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  He was anxious to know how his presents had been received. He’d thought about planting a bug in the basket but he didn’t want to risk offending Julia any more than he already had. He’d taken a large risk in being so explicit but her eyes had been bold. If he read her correctly, a more subdued approach would not have worked. She was different from most women. She called to him, demanding a powerful response. He’d know tomorrow night whether she was interested and he couldn’t wait to find out.

  A knock on his door startled him out of his fantasy. “Come in,” he called.

  The door opened and green-eyed redhead came in. Alex smiled and strode over to the older woman. He gave her a big hug. “Suzanne, I’m so glad you could make it.”

  Suzanne grinned. “No way I’d miss one of your parties, Alex. How many subs and Doms?”

  “Enough to thoroughly enjoy ourselves. I may sit out some of the party though so I hope you’ll step up and take over for me.”

  Suzanne cocked her head. Her eyes narrowed. Alex had planned this party for months. Now he was going to sit out part of it? Then she realized she’d seen Alex like this once before. “Of course I’ll back you up. You’re on a hunt, aren’t you?”

  A hunt meant Alex had spotted a potential submissive and he was laying the groundwork to get the woman to agree to anything he demanded. It could be a long, slow process depending upon the strength of the sub’s personality. Knowing Alex, he’d picked someone strong.

  Alex shrugged.

  “I know when you’re on a hunt. You can’t fool me. We’ve known each other too long. Tell me about her,” Suzanne demanded.

  “Not yet. Things are too uncertain.”

  “You’re such a tease.”

  “I learned the art from you,” he retorted. Alex reached over the desk and grabbed a set of keys. “Cabin one is all yours. I’ve held it for you. I knew you’d agree eventually.”

  Suzanne shrugged. She still wasn’t comfortable letting Alex front her most of the purchase price for the cabin but he’d insisted and finally worn down her resistance. “How could I deny you, Alex? This is a wonderful setup,” she said, reaching out for the keys.

  “Yes. Come look.” Alex walked over to the screens. “Here’s our newest recruit,” he said, pointing to a blonde woman. “Her name is Charlene.”

  “She’s delectable. Why is Mark breaking her in?” Suzanne cast a quick glance at Alex then said, “Your hunt is distracting you, isn’t it?” She didn’t wait for an answer and turned back to the screen. “He’s starting to lose it. You should be in there, Alex. Mark is too new to do this all on his own.”

  Alex looked at the screen. Really looked and saw what Suzanne had noticed.

  “Damn,” he said. He couldn’t seem to drag his mind from Julia, and now Charlene was in danger of being ruined.

  Suzanne placed a hand on Alex’s arm. “You’re too distracted. Let me handle it.”

  Alex hesitated and then nodded. Who better than Suzanne to help Mark?

  “Thank you, darling. This is a wonderful welcome present.” Suzanne laughed as she left the den.

  Suzanne walked to the basement door and hurried down the stairs. She entered Charlene’s room.

  Mark had Charlene nicely trussed. Her legs spread in the air, held back and up by the harnesses. Her cunt glistened and her clit stood out as if begging for a touch. Mark slowly kissed his way down a leg. He raised his eyes to look at Suzanne as she moved closer to the bed.

  “Don’t let me disturb you, darling. I’m just here as an extra set of hands or an extra mouth if you’d prefer.”

  He rocked back on his heels. Suzanne’s appearance startled him. Doms didn’t normally interrupt each other. He looked at Charlene and realized why Suzanne had intervened. Charlene’s sweat-soaked head tossed back and forth. She hadn’t even noticed another person in the room. Mark closed his eyes. He’d lost it. Charlene was supposed to be the submissive. Taunting, teasing and tantalizing were acceptable. Leaving her on the brink of an orgasm for too long was not. He’d been lost and forgotten his purpose.

  He lifted his hands off Charlene, stood and backed off.

  Suzanne moved next to him.

