Buried Treasure (Silver Creek Resort Book 1)

by Melinda Barron

  She moved her hand toward him just as Belinda ran something very warm down her back.

  “Oh, that feels good,” Autumn said.

  “Have you ever had a stone massage?” Belinda asked.

  “No,” Autumn said.

  “Your man has been neglecting you,” Belinda said with a soft laugh.

  “I have,” Shawn said. “Give her the works. Don’t leave anything out.”

  Her hand was still between their tables and he took it and squeezed. His touch was warm and comforting and she thought back to the accident.

  It had been jarring for them both, but he had been more concerned about her than about himself. He hadn’t rushed out to assess the damage on his car. Instead he’d grabbed her hand and said, “What hurts? I’ll call an ambulance.”

  She’s assured him she didn’t need it, but he’d ignored her and dialed 9-1-1. He’d hurried out of the car and came around to her side, stopping her when she tried to stand. He’d gently examined her arms and shoulders. Only after he’d assured himself that she wasn’t injured did he talk to the other driver.

  As Belinda worked on Autumn’s shoulders, she thought about the difference in his touch, and the one of the woman currently working on Autumn’s shoulders.

  How could a man who taught another man how to beat a woman’s ass be so tender? How was it that he seemed to care about her when they barely knew each other?

  “You’re still very tense,” Belinda said softly as she moved her hands down to Autumn’s back. “You need to close your eyes and stop thinking so much.”

  “That won’t happen,” Shawn said. “Autumn’s mind runs 24-7, at three hundred miles an hour. She’s always thinking.”

  “Is there something wrong with that?” she asked.

  “There’s more to life than thinking, darling,” Shawn said. “You need to learn to relax, to enjoy yourself.”

  She wanted to tell him she didn’t have much time to enjoy herself lately, that she had to worry about things like making a living, paying rent and thinking about what she was going to do with her life.

  But she didn’t think bringing up those subjects in front of the technicians, or nurses, or whatever they were was appropriate. Autumn kept her eyes closed and pushed everything from her mind but the hands working the knots out of her back. As she relaxed she felt as if she might drift off to sleep. That seemed like a waste of good money that Shawn was spending on the massages.

  But she couldn’t help it. The more she relaxed, the more she slipped…

  “Autumn.” Shawn’s voice broke into her relaxation.

  “You look so beautiful. I wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened today. It was my fault.”

  She looked over to where he lay next to her. “You didn’t get the ticket.”

  His smile made her nipples harden. Once again, she wished her body didn’t respond to him.

  “True, but I should have been paying more attention to the road,” he said. He held out his hand and, against her instincts, she put her hand in his. He squeezed gently. Belinda continued to knead Autumn’s muscles. Shawn continued to gaze into her eyes.

  Her arousal grew with each moment, and when she finally realized Belinda’s hands were gone, and that she and Shawn were alone in the room, she swallowed hard and said, “They’re done. We should go.”

  He didn’t stand. Instead he turned on his side and put her hand in both of his. Then he gently traced his finger over her palm.

  “Don’t,” she said, although she didn’t move her hand away from hers.

  “When was the last time you opened up to a man?” he asked.

  Now, she tried to pull her hand away from his. “That’s none of your business.”

  “I’m making it my business,” he said. “You’re wound up tight. You need to relax. You need good sex.”

  “I won’t disagree with that.” This time she did pull her hand away and she stood, forgetting that she was naked under the sheet, which dropped to the floor. Shawn was on his feet before she could grab it. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his tongue probing her mouth so deeply, and seductively, that she melted against him.

  He had one hand at the back of her neck, and with the other one he cupped her breast. He thumbed her hard nipple and Autumn moaned into his mouth. It felt so good that she never wanted the kiss to end, but it did when he moved his mouth down to her breast, taking her nipple deep into his mouth. He sucked and licked, and Autumn grasped him tightly.

  Until he bit her nipple, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to make her gasp. She tried to push away. He bit her again, and again, and when he moved his mouth to her other nipple he dropped his hand to her pussy.

  His fingers delved into her wetness and he found her clit immediately. He rubbed it, then pinched it at the same time he bit her nipple.

  Autumn exploded, the world spinning around her as he continued his assault, pinching and biting until the orgasm faded. He let go of her and she dropped back onto the table, her back on it, her feet planted on the floor.

  She hummed with pleasure, and too late she realized he’d dropped to his knees, his face planted between her thighs.

  When he licked her pussy, and then nibbled on her clit before he sucked it into his mouth and bit it like he’d done to her nipples, Autumn thought she’d died and gone to heaven.

  Chapter 9

  Autumn snuggled into the sheet, which meant she snuggled into Shawn’s arms. At some point, when she’d been so out of it she didn’t know what was happening, he’d wrapped her in the fabric and carried her to a sofa in a connecting room, where the two of them now lay, spooning.

  His hard cock pressed against the small of her back as she pressed into him.

  “Careful there, apprentice,” he said. “You have to earn your stripes to taste my cock.”

  “Apprentice?” She turned her head to look at him. “I’m not apprenticing to anything. You bit me.”

  “You loved it.”

