Later, after Rob drifted back to sleep, Laura pulled on some clothes and went outside to feed the horses.

She would miss them. They were a comfort and a path to healing through the quiet rides. After filling their feed buckets she sat and softly talked to them. Maurie, the piebald gelding, nickered to her and nuzzled her foot with his nose. She stroked his fur, laying her face against his neck and smelling his sweet scent.

When a noise startled her she whirled around. Rob stood in the barn doorway, silhouetted by the morning sun.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“That’s okay.”

He knelt next to her and reached out. The gelding cautiously sniffed his hand, blowing a few times before nuzzling him and then reburying his head in the bucket.

“He’s a big Lab, that’s all,” Rob laughed.

“Horses are the ultimate Labs. They’ll eat themselves sick.”

“We could always buy the lot next door, fence it in, and build a pole barn. Our area’s zoned for horses.”

She scratched Peter, a buckskin gelding, behind the ears. “I’ll think about it.” Then she had another thought. “After we get this other stuff behind us.” The horrifying thought of going out one morning and finding a dead, mutilated horse nauseated her.

And with MedicineMan still on the loose, that was a possibility she didn’t doubt. There’s no way she’d ever let Doogie out of her sight outside at the house, much less leave him outside in the yard alone.

They walked back inside, hand and hand. They talked about showering but drifted into bed first. After an hour they rose once more and finally made it into the bath. Rob finished first and made a fresh pot of coffee for Laura. When she emerged, wrapped in Rob’s robe, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

“I had an idea,” he said.

“Let’s hear it.”

“I know you said you still wanted to follow our original wedding plans, but how about we fudge a little and go ahead and get married here, before we leave?” He pulled a box out of his pocket and opened it for her.

It was their wedding bands.

She looked at him. “In Montana?”

“Well, unless we’re in outer Mongolia, yeah, Montana.” His face turned somber. “Look, I almost lost you once. And who knows what’s going to happen when we get home. I know I said I wanted to collar you and marry you in front of our friends. But I love you, and I’m bound and determined I’m going to marry you no matter what. I can’t think of a more beautiful place to honeymoon than here. Hell, we were going to honeymoon here anyway.”

He dropped to one knee and held her hand. “Please marry me. I can’t beg or grovel any more than that.” He smiled. “Besides, I put up with Doogie all the way up here. You damn well owe me, baby girl.”

She playfully shoved him. “When?”

“When do you want to do it? How long will it take us to get a license?”

“I don’t know.” She managed to get in touch with Bill at the airfield before he left for a trip and he told her who to contact. By the time he returned home that evening, they had a marriage license.

A friend of his was a notary public. Bill called a couple of his friends, people Laura had come to know during her stay. The next day they drove into Yellowstone. Three hours later, on the boardwalk overlooking the terraces at Mammoth Hot Springs, Laura officially became Laura Carlton.

One of Bill’s friends videotaped the ceremony for them while a second photographed it. They all went out to dinner after, and they returned to Bill’s tired and happy. Bill went home with his girlfriend, leaving Rob and Laura alone.

“Go bring me your collar, baby girl,” he quietly ordered.

She nearly tripped over her feet in her run for the bedroom, earning her a gentle laugh as he watched her. She brought it to him, presenting it.

He took it and pointed at the floor.

This felt beyond right, beyond perfect. Kneeling at her Master’s feet, the world at large nowhere in sight. Just Him.

He buckled it around her throat before gathering her hair in his right hand and tipping her head back so he could look into her eyes.

“Who do you belong to?”

“You, Sir.”

He smiled, breaking her heart with its perfection. She knew she could never deny him anything he asked, ever, if it meant earning that smile from him.

Not a hint of the sadness, the pain, that he’d worn so heavily in the early weeks after the attack.

“That’s right. You do. My sweet, beautiful baby girl. All mine.”

Without releasing his hold on her hair, he urged her to her feet. He gripped the back of her neck firmly with his other hand and lowered his lips just above hers.

“You belong to me. I’ll die before I let anyone hurt you. You know that, right?”