  “Don’t panic, darling. You’ve done fine and you’re not the first Master to get a little distracted. No harm done.”

  Mark fell to his knees in front of Suzanne.

  She raised him back up. “No. This is your scene. Control it!”

  Mark took a deep breath and stiffened. “Charlene is too far gone. She needs an orgasm. Give her one.” He cringed a little at giving Suzanne an order but she was right. It was his scene to control. To his surprise Suzanne smiled, patted his cheek and nodded. “That’s the way,” she said. Then she moved onto the mattress between Charlene’s legs.

  Mark went to the head of the bed. He captured a nipple in his mouth and used a hand to massage Charlene’s other breast.

  Suzanne buried her head in the vee of Charlene’s legs. Her tongue licked Charlene’s clit before sucking it into her mouth. Charlene moaned. Her head thrashed. Mark rolled her nipples—licking, twisting and pinching until Charlene’s hips started bucking.

  Suzanne followed Charlene’s thrashing, never losing hold of her clit. Charlene’s eyes rolled back and she screamed as an orgasm washed over her, shuddering through her abdomen. She gasped until her breathing slowly steadied.

  Mark stroked her forehead. “You did very well. Sleep now,” he murmured until she fell into a deep sleep.

  Mark started to release the wrist grips but Suzanne stopped him. “Leave her wrists. You want her to wake up and remember you own her. But let’s take the leg slings off.”

  He nodded. He held Charlene’s legs while Suzanne moved the harness. When Charlene’s legs were free, Suzanne covered Charlene with a comforter and motioned to Mark. He followed her into the hallway.

  “Suzanne…” He wasn’t quite sure what to say.

  “Mark, darling, this was your first scene here at the mansion, right? The freedom can be intoxicating. Plus you hadn’t expected to be in control of her initiation. Alex really threw you in at the deep end. I think you did very well. As I’ve mentioned, you’re not the first Master to lose it. The important thing is to think about what happened. How will you prevent it the next time?”

  Mark ran a hand through his hair. “I never realized how much control it takes to be a Master. How hard it is to remain distanced enough to put your submissive first. How do you and Alex do it?”

  “Well, practice helps, darling. Just be thankful you’re in a situation where there are other dominants to help you through the learning. My first—” She stopped herself, not elaborating. “Never mind, darling. Overall, you did very well. There’s no permanent damage. She’ll sleep it off and be ready for more tomorrow. Your punishment for losing control is your hard-on. Your satisfaction always comes last so by pushing your sub too hard, you lost the opportunity to get your satisfaction with her. You’ll survive and so will she. Walk me to my cabin and maybe if you’re a good boy I’ll take care of that for you,” she said, rubbing a hand on his cock.

  Chapter Four

  That night Julia walked around the cabin. She didn’t close the windows completely, leaving them open about half an inch, and she put in the wood that would keep the windows from being easily pushed open any farther. She wasn’t too worried about human predators but squirrels, birds and raccoons could do a lot of damage in the cabin.

  She remembered once when she’d been around ten. She and her grandfather had spent the day hiking. They’d forgotten to set the windows and a raccoon had gotten into the cabin. A raccoon that could open human cupboards. She still couldn’t believe the amount of destruction one cat-sized animal had caused.

  He’d gotten into the flour, sugar and molasses, leaving gummy little footprints all over the cabin. She’d spent two days cleaning up the mess. Julia was very careful about barring the windows now. She hesitated at the door and then decided she’d feel safer with the bar in place. It was good to
trust neighbors who’d lived here for decades but the people in the mansion were strangers. They hadn’t earned that trust.

  Julia climbed the stairs to the bedroom loft where she’d always slept. Her grandfather had camped on the porch during her visits. She’d once protested, saying she could stay on the porch but he’d just laughed and said there was no way he’d let her do that. Julia sank on the bed and fought off tears. She missed him. She couldn’t believe he was gone especially as she was surrounded by his things. He’d always been larger than life and full of fun. No wonder he and Alex had gotten along. They were both strong men with hard-held beliefs.

