme to a Dom? A respectable, intelligent Dom or Domme, who I can interview fora piece I am doing on female/female bondage for a couple of internet sites?"

"Sure, girlfriend," Mike chirped, "shouldn't be any problemat all. Let me check it out with Kyle and I'll get back to ya."

"Great," JoAnna said. "Gimme call as soon as you can."

"Wilco."

"And by the way, Mikey, er, Michelle, you look lovely this morning."

"Thank you, JoAnna; you too."

Days later, the two men came over, Michelle dressed to the nines, and gaveher the news.

"JoAnna, we have located one for you and she has considerable experiencein the underground B and D scene in the 'Big Apple'," Mike told her, sippingone of her beers. They gave JoAnna the place, time and date and told her theywould go with her to make sure she found the right one and that she would besafe.

JoAnna was quietly grateful for the help these two amusing, gay young mengave her but had no idea how this planned encounter would turn so sour, sobrutal, so hurtful, so quickly.

JoAnna was no stranger to safe, sane and consensual sex-in-bondage, at thehands of her capable online lover, William, and felt she was equal to the challenge.But she was going to be mismatched, a decision she would regret for monthsto come.

On a Friday night, JoAnna dressed braless, as did Mike ('Michelle'), in tight,black T-shirt, leather slacks and Doc Maartens boots to make a striking, firstimpression on one Ms. Wendy MacPeak, 35, of Brooklyn, aka 'Black-Eyed Susan,'or 'Witch of the Underworld', a 5-10, 160-pound, curvaceously muscular Dommewith 17 years of experience in bondage and discipline.

"Michelle," dressed quite convincingly as a 38C-27-38 woman inT-shirt and jeans, while Kyle, similarly attired, but clearly a handsome, youngman, escorted JoAnna to the basement bar in a rundown tenement building inthe outskirts of Philadelphia.

Entering, JoAnna looked around carefully at the sea of weird and wonderfulcharacters who surrounded her and piled up at the bar for drinks and drugs.

Leaning against a concrete pillar, JoAnna looked and listened as the gayand hetero crowd mixed and matched everywhere.

Then, "You must be JoAnna ," an assertive female voice said onJoAnna 's right as Kyle and "Michelle" made a beeline for the bar,Mikey's curvy feminine form attracting stares and whistles from gay and straightwomen and men alike.

"Yes, and you must be Wendy?" JoAnna replied. Wendy nodded, showedher to a small table for two in a relatively quiet corner of the popular Band D club and asked what was on her mind.

JoAnna had no problem outlining her plan for a writing project to describefemale-on-female bondage and informed she had chosen her, a well-known Dommewith a reputation as an 'Ice Queen,' to help her research her story firsthand.

JoAnna politely explained she would like to be the subject (sub) and the'Witch of the Underworld' would be her instructor; she respectfully requestedto be allowed to take notes, take a few discreet pictures and tape commentsbefore and after her three sessions with The Witch.

Wendy nodded silently in agreement and the two women agreed to a time andplace for their encounter. It all sounded innocuous enough, in theory; thereality proved to be painful beyond words for JoAnna .

What was to follow was not on the script as far as JoAnna was concerned andit would turn her off Dommes for the rest of her life. She would reach outto William, her calm, quiet, logical friend in Eastern Canada, but she hadmiles to travel before that would happen.

JoAnna and Wendy discussed in more detail exactly what it was that JoAnnawas after – some safe, sane, consensual bondage that she would recordin a diary and comment on at a later date -- then seek her Domme's commentand opinion on JoAnna 's reactions and submissiveness.

The two women agreed they would respect each other's limits and JoAnna thankedher politely. Wendy disappeared into the crowd and JoAnna headed to the barto locate 'Michelle' and Kyle, not realizing she had just made a pact witha cocaine-addled sociopath who was bent on inflicting as much discomfort onany willing, or unwilling, female sub who fell into her clutches.

Wendy MacPeak, of Paterson, New Jersey; San Diego, California, and many othercities between, had already done five years in the Bedford Hills maximum-securityfacility for women on assault, aggravated assault and rape convictions butJoAnna had no way of knowing.

JoAnna even made the big mistake of offering her a $100 advance, so assuredand confident was she that she was in league with an honorable woman.

Neither "Black-Eyed Susan" nor the "Wicked Witch of the Underworld" wasregistered with the Philadelphia Better Business Bureau and JoAnna was, innocently,in over her head as events in 10 days would soon reveal.

JoAnna would be bound, all right, but the further treatments she would receivefrom this cold, uncaring woman with the bodybuilder's frame and icy, shark-likeeyes, would scar her sexuality -- and frighten her away from bondage – fora long time. Until she was reunited with her "Sailor."

On the appointed day, JoAnna, nervous as a schoolgirl, drove to the cheap,little motel on the outskirts of grubby Newark, New Jersey, parked and knockedon door no. 8.

It swung open on her second rap and JoAnna walked in, seeing big, buxom WendyMacPeak sitting in an armchair, arms folded and legs crossed, dangling a pairof handcuffs and ankle chains from her fingers.

"Come in, my dear JoAnna , come in," said the woman, with a voicethat made JoAnna think instantly of a she-wolf in sheep's clothing. "Youare exactly one minute and 43 seconds late. Strip now and prepare yourself."

"Yes, Mistress," JoAnna whispered, her heart in her throat, asshe slipped out of her slacks, blouse and sweater to present her nudity tothe woman who would take charge of her for the next two hours.

"Lock these on and kneel in front of me."

JoAnna did so, feeling the cool steel once again on her wrists and ankles,but the sensations were clammy, fearful and intimidating; not at all like thoseshe felt while she was with William. She instantly missed his warm, calm, reassuringtouch.

"You have only three choices, slave," the Domme intoned seriously. "Ballgag, ring gag or cock gag. Which do you choose?"

JoAnna thought. "Ohmigod, how will I signal my safe word if I am gagged?What can I do if things get out of hand? Oh, golly, I just don't know.

"I'm waiting, JoAnna!!" the Domme shouted, startling JoAnna withthe menacing tone.

"Oh, gosh, I, ummm; I'll take the cock gag," JoAnna blurted, realizingright away she had made the wrong choice.

"Good choice, very good. Induces submissiveness almost right away."

The Witch reached down into her flight bag and withdrew a small tangle ofblack leather straps, rings, buckles and an enormous, hard-rubber phallus JoAnnaknew right away would not fit into her mouth.

"Open very wide, hold your breath and think of your boyfriend," theDomme said with a small chuckle.

JoAnna opened her mouth as wide as she could and felt Wendy slide the bigintruder slowly, deeply, into the farthest recesses of her mouth, nearly chokingher.

" Gaaack, ah can kaffff ," JoAnna gasped,as The Witch tapped the base of her gag to ensure it was in to the fullest.

"Bite down and try to relax your jaw muscles; I don't want you gaggingand spitting up now," Wendy said, as she arranged the straps under JoAnna's chin, over her face, across the top of her head and to the back of her neckwhere the whole ensemble locked.

A small snick at the back of JoAnna 's neck told hershe had been head-harnessed securely and could not escape without at leastfive keys: one for each of the three locks on her harness gag and one eachfor her handcuffs and leg chains.

"Now, you may sit there, on the bed, and make your notes," TheWitch said, looking boredly at JoAnna as she struggled to her feet, nearlytripping over her ankle chains.

Wendy tossed two evil-looking nipple clamps on the bed beside JoAnna andordered her to clamp herself.

Madine looked at the pair of butterfly clamps and shuddered. They were notat all like her own. These were heavy, serrated, painful-looking objects. Sheshuddered.

"Thirty seconds, JoAnna," Wendy said darkly.

JoAnna reached down with her cuffed hands, picked one up, opened the jaws,slipped it down to the base of her lift nipple, clenched her teeth and slowlylet go of the clamp.

The little teeth bit hard into JoAnna 's erect nipple and she winced, bravelytrying not t betray her discomfort or fear.

A moment later, her right nipple was pinched and JoAnna remembered to tryto exhale

to expiate the flaming, little aches at her breasts.

