Blog Hop--Day One

http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/
Whoo-hoo another blog hop!  I had SO many entries into the giveaway for Bound:Forget Me Knot on Good Reads; I hope a few of those who didn't win will get a chance to hop on by over the next few days for another crack at winning a copy! I don't usually get that many entries here, so honestly, you should have a much better chance at winning here.
So, before I get to the other fun stuff, here are the rules for my giveaway; it's really simple.
I'm giving away two books, Heart's Home, my first novel, and Bound, my second novel. One winner for each (unless I get tons of entries, then I might give away two copies of each, I've done it before. No promises, but just sayin', the more people who enter the better the chances I'll start feeling loved and therefore generous ;-)
To enter, simply leave a comment below. Some folks emailed me on the last blog hop--that's okay too. I check my helenpattskyn@gmail.com email during a hop, just in case. If you really want me to feel loved (i.e. generous), subscribe to my blog. I update twice a week and never spam anybody.
In your comment tell me which book you'd like a chance at winning--and yes, you can say "both", and I'll put your name into both hats.
Go back to http://thebloghopspot.com/event-page/ for even more blogs to visit...AND come back HERE tomorrow for more fun stuff!

Now...Bound: Forget Me Knot is written exclusively from Jason's POV (point of view) in "close third person". I thought it would be fun to go back and re-write a few scenes from Henry's POV. You don't have to have read Bound to really "get it", and reading this won't spoil Bound because it's from pretty early on in the book.

The set up: Jason Kennley is volunteering at a science fiction convention and sees a gray leather collar in the dealer's room...but as much as he wants the collar, he wants the booth owner (Henry Durand) even more. When they bump into each other again in the hall, Henry "invites" Jason to come to a demo he's giving on rope bondage. Here's that scene, through Henry's eyes...



