Thunder Ridge [ MF, cons, light bond, outdoors, rain ]

(c) 1994 (originally posted under the name RedDragon)

By Crimson Dragon (dcrimson@yahoo.com)

They came here to find themselves.

It had been her suggestion to come. She needed the freedom; the
comfort. Her week had been unusually stressful. Pressure, deadlines,
headaches. All of her thoughts had centered on Thunder Ridge for the
last few days. She had finally asked him yesterday.

The ride up had been uneventful, though they both knew what was
ahead. Surprisingly quiet. She let her long hair blow in the wind of
the open window and watched the countryside silently brooding. The
sky was the colour of gray charcoal. Farms and the smell of the
fields. He drove silently leaving her to her thoughts. He knew she
needed her time; her space.

The scenery had abruptly changed from flat farmland to hillscape as
though the land had heaved in anger in the distant reaches of time.
They had wound around the hills finally arriving near the peak. She
had breathed in deeply as she exited the car feeling the wonderfully
clear, crisp air fill her lungs. The smell of pine needles had begun
to drive away the demons of the week. For the first time in a long
time she had smiled. Watching her, he had sensed the pleasure she had
experienced. He, too, had smiled. They had gathered up the
preparations and hiked. The forest sounds abruptly ceased with their
passage; only to begin again as they had passed. She felt alive and
free.

They reached their final destination. Thunder Ridge. Though she had
been here before, the breathtaking view again stunned her. At the top
of the ridge, the land dropped away to a sea of green pine two
hundred feet below. Forest stretched out as far as the eye could see.
She stood unmoving for a few minutes, then slowly turned to him. They
embraced at the edge of the ridge. He kissed her gently on the tip of
the nose.

Moving apart, she looked at him questioningly. He nodded and bent to
the bag lying at his feet rummaging for the equipment. She stepped
away from the edge of the cliff slowly lifting her sweatshirt over
her head. Kneeling, he watched as she shed her clothing dropping each
piece to the pine needles under her feet. Quickly, she was nude,
standing barefoot in the pine needles. She looked at him with a
naughty look on her face. Smiling, she bent to her scattered clothing
and gathered it up. She stepped towards the cliff and nonchalantly
dropped them over the edge. She was committed now. She held her hands
out to him, beckoning him with her look. He stood with her cuffs in
his hands. She shivered slightly as the padded leather encircled her
wrists. He bent down and attached the second set to her bare ankles.
Rising, he led her to the tall post that they had erected here many
years ago, when she had first explained her unique form of
relaxation. Just a simple hook at just the right height and a pole.
She raised her arms as he reached up and attached the leather cuffs
to the hook comfortably above her head. She pulled experimentally
against the bonds finding no looseness. She sighed as she relaxed
into his control. With a piece of cord he attached her ankles to the
base of the pole. She tested the restraint on her ankles; again
finding no weakness. She surrendered automatically to the
helplessness, the vulnerability. She trusted him as she trusted
herself; they were in love.

He kissed her again. Then he pulled away, she trying to follow but
stopped short by her restraint. His fingers lingered teasingly over
her exposed breasts, trailing down her side and thighs, sending
irresistible shivers up and down her spine. She moaned softly into
the unhearing forest. He pulled back and looked at her and felt the
familiar stirring of desire. But she needed her time and space. Time
for his needs later.

He turned his back and walked away heading back the way they had
come. Many times they had done this; she understood that he would be
back, after he had relaxed in his fashion -- walking alone in the
woods.

She idly wondered how long before he would return. Her helplessness
washed over her. She wasn't afraid of being discovered, but if
something happened? Familiar panic rose in her mind setting off a
bout of futile struggling. She considered screaming for him to come
back. Let her loose. She mentally slapped her face. She struggled for
control. This is what she wanted; needed. Time alone. Time to
consider herself. She had no control, she could only relax in her
bonds until she was released. Enjoy the view, the sensations of the
forest. Lose herself.

She became acutely aware of her surroundings. Even though she had
been here many times before in the same situation, she still felt
like a child experiencing everything for the first time. She felt the
stirring of the wind against her bare skin. Cooling her bare breasts,
stirring between her legs. Moving her long hair about her shoulders.
She shook her head to free her mane from behind her back and the
pole. She could hear the chipmunks scampering through the pine
needles behind her, birds singing their melodies in the peaks of the
trees above. The view off the ridge. The forest of green, the
churning clouds above flowing fast, free, and tumbling through the
sky. The pine needles below the soles of her feet. The clean smell of
the forest assaulting her sensitive nostrils. Such simplicity,
washing away the complexity of life. She was helpless but to absorb
it. She sighed, contented.

She rested her head back against the supporting post, feeling the
roughness of the wood at her bare back. She closed her eyes,
absorbing the other senses. She slipped unknowingly into a light
sleep.

She awoke startled and disoriented when something dropped on her face
lightly. More drops hit her face as she tried to move. After pulling
at her hands she remembered where she was, the post, the bonds,
Thunder Ridge. She slowly realized it was lightly raining and the
cool drops were hitting her upturned face. She saw a flash of
lightning in the distance and the ominous roll of thunder rolled over
her a few moments later. The wind had died, leaving behind an eerie
still. She became aware of the smell of new rain in the forest. She
breathed in heavily taking in this new sensation. She had never been
here in the rain before. She reveled in the cool water sliding slowly
down her bare body, coating her skin in a wet glaze. She could her
the droplets falling through the still trees, hitting the forest
floor.

Idly she wondered where he was. Smiling, she wondered if he was
getting wet. She didn't have a choice, stuck as she was. The rain
began to fall in earnest, slicking down her hair and soaking her
body. She laughed and tilted her head upwards to feel the rain
against her face. Opening her mouth to trap the precious water. He
wandered back to catch her playing like a child, trying to catch the
rain. He smiled, no wonder he loved her. He stood in the rain, his
clothes plastered against his skin and watched her against the pole.
Still over all these years she hadn't outgrown the child trapped in
her. He waited until she finally lowered her head and opened her
eyes. They shone as she realized he was there, watching her. She
smiled at him as he stepped over to the post and quickly released her
ankles from the base. Reaching up, he released her wrists from the
hook. She danced away from the wood that had imprisoned her for the
last few hours and turned slowly in the rain, face again uplifted,
arms outstretched. He couldn't help but admire the simple beauty of
her. Her freedom, her innocence. She ran up to him and embraced.
Kissing him, pressing her bare wet body to his soaked clothes. She
was free of her demons.

They walked hand in hand through the forest and the rain. She
absorbed the last sensations of the place, the rain against her skin,
the wet pine needles below her bare feet. Her hand in his. As they
reached the car, she shivered slightly.

Once in the car, she curled up like a kitten, her head cradled in his
wet lap, her wet hair spread out over the seat and his legs. She
wrapped her nudity up in the blanket, murmuring softly to herself.
She purred once and slept the entire way home. Finally it was all
right.

