by Avery Gale
The ShadowDance Club 4
Trace & Tori
Tori Paulson has been stalked by a Houston police officer for the past year. When she unexpectedly inherits a small ranch near Climax, Colorado, from a great-uncle she’d never even met, Tori thinks fate may finally be planning to give her a break.
Braving roads she doesn’t believe really qualify as highways while battling near-blizzard conditions, Tori misses her meeting with the local attorney, and that is only the beginning of the bad news. Sitting outside in the snow wondering where she is going to sleep without freezing to death, she suddenly realizes the gorgeous cowboy watching her thoughtfully has actually spoken to her.
Dom Trace Bartell is totally unprepared for the snow angel he finds sitting stunned in front of the local tavern. He is drawn to the vulnerability he senses in her. But Tori’s stalker hasn’t given up. Can Trace keep Tori safe from a stalker whose past is much darker than anyone knows?
Genre: Contemporary, BDSM
Length: 51,870 words
TRACE & TORI
The ShadowDance Club 4
Avery Gale
EROTIC ROMANCE
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
TRACE & TORI
Copyright © 2013 by Avery Gale
E-book ISBN: 978-1-62242-342-2
First E-book Publication: February 2013
Cover design by Harris Channing
All cover art and logo copyright © 2013 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
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Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
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DEDICATION
For my husband...who knows first-hand where the source of stories of Tori’s disastrous cooking escapades. You have no doubt earned a special “dining spot” in heaven!
TRACE & TORI
The ShadowDance Club 4
AVERY GALE
Copyright © 2013
Chapter 1
Trace Bartell was one of the few Doms at The ShadowDance Club that everybody liked and respected. Club owners, Alex and Zach Lamont had always maintained that anyone who thought ranchers weren’t multitalented, versatile businessmen who could step in to almost any situation and make it fly had never met the man known locally as The Gentle Giant. Bartell was known for always being cool under pressure, and his aptitude for business was widely regarded as nothing short of brilliant.
After losing his wife going on three years ago, when she’d been run off the road by a drunken teenager from a neighboring community, the man had done the unthinkable and become the offender’s advocate. Even though he had been devastated by his loss, he had lobbied the prosecutor and judge to impose a sentence that would require the young man to work on his ranch for nothing but room and board for a year and perform a thousand hours of community service. Trace had discovered the kid had been considered a problem in his hometown for years. Everybody he’d talked to had expected the young man to fail, and damned if he hadn’t tried his hardest to prove them all right. But the year he spent on the Bartell Ranch had turned the kid around. Trace had taught him values and was even helping fund his college education. When people had asked him why he’d done it, he’d assured everyone it had been healing for them both. Trace had reasoned that imprisoning the kid would have made the single-fatality accident that stole his loving wife into a double fatality. Everyone who knew him hoped that Trace would find a woman who would appreciate the kind spirit that was still mourning the loss of a great love.
Trace had been trying to buy the small ranch next to his for years, but the elderly owner had always politely refused even the most generous of offers, telling Trace that his family would need his place someday. The old man had often referred to his modest acreage as the “thing that will be that young gal’s saving grace.” Trace had never understood the man’s ramblings even though they’d been neighbors as long as Trace could remember, and he’d never known any family members to visit the elderly rancher. While Trace’s parents still lived on the ranch, his mother had always invited their neighbors for holidays.
Smiling to himself, Trace remembered the celebrations his family had shared. Their home had been a virtual cornucopia of anyone in or around their hometown who didn’t have a family of their own to celebrate with. Some of his fondest childhood memories were based in those mixed-up holiday observations. When his elderly neighbor had passed away a few months ago, Trace had made inquiries again and been told the old man had left his entire estate to a family member living in Texas. He’d been told Victor Paulson was a Harvard-educated attorney and that the man was expected in town later today. Trace had wondered briefly what had happened to the woman the old guy had so often referred to, but had come to the conclusion it was useless to think about wanderings of another man’s mind.
* * * *
Trace could honestly say he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been completely blindsided by anything other than his wife’s death. But it had certainly happened today. And finding out that Victor Paulson was in fact Victoria Paulson, the beautiful woman he’d found sitting in front of the local tavern had been the best news he’d had since he’d lost his sweet
Nan.
