Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Cade
Something was going on with Ripley, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I saw a million thoughts flitter through her mind as I waited for the answer to my very simple question.
She’d been daydreaming a lot, and as much as I wanted to know what had her so lost in thought, I wouldn’t pry. It wasn’t really my place to. I’d promised Randy I would look after her and make sure she was okay, but that didn’t include overstepping boundaries. Boundaries that had been firmly set into place years and years ago.
I couldn’t lie and say it was easy; it sucked. I was a Dom, and Ripley was a bona fide submissive. More than that, though, we shared a deep mutual love and respect for one another, and my natural inclination was to storm in and be everything she needed and craved. To fulfill her in ways I knew my best friend had done. But I couldn’t. Not without ruining everything we had going for us.
Life was good. I got to tour the states, doing what I loved with my best friend by my side. Plus, I had promised Randy I’d look after her for as long as I lived, and that didn’t include taking her for my own. No matter how badly I wanted to.
Very badly.
But I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about that.
“Do you want to go somewhere else? I know it’s been a few years since we lost Randy, but there’s no time limit on grief if you’re not ready to be around lifestyle stuff.”
“What?”
My follow-up question seemed to pull her out of whatever thought she’d been lost in.
“No, that’s not it. I mean…” She shook her head. “Of course I still miss him, but we both know what he would say if he was here.”
I nodded, because I knew exactly what he would say. He’d made us both promise over and over in the last few days leading up to his death that we would not stop living. That he knew we would grieve him, but he didn’t want us to stay stuck in that grief. So we’d done the counseling and the work, and we’d celebrated his life by continuing on the adventure we’d planned together.
“It’s just weird, you know?” she said. “He would have loved the opportunity to show off his whip skills at a place like Rawhide.”
“Yeah, we could have given them one hell of a show.”
I smiled wistfully. Randy had been throwing his whip since he was three years old, and the way he used it, whether at a rodeo showing off his skills, or in a dungeon making a willing a masochist’s knees weak, was like an extension of his own body. It truly was an art and he had been a master of his craft.
Ripley smiled back. “Yeah, we could have.”
We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.
“Well, let’s get on the road,” I announced with more excitement than I really felt.
Truth was, I was probably more nervous and hesitant to go to Rawhide than Ripley. I knew she wanted to play, and I knew I was going to have to sit back and let her, but I didn’t fucking like it. Not one bit. The thought of seeing some stranger’s hands on her body made my skin crawl. But the idea of just letting her go off and do whatever with whoever without me… yeah that would never do. So I would fade into the background and observe from afar to make sure she was safe, because that was my role in her life. That was the promise I made to Randy.
After stalling as much as I was willing to, I finished my sandwich, grabbed an energy drink, and settled in for the long drive ahead.
The drive was smooth and uneventful, but by the time I pulled up to the Ranch gates, all I wanted was a shower and bed, in that order. Ripley had curled up on the couch directly behind my captain's chair and dozed on and off, but when we pulled up to the gate, she jumped up like her cute little ass was on fire.
“I wish it wasn’t so dark. I want to see it!” She turned her head one way, then the other, trying to look around the darkness.
“You’ll have plenty of time to see it in the morning,” I promised as I rolled down the window to speak with the security guard at the gate.
After giving him our IDs so he could verify we were who we said we were, he welcomed us, and told me to drive to the front of the resort, where we would be met by staff to get us settled.
But there was nothing settled about the way the damn nerves that had been bugging me all the way here flared up the moment I pulled through the gates. Because this place, while safe in almost every way, could be very dangerous to my best friend’s widow, and the way I’d felt about her—and had kept pushed down as hard as I could—for years.
Ripley
I’m not going to the Littles’ Wing. I’m not going to the Littles’ Wing.
I chanted this over and over to myself as I sat in the lobby in front of the roaring fireplace, trying to warm up. I hated the cold, and I wasn’t sure why anyone would want to live someplace where the air was trying to kill them every winter. Although the heat radiating from the crackling fire sure did feel nice. There was nothing quite as soothing as an open flame. Well, nothing that could happen in public, at least.
