Dominant Warfare Pt. 09

They were halfway through their breakfast when Steve laid down his fork. He turned April in his lap so that he looked at her. April had a quizzical look on her face wondering what was going to happen, but eager to see whatever he had in store for her. Steve looked at her with love deep in his eyes as his fingers gently stroked her hair and cheek.

April had no idea what was going to happen, but the love in his eyes took her breath away. "The last few days have been life-changing for both of us and I'm not ready to give you up! I think I know the answer, but I need to know if you want to be my submissive."

Steve watched as April's eyes began to fill with tears and she swallowed a couple of times trying to get rid of the lump in her throat. In a low voice full of emotion, she whispered, "More than anything! You have shown what I can be and who I really am. I love the way I am and the way I feel when I'm around you. I can't bear the thought of not being with you. I love being your submissive and having you as my Master. As long as you continue to love and dominate me, I will be whatever you want me to be!"

The intensity of her feelings was evident as the tears trickled down her cheeks. Steve swept the tears from her cheeks and said, "I don't want you to be anyone except April. We have discovered a deep bond between us and our roles as a couple. I think it's about time you put this back on, because now you truly are owned by someone."

From behind his back, Steve pulled the slave collar that April had purchased several days ago. He wrapped it around her elegant neck and with an audible snap locked it in place. Tears of joy streamed down April's face. Unlike before, she knew what the collar meant and the deep significance attached to it. The man she loved was claiming her as his. He was telling the world that she belonged to him.

It was a moment she never thought would happen and her heart pounded achingly in her chest. It was a flash of realization, which confirmed he would always be there for her. He was telling her that he didn't want her money, or even her beauty, but he wanted her heart. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder as the joy poured out of her eyes. In between sobs of happiness, Steve heard her whisper, "Yes, yes, I will always be yours. I will always belong to you."

Steve held her in his arms as the elation cascaded down her cheeks. He felt the same way she did and at this moment, neither could get past the lump in their throat to say anything. As they held each other tight, nothing really needed to be said. Finally, Steve pulled April's head from his shoulder, kissed her deeply and told her, "Now, you belong to me and I am your Master and protector. No one can come between us now!"

April flew back into his arms smothering his face with kisses. Steve grabbed a fist full of hair and held her head still while he kissed her until neither had any breath. As their mouths separated his lips curled into a playful grin and he whispered, "Slave, you forget yourself."

The happiness on her face morphed into a giggle as she jumped back into his arms. As she nibbled his ear she seductively whispered, "Then punish me ... MASTER!"

Steve gave her a quick pop on her already enflamed ass and April yelped passionately. They separated so they could look at each other and their playfulness disappeared as looks of pure love took its place. Steve murmured that they needed to finish breakfast before it got cold.

April really didn't care about breakfast, but lovingly caressed the collar. She couldn't believe this dream come true. Steve loved and wanted her, not her money or to be a beautiful trophy. He loved who she was and understood her heart. None of her baggage, or spoiled behavior had pushed him away. He took her faults and turned them into passionate, fiery love. He amazed her and she loved him with all her heart.

She caressed the collar, reveling in what it meant and pouring love into his eyes. While still caressing the collar she returned to her food. They both slowly took another bite of their breakfast, but their eyes never left each other. The depth of love and devotion that each poured into the other was seared into each other's soul. April never imagined three days ago that the man who found her on a deserted highway would be her soul mate.

They were almost finished with breakfast when April's phone rang. She looked at Steve sadly and dashed into the kitchen to answer the phone. She answered, but before she had time to say anything, the Sheriff shouted on the other end, "Get out! Both of you get out of the house! They are coming for you!"

Chapter 24

April's idyllic morning was suddenly ripped away from her with the Sheriff's comments. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she suddenly longed for the safety of Steve's strong arms. As she stumbled back toward Steve, in a panic stricken voice she screeched, "Who, when, what is happening?"

With the background noise the Sheriff was obviously on his way to them. The siren and the road noise both made it difficult to understand what he was saying. "We have an informant that claims two gun thugs from Presidio are on their way to your ranch. That's all we have, so hunker down until we get there."

April's face was a mask of fear and panic as she reached Steve. In a halting voice, she told him what the Sheriff said. As she finished she concluded, "It must be my father, but why? He brought me up, he raised me and I'm his flesh and blood. Why would he do this?"

Steve knew they needed to move quickly. He gathered her in his arms as he moved to the back of the house toward the gun cabinet. He held her tightly as he whispered, "He's not after you baby, he is after me. Right now, you're just in the way. Killing me means more to him than loving you."