The electricity that had raced up his arm when he’d helped her up off the snowy bench had shocked him. He was sure Tori had felt it too when he’d heard her soft gasp. Trace had recognized the instant connection he felt to Tori and his only explanation was that his friends’ predictions that Nan would send him an angel had finally come true.
The hour he’d spent away from her while he’d helped with the craziness of the local Dominatrix trying to shoot one of The ShadowDance Club’s subs had been excruciating. He had known from the first moment he saw Tori sitting out in the snow looking like she’d lost her best friend, that their mutual attraction was too strong to ignore.
When he’d discovered that everything she owned in the world was in that piece of shit car she’d been driving it had created more questions than it had answered. Why in the hell was a Harvard educated lawyer basically living out of her car? It just didn’t make any sense and he made a mental note to contact Mitch Grayson at Shadowdance to see what he could find out. Mitch was a friend and fellow Dom, and furthermore, he would be discreet. Trace had heard The Club’s owners laugh about how their resident communications and computer guru had access to information legitimate law enforcement agencies could only dream about.
* * * *
Sitting in Trace Bartell’s Dodge pickup staring out into the inky darkness, Tori wondered if she’d lost her ever loving mind. After the toe-curling drive through the mountains over highways that should really be labeled as roller coaster paths for cars she’d found herself homeless in a matter of minutes after arriving in the picturesque small town. Agreeing to go home with a complete stranger was just about the most baffling thing she’d ever done. But there was something about the man that she was drawn to. It was as if they were kindred spirits. She sensed a sadness in him, a remoteness that was hauntingly familiar.
Thinking back to the moment when she’d seen the sign on the door of the town’s only attorney’s office wishing her a “Happy Thanksgiving” and saying he’d meet her the next Wednesday she’d almost burst in to tears. She had known that without the elderly attorney’s key to the home she had recently inherited, she was going to have to find another place to stay for a few days and she’d been beyond exhausted. And then she’d been told the house had burned down and Tori had felt her world come crashing down around her.
She’d dealt with losing her mother to cancer, her father to his own stupidity, and a year of hell at the hands of a stalker and she could count on one hand the number of times she’d wanted to give up and just sit and sob. She hadn’t had anyone to rely on since her mom had died when she was only fifteen and she’d been surprised at how good it had felt when Trace had wrapped her in his arms and just held her when he’d seen her tears earlier in the small diner where he taken her so she could warm up and he could feed her.
In the back of her mind she’d known it was dangerous to trust a man she didn’t know. Hell, that’s how she’d ended up with the stalker from hell, but there was strength of spirit surrounding this man that spoke to her soul. Sighing she realized that she had two choices at this point, trust the man she was riding with or jump out of the truck in to the freezing cold. Cripes, I must be more exhausted than I thought if I see jumping out of a moving vehicle as an option.
Tori found herself drifting closer and closer to total relaxation. The warmth of the truck cab, the clean, masculine scent of the gorgeous man sitting next to her, and her satisfied hunger were letting her slowly sink into oblivion. Deciding that she’d think about all of her problems later, Tori let her eyes drift shut and finally surrendered herself to the exhausted sleep her body was craving.
Chapter 2
Trace had known immediately when Tori had fallen asleep just by the way her breathing had leveled out. He’d been able to almost feel the tension radiating off her and he had actually been grateful when sheer exhaustion had finally claimed her. Driving up the long tree-lined drive leading to the ranch, he marveled at the almost mystical beauty of the landscape surrounding him and then chuckled to himself when he realized he saw this same view each and every day. But wondering how Tori would see it had changed his perspective and opened up a whole world of possibilities. He’d almost given up on finding that feeling again. After all, what were the chances of finding another woman to love with the passion and depth that he’d enjoyed with Nan? Could lightning strike twice in the same man’s heart? Sighing as he pulled up in front of his log and stone-covered ranch home, he took just a minute to look at the beautiful home he and Nan had just begun building when he’d lost her. Finishing it had been pure torture but at this moment - just knowing he was going to be sharing it, even platonically with Tori, somehow made all those agonizing months of construction seem worthwhile.