  She stripped off her clothes and turned down the light. The darkness of the night was all-encompassing—even with a full moon the forest seemed to swallow the light—but she’d always been able to see what others couldn’t. She could see the forest glow. The first time she’d seen it, she’d screamed, bringing her grandfather at a run. When she’d told him what she’d seen, he’d merely said, “It just means you’re sensitive. You can see things others don’t. You see the forest’s aura.”

  In the intervening years Julia came to realize not only could she see auras, but also that her emotions were always close to the surface, including her arousal. Her sensitivity had caused more than a few problems over the years. That was why she’d looked forward to this year in the forest despite the reason for her stay. After meeting Alex though, and her response to his gifts, she wasn’t sure this year would be very restful. She climbed into bed and rolled on her side. She fought the urge to masturbate. She couldn’t give in to his machinations this soon or she was lost.

  The next morning Julia woke with a start. Her first night at the cabin had been strange. She’d never stayed there without her grandfather. She was used to the forest noises but every once in a while she’d catch the sound of music from the mansion or the roar of a motorboat. She wasn’t used to human noises. The longtime residents valued their peace too much to pollute the lake with noise. No wonder all the natives were so irate about the changes.

  She knew she would eventually get used to the new noises but she wasn’t sure how to handle Alex. She’d spent much of the previous night tossing and turning until she’d finally slipped a hand down to her cunt. It had been dripping and the dildo Alex had given her seemed to call to her. She ignored the call. She used her fingers to pull and tap on her clit, occasionally dipping low into her cunt to gather more juices. It didn’t take her long to bring herself to a climax. She knew what her body liked but she hadn’t been prepared for her orgasm to leave her wanting more. She briefly debated getting the dildo and sleeping with it like a favorite stuffed animal. She resisted the urge and finally fell into a restless sleep.

  After breakfast, Julia pulled out the last letter from her grandfather and reread it, especially the end.

  He’s an unusual man. I’ve spent many a night playing chess with him. He always wins. Everyone likes him even as they hate what he’s doing. I know he has a plan but I don’t know what it is. I know he needs to be here for some reason, something that drives him. Be careful. I’d like to say stay away from him but I doubt he’ll stay away from you and that’s why I think you’re the one to defeat him.

  He always wins. He always wins. The sentence echoed in her head until she threw aside the letter. She did have a backbone. She would fight, wouldn’t she? She wished she had more information. Why had Alex given her that gift basket? What did he want? If he only wanted the cabin, he could have just waited a year before beginning a campaign to get it. Instead he’d started now. It didn’t make a lot of sense. If he scared her off, he’d have to deal with the conservancy. Maybe he’d already made a deal with them. A land swap would do it. There were other areas far more valuable than one isolated cabin at a small lake.

  She shook her head. She couldn’t deal with the situation now. She had errands and in order to do them, she needed to get the boat running. Then she could go into town, move her vehicle to long-term parking and buy some more provisions. She had to figure out how to stay supplied during the winter.

  The boat was docked in a small shed. Julia had never had to start the boat for the season. That had always been her grandfather’s job, and the fact the boat was still docked this late in the summer pointed to how bad the last few months had been for him. A twinge of guilt coursed through her. Why hadn’t he let her know?

  Luckily the boat was small—ten feet long, fairly new and lightweight, otherwise she’d have needed help to maneuver it down to the dock. The boat had only a small trolling motor meaning the trip to town would take a while but she wasn’t in any hurry. The motor needed priming since it had been sitting all winter. Julia spilled a little gas trying to prime it and after ten frustrating minutes, she got it going.

  Julia climbed into the boat and started the trip to town. Halfway there, one of the motorboats from the mansion raced past, creating a swell that nearly tipped her over.

