Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Everything had been going so well. It had been a lovely morning, working with chocolate, while Angel took the time to teach her new things. She felt challenged, and her creative spark, which had been banked for so long, was suddenly flaring brightly.

Heaven felt comfortable with him. There were long silences where they just worked together, and neither felt the need to talk… she liked that. For too much of her life she’d been forced to put on a show of being sociable. First by her parents, who needed all their perfect children to perform.

Then with the show, which had been her choice, and one she didn’t regret, but it had still worn on her at times. Since she’d come to the Ranch, she’d been happy to slip into the background, watching and listening. It felt safe and cozy being one of the crowd.

Angel made her want to talk, but there was no pressure to do so. It created a good working relationship. When he’d asked her to have lunch with him, something inside had pinged, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. Of course she’d said yes.

He’d sweet-talked one of the kitchen staff into packing them a lunch to-go. It didn’t take much, since it was a common request, but still, a picnic was a nice idea.

The weather in Montana could be unpredictable in October, but today it was unseasonably warm, almost hitting the seventies. The sun shone bright overhead, and Angel settled them under a tree, which she appreciated.

Her pale skin freckled up quick and burned almost as fast. She already had enough freckles on her face without adding another sprinkling of them. Angel’s skin, in contrast, was a lovely shade of light brown that probably managed the sun much better than hers.

They ate and talked. She was more interested in him than in her lunch, but he kept reminding her to eat, and that felt… nice. Heaven liked that he did little caring things like that, and she could see him as a Daddy.

She didn’t think either of them had expected the conversation to go so deep. It had gone that way suddenly and he’d taken her by surprise. While she said little about her own weird life, he’d been fairly open about his.

And about what he’d lost.

Angel seemed to have only two modes… intense concentration when he worked, and relaxed amusement when he wasn’t focused on something. He didn’t yell. He was never impatient, and he usually had a smile on his face.

She wouldn’t have expected to find out he was a widower and it had sent her spinning. Her own grief wrapped around her like a blanket every time she thought of Barbara. The older woman had been the only person to ever believe in her for who she was.

To her parents she was a prop and a useful tool. To the people who watched her show, she was entertainment, not quite on the level of a movie star, but still an icon. But to Barbara she’d been a friend and the daughter she’d never had.

It made her feel closer to Angel, knowing he’d suffered a major loss too. And it gave her hope that he’d been able to recover and move on… because some days she wasn’t sure she ever would.

But then he’d joked about her name and that broke apart the peace. He was far from the first person to make the connection of Heaven Leigh to Heavenly. She tried to limit the number of times it came up by specifying a different pronunciation for her second name. It helped some, but not always.

Her parents had named her that way on purpose. They wanted people to hear her name and immediately think she was sent from heaven. Heavenly was what her father called her when he pulled her on stage. Heavenly was what they called her when they bragged to their followers how perfect she was.

But they’d never believed she was perfect. It was just part of the show.

This is our daughter Heavenly. Hear how beautifully she sings? See how her hair is golden just like an angel from Heaven? We must be godly to have a daughter like this, so fill that collection plate, and you can be blessed too.

Sometimes she wished she had thrown the name away and started over with something else. It would have saved so many problems, but there was a stubborn part that didn’t want to give up pieces of herself, just because of how her parents had used her. And maybe there was still a rebellious streak that wanted to succeed with the name they’d saddled her with, in spite of them, in a way she knew they wouldn’t approve of.

Altering the pronunciation was something she knew they’d hate. It denied the purpose of the name.

Hearing Angel bring up the Heavenly thing hit her like a bucket of ice water. Those moments of sharing between them had opened her up a little, made her vulnerable. It affected her more than it normally would have, and she’d been overwhelmed with a deluge of painful memories that left her no choice but to run away.

She was too upset to mask it well and people would try to help. They were all wonderful, caring people, of course they would want to know what was wrong. But Heaven couldn’t expose herself any more than she already had.

Despite the agreement with Master Derek, she knew she couldn’t go back to the Littles’ Wing. She slipped through the halls, trying to look as though she belonged there. She was dressed casually, for the kitchen. No school uniform in sight, and that would help some.

