Bondage Ranch 5: His Little Treasure (11 page)

“Yeah.”

“Good, because I don’t feel like having any men in my room at the moment.”

Instead of leaving, Diego walked across the room and reached into the mass of clothes on the bed. He pulled out a gauzy scarf. She knew instantly what he intended to do with it.

“Danger,” she said softly. She wanted Diego to hear, but she didn’t want to embarrass him in front of James.

He stared into her eyes, holding her gaze. For a moment she thought he wouldn’t honor the safe word. He let go of the scarf, and it drifted downward to join the other clothing.

Then he walked out her door, which James held open for him. Maybe he was leaving Bondage Ranch entirely, although it was still just early afternoon.
Out of my life.

When both men were gone, Emma sat back down on her bed. The clothes were a mess, but she felt like throwing them and making even more of a disaster.
That would be childish
. No one ever accused her of being childish or even very playful. With Diego she’d been able to play. Odd that such adult activities would bring back a childlike sense of joy.

It still pissed her off that he had dumped her suitcase. Who did he think he was, anyway? If he’d just wanted to stop her from going, he could have tried something else, but no, he had to make the big dramatic gesture. But maybe it had brought her to the right place.
If people don’t think we’re together, that we just played a little, they won’t think we’re in cahoots, either. And given where the jewels were found, that’s probably good for Diego.

Wanting to do something with her hands, she set about folding and putting the clothes away again, some in her suitcase, some in the drawer.

* * * *

Diego closed the door behind him. James clapped him on the back. “I think she loves you,” he said.

Diego looked at him oddly. “I think she hates me.”

“Close to the same thing sometimes.” James walked toward the dungeon, and Diego walked with him, curious as to what more James might say. But he didn’t add anything.

He remembered Maria and the fights they’d had. He wasn’t sure she ever really loved him—certainly the emotions had been powerful, and they often flipped at a moment’s notice. He’d hated that but had put up with it because Maria was the mother of his child. Maybe if he’d been less passive, he could have saved Maria. But now, by being so direct with Emma, he’d pissed her off and seen the same kind of flip. Almost. Emma might have volatile emotions, but she wasn’t violent, and she wasn’t crazy. And in her defense, she’d been through a lot in the previous twenty-four hours. She deserved a little slack.

Hell, the foundation of BDSM was trust, and she didn’t trust him. He couldn’t be entirely sure he blamed her. And then he’d gone and overplayed his hand.

He liked to think of himself as a patient dom. On the other hand, he wasn’t at Bondage Ranch to sit around. He was there to play, and if Emma didn’t want anything to do with him, he should feel free to look for someone else to play with. But he didn’t. Correction—he didn’t want to. He wasn’t entirely sure why that was.
I just have unfinished business with her. Business that now may never be finished.

He’d picked up the scarf well aware she’d probably safe word, so he’d been in a perfect state to deal with it calmly. A safe word ended a scene; without that, they had a dynamic that didn’t sit well with her telling him what to do. But by making her use her safe word and then walking out, he’d turned a tiff into something final.

Nice going, Diego. Way to lose your cool.

Emma wasn’t his normal kind of woman. The realization hit him as he opened the door to the dungeon. He often played with women he knew he could never fully love. It was safe to keep it purely physical, knowing that the other had something about them that completely ruled them out as a potential life partner. The things that made them less than fully attractive to him were not necessarily deficiencies, they just weren’t his thing. Above all, women who were insistently polyamorous, who didn’t want to settle down with just one man, were the safest of all—although at least once that had turned out not to be the case. He didn’t think Emma was poly, exactly. She might be playing the field at the moment, but he suspected she liked her relationships and her friendships few and deep. It was a common introvert trait.

And I’ve just learned to fake wanting it otherwise.

Mierda.

James found Constance and Aidan, and the three of them left the dungeon together. Diego hung back. He normally enjoyed scanning a big play area like the one at bondage ranch and looking at the eye candy. Pretty dommes in skin-tight leather; lovely submissive girls in next to nothing. One pleasingly curvy girl wore nothing but a series of chains around her body. Ginger was naked but for some green ropes around her freckled body, tying her to one of the crosses. A feast for the eyes, if only he gave a damn. He kept walking until he was outside.