Henry glanced back at the table and the beautiful young man kneeling there all trussed up in light gray nylon rope. He wished he’d brought down black rope instead. Gray might be the boy’s color, but black would look stunning against his pale olive skin. Still, the sight of the boy all tied up like that made him hard enough to pound nails. He didn’t try to hide it either, as he walked around the room, checking on how folks were doing.
The kid has a boyfriend, he reminded himself. But the boyfriend wasn't here, was he? And Jason hadn’t looked all the please when Blondie glommed onto him in the hall either… oh who are you kidding, Durand? he chided himself. There’s no way a kid like Jason’s gonna be interested in an old fart like me. He wasn't sure how old Jason was…twenty five, maybe? Could be thirty. Yeah, a young thirty. He’d mentioned college, hadn’t he? But Sebastian was almost thirty and he was still in school working on a Master’s Degree. Master’s programs were pretty pricey  Maybe that was why Jason was broke.
And if Jason was thirty, maybe he would be interested in hooking up with a forty year old.
Henry glanced back up at him again, noting the smooth lines of his back, the graceful curve of his spine, the gentle musculature, his hair falling in long dark curls just past his shoulders. Jason’s breathing was regular, his lungs filling and emptying in slow, easy breaths. He looked so relaxed, so at ease, at home, all trussed up, kneeling there, patiently waiting for whatever came next.
 Damn if I had a boy like that I wouldn’t let him outa my sight for a second. Subs were, sad to say, a dime a dozen. Not that Henry discounted the worth of any sub he’d ever been with, but subs outnumbered Doms which meant that, as the saying went, it was a “buyers’ market”. Doms had their pick of the litter—but a kid like Jason? All wide eyed innocence and genuinely boyish charm. Until he opens his mouth. His cock twitched, surging forward, desperate to get out of the leather pants. Jason was just the right mix of sugar and spice to keep him on his toes. Henry liked that in a boy. Like nothing, he needed it. After Derrik…
“Is this right?”
The woman’s question jarred Henry’s thoughts and brought him back to where he was supposed to be. Conducting a demo, making sure nobody got themselves hurt. He studied the rope the woman had tied around her partner’s wrists; the man’s hands were behind his back, his elbows at an obviously uncomfortable angle. “Why don’t you ask your partner how he feels before asking me if it’s right.” It wasn’t a question ora suggestion.
The woman blinked, taken aback, though whether it was by Henry’s tone or the suggestion, he couldn’t be sure.
God damn some people. “Look at the angle of his arms. Does that look right?”“It’s not supposedto be comfortable,” she retorted. “To each their own kink—but if you abuse your sub’s service, you lose it,” he said, his words directed at the boy, not his Domme.
“A good sub never leaves,” the Domme told him. “He knows he’s lucky to have me.”Henry snorted. “I hope he’s been doing this longer than you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means that a good sub knows he doesn’t have to put up with crap.”
Her expression shifted suddenly from haughty to...well, not quite desperate, but a whole lot less arrogant. “He says this is what he wants.”
Henry sighed; he’d lay good money that they were both noobs. He gentled his tone. “There’s a difference between the fantasy someone gets built up in their head and reality. In reality, most people don’t really want to be hurt beyond a certain point—and nobodywants permanent damage. Leastwise nobody you want to be playing with. Tops have their limits, too,” he added. “Your job is to help him figure out what his limits are while not losing sight of your own.  Now. Look at those ropes again and ask yourself if that looks right.”
Dutifully, the woman undid the knots and stared over, adjusting her sub’s arms into a more comfortable angle, whispering quietly to him. Dragging answers from him when he hesitated.
Another Domme caught Henry’s eye and shot him a smile. “There any chance you might do a more…private demo, later in the weekend?” she asked.
Henry glanced at her work, and the contented looking woman kneeling at her feet. He was about to say “yes”, if folks were interested, they could figure something out, but then he glanced up to the table and Jason again—just to make sure the boy was really still doing all right, or so he told himself. His cock twitched again, aching to be free of the confines of the leather. Aching to be buried balls deep in Jason’s ass. God, if they were anywhere else… “I ah, I think I’m gonna be kinda tied up the rest of the weekend.”
The Domme snickered. “Someoneis, anyway,” she shot back, still grinning. “He’s a very pretty boy.”
“That he is.” And you are dreaming if you think he’s really going to want you to fuck him. But as dreams went, it wasn’t a bad one. Might give him something interesting to jerk off to, later.
Henry completed the circuit of the room, dividing his attention between the inexperienced Domme and his young volunteer. The Domme seemed to be getting it through her skull that regardless of what her boy said he wanted, she was going to have to set some limits, make him start thinking. Or find a new sub.
Finally, it was time to start getting folks untied, get them out the door. He passed out his business card, invited anyone who was interested to stop by his booth tomorrow to talk some more—if nothing else, doing a demo was always good for sales. Which wasn’t the real reason he did them; he did demos at places like this for the same reason he let newbies come to play parties at his place: they needed a safe place to learn and good people to learn from.
A muffled cry from the other end of the room got his attention. Shit. Poor kid had been tied up for over an hour. He had to have cramps on top of his cramps. And whose fault is that. He shouldn’t have left the kid up there that long.