  His response surprised her, and she shook her head, vigorously. “I did not.”

  “You came, not once, but twice. Tell me again you didn’t like it.”

  “It hurt,” she said.

  “And you responded by climaxing,” he said. “I thought I’d use different words since you didn’t seem to understand the first time when I said you came.”

  “You’re an ass,” she said.

  “Keep it up, brat, and you might earn those stripes sooner than you thought.”

  Autumn tried to pull away from him, but he held her close.

  “You can’t force me to do this,” she said.

  “Did I force you to climax?”

  A deep sigh escaped her throat. “You’re a… a… pig.”

  His laughter was deep. “I hate to be an ass but that’s not very original.” He released her so suddenly she felt as if she would fall off the bed. “Get up, non-apprentice. We’ll go back to our rooms, sleep and then head to Colorado Springs to complete our mission. I won’t touch you again unless you ask.”

  “Which I won’t,” she said.

  She stood and wrapped the sheet as tightly as she could. Her clothes were in the first room they’d entered. “Stay here while I change,” she said.

  He snorted out a laugh as he stood, naked as the day he was born. Her gaze dropped to his cock, which was hard, and pointed north. She fought the urge to lick her lips. She wasn’t very good at sex, but with something like that at her disposal, she could learn to do lots of things, she was sure.

  Autumn shook her head and looked Shawn in the face. She could see by his expression that he knew exactly what she was thinking.

  “Sweetheart, I’ve had my face in your pussy, and your clit between my teeth. The only thing I haven’t seen would be what’s on display when you bend over. Do you want to bend over for me?”

  “Breaking your word already, I see,” Autumn said.

  “How did I do that?”

  “You said you wouldn’t touch me unless I ask
ed,” she said with a sneer.

  “Darling, I’m not touching you, just making a suggestion.” He took a step closer to her, and she swore her wetness started to drop down her thighs at the feel of his heat. “I never said anything about not trying to seduce you. Touching and seducing are two different things.”

  He marched past her, and Autumn stiffened, expecting him to swat her bottom, or reach out and pinch her. But he did neither. She heard the door open and close behind her.

  She wasn’t sure if she was happy, or angry, that he’d left without putting up a fight to try and change her mind.

  The air had turned decidedly chilly as they drove, not only outside the car but inside it as well. Autumn didn’t talk to Shawn again, except to say yes or no to questions about food, or bathroom breaks, until they were deep in Denver traffic.

  “Did you let the care center know we’d be late in seeing Kate?” she asked. The car accident had pushed them far behind, and she worried that they would not make it to their appointment in time.

  “I told them we’d be there by four,” he said.

  Autumn glanced at the clock, which flashed five minutes after two. “We’re going to be cutting it close. I’m going to call them and tell them we might be a little late.”

  “Sounds good,” he said.

  She dialed as Shawn navigated the traffic, which was heavy even though it was early afternoon. The nurse who answered the phone assured Autumn that Kate was awake and alert, and very anxious to receive her visitors.

  “She’s changed her clothes three times, and we’ve done her hair and makeup,” the nurse said. “You’re the only visitors she’s had in some months. She only had one relative, a cousin, who passed away several months ago.”

  That would explain the unpaid storage unit, Autumn thought as the woman continued to tell her how Kate was preparing for their arrival.

  “I thought she was married at some point,” Autumn said. “How could a cousin be her only relative?”

  “She’s divorced, and she had no children,” the nurse said. “She and her husband don’t have any contact, which is a shame. So many of the people here don’t receive any visitors. I’m very happy you’re coming to see her.”

  “So are we,” Autumn said. She realized too late that she’d said we, making her and Shawn a couple.

  When they disconnected she told Shawn about what the woman had said.

  “I suppose she and Earnest broke up after she took his money,” he said. “I would think he would have tried to recover it somehow. That’s one of the things we need to ask her.”

  “She never said who Earnest was, I mean his last name,” Autumn said. “And he’s not listed in any of the reports by the police or media.”

  There was a bit of silence before Shawn said, “She must have still loved him not to implicate him. I wonder if she thought they would get back together, I mean if she considered forgiving him? But why would she bury the money? And why would she do it in Nevada?”

  “All questions she can hopefully answer,” Autumn said. They were out of Denver now. The traffic was still thick, but they were moving faster than they had been before.

  “The nurse says she’s looking forward to seeing us,” Autumn said, in an effort to break the silence that had reigned for most of their drive.

  “So you said,” he replied. “I wonder if we should take her something, like flowers, or chocolates.”

  Autumn was rather glad to see a sentimental side to a man who enjoyed inflicting pain on his sexual partners.

  Is that what he did to you, her inner voice asked. Sure, it hurt, but the orgasms it produced overshadowed the pain. Or, more to the point, they produced it. Autumn shivered and crossed her arms around her chest.

  “If you’re cold, turn down the AC,” he said. “Unless you’re shivering because you’re remembering last night. I noticed your nipples are hard.”

  “You should be watching the road,” she said.

  “I can drive and notice your tasty pebbles at the same time,” he said with a chuckle. “Don’t worry, apprentice, I have a lot of talents that you’ll soon learn about.”