This encounter was most definitely not going according to JoAnna 's planbutshe complied anyway. Her nipple clamps joggling about, she hastily jotteddown a few preliminary thoughts about her entry into bondage with this so-farunpleasant woman.

"Have you been flogged before, slave?" The Witch asked gruffly,standing to pick up a long, springy cane.

" Mrrrffffnnnn ," JoAnna gasped, shakingher head no, setting up a small clatter of the three locks on her harness andsetting her nipples afire again.

"No?" said Wendy. "Then prepare yourself. Three strokes onyour sex, followed by four on your backside, five light ones on each breastand three across each shoulder.

"Present!!"

JoAnna was stunned. This was not in the agreement at all and she was chainedand gagged in such a way that escape was virtually impossible.

Tears started at JoAnna 's eyes and she shook her head, pleadingly, no.

'Ohmigod, someone help me, please,' JoAnna thought, panic rising in her throatas the room began to swim in her first anxiety attack in years.

" Mmmmnnnnuuh ," JoAnna wheezed, trying toget more air into her lungs. She stood up, staggered and took three quick stepstoward the door to run out, utterly panicked, but Wendy, fast, strong and agile,got there well before JoAnna .

"JoAnna , we can do this the hard way or my way. Which will it be?" asshe clutched JoAnna 's arm tightly.

"Now, bend over the bed and begin to receive your strokes; take a deepbreath and exhale, it's easier that way, and count each stroke aloud. Go."

JoAnna was frightened to death: bondage, for her, had always meant a gentle,loving touch, soothing words in a romantic atmosphere, such as that she hadenjoyed so very much with William in New York City, and in Dartmouth, NS, notlong ago. This was the antithesis to her definition of sex and romance in bonds.

JoAnna wept quietly, cursing herself for allowing this to happen.

She stood, facing the bed and Wendy roughly pushed her face-down, spreadingher legs at the foot of the bed where she secured her ankle chains with tiesto the bed legs

Next, her handcuffs were bound to the head of the bed and JoAnna was exposed,helpless and terrified.

"One," The Witch called.

Fwhack ," and a red ribbon of hot pain lashedacross JoAnna 's buttocks.

"Two."

Thwack ," another blow just above.

"Three." another lash, just below the second.

" Mnnnnn ," JoAnna wailed, shaking her headhelplessly.

"Safe word?"

" Sllllrrrr ," (sailor) JoAnna slurred aroundher gag.

" I do not understand you, JoAnna," came the amused reply.

" Thwack ," and JoAnna 's backside burstinto flame.

The other, fortunately lighter strokes on her sex, her breasts and her shouldersenraged JoAnna and she thought she was going to pass out. But she would notgive in.

She now despised this woman with passion and would resist passively.

The psychopathic Domme smiled coldly at JoAnna 's trembling body and thoughtto herself: "another satisfied customer," as she untied JoAnna butleft her gag in place.

JoAnna gasped for breath, wheezing disgust for her brutalization, but knewshe had no grounds for a police report or evidence to the DA.

There had been consent, she knew, but The Witch had taken it too far.

JoAnna demanded to be unchained by gestures, glares and kicks and the seasonedDomme, realizing her sub had had enough, finally unlocked her cuffs and releasedthe head harness from JoAnna 's red-mottled, tear-streaked face.

JoAnna dressed quickly and rushed out, hoping never to lay eyes on this Bitchever again.

Her bottom, inflamed, sore and tender, ached all the way home and she feltas though she had just been run over by an 18-wheeler.

Never, she vowed, would she ever, ever enter into an agreement with anotherDomme again and quietly resolved no one would ever lay a hand, or rope, onher body again.

Her now-forgotten lover, William, was furthest from her mind when she droveinto her driveway two hours later, exhausted, frustrated, extremely angry andin tearful pain.

JoAnna headed for her bathroom, ran a warm bath and lay in it, soaking foran hour, crying her eyes out for sympathy, pity; anything, anyone.

Her house was silent and she was quiet, alone and afraid that night as shelay in bed, trying to exorcise the demons that kept sleep at bay.

Tossing and turning this way and that, she cursed herself, wept some moreand, suddenly, vaguely, thought of William, her summertime lover, whose quietsmile and soft, brown, understanding eyes came to her in a quick, soft-focusedvision and was, just as quickly, snatched away.

JoAnna fell asleep as dawn broke; heartbroken, bereft, utterly alone. Herfirst writing project had failed utterly and JoAnna felt her womanhood, herenergy and interest in anything fade away.

Depression reigned in the smith household for weeks: no one called, JoAnnadid not leave the house, except for a few small groceries, as she tried tonurse her wounds and her psyche back to health after getting long sick leaveapproved by her doctor and employer.

Once a week, she checked her email inbox and angrily dumped the trash thatappeared there every day – viagra, low, low mortgage rates, free porn,Nigerian investment opportunities – the lot disgusted her.

Then, to make things worse, the late-August weather turned vile: rainy dayfollowed rainy day and when it stopped raining the wind would blow, warm, muggyand sultry in the late summer heat, causing JoAnna's clothes to stick to herbody.

Her usually fiery interest in sex had flickered to nothing and she despaired,fearing she had lost hope for anything.

She felt like a navy wife on hearing her husband had been lost at sea orkilled in action, so aggrieved was she the day her life began turning around.

The phone rang for the first time in 15 days, startling her out of her dozeon the living room couch.

JoAnna glared at it. It rang six more times. She still glared.

Seven more times, it rang.

"Godammit," she swore, as she stood up to pull the set out of thewall.

She snatched the receiver off the cradle and said, icily:

"Yes? Will you leave me in peace?!"

A pause.

"JoAnna? Is that you?"

She recognized the familiar, baritone voice and burst into tears in instantrecollection of her far too-short love affair with her distant lover, William,in North Carolina.

"William?" she said, her voice quaking from her burst of tears. "Isthat you?"

"S'me, JoAnna; what on earth is wrong? Why are you crying?"

JoAnna grabbed her handful of tissues, dabbed the tears from her eyes andsobbed.

"Oh, Williamrrrr; I can't begin to tell you," she said, gainingmeagre control over her cascading emotions.

"Are you ill, JoAnna?" he asked, his voice still calm, quiet, reassuring.

"William, dear, I need you to talk to me. Where are you?"

"I'm at home."

"Can you come to see me? Please? I need you to hold me, comfort me.Can you, will you, do that?"

"Of course I can, JoAnna; just tell me where you are and I will be thereas fast as I can."

"Oh, William, I, I don't, I . . . . I live at 126 Oak Street, Philadelphia," JoAnnasaid, suddenly becoming just a little more reassured.

"JoAnna , you're not going to believe this but I was just calling totell you I was on the way to see my friend, Bob Buck, in Boynton Beach, Florida,and wanted to stop in to say hello.

"I won't drive, I'll fly to Philadelphia international airport; I'llleave as soon as I can. Stay well until I see you, JoAnna ; I have some goodnews for you.

"I should be there in a day, depending if I get all the right flights."

JoAnna thought she had just spoken to an angel, so touched was she by hisimmediate response.

"Thank you, William, please hurry."

"Will do, JoAnna ; stay well, stay safe 'til I see you. Bye for now."

Click.

JoAnna wondered how she was going to explain her misadventure to her lover;she prayed he would understand and she could only guess at his good news.

JoAnna tried to cheer herself up by scouring her wardrobe for something presentablewith which to greet William but could only pick out a pair of slacks, blouseand sweater.

The welts on her face, shoulders, breasts, sex and bottom were starting tofade but the psychological damage was still present, unrepaired.

William would have to call on the depths of his compassion, patience andunderstanding to help JoAnna come to terms with the silly mistake she had made.But it would take time.

JoAnna had no idea where he was or when he might call and that day, September16, 2004, dragged on endlessly.

Next morning, at 7:30 a.m., JoAnna was startled by light, insistent knockson the front door. She rose, anxious, still sleepy, to see who it was.

"Who's there?" she asked timorously, clutching her nightgown closeto her.

"Sailor," William said. "May I come in?"

Three weeks of pain, suffering and remorse lifted off JoAnna 's face in secondsand she beamed, magically, angelically, as she unlocked the door to admit hertall, slim and handsome North Carolinian lover, dressed in jacket, shirt andjeans; his erect, slim, muscular body and flat stomach betraying any sign ofthe orthopedic trouble he had had for months.

