by Susan Stoker
He released the whip and the man crumpled to the floor. Hunter kept his voice even. “You have one hour to vacate.”
The other man knelt beside his companion, but Hunter turned his back on them. Keeping alert for an attack, he checked on Adriana, who had picked up her towel and slipped her feet into her flip-flops. She moved toward the sliding glass door naked, but hesitated to walk through the broken glass.
He stepped up next to her, glass crunching under his boots. “Allow me.” Grabbing a towel from a nearby chair, he wrapped it around his arm and batted away the remaining glass sticking to the doorframe. When he finished, he dropped the towel and opened his arm in invitation.
Adriana nodded, as if having a busted window was a normal nightly occurrence, and sauntered through. He’d seen many women hold it together with bombs exploding yards away, but he’d never seen one walk away from a sexual assault without shaking uncontrollably or shifting in to a zombie-like trance as shock set in. Adriana appeared to be neither.
He looked back before stepping through. The two men were still on the floor, but the young woman with short blonde hair sat on the bed watching him, resentment glittering in her eyes.
“One hour.” He turned and strode outside. He’d be back in an hour with Mac as backup, just in case the threesome decided to give him trouble. He wouldn’t need her help, but she’d be pissed if she heard he’d handled the whole thing by himself.
Adriana headed up the path, her stride faster once away from the casita. He followed to make sure she arrived at her own place behind the main building unaccosted.
As they crested the plateau, she tripped. He grabbed her arm to keep her from falling.
“Thanks.” She pulled her arm away, but not before he’d felt her shaking. She had been affected.
*
Adriana called herself three times a fool. She thought she was safe on the resort. That having Hunter and Mac patrolling the grounds meant she’d never have to worry about idiots, but she’d been wrong, lulled by the benevolent character of most nudists. Most being the key word.
She was freakin’ shaking like a leaf when nothing had actually happened…thanks to Hunter. How he arrived at just the right time, she had no clue, but she was thankful. When he grabbed her arm though, she hadn’t known he was behind her and it added to her shakes. Now he knew she was rattled and she hated that. He’d probably lecture her on choosing her bedmates. She was an expert at choosing sex partners. Usually.
She just made a slight error in judgment. She thought she could handle the Dom. Maybe she’d been just a little desperate for a night of sex when she’d accepted the offer to join them, her gut telling her the threesome would satisfy her better than the foursome. Note to self: don’t get desperate for sex.
When she arrived at her casita, she opened the door and turned to thank Hunter again, but he was already in her doorway, filling it with his big body, his black clothing making him almost a part of the night. But he was solid and quiet and reassuring in a strange way.
She dropped her towel on her coffee table as if he always walked her home after a night of her having sex with whatever willing guests were up for it. “Thanks for your help back there.”
He didn’t say anything. Instead, he closed the door and flicked the switch that turned on the small lamp on an end table in her living room.
Half of her hoped he’d been turned on by the scene and wanted her in bed. The other half shivered at the deadly force he’d used on the Dom. To cover up her uncertainty, she moved into her kitchenette and washed her hands. Still, he didn’t say anything. He just stood there, dressed all in black from his boots to his hat, taking up all the space in her living room. At least that’s how it felt.
Shouldn’t he be asking if she was okay? Duh, of course she was. Would he lecture her?
Hell, she didn’t know him at all except that he watched her have sex every time she hooked up with guests and her body had come to depend on him watching in order to orgasm. Did he know she saw him or that he was the catalyst for her ecstasy?
She needed to get out of her own head. She opened the refrigerator, the cold air on her naked body making her step back. “Would you like a drink? I’ve got ice tea and water.”
When he didn’t reply, she closed the door and looked at him. He studied her house like he was profiling her or something.
“You don’t talk much do you?”
The damn cowboy shrugged. Shrugged! “Well, I’m going to bed to get some rest. I need it after that close call. I’m sure you have to get back to your security duties.”
He finally faced her. “Come here.”
Her sheath tightened at his command, even as her mind rebelled. “Why?”
“Bring a warm washcloth.”
“Now you just wait a minute. I’ve had just about enough of being told what to do tonight.”
That had him moving, right for her. She squelched her instinct to run and instead pressed her ass against the cupboards. This was her casita. He had no right to…
Chapter Two
‡
He walked around her and pulled open the second drawer down to the right of the sink. Taking out a clean washcloth, Hunter turned on the faucet and wet it.
Hold on, how did he know where she kept her washcloths? “What are you doing?” That he wasn’t interested in her was obvious. She was standing there as naked as the day she was born and he wasn’t even glancing at her breasts.
“Turn around.”
She faced him instead, one hand on her hip. “I asked you what you think you’re doing?”
“I’m helping. Now turn around.”
“Listen. Believe it or not I can—” Before she could complete her sentence, he whipped her around and settled the cloth on the back of her shoulder. At first she felt the warmth only, but then it started to sting…a lot. “Fuck, that hurts.”
“He got you with the whip. It needs to be cleaned.”
