“Money’s always good,” Randy said.
“But the main reason for Silver Creek is for people to have a safe place to play,” Shawn said.
“People we’re having to turn away,” Ethan said. “Just remember that when you’re contemplating my idea.”
“I will take it under consideration, counselor,” Shawn said. They all laughed.
“I appreciate it.” He turned back to his closet. “I think I need to pack up some of these clothes and donate them.”
“Good idea,” Randy said. “I think we have a box or two from some toy that just came in. I’ll go look.”
When he was gone, Ethan turned to Shawn. “I’m sorry if I pushed too hard. I want us to be a nationwide name. I think it would be cool.”
“And I think it would be cool to be a place where a select few come to visit from time to time.”
Shawn shrugged, and Ethan was sure that he and his friend would never agree on this issue. He just hoped it didn’t come between them.
“I’m going to go check with Hector and see if he relocated those snakes he found near the pool,” Shawn said. “Then I’m going to check with Chef about dinner.”
When he was gone, Ethan knew his friend was looking for excuses to get out of the house after their argument. His phone pinged and he crossed the room to check the screen. It was a text from Cee, telling him she was about to leave and would see him soon.
He texted back for her to drive carefully.
When she answered back with a smiley face and a heart, he couldn’t help but send his own heart back. How this had happened he wasn’t sure, but he was thrilled that it had. Now he had to keep her safe, and in his arms for the rest of their lives. This time he intended that to be for a very, very long time.
* * *
“I didn’t bring clothes to fill this space,” Cecily said as she pointed to the empty rack in the closet. “I brought clothes for this weekend, that’s all.”
“I wanted to show you that I was serious,” he said. “This space is yours.” He told her about buying a new bedroom set, one that was theirs alone, and she smiled.
“That sounds great.” She looked at the huge bed in the center of the room. “But I’ve always liked this bed. Did Dylan’s company make it?”
“No, it’s just a plain vanilla bed that I bought from a place in town when I moved out here,” he said. “I wanted a fresh start, so I sold everything but my clothes. I thought we’d do the same thing.”
“I’d rather keep this bed,” she said. “I don’t care if you had sex with other women in it. I like it. Now we do need a bigger dresser, a double one would be good. If the place where you bought the bed is still in business, there is every chance they would have one. Can we go into town tomorrow?”
“Yes,” he said. “We can go tomorrow morning. How long can you stay?”
“I told Marcus I’d be back on Tuesday. We’re going to advertise for a new hostess to work my shifts, but right now that’s all we’re going to do. He doesn’t want to make a permanent decision about our partnership just yet.”
“I can understand that,” Ethan said. “The three of us, me, Randy, and Shawn, were talking business earlier. Let’s go out on the deck and have a drink and we can talk about it.”
“Sounds like a plan,” she said, just as Ethan’s phone dinged. He checked it, and then said, “I have to go to the main house to deal with a problem. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Okay,” she said. He kissed her, and he left. She didn’t ask him what he was going to deal with, because that would be breaking confidence of the people who were here. He’d told her once that many of them didn’t come to the public room to play; they stayed in their own cabins, which had fully stocked dungeons. Was he dealing with something public, or private? She really wanted to know, but she didn’t want to ask.
Was his call to the main office something she would face a lot when she came to live here? She once again wondered what she would do here. Would they give her a job? She needed to talk to Hero and Autumn to see what they did. The times Cecily had spent at Silver Creek during the past year she’d spent time with the ladies, but they hadn’t really talked about their life at Silver Creek.
That was because Cecily never thought she would live here. Despite her growing feelings for Ethan, she didn’t think he was the type to want a full-time sub, much less a wife. That meant she was lurching around in the dark right now; she didn’t know where her path would take her.
Could she leave right now? Or did Ethan expect her to stay in the house while he was gone? This wasn’t her home yet. Technically she was his guest, even if he had offered her half of his closet. She had to laugh at that idea. She’d told him at the beginning of their relationship that he had more clothes than any woman she knew. He certainly had more clothes than she did—until now.
She didn’t know how she felt about the fact that he’d given away half his wardrobe. Or his plan to buy new furniture. She wasn’t the sentimental type and didn’t care if he’d had sex with someone in the bed. But Ethan cared, obviously, so she needed to, also.
Thinking he would appreciate it, she emptied her clothes from the small bag she’d brought and hung up the two outfits. He’d emptied one drawer, so she put her extra undies and bra in there. In the bathroom she found another empty drawer, so she put her cosmetics in there.
It was a strangely fascinating thing to do, and it made her feel as if she were at home, and not just here for the weekend. She didn’t want to overthink it, though, and decided there was time later to consider empty drawers and think about new furniture.
She was hungry, and there was no telling how much longer Ethan would be gone. She found a plate of jalapeno poppers in the refrigerator, already made and ready for baking. It made her smile. She and Ethan would battle over who was the better cook, she had no doubt. It would be fun. She waited for the oven to heat as she checked out the cabinets. Many different boxes of crackers, chips and cans of soup. She was rather surprised to find the cabinets so well stocked, since he ate most of his meals with his partners, and the resort guests. She knew they did it while she was there. Did he eat here when she wasn’t at Silver Creek? Another thing she needed to ask him about.
