Dark Horse, Dark Heart - Chapter 1
NOTE: This story is written in a second person / POV narrative where 'you' are a male participant (Lady Sarafine's husband) The first chapter in a series, do check back for more if you enjoy this!
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I was just barely an adult when I took up a part time job at a ranch just a few miles up the road from the cabin my literary agent allowed me to live rent-free until I completed my next novel. I had been living on the edge of poverty since the royalties from my last release had been devoured by my debts. At twenty - two, I had managed to publish two books and had four years of college behind me that would take hundreds more to pay off at the rate I was going.
I was also tired of living off of ramen and whatever other cheap food I could afford.
Despite my horrible dietary habits, I lost twenty pounds over the course of the two months I had been sequestered in the cabin, nestled on the edge of a wildlife sanctuary. My confidence had evaporated along with the curves I once was happy to showcase and the sun-kissed tan I had maintained for years before I had signed that contract.
Now that you realize why I took the job, let me tell you that the job turned out to be..
much
different than I had ever thought it would be. Til this day, I wonder if that was Shania's (my agent) reason for suggesting I apply. Perhaps she knew exactly what was going on at the Black Forest Ranch & Plantation and thought it would be an inspirational experience.
Well done, Shania. It obviously was.
I was dressed more like someone applying for a desk job than someone trying to fill a ranch hand position. My long, auburn hair was tied back into a tight knot and I had done everyone the favor of putting on makeup. Not a whole lot, but enough so that I didn't look like a malnourished heroin addict considering my habits at the cabin. I had chosen a charcoal knee-length quarter sleeve maxi dress matched with sleek, black knee-high faux leather lace up boots and sheer nude nylons. I had already fucked up my hair on the way to the ranch and I knew that my sweat had probably smeared my makeup from the walk, but I was determined to eat something better than boxed macaroni for the next several months.
I didn't see anyone when I approached the main gate that sequestered the humongous, two story ranch house from the rest of the property. Horses were lazily grazing enclosed inside a fenced pasture adjacent to the home. It was a woman's voice I heard that tipped me off to check the stables. That's where I would find the owner,
Lady Sarafine
.
As I rounded the corner to enter the large stable enclosure, I stopped short of the door and tip-toed back, hoping that no one heard or saw me approach.
Lady Sarafine was wearing at a shiny black latex catsuit with matching thigh high boots that hugged her gigantic breasts and generously proportioned hips, ass, and thighs, her waist length blonde tied back in a simple ponytail. She had a riding crop in one hand and was speaking sternly and loudly to a huddled black mass on the floor, shaking violently at her feet. It appeared to be a male, wearing a similar outfit as her, but with a hood that had zippers across the mouth and eyes. That was the first time I met
you.
"Did you think you were going to come inside covered in horse shit and filth you stupid, disgusting dog?"
With a flick of her wrist so quick it didn't register visually, the riding crop lashed against your back and I could hear your cries echoing throughout the stables, frightening the few horses that were tethered stalls away from where Lady Sarafine had chained you to the wall by a leather collar around your neck, which she yanked after the lashing, pulling you down to the hay-covered floor, your face forced down against it further by her heel pressing down against your neck, holding you there.
I didn't know how to react. I knew some things about BDSM and Femdom, but not enough to fully understand what I was witnessing. I didn't move. I didn't say a word. I just stood and watched you struggle while Lady Sarafine laughed aloud at your plight, lifting her heel just a bit so that you could take a single breath before placing it back where it was, pinning you against the ground so that you could not lift your head. I could see then that your arms were also shackled behind your back and only your legs were free. I just kept watching, curiosity getting the best of me until Lady Sarafine seemed to get bored of you, kicking you off the boot you had been so diligently licking like a dog.
In a panic, realizing she had turned to head out of the stables where she would meet me spying on her, I smoothed down my hair, took a deep breath, and attempted to casually walk around the corner to greet Lady Sarafine as if I had seen her before.
Lady Sarafine halted, her heels sliding audibly to a stop when I came to gave her.
"Who are you?"
She asked, in the same bored and unamused tone she had when she had been insulting you moments before.
"My name is Autumn, I was told that you were looking for some help?"
I had been holding my resumΓ© inside its folder, clutching against my chest with both arms. Lady Sarafine casually plucked it from where I held it, lifting a pair of black horn-rimmed glasses with tiny rhinestones embedded in the frames to her eyes.
"What kind of help do you think we need? I was looking for a ranch hand. Now that I can see you, I'm thinking you don't have the physical strength to do the job,"
She scoffed, flipping through the pages until the folder clapped closed and she placed it back in my arms.
"Move,"
She commanded and I stepped to the side, turning around to face her. I was confused. I had never been turned down at an interview before and I wasn't about to let her just blow me off so rudely. I followed behind her, scurrying to catch up with her.
"Ma'am, I have worked with animals my whole life. I was going to school to be a veterinarian before things changed and I..I could just really use the money. I'm sure I can do
something
to earn it."
Lady Sarafine did not act like she heard me, her hips swaying along to the rhythmic clunking of her heels as she started up the stairs to the house. I had just about accepted that I had overestimated my reach and began to leave when she stopped and turned around, her gloved hands on her hips.
"I think you may be right. I think there is something you can do. I'll pay you eighteen dollars an hour to do what I ask and if you decide that you can handle the tasks, I will put you on the insurance plan and we will talk about retirement benefits. I'm Sarafine.
Lady Sarafine
until you earn a place in this house,"
"Oh, no Ma'am, that won't be necessary, I don't plan to..."
"Follow me,"
Lady Sarafine headed inside the house, cutting me off mid sentence as if she had heard it all before, and I suspected that she had. The ranch house was more beautiful and amazingly spacious. I knew it was large from what I saw outside, but the floor plan was more open than I imagined it to be, the foyer opened up into a partitioned dining area and kitchen, a large sitting area filled with leather sofas and cushioned recliners situated around an oakwood entertainment center fashioned to match the interior accents. We quickly left the first floor behind, ascending to the second floor from a cast iron spiral staircase just beyond the entrance.
The second floor was less open and airy, but it did have a balconied loft that acted as a second den. Only a small, wall mounted television here with nothing but a floor chair and a large chest next to an armoire to fill the space, leaving plenty of room to move around. This den lead to a corridor of doors. Lady Sarafine led me all the way to the room furthest from the staircase and invited me in to what looked like an office area where she sat in a plush leather office chair, motioning for me to sit in the shorter chair in front of her desk. The offset in height made me feel both literally and psychologically