Rule Changer (Rules of Engagement)

by Sienna Snow

  “Thank you, Elonso. I understand what you’re saying.” I steered the colt forward, out of the stables, and towards the cliffs overlooking the vineyard.

  After the house was no longer in sight, I guided Misu into a full gallop. My heart raced, and for the first time since I left the Hamptons, I felt at peace. Here away from everyone with the land, the wind, and the colt, there was no judgment. There were no mistakes or living under the shadow of past sins or the worry over what was in store for me when I returned home.

  I tugged the reins, bringing Misu to a trot. We arrived at the edge of the cliffs, and I stared toward the valley. The beauty of it reminded me of the vineyard I’d inherited from my mother, tucked away in a small village outside of Cape Town.

  One day I’d take the boys there. However, it would have to wait until all the chaos with Christof and my life was behind me.

  I glanced at my watch. I had three hours until my conference call with the girls. Hopefully, Arya and Thomas’s software detected something new. I knew it had been less than forty-eight hours since we discovered the file on me, but something told me staying on the ranch wasn’t going to keep me off Christof’s radar.

  A group of birds chirped as the wind picked up, and my focus returned to the area in front of me. I smiled into the breeze, letting it tickle my face and push my worried thoughts away. This land held an almost fairy-tale beauty. Rows and rows of grapevines lined the hills, and a rich, earthy scent of soil filled the air.

  Given my reason for being here, I couldn’t think of a better location to hide out.

  Mama would have loved it here.

  Her family, who were German winemakers, had settled near Cape Town during the early nineteenth century, creating one of the country’s first vineyards. Even to this day, the winery produced some of the top Shiraz vintages coming out of South Africa.

  Thomas’s family vineyard was known for its Cabernet blends that held a hint of citrus and apple, a beneficial result of the apple and lemon farms nearby.

  The sound of hoofbeats echoed behind me, and I turned my head in time to see Thomas approach. He wore his cowboy hat low, shielding his face from the sun.

  He brought the horse to a stop alongside Misu and smiled, causing my heart to skip a beat. “Hi.”

  “Hi, yourself. How are the boys doing?”

  “Surprisingly well. They’re charming their tia Isa. I think we’re going to have many visits from their great-aunt in the future.”

  I smiled. “The boys are going to be spoiled rotten. Not like they aren’t now, but it’s…nice.”

  Could this be our future? Going back and forth between families on both coasts?

  “Mi amor, what’s got you thinking so hard?”

  “Thomas, is this really going to work? I know what I said, but your family needs you.”

  In the short time I’d been on the ranch, I realized how everyone depended on him, from Diego and Isabella to the ranch hands who organized the stalls. Committing to me meant possibly giving up the ranch for a life in New York.

  I wasn’t sure if I could bear it if he chose me and then had regrets. He loved his family, his horses, his land, and taking any of that from him would cause me more guilt than keeping the boys from him.

  He studied me for a few moments before he responded. “I know you don’t want to believe it, but I’m not going anywhere. Nothing will change how I feel about the people here on the ranch. What you have to understand is that I made my decision about us long before I learned about Leo and Simon. You are my future.”

  I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. In the back of my mind, I’d had a fear he was pushing for a relationship because of our sons and his traditional values. Now, it was as if a weight had lifted from my shoulders.

  Sensing the thoughts running through my mind, he cupped the side of my face and sealed my lips with his, stealing all thoughts from my mind but the desire to deepen our embrace. He savored my mouth with slow strokes of his tongue, sending a shot of arousal straight to my pussy.

  I loved the way he kissed, enjoying every nip and taste.

  Our horses shifted, forcing us to separate. Thomas held my gaze as he released his hold on my flushed face while his fingers rubbed a line down my throat, making my breath hitch.

  He pulled his horse to the side. “Follow me. It’s time.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I tightened my grip on the reins. “Time for what?”

  I knew what he meant, but I asked anyway.

