Atlas
Getting all of the animals fed, watered, and in some cases, groomed, as quickly as possible, I had an hour before we had to start moving hay bales in preparation for the unicorn party.
I ran through the shower and went on a hunt for Penny.
Yesterday had been pure torture. Despite an entire day of work obligations, I’d kept an eye out for Penny. Five times, I had seen her walking with a man after one of her classes. Never with a woman.
Fire flowed through my veins. If not for respecting the Ranch and the safety it provided for its guests, I would have put a stop to that nonsense. It was what we were sent here to do anyway.
Hell, I would have stolen her away—and still might.
Morning sunlight filtered through trees, acting as a spotlight shining on my babygirl. She sat alone, thank goodness, on a bench outside of her cabin. Fire burned in me for other reasons now.
She peacefully folded pages of a book. When I got closer, I said, “Hey, Penny. Mind if I join you?”
Happiness filled her eyes and the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen crossed her face. For. Me. Yeah!
She said, “Yes, but give me a minute to finish this section.”
I nodded to avoid further interruption. My hunt had been so focused on finding her, I hadn’t sorted out what to say. The truth wasn’t likely to be my best bet… “So, did you do any workshops on breeding kink? I’d love to help you practice. Oh and by the way, I want to care for you the rest of your life.”
A total non-starter. It was too soon to be that honest. She hadn’t come to Rawhide Ranch for the breeding kink.
I sat on the bench with her phone between us and watched her meticulously fold the pages. I’d lose my mind doing that, but she loved it, and I could watch her do anything that made her happy—except hang out with other guys.
Her phone screen lit up, and I forced my eyes away. Her phone wasn’t my business.
Then again, she’d called me her Daddy. Didn’t that give me certain permissions? The obvious answer was, “not until we discussed her limits,” but I couldn’t stop myself from reading the text thread.
Jolene:New day. New Dom?
Penny:Not yet.
My heart sank as I considered why she was at the Ranch. I’d have to bring exclusivity up with her. I could be her Daddy Dom. I’d done some research, and the role was perfect.
Her hand rushed over her phone and the screen went black. “Okay, I’m done with my pages.”
I lifted my gaze to meet hers. How innocent and vulnerable could a person look?
Reaching for her hand, I stopped myself before making contact. It would have seemed unnecessary after all we had done, but I wasn’t chancing anything. “Can I hold your hand?”
She giggled and said, “Yes.”
I cupped my hand over hers, but her fingers didn’t turn over and wrap around mine the way I’d hoped.
“I wasn’t able to catch up with you yesterday. I wanted to check in and see how you were. Do we need to talk about anything we did…. Are you okay?”
A smile tugged at her lips. “I’m good.”
I pried and squeezed her hand. “You can tell Daddy anything. If I spanked too hard or… not hard enough. Or if you’d prefer not to have an audience next time.”
Her fingers twitched but she stared at the book that she’d kept in her lap.
“You mentioned needing space and getting easily overwhelmed. Are one-on-one interactions easier for you?”
“Usually, yes. I mean, I have three girlfriends, and I’m fine when I’m with them, but in other situations, I need time to warm up. It’s different with some people.” Her words slowed.
Was she worried I’d be offended that I hadn’t asked Everest and Phoenix to leave the other night. “That’s part of checking in. We don’t have to include my brothers?—”
