Tameable | rope Sheriff bondage story

After the gloom under the trees, the bright sunlight hurt her eyes as she emerged into the clearing. The girl kept her gaze on the ground as she continued her brisk walk. She was half way across the bright patch before she saw the man off to her right. She didn't wait to recognise him; although surprised that they had found her so soon, this was not the moment to argue the point and she broke into a run. Small she may be but she was fleet and could outrun any man who wore high-heeled riding boots.

Damn that damn-fool horse; had she still been astride, there was no way they'd have caught up with her. She may not be the greatest of riders but her light weight would give her and her mount a great advantage when it came to covering distance. Now, on foot and with him mounted, it was not so surprising perhaps that she'd been overtaken.

It seemed to happen in slow motion probably because her fight-or-flight response had heightened her sensitivities. She saw the loop of rope open out above the grass right in front of her but, in her headlong rush to escape, she was not able to avoid slapping her right foot down in its exact centre. But she moved on and over it, lifting that foot well up to avoid the rope. Her right ankle was grabbed and jerked back sending her diving helplessly into the ground. She slid a foot or so and her mouth scooped up the dust although the fact failed to register for a few seconds because the impact knocked the breath from her.

Her left leg, that had been supporting her but was now abruptly relieved of its responsibility, kicked up behind her only to be snared by the bucking rope and she found herself pulled backward over the grass her ankles tightly drawn together. From ten yards away, without even moving his feet, the man had caught her and was now calmly reeling her in hand over hand as though out for an afternoon's fishing in the creek.

As her slide came to an end, she would have rolled on to her back intending to remove the rope but he was already kneeling beside her and pushed her back face down. Her legs were bent back against her thighs and he sat astride her knees locking them there. Then he reached forward to capture her hands, pulled them behind her, crossed her wrists and held them easily in one of his powerful hands while the other twirled rope around them. The speed at which he worked might well have left her breathless had she any to lose.

Spitting out dust, face down and hogtied, she struggled determinedly while her captor looked at the last few feet of rope in his hands. Then with a quick nod of his head, he pulled it down under her face, down to her waist and there he used it to anchor her hands and feet to her body rendering her almost incapable of even twitching. He rolled her onto her side and looked intently into her face:

"Well, now, seems I've caught me a pretty little filly. Unbranded too."

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Untie me at once."

"Well now. 'Tweren't that much trouble catching you but that ain't no reason to let you go."

"You bow-legged cross-eyed shit of a cowpuncher. Let me go ... or I'll... I'll..."

"You'll ...? Do go on. Y'u sound most interesting."

"This is unlawful imprisonment. It's kidnapping. You'll go to prison for ever when I tell..."

"Whoa there. Who says you're going to tell anybody anythin'. Seems to me little lady you're not in any condition to lay down the law. On'y I can say what goes on here an' I say you're going to stay right where you are and learn to behave yourself."

"Behave my... " She almost choked and it wasn't the dust. "Look buster. You're playing with fire. I don't allow any man... anybody... to treat me like this. Now you..."

"Well now, lady, that bein' the case seems to me you ain't yet met any man as could be called a man. Now, with me ... you'll do as you're told. Get it?"

"Shithouse. Hell'll freeze over before I take orders from you. Get it into your thick bovine head that I'm no lady. I eat squits like you for breakfast."

"Well now. That for sure is the truth. No lady would use language like that to a gen'leman. I think you make far too much noise for such a small calf." While speaking he had been unknotting the large kerchief around his neck. He'd spread it out on the ground, selected a rounded stone, placed it carefully in the exact centre and then rolled the whole thing into a rope. She guessed his intention and bucked against her bonds but she might as well have tried to fly away. He used both hands to clear her hair out of the way and then brought the gag to her mouth. She might perhaps have resisted had she not put so much effort into escape; with the stone in her mouth he pulled back with both hands, wrapped it around her head, crossed the ends, took both back through her mouth and finally knotted it tightly behind.

