“Justin, honey, did you order something?”

“Huh?” I responded, hitting pause on my video game and glancing up at my wife, Candace. Even though we were in our forties and had been married for over eight years, I still found myself appreciatively checking out her ass in a tight pair of jeans as she peered through the window by the front door.

“There’s a package out front,” she said.

“I guess you’d better bring it in,” I said.

She opened the door, looked up and down the street for any sign of who had left it. Finding no one, she picked it up and carried it inside to the living room.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she answered, sitting next to me. “It doesn’t say who it’s from. Should we open it?”

“Let me get a pair of scissors.”

I went to the junk drawer in our kitchen and found the scissors - a large pair of metal sewing shears inherited from one or another of our grandmothers. I returned to the living room and picked up the box from Candace’s lap, snipping through the reinforced tape securing the cardboard flaps. I pulled out the plastic packing cushions and investigated the contents buried beneath.

At first, I wasn’t sure what I was looking at. I reached in and extracted one of the objects, holding it aloft and letting it unfurl. It was an eye mask. I looked at Candace with an expression of curiosity. She mirrored the same expression back at me.

“Problems sleeping?” I inquired.

“Not me,” she denied.

“Well, I didn’t order it,” I said, placing the mask to the side. There were more objects inside the box to investigate. The next out was a set of four black leather straps connected by stretchy nylon ribbons.

“What the hell?” I asked.

“What is that?” Candace asked.

“They... they look like cuffs, but...” I flapped the connective ribbon. “I don’t know.”

“Anything else?”

“Yeah,” I said. I pulled out something that looked like a black plastic golf ball with more of the nylon straps connected to it. Then came the paddle, looking like a miniature cricket bat padded in black leather. “Are you sure you never ordered this?” I asked, lightly smacking it against my hand.

“I don’t even know what I’m looking at,” Candace replied dubiously.

“Check the address again,” I said.

Candace examined the top of the box again, folding down the flaps. “There’s no label,” she said.

I took the box from her and tipped it upside down, spilling the rest of the contents onto the sofa cushions next to her. There was a flail with soft leather tassels, several polished stainless steel clips and chains, a sort of mushroom-looking thing with a red plastic jewel in the bottom of it, a number of flexible black ropes, a black leather mask with stainless steel studs running along the skull, a thin rod like a riding crop with a soft black fuzzy puff on the end, a collar and leash, a pair of long leather boots, and an outfit, also studded, that looked like a one piece bathing suit, with holes cut out of the bust and butt. Finally, a packing slip fell out and floated to the ground. It read, ‘Devils Playthings, inc.’ and had a black and red logo of interlocking male and female symbols topped with stylized satanic horns.

“Justin, look,” Candace said, pointing to the bottom of the box. I followed her finger and found the label we’d been looking for: Peter Coronado, our next-door neighbor. “They must have delivered it here by mistake.”

“Shit, okay,” I said, grabbing everything. “Let’s just put it all back, and I’ll take it over there.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Candace asked.

“No, it’s alright, you stay here. I won’t be long.”

I took the box of naughty toys and walked across to their front door, debating whether to just drop it and leave. However, I felt that after opening it by mistake, I owed Pete an explanation and an apology. We’d been good neighbors for years, and I would have hated something like this to come between us. I knocked on their door and waited. Three minutes passed without any sign of life from inside. After that, I gave up and brought the box back home.

“What happened?” Candace asked.

“I guess they’re not home,” I said.

“But why do you still have their stuff?”

“I’m not just going to leave it out in the open where anyone can see it,” I said. “Besides, he’s going to wonder why someone opened his package.”

“We should probably wait until they get home,” she suggested. “Then we can explain and apologize in person.”

“Speaking of getting home, Gavin should be home any minute,” I reminded her. Gavin was our twelve-year-old son - her son, and my stepson to be precise. He’d spent the afternoon at baseball practice with his biological father but was due back soon. “We should probably stash this somewhere out of sight before he gets here.”