Her record for sneaking around and not getting caught wasn’t great, but like most of those other times, she just didn’t feel like she had the choice. If anything it was worse now. She thought she might explode if she couldn’t catch her breath.

Usually when she snuck out, she didn’t go any particular place. She wasn’t looking for something. She was just trying to get away from strangling rules. Typically, she’d just start walking and let her feet take her wherever.

This time they took her to the dungeon, by way of a long meandering route that covered a good part of the main building. There was a podium and a stool just outside the double doors, but no one was there at the moment. That made it extra tempting to push open one door and take a quick look.

The rules were clear, no Littles were allowed in there. And she could understand that, because just peeking inside, she could see some scary looking devices. Scary but exciting.

They were things she’d seen online. Things she’d fantasized about but… things that weren’t really appropriate for the Littles of the Ranch.

But part of her ached with the urge to go in and explore anyway. No one needed to know she was a Little. She wasn’t dressed like one, and there was no one she knew inside.

After a long hesitation, and a feeling of dread that warned her she’d regret it, Heaven pushed the door further open and was working up the courage to step inside when a hand settled heavily on her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.

“I’m pretty sure you know you’re not allowed in there, little girl.”

She squeaked. It was audible which made her face flush as she turned to see Angel. Why was it Doms always seemed taller when they caught you doing something you shouldn’t be, she couldn’t help wondering.

She could have sworn that he wasn’t more than a few inches taller than her when they were working together, but now that she was in trouble, it felt like he was towering over her. “Um… I…”

She was trying to figure out what to say, when Angel looked over her shoulder and his stern look melted into a grin. “Hey, Jaben.”

Heaven turned to see an older man with a silver beard and a short mohawk coming through the doors. She’d seen him around, but she didn’t know him. His eyes settled on her for a second and then flicked back to Angel.

“Sorry about that. I had to check something. So, Angel, finally decided to come use the dungeon? It’s quiet today. Plenty of space for you… and your guest.” His eyes flicked to Heaven again and then he moved over to settle on the stool beside the door, waving an arm for Angel to go ahead in.

Heaven’s eyes widened. “Oh, I wasn’t—”

“Yes,” Angel said, cutting her off. “Come on, Heaven, let’s go inside.” His hand settled on her lower back and gave her a gentle push toward the doors.

“But—but…” She trailed off, not sure what to say. If she said she wasn’t supposed to go inside, the guard might realize she was a Little and he might report it to Master Derek. Also, as curious as she was to see everything, she had a sinking feeling she was in trouble.

And being in trouble in a whole room filled with dungeon equipment and spanking implements just seemed like a bad idea. Before she knew it, they were through the doors, and Angel’s hand dropped away so she could stop and look around.

It was beautiful and not at all what she’d expected. Her time searching the web for BDSM resources had pulled up plenty of dungeon pictures, but nothing like this. Not that she should have been surprised. After all, Rawhide was like no other place in the world.

“Like what you see, chica?”

She turned slowly on her heel to take it all in, nodding. “I do. Um—” She stopped and looked at him. “Littles aren’t supposed to be in here though.”

“You can be in here with an appropriate escort.” Then he gave her a pointed look. “But I’m pretty sure you were breaking that rule on your own. Among other rules.”

There was a low fluttering sensation in the pit of her stomach. “Oh… well… I was just…” There wasn’t a lot she could say. She had been breaking several rules, and she’d known it.

“Uh-huh. Come… I think we have some things to talk about.” Angel took her gently by the arm and pulled her over to a comfortable, overstuffed loveseat, ignoring her dragging feet. When they reached it, he sat first and pulled her down next to him.

“I’m sorry I broke the rules, Angel. But please don’t tell Master Derek. He—he might not let me work with you anymore.” She thought getting the request in fast before he’d worked up to whatever he was going to say might help.

Angel just looked at her thoughtfully and as the silence drew out, she began to get antsy, squirming a little. She felt compelled to speak, since he wasn’t. “I really like working with you in the mornings. I-I was just a little upset and I didn’t want to go back to the dorms.”

“Do you find it hard to be in the Littles’ Wing?”