"Well now," he said; "one thing I've always liked about the open is the quiet that goes with the solitude. Now perhaps we can get interduced. You have to be Cindy, right? Any other girl around these parts I'd know her. Besides there ain't no girl around here that'd cuss a man that way. It just ain't respectable. Oh, and I'm Tod. Tod Martingale. Glad to meet you." He joined his hands in a mutual grasp and shook them.

She could only lie there and fume. However mad she got, however high her fiery temper soared, she was absolutely helpless. She had to give him one thing... he knew what he was doing with a rope even if he did do it at express speed. She just knew that there was no way out of this except with outside help. And, likely, he was the only help within miles.

"Hmm. Nothing to say. Well now... that sure makes a change. I like a woman who has not too much to say and always says it in a quiet voice. Let me congratulate you on your ladylike decorum."

Cindy was outraged. She would have done more than splutter had she control of her mouth.

As it was the gag was conspiring with the dust to make her mouth very unpleasant... it was going to be sore before long if this Neanderthal didn't hurry to finish his little game. She promised all sorts of retribution when she was free. For some reason she didn't fear an assault which surely should have been the most likely outcome of this meeting. In truth, Cindy's self assurance did not admit of such a thing happening to her.

He rose to his feet and moved a few paces to retrieve her hat. "Mustn't lie around like that," he said solicitously. "Y'could get sunstroke."

"Farting idiot!" But nothing made it out beyond her gag.

He bent and lifted her as though she were a feather. He added to her rage however in that he used the rope around her waist as a handle and carried her off into the trees. It hurt! Just into the shade, they came upon a horse and he put her down while he tightened the cinch and checked the bridle. From her eye level, a few inches above the ground the animal looked huge but then... its rider was pretty large anyway. At least the four-legged animal drew her admiration even if she were willing to incinerate the two-legged half of the partnership.

Inexplicably a smile stole across her face... or it would have done so had her smiling machinery not been buried in his kerchief. The thought passed that, were she able to fry him with a look, this one would most probably blindfold her as well. But there was nothing to laugh about; it had been a perfectly shitty day right from the first.

She'd come to this god-forsaken territory under entirely false colours. Instead of the free open-air life she had anticipated there had been nothing but censure. Christ, they lived in the dark ages. She was surprised the women weren't all hidden behind veils. Bad it had been back east with the silly fops prancing and dancing around her with Mother and Dad constantly lecturing her on unladylike behaviour. Now that they had gone - both of them in the same silly accident - she had thought to recover her equilibrium out here on her Uncle's ranch. The West was supposed to be a place where you were treated according to your abilities and Cindy certainly didn't lack for those.

She hated being treated like a weakly woman, someone who needed protecting and nourishing, like a second-class and semi-able life form. She held the male form of human life in utter contempt, as nothing but big heads only surpassed by the size of their mouths and made to look even bigger by the size of their brains.

If she had begun to regret accepting her Uncle's invitation, she would surely have been truly mad had she been aware of the telephone conversation between two men shortly after she lit out from the spread:

"Morning Tod. Jim Gregory,"

"Hi, Jim. What can I do for you?"

"Well boy, I got a spot of trouble and I think it may be heading your way."

"What sort of trouble?"

"This niece of mine. Doubt you've heard of her?"

"Jim, I guess the whole territory knows about her 'though I've yet to lay an eye on her m'self."

"We had words this morning about her behaviour and she lit out on Jason. I think mebbe ..."

"Jason? You let her get up on that loco hoss? Christ man, he'll likely kill her."

"Hold hard there. Nobody let her on him. Doggone if she didn't saddle him herself and mount. She's got the very devil in her. Nobody knew she'd gone 'til Jason came home alone. Boys did a quick backtrack and reckon she probably came your way. We're ridin' but if you could ..."

"Sure Jim, you don't have to ask. But, if I find her, what do you want me to do with her? Sounds like a tough customer."

