Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
The next week passed quickly as Mallory’s days were balanced between working her creative muscles in the morning with her artwork, and her afternoons in Master Fletcher’s ropes being tied in various ways to the different furniture in the Dungeon as he prepared for his first shibari presentation.
Evenings were spent cuddling with Fletcher in their room watching movies, walking around the resort enjoying the beauty of Rawhide Ranch in springtime, or taking part in whatever evening events took place.
She learned to relax and felt the tears and holes in her heart and soul begin to meld back together and heal.
Then came the day she tested her bravery. She was heading to the barns to sketch, but before she left their suite, she pulled her portfolio out of the closet and laid it on the bed.
“What’s this?” Fletcher asked as he fixed himself another cup of coffee before settling in for his morning of putting out work fires.
Her stomach tied up in knots, Mallory took a deep breath and released it slowly before she could answer. “Since you don’t have any meetings scheduled for this morning, I thought you’d like to look at that.”
Before he could respond, she slipped out the door and ran down the hall. Her confidence was growing, but she could not stay while he looked through her work. She still felt broken, but needed to share this piece of her life with the man who was coming to mean everything to her.
But it wasn’t Fletcher who found her in the field sketching the ranch horses and hour later. It was Sadie, who looked troubled.
“What’s up?” Mallory asked, laying her sketchbook and pencil aside.
“There’s a man at the gate who says he’s here to see you,” Sadie said, rocking from one foot to the other, looking nervous. “I told the guard I’d check with you and see if you wanted to talk to him or not.”
Frowning, Mallory packed her drawing tools up and then headed back to the resort with Sadie at her side. “Did he give his name?”
“Uh-huh. Mitchell Harrison. Do you know him?”
“Shit. What the fuck does he want?” Mallory cursed and then looked at the woman beside her. “Don’t tell Master Fletcher or Master Derek I just swore.”
Sadie giggled as she made a cross over her heart and held out her pinkie. “Pinkie promise.”
Mallory joined her as she wrapped her pinkie around Sadie’s and they shook. “Thanks. Question is, what is he doing here and how do I tell him to get lost and forget he ever knew me without using an excess of naughty words?”
“The guards won’t let him past the front gate, so we can just call whoever is on gate duty and let them tell him,” Sadie offered as they marched up the steps to the front porch.
“That won’t work. He’s just enough of a stubborn asshat that he won’t leave until he talks to me. But I really don’t want to talk to him.”
“Let’s go ask Daddy. He’ll have an idea. He always does. We should also probably call Master Fletcher, too,” Sadie grabbed her hand and pulled her behind her toward her husband’s office.
Twenty minutes later, Master Derek turned the speaker on his phone after dialing the front gate. They’d come up with a plan, she just hoped she could stick to it and not get herself in trouble for cursing.
“Front gate,” Tiago answered on the first ring. “Please tell me you’re going to deal with this jackass before I have to get physical to keep him off the Ranch.”
“Yes, we are,” Master Derek answered. “Can you hand him the phone please?”
It took a moment before Mitchell came on the line, sounding more than a little pissed. “Mallory, what the fuck took you so long? And why can’t I come in there and see you?”
“Mr. Harrison, this is Derek Hawkins. I own Rawhide Ranch and to protect my guests, I do not allow outsiders who have not made prior arrangements on the property.”
“Well then, send her out here so I can talk to her,” Mitchell demanded.
“No, that won’t work. Mallory has agreed to meet with you but won’t be available until tomorrow. She’ll meet you at ten o’clock in Porter’s Corner at Leroy’s Place. It’s the only diner in town.”
Mallory looked at Fletcher with wide eyes as Mitchell let loose with a string of curses. Her Dom pulled her out of her chair and onto his lap, cuddling her close.
“He’s a true ass, isn’t he?” he whispered in her ear so hopefully the man on the other end of the phone wouldn’t hear.
“Yep. That mouth of his can do a lot of damage, which is only one reason why I broke up with him after my mom died.”
“Is that her? Mallory, get your ass out here and talk to me. I’ve come to take you home.”
Mallory sucked in a breath and stiffened. Looking at Fletcher, she returned his nod of support before turning to the phone. “If you want to see me, I’ll be at the diner at ten tomorrow morning.”
When he started blustering again, Master Derek disconnected the phone as Fletcher cuddled her close. “Good girl.”
She looked from Master Derek to Master Fletcher. “Thank you both for helping me with this.”
“Oh, we’re not done. We’ll be going with you tomorrow,” Master Derek said, “Right, Fletcher?”
“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Fletcher said. “There’s no way I’d let my sweet rope bunny near a man who swears like that at strangers.”