“Why don’t you put it on the shelf in our bedroom closet?” Candace suggested. I agreed and did that.

 ***

 I’d meant to return the package later that night after Gavin had gone to bed, but the Coronados still weren’t home. I figured they were probably on vacation. I was all too grateful to be able to postpone the inevitably awkward conversation. I stuffed the box back up on the shelf in our closet. After a couple of days, I forgot about it.

But Candace hadn’t. In fact, it was the following weekend when she brought it up again. By then, the Coronados were back, but now every time I saw them, I kept imagining Sandy in the black leather outfit, while Pete was on the leash, crawling on all fours, with the ball gag stuffed in his mouth. Or maybe it was the other way around. Either way, the more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I was around them. So, I kept putting it off.

It was Sunday morning and we were lying in bed, naked. Gavin was spending that weekend with his father as he did every other week. While our routines didn’t drastically change without the kid, there was one thing we did look forward to doing with the extra privacy: sex. ‘Look forward,’ might be overstating things a little. After eight years of marriage and both of us being in our forties, our sex life had become routine and functional in recent years. We’d gotten complacent and comfortable, doing just enough to satisfy each other’s needs but little more.

Candace had her head on my chest and was idly running her fingernails up and down my stomach while I lazily fondled one of her breasts, feeling her nipple stiffen beneath my thumb. She reached down and began to play with my flaccid penis, attempting to coax it to attention. This is what passed for foreplay with us, these days.

“You know, I was thinking...” Candace started.

“What were you thinking?” I asked warily. Eight years of marriage had trained me to regard that phrase with suspicion.

“I was thinking about Pete and Sandy, and... you know...” she nodded toward the closet where I’d hidden their box of toys.

“Yeah, we really should give it back to them,” I said. “Maybe later today.”

“The longer we have it, the weirder it’s going to be,” Candace warned. “It’s one thing to say there was a mix-up in the delivery that day, but we’ve held onto their stuff for a week.”

“So, what are you saying?” I asked.

Candace sat up in the bed and looked directly at me. “Well, since their package hasn’t shown up by now, they’ve probably reported it missing. I’ll bet the company sent them a replacement. Maybe they already have it.”

“Maybe,” I agreed. “You’re probably right. So, should we just throw it away and pretend like we’ve never seen it?”

“We could do that, or....”

“Or...?” I followed her eyes again across the room to our closet.

“Listen, Justin, you know I love you, but... Honestly, our sex life is as plain as vanilla,” Candace blurted out.

“I like vanilla,” I argued.

“I know you do, honey. And so do I. There’s nothing wrong with vanilla, but I was just thinking maybe...” She looked hopefully at me as she stood from the bed, naked, and began to move towards the closet. “Maybe we could try adding a few sprinkles? See how we like it?”

“Sprinkles, huh?”

Candace retrieved the box from the shelf and brought it back to the bed. “How will we know if we never try?” she asked. “I mean, we don’t have to use it all, but I was just thinking, you know, Sandy and Pete seem really happy and great together, and I was reading a little about it on the internet... maybe there’s something to it.”

Candace upended the box onto the bed and began to sort through all the black leather and stainless steel paraphernalia, spreading it out to display it all.

“If there was just one piece in all this that called most to you, which one would you choose?” Candace asked.

I scanned the objects. My gaze landed on the paddle. I picked it up and felt its weight in my hands. I smacked my palm lightly with it a few times while Candace regarded me eagerly. I tried to picture myself applying it to her beautiful round buttocks, but the image was doing nothing for me. I dropped it back onto the bed. My eyes were drawn next to the clump of nylon straps and leather cuffs. I picked them, up and untangled them.

“You want me to tie you up?” Candace asked.

I shook my head.

“You want to tie me up?” She tried again.

This time I nodded.

“Is that alright?” I asked.

“Oh my god, Justin!” Candace squealed giddily. “I always wanted to try it. Just the thought of being totally restrained and at your mercy...” She shivered with excitement. “Yes! Let’s do it. And let’s use this one, too.” She picked up the blindfold.

