JAKE
Jake leaned against the counter as Coral rinsed out their mugs. He had slipped into an easy conversation with her and was admiring the petite red haired beauty as she rolled up her sleeves at the sink. She froze when he traced a finger along the pattern of tattoos that traveled up her arm.
“That’s some pretty interesting artwork you have.” He brought his finger to a stop over the waves on her forearm. They were all done in black ink, and they had a distinctly nautical theme.
She jerked away from his touch, her cheeks reddening, and she pushed her sleeves back down. “They’re from a long time ago.” She switched the water off, leaving the unwashed mugs in the sink. But when she turned to face him, the trace of angst he thought he had glimpsed before had disappeared. She gave him a shining smile. “Ready for that tour?”
“Lead away,” he said. He grinned back even as he had the urge to scoop her up in his arms and order her to tell him all her problems.
She was a mysterious little nymph. She seemed to be trying very hard to keep herself guarded, but he felt like he could see right through all of her walls. He wanted to get closer, and he wanted to taste her soft lips and have a chance to run his tongue down the length of her body. What was he thinking? He had just met this girl. He deliberately slowed his steps so he was a couple paces behind her as she led him down a long hallway.
He felt his pulse pick up as his eyes raked over her body. He’d never had a reaction like this to a woman before. Was it Coral, or was it the head injury? He placed a hand to his still tender wound. Maybe the bump to his head knocked something loose.
Then his mind lingered on his conversation with Bertram. He seemed convinced that he and Coral would make a perfect match and that he just needed to find a way to connect with her. Bertram said it wouldn’t be easy to gain her trust, but he at least wanted to try.
Jake stopped short so he wouldn’t collide with Coral when she stopped walking. She placed her hand on the doorknob in front of her and turned to him with a sparkle in her eye. “This is my favorite place in the entire lodge. Are you ready?”
She let the door close gently behind them before she led Jake down the stairs into the bottom of the lodge. The lodge itself was like any other inn you would find along the mountainside. There were a number of private guestrooms for patrons, but there were subtle differences between this lodge and many of the others. And one of them happened to be at the bottom of those stairs.
Mr. Wolfe, the founder and proprietor of the fantasy lodge, was a sound business man, but he also had a penchant for kink. Which was why residing in the basement alongside the wine cellar was a genuine BDSM dungeon. When Coralhad first discovered it, she was beside herself with glee. It was the only place she could truly let her inner submissive come out to play.
This man, Jake, with his strong arms and his eyes that penetrated her soul, interested her. She was hoping she could show him around, convince him to play. The worst he could say was no, and then she would know up front that she shouldn’t waste her time. She knew too well what it was like to invest her time into someone who was just going to leave her when a better option came along. Her physical reaction to Jake was almost feral. She wanted his hands on her, but she needed it to be on her turf. Down here she could play by her rules, and matters of the heart were strictly off limits.
She glanced over her shoulder to give him a smile and then began down the stone steps with him tagging behind her. It was well-lit without seeming harsh. When she first visited the dungeon, she thought it would be dark and dim, but the torches lit along the walls gave off a lot of light. She let her eyes sweep over the room. The walls glowed under the flames of the torches. The St. Andrew’s cross stood in the corner, looking ominous in that part of the room. Coral shivered, thinking of the last time she was lashed to that dark, finished wood; but the way Jake was eyeing it with suspicion told her they would probably steer clear of it today.
There were a few spanking benches, each made of either dark wood or steel and leather. A table in the center of the room was covered in padded leather, with leather bonds at the four corners. She inhaled the scent and her nipples hardened under her shirt. There were also a few intimate sitting areas where guests could relax in between playing.
She glanced over at Jake as he eyed the armoire in the corner. He took a step closer to her, “This is your favoriteplace?” He raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and she braced herself for his ridicule.
She dropped her eyes and wrapped her arms protectively around her middle.
“What’s in there?”
She looked up to see his head tilting towards the armoire, and his face piqued with interest. There was hope for him yet.
“Implements!” She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice, and he chuckled at her response.
The lodge itself had no shortage of implements; in fact, many were hung right out in the main entryway. Most of the visitors to the lodge seemed to have a predilection for spanking. But Coral found the implements in the dungeon to be different; they could produce such pleasure and pain, bring her to ecstasy or punish, all at the same time. Her stomach did a flip just thinking about Jake wielding such an implement on her.
She wrenched open the doors and stood back to admire the array of floggers, paddles, canes, and crops.
“Have you tried all of these out?”
“No, not all of them,” she answered honestly. There were a couple of heavy wooden paddles in there that scared her more than turned her on.
Jake reached up and ran his hand down the length of a leather riding crop, and she felt her core clench with desire.
“So, I guess your boyfriend spanks you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”
He took the crop down and whapped it a few times against his thigh. He raised an eyebrow at her response. “You said this was your favorite part of the lodge. Who do you come down here with? Random men?”
She tried not to flinch as his words hit her. She jutted out her chin and was ready to let him have it for judging her, butwhen she met his eyes, she didn’t see judgment. Instead she saw something more akin to pity.Well, hell.That knocked her off balance, and she blurted out a true answer, “Random women, too, sometimes.”
He burst out into guffawing laughter, and she stood staring at him.
“Do you always say the first thing that pops into your head?” He was still chuckling as he drew closer to her.