She put the poppers into the oven and set the timer. Then she went onto the deck and took in the wide expanse of desert that stretched out in front of her. As a city girl, she had to admit she was a bit overwhelmed by the empty land. There were snakes and other crawly things that she didn’t care to see or run across. She comforted herself with the idea that she’d been coming here for a year now, and she’d yet to run across a snake.
“I thought I’d find you naked,” he said.
She turned to him and smiled. “I was just thinking about snakes, and here you are.”
“You think I’m a snake?” Ethan took a step back. “That hurts my feelings.”
“I was thinking about this snake,” she said as she ran her finger up the zipper of his jeans. “This is a serpent I’d like to play with.”
“If I had time, you’d be tasting the whip,” he said. “As it is, you have to wait until after dinner, and our detail in the playroom.
“Do you get tired of doing it? I mean policing the playroom.”
“No, I enjoy watching people be able to play and enjoy what they’re doing,” he said.
The timer went off and she held up a finger. “Hold that thought. Sit down, please, and let me finish making our treat.” She went to the kitchen turned off the oven and turned on the broiler. Once she’d switched the pan to its new place, she fixed them each a glass of iced tea, since the pitcher was already in the fridge.
Then she’d carried them to the deck and hurried back to the oven just in time to pull out the poppers. She filled a small bowl with dressing and carried it outside.
“Crispy bacon,” he said.
“I always put them in the broiler for a while to crisp it up.” She took a bite, using the time she chewed to put her thoughts to
gether. “What I meant by getting tired of it is, do you ever want to be back in the city?”
“Sometimes,” he said around his bite of food. “When that happens, I go visit you.”
He stared off into the desert before he said, “But you’re not going to be there anymore. You’ll be here.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be Debbie Downer, but I just wondered.”
“We can take trips to the city,” he said. “It’s not like we’re slaves here. We all go out from time to time. That’s why we have staff here.”
“It’s a fantastic place to visit,” she said. “But I have to admit I’m nervous about living here. The only thing I’m not nervous about is being with you.”
“Then you have to trust me,” he said. “I’m not going to leave you here doing nothing but staring at the walls. The guys and I have been talking about special events, that you three ladies could plan.”
“That sounds like fun,” she said. She ate a second popper, and then took a drink from her tea. “In full disclosure mode, I just wanted you to know I was a little nervous. You already have things to do here, so I guess I was scared you would expect me to sit around the house, dusting and cooking.”
“If you cook more poppers, I would be happy,” he said. “These are delicious.”
“You put them together.” She liberated another one from the plate. “I just cooked them.”
“I understand you being nervous,” he said.
“I was never very good at change,” she said. “That’s why I’ve lived in Vegas all my life. I like to travel, but I always want to come home.”
“This is your home now,” he said.
“That both frightens and thrills me,” she said.
“We’ll work through it together,” he said. “But since we don’t have time for a whipping before dinner, what say we have a little… appetizer.”
Cecily picked up a popper. “Like this?”
“Not exactly,” he said. “Stand up, strip and then crawl to the dungeon, Cee.”
She put down her food and nodded. “As you say, Master Ethan.”
She did as he asked, and once she was at the stairs, she took them slowly. She’d crawled up these stairs before, but she hadn’t done it since Ethan said he wanted to collar her. Once upstairs she saw the St. Andrew’s Cross he’d lashed her to so many times. There was a table sitting next to it that was new, though. On it set several things that made her knees quiver. In the middle was a large leather collar; there was a silver heart in the middle, with two leather strands on either side of it, with a latch in the back held together with a heart-shaped lock.
There were two other collars on the table. One was a solid ring of black leather, with a tassel hanging from the front. The second was also a solid ring of black, with an O-ring in front, and one on either side.
“A collar for every occasion,” she said with a giggle.
“The first one is for you to wear out in public,” he said. “A sign of our love for each other. The second two will be used here, depending on what we are doing. Tonight I want you to wear the one with the tassel, and you’ll wear the outfit that is lying on the bed.”
Cecily started to stand but stopped and looked at her master. He nodded, and she did as she’d originally intended. On the bed she found a leather harness that would wrap around her body. On the floor were boots made of leather straps, enough that it looked as if they would lace up her calves and up to the middle of her thighs.
“Well, don’t just stare at it all, get dressed.”
“Where do I start?”
“Figure it out,” Ethan said. He sat down in a wingback chair that they’d used quite a bit during scenes. There was also a sofa there that he used to spank her, and a spanking bench that he used to flog her.
“We have places to be, Cee,” Ethan said. “If you don’t get busy, we’ll be late for dinner and there is every chance I’ll give you a good spanking in the outer room while the others eat. We don’t allow scenes in the dining room, as you know.”
Cecily picked up the harness and twisted it around. There were snaps on it, and she set it back on the bed and twisted and turned the leather pieces until she figured out which one went where. There were patches to cover her breasts and pussy. After she’d put the right straps in the right places, she turned it and held it up to her body. It was awkward at first, but once she got into a rhythm, she attached it to her body, covering her intimate parts, but leaving most of her body on display.