Steve had almost destroyed the gun case trying to get a weapon when he went chasing after April. This time April knew the combination and they were able to get some of the better rifles, pistols and ammunition. They gathered up their defense weaponry and headed back up the stairs.

Once they reached April's bedroom Steve slipped on a shirt and jeans. Meanwhile, April shimmied into a skintight sundress and slipped on some panties. Then all hell broke loose. A high powered rifle shot came through the window hitting her dresser mirror. It hit April's mirrored reflection with a perfect head shot. A second later, they heard a shotgun blast breach the front door.

Steve grabbed the frozen April around the waist and pulled her to the floor. It was less than a second later that another rifle shot came through the bedroom window, narrowly missing April. Steve shielded her from the doorway as he turned to face the threat coming up the staircase.

Steve aimed his pistol out the door ready to confront anyone who came up the staircase. He didn't really want to shoot or kill anyone, but protecting April was his first priority. If they pushed him, he would do whatever is necessary to protect her. Letting everyone else know that, he shouted out the door, "I don't want to kill you. However, if you come up the stairs I will do whatever is necessary and you will die first."

Letting the gun thugs know that he was serious, Steve fired two shots into the wall above where he supposed their heads were. He heard shuffling on the stairs stop. Then in the distance, he heard the soft wail of a police siren. He knew reinforcements were not far away and he heard the gun thug's footsteps retreating down staircase.

Steve heard footsteps running out of the house, but he knew this could still be a trap. He stayed prone on the floor with April behind him until he heard the sirens stop in front of the house and police cars screech to a stop. He slowly rose to a crouch and turned to check on April. She had a mixture of fear and awe on her face.

He had put his life on the line to protect her ... again. She never expected anyone to do that and yet he did it twice. His protection was just one more confirmation of his love for her and proof that he was the man she had always dreamed of. At a minimum, he cared enough to protect her with his life, or he truly loved her with all he had. Either way, it was an amazing feeling to have someone who loves you as he did. It was even more amazing to love him back the same way.

They heard the Sheriff shouting their names as he prowled up the stairs. Steve laid the gun on the floor and helped April get to her feet. They looked deeply and lovingly into each other's eyes and for a moment, their hearts were revealed to each other. Their love and caring for each other poured out through their eyes. As the Sheriff carefully skulked to the top of the stairs, they turned to face him.

The Sheriff breathed a sigh of elation as he saw them both okay. As the sigh passed his lips his tense shoulders slumped in relief. He whispered, "Thank God you're alright."

The Sheriff smiled at them with genuine happiness that they were okay. Just a few moments of genuine affection quickly vanished as he looked at the bullet holes in the windows. He turned his back to the loving couple as he started issuing orders to his deputies. There were still at least two gun thugs out there and they needed to round them up.

When the sheriff turned to give them a moment of privacy, Steve turned to look at her radiant April. Her face was lit up with joy and happiness. The love in her eyes was obvious to even the most casual observer. Steve was not the casual observer and his whole insides turned to mush as she looked at him. He started to lean down and kiss her when something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

His eyes shifted and he saw the smoky trail of an RPG heading towards them. Without even thinking, he pushed April to the floor. He turned and shoved hard on the Sheriff's back forcing him to stumble through the bedroom door. Only after everyone else was safe did he dive to cover April.

Unfortunately, too much time had elapsed and in mid-dive the room exploded into a shower of glass and wood. Everyone else was safe, but Steve caught the full brunt of the blast. He landed hard on April momentarily driving the breath from her.

April squirmed underneath Steve as her breath came back. He was still lying on her with his full weight keeping her pinned to the floor. Her left arm was trapped beneath him, but with her right arm, she gently caressed his back. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "You have to stop saving me like this. I'm starting to feel like a damsel in an action movie."

Steve didn't respond, but April didn't think anything about it until she felt warm liquid on the arm trapped beneath him. She squirmed trying to look at him, then in a voice filled with concern she mumbled, "Steve ... Steve!" The longer he didn't answer the more panic filled her voice until she was screaming, "STEVE ... STEVE!"

Suddenly the Sheriff was there lifting Steve so she could squirm out from under him. Together they gently turned Steve onto his back and assessed the damage. His whole right side was peppered with hundreds of pieces of glass and wood. However, there were three major wounds. A large chunk of wood was embedded in his thigh and a large piece of glass was embedded in his arm. Both were bleeding heavily, but the most life threatening was a large piece of glass sticking out of his side.

