Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
Mallory woke slowly the next morning, feeling better than she had in ages.
She was warm, but it wasn’t just a perfect amount of covers warm, it was a warmth that extended all the way down to her soul.
For the first time in months, she had not woken a dozen times during the night to crazy dreams or thoughts that would keep her brain spinning for the rest of the night.
She tried to roll over but could not move her hands away from one another. Opening her eyes, she looked at them in the dim light available. She frowned when she found them tied together with a dark rope that went around her wrists and her hands and through her fingers.
Closing her eyes again, she thought back to the evening before and her frown turned into a smile.
Rawhide Ranch.
Master Fletcher.
Shibari.
She studied the ropes around her hands and remembered that Master Fletcher had called it a prayer tie.
He’d used silk rope and once he’d tied her hands, they’d settled down to watch a movie.
She wondered if Master Fletcher had meant for her to sleep in them.
Wiggling her fingers and rotating her wrists, she found the ropes weren’t anywhere near as tight as they’d been when he’d first bound her.
With another wiggle, she realized the pattern looked a little different as well.
Bringing her hands closer to her face, she saw where there had originally been a knot, there was now a bow.
Smiling, she understood that he’d most likely considered this very scenario.
It took just a moment to take one rope end between her teeth and with a little pull, the bow came free and she easily worked the remainder from between her fingers.
Now unencumbered, she pushed the covers off, but when she tried to roll from the bed, she found a thick, warm bar wrapped around her middle.
“Mallory, are you okay?” A deep gravel-filled voice rumbled in her ear.
Fletcher. Just behind her in the king-size bed they’d agreed to share. But what had happened to the pillows they’d laid down the middle of the mattress as a makeshift bundling board?
“Gotta pee,” she said. Considering his responding mumble as well as the lifting of his arm his agreement, she rolled off the bed and raced to the bathroom.
She shoved the door closed, thankful for the nightlight plugged into the wall near the sink. Pushing her shorts and panties down, she settled on the toilet just in time to not pee all over the floor.
Once finished, Mallory cleaned herself and then took a moment to wash her hands before returning to the bedroom.
A glance at the clock on the nightstand informed her it was still several hours before daybreak, though back home she would be rising for the day.
Even after living in Montana for almost four months, her body still thought she was living on the East Coast.
“Time zones suck,” she murmured as she looked around the room.
She thought about crawling into bed, but if she did, she would surely wake Fletcher with her tossing and turning as she waited for an appropriate time to rise for the day.
She looked at the table by the sliding-glass doors, her fingers itching to pull out pad and pencils to sketch the handsome man who lay in the middle of the big bed.
“Come back to bed, bunny,” Fletcher rumbled as he shifted back to his side of the bed. “It’s too early to be awake.”
“I thought I’d do some sketching on the patio,” she whispered.
Fletcher leaned up on one elbow and pulled back the covers. “Come back to bed now, bunny.”
His tone was pure Dominant and pulled her toward the bed without her realizing it. Reminding herself that she was trying to prove that she could be a good submissive and rope bunny, she crossed to lie down on the bed, positioning herself as close to the edge as she could without falling off.
She squeaked in surprise when a thick, warm arm wrapped around her middle and pulled her back across the mattress. Mallory froze when her back pressed against his front, not sure what to do with herself.
“What happened to the pillows?” she asked softly.
“You threw them out of bed about midnight. Something about them keeping you cold,” Fletcher answered softly.
A moment later, his breathing slowed and deepened and she knew he’d fallen back asleep. His body warmth rolled over her and with the sound of his soft breathing filling the silence, Mallory found herself growing drowsy.
She yawned widely and her eyes drifted closed as sleep rolled over her once again.
“While you’re drawing this morning, I need to take care of some business,” Fletcher said as they finished eating the breakfast room service had delivered.
“Business?”
He nodded. “Unfortunately, when you own the company you can never really get away completely. I need to deal with a few phone messages and emails, but then the rest of the day will be for us. Do you want to work here or go outside somewhere?”