“Sure,” I agreed. “I think that’s enough to get us started.”

I began to imagine how we’d incorporate the restraints and blindfold into our lovemaking, and maybe some of the other things, too. I found I liked the idea of being completely in charge and Candace simply accepting whatever I wanted to do to her.

“I’ll set up the straps on the bed,” I said. “And maybe you could wear something else, too... you know like an old dress or something you don’t mind ruining.”

“Oh! What do you have in mind?” Candace asked, her curiosity piqued.

“You’ll see,” I teased, giving her a devilish grin. “Go get changed.”

“Panties? No panties?” she asked.

“Up to you,” I answered. “Just keep in mind whatever you wear, you’re going to lose.”

“Mmm. So hot!” she exclaimed.

“Go on, now,” I ordered firmly.

Candace rushed again to the closet and began to examine her wardrobe. In the meantime, I collected the remaining toys and put them back in the box on the floor. Then I wrestled the mattress from the bed and stood it against the wall. I took the straps and spread them out on the box spring so that each cuff hung over the side on a lengthy (but not too lengthy) tether. Then I replaced the mattress over top. Each of the cuffs only reached a foot or so from the corners of our queen-sized mattress.

Candace had gone into the master bathroom to change. As I finished with setting up the bed, she emerged in a butter-colored sundress with buttons down the front. I hadn’t seen her wear it in a couple of years, but I’d always liked it.

“How’s this?” she asked. She spun and the light material of her skirt floated up around her thighs.

“Perfect,” I said. “You look great.”

“I like what you’re wearing, too,” Candace responded looking up and down my naked body with a sly grin. “So, should we get started?”

“Aren’t we supposed to have a safe word or something? In case things get too rough?” I asked. I didn’t know much about BDSM, but I knew that much.

“How about ‘sprinkles’?” Candace suggested.

“Heh. Yeah, okay. Let’s go with that.” I accepted. “So do you want to get on the bed, and...” I trailed off, gesturing to the cuffs lying limply on the mattress.

“No! No!” Candace protested. “I want us to really get into it.”

“What do you mean?”

“No offense, honey, but you’re too laid back and easygoing. I love that most of the time, but I want you to get a bit rougher with me.”

“Rougher?”

“You know, like dominant. Make me submit to you.”

“You want me to what? Slap you around or something?”

“Maybe,” Candace admitted. “Not too hard, but let me know you’re in charge.” I looked at her dubiously for a beat, prompting her to continue. “Okay, listen, I know that’s not who you are regularly, but maybe for this, we could pretend you’re someone else for a little while.”

“Like who?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe you could be my stalker who’s been secretly admiring me from a distance for years but knows that I’m married to you so they’ve never been able to try anything. But, like, your frustration got so much that you snapped and kidnapped me, and now you’re taking me back to your place to have your way with me.”

“So, I’m supposed to be your kidnapper?”

“You think you can pretend?”

“Yeah, I think we can try that.”

“Okay, so do you think my kidnapper would just politely ask me to lie down on the bed?” Candace prompted.

“Alright,” I agreed. “Just give me a second to get into character, I guess.” I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, trying to put myself in the mindset of a sexually frustrated kidnapper. Then, I went over and picked up the leather mask with the metal studs from the box.

“You want to use that, too?” Candace asked.

“I mean, if I’m a kidnapper, I don’t want you to know my real identity, do I?” I explained, slipping it over my head and zipping the back. The fit was snug but surprisingly comfortable. “Okay, so let’s say that I trapped you in this room while I decided what to do with you, and now I’ve just made up my mind. I’ll go outside and then come back in as the kidnapper, okay?”

“Okay,” Candace agreed cheerfully.

“And get that smile off your face,” I demanded, starting to feel the role take over. “Kidnapping victims don’t smile.”

“Yes, sir,” Candace acknowledged obediently, working to control her face.