William took one step forward and JoAnna threw her arms around his shouldersand hugged him for all she was worth.

They stood, embracing, for five long minutes, attracting smiles and chucklesfrom early-morning passersby but JoAnna did not care.

"May I come in?" William whispered into JoAnna 's left ear, asshe hugged his neck still tightly.

JoAnna , snuffling back her tears of joy and relief, backstepped and Williamstrolled in, looked around and said tentatively: "Nice place, JoAnna.How've you been, anyway?"

JoAnna , still reeling from his sudden appearance, just like his walk downthe long corridor at JFK Airport during their momentous New York City reunionearlier in the year, was at a loss for words. Dabbing again at her eyes, shegestured for him to sit.

William sat down on the couch and JoAnna eased her stiff backside down besidehim.

William placed his big, strong arm around her shoulder and said:

"What's wrong?"

JoAnna leaned her head against his collar and sobbed disconsolately, herpain and grief leaving her mind and body slowly in the presence of her niceman from North Carolina who had just travelled a couple of thousand miles toconsole her.

Slowly, bit by bit, JoAnna told her story haltingly and William listened,serious, silent, unsmiling, as JoAnna let go of her pain.

William, touched and wounded himself by JoAnna 's pain, just put his armsaround her again and stroked her soft, long red hair, softly, gently, soothingly.

"Poor JoAnna, JoAnna; oh, how I suffer with you my dear, dear JoAnna," hesaid finally, looking into her red-rimmed eyes. "How you must be strugglingto put that nightmare behind you; please, let me help you, let me be your crutch,your beacon, a lover and your friend; let me into your heart once again, asyou did last April, and we will make you one again.

"Open your heart to me."

"I will," she croaked. "Oh, William; I am so glad you've come.Thank you. You must be one of the kindest, gentlest men I have ever known.

"May I make you a bite to eat?"

William said that would be fine and he followed JoAnna into her tidy littlekitchen where JoAnna expertly whipped up a huge panful of scrambled eggs andbacon, toast and coffee.

She had not eaten for days and was suddenly starved.

The two lovers, who had shared their most intimate secrets long distanceand in person months ago, sat at the kitchen table and devoured her breakfastslowly, savoring each tender moment as they shared their first meal since NewYork City and Dartmouth.

"We never did have breakfast in New York, did we?" William said,looking at JoAnna over his coffee cup.

JoAnna smiled at his attempt at good humor and put her hand on his. "Yes,it was a memorable weekend, William; one I shall never forget, and I stillthank you."

"You're quite welcome; it was my pleasure."

JoAnna smiled once again and a forgotten feeling of comfort, security anda sense of belonging began to creep back home like puppies seeking shelterin a rainstorm.

What is it about this man, anyway? she thought to herself as she looked atWilliam's still weather-beaten, darkly handsome face, 18 years older than hers.

William leaned back in JoAnna 's kitchen chair, patted his flat stomach andsaid: "Young lady, not only are you the best lover in the world, you arealso the finest breakfast cook I've ever known; that was delicious."

JoAnna was doubly comforted and she quietly hoped she was finding her wayback into this man's heart again.

She began to wonder what sort of spell, what kind of magic, had brought themtogether again so serendipitously. Was he exerting somesort of control over her? Or was she influencing him?She could not know. Who was controlling whom? she thought. Suddenly, JoAnnadid not care.

She looked up and felt her pain had all but disappeared and her head againdrooped in quiet thanks for the sudden arrival of this man. As she looked downin quiet thought, she revealed to William once again the lovely gold chainshe still wore around her neck, a permanent reminder of their glorious loveaffair of the summer of 2004.

JoAnna looked up and William took both JoAnna 's hands in his and held her,quietly, firmly; JoAnna felt warmth and strength restoring to her limbs, herbody, her mind.

"Ohmigod, William, this is all happening so fast; I don't know what'shappening to me," JoAnna said softly. "What are you doing to me?What have I done to you?"

"I'm holding your hands, JoAnna; that's all."

JoAnna squeezed his hard, calloused hands back tightly and she felt lovedfor the first time in many, many years; a queasy, uneasy feeling to be sure,but the seed had been planted.

They spent the rest of that grey, rainy Thursday morning in mid-Septemberin quiet contemplation and JoAnna gave silent thanks for her deliverance fromdespair – at the hands of this thoughtful, quiet man she barely knew.

"William, thank you for coming," JoAnna said, as they walked intothe living room, coffees in hand. "Please, sit with me, hold me; let meknow again you care for me."

William and JoAnna resumed their seats on JoAnna 's big, comfortable couchand they hugged again, JoAnna feeling her strength restoring by the minute.

What spell is he casting over me, anyway? she thought as she nestled in hisarms, feeling his heartbeat against her left ear as she drew her housecoataround herself protectively. William merely stroked JoAnna 's soft, long redhair and she dozed in her first, tenuous moments of contentment in weeks, months.

Hours later, she unwrapped herself from his arms, stretched languidly andkissed him full on the lips.

William, ever so gently, unbelted JoAnna 's dressing gown and stroked herbreast, causing JoAnna to sigh in an old, nearly-forgotten contentment andlingering tingle on her still red-marked breast.

Five minutes later, JoAnna and William were in bed together, lying comfortably,naked, side by side, as familiar as two peas, and JoAnna knew, finally, shewas in safe, caring hands.

"JoAnna," William said, his arm around her shoulder to caress herneck, "I don't know if this is the time to tell you or not but I, umm,would like you to crew a 55-foot catamaran with me, from Fort Lauderdale tothe Bahamas and back.

"My friend, Bob Buck, in Boynton Beach, has loaned it to me for 10 daysand I would love to have you with me as my crew of one.

"Will you join me?"

"Oh, William; that is the nicest thing I have heard coming from yousince you asked me to meet you. But, golly, I don't know how to sail. I'm notafraid of the water, I can swim but how can I crew if I don't know anythingabout sailing?"

"My nickname isn't 'sailor' for nothing," William replied, strokingher breast lightly.

"I spent a good deal of my life in the navy and did some deepsea sailingoff North Carolina.

Sailing off the Florida coast and into the Keys and the Bahamas is a breezecompared to the North Atlantic off North Carolina, I can tell you; I've seenBob's 'cat' and I love it. He calls it " Sirius ," afterthe 'dog star' navigators have used for centuries, and after the Royal Navycruiser he served in during the Second World War.

"I have a connection to that name, too, because I served in a RoyalNavy frigate, HMS Sirius , with NATO years ago so I wasonly too happy to be offered the chance to sail her to Nassau.

"Will you come?"

JoAnna thought for two seconds: "Yes, sailor; I will be delighted tobe your crewmember.

When do we ship out?"

"As soon as you're ready and just as soon as I call Bob. He is a retiredelectrical engineer with NASA who was contracted to come back to solve theproblem with the Mars rover, Spirit . He worked at CapeCanaveral for 26 years, saw all the successful launches and the failures --every one of them -- and he is a fascinating man. I would like for you to methim and his wife, Moira. They are super-nice."

This was just the antidote JoAnna needed to hear; good, friendly, honest,intelligent people; JoAnna could not believe her sudden, good fortune – atrip to Florida to meet a NASA electrical engineer and his wife, then a sailto the Bahamas on a catamaran called Sirius .

"You are serious, aren't you?" JoAnna said, leaning over to lookinto William's eyes searchingly. "As honest and as clear as the name onthat yacht's hull, which is berthed, as we speak, at Pier 25A at the Fort LauderdaleYacht Club, not far from where we docked in 1967 in another ship I served in.

JoAnna 's curiosity was lit: "Oh, William, this all sounds so exciting.Tell me it's true, tell me it's going to happen. Please?"

"It's as true as the person who is lying here beside you right now," hereplied, lifting up to kiss his lover on her neck. "We can leave tomorrow,if you like?"

JoAnna thought quietly for a few moments and said, finally, that would befine and asked William what she needed to bring. She packed away a few sunclothes, a few sweaters, jeans, shoes, sneakers, her favorite bikini, a coupleof dresses and, as an afterthought, tossed in the pair of handcuffs Williamhad sent her so many months ago.

