On Display Haley closed her eyes and began to climax. It was her fourth time so far. She prayed that the vibrator would not escape her lips, that her resolve--and her sense of self-preservation--would not fail. Looking out over the city, she moaned deeply into her throat. This time, she thought, they had gone too far. No...Grant had gone too far. But Haley had let him. You stupid shit, she thought. Tonight was another variation on their "volunteer" theme: Bondage, where in order to avoid a misery even worse, the victim contributed to her own torment. Such as the previous week, when Haley had submitted to ten hours of ball-gagging. Rather than push the ball out of her mouth, she had left it there the entire night, moaning and crying and pleading for help. The ache in her jaw, however awful, was nothing compared to the torment facing her nipples. Attached to each was a sharp-toothed alligator clip, loaded with a powerful spring. Each was held loosely in place by a slip-pin arrangement, each pin attached to the gag via a slender gold chain. They awaited only her action. If the ball-gag fell, the pins would go with it, releasing the springs. Though Louis promised a quick rescue, Haley could well imagine her screams. She moaned now, thinking about it. Keep it cool, girl. Only six more hours to go. Six more hours? Haley moaned again. They lived in lower Manhattan, in a high-rise four short blocks from Ground Zero. The bedroom window faced the windows of the building opposite, windows which by great measure were still lit. They glittered refractively through the rain-soaked window. Was she glad it had rained? Yes. She was glad for no lightning? Yes. Was she glad for the late hour? She was glad all the lights were doused. Keep that vibrator in your mouth, girl! Do not let it go! Like most city dwellers, Grant owned a powerful telescope. Haley used it often, looking into the myriad windows across the street. She had witnessed a lot of parties and had witnessed a lot of fights. Many a seduction too--and some pretty intense lovemaking. But she had given others a few treats as well. Her apartment offered a plethora of glass, which Grant left mostly unobstructed. "Give 'em a show," Grant always said. Give 'em a show she did. Performing before that expanse of glass like an actor before a sharp-tongued critic, naked and seemingly oblivious to attention, Haley acted, attempting to suspend belief. Tonight, there was no disbelief to suspend. Naked except for thigh-high black stockings, her long blonde hair piled safely atop her head, Haley stood spread-eagled before the window. Her ankles and wrists were lashed to the uprights at the foot of her bed, which Grant had pushed into position before lashing her to it. She was a scant two feet from the glass. A vibrator was up her vagina, and another was up her ass, both held in place by a leather harness. They hummed merrily away. A clitoral stimulator the size of a Chapstick was built into the harness, cutting on and off seemingly at will. It made Haley frantic when it cut on. She had climaxed twice in the last half hour alone, four times since Grant had left. And she felt another one building. Keep that vibrator in your mouth, girl! Do not let it go! The vibrator, made of flesh-colored plastic with an anodized aluminum tip, was slick with saliva. Haley clenched it between her teeth. Even that was difficult. Making things worse, her nipples were lassoed with fine gold loops, attached to her leather headband via chains. It was impossible for Haley to put back her head without her nipples yelping in pain. Even with her head slightly forward, as it was now, the chains were taut. Do not let go of the vibrator, Kellie! She knew that sooner or later, she would. The cylinder had nearly escaped her mouth during her last orgasm. It was slick and heavy and Haley had wanted it gone almost as much as she wanted it in. She craved the spotlights on, the blitz of panic that being spotlighted would bring: the privacy-stealing, esteem-robbing, safety- destroying dilemma of being seen nude and helpless. Since the vibrator was attached to another gold chain, one leading to a pull-switch located above her head, being seen was an imminent danger. If the vibrator fell, the switch would turn on, activating the spotlights mounted either side of the window. Spotlights aimed at her slender young body. 600 watts of brilliant white light. Thousands of windows, comprising New York City's most fashionable ward, would get an eyeful of Haley then, humiliatingly bound, shamelessly aroused, coming in her bondage for all to see. Do not let go of the vibrator, Haley! Don't you dare! She knew that she would. It was after two a.m. Her hips writhed slowly while Haley endured the incessant stimulation. She sucked the vibrator's shaft. She inched her head back to rest her jaw, grimaced as the lassos tugged at her nipples. Damn that Grant! The clever bastard! Always one idea ahead! She wondered how long she could last. Do not let go of the vibrator, Kellie! Don't you dare! Sweat glistened on her naked body. A drop slid down her forehead and into her eye. Haley shook it away. She moaned as the lassos bit her nipples. God, that hurts! She thought. She looked out over the city, at all those lights, at all those other apartments. She saw people in them now. Dawn, Grant had said. He'd return at dawn. In time to rescue her from the gathering