by BJ Wane
Cassie straightened her clothing and followed him into the gorgeous kitchen that had her salivating at the thought of baking in it.
“I’ll have a beer too,” she answered when he pulled one out of the stainless steel refrigerator. “Thank you.”
Taking the brew, she took a hefty swallow, working to get her still vibrating body and mixed emotions under control as she looked around his space. The open expanse of the den and kitchen appealed to her as did the floor-to-ceiling windows, hardwood floors, and the comfortable-looking leather sofas. Pretty paintings depicting different mountain scenes hung in artful display on one wall and drew her attention.
Needing to move and avoid his probing look a little longer, she walked up to them, admiring the artist’s talent. “These are lovely. Someone is very gifted.”
“Yes, she is. Morgan did those.”
“Morgan?”
“Jack’s fiancée. She’s the one you couldn’t have missed fucking the two men,” he clarified with deliberate bluntness, just to see her reaction. When she didn’t respond, just continued to peruse the paintings, he found himself needing to know what she thought of what she had seen. After all, she had fled from a similar situation before. “No comment, Cassie?”
Cassie turned back to face him, flinching at the closed, tense look on his face. “No, Marc, no comment. I didn’t come here to berate you for your lifestyle or to interfere with any relationships you have going.”
“Why exactly are you here? The last time we spoke, you told me not to contact you again.” Two years and he could still recall the way his gut wrenched upon hearing those words in her tearful voice.
Downing the rest of her beer, she padded back over to him and set the empty bottle on the counter. Hopping up on a stool, she winced at the pressure on her sore buttocks, doing her best to ignore his knowing smirk as she folded her arms and faced him across the countertop. Leaning against the kitchen island separating them, he let his beer dangle from his hand as he watched her out of steady, unreadable green eyes.
“That was a mistake in a long line of mistakes I made with you, the biggest one being that I jumped into a relationship too soon after that weekend, and I allowed it to go on longer than I should have. I ended it at the beginning of the year.” Rick had been nice, treated her well, and genuinely cared for her. But he wasn’t Marc, and discovering her needs were no longer satisfied with a vanilla man had been as upsetting as breaking off their six-month relationship.
“I’m sorry,” he replied, but she could tell he wasn’t, which gave her a sliver of hope.
“Are you really, Marc?” She needed something from him, just a crumb of encouragement that would prove she hadn’t uprooted her entire life and added to a long line of mistakes by moving out to Colorado in search of what she had a chance at once and wanted again.
Releasing an exasperated sigh, he ran a hand over his face, feeling the end-of-the-day stubble and then noticed the redness on Cassie’s cheeks. He once demanded honesty from her. He needed to give it also, even now, even though he didn’t want to. “Hell, no.”
Cassie smiled at him, relieved. “Me either. I know that sounds awful, and he’s a nice man, but he’s…” She stopped short from saying her ex wasn’t Marc. Too much information might have him turning her away instead of fucking her up against the wall again.
“Vanilla?” Marc figured that had to be a big part of what had gone in the relationship. Cassie had fled from the reality of her submissive nature, and from him. He suspected she hadn’t found it so easy to set aside.
“Yes, which just reinforced what I knew I could no longer hide from. I had more satisfying sex with you in three nights than I had with him in six months.” Her admission brought on another heated blush, but she promised herself she would be upfront about everything with Marc if he would give her another chance to explore her submissive side. “I think I logged on to your website at least once a week in the past few months, reassuring myself you were still here. I also researched the area, the towns around here, and the employment opportunities.”
When he raised a black brow, took a swig of his beer, and didn’t comment, she took a deep, fortifying breath and continued. “I don’t know if I told you or not, but I worked my way through college in a bakery. I’ve enjoyed teaching, but it’s not my first love. When I saw the ad and my offer for the bakery in Bear Creek was accepted, I turned in my resignation.”
Marc damn near dropped his beer at her stunning revelation. “You’re the one who bought Martha out?” His fondness for sweets from Martha’s bakery was well known.
