Page 3 of Enchanting Eris
On his way out, he bumped into another familiar face coming into work. “Hey, Gabriel.”
Surprised, Gabriel peered over to spot Patrick wandering into the barn. He had started spending enough time up here that even the hoof groomer, who wasn’t always here, recognized him. “Hey, Patrick.”
His mind was made up before he started walking back towards the main house. It was time to see what, if anything, he could do about seeing Eris again.
Chapter Three
Eris
After stewing over her conversation with Tara for far longer than she should, Eris realized that, while her friend made jokes, there was some truth to her words too. Unless Eris went back to Rawhide Ranch and could see for herself if her primal fantasy could play out, she would never really be happy with the what-ifs.
Eris was the kind of person who could go over what-ifs for an unfathomable amount of time, creating unrealistic scenarios to worry herself over. So what if Gabriel hadn’t dug deep enough into her psyche to unearth her hidden desires? She’d thought they had connected, spending a lot of their shared time in the Dungeon learning each other's bodies. But when he would ask about what else she desired, she’d been unable to tell him.
She had a feeling, one she was hesitant to voice, that it had been due to their relative newness together. They’d only had a week, and it was a week where she’d learned a lot about herself.
With the blindfold on, Eris could do nothing but wait for Gabriel’s next move. Eagerly, she continued to squirmagainst the loveseat, ready for whatever punishment he delivered next.
There was a stinging pain against her ass, and she couldn’t wait for him to bring his hand down again. It was the kind of thrill that made her blood spike and her skin flush in anticipation of the next move.
But then he smoothed a palm over her reddened skin, calming the burn instead of adding to it. Eris knew he could keep going, but already, he was pulling back from the pain portion of their game.
“The things you do to me, Eris,” he groaned from behind, his body molding over hers.
She rocked back against him, waiting for more. More pleasure, more thrills, but the kisses cascading down the column of her throat were blanketed in sweetness, not primal need.
Gabriel could be rougher. She had seen it firsthand when she witnessed Gabriel in action her first night there, partnering with someone else from the Ranch she hadn’t met. That was before they had the chance to talk, and he was the one who had approached her first. Instead of a Dominant who helped her focus on her wants, the man she first watched in the Dungeon was uninhibited and threw himself completely into the scene.
But he never used any of that against her, and when she opened her mouth to voice the thought, nothing came out. It stuck in her throat, making her question if good girls would bring something up like this in the middle of play.
His kisses slowed. “Something’s bothering you, little vixen. Do you want to tell me what it is, or do I have to keep guessing?”
It wasn’t a tease; she was making this hard on him. Their first night together was passionate and full of sin, but itdidn’t cross into her fantasies. She feared to tell anyone about those. Why couldn’t she be satisfied with a rough hand and some spanking? They were in the middle of the Dungeon and still, something held her back.
But admitting that she wanted him to chase her through the fields, pin her down, and fuck her like a bad girl wherever he caught her on the property seemed like a step too far. Why would Gabriel, or anyone else for that matter, want to see that darker side of her?
Forcing the tension from her shoulders, she tipped her head to the side, and felt his teeth grazing the skin as he waited for her to speak again. “Nothing, Master. I need a little more distraction, pretty please.”
The memory still bothered her. It had been the only time Gabriel had caught on throughout the week that something was amiss between them. She couldn’t deny the wetness pooling between her legs when she thought about his pale, blond hair and that smoldering gaze, but she wanted him more raw. Rougher, more animalistic, than the Gabriel she’d gotten to see. She knew it was under there; he’d kept restraining himself when they’d played. She’d only seen that primal need once, and when they were together, Eris almost felt like he was holding himself back.
Blushing as she thought of their time together, she even recalled the second to last evening she was at the Ranch, when he’d had her handcuff one of his hands to the bed. It had been a bit of a role reversal for her, but when Gabriel claimed he wanted the restraint to keep from pouncing on her, she’d almost thrown the cuff away. That’s what shewanted.
Maybe that had been a test, one that she had failed. In the morning, things had fallen apart between them, and she’d left the Ranch before they could ever fix any of it. They could havetalked more after his call, and she could have opened up more about her desires.
Instead she’d fled, like a coward.
That’s how, with her laptop propped on her knees and her tongue poking out from between her lips, she found herself writing a new email to Rawhide, explaining her predicament. The glass of wine beside her definitely contributed to her boldness, and she barely acknowledged when her apartment door opened and her sister, Vivian, stepped through.
“What are you toiling away at?” she joked, sitting down beside Eris. Where Eris had deep black, long hair, her sister Vivian kept her black hair in a short bob just above her shoulders. They both had hazel eyes, but Eris also had freckles from spending time outdoors with Bluebell. Vivian had a perfect manicure and a makeup regime that Eris could never hope to match. Her sister lived in manufactured beauty, and much like her sex life, Eris preferred a more natural, wild look.
“I’m emailing the Ranch,” Eris explained, keeping things vague. Unlike the rest of her family, Vivian was well aware of Eris’ adventure to Rawhide Ranch. She’d even celebrated with her sister when the first email had come through explaining that an invitation was extended on Eris’ behalf last year. Vivian more than knew about what Eris wanted, even better than Tara. “I’m going back, if all goes according to plan.”
Perking up, Vivian folded her legs beneath her and peeked at the email. Eris’ blush returned as her sister scanned the message, but there was no use hiding it. Vivian wouldn’t be surprised by what Eris was into; she always made jokes about Eris’ desire for primal, but in a sisterly way. “Oh good! You should have told that guy what you really wanted the first time. Gabe, was it?”
“Gabriel,” she agreed, letting her mind drift to dark, penetrating eyes and hands that gripped her skin just right. “Hisfriends call him Gabe, I think.” The blush burned its way across her cheeks. “But I never heard anyone call him that.”
Smirking, Vivian sat back and crossed her arms. “Aren’t you a friend?”
“We only knew each other for a week,” Eris reminded her sister. “I don’t know if that’s enough time to make us friends, but lovers, sure. Maybe there’s a chance he will even be back at the Ranch when I go. I don’t think that they can just request someone else’s presence because I want him to be there.”