daylight. Daylight that made her plight impossible to hide. Both knew it was unlikely she'd last that long, but at least it gave her hope. Hope was all she had. She wiggled her toes. They barely touched the floor. She was not only bound to the bed, but suspended upon it, the leather and velvet cuffs holding her aloft. Another Grant idea. The clever little bastard! Someone was looking her way. He was in an apartment across the street, a few levels down. He was staring directly at her. She could not be seen with the spotlights off, Haley knew, unless by a flash of lightning. Grant had assured her of this. There was no lightning tonight and no moonlight to make her visible. Unless she lost the vibrator from her mouth, Haley was safe. Do not let go of the vibrator, Haley! Don't you dare! A small group had formed. They were all men. They all looked her way. Haley realized they had a telescope. "Oh, god," she murmured, unconsciously shaking her head. "Please don't let them see." The thought triggered her next orgasm and moments later, Haley was shaking and shuddering and writhing her hips. The vibrator up her ass twisted remorselessly counter clockwise; the clitoral stimulator wracked her nerves. If they could see her, they were getting quite a show. Do not let go of the vibrator, Haley! Don't you dare! When the climax subsided, Haley slumped against her bondage. The vibrator dangled from her lips. She hadn't the strength to suck it back in. It inched farther away. If it drops, her thoughts said, the lights will turn on. The men across the way will see you. Everyone will. I understand that, Haley thought back. Knowing it would hurt, Haley jerked her head sideways and back. "Owww!" she wailed, around the aluminum tube. Her nipples shreiked and throbbed violently. They pulled straight up. They tented her breasts. Swallowing, Haley sucked the vibrator back into her mouth, making herself gag. She clamped it with her teeth. That was too close! she thought. That was way too close! She had almost lost it. Across the way, the group of men were clustered around the telescope. She saw them only as well as the window- rain would allow, but one man looked very familiar. Standing apart from the rest, he seemed to be smiling. "What are you grinning about?" she muttered around the tube. "I'll teach you to grin." She extended both her middle fingers, in a double-barreled salute. She grinned in retaliation. Then her breath froze. Was that Grant? Was that Grant across the street? The tweed coat, the white turtleneck sweater, the graying beard? It was Grant all right! Haley watched in horror as he left the group and walked into an adjacent bedroom. She saw him sit down on the bed. He dialed his cell phone. The telephone rang. Her answering machine picked up. "Hi!" said her cheerful and rather too-youthful sounding voice. "I'm not home right now, and neither is Grant. If you'd like to leave a message, however, one of us will call back. I promise I will. Honestly. Grant doesn't like it when I break a promise." Her voice suddenly broke, an unmistakable crack of embarrassment. Then she giggled. Grant said something in the background, something that made her voice rush on again. "If you heard that, please don't tell my mother!" she pleaded with a giggle, and then hung up. Across the bedroom, Haley listened in trepidation. "Hello, my sweet," Grant said, sweetly. "No one can decide if that's a naked girl across the way, or a figment of their imagination. They can see you, sort of, but with the rain and the lack of light, it could be an illusion. Wishful thinking, let's say. It's become the focus of our little group." "Anyway, everyone misses you and keeps asking where you are. I've assured them you're bound to make an appearance before the night is over. I promised that, you know. And you know how I like to keep my promises." The was an expectant pause, then he hung up. He waved at her through the bedroom window. Do not let go of the vibrator, Haley! Don't you dare! As Grant returned to the next room and the cluster of men at the telescope, Haley closed her eyes. She climaxed again. She writhed with the unending vibrations. She rotated counter clockwise with the embedded dildo. She whimpered and she moaned. As the vibrator began its slow and relentless slide from between her lips, Haley wondered if she could hold back the scream building inside her chest, or the one inside her gut. She moaned deeply, one last time. Then the vibrator left her mouth and fell slow-motion toward the floor. The chain tightened, then twanged like a guitar string as the vibrator stopped one inch from the floor and rebounded. There was a ratcheting click from above, then a deluge of light. Haley closed her eyes. Across the street, eyes flew open. But not for long. Across the great city, the beacon of the east, the pulse of the western world, lights died in a reverse cascade. They winked off first in Harlem, and then the Bronx, then across mid-town Manhattan. Brooklyn went next, and then Queens, and then lower Manhattan. The boroughs fell dark. Then most of northern New Jersey did the same, then Delaware and parts of Pennsylvania. The blackout, the worst in twenty-six years, reached as far south as Maryland and Virginia, then mercifully stopped. It became quiet in the apartment, and very still. Kellie opened her eyes. She sighed, and then she began to laugh. She laughed for a very long time.