Chapter 7
Do not fight it, allow it to take you exactly where you need to go.
Cheryl
Holy hell, where do I begin? The ginger.
.. at first, the heat drove me mad, like an itch I couldn’t scratch.
Being in the corner was pure torture. But when the leather smacked down on the ginger, a new experience soaked my senses, and I wanted it—wanted the heat to meet and dance with the fire building inside me.
I was riding the edge between sanity and madness, wanting to tip over and never come back.
My senses had been so overwhelmed that I screamed and babbled incoherently, hoping Gabriel didn’t think I was a whack job.
If this was punishment, then don’t stop!
Nothing mattered except Gabriel, the magic man, the way he owned me, possessed me, made me want to cry happy tears.
I could let go, and I did. I free-floated through the most amazing sex of my life, and the experience left me a gooey puddle of endorphins. When Gabriel pulled out, he sent me back to the corner, and here I was, processing my punishment.
It felt like hours, but glancing at the analog clock over the fireplace, I could see I’d been there for exactly five minutes. Gabriel called me from the corner. I floated until he pulled me between his legs like I imagined a caring daddy would, and I felt tears well in my eyes.
“Are you repentant, naughty brat? Will you follow my orders?”
There were so many things I wanted to say. I wanted to drop to my knees and beg him never to leave me, never to discard me like my parents had. I wanted to be his girl, his naughty brat, forever, but I could barely string two coherent words together.
My frustration led to more tears. “Yes, Sir. Yes, Daddy. I will do whatever you say, forever.” There. I dropped a bomb and watched to see if he would freak out at my confession. Instead, he let out a low growl and pulled me onto his lap.
“That’s right, Cheryl, you’re mine now. I have marked you, and I want you with me always.
You’re my baby girl.” Those were the words I needed to hear.
Years of longing to be free and loved had finally brought me to his doorstep.
Gabriel was my Daddy Dom and would be forever.
I laugh-cried into his shirt as he held me in his tight embrace, feeling safe for the first time in my life.
“Come on, baby, I have a surprise for you, but first, let’s get you some water. You need to hydrate.” He released me and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, holding it to my lips. I sipped until half was gone, and he seemed satisfied.
He scooped me up and carried me to a door beside the bathroom. Earlier, I had noted with disappointment that it only contained a sink and a toilet. When Gabriel opened the door, a rush of hot air hit me in the face. This wasn’t the night air I had been feeling on my skin. “What is this place?”
Above us, a twinkling night sky enveloped us, seeming far too close overhead to be real stars.
“This is your surprise.” He put me down and lit a few lanterns.
I saw that we were enclosed in some type of vast, dark tent.
Small holes in the top allowed in moonlight, creating the false sky effect.
It was ingenious. A vast Japanese tub sat in the center of the covered outdoor space. A tiki bar completed the furnishings.
“Wow, this is awesome, but if I get in, I may never leave.” It was a joke, of course, but Gabriel seemed to take it as a sign.
“Would you like that, my little brat, to stay here, just the two of us?” I thought about it. Could I stay in a place like this indefinitely?
“How would we eat?”
Gabriel smiled. “Let’s get in the tub, and I’ll paint you a picture of what your life could be like.” I leaned back against Gabriel while he lazily ran his hands over my body with some type of organic soap that wouldn’t harm the environment and smelled heavenly.
“We could grow a big garden and make a hothouse for the winter. I could hunt, and once a month, we could go to town for essentials. During the day, we could play, ride ATVs, and go on horseback rides if you’re into that.
I would cook for you and feed you. Then, at night.
.. well, at night, I would fuck you until you begged me to stop.
” It sounded heavenly but a little too rustic for my taste.
“Uh, Gabriel, can we table this? I love it here, but I can’t see myself living here all year long.” I felt a rumble in his back. Gabriel was laughing.
“Oh, thank God, because the last thing I want to do is hunt or ride ATVs all day.” His laughter was infectious, and I joined in.
It hit me then: we were a couple. The fact that it happened because I was part of his case was irrelevant, as was the age gap between us.
I could never be with anyone else after him.
Gabriel was it for me. I felt like a watcher, observing us from outside myself.
This woman who was relaxed and happy, laughing and bathing in the woods, and then I realized it was me.