That evening, they slept together again for the first time in four monthsand although they did not make love, JoAnna felt restored, happy and content.William slept soundly, content, too, in the knowledge he had eased the painof someone he was starting to care for more deeply than he thought. JoAnnaslept dreamlessly and awoke next morning, calm, refreshed and invigorated,as the sun streamed through her bedroom window, announcing a warm, beautifulSeptember 17.

William looked, shocked nearly to tears, at the healing, pink welts on JoAnna's body, as she dressed quietly in the mirror and knew he would ask no questionsuntil she needed him again to expiate her pain.

He knew then what had happened and resolved he would do everything he couldto ensure JoAnna became the happy, content, sensual lover he knew in July andAugust. He would succeed but neither William nor JoAnna were prepared for whatwould happen days later.

Two days later, they were in Fort Lauderdale, checking into a highrise ocean-fronthotel, as happy and excited almost as if they were at the New York Hilton inSoho, New York City, a few weeks ago.

JoAnna had all but forgotten her brutal treatment at the hands of that viciousDomme and had warmed again to William's close, casual attentions.

She loved the way he kept her nearby but when she needed space, he disappeared;only to return a few minutes, or an hour later, to see a smiling JoAnna, gladto see him once again. Slowly, gradually, inevitably, their relationship gotback on track.

Sitting in their bright, modern hotel room, William told JoAnna about hisshoulder injury, the orthopedic surgeon's work to free the joint and the longweeks of physiotherapy to restore his strength and range of motion.

His left arm did not bother him at all now, he told her, but his physicalstrength would be put to the test in a few days at sea.

For her part, JoAnna was simply glad to be back in his company; secure, safe,dignified and respected once again, as they strolled the downtown sites ofFort Lauderdale.

"We called this place 'Fort Liquordale' when we were here in March 1967," Williamsaid, as they strolled, hand-in-hand, down the beachfront. "It was 'flower-power'and 'party-til-you-drop' back then. And if you can imagine 750 sailors offthree destroyers all descending on the city at the same time, well, wasn'tthat a blast! The girls ran for cover. Hee-hee."

"'Member that song? "You never close your eyes any more when Ikiss your leee-eeeps; there's no tenderness in the touch of your fingerteee-eeps. . . . ', JoAnna ?"

"William, I was not even born," she replied, "but, yes, Ido."

"Mmm, I was all of 22 and that was the Fort Lauderdale anthem at thetime. Man, didn't we party; we were berthed just over there, by the yacht club,the day Crescent caught fire, in fact. That was not aparty; that was organized chaos. No one died but there were a lot of frightenedguys on board that day."

"Really?"

"Yeh, fire is the number-one enemy aboard ship, a boat, or anythingafloat."

William asked if JoAnna would like to drive over to see the catamaran, Sirius ,and she said she would.

When they got to the yacht club, William found the yacht easily and JoAnnalooked at the low, graceful lines of the sleek, white $2-million craft.

"Locked up right now, of course, but we'll be getting the keys off Dr.Bob Buck at his house tomorrow," William said, his arm around JoAnna'sshoulder as they looked at the 55-foot cat.

JoAnna hugged him back hungrily as her imagination began to fire.

"What do I wear at sea, William?" she asked. "Nothing at all,if you like," he replied.

"We'll be out of sight of land until we hit the Bahamas in three days;maybe just some sunscreen and a hat."

JoAnna smiled at the quick mental image that flashed through her mind andthought this would be the trip of a lifetime.

Back at their hotel that night, after a light meal in the hotel's diningroom, William and JoAnna once again lay in bed, looking out their huge windowat the dots of lights far out at sea and coming and going in and out of thesmall harbour to the north.

They hugged, caressed and stroked one another's bodies, just as though theywere getting to know one another again, and JoAnna felt complete, whole, safeand loved.

"Make love to me, my darling," she whispered. "Take me, please,as your woman but don't tie me just yet. I need to feel a little freedom beforeI give myself over to you completely. I want to feel free in your arms beforeyou tie me as before. Please understand?"

William nodded and stroked JoAnna's soft, pale body, kissing her neck, hernipples and her flat stomach before sliding up to place kisses ever so gentlyon her lips, cheeks and forehead. JoAnna raised her arms to the headboard andsuddenly wished she was bound for him.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around his strong shoulders and drew him downonto herself.

William, fully erect, easily slipped his hard manhood into her warm, moistsex and they made love for long hours, well into the early morning, quietly,lovingly, gently, in ways that only true lovers will know.

Twice that night and early next morning, William sank huge loads of hot,white semen deep into JoAnna's womb and she knew herself to be loved, consummatedas only a submissive woman could be.

The two fell asleep in each other's arms and awoke later, Sept. 18, 2004,to a bright, sunny, warm day.

Their trip to Boynton Beach was next on the agenda and William was lookingforward to meeting his old engineer friend again, for just the second timein two years, and to hear his interesting explanations about what was goingon with the Mars explorations.

"JoAnna, Bob and Moira are in their early 60s, just a few years olderthan me, but they look years younger," William explained while they drovedown the interstate. "Bob," or 'Buck,' who did those illustrationsfor Through Night to Light , looks like your typical,bookish engineer but Moira is a knockout; she's a former movie star and hasthe looks of someone 25 years younger -- and a figure to die for. When shegoes to the beach, she still turns heads.

"They have been married 35 years and Moira still goes to bed every nightin chains, Bob told me," William said as JoAnna felt the sultry Septembermorning air blow her hair around her face in the Mustang she was driving insouth, past Cape Canaveral, to Boynton Beach.

William continued: "I glanced at Moira's wrists and ankles the lasttime I was with them and, well, you will see for yourself.

"Anyway, they have invited us to their place for supper; she's a verytalented cook and Bob, well, he is utterly fascinating to listen to: he's awalking computer with a terrific sense of humor. And now he's working to tryand solve Spirit 's computer problems several millionmiles away on some Martian plain.

"Are you up to meeting them?"

"Oh, yes; I'd love to meet them," JoAnna enthused. The happy coupledrove on.

Two hours later, William was knocking on the door at 1 Brookdale Drive, BoyntonBeach, and JoAnna , dressed in a summer dress, looked admiringly at the trim,buxom figure of Mrs. Moira Buck, 61, dressed casually in snug T-shirt, slacksand sandals that set her 38D-24-36 figure off to advantage.

"Hi Moira, this is JoAnna ," William said. "JoAnna, meet Moira.Where's Bob, Mo.?"

"He's at the Cape, still working on Spirit , William;come in you two, come in."

JoAnna looked at this glamorous lady and knew, once again, she was in finecompany.

Moira fixed them the Buck special – extra, extra dry vodka martinis – andserved up the chilled drinks to William and JoAnna .

JoAnna had never had a martini before – she was a beer-and-pizza sortof Philly gal – and she sipped at the cold, clear, fiery fluid that clearedher sinuses and made her a little tipsy, on her empty stomach.

Their conversation covered everything from Bob's call back from retirementto rescue the Spirit , to the yacht Sirius ;to Bob's and William's career in the Royal Navy and Canadian navy, to William'ssurgery and back to JoAnna's and William's writing efforts and achievements.

As the chat went back and forth, JoAnna blushed deeply as she flashbackedto the disastrous encounter with 'The Witch' in Newark but then was quietlyincredulous her fortune had changed so dramatically in recent days.

JoAnna gabbled away happily that she was helping William with his writingsand helping him perfect the female voice and point of view. She told Moirathey often exchanged story ideas; William would write her something, JoAnnawould comment and William would frequently redraft his work to make his storiesreflect more accurately the female sensibility he was searching for. She onlyalluded to the fact they were writing about romantic sex and bondage but Moiraknew, having read some of William's works already on the internet. Moira hadwondered who "JoAnna" was in the combined bylines and, at last, sheknew.

"What are you two writing about, anyway?" the attractive Mrs. Buckasked, knowing full well what it was already.

"Oh, bondage; you know, damsel-in-distress settings; the strong-willed,determined heroine extracting herself from perilous situations in chains orother bondages; that sort of thing," William said. JoAnna looked on forreaction from Moira. She saw a quiet, understanding, dignified smile on herattractive, tanned face.