  She finally made it to the dock and tied up. She finished moving a few things from her vehicle to the boat and then moved the SUV to long-term parking and walked into Maggie’s. Maggie was waiting on a couple of tourists just passing through.

  Julia browsed through the store. She frowned as she realized that Maggie didn’t carry all the items she’d need to make it through the winter. She’d have to take a drive to a bigger town unless Maggie had another suggestion. The tourists left and Julia made her way to the front of the store.

  “Maggie, I’m going to need a lot more fuel and canned items to make it through the winter. I know it’s still early but I need a lot.”

  “Sure, honey, I can order anything you want. Ted,” she called to her helper, “watch the store. I’ll be in the back with Julia.”

  Maggie’s office was little more than a desk in a storeroom. She went to a filing cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper. She lowered her head and sighed before she took a deep breath and waved Julia toward a seat by the desk. “I know about the will, Julia. I tried to talk him out of it. I didn’t think it was fair to put you in that position but you know how stubborn your grandfather could be. He insisted. So Ben and I put this list together last winter. He told me to save the list and in his will, he left me money to order these supplies for you.”

  Julia paled. She hadn’t realized all the effort her grandfather had put into this endeavor. She had to make it through the year. She couldn’t let him down.

  Maggie and Julia talked for an hour. Julia had never spent a winter up here but Maggie lived here full time. Of course, her grandfather hadn’t been around to plant his garden as he normally did so there were a few additions. It was a very large order.

  As they were finishing, Julia said, “Alex Thornton paid me a visit yesterday.” She’d decided she wanted someone to know that the man was around her cabin.

  “Oh, honey. I hope you kicked him out.”

  “He brought me a very expensive gift basket and…”

  “And…” Maggie prompted.

  “And an invitation to his party tonight.”

  “Oh.” Maggie frowned but didn’t say anything else.

  “Maggie?”

  “You know I hate to spread gossip.”

  “Tell me, Maggie,” Julia demanded. “I need to know what I’m facing.”

  She sighed. “Yes. You need to know. I’ve heard rumors about his parties from some of the people who helped serve. They leave at midnight before the parties really start to swing. They’ve seen enough though. Naked people. Women wearing chains. I’ve even heard that there’s a dungeon in the basement. They’re sex parties. Not normal sex either. Bondage and domination parties.” Maggie paused. “One of the girls from town decided she wanted to be a guest at a party.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “We found her on the dock the next morning. She’d been whipped and her mind wasn’t quite right.”

  “What was wrong?”

  Maggie shook her head. “She was begging to go back. She liked what they’d done
to her.”

  “Didn’t the sheriff arrest someone?”

  “Couldn’t. The girl had signed a big long document essentially agreeing to anything. It was the only way she could get an invite to the party.”

  “Then it was consensual?”

  “That’s how the law saw it. The way I see it was that the girl was naive and unprepared and they took advantage of her. Anyway, you don’t want to go to one of Mr. Thornton’s parties. They are too dangerous.”

  Julia nodded even as she wondered how she’d handle being dominated by Alex. Part of her was horrified, part excited by the thought. She hid both parts from Maggie.

  Maggie and Julia finished up. Julia hefted another box of supplies. Her boat wouldn’t hold much so she knew she’d have to get used to making the trip if she ever hoped to get all her supplies for winter.

  On her way back to the boat, Julia saw Alex standing with ten people. New arrivals for the party tonight she assumed. Her face flamed as she thought of the things Maggie had told her. Was that why his aura was blood-tinged? Although today there was a flicker of orange mixed with the crimson. Then she mentally shook her head and made her way around the crowd. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that she hadn’t been able to get his gifts out of her mind.

  Alex saw Julia coming down to her boat. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail. A few tendrils had escaped to frame her face. Her lithe muscles strained from carrying a box of supplies. Her tight jeans cupped perfect buttocks. Alex’s hands itched to hold them.

  Alex glanced at Suzanne and caught her eyes. “Take over,” he mouthed. She nodded.