"You find her alive, my boy you can do anything you like with her. Keep her for all I care. Mebbe you can control her. You're supposed to be good with handling wild animals. Me... I regret the day I sent that invitation to come out here."

A slow chuckle came over the line: "Well now, sure sounds like a humdinger. I'll enjoy to throw a loop on her and fit a bridle. If she came this way I know just where she'll be. Y'make it sound more likely she'll kill Jason?"

But Cindy didn't know about that telephone call and, at that precise moment, Tod Martingale did know exactly where Cindy could be found. Out of sight behind her, he bent to leave a message on the trail then mounted. He leaned down from his saddle, hooked a hand through that waist rope and hauled her unceremoniously up to his horse's neck. She squealed into the gag as the rope threatened again to cut her in two but he took no heed. Surely nobody in their right mind would pretend that a hogtie is a good riding posture and Cindy had never felt so endangered as she rocked across the animal's neck. He kept her in place with a hand lightly on her rump and, poised some twenty feet off the ground, as it seemed to her alarmed eyes, she had no thought whatever for argument or fight. She did her best to stay absolutely still; the horse was doing his best to throw her over the nearest cloud.

As they rode up to Tod's cabin, she noted the line of posts and the telephone cable. If she could get to that she would soon be out of this mess and so resolved that her best line would be to simulate submission and put him off guard. But her unruly tongue soon had her in trouble again. Dismounting he carried her inside, dumped her on the floor and removed the gag. But without untying her, he went to put the coffee pot over the stove.

"Hey, what about me?"

"Ah, the fatted calf. What about you, wench?"

"Don't wench me. I'm not a piece of luggage. And this hurts. You'll pay dearly for this when I'm free."

"What makes you think you'll be free? Hmm?"

"You don't think you can hold me tied up for ever? Sooner or later my uncle is going to miss me. Most likely he'll shoot you with that damn great cannon he insists on carrying."

"Oh, I don't think that's very likely. Your unc and I get on very well together. Besides, I'm a deppity sheriff around these parts and nobody would suspect me of wrongdoing. You're backing a bum hand, dearie. Everyone about these parts knows what a pain in the ass is Jim's Cindy and, if you're lost, I doubt they'll spend too much time looking for you."

Cindy opened her mouth for the next onslaught but a sudden small doubt stopped her. She knew she had been successful in her attempts to be obnoxious - and damn them all - but would they really abandon her? Would any raise an alarm if she really disappeared? Could this range bum indeed keep her here, helpless like this? At the moment she could do nothing at all to help herself but... he couldn't keep her tied all the time. Could he?

It was something entirely new in Cindy's range of experience. Then her fighting spirit reared again: "Damn your squint eyes. Untie me. Right now. I'm getting cramp and I need to go to the loo."

He looked at her thoughtfully. "Ah, yes. The call of Nature. Can't be denied, of course." Round one to Cindy... but instead of untying her, he left the room followed by her now shrill tirade. He was quickly back carrying a large tin bath, which he placed on the floor aligning it carefully with an overhead roof tie. Bending to her, he released the hogtie rope from her wrists but quickly re-tied her all but useless hands behind her using the kerchief that had gagged her. He undid her leather belt and pulled her jeans down below her knees and then secured them there with the belt. Then he threw the rope, the end not still bound around her ankles, up over the roof beam and hauled her aloft.

"One personal loo. Help yourself m'dear."

"Damn your cross eyes. You can't do this to me. I'll have you for rape. I'll have you for indecent assault. I'll... I'll... pee all over myself... "

She stopped abruptly as he re-appeared and, for the first time, she knew a slight tinge of fear. He was carrying another of those large kerchiefs and another coil of rope. "Like I said... you make too much noise... can't hear m'self think." He took the stone, late from her gag, and wrapped it in the new kerchief. Her hair was hanging straight down and was not in his way at all. Soon she was silenced again while he wrapped the new rope around her torso close under her armpits. He threw it over the next roof truss, hauled her back and up until she described a painful-looking backward arch and then made it off around her midriff which absorbed some of her weight.