“Yeah. Do you know the place?”
“I have intimate knowledge of everything Martha had made over the years.”
Cassie had forgotten nothing about him, including his sweet tooth and she’d hardly been able to believe her good fortune when she found the bakery up for sale. “I think I can appease your sweet tooth. It will give you a reason to come in to town to see me,” she hinted, feeling him out.
It seemed they were both floundering with uncertainty on where to go from here, Marc thought, unable to keep his eyes off her. He still couldn’t believe she was here, not only here, but here to be with him. He didn’t know how he felt about that, if he wanted to go there with her again or not. The remorse and pain of living with the knowledge his actions drove her away before they could see if they had something worth exploring besides great sex was something he never wanted to go through again.
Ignoring her comment, he stated with an abruptness that made her flinch, “I need to get back downstairs. It’s Morgan and Jack’s engagement party and they will wonder where I ran off to.”
“Morgan. Is she someone special to you?” She hated to ask, but she needed to know if she’d made a horrible mistake in coming here. The way his voice softened when he said the other woman’s name had the little green monster rearing its ugly head despite hearing of the woman’s engagement.
“Yes, but not like you mean. She and Jack are very much in love and committed to each other, and they’re both good friends.” He almost smiled at the relief on her face. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to her. You’ll like her.”
“Maybe I should head back to town. I don’t want to intrude on a private party.”
Laughing, Marc set aside his misgivings for now, grabbed her hand, and led her back downstairs. “Darlin’, you’ve already intruded. You may as well stay and enjoy yourself.”
Relieved he wasn’t ready for her to go, she tried not to feel self-conscious returning to the party without panties, but then she remembered that if anything, she was still overdressed. The dimly lit, spacious room reminded her of the club in Omaha she had returned to after her split with Rick. It had been over three months since she allowed new-to-the-club Master Greg to prepare her for seeing Marc again and her response to the charged sexual atmosphere had never been this strong. She credited her intense response with being near Marc again and prayed once again this wasn’t a mistake. By the sixth return visit to the Omaha club, she knew she wanted to embrace her submissive side and knew she didn’t want to do it under another master’s tutelage.
The pretty, full-figured brunette he led her toward now wore a man’s flannel shirt and sat at the bar. Cassie recognized the man the other woman was smiling at as Marc’s friend and partner. Jack Sinclair appeared even bigger than when she met him two years ago, and she still found his rugged good looks appealing. The striking contrast between his light hair and dark beard gave him a rakish look, and it was easy to see why his fiancée gazed at him with such desire. As they neared the other couple, she hesitated and held back, as unsure of her welcome with them as she had been of Marc’s.
“What’s wrong?”
His quick question reminded her how attuned he could be to her every move and look. “Is Jack going to be upset I’m here?”
He might be, Marc thought, but didn’t tell her that. She looked ready to bolt as it was. Though he didn’t know what or how much he wanted from her, now h
is shock had had time to mellow he knew he didn’t want her leaving until he figured it out. “It was a long time ago, Cassie, and we’ve put it behind us. Come on.” Tugging on her hand, he stopped next to Morgan and then grinned at the surprise on Jack’s face. “Jack, you remember Cassie. Cassie, this is Morgan, Jack’s fiancée.”
“Hello,” Morgan greeted her with a warm smile of welcome. “Are you here on vacation?”
“Uh, no. I just moved to Bear Creek. I met Marc a while back and decided to drop in on him,” she answered before shifting her attention to Jack. “Hello, Jack.”
“Cassie. It’s been a long time. How are you?”
Jack’s dark eyes were assessing, but kind, which helped her relax. “I’m good. I hope I’m not interrupting your party. Congratulations on your engagement. Both of you.”
Morgan laughed. “No, the more the merrier. Come sit by me and tell me how you know Marc.”
“Can I get you something, Cassie?” Jack asked.
