Bondage Ranch 6: Taming the Mistress (7 page)

“Maybe.” He leaned over and kissed her without giving her any warning. Her lips parted for him, but he didn’t take advantage. He leaned back and stabbed another piece of sausage. He chewed it without breaking eye contact.
Your lips know what they want. And now you know it too.

“You’re a good kisser, I’ll give you that. Eat your food.”

I was without you telling me
. He suspected she was good at being a domme. Ordering people to do what they already wanted, or were going to do anyway, was a good way to seduce consent for more later. He wasn’t going to starve himself out of pure orneriness. Remy always made good food, and the sausages and eggs were no exception. He closed his eyes and took a moment out to focus on the food and savor the tastes.

The cloak slipped open. He caught her gaze and then looked rather obviously at her chest.

Rather than covering up, she looked back. “You two really aren’t in a relationship?”

“We really aren’t. We’re friends. We have an arrangement of sorts. If she thinks a guy is questionable, she’ll give me a signal. And if I don’t think he’s good for her, I’ll come over and rescue her by acting as if she’s mine. If I don’t know him, I’ll come check him out. We have another signal if she
knows
she wants to be rescued. Remy or Cole would do the same. We look after each other out here.”

“Like family.” Sue sounded wistful.

“Like family,” he agreed.

“So you’ve never had sex with Desi?”

“I didn’t say that. And I wouldn’t tell you if I had. We’re not in that kind of relationship, you and I, and a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“A gentleman, are you?” She cocked her eyebrow. “Didn’t think you were a gentleman.”

Ouch
. “Why?”

“You’re more like an uncaged lion. Besides, gentlemen wear clothes.” She looked down at his lap meaningfully.

Her gaze was enough to send blood to his cock. “Being a lion and being a gentleman are not exclusive.”

“Then why are you staring at my tits?”

“Because being a man and a gentleman aren’t exclusive either. And because they are beautiful.” He reached out and pulled the cloak away from her shoulders, and she didn’t resist.

“Desi’s are beautiful. Mine are small.”

“Beautiful comes in all shapes and sizes. You know, Desi thinks hers are too heavy, that they hang too much when she bends over.”

“She’s nuts.”

He laughed. “No one ever likes what they have.”

“Do you?”

“Well, yes, actually. I’m comfortable in my own skin these days.”

“I can’t believe you ever weren’t.”

He was about to tell her it took a few years of lifting weights and running before he felt good about his body. And it wasn’t until after his first lover discovered she preferred women and left him, and he had sex with someone more experienced, that he was told his cock was anything but average. But he decided to leave that be. “It’s the human condition.” He brushed a lock of hair from Sue’s eyes. “We never think we’re good enough, sometimes even if people tell us we are. But you, Sue, are a lovely woman. In your outfits or in jeans and a shirt or stark naked.”

“Speaking of the shirt, are you going to sew on that button? You say you have skills, but you keep putting it off.”

“Well, I do prefer naked to the other two options.” He picked up the sewing kit and threaded the needle.

“Hmf.” Sue pulled the cloak closed again.

He set to work sewing on the button.

She watched for a few moments, and then, seemingly satisfied he could do it, went back into the tent. By the time he was done, she was handing him the other button. “Or perhaps you were hoping it would stay lost?”

“You could stay with me today. Naked.”

“You could come with me back to the house. Also naked. I’d be wearing clothes.”

“Not happening.”

By the time he finished sewing on the other button, Sue had her bra on, as well as her socks and shoes. He climbed into the tent to give her the shirt. To his surprise, she reached past him and zipped the tent up.

She put the shirt back on, buttoning it up but leaving one more button undone than she had when she’d gotten to the tent. He reached for his kilt.

“You don’t need that. Not yet,” Sue said and put her hand on his thigh. She was on her hands and knees, her shirt gaping invitingly. He couldn’t remember any woman confusing him quite so much.

“Hmm?”

She moved her hand to grasp his cock and in a moment had brought it to hardness again. Watching him, she squeezed more firmly and slid her hand up and down. It was strange, but her hand felt so good. She knew what she was doing, twisting her hand as she stroked from the base to the glans and back again.