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Time, Carmen,” he said in a deep tone that sent butterflies to my stomach.

  Oh hell. The voice.

  I kept Misu where he stood as my heart began to beat a heavy drum in my chest.

  He was right. It was time to give him what I craved to do. No more holding back out of fear. No more focusing on past hurts. No more expecting him to fail me.

  I rubbed the back of my neck with shaky hands, taking a deep breath.

  Following him meant giving him everything, not only my heart but also my power. The side I’d promised I wouldn’t give anyone again. This time he’d push me to limits I’d never reached before.

  Thomas paused his horse, turning to look at me. “Carmen,” he ordered as he held my gaze. Then his face softened. “Come, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

  He was right. He’d shown me I mattered. It was time to gift him with my trust.

  “I’m coming, Ma-Master.”

  Thomas’s eyes clouded with desire, and then he turned. “Follow me.”

  My heart jumped with every step of the horses. I trailed behind Thomas, steering Misu in the direction of a path I hadn’t noticed on my way to the cliffs. We wove through lush brush until the roar of water echoed around us. A half mile later, we reached the waterfall Thomas had told me about, the one the ranch was named after.

  He dismounted and tied his horse to a metal loop attached to a boulder near a cave. He then walked over to me, gripped my waist, and lifted me off the saddle.

  The contact was like a shot of electricity through my system. I gasped as goose bumps prickled my skin. Thomas made sure to rub the juncture of my pussy against his growing erection before he set me on my feet.

  “Stand over there while I take care of the horses.” He pointed to the entrance of the cave.

  I followed his directions as my nerves jumped into overdrive. Excitement and anxiety ran havoc inside my body.

  He tied Misu next to his stallion. He returned to me, taking my hand in his, but not moving.

  “Breathe. This is your choice, Carm. I won’t take what you aren’t willing to give me. Whatever you decide won’t change how I feel about you.”

  I remained quiet as I stared at him. He was giving me an out.

  One that I didn’t want.

  “I made my decision when I followed you here.” I touched his cheek with the back of my hand.

  A smile touched his lip, making my heart skip a beat.

  He leaned down to give me a light peck and then turned, guiding me along a path into a cavern that opened up underneath the waterfall.

  The cave wasn’t a cave. It was an outdoor living room of sorts. Antique Mexican art decorated the wall furthest from the water, with a small kitchen underneath.

  The wall closest to the waterfall held a variety of loops and hooks and ropes and a small table with a metal box. This was an outdoor dungeon. Everything in the space was brand new, as if he’d designed it for us.

  My heart jumped. I knew what he’d planned.

  “Strip.”

  My head jerked from the wall toward Thomas. He’d removed his hat, shirt, and boots and sat in a wicker chair sipping a drink of some kind.

  “Don’t make me repeat myself or you’ll be punished.”

  My breath accelerated. “Sorry,” I whispered.

  “Sorry, what?”

  My pussy contracted.

  “Sorry, M-Master.”

  I untucked my shirt from my jeans and then brought my fin
gers to the buttons. A tremor ran through me as I worked the fastening open. I pulled the shirt off and began folding it.

  “Let it drop to the floor.”

  Down it went.

  “Now the rest. I want nothing between my gaze and your beautiful body. There’s no more hiding from me, Carmen. Today I will learn all your secrets.”

  Inhaling deep, I reached down to tug off my boots.

  “Let me do that.” Thomas rose from the chair and walked over to me. He trailed a finger from my collarbone, between my breasts, down my stomach. He stooped toward the ground, and his palms glided lower until he reached the bottom of my jeans. “Lift your leg.”

  He removed each of my boots, placing them on the side. Then he unfastened my jeans, sliding the denim down my hips. He remained crouched with his face was a hairbreadth from my aching pussy. I watched him lick his lips. The urge to demand he use them was on the tip of mine, but I held it back, knowing that today I wasn’t in charge.

  Hell. With Thomas, I’d never been in charge.