I was the woman in the reflection, and she was me.
When it was time to get out of our bath, Gabriel carried me inside after ensuring everything was turned off. We were once again in darkness, the glow of the embers in the fireplace our only light. My eyes were so heavy that once my head touched the pillow, I was out.
The following day, we had breakfast on the porch, and I finally got a good look at my surroundings.
It was incredibly peaceful. Maybe I could spend some time here; the place had potential.
Gabriel said he’d done very little to the cabin and only spent time here when he needed to get away but had never brought anyone with him before.
I sipped my coffee and leaned back, smelling the fresh air and taking it all in. If you had told me almost a week ago where I’d be and with whom, I would have scoffed. I was, after all, a twenty-year-old college student and the only child of a state senator and his adoring wife... barf!
Not anymore. Now I was... what was I now? A woman, my mind whispered. A sexaholic? Not true, I argued with myself silently. I want sex, and lots of it, but only with Gabriel. “Penny for your thoughts?” I turned blank eyes toward Gabriel and then blinked a few times.
“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”
Gabriel leaned forward, his masculine presence filling the space, impressive even on a porch. “I want to know everything, Cheryl—every crevice, every line, every thought, every whisper.” His comment made my belly do gymnastics.
“Okay, maybe you can help me. I was just arguing with myself about who I am. Before you, I would have said I was a twenty-year-old college student, the only child of a state senator and his adoring wife. So, what am I now? Your baby whore? Surely, you’ll tire of that, and then what?”
Gabriel’s eyes turned dark, a look changing his expression that would terrify anyone. But I’d learned in our short time together that it was his irritated, angry face. Clearly, he disagreed with my assessment.
“So, you think you’re just a label, defined by what you do and not who you are? Who are you, Cheryl?”
I couldn’t say if it was the raw honesty of his question or his tone, but I felt a dam break in my chest, and all I wanted was to escape the intensity of the moment, and the wave of emotions overcoming me.
I took off for the forest at full speed, running like a rabbit from a wolf.
Muscle memory kicked in. I used to run in high school before transforming into a fashion diva.
As I ran, I was bombarded by memories I’d safely tucked away, like coming in second at nationals and my father’s disappointment.
I changed because of him. Tears streamed down my face as I ran blindly through the trees, branches whipping my arms and legs.
I didn’t care as long as I didn’t have to face the truth—him.
Behind me, Gabriel, big bad wolf, thrashed through the forest and was gaining on me.
I wove dangerously through the woods, picking up speed when I hit a clearing.
Even if I’d seen the cliff, I doubt I could have stopped.
I went over, suspended in the air for a long moment; then, terror kicked in as I began to fall.
But the big bad wolf caught up and grabbed my arm. Instead of falling to my death, I swung into the cliff face. Above me, Gabriel’s terror must have mirrored my own.
“Cheryl, swing your other hand over your head, and I will pull you up.” I took a few deep breaths and used whatever strength I had left to swing my other arm. He grabbed it, quickly pulling me up and over the edge of the cliff and onto solid ground.
He lay back, panting. I crawled beside him and threw an arm over him, the only comfort I could offer. We lay there for a long time, minutes, hours, I couldn’t say. Finally, when Gabriel’s shaking stopped, he spoke. “If you ever do that again, I will chain you to my bed, and I am not joking.”
I couldn’t answer, my mind replaying the nightmare that made me run. Who am I?
“Cheryl.” Gabriel sat up and looked at me in the eyes. “Do you understand me? You won’t see the light of day. I will make you my prisoner until I think you can be responsible enough not to be chained to my bed. Do you understand?”
“I need you, Daddy. I need you to take me, please.” He looked down at me, his eyes searching for what? Deceit, or truth, I couldn’t say.
“Not here. It’s not safe, and you’re freezing.” He scooped me up and carried me back to the cabin. I shivered as he undressed me and placed me in the Japanese tub. After stripping off his clothes, he joined me.
“What happened? Why did you run?”
Oh no, not the truth again. My eyes darted, searching for an escape. I didn’t understand the need for such confrontation, but here we were. Finally, Gabriel had enough. He rose, a six-foot-five mountain of disappointed daddy and pulled me to my feet.