He liked it when relationships developed naturally. He’d never been a fan of filling out lists of fetishes and limits. Those things had their place, but he preferred an improvisational dance, figuring out what each other liked through touch and feel and paying attention. If no one was sure who was on top, that was fine because it developed naturally enough. He couldn’t remember a time it hadn’t been him, though.

Right this moment, he was beginning to wonder, but Sue’s hand felt too good to pull away from. She licked along his shaft, moving her tongue behind her hand but not taking him in. He wanted to grab her hair and pull her into position so he could fuck her mouth. He knew he was clean, and from what she said about being out of practice, they could probably have oral sex safely enough. Hell, he had some flavored condoms in his bag. But if she kept up what she was doing, she’d have him spurting in half a minute. He reached for the bag to do the responsible thing.

She let go and pulled back. “Have a nice day. I’ll be in the dungeon if you want to see me.”

Sue unzipped the tent. Dane growled, feeling much more like a lion than a gentleman at the moment. She knew what kind of fire she was playing with, and maybe it worked with her subs, but it wasn’t going to work with him. He grabbed her and pulled her back.

She didn’t look surprised. She simply smiled at him and said, “Red.”

He let her go. She was being manipulative, and it was a hell of a way to use a safe word, but some things were absolute. She finished unzipping the tent, shot him a wicked grin, and departed.

Once again, he was left with an aching hard-on.
This is getting to be a habit, Sue
.

He debated leaving her alone and letting her stew. She’d made it obvious she wanted him to chase her, and making her wait would be the right response. But Bondage Ranch was just for a weekend. He couldn’t wait her out for days or weeks. After several minutes, he picked up his kilt and a towel. Some of the people who stayed in the tents used the shower facilities in the building, but there was also an outdoor shower set up, not far from where the bonfire burned at night, for those who didn’t object to being watched while they got clean. Dane wrapped the towel around himself, not because he minded walking around naked but because doing so with an erection might attract the wrong kind of attention. He left the tent and headed for the shower.

He set about cleaning quickly, trying not to think about Sue. The cold water helped keep him soft.

“Nice view,” said a voice. He looked over his shoulder and saw Desi, who had donned a wrap to cover her bottom but was still topless.

“Thanks. Back atcha.” He gave her an appreciative look and then turned away.

“Uh-huh. Was talking to Mistress Sue.”

“Yeah?” He tried to stop from sounding too interested.

“She was asking about you. Asking if we were in a relationship. Asking if you were in a relationship with anyone else. If you’d been with anyone else this weekend.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“No, not that I know of, and none of her fucking business.”

He chuckled. “I bet that last one made her happy. She’s not used to being told no.” In the situation, he wished Desi had told Sue the truth, which was that he hadn’t. But Desi was right, and he’d have given the same answer had someone asked him about her.

“Yeah. I got that impression. But mistress or not, she’s not my mistress. What is the dynamic between you two, anyway?”

“Complicated.”

Desi laughed. “And what do you want it to be?”

I want her to be mine
. It was a visceral, instinctive response. He shot a dark thought toward his animal brain. People weren’t property. Sue was her own person, and a very complex person.

“Which one of you is the alpha?” probed Desi when he didn’t answer.

Dane gritted his teeth. “I am.”
Sue just doesn’t know it yet.

“Oh, but she’s going to have a hell of a time finding out.”

He stepped out of the spray and grabbed the towel. “That she is. That she is.”

Chapter Five

“So, what’s up with you, Sue?” asked Laera. The curvy brunette was dressed in an intricate rope harness fashioned by Master Bruce, made from black and pink rope. There was so much rope on her she was practically street legal, even though she didn’t have any clothes on at all.

“What do you mean?” asked Sue, feigning ignorance. She was dressed up again, this time in red latex. The top covered her from neck to waist but clung to every curve. She often was reluctant to wear it, because it flattened rather than enhanced her chest, but Dane liking her proportions as they were had given her confidence. The matching skirt came to an inch above her knee and had to stretch whenever she took a full stride. But the scene as a whole was doing nothing for her. The excitement she had once felt walking into the dungeon had faded. The kinky had become mundane.