Moira's eyebrows arched with interest and she said she would like to seesome of William's and JoAnna 's latest collaborations.

William thought fast: maybe JoAnna and he could cobble something togetherwhile on the Sirius . Bob had installed a PC onboardand even had internet/email connections by satellite in the catamaran's lounge.

JoAnna glanced furtively at Moira's wrists and saw, indeed, pinkish-red tracesshe knew by experience had been left behind by steel cuffs.

Her interest in bondage, latent and almost extinguished for several weeks,started to rekindle but she could not muster the courage to ask Mrs. Buck abouther bondage experiences – as much as she wanted to.

"JoAnna, if you're going to Nassau with William on board Sirius ,I would like for you to take something along with you," Moira said, engagingJoAnna 's eyes pleasantly. "Come to the bedroom with me for a moment,will you?"

JoAnna got up and followed Moira into the huge bedroom and stood while shewithdrew a little black dress; behind her, JoAnna could see rows and rows ofhandcuffs, light and heavy chains and assorted other cuffs hanging neatly insidethe walk-in closet as Moira turned around to hand her the slinky, short, little,very feminine garment.

"I wore this to Nassau with Bob the night we marked our 15 th weddinganniversary and I would like you to have it," she said. "I was aboutthe same size as you back then; I am a little bustier now than I was in '75but this famous 'little black dress' is bound to look wonderful on you.

"Would you like to try it on?"

JoAnna said she would and looked at the tag as she accepted it from Moira;yep, same size, and a Christian Dior.

Wow, this must be worth $800 if it's worth a cent, she thought.

JoAnna undressed – she wore nothing under her sundress – and,glancing at Moira's appraising eyes, slipped into the slinky, spaghetti-strapped,low-cut, backless dress. She looked in the mirror, checked her silhouette andMrs. Buklley whispered: "You look like a doll, JoAnna."

"Oh, Mrs. Buck; this is so nice, so sexy and so perfect," JoAnnasaid, shaking her hand.

Moira hugged her instead and whispered: "You're welcome, my dear; wearit and remember to have a good time in Nassau. That was one of the most romantictimes Bob and I ever had and if that dress you are wearing could speak, itcould tell tales of, well, I will leave the rest up to you.

"Now, go out and show your man how you look."

JoAnna blushed as she cast around for words of gratitude to this graciouslady but could not find any.

They walked down the hall together, into the living room, and there stoodBob Buck, 64, a 6-2, 200-pound, fit man, looking tired from18-hour days atCape Canaveral trying to solve the software problems of Spirit ,the Mars lander, many millions of miles away.

JoAnna saw William's and Bob's eyes light up as she strolled ladylike intothe living room, her breasts swaying gently under the clingy fabric, and shequietly enthused in the reaction she received from the two good-looking menwho looked admiringly back at her.

'Beautiful,' William thought to himself. 'Mmm, whattababe,' said Bob to himself,sizing JoAnna's full figure up and down.

William thought he had just seen JoAnna in a flashback to their weekend inJuly; Bob, a quiet, reserved man who loved his wife of 35 years dearly, flashedback to their anniversary at Nassau in 1975 and the fantastic sex and bondagehe had enjoyed with his woman on Sirius back then. Moiraand JoAnna beamed at their men and William could scarcely wait to get JoAnnain his arms once again.

"You like?" JoAnna asked William, sitting beside him, crossingher knees decorously.

"I love," he replied.

Lovely, just lovely, JoAnna ," Dr. Buck said quietly, puffing on hispipe. "You look just as lovely as Moira did in it in September 1975." Bobwas secretly hoping to get laid again tonight.

 "Wear it with pride and remember us Bucks of Boynton Beach andwhen you come back to Fort Lauderdale come back and tell us how your trip was."

Moira, meanwhile, had slipped away to get supper ready: Caesar salad, char-broiledribeye steaks and rock lobster, baked potatoes, red wine and cherry cheesecakewere on the menu, she announced, with coffee and Armagnac, a fiery French cognacBob loved, to follow.

JoAnna and William had not eaten all day and they were ravenous: when themeal was served the dinner conversation was equally lively, funny and sad asBob recounted the successes and failures of the NASA spaceshots: the uproariousparties and cheers when a mission launched successfully, then the shock, sadnessand terrible pain of seeing their efforts and years of hard work disintegrateor burst into flame before their eyes.

Bob asked for a quiet moment to remember the crew of the shuttle Columbia ,each of whom he knew by name, and he recited their names, ranks and appointmentsoff, one by one, in a voice choked by emotion and fatigue from work to solvethe Spirit 's difficulties.

"Bless 'em all; they were a great bunch," Bob said.

Once again, their conversation rolled back to earthly things and Williamexplained his sail plan to Bob; Bob replied he would fax it to the port authoritiesin Fort Lauderdale and Nassau and handed William the keys to the yacht. Williamand Bob shook hands and Moira hugged JoAnna as they expressed best wishes fora safe, memorable trip.

"Thanks, Bob; we'll bring her back safe and sound in 10 days. JoAnnais my crew of one and she's my seaman apprentice. joanna smith --seaman apprentice . Heh."

"And likely a fine one, indeed," Bob said. "You two have asafe trip and a lovely time when you get there and be sure to come back andsee us."

JoAnna was beaming like a Cheshire cat as she hung onto every word.

She was actually going to sea with William, her lover, to Nassau in a luxuryyacht.

Tomorrow!

After supper, William and JoAnna had to excuse themselves for the trip backto Fort Lauderdale. They had earlier checked out of their hotel and were readyto spend the first night in the yacht alongside at the Fort Lauderdale yachtclub.

Two hours later, William drove up to the club's parking lot, locked the carand escorted his lovely, black-dressed girlfriend down the finger jetty to Sirius ,the catamaran that would be their home for the next 10 days.

William hopped aboard, held JoAnna's arm as she stepped into the cockpitand William unlocked the hatch leading below.

JoAnna ducked her head, William snapped on an overhead light and JoAnna wasfeted to a scene of nautical luxury: there was a salon, panelled in light oakwith brass and chrome fittings everywhere; a large, curved deep-blue settee;table; the mainmast, a computer, desk and lamps, two chairs; forward lay asmall, stainless-steel galley and dining area and, further forward, the masterbedroom and two small sleeping quarters to port and starboard that would accommodate4 - 6 people comfortably.

Thick, plush carpeting was underfoot and everything smelled fresh and cleanwith a lingering scent of pine oil and brasso here and there.

JoAnna thought she was on her honeymoon as she stood in William's arms, lookingaround in quiet amazement at the luxury that abounded.

"Tired?" William said.

"Mmm, a little," JoAnna said.

The two walked forward into the master bedroom and JoAnna slipped out ofher black dress and into the cool bedsheets in a flash. Silk sheets caressedher naked body as William, clearly aroused, slipped in beside her. Once again,the two lovers took each other in their arms and hugged, kissed and caressedtheir way into sleep, too tired to make love.

JoAnna was the first to awake next morning and discovered William had chainedher ankles overnight while she slept. She saw William working away in the galley,getting breakfast ready for her, and swung her legs out onto the thick carpetto join him and greet the first day of her voyage southeast to the Bahamas,a couple of hundred miles off the Florida coast.

Naked and chained at her ankles, she walked quietly into the kitchen, herchains making that distinctive little rustle she had come to welcome and enjoy,put her arms around her lover and kissed him on his injured left shoulder.

"Good morning, Ms. smith; how do you like your eggs?"

"I like them just fine," JoAnna said, still hugging her man, feelingher still-tender breasts flatten against his bare, muscular back. "Anyway you do them is fine with me."

JoAnna sat at the galley table, quite comfortable in her chained nudity,as William placed a large platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and twocups of steaming Colombian coffee on the table in front of her.

William bowed his head quietly and recited a psalm JoAnna had only heardof – Psalm 107 -- recited by seafarers for centuries:

"They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

These see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep . . . . "

JoAnna was touched by her lover's quiet words and she, too, prayed theirnext 10 days would be safe, happy and adventurous times.