Shaking his head at his odd musings, he quickly exited the truck and moved around to the passenger side. Reaching in and releasing her safety belt, he looked at her face, her features were softened in sleep, and she looked exactly like the angel he’d first thought her to be. The wariness was gone, and she looked so beautiful she stole his breath. Her skin was almost luminous in the muted lights coming from the large wrap-around front porch of his home. The amber lights danced giving it a warm hue. The snow was falling heavily and the view in front of him looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Scooping Tori up into his arms and carrying her inside, he laid her gently on the soft leather sofa facing the fireplace and covered her with the worn quilt he kept nearby. That quilt had been a gift from his maternal grandmother and it had been one of his most treasured possessions since he’d been a young boy. He tucked the soft fabric around Tori and let her sleep while he carried her meager possessions to the guest suite. After he’d put his truck in the garage and secured the house for the night, he sat on the low table facing the sofa for long moments and just watched the little snow princess sleep.
The fire in the stone hearth sent light dancing over the dark waves of her hair making the red highlights come alive. Her cheeks were finally showing a healthy glow as they were warmed by the flames. He could see prominent, dark circles shadowing under her eyes and wondered when she’d last had a good night’s sleep. Promising to make sure she got plenty of rest and healthy nutrition, he made a mental note to remind her of the importance of taking good care of herself. He sighed and finally gave in to temptation and drew his fingers down the side of her face in a light caress and enjoyed her small shiver before she leaned in to his touch. See, princess, your body already knows you are safe with me, now we just have to get your head and heart on board.
Trace carefully scooped her back up into his arms and held her tightly against his chest as he made his way to the guest suite’s lavish bath. There was something about carrying a sub that Trace had always felt conveyed a strong message. In his mind, the small act had a strong dual meaning. First of all it spoke clearly about who was in control and it also ensured a sub felt cherished. Trace knew it was imperative that a sub felt safe giving over her control to her Dom.
When he set Tori on the counter, he leaned her back against the gigantic mirror and had her shoes and socks off by the time her eyelids were starting to flutter open. “Welcome back, again, sweetheart. I thought you might like to take a quick shower and then you can get ready for bed. I’ll get you something to wear and be right back.”
“Wait! You’re going to come back in here? While I’m in the shower?” Her voice sounded like she was frightened, but the arousal in her eyes sent an entirely different message. “I mean, I know it’s your house and everything, but…well, I’m not really that…well, I mean…I know I’m…”
Trace was sure he had to be wrong. This gorgeous woman couldn’t possibly be ashamed of how she looked, could she? He could have understood if she’d felt unsure of having a strange man in the room for safety reasons, but this? Stepping forward again so that he stood directly in front of her, he placed his hands on both sides of her face and said, “Darlin’, please tell me someone hasn’t made you f
eel like you are anything but a very beautiful woman. You are perfect, and if someone has told you differently, then please don’t listen to their foolishness.”
Tearing down others had long been one of Trace’s biggest pet peeves. Why people felt the need to hurt others had always been a mystery to him. He’d always believed in the old adage that you reaped what you sowed, so he had always tried to sow seeds of kindness. When Tori continued to stare at her hands, he moved his fingers beneath her chin and lifted her face to his. “Princess, you are so beautiful I keep wondering if you are real. Now please get your sweet self undressed and into that shower before I have to do it for you. I’ll be back in just a couple of minutes. Don’t worry about a towel because I’ll be bringing you a warm one from my bathroom down the hall when I return.” He heard her soft intake of breath as he walked from the room and knew he might have surprised her, but the fact she wasn’t cursing and running from the room told him she was either interested or too stunned to react.
When Trace returned less than five minutes later, he stood just inside the bathroom watching her silhouette through the shower’s lightly frosted door. Victoria Paulson wasn’t tall or rail thin, she had beautifully full breasts that would fit perfectly in his large hands and her narrow waist tapered to lush hips that looked absolutely perfect for cradling a man as he stroked deep into her sweet depths. Her ass was softly rounded with just enough padding to be perfect for a little paddling play when the mood struck them. His wayward cock responded immediately when he pictured his hand turning her ass cheeks a nice warm shade of pink. He’d lay her over his lap because that was such a vulnerable and personal position for a woman, then he’d have her part her legs so he could trace her swollen folds and tease her between swats. By the time he’d finished her erotic spanking, she’d be so close to orgasm, he would only need to give her permission before she’d fly apart in his arms.