Holy shit, she’d forgotten. She’d been so angry when the Dom decided she should eat out his girl, Tina—not because she didn’t want to make the woman come, but because she’d told him she was done. She’d even used the supposed “safe” word. Hah.
She hadn’t even come a second time, but she’d faked it well. The Dom had just wanted her to submit. He’d been spoiled by his submissive.
Now, as the warm moistness soaked into her skin, the sting started to fade and she became acutely aware of how gentle Hunter was. She hadn’t pegged him for gentle. Ruthless, like choking the air from the Dom’s body, yes. Fast, in how he grabbed the whip right out of the Dom’s hand. Quiet, as he walked behind her. Hell, she hadn’t even known he was there until he caught her arm when she’d tripped. But gentle?
He took the cloth away and wrung it out in the sink. She watched as his strong hands squeezed the pink color from the cloth. Pink.
She snapped her head back and swallowed hard. She couldn’t deal with the sight of blood. Not even her own. Vomit was fine. Broken bones bent awkwardly, no problem. All of which she’d seen as a bartender, but blood? Uh-uh. Her stomach started to roll.
She would not vomit and make an ass of herself. She would not.
Hunter clasped her left shoulder as he placed the warm cloth farther down her back, easing her tense muscles until the sting started again.
“Damn, how long is that scratch? What’d he have on the end of that thing, broken glass?”
“Knots.”
“Knots? They must be into the “S” and “M” side more than they let on. Figures.”
The warm moisture eventually eased the sting. This time when he took the cloth away to rinse it, she didn’t watch.
When he reapplied the warm cloth, this time to her lower back, she gritted her teeth, not just because of the sting, but because she was pissed at the Dom, and herself, for getting into such a stupid situation.
“Why don’t you want to press charges?”
Hunter’s question, out of the blue, surprised her, but didn’t jol
t her as it was said in such a low, quiet tone that if it wasn’t so desert-quiet around her casita, she’d have missed it.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, but could only see the brim of his hat. “Because it’s not worth it. I was willingly tied. I knew he was a Dom. And there is always that little part about me being a former prostitute that would get in the way of any judgement in my favor.”
“I was a witness.”
“True, that would hold some weight, but they would still think I was asking for it and the Dom couldn’t help getting carried away. Better to just forget it. As long as they leave.” Her gut tightened at the thought the three could still be around come the morning. “You will make sure they leave, right?”
The cloth left her back and he stepped in front of her. “I promise. They’ll be gone in less than an hour, even if I have to knock them out and carry them to their car.” His metal-gray eyes were so intense with promise that she couldn’t breathe.
She nodded and parted her lips to pull air back into her lungs. “Thanks.”
He immediately returned to cleaning her back.
Where did Kendra find him? Everything about him was intense, as if every aspect of him was taken to the eleventh power. For the first time since she could remember, she wanted to know more about a man. More than what was beneath his clothes.
“Stay here.” His low tone, filled with command, caught her off guard.
But as he brushed by her and headed for her bathroom, she found her voice. “Now what are you doing?”
He wasn’t in there long. He didn’t even close the door. Then she heard the cupboard under her sink close and he strode out. Hell, the man moved like a snake, smooth, quiet and deadly. If she were a weaker woman, she’d shiver just watching him, but her interest was more of a sexual nature. The idea of going to bed with him, or anywhere else, took root and dug in deep.
“This will be cool, but it won’t hurt.” His voice behind her again had her redirecting her thoughts.
“What is it?”
“An antibiotic cream to stave off infection. When you go to bed, try to sleep on your stomach. If you have to, roll up a blanket and put it on both sides of you to keep you from rolling over. And don’t wear anything to bed.”
She looked over her shoulder at that. “I never do.” She couldn’t help the purr in her voice and was disappointed when he didn’t look up from his task. The man must be made of stone. She’d been naked since he burst through the glass of the guest casita and he didn’t seem affected at all. Maybe he didn’t find her attractive?
She chuckled. Not possible.
“Is something funny?” His voice, though still low, sounded affronted.
“No, just laughing at myself and berating myself for my stupidity. I should have gone with the swinging foursome.” She bent a little, testing the feel of her wound. “It’s probably good I got this scratch. It will remind me to be more careful next time.”
Hunter spun her around to face him so quickly, it took her eyes a moment to focus and when they did she forced herself not to pull away.
“This was not your fault. Understand?”
She nodded, the intensity in his eyes reminding her of the efficiency with which he’d wrapped the whip around the Dom’s throat.
“No woman deserves to be forced to do anything she doesn’t want.”
He clearly wasn’t seeing her anymore and her curiosity grew. Time to lighten the conversation a bit. She winked. “It’s pretty hard to find something I don’t want.”
He blinked, obviously not following and then his lip quirked, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he let go of her and screwed the cap back on the tube of cream. When he finished, he tipped his black hat slightly before turning and striding to the door.
She watched him, or rather his ass covered in black denim. When he opened the door and looked at her, she forced her gaze to meet his.
“Lock your door tonight.”
“Got it.” She moved forward, even as he pulled the door shut.
Turning the lock, she pulled the curtain aside to look out, but Hunter was gone. No surprise there.