"I am not a particularly religious man, JoAnna," William said,engaging her soft eyes again;

"however, I have a deep respect of the sea -- and this from one whohas spent many years on it.

JoAnna looked at him carefully as he continued the story he introduced earlier: "Whilewe were en route to the Panama Canal and the West Coast in those destroyersin February 1967, which, by the way, is the worst-possible time to be on theNorth Atlantic, we ran into a nor'easter off Cape Hatteras that nearly wipedme off the face of the earth."

JoAnna fell silent.

"I was on watch, alone, at 3 a.m. in the open bridge of the DE I wasserving in when a 'rogue' wave – the dangerous 7 th – loomedup portside, higher and blacker than a low mountain, and slammed into the bridgeamidships.

"We rolled, were thrown 20 degrees off course and the crest of the wavebroke over the bridge, and me; I was nearly swept overboard, missing the openstarboard side by six feet. And it all happened in a second.

"It was just after 3 a.m., the watch changed at 3:50 and no one wouldhave known I was missing.

"Since that time, I believe someone, something, has watched over mewhenever I set out to sea; an event like that remains with you always: an eventwhen, suddenly, out of nowhere, your life could be snuffed in an instant; andno one would know.

"That is one of the reasons I continue to go to sea and, today, oneof the reasons I am so glad to have you with me, to share with me my victoryover my own fears, my knowledge of transience and mortality, and to know thatI am in the presence of someone who, I think, cares for me as much as I carefor her."

JoAnna looked down, again at a loss for words, speechless at her lover'seloquence, deep feeling and quiet, inner strength.

Once again, she felt reassured, renewed and comforted, in the care and devotionof this quiet Canadian who just happened to be falling in love with her.

"JoAnna, in honor of this memorable day, I want to give you a smalltoken of my, of my, ah, er, affection for you," he said, reaching intohis jeans pocket.

JoAnna placed her hand on his, nearly knocking over her coffee cup, as Williamwithdrew a diamond ring sized perfectly for the third finger of her left hand.

"This is a diamond I picked up in New York City without you knowingand I wanted to give it to you then but did not think the time was right," hesaid, looking at it closely. "It's a deBeers, 1.5-carat with 24 0.25-catatdiamonds encircling the main stone. There are 128 facets in the main rock andit is for you.

"I am not wishing to announce an engagement or to propose marriage;I want you to have this diamond, a symbol of affection, solidarity and permanence,as a token of my esteem for you, your adventurous spirit, your clever, quickmind and this extraordinarily beautiful body and face I see before me.

"May I have your left hand, please?"

JoAnna felt a lump in her throat under her snug gold chain as she extendedher hand and William slipped the snug diamond onto her ring finger.

Once again, in less than five minutes, JoAnna was speechless, dumbstruck,by the understated beauty and power of his words and his gift of a gemstonefor her.

The sun streamed in through the open porthole and JoAnna's diamond refractedthe light in small blazes of internal fires. She looked at her finger and shegazed out at the brilliant, blue morning questing for words.

Her heart pounded and she prayed for composure. "William, my dear, dearfriend," she began. "I scarcely know where to begin. I have knownyou for just several short months and in that time have come to know -- andrespect -- you as though I have had you beside me all my life.

"I began to think of who and what you were but only through your writingsbut I never got a clear picture of who was behind those words. In reality,in New York City, at my home, and here in Fort Lauderdale, I have seen yourcharacter in action and I see, by your thoughts, your words and your deeds,you are a man of integrity, with a quiet, generous spirit that I have justbegun to plumb.

"As a woman, as your woman, I feel safe, secure and dignified; thismorning, I am naked and chained but that matters not a whit. What matters isthat I am with you, you are with me, and that our minds have met and spoken.

"You told me in New York that once our minds met and communicated ourbodies would soon follow. And here you are, loving me, treating me with respect,with kindness and generosity and dignity.

"I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for restoring me to thatperson I was earlier this summer; I owe you part of my life and I can neverrepay you for your kindnesses." JoAnna's voice trailed off.

"Oh, yes you can, JoAnna smith," William replied, a wide smileon his weathered face. "You get to wash the dishes. And I'll dry."

JoAnna smiled at his anticlimactic, good humor.

William stood up, came over to JoAnna, placed his arms around her warm, paleshoulders and said: "Be good to yourself, my darling, and all the restwill fall into place in time. "Remember that.

"Remember, too, I will look after you while we are at sea but you area strong, wonderful woman and it is my pleasure, and honor, to be associatedwith you as we embark on this trip of discovery and enjoyment.

"Please wear your diamond and remember me. But, also, be good to yourself."

JoAnna, almost overcome, reached for a napkin to wipe a tear from her eyeand looked sadly at her cooling scrambled eggs.

She had just lost her appetite in the wave of sweet sentimentality that washedover her and her lover.

JoAnna snuffled and sipped at her coffee and began to wonder what coursetheir relationship would take next.

William knelt to unlock her ankle chains and JoAnna scarcely knew they werethere.

JoAnna was getting rapidly back to her old self.

"I think we should get under way soon," William said. "I'mgoing to start up the engine because we have to leave under power; then oncewe are in the bay, you and I will hoist sail, steer course 120 and ought tobe at the Nassau anchorage in 36 hours, sea and prevailing winds willing.

"Aye, aye, cap'n, er, boss, umm, Master," JoAnna said laughinglyas she cleared away the unfinished breakfast, scampering up to the master bedroomto pick out something for leaving harbor.

JoAnna 's heart pounded as she re-emerged, wearing t-shirt, jeans and deckshoes and listened patiently and closely on the upper deck while William explainedthe roles and workings of all the upper-deck fittings and what he and JoAnnawould have to do in case of emergency, fire or, heaven forbid, man overboard.

There were the anchors, the standing and running rigging, the jib and mainsail,the shrouds, mainmast and boom; the cockpit, helm and binnacle and all thefirefighting and lifesaving equipment she had ever seen. JoAnna tried to rememberwhat everything did and where it went but she was baffled.

William looked at his puzzled friend and said, simply: "JoAnna, if itsmokes, there's a fire, put it out with CO2 or water; if we have to anchor,you will be at the helm, steer course 180 and leave the rest up to me; I'llneed your strength to hoist the mainsail and jib but, really, once we are underway and on course on a starboard tack, the rest is a piece of cake.

"Are you ready?"

JoAnna nodded warily.

"Then hop onto the dock, cast off the bow and stern lines and run backinto the cockpit here with me."

JoAnna complied and soon she and William were taking the big, graceful Sirius outof the yacht club, under engine power to the open water, where William cutthe engines, hoisted the sails with JoAnna's help and brought her back intothe cockpit with him.

JoAnna sat beside William as he steered the big catamaran out of the widebay into the Gulf Stream, radioing the Coast Guard vessel traffic servicescentre once he was well under way, and JoAnna felt, for the first time, thesurge and roll of the hull in the gentle, undulating sea swell as William alteredto course 120, southeast to the Bahamas. Seas began to break gently over thebows as the catamaran's big, white sails filled and grew taut as steel. Theywere under way, the sun shone and the water became a brilliant Gulf Streamblue.

The warm early September sea air caressed and soothed their bodies and JoAnnaslipped out of her T-shirt to bare her breasts to the sun and breeze, muchto William's delight.

JoAnna disappeared below to get glasses of iced Perrier water for them andpaused by the master bedroom, gazing at her ankle chains. Impulsively, shequickly snapped them on her ankles and reappeared on the upper deck, topless,in shorts and chains, to revel in William's attentions and take up the sunand sea scenery.

"Seaman Apprentice smith, I would like you to take the helm," Williamsaid. "I'm going below for a snooze."

" Whaaaat ?" JoAnna said. "You can't,William. I don't know how to steer. I can't steer this big yacht all by myself;stay here with me. Pleeeaase ??"

"See this centre line on the binnacle, the compass, here?"

"Yes."

"That's the 'lubber's line' that runs down the middle of the boat; allyou have to do is keep the arrow of the compass at 120 and keep 120 on thelubber's line. If the little arrow veers to the right, turn the helm to theleft, or port; if the arrow veers left, turn the helm slightly to right, orstarboard, the opposite to driving a car.