He’d been afraid Emma would leave Bondage Ranch, not just because he’d miss her, but because she had things to discover about herself, and he wanted to help her. It was possible that by tipping her suitcase upside down, he’d overplayed his hand and lost his opportunity. Possibly he’d chased her away. But she’d been about to run—from him and from herself. It hurt him that she thought he might be a thief. He had to figure out what to do about it.

On the swings, a couple were fucking, using the natural motion of the swing to accentuate each thrust. To the right, he recognized Valerie from her oft-exposed body and hennaed hair. She was naked in the stocks. A tall, gangly man was swishing a flogger on her ass, and her breasts were hanging pendulously from her body. Diego didn’t think much of the man’s technique. With that light a flogger, he’d need to put some serious oomph into it to make an impression on a heavy player like Valerie.
Whatever
. He shrugged and walked on. “Um,” said Valerie.

The sound made him look back. He hadn’t been able to see her face before really, but from the path, he could. As their gazes met, she rolled her eyes and mimed a yawn.
Okay, she’s bored. How is that my problem?

Then he thought of Emma, all alone, and decided maybe he could kill two birds with one stone. The problem was that no matter how much Valerie wanted to be rescued from a scene that was boring her, it was still inappropriate for him to interfere. But there might be a way.

He walked to where Valerie’s top could see him and Valerie couldn’t, suppressing a chuckle at the fact that the impatient girl probably found that frustrating. The man bent down and felt between Valerie’s legs. He straightened, clearly disappointed. Diego caught the man’s eye.

Want help?
he mouthed. He pointed to himself with both hands and then to Val’s dom. The man nodded, and Diego stepped forward and mounted the wooden platform the stocks were on. “Diego,” he said, offering his hand.

“Cal,” said the man, shaking it. He had a good, firm grasp.

“May I?” After Cal let go of the handshake, Diego kept his hand out. Cal put the flogger in his grasp. It was a deerskin flogger, the leather too light to provide much sting, and with too few tails to pack much of a wallop either. The only thing right about it was the handle, which was solid and wide. Part of the answer was for the top to get a better tool. Diego grasped it with both hands. Normally, he would have made sure the man’s submissive didn’t object to his involvement, but Valerie knew he was there.

He moved to the side and, holding the flogger like a baseball bat, he swung it across Valerie’s ass. She oomphed. He smiled at Cal and reached over and stroked Valerie’s shoulder, then reared back and gave her a couple more blows, these on her back, the flogger wielded overhand like a sword. A flogger that light was a top-killer: it would wear out the swinger before it made much of an impact on the sub, but at least with a heavier blow Cal could make Val feel it.

“Don’t be afraid of hitting hard with this. Just be careful to avoid the kidneys.” He put his hand on Val’s lower back, just in case Cal’s anatomy was rusty. “And talk to me later about getting some better equipment. And touch your sub. It doesn’t have to be all about flogging. Does it, Valerie?” He stroked her back. He wasn’t going to presume to touch her in any intimate area, but clearly she’d given Cal permission.

“No, Sir.”

“Mind if I give Valerie a pointer too?” he asked Cal.

“I think she’s pretty experienced, but sure, go ahead.”

He leaned over the stocks, so he could whisper in her ear. He’d been mildly deceptive, but he rationalized that it was all in a good cause. “Check in on Emma when you’re done, would you?”

Valerie looked at him, her eyes wide, and then nodded. Goodness knows what Valerie thought might have happened with her friend. Normally, Diego could take care of the women he played with all by himself. In any case, he had faith that Valerie would see her soon, partly because he doubted that Cal could hold her attention for very long.

He handed the flogger back to Cal.

“Thanks, man,” Cal said, taking it back and moving into position.

Diego nodded. He’d probably destroyed Valerie’s attention with his whispered words. On the other hand, Cal could use the pointers he offered, and Valerie and Cal weren’t destined to be a couple, anyway. He wasn’t sure who if anyone would pair up with Valerie long-term, but whoever it was would be a bit larger than life. He knew he wasn’t thinking entirely straight, but he thought he’d done more good than harm.