She asked for another beer and then sipped this one more slowly than the last while she visited with Morgan. Jack and Marc had their heads together, talking in hushed tones she strained to hear but couldn’t. She tried to ignore the way their eyes shifted to her periodically, but with her nerves already shot, it proved impossible to do. A cry from the chain station drew their attention.
“That’s Jan,” Morgan said, grinning. “Jeremy likes to make her wait for her orgasms so when she’s finally allowed to come, she really let’s go.”
“I had a dom who made me wait, and I hated it. That is until I came. Then I understood the advantages of holding back.” Cassie could have bitten her tongue at the startled look on Marc’s face. When his jaw tightened and the light in his eyes dimmed, she knew she made a mistake in not ensuring he hadn’t heard her.
Marc could kick himself for succumbing to her like a lovesick fool, for even considering taking up with her again. That damning statement proved she hadn’t fled the lifestyle all those years ago, only him. Which made a lie out of why she was here. “Fuck this,” Marc said to Jack before stalking back over to Cassie, snatching her hand, and pulling her from the room. Out in the lobby, he dropped her hand as if burned. “What’s the matter, Cassie? Did your last dom ditch you and you couldn’t find anyone local to replace him? What did you think, that I’d be so happy to see you after all this time I’d drop everything and pick up where we left off?” he bit out, not bothering to hide his bitter disappointment and ignoring the threat of tears hovering in her eyes.
“No, it was nothing like that, Marc. Greg, Master Greg, was my only dom since you, and I sought him out because of you.” How could she explain to him the utter failure of her previous relationship, her inability to reach the plateau of pleasure she reached with him, and her need to discover if it was the domination she craved so much or the dom? But the quick fuck against the wall earlier told her everything she needed to know. She hadn’t come like that since the last time he fucked her and now she knew for sure it was him she wanted, and she had made the biggest mistake of her life when she ran from him so long ago.
“Because of me? You ran from me and what I wanted from you only to end up right back there with someone else. You don’t know what you want. Go home, Cassie.” Before he could give in to the hurt shining in her expressive blue eyes, Marc turned and strode back into the club room, shutting the door behind him. Too bad he couldn’t shut her out of his mind as easily.
Returning to the bar, he poured himself a bourbon, straight. Before he could down it, a hard hand clamped around his wrist. Glaring at Scott, he snarled, “What the fuck do you want?”
“Your hide if you sent that girl back to Bear Creek after she’d been drinking and while visibly upset.” Scott’s gray eyes bored into him with combined understanding and accusation.
“Ah, shit.” Marc set the glass down and rubbed a hand over his face. “I was so upset I didn’t think.”
“I’m ready to leave myself so I’ll follow her and make sure she gets home okay. If I’m not mistaken, she’s our new baker and is living above the bakery, so I know where she’s going.”
“Well, you know more than I do.” Guilt and worry twisted his insides as he thought of Cassie upset and driving in the dark along the winding mountain roads that would take her back to town. Even though she wasn’t drunk, she had drunk enough to impair her reflexes if something were to happen. “Call me when she gets there, would you?”
Scott nodded as he pulled out his keys. “Jack told me she’s important to you, which is the only excuse you could have for having your head up your ass.”
“She was important to me at one time. Now, now I don’t know what she is.”
“Well, if she doesn’t make it home in one piece, you’ll never know,” Scott answered with brutal candor. “I’ll call you.”
Chapter Three
Flashing blue lights in her rearview mirror had Cassie slowing down and pulling over as much as she could on the narrow road. Blinded by tears, hands shaking and throat clogged with a lump of regret, she figured she had been speeding without realizing it. Taking a deep breath that did nothing to control her emotions, she rolled down her window and looked into concerned gray eyes.
“Oh,” was all she could think of to say when she recognized the man who she’d watched getting a blowjob from Morgan earlier.
“Cassie, isn’t it? I’m Sheriff Scott Tyler. Are you too upset to drive?”
His kind tone and understanding look in those gunmetal eyes helped ease her tense grip on the steering wheel. “No, thank you. I can make it home.”