Mallory’s eyes filled with grateful tears that quickly overflowed and ran down her face. “Thank you.”
“There’s another reason we wanted to talk to you,” Master Fletcher said, holding her secure when she would have stood up.
“Oh?”
“Let’s bring Sadie back in,” Master Derek said hitting the intercom button on the phone. “Erika, could you please send my wife back in.”
The words were barely out of his mouth when the door to Erika’s office flew open and Sadie bounced in.
“Did you tell her, Daddy? Did she say yes?”
“Not yet, little girl. I thought you’d like to be the one to explain what we discussed.”
“Don’t hate me,” Fletcher whispered in Mallory’s ear as Sadie skipped around the office to stand beside her husband on the other side of his desk.
Mallory looked at him with a small frown and confusion clear in her expression. “Why would I hate you?”
“Because he showed us your portfolio,” Sadie answered before he could.
“He wanted to share your beautiful artwork and get our opinion. Daddy and I were talking and decided having an art show featuring your work would be a perfect event to hold at the Rawhide Ridge community center. We could highlight your older work as well as the sketches and caricatures you’ve been doing for the past few months.
If we work fast, we could even put together the coloring book Payne and Reese have been talking about. ”
When Mallory paled as her expression grew shocked and she began to tremble and breathe faster, Fletcher knew it was time to step in before she had a full-fledged panic attack. Pressing her head to his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
“Breathe, bunny. In-two-three-four. Hold-two-three-four. Out-two-three-four,” he focused on his woman instead of Sadie who continued to chatter with the plans she’d come up with in the past hour.
“Mallory? Are you all right?” Master Derek asked, after covering Sadie’s mouth with one hand to silence her.
It took another minute before Mallory finally nodded. “Just a bit overwhelmed. I’ve never had anyone be so excited about my artwork before. Are you sure they’re good enough for a show?”
“The residents of Rawhide Ranch have a different perspective on many things in life. You’d be surprised how much they’ll love your creative vision.
I’d like to talk about possibly doing some special artwork for the Dungeon, and possibly the Littles’ Wing.
” Master Derek winked at her before glancing at his wife.
“Angel, if you don’t stop licking my hand, you’re going to feel my wet palm on another part of your anatomy in about two seconds. ”
Fletcher had to chuckle when Sadie’s eyes went wide as her hands slipped around her body to cover her ass.
When Mallory continued to look stunned, Fletcher stepped in once more. “Can we get through tomorrow before we make any hard and fast decisions about the art show? And maybe we could include other artists who live in the area?”
“That’s a great idea,” Sadie began bouncing again.
“We could split it into two parts, one side with Mallory’s work and the other side of the room with artwork by some of the other residents.
Definitely Payne as he’s not only your friend, he sings your praises to anyone who’ll listen.
Maybe Master Colton would like to put something in even if his specialty is furniture.
His carvings are just so beautiful. And Master Gavin who is a famous artist. Oh, and Blake.
He’s a Little and would also love to have a coloring book of your drawings!
And, and, and I don’t know who else, but I’ll think of them. ”
“Sadie, enough or you’ll be testing that new gag the store got in for the rest of the afternoon.” Master Derek swatted her thigh hard enough she yelped in response. “Fletcher, I’d also like to schedule a demonstration or two over the next couple of weeks before you leave.”
“Whenever you need me. We’ll be in the Dungeon this evening if you want to pass that word to anyone who is interested,” Fletcher said as Mallory’s stomach rumbled. “But right now Mallory and I need to get some lunch before her stomach bursts out of her belly and starts eating people.”
That comment had both women giggling.
“Go, eat. I’ll pass the word that you’ll be in the Dungeon tonight for anyone who wishes to watch a Rope Master at work.”
Fletcher nodded, then stood with Mallory in his arms. “Sounds like a plan.”
With that, he headed for the door that led to the lobby. Sadie hurried around the desk to the door. On the way, she picked up Mallory’s bag and handed it to the woman, all surprisingly without speaking another word.
Just outside the cafeteria, he set Mallory on her feet and pulled her in for a hug. “Deep breaths, sweet bunny. You don’t have to make any decisions right now. In fact, I declare you won’t decide until tomorrow, after you’ve had a chance to sleep on it.”
Mallory sighed and nodded. “Thank you, Master Fletcher, for stepping in and protecting me from Sadie and her exuberance.”
“Anytime, sweetheart. That’s what a Dominant does, loves, protects and cares for the submissive under his care.”
Mallory pulled her head back and looked up at him with yearning in her gaze. “Love?”
“Yes, Mallory. Love. I love you, my sweet rope bunny.”