The Sheriff immediately got on the radio shouting, "I need a med flight here and I need it NOW! I need one person to help me transport the wounded. The rest of you I want you to find the son of a bitch that did this and I don't care if he makes it to trial."

April rushed over to his gym bag and pulled out the leather strips that had given her so much pleasure the night before. Now she used them to create tourniquets stemming the blood flow from his arm and leg. Both she and the Sheriff worked silently and methodically. They both knew what needed to be done to stabilize Steve so they could get him to the hospital.

However, the tears in April's eyes made it difficult for her to see what to do and occasionally she had to wipe the tears from her eyes. The Sheriff heard April muttering prayers as she worked over Steve and joined in with some of his own. In the short time they had known each other, the Sheriff had come to admire and respect Steve. Steve had taken care of April throughout this whole fiasco and the Sheriff had never seen April this happy.

Steve regained consciousness shortly after the tourniquets went on. He drifted in and out of consciousness with obvious pain on his face. His glances at April were always thankful and his eyes were filled with happiness.

The large piece of glass in his side had punctured and collapsed his lung. April had run downstairs to get a straw and re-inflated the lung. They used a sheet to create a makeshift stretcher. The Sheriff, April and one of the deputies carried Steve outside to wait for the med flight helicopter.

Once Steve was on the chopper with April, the Sheriff turned his attention to the manhunt. Word had spread quickly and every law enforcement agency in the area was hunting these men. They had some of the best trackers in the world working this area. The Sheriff knew the gun thugs would soon be either dead or in custody. So he turned his attention to the mastermind.

The Sheriff had known Mr. Hunt all his life. They had gone hunting and fishing together and the Sheriff knew many of his secret hideaways. He still had a hard time understanding why he would use his own daughter this way, but that only made his decision even easier. Anyone that would hurt his or her own children for financial gain deserved to be dead or in jail.

The Sheriff kept in touch via radio on the manhunt as he headed to where he was sure Mr. Hunt would be.

Chapter 25

Steve's car was packed and almost the entire town turned out to see him off. He remembered back to Grace's comments about how this was the most exciting thing to happen in decades. He had to admit he was going to miss this town, but he knew he would be back for the trial.

He shook hands with the Sheriff, but winced as the Sheriff wrapped him in a big bear hug. While his wounds were on the mend, they were still tender. The twins from the hotel had shown up in identical skimpy outfits that left little to the imagination. It was an obvious last attempt at seduction, and he had to shake his head in wonder.

Steve gingerly climbed into his Cobra and looked over at his new copilot. He wasn't sure he could keep his eyes on the road, because she was devastatingly distracting. April was sprawled casually in the seat beside him in a tiny bikini top, some Daisy Duke shorts and her slave collar. The smile on her face let him know she was happy to be where they were. Her eyes were luminous with the love she felt for him and for the thousandth time his heart responded. His insides turned into mushy goo again as her love filled him to over flowing.

She was leaving everything behind to come with him. With her father in jail and the entire legal system working against him, he had lost everything he had. He had even lost April, but she had Steve. The entire ranch was already in April's name, and many of their other assets had to be liquidated for her father's defense. However, April still had a large fortune and trust fund squirreled away and she would never hurt for money.

Steve handed April a large zippered case full of CDs and a Rand McNally map book. He smiled at her and said, "As my copilot, you're in charge of music and navigation. So for at least a little while you get to tell me where to go."

April gave him a pout that morphed into an impish smile. "Why don't you have a GPS? What happens if I get us lost?"

Steve chuckled and smiled at her. He knew with that sexy outfit and that impish smile, there would be many detours. Steve already knew the route, because Interstate 10 goes all the way to California. Steve got a pretend scowl on his face and said, "If you get us lost I guess I will just have to find some way to punish you."

April's smile widened taking over her entire face, with her eyes full of love and mischief. She squirmed in her seat and eventually leaned over the console with her breasts dangerously close to spilling out of her top. "Oh Master, then I will be sure to get us lost ... several times!"

Steve couldn't help but smile as he leaned over and gave April a devastating kiss. Their tongues dueled for dominance just like their very first kiss and this time they were both winners. After the kiss, April sat back in her seat with the dreamy look on her face as Steve started the Cobra. The throaty rumble kicked in as they drove out of Alpine. April popped a CD in the player and as they reached, the city limits sign "Babe" from Styx began blaring through the speakers.

The End