When she was ‘dressed’ she turned to the boots. It should be easy enough, she thought, to lace them up her thighs. But when she picked up the first one, the straps were all in knots, and she realized they, too, had snaps, just not as many as the harness. She sat on the bed and undid the knots, making sure to keep her gaze on her work and not looking up toward Ethan. She was sure if she did, he would tell her to focus on her task, and would, she was afraid, make some sort of joke about her not being able to do what he’d told her to do.
She didn’t look at the clock, any of the ones that were in the room, two that were used as stop clocks during scenes, and one that told the actual time. When she had the first one undone, she quickly laced it up her leg. The second one went much faster, and by the time it was on she sure it was much later than what it should be.
One risky glance at the clock showed it was after six.
“Well so much for playing before dinner,” Ethan said. “Next time you’ll move much faster, won’t you?”
“You tied the strands in knots.” She wanted to stamp her foot in disgust, but she didn’t often wear four-inch heels, and she was afraid she would topple over. “You intentionally made it hard so it would take me a while.”
“Blaming me, are you?” Ethan crossed his legs and glared at her. The sight of him made her wet. If it was up to her they would skip dinner and play. But it wasn’t up to her. They had dinner very soon, and then they would work in the playroom, where she would toddle around on heels that made her feel like a giant. Maybe if she was a little bratty, he would skip dinner and stay here to spank her.
“Um, yeah,” she said, and then she winced, because she could tell by the look on his face that he knew what she was doing, and it was not going to work. “I’m sorry. Me and my mouth.”
“You’re right about that,” he said. “I think it’s something we need to work on.”
Cecily watched as he stood and walked toward the cabinet against the far wall. He’d only used that cabinet once during their time together, and that was to get out a length of rope that he’d used to hogtie her. Then he’d sat in the chair and read his mail while he propped his feet on her thighs.
Something told her that wouldn’t work for her keeping her mouth shut when he wanted. True to her thoughts, she watched as he took out another piece of leather, this one a ball gag.
“Knees,” he ordered.
Cecily had to use the bed to keep herself from falling over because of the four-inch heels she now wore. He stepped behind her and said, “Open.” It was on the tip of her tongue to say no, but that’s what had gotten her in trouble in the first place; she followed his instructions and tried not to gag when he placed the silicone ball in her mouth.
When the straps were in place, he helped her to her feet.
“You look so beautiful,” he said. “This is what you’ll wear around the house.” He stroked his hands up and down her arms. “Boots and all.”
Cecily nodded. It wasn’t something she was thrilled about, because she knew the straps would leave marks on her body, but something told her that’s what Ethan wanted, to mark her body as his.
“You won’t wear the gag,” he said. “Just when I want.”
Cecily nodded again.
“Now, let’s put the finishing touch on you.” He took her hand and led her to the table that held the collars. Her heart beat faster as he ran his fingers over them all, even though he’d already told her she would wear the one with the tassel tonight.
He held the collar in front of her mouth and said, “If your mouth was free you would kiss it for me, Cecily. You’ll keep your mouth shut next time, won’t you?”
Cecily nodded. Ethan walked behind her.
“Lift your hair for me,” he said.
Cecily’s hands shook as she did as he asked. He attached the collar, and the tassel flowed down between her breasts. Tears stung her eyes, and she tried to hold them back. But by the time he walked in front of her she’d failed, miserably. The waterfall had started. It was the first time he’d put a collar on her, and her pleasure was obvious, or at least it would be if she could smile.
Ethan leaned over and kissed her forehead. “Save those tears for later, when I pull out my bullwhip. Right now we need to go eat, and then go to work. I can’t wait to watch as you move around the playroom in your new uniform. You look gorgeous.”
Her uniform. She rather liked the sound of that.
Chapter 4
There weren’t many people out playing tonight, and that suited Ethan just fine. It meant he could watch Cee as she tottered around on her four-inch heels. When he’d ordered the strap boots, he knew she wasn’t the type to wear them, so he’d started with four inches. The ones he had planned for later in the year were six inches and made of lace. He couldn’t wait to see her in them.
She was taking to her job very well, talking with people and keeping watch to make sure no one was breaking the rules. He loved seeing the collar around her neck, and he knew she loved wearing it. Every once in a while, her hands would go up and feel the leather, or play with the tassel that hung between her breasts.
Ethan had never been one to let a casual playmate wear his collar. He had to know the relationship was going somewhere, and this was the first time since Leah had died that he’d put such an ornament on a sub.
He was impressed that she hadn’t asked about the issue he’d been called away on. That showed him she respected the fact that he had a job to do, and she wouldn’t try and pry. He was afraid that she would be bored at Silver Creek. Maybe not now, but in the future. Now, when she came, things were all fun and games. But when they were married, and living here, there would be work he had to do, and that would mean they wouldn’t always be together. Today had been a good test of that, and she’d passed with flying colors.
Ethan’s NaughtySubmissive: Silver Creek Resort Book Three Page 4