Laera gave her friend a stern look. She then turned and faced the rest of the dungeon. She leaned back where a burgundy tapestry cushioned the hard wall and crossed her arms protectively over her chest. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I’m sure standing like this and glaring at the world is the latest fashion.”

“You can be a brat sometimes, you know.”

“Me?”

“You. I should tell Master Bruce on you.”

“He’ll find it amusing. He only objects if I’m a brat to
him
.”

“Fair enough.” Sue looked around to check to see if anyone was listening, and then lowered her voice. “There’s this guy. I don’t even know if I want him or not, but I’m curious. And I thought he’d be around, at least some.”

“There aren’t a lot of free male subs around this weekend, are there?”

“Oh, I don’t think he’s a sub.”

Laera looked amused. “Oh, really?”

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to be a sub either.”

Laera nodded. “What time is it?”

Sue looked at her watch. “Nine twenty.” Ten minutes off the last time she’d looked.

“I don’t think he’s coming, Sue,” said Laera, echoing her thoughts. “I mean, he’d have passed through the dungeon at least once by now.” She put her arm on Sue’s shoulder. “You know how most of the doms are. They are always playing with someone else. It’s one of the things that drives me crazy about this place. The dynamic seems to be more important than the people involved, to a lot of people.”

Like me
. Sue knew Laera didn’t mean to point a finger in her direction, but the description fit. She’d played with as many as four subs in one weekend at Bondage Ranch and had been amused at the jealousy she’d caused. For some of her subs, it was all part of the interaction they craved, a psychological twist showing she was in control. She didn’t think very many women felt the same way, but she could hardly fault Dane if he was off screwing some other girl.
I was a bit of a bitch
. She was used to guys
liking
that, but Dane wasn’t that kind of guy. She was beginning to wonder if she was still that kind of woman.

“Okay, deep thoughts,” said Laera. “Spill.”

“I wasn’t very nice.”

“What did you do?”

“I, um, left him frustrated.” Sue had no intention of telling the full story, even though Laera raised her eyebrows. She glanced at her watch again and sighed. “You’re right. He’s not showing up. And I’m not going to him.”

Laera nodded. “If he’s in his room, he’s not likely to be alone.”

Sue frowned. Laera was trying to give her a hard dose of reality, but why did she have to keep saying that? “He’s not in a room,” Sue snapped.

“Okay then,” said Laera, looking wounded.

Ugh. My domme persona is leaking out
. “I’m sorry, Laera. I didn’t mean to be sharp. He doesn’t have a room here. He’s staying in a tent, out in the woods. Everything you say, though, probably applies equally as well.” The vision of him in that tent, fucking someone—she couldn’t help but imagine Desi with her big tits and soft curves—made her sad.

Laera smiled at her. “Plenty of fish in the sea, remember.”

“Very true.” And it wasn’t like her to get fixated on one fish, even if it was a shark.
Especially
if it was a shark. But at that moment, Dane entered the room. He was wearing a different kilt this evening, one made of black leather. His chest was bare, without even a strap breaking the lines of his muscles. He walked a few feet in and looked around, but once he’d found Sue, he didn’t make a pretense of being there for any other reason. He stared straight at her. He moved his head ever so slightly and made an open gesture with his hand. Sue had walked three steps toward him before she even realized what she was doing.

Fuck. Can’t seem that needy
. She froze in place.

Laera pushed her gently in the back. “Go, Sue. Follow your instinct.”

Sue still couldn’t move. She tried to lock gazes with him.
Come to me instead
. But he didn’t budge.

Laera put her hand around Sue’s waist and walked forward with her. Together they crossed the room.

Dane raised his eyebrows questioningly as they approached. “Who is your lovely playmate, Sue?”

“She’s just a friend,” Sue said.

“I’m just a friend,” Laera said at the same time.

“Ah. I’m Dane,” Dane said, sticking out his hand. “Lovely rope work.”

“Thank you,” Laera said. “My Master has a way with rope.”

“That he certainly does.”

Sue tried to push back the feeling of being ignored as Dane looked over the knots. He was probably drooling over Laera as well, as she was built a lot like Desi.