“Good girl,” I said. “I’ll be back in just a minute.”

“Yes, sir,” she repeated.

I left the room, closed the door behind me, and stood in the hallway completely naked below the neck. I probably looked ridiculous, but I tried to put that thought out of my head and channel all the reserves of aggression I had in me. I thought about all the times I’d ever been denied in my life and brought all my buried little resentments to the surface.

“Not this time,” I whispered to myself with simmering rage. “This time, I get what’s mine, goddammit.”

After a minute had passed, I’d managed to work myself into a mild fury. I knew it was now or never. I grabbed the handle of the bedroom door and shoved it open so hard it crashed loudly against the wall. Candace was huddled in the corner on the other side of the room, looking up at me fearfully.

“Who are you?” she asked. “What do you want from me?”

“Get on the bed,” I demanded.

“No!” she objected, begging. “Not that! I’m married. I can’t. Please don’t make me.”

“I don’t give a shit,” I fired back, striding quickly and menacingly across the bedroom towards her. “I said get on the goddamn bed. Now!”

Candace continued to crouch in the corner, refusing to budge, so I grabbed her by the wrists and lifted her to her feet. She gave a little resistance but stood. I began to pull her towards the mattress and the awaiting straps. As her resistance increased, I wrapped my arms around her waist and wrestled her in the direction I wanted her to go. She squirmed and began to hit and slap me (not too hard) around the face and shoulders, shouting “No! No! No!” the whole time as I dragged her to the bed. Finally, I picked her up entirely off the floor, swung her around, and threw her down on the mattress.

“Shut up!” I growled at her, grabbing her face around the jaw. “No one can hear you, anyway.”

“No, no, you can’t!” Candace continued shouting. She tried to get up, so I leapt on top of her, pinning her beneath my bigger, heavier body. “Ow! No! Get off me!” she shrieked so realistically that I paused.

“Are you okay?” I asked, lifting myself slightly off of my wife and resting on my elbows.

“Did I say ‘sprinkles?’” she asked with more than a hint of irritation in her voice.

“No,” I responded. “But the way you were acting, I thought...”

“I’m fine,” Candace reassured me. “Just trust me. I’ll use the safe word if I need to. Until then, just play on, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed. I slipped back into character as I dropped my full weight back onto her. “You can struggle all you want, bitch, but one way or another, this is happening. Now give me your hand.”

I reached for her arm. Candace pulled it away, tucking it into her body. I grabbed hold of her wrist and yanked it toward the cuff.

“You’ll never get away with this,” Candace warned. “My husband will find you and kill you for what you’re doing to me, you son of a bitch.”

I managed to get the cuff around her wrist and pulled it tight. Candace didn’t make it too easy on me. She used the other arm to slap my head and scratch down my back with her long nails. With one of her arms secured, I sat up, straddling her waist, and looked down at her. Her face was flushed bright red as she shouted a string of insults at me.

“Shut up,” I said. I slapped her lightly on the cheek.

“Is that all you’ve got, you coward? You pussy!”

I slapped her again, a little harder this time.

“Fuck you!” she screamed.

“That’s the idea,” I answered with icy calm. “Now stop struggling, or you’ll get another.” I raised my hand with an open palm to show her I was serious.

I grabbed her unrestrained hand and stretched it toward the other cuff. With the first arm already tied, it was a lot easier to manage the other with both hands. As I bent over to fasten the cuff, I took the opportunity to lick from her collarbone, up her neck to her earlobe. She turned her head this way and that, squirming hard beneath me. I grabbed hold of her chin and leaned closer to her ear.

“Tonight, I’m going to make you forget all about that useless husband of yours,” I whispered. “Tonight, you’re mine.”

I finished fastening the cuff around her wrist. Candace’s arms stretched across the width of the bed, held close to the mattress by the straps. She clutched and grasped helplessly at nothing.

“You can’t do this!” Candace shouted.

