Chapter 17 ELLA
Leaves and sticks crunched under her feet, and she startled a pair of robins from the tree above her, a sure sign of spring that lifted her spirits.
The first two days after Zee left she spent inside, but with the temperatures unseasonably warm, she had to get out to her garden.
A dull pain thumped in her shoulder, and she knew it wasn’t healed yet, but she slept better last night.
She blushed, knowing it was because Zee had called her to tell her about the first day’s results at the championship.
The pride in his voice, the zest for life he oozed made her excited for him.
Ella brushed a patch of dirt off her work pants and started cutting down the overgrown vine from the secluded patch of this overgrown garden.
She knew she looked a wreck with her hair all tangled and a new hole in an old dress shirt of Zee’s and smiled at the memory of her intro to kink workshop, when a woman asked if she dressed in corsets all the time.
Obviously not, she’d laughed.
She wasn’t going to dig in her garden wearing a handmade corset that took her hours or wear fetish wear while picking her daughter up from soccer practice.
“Maybe in some kind of fantasy land I can serve him in my corset every moment of the day, but I live in the world and I have responsibilities and kids,” Ella had said.
She hummed a bit of Concerto No. 2 to herself, grateful to be centred and at peace again, grateful Zee had pulled on the strings of their dynamic and given her that punishment with the strap.
That always brought her back to centre, and Zee knew exactly when to do it.
She stopped short, the ache in her shoulder reminding her she wasn’t out of the woods yet and she should slow down.
Zee had reminded her to stay inside.
“I won’t go too far,” Ella said during their goodbyes. “But I can’t wait to get into the garden.”
“You take care of my property, dear heart.”
The way he said it sent shivers up her spine because he wasn’t talking about the garden, and even when he was distracted, checking his phone before he left her, he still took the time to say that to her.
She tilted her face to the sun, pausing before she walked through the next patch of overgrown weeds.
When they first bought this house she kept thinking this secluded property would make the perfect bed-and-breakfast, a kinky escape that would give guests a chance to explore their desires, a place to run workshops.
They’d have room for a walking garden, a couple of outdoor play areas, and a garden kitchen.
Back when they first bought this property, the girls were still living at home, and Zee was determined to open Club Bandit.
At the time he pointed out that it was easier to hide one sex club on their property than it would be to manage multiple cottages scattered across the land.
He was probably right.
Still, Ella secretly thought the girls must have at least some inkling about the old building at the front of their property.
Zee’s reasoning for placing Club Bandit at the front of the property made sense—far enough from their main house to keep things discreet.
Their house sat on a slope with a perfect view of the club, while there were already parking spaces ready to go.
If they put the kinky bed-and-breakfast back here, though, they’d have to add more parking, and it’d be an enormous construction project.
Ella snipped through a patch of stubborn twigs, clipping away furiously, letting herself imagine the space she’d dreamed about. With the woods and the stream that trickled through this part of land, it would be the perfect spot for a kinky retreat.
And when the ground is covered with snow? Ella shook her head, smiling at her own silly daydreams as Zee’s voice in her head crashed through her thoughts.
Okay, so they’d have to deal with walking to the different buildings in bad weather, but she still thought there was something to her idea.
Their members had asked for more nights where Club Bandit was open and more private rooms, so they expanded Club Bandit by renovating the third floor for a glass cube viewing room.
There was no reason it couldn’t work, and she couldn’t wait to talk about it with her friends.
But she had details to add to the anniversary dinner plans, and speaking of friends, her phone buzzed and she smiled, seeing Ivy Powell’s number.
“Hi Ivy, I was just thinking about how everything was going for the dinner. You and Gabe are still coming in, yes?”
“Ella, I wouldn’t miss this for the world. That’s what I’m calling for. I told Zee I’d keep the members informed of how the evening was going to go, and there was a question if you’d have corsets for sale?”
“I have a few ready. I can talk to my website person, and ask if she can make a pre-order page if they want something custom but it won’t be ready in time.”
“It does give people an option. Okay, I’ll pass on the word.”
“Ivy, you’ve heard me say that I want a kinky bed-and-breakfast, but so many people have asked us to expand over the years.
What if we were to build new facilities on the back lot of our property? Would you call it a bed-and-breakfast or a club?”
“A luxury BDSM club that offers guests a hidden escape,” Ivy said, her tone thoughtful and warm. “A bed-and-breakfast doesn’t quite have the right ring to it. But, Ella, if you do this, it has to be exclusive. No events open to the public.”
“It’d be exclusive. I want pathways, gardens, and an outdoor stage.
I want the woods manicured enough for guests to play outside but still to have enough privacy.
I still want cute cottages for people to stay in.