Henry pulled the door shut tight and hurried across the room. “Shhh,” he encircled Jason in his arms. Jason pushed closer to him, seemingly eager to be held; Henry was happy to oblige. “You did great,” he crooned in Jason’s ear. “Everybody’s gone. I was just seeing the last of them to the door. I’m sorry I left you, but I was only as far away as the other end of the room, I promise.”
Jason’s eyes remained closed and he went competely still in Henry’s arms, his breathing slow and steady once more.  Henry smiled; he knew that look, he just hadn’t expected to see it on Jason’s face. This wasn’t supposed to have been a scene, just a demo—but damn if the boy hadn’t sunk into subspace. Henry’s cock responded to that realization by straining even harder against his pants. He ignored it. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Jason. “I am incredibly proud of you,” Henry told him. “I’m gonna untie you now, okay? Jason? You with me?”
Jason tried to nod, but he could barely move his head.
“Here, let’s start with that.” He undid the single knot holding the “gag” in place; the ropes fell away and Henry reached for his water, pressing the plastic cup to Jason’s mouth. Still dazed, Jason didn’t seem to realize what was expected of him. “Drink,” Henry told him.
“I’ve gotta piss,” he croaked. “That’ll make it worse.”
“A full bladder won’t kill you, and I won’t untie you until you drink this.”
Jason shot him an apprehensive look, but no, Henry wasn’t kidding. Jason drank. “I can’t feel my feet,” he said, when Henry eased the empty cup away from his mouth.  
“Okay, hang on. No, let me,” Henry said, when Jason started trying to wriggle into a sitting position. Obediently, he went limp and let Henry bring his legs out from underneath him, so they dangled over the edge of the table. Once he was sure Jason was steady enough to sit there, Henry undid the rest of the ropes. But as soon as he was free, Jason tried to stand—Henry caught him, before he toppled over. “Your bladder can hang on for another few minutes,” he said, helping Jason back to the table. Jason finally gave in when Henry went to work on his arms, starting at his wrists massaging out the cramps. The boy’s arms weren’t bad, but his neck and shoulders were a mess.
Jason sighed under his ministrations. “You’re really good at that.”
Henry chuckled. “I was a massage therapist for almost twelve years. I’d like to think I know a thing or two.”
“What do you do now?”
He smirked. “You were admiring it this afternoon.”
Jason turned to look at him. “You… made…all of that?”
“Just the gear. Friend of mine does the leather clothing. You’ve got some pretty nasty knots in your back and shoulders,” he began tentatively, “if I offer to work on you, will I piss off your boyfriend?” Henry could just imagine the little angel on his right shoulder tsking at him, while the devil on his left laughed and told him he wasn’t half as slick as he thought he was, that Jason was going to see right through the ruse, realize all Henry really wanted was to get into his pants. If Jason wanted the same thing it would be great, if not…
Jason blinked at him. “Huh?”
“Blond kid, spiky hair? The one glomming onto you in the hallway?”
Jason’s face contorted into a scowl. “Terry is notmy boyfriend,” he said in a sour tone.
“Well if that’s the case, why don’t you let me buy you dinner before I work on your back?” he suggested.
Jason blinked up at him.
Henry forced a smile and reminded himself that just because he didn’t know the score between Jason and Blondie, that didn’t mean there wasn’t one. “I figure it’s the least I owe you for being such a good sport.” And that was the truth, no matter how hard the little devil on his left shoulder laughed at him.  
“I was only doing what I thought you’d expect your boy to do, Sir,” he said, his tone almost flippant. Then just as quickly, he backpedaled. “It was just a joke. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Henry gave him a long, measured look. Had he been wrong about Jason being at home in bondage? But, Christ, the boy was walking around advertising it with that gray hankie! And he’d shown up, hadn’t he? He really had done exactly what Henry expected him to and there was quite the bulge happening between the boy’s legs. Henry would bet anything his shorts were soaked, too. “You sure it was a joke, boy?” he questioned, his tone low. He leaned in so close he could smell Jason’s aftershave; it was sweet and spicy, just like the boy wearing it. “Because I’m thinking you were serious. I’m also thinking you might be into more than just getting yourself tied up while other people watch. Am I right?”
Jason licked his lips and dropped his gaze. He couldn’t answer.
Henry didn’t need him to. He knew what he wanted and if Jason wanted it to, damn if it wasn’t going to turn into one interesting weekend. “I’m going to let you clean up in here—just coil the rope up neatly and put it back in the bag. I don’t expect it to be perfect. I’ll see you in room 412 in twenty minutes. Do not be late.”
“I—”
Henry cut him off. “By the way, I expect you to hold onto that piss until I see you again.”
Jason’s eyes widened. “I’m not into—”
“It has nothing to do with what you are or aren’t into. We’ll talk about that, don’t worry. For right now, you’re going to do what I tell you, simply because I’m the one telling you to do it. Clear?”
Jason lowered his gaze. “Yes, Sir.”
“Good boy.” Unable to resist the temptation, Henry reached out and cupped the back of Jason’s head, drawing him into a kiss. Jason gave in without hesitation, parting his lips and letting Henry take complete control. Henry groaned with satisfaction as he tightened his grip and pushed his tongue further into Jason’s mouth, pressing his lips against Jason’s so hard he was sure he was leaving bruises in his wake. He captured Jason’s tongue with his and laid claim to the boy’s mouth—his boy’s mouth—while his cock strained against his pants. God he would love to bend Jason over the table right there… but patience was a virtue. He pulled back and felt a deep sense of satisfaction when he saw the look on Jason’s face. Jason wanted more. A lot more. Henry was suddenly very glad he’d let Derrik talk him into coming to Michigan.
“See you soon, boy.”


Helen Pattskyn, Fantasy Artist, Gay Romance Author