“I can and I am,” I replied, as I moved down the bed to secure her legs. She kicked and struggled, but I managed to get the cuff pulled tight around her ankle. “You don’t seem to understand, so let me make it clear: Your body is my body now. It belongs to me. I’ll do whatever I want with it.” I took hold of the final flailing limb and secured it tight to the bed. “Whatever. I. Want. Got it?”

Candace was like a starfish splayed over the mattress. Her torso continued to squirm, but the straps held tight and prevented her from moving too much. I slid my hand slowly up the smooth, soft skin of her leg from her ankle, over her calf, around her knees, across the length of her inner thighs, until they disappeared under the fabric of her dress. I kept going until I encountered her panties. They were soft, hot, and already more than a little damp.

“Let me go!” she demanded again. She strained against the straps but they held.

“Perhaps I will,” I said. “But only after I’ve taken all my pleasure, and had my complete fill of you.”

I stroked my thumbs along the sides of her mons, giving the flesh a slight pinch. Then I removed my hands from her skirt and stood. I picked up the blindfold and bent over her. Tying Candace up had turned me on, and I didn’t mind letting her know by dragging my hard cock across the front of her dress as I leaned to secure the blindfold over her eyes.

“Lights out little lady,” I said when I was sure she couldn’t see.

“Wh- what are are you going to do to me?” Candace asked.

“You’re my plaything now. I’m going to use you until there’s no use left in you.”

I stood and moved around the bed towards the door.

“That’s a pretty dress you have on,” I said. “I bet your husband loves to see you in it.”

“He does,” Candace agreed.

“I wonder if he’ll like it as much after what I’m going to do to it,” I said, then ordered her to stay put even though she couldn’t move if she wanted.

I went to the kitchen and retrieved the big metal scissors from the junk drawer. In a moment I was back to the bed where my wife was restrained, blindfolded, and anxiously anticipating what I was going to do next. I put the scissors down on the nightstand and began to caress her body with my hands. I let my fingers drift up her throat, over her chin and across her lips. I reached down to grab her breasts in my hands, kneading them gently for a minute before administering a hard quick twist. Candace yelped at the sudden unexpected roughness but quickly settled back onto the bed as if she were eager for more.

I continued to work my way down her body, punctuating the gentle touches with an occasional slap, hard enough to leave a faint pink handprint on her skin. I liked the way that her face would wince at each smack and then relax back into an expectant calm as the handprint faded. Her protests had subsided, and she seemed focused on enjoying the mixed pleasure and pain sensations.

“That’s better,” I said. “You’re starting to see that nothing you say or do makes any difference. All you can do is submit and accept me. Do you submit?”

“Yes,” she said breathlessly.

My hands reversed course at her knees, and I dug in my fingernails, sharply clawing my way up her thighs until I reached the hot, wet spot where they met. Her panties were absolutely soaking. This time I pressed a knuckle into her crease and dragged it up across her clit. She couldn’t help but let out a little whimper as I pulled my hand away again.

“Yes, sir,” I corrected her.

“Yes, sir,” she repeated dutifully.

“Good girl,” I said. “Now, about this dress...”

I ran my hands up from her hips to her tits. I could feel her nipples pushing outward through the fabric as I teased them. Quietly, I picked up the scissors from the nightstand. I pressed the cool flat metal against her flushed cheek for a second. Then I gently dragged them down the side of her neck and across the top of her chest.

“What’s that?” she asked.

“Shh...” I responded.

Just as she seemed to relax, I suddenly clutched the material of her dress above her breast, careful to pull it away from her flesh. She yipped loudly with surprise as I cut a ragged gaping hole where her breast showed through. I gave it a hard swat, then kissed it better, sucking her nipple lightly between my lips and letting my tongue play across it.

“Oh my god,” she whispered.

I quickly went to the box of toys and found the nipple clamps. I placed one of them on her exposed nipple. A small expression of pain registered on her face then faded as she got used to the sensation. I gave the nipple one last kiss, then repeated the process on the other breast. Candace was breathing hard when I was done.

