Page 197 of Giddy Up, Daddy

I smiled wistfully. Randy had been throwing his whip since he was three years old, and the way he used it, whether at a rodeo showing off his skills, or in a dungeon making a willing a masochist’s knees weak, was like an extension of his own body. It truly was an art and he had been a master of his craft.

Ripley smiled back. “Yeah, we could have.”

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

“Well, let’s get on the road,” I announced with more excitement than I really felt.

Truth was, I was probably more nervous and hesitant to go to Rawhide than Ripley. I knew she wanted to play, and I knew Iwas going to have to sit back and let her, but I didn’t fucking like it. Not one bit. The thought of seeing some stranger’s hands on her body made my skin crawl. But the idea of just letting her go off and do whatever with whoever without me… yeah that would never do. So I would fade into the background and observe from afar to make sure she was safe, because that was my role in her life. That was the promise I made to Randy.

After stalling as much as I was willing to, I finished my sandwich, grabbed an energy drink, and settled in for the long drive ahead.

The drive was smooth and uneventful, but by the time I pulled up to the Ranch gates, all I wanted was a shower and bed, in that order. Ripley had curled up on the couch directly behind my captain's chair and dozed on and off, but when we pulled up to the gate, she jumped up like her cute little ass was on fire.

“I wish it wasn’t so dark. I want to see it!” She turned her head one way, then the other, trying to look around the darkness.

“You’ll have plenty of time to see it in the morning,” I promised as I rolled down the window to speak with the security guard at the gate.

After giving him our IDs so he could verify we were who we said we were, he welcomed us, and told me to drive to the front of the resort, where we would be met by staff to get us settled.

But there was nothing settled about the way the damn nerves that had been bugging me all the way here flared up the moment I pulled through the gates. Because this place, while safe in almost every way, could be very dangerous to my best friend’swidow, and the way I’d felt about her—and had kept pushed down as hard as I could—for years.

Ripley

I’m not going to the Littles’ Wing. I’m not going to the Littles’ Wing.

I chanted this over and over to myself as I sat in the lobby in front of the roaring fireplace, trying to warm up. I hated the cold, and I wasn’t sure why anyone would want to live someplace where the air was trying to kill them every winter. Although the heat radiating from the crackling fire sure did feel nice. There was nothing quite as soothing as an open flame. Well, nothing that could happen in public, at least.

Even though it was late in the evening or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it, there were still a few folks wandering around. Some were very obviously Littles. Some had caretakers alongside them, but one girl skipped over to a huge door and knocked before immediately letting herself in.

“Daddy it’s waaaaaay past bedtiiime,” she sing-songed loudly enough for me to hear just before the door closed behind her.

The dichotomy of the Little telling her Daddy it was bedtime instead of the other way around had me giggling.

“What’s so funny, Rip?” Cade came up next to me and put his arm over my shoulder.

I almost hated how much I loved that small gesture of comfort and intimacy, and I wasn’t about to admit even to myself the way it made my whole body go hot, but I leaned into him, anyway.

I sighed. “This place is just really awesome.”

“We’ve been here less than ten minutes and you’re already this happy? Rawhide might never get rid of us if it keeps you smiling like that.”

Yes, we had just gotten there, but as soon as we’d driven through the gates I had felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. I felt myself relax for the first time in a very long time. The idea of never leaving made me smile even bigger, but I knew deep down that wasn’t really reality. Cade wasn’t the “stay forever” type of person, and I didn’t see myself living in a hotel my entire life.

“Pretty sure everyone feels like that when they’re on vacation.”

Cade shrugged. “Maybe, but Rawhide has literally made it possible for visitors to never have to leave.”

I furrowed my brows in confusion. “How so?”

“Master Derek owns an entire housing community. He only sells to lifestylers he’s vetted, and if people want to sell their property and move on, they sell it back to the Ranch for fair market value.”

“Well, shit,” I mused. “That man really has thought of everything, hasn’t he?”

Cade nodded. “He has.”

As if the man himself had heard us discussing him, he emerged from his office. The girl that had entered before was on his back, and both of them were laughing. They made eye contact with us and headed in our direction.

“Cade and Ripley, I presume?”

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