Even though it was late in the evening or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, there were still a few folks wandering around. Some were very obviously Littles. Some had caretakers alongside them, but one girl skipped over to a huge door and knocked before immediately letting herself in.
“Daddy it’s waaaaaay past bedtiiime,” she sing-songed loudly enough for me to hear just before the door closed behind her.
The dichotomy of the Little telling her Daddy it was bedtime instead of the other way around had me giggling.
“What’s so funny, Rip?” Cade came up next to me and put his arm over my shoulder.
I almost hated how much I loved that small gesture of comfort and intimacy, and I wasn’t about to admit even to myself the way it made my whole body go hot, but I leaned into him, anyway.
I sighed. “This place is just really awesome.”
“We’ve been here less than ten minutes and you’re already this happy? Rawhide might never get rid of us if it keeps you smiling like that.”
Yes, we had just gotten there, but as soon as we’d driven through the gates I had felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. I felt myself relax for the first time in a very long time. The idea of never leaving made me smile even bigger, but I knew deep down that wasn’t really reality. Cade wasn’t the “stay forever” type of person, and I didn’t see myself living in a hotel my entire life.
“Pretty sure everyone feels like that when they’re on vacation.”
Cade shrugged. “Maybe, but Rawhide has literally made it possible for visitors to never have to leave.”
I furrowed my brows in confusion. “How so?”
“Master Derek owns an entire housing community. He only sells to lifestylers he’s vetted, and if people want to sell their property and move on, they sell it back to the Ranch for fair market value.”
“Well, shit,” I mused. “That man really has thought of everything, hasn’t he?”
Cade nodded. “He has.”
As if the man himself had heard us discussing him, he emerged from his office. The girl that had entered before was on his back, and both of them were laughing. They made eye contact with us and headed in our direction.
“Cade and Ripley, I presume?”
“How did you know?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I make it a point to know all my visitors. Plus, I’m alerted when we have new arrivals. I like to introduce myself and make sure my guests are happy and well taken care of.”
“He’s a control freak,” the little human backpack chirped from behind him.
“And you’re a brat.” He reached back and swatted her bottom the best he could with how he was holding her.
“That’s me: Sadie ‘The Brat’ Hawkins. Nice to meet you.” She reached her hand out for a handshake.
“Ripley Buck. Nice to meet you, too.”
“Ripley is such a cool name. Daddy, can I change my name to Ripley?”
Derek chuckled and shook his head. “If that’s what you want, angel, but let’s think about it for a bit before you run off and have Uncle Jared start writing up the paperwork.”
“Deal.” She nodded, obviously happy with that stipulation.
“Anyway, I’m Master Derek. Welcome to Rawhide. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask. My staff are top-notch, and they will take very good care of you. I need to get this rugrat to bed before she wreaks more havoc around here. I hope you all have a pleasant evening.”
We waved goodbye and watched them head back in the direction they had come from.
“Want to grab some food before we head to our room? Erika at the front desk said the Cafe is open twenty-four hours a day.”
I was too jazzed to eat, but I knew I probably should. I would sleep better with something in my tummy.
I nodded. “Yes, please.”
Armed with a smoothie and half a sandwich, we headed to our room, which was actually a two-bedroom suite.
“I have my own bathroom? Oh my gosh! It has a huge tub!” I squealed in excitement. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d taken a proper bath. “I’m going to be completely ridiculous and run a bath and eat in the tub,” I announced.
Cade laughed. “You serious?”
“As serious as a turtle in a tornado.”
“Well alright then, that does sound pretty serious. I’ll see you in the morning, but I plan to sleep in. The staff said the horses will be taken care of for us, so we don’t need to get up early to tend to them.”
“Awesome.” I only half listened as I rummaged the basket of bath goodies and tried to figure out which bubbles I wanted to use.
“Sweet dreams, Rip.”
“You too!”
I turned and smiled at him as I unwrapped a bath bomb that boasted it smelled like an ocean breeze and would turn the water into a “shimmery lagoon”. I didn’t really know what that meant, but I sure was excited about it. I grabbed my tablet to turn on a movie while I ate and relaxed in my bathtub lagoon. If my entire trip to Rawhide continued like this, maybe I would consider staying forever.