“I think you’re actually enjoying this,” I commented.

“Yes,” she answered.

“Yes, sir,” I corrected and gave a small tug on the thin chain that connected the nipple clamps.

“Oh! Yes, sir,” she responded compliantly.

“You may be a slow learner, but you’ll learn,” I said.

“Yes, sir,” she replied.

“Better,” I said.

With the clamps in place, I moved my focus lower. I let Candace feel the flat part of the scissors travel up her thighs. She shivered as I slid them over her panties across her desperate pussy, pressing briefly against her clit, and then trailed them back down the opposite thigh. I took hold of the hem of her dress and began to tear a slit through it, going up all the way to her waist. I put the scissors down and folded back the flap like I was opening a package, and gazed at the sexy contents within. Candace had put on a pair of plain cotton panties, sky blue in color except for the spot where her juices had turned them a deeper shade of navy. I rubbed her clit with my hand through the sopping fabric, then reached beneath to pinch it gently and roll it between my thumb and forefinger. Candace squirmed again, but this time it was from pleasure.

“All you have to do is tell me what you want most in the world and say pretty please, and I may just make your wish come true. But be careful, though, because I’ll know if you lie to me.”

“I want to go,” Candace said weakly.

“Wrong,” I said. I removed my hand from between her legs and swatted her breast hard, making her cry out. “Now tell me honestly,” I said soothingly, returning my hand back to her needy pussy. This time, my fingers entered her and began to tease her from inside.

“I- I want...” she tried again between heavy breaths.

“Yes?” I inquired. “What do you want most in this world?”

“I want to cum!” Candace erupted. “Please, sir!”

“Pretty please,” I reminded her, pausing the movement of my fingers.

“Pretty please, I want you to make me cum,” she begged desperately.

“More than anything in the world?” I asked, beginning to apply more pressure to her clit.

“Oh fuck, yes! Pretty fucking please, yes sir. Make me cum!”

“Since you asked nicely, I think that can be arranged,” I said. “Now, I need you to hold very still.”

I picked up the scissors again. This time I slid them through her panties at the hip and snipped. I did the same to the other side, then yanked the strip of wet fabric free from between her legs and tossed it to the floor. I paused to admire the way her pussy was flushed bright pink and glistening with her arousal. I positioned myself with my head between her thighs, sticking my tongue out broad and flat, and slowly began to lap up her juices.

“Oh fuck!” Candace groaned from far above me.

I kissed and sucked her pussy until she was writhing on the bed, wildly tugging at the restraints but unable to escape my persistent mouth- unable to do anything but rocket towards climax.

“Oh my god!” Candace screamed. “You’re going to make me cum so fucking hard all over your face.”

“Yes!” I roared encouragingly. “Give me your orgasm. It belongs to me. Not to your husband. Not to you. TO. ME!”

That was it. Candace shrieked, struggling impotently against the restraints. She spasmed uncontrollably on the bed as the orgasm crashed through her body. I continued tonguing the juices from her pussy until the orgasm subsided. She finally fell back onto the mattress, her breasts rising and falling as she caught her breath.

I crawled over her splayed body until we were face to face, then brought my lips to hers in a deep, loving kiss, letting her taste herself. Candace returned the kiss passionately. I removed my mask, then her blindfold, and she looked up at me with grateful, loving eyes.

“How was it?” I asked, leaving the kidnapper role behind and becoming myself again.

“Incredible,” Candace said. “I loved it.”

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Not any more than I could handle,” she replied as I worked to free her from the straps. “I’ve never experienced anything like that with anyone ever before. After you strapped me to the bed, I was completely powerless. I gave one hundred percent of myself to you - my body, my mind, my will, you had them all. I just had to trust you to take care of me... And you did, baby. You so did. I love you, Justin.”

She reached up to caress my cheeks softly and kissed me again.

“I love you, too, Candace,” I said. We lay together awhile and cuddled, feeling closer and more bonded than we had in years.