When the bath had been suitably re-aligned: "Anything," he said, "anything at all if it will keep you quiet."

It took all of ten minutes plus the sound of retreating hoof beats for Cindy to start feeling alarmed. He really had left her like this. Suspended, face down, completely helpless, hands tied behind her back, her jeans around her knees, gagged ... and she hadn't been kidding about needing a visit to the loo. Before long she would just have to make use of that bathtub. No one, nobody at all, had ever humiliated her like this. She stopped fighting not because she had given in but simply because she had to admit there was nothing at all that she could do about it. She just had to hang in there and await the return of her tormentor.

Perhaps she dozed, she wasn't sure, but his voice aroused her: "Well now, Cindy. I see you've done your business. You prepared now to act in a civilised manner? Ah. My mistake. You can't answer of course. Here, let me... "

He untied the gag and gently pulled it from between her teeth. She remained silent while she worked her jaw. "I expect you'd like a drink," he offered.

"Yes... please."

He raised a bowl of water up to her face. "I can't lap... I'm not a dog. Can't you let me down... p... please."

"Hmm," he said, "That did come a bit hard, didn't it? But it's a definite improvement." He untied the rope about her middle and took her weight on his arm. He pulled her jeans back up her legs and then, lifting her, untied the rope about her ankles and lowered her to sit in a chair. Now he offered water in a glass, which she sipped greedily.

"My hands," she said.

"Very nice hands," he replied. "I've been admiring them."

"No you idiot. They're still tied behind me."

"Yeah. That IS rather obvious," he said. She saw where he was looking and understood the crinkles that were appearing at the corners of his eyes. For the first time ever, she could remember she felt a blush that was spreading up from her neck. His face split to a wide grin; she found herself thinking that he looked much better when he did that. "Leaves me a difficult choice," he went on. "Do I cut your hands loose or do I cut the telephone line?"

"Damn you."

"Now don't tell me you were thinking about something so underhand as that? Lucky I thought of it too."

Then his voice lost the banter and dropped to a lower tone. "I think you're a great girl, Cindy so I don't think you would give me your word not to try escaping or using that 'phone were I to turn you loose?"

"Would you expect me to keep such a promise?"

"I think you'd keep a promise but, made under duress, that wouldn't really be a promise, would it?"

She remained silent but he liked the fact that she held his gaze.

"I've got an idea." He picked her up and laid her on the table then retied her feet into the rope still hanging from the roof. "Just to encourage you to stay," he explained, that grin re-appearing. He was gone only a short time but she couldn't believe the item he brought with him. He wrapped the end of the chain around her neck and secured it with one of the padlocks. The other end he secured around the roof truss beside the rope. Then he untied her feet and followed up by releasing her hands.

"Tod whatever your name is," she hissed, her voice venomous with anger. "Get this off me. NOW. AT ONCE. I'm not your frigging dog. I won't be chained like an animal. Take it OFF!"

"Well now…" His voice had re-assumed that irritating drawl. "Reckon like that you can't get into any mischief. You want it off, then you make me take it off."

She hunted around her, eyes darting everywhere.

"Here!" He slid the water glass down the table toward her. She picked it up, hefted it a moment and then let fly with all the fury her slight body could muster. He calmly caught it and set it back on the table. "See. You can't be trusted. Maybe I'd better re-tie you."

"You dare. Don't you... " but she ran out of words. Did Tod but know it he was the first man ever to outpace her in the verbiage stakes. She grabbed the chain in both hands and pulled. She shook it, shook it again and then leaned all her weight as she pulled and jerked it again and again. When finally she stopped, panting, and looked around she was alone.

