Page 41 of Shared on the Ranch

Probably not. That’s the point of punishment, isn’t it? All I’m supposed to do is kneel here, sore and miserable, and think about how I’m all alone. How I’m alwaysgoingto be all alone.

Despite the tenderness in her knees, the uncomfortable ache, her throbbing nipples, what hurt the most was that just for a moment, she’d had friends. She didn’t really know them, and those other girls certainly didn’t know her, but they’dfeltlike real friends.

Well, except Veronica. But the other girls could bring her around, if I had enough time…

She stopped mid-thought, shocked by her vulnerability even when it resided in her own head.

Is that… is that what Iwant? To stay here?

It didn’t sound like her. Not the staying part, or the friends part, especially not the wanting the men who were punishing her part—even if that want was just a sexual one.

It doesn’t matter what I want, she told herself fiercely.They probably all got in trouble, because of me. Maybe none of them are sitting in a corner with a medieval torture device on their nipples, but even if they just got a stern talking to, why would they ever want to see me again, much less be my friend?

And as much as she didn’t want it to, the thought hurt.

Because Chyanne had never had a friend before. Not really. And she pretended she was too tough to want them, much less need them, but maybe that was because she’d never felt what it could be like before?

Her eyes began to burn, she blinked against the pain, and hot tears began to fall. She couldn’t even reach up to wipe them away, so she had to sit there, feeling pitiful and knowing she looked it, too. That knowledge made the tears fall all the faster.

Then, unbidden, she thought of Nate. Nate, who had taken a chance on her and offered her the job. It wasNate’spunishment she’d ducked, even after she’d been given a second chance to make things right.

Which means he’s probably going to tell me to leave.The thought filled her with a hollow pit where her heart was.Why do I always do this? Why do I make things so miserable for myself? Yes, it sucked, it was hot out, and my hand was tired… I should have just fucking stuck with it!

Maybe I could have found the girls after and still had a job, and had a chance at earning and keeping their friendship. But no! I went out of my way to fuck things up, the way I always do!

The tears were pouring from her eyes so fast now that even blinking as much as she could, she couldn’t see. The wall was now a pale blob in front of her.

That was what made the sobs come. True, guttural noises that sounded like she was being ripped apart from the inside. And she didn’t even care, because for the first time she realized maybe she was. And maybe it had been going on for a long, long time.

* * *

Chandler

“What’d you do?” Chandler asked as the other man came into the kitchen.

“Tied her hands behind her back.” He gestured to his empty belt loops.

He nodded, thinking. He’d never used these kinds of techniques with the girls he’d daddied, but maybe Aaron was on to something in this case. “How long do we leave her like that?”

The dom shrugged. “As long as it takes.”

He winced at the mental image of the ball gag in her pretty little mouth, not to mention the clamps digging into some of her most tender places.

“It won’t be long. Trust me.”

Chandler looked at him long and hard, and then realized that he did trust him. He hadn’t known the ranch master for very long, but he clearly knew what he was doing. “Have you, uh… you ever come across someone… like her?”

Normally, he wouldn’t speak this way to another dom or voice his questions aloud, but somehow it seemed okay with Aaron. They were sharing an experience, after all. They were in this together.

“So stubborn, you mean?” Aaron uttered a low laugh.

“Someone so determined to be naughty,” Chandler added.

“No. Not in such a short period of time.”

He nodded. He’d thought the same thing. The daddy inside him wanted nothing more than to go to Chyanne and set her hands loose and take her in his arms and gently kiss every single mark on her nipples. But he knew Aaron was right. If they were too gentle now, the cycle would just continue.

I want to help her. Can I make her let me?

---