Mallory looked out of the sliding-glass doors for a moment before turning her head to meet his gaze. “I thought I’d walk up to the barns and sketch some of the animals for a project I’m working on. That way you can have privacy. If that’s okay with you?”
“That sounds like a fine plan. But I don’t want you to wander off anywhere else. And stay there until I come for you,” Fletcher said, needing to flex his Dominant muscle even though they weren’t scening.
The last thing he wanted was for her to think she was in charge.
“Yes, Sir,” she agreed immediately as she finished the last bite of her cheese and bacon omelet.
Once they finished eating, he put the tray of empty dishes back out in the hallway while she got ready to go. They’d both gotten dressed while waiting for breakfast to be delivered, so it was a matter of slipping on his shoes so he could walk with her to the barns.
“You don’t have to come with me,” Mallory said as they started down the hall. “I don’t think I could get lost between here and there.”
He did not respond, just gave her a look that had her immediately shrugging and backing down. She sucked in a breath when he took her hand and laced their fingers together. They continued down the hall and through the lobby in silence. Once outside, he decided it was safe to ask a few questions.
“How did you sleep last night?”
She hesitated for a moment as if thinking before she said, “Better than I have in a long time.”
“Did leaving your hands bound help you sleep or keep you awake?”
Normally he would never have left her bound like that for hours, especially when they were sleeping, but she’d drifted off shortly after he’d tied her hands together and he hadn’t wanted to wake her by completely untying them.
Instead, he’d gently loosened them before tying a loose bow, allowing the weight of them to remain in her subconscious yet instantly allowing her freedom if she needed to undo them herself.
“I’m surprised to say that they helped… at least until I had to go pee. I wonder why that is?”
“Probably because submitting to me helped you not think about what you should or shouldn’t be doing. Not being able to use your hands forced you to relax.”
Mallory looked thoughtful for a moment. “That makes sense. I did sleep really well. Better than I have in years.”
“We might have to bind them every night,” Fletcher said, “though I’d prefer not to leave you tied overnight.”
“Is that why you changed the knot into a bow?”
“It’s part of the reason, but in the future, maybe we can find an alternative that will bind you without ropes.”
“Yes, Sir,” Mallory responded as they arrived at the barns. The doors to both the stable and the Zoo were open and he could see people moving around inside.
“I’m going to leave you here. If you need me, call me and I’ll be here in a few minutes,” Fletcher said.
“Yes, Sir,” Mallory answered, sounding suitably submissive.
Fletcher stepped closer and slid his arms around her, pulling her into his chest. He heard her bag drop to the ground before her hands wrapped around his middle. It was only a few seconds before she leaned into him, her entire body relaxing against him.
Dropping his head, he brushed a kiss on her forehead.
When her head dropped back, he leaned in and kissed her.
Her lips softened against his and he traced the seam of them before plunging in and taking the kiss from PG to R.
She responded beautifully, her tongue tangling with his as he swept his hands down her back to hold the full globes of her ass.
A wolf whistle and someone clapping forced him to lift his head and break the kiss.
A quick glance showed the appreciation was coming from a group of Littles.
Catching him spying them, they giggled and rushed away.
Fletcher grinned and looked down at Mallory to find her blushing as she stared hard at his throat.
“Don’t forget to drink your water,” he said, referring to the bottle of water he’d put in her bag.
“Yes, Sir,” she whispered.
“And call me if you need anything.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Fletcher forced himself to pull his arms from around her and step back. “I’ll come back and get you in a couple hours.”
“Yes, Sir,” she finally lifted her eyes as he continued to step back.
Without another word, Fletcher whirled around and marched down the path toward the main resort building.
Halfway there, he stopped long enough to adjust his hard cock in his jeans before continuing on.
He did not look back until he reached the steps leading to the porch and front door.
When he did, though the barns were too far away to actually see her, he smiled at the thought of Mallory disappearing into the barn, no doubt looking for a willing subject to capture on paper.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to continue inside, not stopping until he was in his room once again. It took a few minutes to set up his computer and settle into work, but soon he was focused on putting out the fires that had cropped up in the past twenty-four hours.