Her first thought was that telephone but she soon found that he had an outdoor-dweller's eye for distance. That chain didn't allow her to get even within toe distance. She walked around the table looking for drawers and was delighted to find one. Tugged open though it revealed only table linen; tablecloths and, surprise, table mats and napkins. But then... he was by no means uncouth and he must have had a mother!

She found nothing whatever within reach that she could use as a weapon; even the chairs were too heavy for her to do more than slide one along the floor. Her gaze returned to the telephone and suddenly she burst into tears.

How long she sat there, she had no idea. The world had become a new place to Cindy. To meet a man whom she hated was not at all a new experience although, to be sure, this one did have a most attractive grin. Now and then! But to be deprived of freedom; to be held captive; to be tied or chained and remain totally helpless - that was a new experience which she did not relish. Cindy liked to be in charge. Her main weapon was her waspish tongue and this cowboy had even deprived her of that - twice!

Came the sound of a horse's hooves and she strained to look out of the window. The horseman was someone she had not seen before. About as big as Tod but clearly much older. She thought he was wearing a badge of some sort. Could this be the Sheriff? He dismounted, threw his reins over the bar and came on to the house. She waited until he knocked and then screamed as loud as she could: "In here. In here. Please... help me."

The door squealed as it was pushed open and came the heavy sound of boots clumping over the wood floor. The big man who stood in the doorway was undoubtedly wearing a star on his vest. "Sheriff. Am I glad to see you. I'm being held here against my will."

"I take it, Miss, that you are Jim Gregory's niece, Cindy?"

"Yes. Yes," she said but, before she could get out anything more, he interrupted:

"Oh good. That's got that settled. I'll be able to tell your Uncle that you're OK."

"What?" Could her ears be deceiving her? "Sheriff. I told you. This man Tod... er... Martin-something is holding me captive here. He caught me out in the woods with a lasso. Look... I'm chained."

"Miss Cindy. You're alive and well. Ain't no concern of mine what manner of games you and Tod play. You're quite safe in his hands, I know, an' that's all that matters. I'll tell your Uncle. Day to you " and, somewhat stiff of face, he left her.

Never had Cindy felt so betrayed, so alone, so... so... She fought against her tears and, suddenly furious again, attacked her tethering chain with all the ferocity her small frame could muster. Twice more during that long afternoon she tried her strength against it but to no avail. She was stuck and had little choice but to await what came. Hungry and thirsty both, she watched the evening drawing in until, at last, she heard the beat of hooves.

That they clattered right past the house and came to a stop beyond gave her hope that it was Tod. Twenty minutes later and nigh completely dark it was indeed Tod who entered the house and began to light lamps. He found her curled up in one of the big chairs. "Hallo there," was his cheery greeting. "Miss me?"

"Where the frigging hell have you been?"

"Cindy. If you insist on cussing you might have the decency to learn to do it properly. Then I would have a proper excuse for beating you to make you stop. As it is... I can't really justify abusing my good frypan."

"Frypan? Fr... ? What in hell has that got to do with leaving me here all alone all the frigging day?"

"I'll demonstrate." He left the room briefly and returned with a heavy iron skillet. Placing it on the table, he approached purposefully and, suddenly apprehensive, Cindy rose to meet him. From three paces away he pounced, wrapped an arm around her waist and swung her up and off her feet. Swirling her around his body he sat on the chair and dropped her across his lap. Once again he yanked her jeans down to expose her rear before landing a resounding thwack on her left cheek with the flat bottom of the pan.

"OW. That hurt, you bastard."

"Well now. You didn't think I was playing a game? But I don't like that name you called me. Stand by for numero two."

Again the pan sang its sonorous song and Cindy yowled even louder. "Stop it, you damned maniac. That hurts. And I meant what I said. BASTARD. BASTARD. BASTARD."

He sighed. "Unless this is to go on all night - and I do want some supper - I see I must ... " and he stuffed another of his great bandanas into her mouth. Once more the pan descended and Cindy, released, bounced from his lap and tugged the cloth from her mouth. For a moment she was beyond reason and then she hurled herself at him. But her jeans, still around her knees, brought her down.