"And if the mainsail or jib start flapping like sheets in the wind,call me."

William sat and watched as JoAnna took the helm in nervous palms, causingthe compass to spin back and forth as the sails creaked, groaned and flapped.

"Gently, JoAnna; treat the helm as gently as you yourself want to betreated."

She soon got the hang of turning the little oak helm and, after a coupleof hours, Sirius 's wake evened out into an almost perfectlystraight line. JoAnna began to glow with pride and she felt a surge of accomplishment.

"Ah-har, me hearties," she yelled in a soprano voice. "Yo,ho, ho, and a bottle of, umm, er, what was that now? Oh, yeah, Moetet Chandon ." William smiled and gave her rump a little tap.

"Rum, silly goose." JoAnna smiled back at her lover who was enjoyingevery moment.

Suddenly, astern, JoAnna heard the low rumble of powerful, supercharged enginesand saw a black, low coast guard cutter grumbling past up the port side.

Topless, JoAnna waved at the crew on the cutter's deck, just 30 yards away,and they all waved back, blowing kisses at her and waving their ballcaps.

" Vrruup? vrruup? " the cutter's cox'n announcedon the cutter's horn as they churned past.

JoAnna waved back again, unheeding her toplessness, and the crew lined thestarboard side to look back, waving now and then.

JoAnna could hear wolf whistles and faint invitations being called over toher as William smiled at them and back at his woman.

"Well, you certainly got their attention, Jo.," William smiled. "They'veprobably taken 100 pictures of you with their high-speed shipboard camerasand zoom lenses.

"Your picture will likely be on the inside of some young coastguardman'slocker door tonight, I imagine."

"Where are they going, William?" as the powerful black craft churnedon well ahead of them.

"Oh, probably they're out for some searchlight-and-gunnery practicein the range about 100 miles offshore later tonight," William replied. "Thenback on patrol for the drug-runners and illegal migrants.

"Those guys are good: they carry DEA men and women on board all thetime and if they come across a drugboat, the smugglers and boat owners aretoast.

"See those big .50-calibre machineguns fore and aft? With enfilade fire,they could turn Sirius here into splinters in about 30seconds and that craft can go from zero to 50 knots in about the same time.

"They are the hunter-killers."

JoAnna was impressed by the display of firepower and speed that roared offinto the distance while the coastguard men commented on the lovely, toplessbeauty they had just seen in their high-powered binoculars and digital cameras.

That morning, pictures of JoAnna, waving topless and happy at them from herhelmsman position, were being enlarged by a photo tech in the coast guard cutter.And, unknown to her, she had become the instant, anonymous pinup of the seamen'smess for 2004.

The hours passed and soon it was time to lower the sails and set the seaanchors for overnight.

William had carefully plotted their position with GPS and knew exactly whenand where to stop. At 7 p.m., he ordered JoAnna to cut the engines and he loweredthe sails by himself while JoAnna watched as glowering cloud banks formed onthe southeast horizon.

William cast off two bulky triangular sea anchors off the stern to keep theyacht's stern into the wind and JoAnna prepared to go below, still topless,after lashing the helm into place.

JoAnna had never spent a night at sea before and she tried valiantly to keepher balance, despite her chained ankles, as the deck heaved gently underfoot.They were about 100 miles off Florida's Atlantic coast and well into the GulfStream which was carrying them to the northwest into the southeast corner ofthe Bermuda Triangle.

JoAnna, suntanned and chained, puttered in the tidy, little galley and gota meal of beef stew, rolls, coffee and tinned fruit ready for supper.

She bounced back and forth happily, finding things, looking for others, asshe stirred a savory pot of ready-made stew from the Bucks' well-stocked fridge,and hummed happily to herself.

She held up her diamond ring to the galley light and saw it refract the beamin hundreds of small, internal prisms of fire.

William came down from the upper deck, took JoAnna into his arms and said: "wemay be in for a bit of a blow but I don't think it will be too bad."

Holding her, he sang lightly to her in a tuneless voice:

" We sail the ocean blue

And our bounding ship's a beauty;

"We are sober men and true and attentive toour duty."

"You're funny," JoAnna said, placing her hands on his chest. Shehad all but forgotten his words of weather warning.

" When at anchor we ride on the Portsmouthtide

We stand to our guns all day;

Heave away, heave away, we sail at the break ofday."

"What is that from, William?" JoAnna asked.

"Oh, just a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, HMS Pinafore ,that Royal Navy sailors have a great time with.

William was in a buoyant, good mood and it was infectious; JoAnna servedup supper and the two lovers downed the stew ravenously, having skipped breakfastand dinner and their appetites spurred by the sea air.

After supper, they held hands and William took her back to the upper deckto watch the sun set over the Gulf Stream and the distant Florida Keys.

Within moments, the horizon was deep scarlet, then orange for a few minutes,then, in a moment, darkness fell – fast – followed by the glintand gleam of stars, planets and constellations that flickered and filled theclouding night sky in small, far-distant points of light.

William pointed out the various stars and constellations as well as the threeplanets that could be seen in late summer in those latitudes.

JoAnna sat back in the cockpit, sipped at her icewater, looked up at thespectacular Atlantic night and made a quiet wish.

"Star light, star bright," she said softly. "First star Isee tonight . . . . "

William held her hand and sat down in the cockpit beside her.

"Are you happy, JoAnna ?"

"Yes, very," JoAnna replied. "William, can you, can you, ummm,ever let yourself love me? I mean, not physically; you do that very well. Butlove me in the total sense?"

JoAnna was feeling romantic and incredibly sexy by the storybook-like settingin which she found herself with her lover, sailor. William held JoAnna 's handand kissed it gently.

"JoAnna, I may fall in love with you, yes; we will know better as this tripgoes on but I am confident you and I are on the path to a new, different relationship;you never fail to turn me on sexually and when I speak to you, or just simplyremember a conversation, I think: I must be one of the luckiest men in theworld to have accidentally stumbled onto such a treasure as yourself."

JoAnna blushed at the overstated compliment and sat in his lap turning toface him, her breasts flat against his bare chest as the catamaran gently rolledand pitched on the black Atlantic Ocean swells.

JoAnna put her arms around his neck and kissed him fervently on the lipsas a rumble of thunder and quick flash of lightning startled her.

"I want to go below," she said, feeling the first few, warm dropsof a Gulf Stream rainstorm.

In a few seconds it was coming down in torrents and William and JoAnna disappearedinto the warm, bright salon, sopping wet in the flash storm that blinded everythingin sight.

Mxine heard the rain fall hard on the canopy but the catamaran only rolledand swayed gently as the rain sluiced straight down in the windless night.

William unlocked JoAnna's left ankle cuff and JoAnna stepped out of her cutoffshorts while William re-secured the cuff as before.

William had loaned JoAnna one of his US navy workshirts, with his surnamestencilled over the left breast pocket, and JoAnna slipped into it, smoothingthe shirttails down to her mid-thighs and doing up one button just below hertotally suntanned breasts.

William undressed in the salon beside her, came over with a small polishingrag and buffed up JoAnna 's gold neck chain, the jewellery she had worn everyday since William locked it on her neck six months ago in Paris.

"You look incredibly sexy tonight, Seaman Apprentice Smith," hesaid, putting away the little rag. JoAnna again sat on his lap and Williamtoyed with her nipples through his shirt and gently stroked her sex as theylistened to the rainstorm outside.

JoAnna had never been so happy in her life.

Nassau

Exactly 36 hours later, after William and JoAnna cast off from the Fort Lauderdaleyacht club, Sirius and her crew of two arrived at thewide entrance to the port of Nassau, the Bahamas, and William skilfully broughtthe big white catamaran up to a buoy uder engine power, the sails having beenlowered an hour earlier.

JoAnna was at the helm and William jumped, naked, into the water from thebow, securing the catamaran to the red-and-white mooring buoy with a heavy,flexible wire rope.

"We're here, JoAnna," William announced as he clambered back aboardfrom the stern ramp.

JoAnna, unchained for the first time in three days and dressed in blue navyworkshirt, faded blue jeans and an HMCS Algonquin ballcap,looked every bit the seaman apprentice she had become in the past three days.She saluted William as he dried himself in the cockpit beside her while hequietly noted the skills she had acquired recently in steering by magnetic.