  Thomas stared at my swollen labia, licked his lips, and then stood, returning to his armchair.

  I closed my eyes and prayed I could go through with this. Was I strong enough to hand over my power for my pleasure?

  “Keep going, Carm,” he urged. “Give me what I want.”

  “Yes, Master,” I whispered as I opened my jeans and lowered the zipper. With slow, precise movements, I shimmied my pants past my hips to the ground and stepped out of them. I left them in a pile and waited.

  “I said strip. That means everything.”

  A crease formed between my brows.

  “Mi cielito isn’t used to submission. She’s used to giving the commands.” He picked up his drink, sipped, and set it back on the table. “This is your choice, Carmen. As you showed me, there’s freedom in submission, in letting someone you trust take the reins. Can you do it? Can you let go and allow me to give you what you most desire, or are you too afraid to ask for it?”

  I didn’t respond. He’d never truly submitted to me. It wasn’t in his nature. The submission he’d showed me was for my pleasure more than his.

  Nevertheless, what he said was right. Submission never meant that I lost power. I was giving control as a reward for my faith in him.

  I unclasped my bra, sliding it off, and then pushed down my underwear.

  A cool breeze grazed my naked skin, making my nipples pebble and elongate. As he stared at me, not saying anything, my breath started to come in shallow pants. I wanted to fidget, but I held still. My submissives weren’t allowed to twitch a muscle until I was finished with my perusal of their bodies and had given them permission to move. Now I was on the receiving end of this scrutiny, and it both frightened and excited me.

  After a few minutes, Thomas walked over to me, circling me as he studied my every curve. I squeezed my eyes closed, not sure what he was thinking and how he saw the changes in my body after having the boys. Even though we’d made love since my pregnancy, he hadn’t examined me the way he was doing now.

  I wanted to cringe. I no longer had the perfect body I once possessed. There were signs of loose skin and stretch marks.

  “God, you are exquisite.” He ran his fingers just below my belly button. “This beautiful body created my sons.”

  He trailed up my stomach, stopping to cup my breasts and causing my nipples to pebble harder on contact. “Open your eyes. I want to watch your every reaction to what I’m doing.”

  Lifting my lids, I stared into beautiful desire-glazed amber.

  “Today, I want you to trust me.”

  I started to respond, but he raised a brow, and I kept my mouth shut.

  “I’ll take care of you and keep you safe.”

  Coming here was my first step in accepting what Thomas was offering me. I had to give him what he’d given me. A submission that spoke of my complete trust in him.

  A calm settled into my mind.

  He’s my Master. Today I am not a Mistress. I am his slave.

  A sharp pain fired through my nipples as he bit one and pinched the other, bringing my attention to Thomas.

  “Stop thinking and focus on me,” he murmured against my breast.

  My legs buckled and he held me up by the waist, his mouth never leaving my aching nub. My palms came instinctively to his shoulders, gripping them tight.

  He sucked and laved the peak as his fingers tweaked and strummed the other bud. My head fell back, and I couldn’t think of anything but the beautiful pleasure he was giving me.

  All of a sudden, he dropped to one knee, spreading my legs apart and fastening his lips onto my aching pussy.

  “Thomas,” I moaned.

  He growled in response as he delved deep with his tongue into my swollen and wet folds.

  “Master,” I corrected myself.

  His arm anchored me, keeping me from falling while the fingers of his other hand slid into my passage. He pumped in and out and continued to feast.

  I gripped his hair as my mind whirled.

  Yes. Almost there.

  There was no holding back my want, my desire. There was no need to. Thomas controlled this. My pleasure was his pleasure.

  “Please,” I begged, surprising myself. I had to hold back until he gave me permission. I needed his permission.

  “Come now,” he commanded without stopping his ministrations on my weeping pussy.

  Everything imploded. My orgasm tore through me, and I arched into him as my legs lost all ability to stand. I screamed out his name. My wetness flooded his hand, my core squeezing tight around his pumping fingers.

