He gave me a card with his number on it. I thanked him and left the shop extremely satisfied.
When I picked Anabelle up Wednesday evening, I drove her to The Old Road Café at Mount White for pizza before we headed home.
“Did you ask Becky and Cass about staying, Ana?”
“Yep, they’ll be here. Told them they could stay Saturday and Sunday nights like Justin and Charlie were.”
“Excellent. I honestly like your friends.”
“Even Charlie?” She laughed as she probably remembered how the two of us had kind of annoyed each other the day we met.
“Especially Charlie.”
And I meant it. He was a great guy. He and his partner had come over many times, and they were like family. Justin’s eco-gardening center was booming and he had helped me put in a vegetable and herb garden. Of course, the fact we all had Harley Davidsons did help. We’d taken to going riding once a month. The four of us had great fun.
Now all our friends were coming over for an Aussie barbecue Saturday afternoon and staying until Monday rather than just coming up for the day. The boutique was closing at midday and it would be a perfect time for us all to relax. I’d arranged menus for the weekend and was going to enjoy cooking.
I had to admit when I first realized I could do whatever I like through the day, I wondered if I’d get bored, especially after the life I’d lived, but in fact, I enjoyed it. I was experimenting in the kitchen and having fun. Slowly, I was getting the immediate grounds into some semblance of order. The rest was all natural bushland.
As Anabelle had discovered, I had a herd, oops, sorry, a mob of kangaroos who enjoyed feasting on my grass every morning and night. Anabelle had told me there were plenty of possums in the trees and I’d spied quite a few. One even came into the house. I’d heard a noise through the night and I wasn’t sure who got the biggest fright—the possum or me.
I’d switched on the light in the kitchen area and there was a big fat possum helping himself to the fruit in the bowl on one of the counters. We’d stared at each other. My heart was pounding, and I bet his was too. Still, he’d judged the distance between the counter and the window and took off fast after he grabbed an apple.
Anabelle laughed when I told her. Said she’d discovered fruit missing lately and thought a possum was the culprit. From then on, I decided to leave a few pieces outside in the hopes of keeping them outdoors.
On top of all that, I was now toying with buying a boat. I had a jetty. Actually, it was quite large, about nine meters long, and I could tie a boat up to it. There was an old boathouse that needed some repair work I could use as well.
I had a boat license, as well as my car, bike, plane, and helicopter ones. When I’d come out here, all the necessary paperwork had been fast-tracked which meant I could have legal ones for the state. Anabelle liked the idea when I’d mentioned it, and I thought I’d start searching in earnest. Cass told me he knew a few people who were in the trade and I could chat with them about what would be suitable for Anabelle and me.
We finished eating our pizza and were relaxing with a glass of wine. Before we’d eaten, I talked about buying some new shirts and asked her to measure my neck, telling her I wanted to make sure I could get the right size. I casually measured hers and remarked how small it was compared to mine, all the while knowing that she had no idea what I’d done.
“Anabelle, you know how much I love you.”
“I do.”
“I know how you’re enjoying our Dom-sub relationship and I want something to signify it.”
I pulled the box containing the bracelet from my pocket where I’d placed it and I gave it to her. As she opened it she gave a tiny scream.
“Oh,hun, it’s beautiful!”
I took it from her and opened it at the hinge. Then I showed her the engraving. She covered her mouth with her hand and I saw tears in her eyes. When she lifted her gaze and held out her arm, she seemed speechless.
“Anabelle, do you know what this means? It means you are accepting me as your Master. Whenever we are in the dungeon, you are my property and will obey my every word.”
“I understand.”
I looked at her seriously and took one hand. “Anabelle, I promise I will always protect you. I will never harm you or place you in a position of harm. I promise to care for you forever.”
I was stunned when she nodded and then whispered fervently, “I promise to always obey you. You are my Sir and I belong to only you.”
Full of emotion, I fastened the bracelet around her wrist with a loudsnap. Her tears fell and I pulled her into my arms. She was my woman—now and forever.
****
Thursday morning, I dropped Anabelle off. She didn’t have any late appointments tonight and I’d promised I’d take her to dinner after work. After stopping outside the boutique and giving her a goodbye kiss, I went shopping. I needed to get some fishing gear. I’d only been using a hand reel, but I wanted a rod. Cass had given me the address of a place in Castle Hill that had everything I’d ever need and it was under thirty minutes away from the salon.
I had to laugh when I saw the name—TheFishin’ Camp.Okay, I’m a bloke.They had everything I could imagine and more for fishing and camping.
It was a few minutes after nine-thirty when I got there and I had to admit to spending almost two hours there wandering around, and yes, I did buy a few things before heading home.