He headed off into the woods. He needed to get his head clear. He needed to figure out why Emma got to him so much that he did stupid things.
I need a plan.

Chapter Five

Emma sighed as she explained what had happened to Valerie.

“So, the question is, do you want to shag him again or not?” asked Valerie, ever direct.

Emma frowned and patted the bed. Valerie was standing, and Emma was sitting on the bed, and she didn’t want to look up anymore. Valerie sat down next to her.

“Well?” Valerie asked.

“It’s not that simple. Sure, he’s hot. Sure, he’d be fun to roll around with.”

“Then it
is
that simple. Just tell him that.”

“I can’t.”

“I can do it for you.” Valerie pushed off on the bed like she was going to get up.

“No!”

“Well then, there are plenty of other fish in the sea. We can go fishing together. I need a date too. Mine fell through. Or rather, I played with him this afternoon and found him a little bit wanting, so I threw him back in the sea and told him we could try again when he’s worked on his skills.”

There were times that Valerie seemed like a space alien to Emma. Why not just work on them together, if Valerie wanted a repeat engagement eventually? Surely a relationship was worth some investment.

That was the problem, of course, and why it wasn’t so simple for Emma. For Valerie, sex was just sex. For Emma, all her hormones started going, and she thought in terms of relationship on the first date, usually rejecting the prospect because he wouldn’t make a good father. Here at Bondage Ranch, with everyone playing around, she’d been able to put it out of her mind. But Diego was such a devoted father he was actually staying with his daughter. He at least appeared to pass the fitness test there.

What the hell am I thinking? I’m doing it again.

“What the hell are you thinking?” asked Valerie, never horribly comfortable with silence.

Emma didn’t want the hard time that baring all her thoughts would get her, but she told a partial truth. “I want more from a man than just a good fuck, Val.”

Valerie’s brow creased. Emma thought she’d struck a nerve, and then that look was replaced with a dopey smile.
But that grin is a mask. And I saw behind it for a moment.

“So if you don’t want to go work things out with Diego…” began Valerie.

“I don’t know how to. And I’m not sure I want to. I’m kinda pissed at him, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

“You know he sent me to talk to you, right?”

Emma blinked. “He did?” Her heart beat a little faster. She had been sure she’d be forgotten as soon as he found another willing sub, and she hadn’t expected that to take very long at all.

“Yeah.”

“Did he say he wanted to see me again?”

“Well, no. I think he wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“Well then.” Being considerate was not the same as desiring her. That Diego was a gentleman didn’t surprise her, but it did make her feel a little guilty about tossing him from her room so abruptly.

“Okay, so do you want to go home? You can show him just who is boss by heading home. I can get a ride home with someone. I’m not worried about that.”

Emma shook her head. The one thing worse than staying would be running. Diego would know. Diego would think less of her. She didn’t know why that was so very important to her, but it was.

“So, let me top you tonight.”

She stared at Valerie. “What?”

Valerie reached to take her hand. “You heard me. I’m free. You’re free. There’s no sense in us moping here. This might be the last time you come here if you don’t have a good time. The last chance to let your wild side free. I know you’re not attracted to me that way, Emma. I do know we’re just friends and nothing but. I won’t do anything sexual with you.” Valerie looked so serious, but then she winked. “Unless you ask nicely, of course.”

“I won’t be asking.”

“I know that.” Valerie’s face betrayed neither desire nor regret.

She knew her friend liked both men and women—equal-opportunity hormones, as Valerie liked to say. It seemed a little awkward. But for all Valerie’s tendency to strut about on life’s stage, Emma also knew that Valerie had ethics and would respect her limits. She trusted Valerie. She had felt that trust for Diego. She couldn’t say he’d done any one thing to break that trust but the whole set of things made her uncertain.

She didn’t want to go back into the bustle of Bondage Ranch without some kind of clarity. With Diego, she’d been able to let loose and have some fun. She didn’t need someone to tell her what to do. She didn’t
need
a top. Not in ordinary life. But here, well, she needed someone in order to feel like she belonged. Standing alone in the dungeon had been extremely uncomfortable. With the cloud from the jewel theft hanging over her, it would be worse.