He would show her the intricacies of GPS navigation another day but now,they were more interested in getting ashore to see the sights of this attractive,neat Bahamian city.

After lunch and showers, William and JoAnna debated what they should do withthe rest of their day: make love, go ashore and make love; go ashore and havedinner and a dance and make love; or stay aboard, make love, have dinner, adance and do it all again.

 JoAnna was more energized than she had been since her teenage years,when boys and one or two girls first caught her attention, and she looked forwardto slipping into her little black dress again that night.

"I would like to see you in that great, little black dress on a dancefloor in a nightclub tonight," William suggested coincidentally.

"Sounds too good to me," JoAnna said. "Will you have the firstdance with me?"

"I'll have the first, last and every dance with you, my sweet," Williamreplied.

They had a mid-afternoon lovemaking session that put JoAnna in a mood forclubbing 'til the wee hours, her handsome man at her side, and by 8 p.m. thatnight, they were ashore in a water taxi, walking down the barstrip of bustlingdowntown Nassau.

William and JoAnna wandered in one noisy, throbbing, darkly-lit bar and JoAnnaheaded straight for the dance floor, hauling William behind her.

William could not believe his eyes when she saw the sensual gyrations hislover was capable of; JoAnna herself was transported by the pulsing Caribbeanmusic and when a slow Glen Miller tune came on moments later, collapsed sweatilyinto William's arms, feeling his hands at her waist and hips, as they swayedgently to the immortal 1944 band classic, String of Pearls .

JoAnna snuggled close to her lover's neck and knew she was falling in love.

Hours and hours and many, many dances later, they were back on their catamaranand JoAnna rewarded her lover by demanding to be boundas stringently as she was in New York City and Dartmouth, North Carolina, afew weeks ago.

Slowly, methodically, William bound JoAnna 's arms behind her in the Japanesecradle JoAnna had become so familiar with, wrapping bights and bights aroundher elbows, above and below her breasts and from each elbow cinch, up acrossthe back of her neck to attach to her other elbow.

She went from mobility to near immobility in 10 long, drawn-out minutes asWilliam gently but effectively bound his woman for his attentions and her pleasures.

JoAnna then assisted by kneeling on her heels, her arms bound parallel toeach other at the small of her back, and William lashed her ankles to her thighswith 12 doubled bights of the small-diameter, soft hemp rope that JoAnna hadbecome used to.

Ankles bound to thighs, she was once again as helpless and sexy as she wasin their Paris hotel room and she craved every moment. She tugged gently ather arms and could move only a half-inch; her legs were pinioned under heras she knelt facing William on their big, comfortable bed and William caressedand kissed her into ecstacy.

JoAnna knew William excelled at these special, romantic moments and was quiteaware – and proud – of the patient, methodical way he had boundher in Paris, and now, here in Nassau.

William reached for the head harness with a small-diameter red ball gag attached,and JoAnna opened her mouth expectantly. William slipped the two-inch spherebehind her teeth easily then quickly locked the harness straps under her chin,on top of her head and behind her neck in the usual way.

This was not the big cock gag JoAnna had worn before and she found she couldalmost, but not quite, close her jaws as she compressed the medium-soft rubberball behind her teeth that flattened her tongue onto the floor of her mouth.

William gently lay JoAnna on her back, her legs doubled under her, proppedher head on a pillow and lashed her knees wide open to each side of their bigdouble bed.

The catamaran rolled gently in the night ebb tide.

JoAnna, once again bound securely and gagged lightly enough so she couldspeak fairly clearly and breathe almost normally, was expecting William tostart teasing her body to orgasm.

William had other ideas: he wanted pictures to remember his lover and produceda digital camera from the closet at the starboard side of the bedroom.

"I need some pictures of you, bound as you are, for our photo album;will you let me photograph you, please? I can download these to Bob's laptopand we can pick and choose."

" Mmm-hmm ," she nodded willingly.

William tucked the satin bedsheets up just below JoAnna 's tightly-boundbreasts, turned her head to the right, facing him, and took several pictures,adjusting the F-stop and shutter speed to capture the right exposure in thedim cabin light.

JoAnna put on her warmest "come-hither" smile behind her head harnessand gazed longingly at William and the lens as her lover clicked away.

JoAnna was already turned on and the impromptu photo shoot was leaving hermore sex-mad than before: she had never before been photographed in such sexy,romantic fashion and knew she would tuck these moments away into her growingfile of sexy memories.

William lowered the sheets a little to show a bit more of her bondage anddiscreetly placed a corner of a bedsheet over her exposed suntanned sex; JoAnnamanaged to wriggle a little to her right, causing the rope on her left thighto tug taut, and William flashed a few more exposures.

William then set the shutter to delayed-release, aimed it at JoAnna's harnessedhead and quickly slipped beside her, kissing her fully on her slightly-partedlips just as the flash went off, giving him one of his best pictures of thenight.

William then turned JoAnna this way and that and soon had used up all 28high-res. images in the camera's memory.

JoAnna, still bound and gagged, looked over at him as he downloaded her imagesinto the laptop on the bed and smiled as she saw her images flash onto thescreen one by one.

" Keep fem all, Peefer ," she mumbled acrossher gag. " I luff 'em all ."

"And I 'luff' you, too, JoAnna Smith," William said, as saved theimages to CDs, shut down the computer and came to bed, his erection hard asever.

"Kiff me," she said, closing her lips around her gag. William leaneddown and kissed his bound lover fervently on the lips; JoAnna, able for thefirst time to purse her lips into an open-mouthed kiss, returned his and writhedand moaned in frustrated ecstacy.

William kissed her again and again, fully, gently always, on the lips, cheeksand forehead, taking her head in his hands and caressing her temples, her jawsand forehead. JoAnna, bound collared and gagged, closed her eyes and hopedthis moment would never end.

Once again, they made passionate love and JoAnna groaned and moaned, explodingover and over in powerful, hip-bucking orgasms that wracked her rope-boundbody. Hours later, William fell off her, utterly exhausted, as JoAnna whisperedand wheezed for more.

She tugged at her bound arms and tried to ease her doubled legs under herbut could not move a muscle.

She closed her lips around the two-inch-diameter ball gag and mmm 'edat William to kiss her again.

William was asleep and JoAnna lay, bound, frustrated, as she tried to nudgeher lover awake, a difficult task bound as she was beside him.

At 6 a.m., dawn broke and William came to and saw JoAnna, bound as she wasseveral hours ago, sound asleep herself; her face quiet, content under herharness.

William kissed her on the lips and JoAnna awoke slowly, dreamily, her sexualappetite still unsatisfied. She moaned and wanted her lover again. Williamgot the silent message and quickly slid down between her still tightly-tied,widespread thighs and found her clit easily with his tongue. Moments later,JoAnna , now fully awake, was in the throes of an eye-watering orgasm and shemoaned loudly through her gag she had worn all night

" Mmmmmnnnnnooooh, Peefer ," she groaned,as the warm, pink clouds of her first early-morning orgasm rushed over her.He continued to massage and stroke her clit and JoAnna clied over and overagain, her loins working overtime as her muscles contracted and spasmed inthe sensual splendor that suffused her bound body.

The Nassau and NYC experiences were to be among JoAnna's most potent sexualexperiences in her life but, as in all things, there must come an end.

Sirius would stay in at Nassau Roads anchorage foranother two days and the two lovers would spend every waking moment together,on the Bucks' yacht, in town, in restaurants and at bars. On the fifth dayWilliam and JoAnna reluctantly set sail back to the mainland and Fort Lauderdale;arranged another visit with the Bucks to thank them for the use of the yachtand to return JoAnna to her little duplex in Philadelphia, about halfway betweenthe city centre and the suburbs.

On their 11th day, Monday, Sept. 27, 2004, William drove into JoAnna's laneway,got out and opened her door for her. JoAnna got out, took her man by his handand held it to her upper breast. Neighbours stopped to watch the tender, littlescene.

"Stay with me just one more day, William, please?" JoAnna saidsoftly, as they stood, looking at each other lovingly. "I need you herewith me."

William smiled.