She turned away and headed for the bathroom. Obviously, a shower was out, but she needed to clean up. Filling the sink with warm water, she grabbed the soap from the shower.
The night’s activities flashed before her and her back started to throb. Dropping the soap into the water, she grasped both sides of the pedestal sink.
“What if he hadn’t been there?” The fear she’d refused to acknowledge crawled its way back into her consciousness, bringing with it long-buried memories.
Adriana’s hands tightened around the edges of the basin as her stomach threatened to regurgitate everything in it. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought against the fear, the images of blood on the floors and walls, the sounds of screams piercing the afternoon idle.
Think of something else. Anything.
She opened her eyes, focusing on the brown of her irises in the mirror. Brown like whiskey, amaretto, scotch. She needed two bottles of scotch. How many bottles of gin did she have? At least one in the well, two in the cabinet. Were there any in the storage room?
She had to put in her order tomorrow with Lacey. She needed more limes. There were never enough limes. She had plenty of maraschino cherries, but she needed more swizzle sticks. And those cheap drink umbrellas. She’d been serving a ton of coladas lately.
Her breathing slowed as she focused on what she needed for the bar. Locking the fear and past back up where it belonged, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror and forced her fingers to relax around the sink rim. Tears had tracked mascara down her face and her tan skin looked blotchy.
“Chica, you look like hell.”
*
Hunter sat on the edge of the desk in Kendra Lowe’s office, waiting for her to arrive. His shift was over, but he wanted to tell her why he’d busted one of her casita sliders. If she balked that he’d over-reacted, he’d walk.
A tinge of regret at that prospect slinked through his anger, surprising him. He did feel more comfortable here than anywhere else, which said a lot since just being in his own skin was uncomfortable, like being forced to crawl under barbed wire that was two inches too low to the ground.
Footsteps coming down the hall had him listening. Cowboy boots. All staff wore them except the cook, but the stride was masculine. “Wade.”
Wade halted just inside the doorway. “Good morning, Hunter. Not used to seeing you this late in the morning. Everything go okay last night?”
“Yes, but we had trouble.” Technically, everything did go well. He took care of the situation.
“Shit.” Wade strode in and slapped a piece of paperwork on his fiancée’s desk. “When are the people in this area going to accept this place?”
“It was a guest.”
Wade stared. “A guest?”
“They have been escorted off the property.”
“That bad, huh? So that’s why you’re here, to tell Kendra. Hold on, let me get her. Last I saw, she was just pouring her first cup of coffee, but this should wake her up.” Wade took out his phone and typed. “Come on, go through.” He waited. “If I have to go—good. She should be here any minute now. Do you want some coffee?”
Hunter shook his head. He needed to get to sleep.
“I think I’m going to need another cup to hear this.” Wade strode out.
Hunter listened to Wade talking to Lacey. He couldn’t hear what he said, but he’d bet money he was letting Lacey know. Maybe even having her pull up a guest list. At least the man didn’t ask him to explain the situation twice.
Footsteps quickly striding down the hall told him Kendra had arrived. As soon as she walked in the door, she took off her cowboy hat and dropped it on the desk. “Tell me.”
He glanced at the doorway.
“Wade, come in here!” She shrugged out of her jean jacket and sat in her chair behind him, so he moved to stand next to the window. From the look on his boss�
��s face, no one would think anything was wrong. She’d been a professional poker player and was an expert on hiding her emotions when she wanted to.
Wade came in, Lacey, the receptionist, trailing behind.
“Okay, spill.” Kendra looked at him expectantly.
“One of the guests got carried away with some bondage and Domination last night. It went beyond consensual and I had to break the slider to stop it.”
The silence in the room said far more than any gasp. Lacey, in her creamsicle sweater and white cowboy hat was the first to break the silence. “I just can’t believe we would have any nudists here who would do such a thing. Who was it?”
He shrugged. “Casita Eight.”
Lacey clasped her hands in front of her. “That was a threesome. The woman, Tina I think, was very submissive.”
“It wasn’t Tina.” He waited.
Kendra finally spoke, her poker face failing as concern lowered her brow. “Adriana. Is she all right?”
“Yes, mostly. She can give you the details. I was patrolling the area. Luckily, the light was on and the curtains were open. I was able to stop it before it got too out of hand.”
“Bastards.” Kendra’s hiss echoed everyone’s sentiments, even his own.
“I had to break the glass to get in. They’d locked the door.”
Wade shook his head. “I’m glad you were there at the right time.”
Yeah, so was he. “I’m heading back to my place now. Do you need anything from me?”
“Does she want to press charges?” Kendra stood, her concern tinged with anger.
The way they all rallied around the bartender made him relax. This was a good place. “She told me she didn’t.”
“Those jerks are never coming back here.” Lacey spun on her heel and left the room.
Wade grinned. “And I’ll bet they won’t be welcomed at any other nudist resort once Lacey gets on the network.”
“As it should be.” Kendra walked around her desk. “I’ll talk to Adriana more about it when she comes in.” She looked at him. “But she wasn’t hurt?”