Cherise Sinclair: Master of the Abyss

The sense of insult was instant. “That’s pretty sexist of the Hunts. I’m as good as you guys, probably better.”

Morgan grinned at the long-standing competition of “who’s best,” then sobered. “It wasn’t the Hunt’s decision, cuz; it was ours.”

“But…why?” Her chest constricted painfully. Were they trying to ease her out of the business? Hadn’t everything been going well?

“Kallie, these people are doing…” Wyatt’s color grew close to that of a beet. “Those people might have sex-in the open. In front of you.”

“Oh, honestly.” She shook her head. “Listen. If they do weird things in the forest, I’ll just close my eyes.”

“Even if we agreed, Logan insists the guides need to be comfortable with guests, uh, playing during a hiking trip. And you’ve never even seen anything…”

She should take the out. She wouldn’t have to go to the lodge and would be able to avoid Jake. But she’d worked too hard to fit in and be part of the business…and to live here with them. They were the only relatives who had let her stay, and she wasn’t going to risk their love for something as stupid as discomfort. Besides… “It sounds like the lodge will bring in a fair amount of business. We can’t afford to have one of us three not handling some of it-it’d screw up the scheduling big-time.”

From the unhappy expression on her cousins’ faces, they’d realized that too.

She sighed. “So how does Logan suggest we solve the dilemma of me not being adequately informed about ‘you know’?”

“A BDSM club will be at the lodge this Friday,” Morgan said. “He offered to show you around and explain things.”

Wyatt folded his arms over his chest, looking stubborn. “We told him you wouldn’t be involved.”

“Guess you’ll have to tell him different.” Kallie crossed her arms too and gave him the same look back. “‘Everyone is equal in this house,’ remember?” She could see they were torn in two directions-wanting to keep her safe and acknowledging the business concerns. But they couldn’t win against Uncle Harvey’s maxim.

Wyatt raked a hand through his hair. “Kallie. Even if we let you-”

“You can’t stop me, dude.”

He leaned over and squeezed her arm, his brown eyes concerned. “Morgan’s got a fishing group booked, and I’m going to be guiding that mountaineering bunch. You can’t go to that place by yourself. We need to wait for another party, when we’re available to go with you. ”

“And that will be how long?”

“Another six weeks,” Morgan said.

She rolled her eyes. “If you think about it, you might realize that I’ll be by myself if I’m guiding them. I might as well go by myself now. Besides, won’t Logan watch out for me?”

They still looked unhappy.

“Tell you what-I’ll close my eyes whenever something looks interesting.”

Morgan and Wyatt had felt guilty, and Kallie had taken full advantage of them. They ended up taking her turns at shopping and kitchen duty for a week, and she wouldn’t have to guide that ego-ridden group of yuppies on Monday.

It helped just a little when contemplating what was to come.

On Friday night, she pulled her Jeep into Serenity’s small parking area and turned off the ignition. After a glance at the lodge, she laid her head on the steering wheel in pure misery.

Jake would probably be in there, damn the man. She’d fallen for his looks on first sight-what woman with a hormone in her body wouldn’t? But it was the little glimpses she’d caught of him that had done her in: plucking old Mrs. Peterson’s grocery sack from her arms and carrying it to the car, kneeling to admire five-year-old Olivia’s new kitten, helping push Dan’s car out of a mud hole in the pouring rain. He simply assumed it was his job to help the weaker ones-he reminded her of Uncle Harvey. Yeah, she’d fallen for more than his body.

After climbing out of the Jeep, she scowled at the number of cars in the lot and her doubts rose. There must be a lot of kinky people at the party. But still, that didn’t bother her as much as the Jake Hunt dilemma. Maybe she should have tried to explain her discomfort to Wyatt and Morgan…

Guys, it’s like this: First, if Jake frowns at me like he usually does-as if I’m dog meat-my feelings will be hurt. I’m liable to kick him, and that’s considered bad for business relations.

Second, if I have to watch him…doing…some woman, well, that will hurt too . It was bad enough getting secondhand reports from her friends. How wonderful Jake was in bed, how thorough, how caring. She frowned. Wasn’t it odd they’d never done anything kinky with him? Maybe only the lodge guests were into the BDSM stuff, and he wasn’t. Not that it mattered to her what he did in his bed. Nope.

Third, if he looks at me like he did last time -just the thought made her heart race- then I’ll go belly-up like a whipped dog, beg him to take me, and never be able to look him in the face afterward. Once again, poor business relations.

Oh, wouldn’t those confessions go over well with Wyatt and Morgan. She snickered. Although they knew she dated, they never allowed themselves to think about what that might mean.

She kicked the Jeep door shut and walked into the wide clearing. The cool night air, scented with pine, ruffled her hair. Lights glimmered from the small cabins in the trees, knee-high solar lanterns delineated the pathways, and one larger light beamed from the two-story log building. As she strolled across the open space to the lodge, an owl glided low, wings lit by the bright porch light. Like a tank dropping out of the sky, it landed on a tiny rodent. The poor mouse squeaked helplessly.

She knew just how it felt.

Okay, let’s get this over with . Kallie crossed the wide porch and almost stumbled over a massive dog sprawled in front of the door. It stood, some sort of German shepherd mix, and stared at her. She took a step in retreat, then saw his full tail wave back and forth. A nice dog. She wouldn’t be getting her throat ripped out tonight, and wasn’t that a shame. She petted him and laughed when he leaned his weight against her legs and almost bowled her over. “I’d rather hang out with you, dog. But guess I’m stuck.”

As the dog flopped back down, Kallie pulled open the heavy front door. After stepping inside, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim light. The room smelled like leather and wood smoke, perfume and sex. It even sounded like sex. Over the music of a Gregorian chant, a man groaned, long and low. Slapping sounds were accompanied by a woman’s whimpering.

Kallie swallowed hard as the room came into focus. To the left, leather couches sat around a stone fireplace with a crackling fire, and past that, a naked man bent over, facing the wall. In the firelight, his pale buttocks displayed red welts in even rows.

Kallie’s eyes widened. Is this what Wyatt had meant by “you know”?

On the log walls, lanterns with amber-tinted glass cast circles of golden light, leaving other areas in shadow. She saw more seating arrangements here and there, defined by colorful rag rugs and dark red chairs. Farther down the room, people engaged in activities she couldn’t quite make out. Wasn’t sure she wanted to. The cracking sound-was the man at the end using a whip? Her hands closed into fists.

To her right, a blonde in a shiny latex catsuit held a lit candle over a woman tied to a desk. Wax dripped onto bare breasts. A splat . A gasp.

That looked…really painful. What would it feel like? To be unable to move. Naked. Waiting for something hot to land on your nipples. Painful or…erotic?

Her body said erotic . Her bra felt…tight, and even her baggy jeans managed to press on disconcertingly sensitive places. Okay, Wyatt had been right; she really wasn’t prepared for this.