I want a communal space for eating, where Doms can relax, a space just for submissives, and interconnected dungeons for every taste. ”
“That sounds like a dream,” Ivy said. “But if anyone can pull this off, it’s you and Zee.”
“Just something I think about from time to time.”
“I like it!” Ivy’s cheerful tone made her smile. “I can’t wait to see you!”
They said goodbye, and Ella cleared another bundle of weeds until her arm felt tired.
She fired off a text to Zee and then started gathering her tools.
Miss you. I want to expand Club Bandit and make it bigger and kinkier than ever!
She almost deleted it but pressed send instead. The faint crack of a branch snapped behind her.
Probably a squirrel, she thought, brushing it off, but a chill crawled down her spine, anyway.
Immediately, her phone rang again.
“Hi, Ella. We’ll be there soon but checking in. How’s the arm? Enjoying a bit of freedom?” Helena’s rich voice held a hint of amusement.
“The arm hurts less. I’m out in the back garden.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to leave the house.” Her friend’s voice was sharp, laced with concern.
“No, I was told not to go anywhere, but I haven’t left my property.”
“Sorry, Ella, I’m just on edge with the security breaches. What are you doing trying to tame that mess of weeds?”
Security breaches?
Ella brushed off the comment, thinking Helena referred to her work.
“I’m daydreaming about a bigger, exclusive BDSM retreat. Where there are gardens and cute little cottages to stay and—“
“Cute cottages? Ella, no your guests want luxury.”
“Why can’t it be cute luxury?” Ella said, laughing.
“Why not indeed?” Helena said. “What else does this plan of yours have?”
“A communal space for a dining room. Lots of different dungeons, an outside stage and the woods can be manicured for outside play…”
“Actually, this sounds pretty awesome. If you and Zee go through with this, Oliver and I would offer to invest. Have you talked to anyone else?”
“Ivy Powell, she just called and caught me in this rambling just like you did.”
“I love your ramblings. Now we have something to talk about at dinner other than your arm. We’ll see you in an hour.”
“See you then.”
Her spirits lifted, she clipped one last vine, then gathered her tools and strolled over the rough ground.
It’d take a lot of work to make this place the sanctuary of her dreams, but it could happen.
She ran her hand along the bark of a maple and made her way down the path.
Something crunched behind her, and she turned, her basket slipping out of her fingers as she spotted a figure in dark clothing.
“Can I help you?”
An arm shot out and wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a solid chest.
Her breath slammed out of her lungs, her vision blurring.
The world tilted, everything spinning except the dark shape of the man holding her—his silhouette the only thing sharp in the haze.
Her pulse pounded in her throat, the sound of blood rushing in her ears louder than anything.
The man’s grip was iron, fingers digging into her ribs.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, her whole body going cold and stiff with panic.
“Stay still, you stupid bitch.” The voice was rough and throaty; the face covered with sunglasses, but the smell of something acidic teased her nostrils.
She grunted and slammed her uninjured elbow backward, but the man’s grip only tightened, his breath hot against her ear, the sound of his voice a low growl.
The crunch of dead leaves underfoot was deafening in the silence of the moment.
Her pulse hammered in her throat.
“Let me go!” Ella yelled, forcing the words out of her frozen state.
The man just laughed and pulled her, dragging her along the path. She knew she couldn’t let him take her from their property.
Ella grabbed the clippers and thumped them down on the arm around her waist.
She tried to kick him, but the firm grip held her before being lifted over his shoulder with a grunt. Ella pounded the stranger’s back with all her might, her injured side burning and pulling, but she kept wailing on him as hard as she could.
Panic surged as she fought to escape, her body straining against his hold.
She stopped trying to get out of his hold and tried to get her phone from her pocket ignoring the sharp throb in her shoulder as she fumbled to pull it out.
The moment she did, the phone buzzed and then it was pulled out of her hand and she watched her phone tumble onto the ground.
Her injured arm dangled uselessly, and she didn’t have the strength to force herself out of the man’s grip.
She started coughing and choking, rage bursting through her that she was in this situation, that she couldn’t fight to get out.
The man stumbled through a patch of overgrown bush, but he quickly regained his footing and pulled her forward.
“Keep moving or I’ll hurt you.”
Her skin went clammy as he spun her toward the van, throwing her inside with brutal force.
Ella tried the door, but it was locked, and as the van started driving, the tires crunched over woodland. The van stalled, and hope lifted through her but vanished quickly as it moved forward again, tossing Ella to the opposite side.
Sobs heaved from her chest, tears furiously fell down her cheeks.
Take care of my property…
She failed, and the crushing weight of that had her curling into herself as she lost consciousness.