“I’m headed back to Bear Creek myself; I’ll follow you to be sure. These roads can be treacherous if you’re not used to them, more so at night. You live above the bakery, right?” At her startled look, he hurried to assure her. “I’m the sheriff, Cassie. I know what goes on in my town.”
Cassie knew she overreacted, but she learned from her short time with Master Greg, she couldn’t be too careful. “Yes, I’m in the apartment upstairs. I would feel better with some company on this road.” Looking out her windshield, an eerie shiver went up her spine when all she could see was the dark shape of trees lining the narrow road.
“Wouldn’t want anything to keep our new baker from opening up soon. You’re going to be a popular lady. A lot of people have missed Martha’s sweets.”
“You?” she asked him, smiling for the first time since leaving Marc’s lodge.
“You bet. Go slow, I’ll be right behind you.”
His wink set her stomach to fluttering, after all he was a good-looking man, but he wasn’t Marc. Rolling up her window, she pulled back on the road remembering how she had found Master Greg attractive, and how his kind words and demeanor had hidden his true nature. It wasn’t until her sixth session with him that he had revealed his true self, even though she had caught hints of it before then. The best thing to have come out of her return to the club where she first met Marc was the affirmation that Marc was who she’d wanted. Too bad her time with another master had ended just as disastrously as her and Marc’s short acquaintance.
Pulling into her reserved parking space behind her bakery, she waved to the sheriff as she got out of her car. Locking the door behind her, she went upstairs to the small one-bedroom apartment, took a quick shower, and fell into bed. She groaned as the soft caress of her sheets over the sensitive flesh of her buttocks renewed the warm tingling from her spanking. Sleep eluded her as memories assailed her, memories of both past and present mistakes.
Cassie entered the club, her eyes zeroing in on Master Marc. Last night it had taken all her nerve to attend the first of three beginner’s nights at this popular BDSM club in Omaha. In truth, if her friend, Andrea, hadn’t found her researching the lifestyle on the Internet and wheedled her into coming here, she never would have had the nerve to come.
There were more people here tonight, she suspected because it was Friday. The echo of slapping flesh followed by high-pitched screams of release rent
the air, sending a shiver of remembrance rippling just under her skin as she recalled the surprising pleasure she’d experienced from her first spanking.
Last night Master Marc had shown her how the pain of a spanked bottom could arouse her to a shattering climax. Her embarrassment over being spanked soon abated as the pain bled into heated pleasure, throwing her into a maelstrom of sensations, sensations she was already craving again. But not with any dom. She set her sights and her heart on Master Marc. The way his green eyes focused on her made her feel special. She liked to think he saw only her, wanted only her, but of course that was wishful, naïve thinking. When he commanded her in that deep voice, she was helpless to refuse him anything. She craved him as an addict did his drug of choice, which should worry her. He wasn’t from here and would leave soon. Nothing could come of spending these few evenings with him, nothing that is except experiencing the supreme pleasure of being fucked by him.
Spotting Andrea sitting at the bar, Cassie joined her before she talked herself out of staying. “Did you think I wasn’t coming?” she asked when Andrea looked surprised to see her.
“I thought you’d chicken out,” Andrea said. “Where’d you disappear to last night?”
“She was with me.”
Cassie swiveled around on the stool, her heart speeding up at hearing that deep voice again. “Hi.” She smiled up at Master Marc and damned if her nipples didn’t pucker and her sheath didn’t clench at seeing him again. Seeing him dressed in jeans and a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to show his strong forearms sprinkled with black hair, his look deep and probing, she knew he was way out of her league.
“Hi yourself.” Cupping her face between his palms, he lowered his head and gave her a devastating kiss.
“Well, I guess that explains why you didn’t chicken out tonight.”
Andrea’s dry voice broke through her befuddled brain and had her pulling back from him. “Um, sir, this is my friend, Andrea.” Cassie introduced her hoping she’d go away so she could start playing with Master Marc.