Page 2 of Irresistible Little Ivy

“Well, you tend to be a little closed off and you are difficult to get to know. Not that there is anything wrong with that, you are who you are, but if you only have seven days at the Ranch, and you want to spend it with a good Master, you might have to lower your inner walls a bit.”

My shoulders slumped as I nodded. “I know. My therapist said the same thing. That if I’m really going to let my inner teenager out, I needed to let her run free. She said I need to try to recognize my adult hang-ups for what they are and just have fun without overthinking everything. She told me I needed to be impulsive.”

Talia laughed at my no doubt sour expression. “Oh boy, youloathbeing impulsive.”

“I know,” I muttered dryly, resuming packing and holding up a few of my favorite collars. “And look, I’m bringing these so whatever Master I end up with can properly claim me.”

“What if they have their own collars?” Talia asked as she looked at me over her shoulder while getting more items from my closet. “Would you wear one of theirs?”

“Actually, it will work a little different for Spirit Week. Guys get a black class ring they wear on the middle finger of their right hand that has their name engraved on the inside. If they decide to claim a submissive for the week, they attach their ring to the submissive’s collar. Rawhide’s version of going steady.”

“That is adorable,” Talia gushed as she gave me starry eyes. “I am so jealous that you get to go. Please tell me you’ll wear some lucky guy’s ring by the end of the week?”

I turned away from her hopeful face. “I wish I could say yes, but that would depend. I have no problem with casual relationships, as long as we’ve both had the proper STD tests and background checks. Since Rawhide requires both before a guest can even make a reservation, I won’t have to wait to fool around for any test results to come back. I can go in there knowing that any single and willing man I meet I can fuck to my heart’s content. But I’m not fooling myself thinking I’ll find anything long term there. This is a vacation, and vacation romances rarely last. I will hopefully find someone I click with, and we can have fun together, then we’ll go our separate ways and be fond memories for each other.”

“Don’t be such an unromantic poop.” Talia stuck her tongue out at me. “You never know. Maybe you’ll meet the quarterback and become homecoming queen!”

“Right,” I said sarcastically then blew out a tension-filled breath. “Too bad I was never into the football guys in my high school. Either way, I’ll be having a ton of fun, learning things, and hopefully having a lot of quality orgasms. Sounds like a win-win to me.”

“That’s my girl!” Talia said as she resumed lying back on my bed and petting my cat. “I wish I was going with you, but I have a conference I have to attend. Make sure you take notes for your classes so I can read them, especially the full contact ones. Having sex in a classroom, with everyone watching?” She fanned her red cheeks. “So hot. Make sure you volunteer as a test subject for all of your full-contact classes.”

“You know I will. I wish you could come with me as well.” I gave her a fond smile. “After all, you introduced me to the Middle lifestyle. I owe you.”

“How could I not? You’re my sister from another mister.” She winked at me and tossed her curls back. “Besides, it’s super fun having someone I can have sleepovers with who won’t think it’s weird that I sleep with a stuffed animal.”

“And you really brought fun back into my life. I am so much happier now that I allow myself to be immature and play.”

Talia fished a necklace out from under her shirt where a silver half heart dangled. “Besties.”

I held up my necklace, stroking the other half of the heart charm with my thumb. “Besties.”

Three days later

Large fat flakes of white landed on my head and shivers overcame me as I hustled up the long walkway to the steps leading to the front doors Rawhide Ranch’s main lodge. On either side of me, snow lay almost thigh deep, but the walkway had been cleared and salted. The lodge glowed in the darkness, looking like a divine refuge from the cold, solid enough to withstand any storm. Lovely and warm-cream twinkle lights twined about the large porch, chasing back the night. It was only 5:15 pm and the sky was already dark.

Spicy burning wood-scented the air and multiple chimneys on the various buildings billowed smoke into the crystalline air.

My teeth grew cold as I stared upwards at the entrancing night sky. Clouds sped past overhead, parting here and there to reveal a full moon. The shafts of light that pierced the clouds seemed to glow like silver. Snowflakes somehow still fell in such a picturesque manner that I felt like I was in a movie. The air seemed to glitter as a biting wind whipped ribbons of snow over the frozen crust of the drifts around me. That same wind cut through me like a knife and my body gave a convulsive shiver, breaking my fascination with the sky.

Now that I wasn’t mesmerized by nature’s glory, I realized I wasfreezing.

I mean, I knew it was going to be eleven degrees, but I didn’t take into account the wind that snuck through my sweater and froze my skin.

Or what eleven degrees actually felt like.

Shoving my hands in my armpits, I hurried faster, the salt crunching beneath my low-heeled boots.

Stupid, stupid me had left her jacket in the airport bathroom. I’d been distracted by a flurry of texts from my department at work and had walked right onto the plane without it. That left me freezing in my pale-jade floral sweater and jeans. My sweet driver had offered his coat, but it was a quick walk to the lodge so I’d told him I would be fine. And I would have been if I hadn’t stopped to stare at the sky like some slack-jawed fool.

The cold was so intense it was painful, and I walked even faster. By the time I reached the front porch, my whole body was shaking like I was having a seizure. The icy bite of the metal door handle hurt my hand, but I yanked it open and staggered inside a massive foyer decorated in a lovely western-meets-the-rugged-northern-woods vibe.

I would have appreciated it more if my eyes weren’t tearing up and blurring my vision.

Wiping my eyes on the back of my sweater’s sleeve, I startled as a smooth and slightly southern-accented male voice said, “Holy shit, you look like you have frostbite. Are you okay, miss?”

I still couldn’t see anything, and when I attempted to speak, my chattering teeth made it difficult. “C-co-l-ld.”

“So I see. What are you doing out there without your winter gear?” He took both of my hands in his and I stilled as their warmth enveloped me. “Yep, frozen. Come on, let’s get you warmed up.”

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