  Before she had a chance to respond his phone rang. It was the theme to the James Bond movies.

  “Think yourself a spy, do you?”

  “Nope, just a ladies’ man,” he said. “Answer it, will you, and put it on speaker.”

  “It’s Ethan,” she said as she hit the answer button.

  “Took you long enough,” Ethan said.

  “You’re on speaker,” Shawn said. “And I’m driving. We’re running late because of the accident.”

  “Your insurance agent called the land line,” Ethan said. “You’re supposed to call him back.”

  “You couldn’t have texted that?” Shawn asked.

  “Don’t be an ass,” Ethan said, and Autumn giggled.

  “How original,” she said, repeating what Shawn had said last night when she’d called him the same thing.

  “Don’t go there,” Shawn said to her.

  “If you two are done flirting with each other, I have something to tell you,” Ethan said. “Our lawyer friends have checked on the law enforcement agents who investigated the bank robbery, and they’re all dead.” Before they could respond he continued, “But, one of them has a son who lives in Pueblo, and would be willing to talk to you tomorrow. He has a lot of his dad’s notes and reports, which I’m sure is not legal, but we should be happy that he has them.”

  “Pueblo,” Autumn whispered. “Home.” She felt like kicking herself in the rear for not checking on the LEOs before she left. What sort of reporter was she, anyway? An unemployed one, she reminded herself.

  “Did you set up an appointment?” Shawn asked.

  “What am I, your secretary?” Ethan asked.

  “Only if you wear a skirt and let me call you Moneypenny,” Shawn said.

  “Screw you,” Ethan said. “I texted you his phone number. Q out.”

  The phone went dead and Autumn laughed. “You treat each other like brothers.”

  “We’ve known each other for a while,” Shawn said. “Call the number he texted us to set up an appointment for tomorrow.”

  She put in the password he gave her and then said, “Don’t think you can call me Moneypenny, either.”

  “No problem, apprentice,” he said.

  “Screw you,” she said.

  “Anytime, darling, anytime.”

  She ignored him and dialed the number. She had to leave a message for Alan Fink, and she had to ask Shawn for his number while she was talking, which she was sure made her sound so legitimate.

  “I hope he calls back,” she said.

  “If he doesn’t, we’ll call him back later,” Shawn said. “We’ll make sure we get a chance to talk to him.”

  The car’s GPS announced it was time for their exit. They got off and followed the directions to the care center, which was a building that, to Autumn, looked as if it might have been several Victorian homes that had been linked with smaller houses in-between them. They gave their name to the man at the gate and he let them inside. They pulled up out front at a few minutes before four.

  “We did it,” she said. “I mean, you did it. Good job.”

  “Thanks,” he said.

  She waited for him to add her new nickname, but he didn’t. They went inside and after they had their visitors passes they started down the hall.

  Autumn pulled to a stop. “We forgot to stop for flowers.”

  “There’s a shop here in the village,” the clerk told them. “Down this hallway and to the left, near the coffee shop. I’ll wait here while you go buy them.”

  They made their purchase and then started toward the rooms again. Autumn couldn’t help but think this was the nicest care center she’d ever been in, and she wondered about the cost. Did Kate bury all the money, or did she keep some of it for herself? Was that something they could ask her? Or was that being too intrusive?

  “Kate is in here,” the cl
erk said as she knocked on the door to room 106. The door opened and a nattily dressed woman of about eighty smiled at them.

  “Kate?” Autumn asked. The woman nodded, and Autumn offered her the flowers. “For you, from us. I’m Autumn Pumpkin and this is Shawn Hollis.”

  “Come in, come in,” Kate said. “I’m excited to go back in time with you.”

  “Dinner is at five,” the clerk said.

  “Oh, that cuts us short,” Autumn said. “Maybe we should come back tomorrow.”

  “Nonsense,” Kate said. “There is a small restaurant in here. We can go there and eat together while we talk. My treat.”

  “No, my treat,” Shawn said. “I’ll be thrilled to have two such lovely dinner companions.” He put his hands together, which put his elbows out. “Ladies, if you please.”

  Kate took one arm, and Autumn took the other.

  “Just tell me where to lead, Kate,” Shawn said.

  They went down several corridors and soon found themselves at a tiny café, which looked like it could be on any Paris street. There were a few tables left, and Shawn guided them to the one near the corner.

  “This will provide the most privacy, I think,” he said as he helped each lady take their seat. When the waitress came up they ordered iced teas.

  “The cheeseburgers here are delicious,” Kate said. “And they have curly fries.”

  They made their order, and then Shawn leaned forward on his elbows. “You know what we want to talk to you about?”

  “May I see my letter?” she asked.

  Autumn had anticipated that, so she’d brought it along. She gave it to Kate, who put on the glasses that hung on a golden chain around her neck. She read it carefully, and as she did, tears welled in her eyes.

  “I was so afraid my husband would find this,” she said. “And, of course, I didn’t trust… Ernest, so I had my cousin hide it at her house.”

  Autumn took note of the pause before Kate said Ernest’s name. She must have really loved him, which meant this was probably difficult for her.