She nodded, transfixed by his sweet gaze. “Yes, Sir.”

He teased her, making as if to kiss her but not letting her close the gap, earning her another of those smiles. “Tell me what you want.”

This was something else that felt right. She wasn’t sure what to say, but the words magically appeared in her brain. “I want you to own me completely, Sir. I want to be your slave. I want you to own my heart and my body.”

He never looked away, his gaze holding hers. “For the rest of our lives.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“That means taking punishment if you disobey me.”

Her breath came faster. “Yes, Sir.”

He completed the kiss, setting off explosions inside her. He kissed her hard, crushing, fucking her mouth with his tongue as she did her best not to let her knees turn to jelly. She had to wrap her arms around him for support.

He took and tasted, giving her no choice, holding her there and stealing her breath with the ferocity.

Just as suddenly, he used his grip on her to pull her away from him with a playful smile. She gasped, reeling, and he used her discombobulation to spin her around and deliver a bare-handed swat that stung even through the seat of her jeans.

“Go start a fire, baby girl. I have plans for you tonight.”

She raced to do it.

Laura kindled a fire while Rob opened a chilled bottle of champagne he’d bought the day before. They curled up in front of the fireplace and linked arms.

He gazed into her eyes as she felt the first true, deep peace she had since the nightmare began. “I love you, Laur,” he said. “You are my life.”

She leaned over to kiss him, nearly spilling her glass. This set them both giggling and they barely managed to take a sip before having to untangle themselves and put the glasses down.

“Tell me the truth, Sir. Was I always this klutzy?”

He smiled. “Yes, but it was one of the things I loved about you.” He brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes. She hadn’t had the color touched up. It had grown out a little and she was back to wearing it like she used to. “Someone so beautiful and talented and yet as human as the rest of us.” He stroked her cheek. “You used to always joke you wear your food well.”

“There’s still a lot I don’t remember, you know.”

He nodded. “I know.”

“Are you okay with that?”

“I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” He hooked a finger through the ring in the front of her collar and pulled her close. “Tonight you don’t think about that. Tonight, you completely belong to me, and I’m going to make up for lost time.” He kissed her before pulling her into his arms.

She settled against him and watched the flames dance in the hearth. “I want it all back, Sir,” she whispered. “I want all my memories back. I want to know everything.” She paused. “I want those goddamn journals!”

“Stop. That’s an order. Do not think about it. Not tonight. Regardless of whether or not your old memories come back, we’re going to make new ones, right?”

She nodded.

“Okay, then. Let’s make some right now.” He kissed her, slowly, refusing to be rushed. She folded against him, opening herself to him completely, her body pressed against his. She’d missed this, being with him, contact with him. Especially when they’d just begun rekindling this part of their relationship.

When she pulled him down on top of her, he stopped her.

“What?”

“Hold on a minute.” He got up and disappeared into the bedroom, reappearing with blankets and pillows, as well as a duffel bag.

“What’s that?” she asked.

He grinned. “You’ll find out, baby girl.”

A thrill ran through her. He obviously had something up his sleeve. She had a strong suspicion what that something was.

Once they spread the blankets and pillows out on the floor, he held his arms out to her and drew her close. “That’s better.”

He took his time. It was sweet, slow torture as he traced her neckline with tiny kisses and carefully unbuttoned her shirt. As he kissed her bared skin she pushed away all thoughts that these last few days could be the beginning of the end if the stalker had his way.

She moaned softly while he slowly, carefully, explored every inch of her flesh. When she tried to work on his waistband he gently pushed her hands away. With a sigh she lay back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of his body against hers.

He made her feel beautiful, in a way she’d thought she might never feel after seeing her reflection in the mirror at the hospital. She’d come away, physically, with just a tiny scar on her forehead.

Emotional and mental scars, however, weren’t something she wanted to ponder. Not tonight.

Feather-soft, his fingers traced patterns on her skin, making her shiver with anticipation. He nibbled on the top of her shoulder, at the junction with her neck, nipping her just enough to make her squeal with pleasure and pain.