Cherise Sinclair - Master of the Abyss

The blonde caught her staring and gave Kallie an assessing look before smiling. Kallie sucked in a breath and nodded back. I’m cool. Experienced woman, seen it all in my time. Really . What the hell was she doing here? Morgan and Wyatt should have explained a lot more about the “you know” stuff. Oh, they were going to suffer-painfully-before she killed them. Maybe she could borrow that guy’s whip.

Then again, her cousins might not have realized… Maybe the places they’d visited in San Francisco weren’t as…much. Whatever. Well, now that she’d done as Logan had required and taken a look, maybe she could just sneak out and-

“You joining us tonight, baby?” A tall, skinny guy in a black biker jacket grinned at her.

Caught . “No, I’m not. Is Logan around?”

“That’s a shame. I’ll get him.”

As Kallie’s gaze followed the man heading for the back of the room, she spotted a woman chained, facing the far wall, dressed in only a thong. The guy in front of her held an English riding crop, and when he whopped her on the thigh, she yelped.

Kallie winced and somehow, weirdly, felt excitement trickle down her spine. Okay, I really, really need a beer.

“You made it.” Logan strolled up, gripping a lushly built woman by the scruff of her neck.

Kallie shifted her weight uncomfortably. Was that his fiancée, Rebecca? Kallie had met her in town only once. Aside from Jake, Serenity Lodge didn’t socialize much. A scream came from across the room, and Kallie amended that assumption. They didn’t socialize in Bear Flat much. “Yeah, I’m here.”

Ill at ease under Logan’s observant eyes, Kallie glanced at Rebecca and felt even more out of place. The redhead’s emerald green corset emphasized every full curve she had, and gave Kallie a moment of envy. Must be nice to have breasts . Her garter belt and garters held up black fishnet stockings, and a thin leather collar was around her neck. No other clothes, though-not even a thong.

Rebecca stared at the floor, hands clasped in front of her… Or no, padded leather cuffs fastened her wrists together. This was so not the polished woman whom Kallie had met, and worry gnawed at her stomach. Rebecca looked so subservient; surely Logan didn’t beat her. The number of scars on his knuckles suddenly seemed menacing.

“I’m glad you came,” Logan said.

She yanked her gaze from his hands. “Ah. I’m pleased to be here.” She shrugged, not wanting to say, You didn’t leave me much choice.

The wicked grin indicated he knew it anyway. “Let’s start with-”

“Logan!” A man called from the other end of the room. “Need you and Becca here.”

“Never fails.” Logan checked over his shoulder and frowned. “Hang loose, Kallie, and I’ll be back to show you what’s up.”

As Logan wrapped an arm around Rebecca, she raised her head and winked at Kallie. A wink full of humor and not frightened at all.

Relieved, Kallie relaxed a trifle. She realized she was wringing her hands and shoved them in the front pockets of her jeans. There. Look casual . She swallowed hard. Hey, I see people manacled to log walls all the time. You bet. It’s a popular sport in Bear Flat. Gonna replace fishing soon.

The Gregorian chants blended with other worrisome noises. Like the hissing of a man cuffed to a big X-shaped frame against the wall. His testicles dangled between his spread legs, and a woman was winding leather around them. Kallie winced. She might not have that kind of equipment, but three cousins and a couple of boyfriends had taught her a little about their painful vulnerability.

“Kallie?”

She jumped at the sound of a smooth, deep voice. A truly gorgeous man stood in front of her, slightly shorter than the Hunt brothers-maybe six feet-and older, with silver flecks in his black hair. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and tailored black slacks, a very civilized look for the rustic lodge and a marked contrast to her battered field clothes.

“Yes, I’m Kallie.”

He held his hand out. “My name is Simon. Logan requested that I stay with you until he could return.”

Rescued! She shook his warm hand, uncomfortably aware how cold and damp her own must be. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

“Come, we’ll sit down by the fireplace. You can observe, and I’ll answer any questions you have.” He guided her to a massive leather couch and settled himself on the other end, relaxing with his arms stretched out along the back. Polite, friendly, not making any moves. She liked him already.

“I thought there would be more people,” Kallie offered after a minute. “My cousins said this was a club weekend.”

“In a way. We all belong to a San Francisco BDSM club, but we’re mainly friends who enjoy partying together and getting out of the city.”

So if Jake and Logan knew all these people, no weirdo would come at her with a whip and chains. Right ? Just then a man walked past with a coiled whip attached to his belt. She eyed him, remembering the stuff from Serena’s romance novels. She would never have dreamed people did this in real life. Her discomfort increased.

Simon smiled. “Relax, pet. We all have our own submissives-well, except for Jake. You won’t be harassed, and no one here minds observers or we wouldn’t play in public.”

“Oh. Good.” She frowned. “But I’m not a pet.”

“No?” He studied her for a minute and then nodded toward a man in black jeans and a T-shirt tying a woman facedown on a coffee table. “You don’t find watching a dom with his submissive to be exciting?”

The woman wore only a bustier and thong. The dom secured her legs open, then touched her intimately. Slowly. The woman wiggled and a minute later was moaning, raising her hips toward him. Smiling, the man stood up. When he patted her bottom affectionately, his fingers glistened.

Kallie released the breath she’d been holding. The room seemed overly hot. “It’s like watching a porn flick,” she muttered, tearing her gaze away. “Anyone would get interested.”

“Somewhat true,” Simon agreed. “However that was only the prelude. What do you think of the main act?”

“Excuse me?”

He tilted his head toward the dom and sub. Kallie turned in time to see the man bring his hand down onto the woman’s bare bottom with a resounding slap.

Kallie jerked as if he’d hit her instead. She couldn’t tear her gaze away as the man thoroughly spanked the woman…the submissive. Dear God. By the time he finished, Kallie was as damp as if she’d sat in a puddle. That was nothing-nothing!-like what she’d tried.

When she finally turned away, the gleam of amusement in Simon’s eyes told her exactly how readable her face must have been. “So, pet,” he said, not adding any emphasis to the word but making his point nonetheless. “Would you be interested in playing this evening?”

“I-” The thought of being the one tied to a table, having someone- Jake -slapping her bottom, touching her… “No. Of course not.”

He raised an eyebrow.

She flushed. “Besides, you told me everyone here is…attached.”

He looked over her head as if thinking, and his lips curved. “I believe I said Jake doesn’t have a sub here tonight.”

She snorted. “He doesn’t like me. He dates Marilyn Monroe types.” Not breastless, fat-assed women with no sex appeal.

“Oh? That seems odd. You have rather the appearance of his old girlfriend-same coloring and height.”

Jake had had a girlfriend? It must have been before Kallie returned to Bear Flat. And they resembled each other? Simon must be kidding.

“I really look like her?” When he chuckled, Kallie grimaced. How about I just stand up and announce that I have the hots for Jake Hunt ? She stared at her feet. Maybe she’d just watch the hardwood floor until she could escape- don’t want the flooring to turn soft, right ?-and not be looking at any more of this sex stuff.