  He tore his mouth from my pussy. “That’s it, baby. Give it to me.”

  I continued to convulse and floated down with a few lingering spasms. Thomas gathered me into his arms and carried me to the sofa.

  He held me against his chest, allowing me time to steady my breath. I lay on him like a rag doll, not saying anything until he took my hands and fastened a cuff on each wrist. He made sure to keep a finger-width opening between my skin and the soft, buttery leather. With a clasp, he connected the bonds together.

  “Close your eyes. Now we begin.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  My heart jumped at his words, and tingles prickled my body. I could do this. I knew I could.

  I lowered my lids, and a mask slipped over my eyes. My senses immediately fired. The sound of the waterfall and our breaths became more pronounced. And the cool breeze coming from the cascading water glided over my skin.

  “I want you to feel what I’m doing to you. I want you to enjoy every sensation. I want you to show me every true reaction without you anticipating anything. Do you understand?”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “What is your safe word?”

  In all my time in the lifestyle, I never thought I’d need one. I usually asked for a safe word. I knew Thomas would push me today, but he would never hurt me. He would protect me with his life.

  “Carmen, I asked you a question. What’s your safe word?”

  I almost said that I didn’t need one, but I’d never allow an untried submissive that kind of leeway with their safety. Moreover, as much as this was about my faith in Thomas reading my body, he had to trust me to let him know if I was at my limit and couldn’t take any more. It was the give and take of any D/s relationship.

  “Cabernet.”

  “Good. Now give me your hands.”

  As I lifted my bound wrists toward him, he grasped them and guided me forward. My heartbeat accelerated. I knew where he was taking me. The sound of the waterfall intensified. We were near the wall and ceiling with all the hooks, ropes, and chains.

  Oh God, this was happening. He was going to bind me to the stone. I could do this. It was Thomas. He was the only one who could give me what I wanted.

  A chain clinked, and my anxiety peaked. Thomas stretched my arms above my head, attaching them to the metal. My body pulled taut, with my hands high over me and my bare feet holding my w
eight on the ground.

  I hiccupped, trying to hold in a cry of worry.

  “Breathe, baby. You’ll enjoy this. I promise.” He kissed my lips, deepening our embrace until I opened my mouth to demand more. Then he pulled away.

  “Now to dress you in hemp, the way you envisioned doing to me.”

  My heartbeat jumped.

  Rope.

  “I’m going to tie you so that your beautiful breasts are the centerpiece of the dress. Today, you will experience the exhilaration you enjoy giving your submissives.”

  I scowled. Was he reminding me of them to taunt me?

  “Why do you bring up the men I’ve played with? Doesn’t it bother you to know what I’ve done with them?”

  Thomas leaned his forehead against mine.

  “I’m not naïve to think a renowned Mistress hasn’t had the same number of slaves as I’ve had.”

  I growl escaped my lips at the thought of anyone else being with Thomas.

  He chuckled, kissed me, and drew back. “What I know is that there is and will be only me between these legs.” His hand cupped my weeping pussy, then slid up to rest between my breasts. “And in this heart for the rest of our lives.”

  “Thomas, the one slave I slept with was Andrew. The only other person I’ve been with is you.”

  He traced my lips, and the urge to lick them overwhelmed me. “I’m very pleased to hear that. There will never be anyone else.”

  Thomas moved away from me, and the sound of him unzipping and shuffling through a bag reached my ears.

  A brush of his hands on my abdomen told me he’d returned, and anxiety hit the pit of my stomach.

  Holy shit. I’m about to get my first experience in Shibari.

  A knot slipped around the back of my neck, making goose bumps prickle my skin and wetness flood my pussy. The ends draped over my shoulders and hung between my breasts. The abrasive material against my body brought forth a sense of desire I’d never experienced before.

  I’d enjoyed watching my submissives’ skin flush and redden with anticipation and excitement, but now I felt the same euphoria.