Tod lifted her and sat her on the edge of the table while he wiped her tears with the bandana. "I have to tell you," he said sympathetically, "that you should never attempt any kind of gymnastics with your pants around your knees. They just weren't designed that way."

She took a long deep breath, her back straightening. Then, without warning, she did something that nobody had ever seen before in Cindy Bremner. She fell to giggling; it just sort of... boiled up from within. "Bloody j'... jackass." She moved her hand behind and gingerly touched her singing rump: "Ow!"

She watched as he put the pan down on the table and then, with a broadening grin, moved it carefully so that it was well out of her reach. For several seconds she strove to hold a severe face but lost hands down as they both erupted into laughter.

"What now?"

"Well. I'm hungry. Been wasting a lot of time today so it'll all have to come out of tins. Can I invite you to dinner?"

"Take this dam' thing off me and I'll get it," she offered.

"Hmm. Think I'll feel safer leaving it on. Y're sure one hell of a fire-raiser."

"Well, if it means you'll have to wait on ME... then I'll suffer your little tete-a-tete."

"Well... actually... it'll have to be a threesome."

"What?"

He gave a low whistle and again she heard heavy boots on the wood floor of the porch. In the doorway there appeared once again the burly form of the Sheriff. "Evenin', Miss Cindy."

It was indeed a day of new experiences for Cindy. She was speechless. She gripped the chain in both hands as though she would tear it from her neck: "What... ? How did... ? Sheriff... you... but... !"

"Well," spoke up Tod. "You didn't really think we'd leave you here all alone and helpless all afternoon?" Then accusingly: "Or did you?"

Cindy stood, uncertainly passing her hand over her still-hot backside and absent mindedly checking that her jeans were properly in place and truly fastened. She was... yes, she had to admit it... she was embarrassed.

Tod turned to the Sheriff: "D'you reckon she's safe enough like that? Perhaps we ought to cuff her?"

"Well," drawled the lawman: "It's mighty difficult to eat in cuffs 'specially when she's so small and my cuffs are so big. I dunno..."

"OK. OK. Stop it, both of you. Look ... I know when I'm beaten. I'll not promise never to serve your heads in a suet dumpling one day but, for the time being, let's call a truce. Eh, fellers?"

The two men looked at each other and, as that grin once more lit up his face, Tod again shook hands with himself.

"But what about this chain? You gonna take me back to my Uncle like this?"

"No hurry," said Tod lightly. "Let's eat first. We can do the small talk after."

And then, as if an afterthought: "Your uncle DID say I could keep you... but... well now... I'm not so sure. Then... on t'other hand ... you do look kind'a cute chained to my table?"

Cindy began again to look as though something was about to boil over and Tod went on: "Say Sheriff. Is it legal to keep a pet woman around the house? I mean... I did catch her runnin' wild out in the woods."

"Well ... now," said the Sheriff assiduously scratching his chin. "Reckon the folks around these parts would on'y accept it if'n you married her."

For a few seconds the air was charged as though a thunderstorm were brewing. Then said Tod, "Well now, reckon I might ask her at that... but AFTER we take that there chain off."

The sheriff grew thoughtful once more: "Reckon we got ourselves a catch-22 situation here?"

"How come?"

"Well. He ain't gonna ask you unless he takes that chain off first. On t'other hand I wouldn't advise he takes the chain off less'n you gets to say 'Yep' first. Seems like I could get to stay here a long times?"

Another moment and he continued with the suspicion of a smile twisting the corners of his mouth as he turned back to Tod. "And on t'other hand again... once you take that chain off you're sure in for a lot of practice wi' your ropin'."

"And on yet another hand... if you two bowlegged chauvinist philosophers have QUITE FINISHED... this here tethered cow is waitin' for some hay."

END