Page 12 of Axe Marks the Spot

Morgan moves to speak, but Fox’s tattooed hand that reads M I N E lands on her shoulder. She closes her mouth and turns her head to look up at him, and I give my focus to him and Nathan, who looks a bit flushed.

“You two ready to call it?” Morgan asks Fox.

He nods then looks at me. “If you’re ready, Lindsey. I don’t want to rush you.”

“Nope, I was just thinking it was time for me to go home.”

We all make our way from the bar, a drunk Nathan and Morgan telling jokes as Fox drives. But I’m only half paying attention, because the entire way home, I can’t stop thinking about DomInTheWoods.

5

Dane

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Date: July 16, 12:46AM

Subject: Possible new client

Dane, I’m drunk, so if this doesn’t make sense, call me tomorrow.

I don’t know if she’ll email you, but if you get a message in the next twenty-four hours from a woman, please take her on. She’s someone close to me. Don’t worry, I didn’t reveal who you are or that you work for us sometimes, but she does know that I know you and that you probably live around here. But I kept your identity a secret! Anyhoo…

This can be that favor you said you owe me for helping you set up your website and giving you a job when you first moved here. She’s the best, and I think she needs your guidance and support. I won’t say her name in case she gives you a fake one, but she’ll probably say she doesn’t know why she’s emailing you (just a guess ). I also told her to tell you that I sent her.

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON, YOU HOT LUMBERSNACK!

P.S. I know you’re busy, but don’t be a stranger. I like your face, and I want you to meet me and the grumpy man’s new soon-to-be-husband. Okay, g2g, Fox wants to spank me for calling him grumpy and taking forever to send this email that he said I could have texted.

Bye bye bye (Sung like that boy band song) xoxoxooooooooo Xooooooooooooooo

Morgan

My lips tug into a smile as I read Morgan’s email. I will say that after the day I had, it made my night. Or I guess morning, considering it’s nearing one AM.

I spent the afternoon at the hospital, waiting to make sure Levi was good. He fractured his tibia, but thankfully, it was non-displaced, so he won’t need surgery. He’ll be staying in the hospital on painkillers until tomorrow.

After I left, I spent the day catching up on work and filming simple content I’ll post over the next couple of days. With the eventful day I had, I feel almost as if I didn’t even win the speed pole competition—or that it even happened. When I remembered, I poured myself some expensive cognac a client sent me as a thank-you gift and set myself up by the fireplace, responding to comments I’ve been neglecting on my socials.

I start typing back a quick response to Morgan’s email. It will be difficult to take on a client with the ones I already have, but I do owe Morgan.

When I first came to Starlight Haven, she and Fox gave me a job. I had prior experience in logging since my late dad was a logger, but they hired me, no questions asked. Even if I didn’t have experience, they would’ve given me the job because I needed it. That’s the kind of people they are.

Then there’s the website Morgan mentioned.

When my DomInTheWoods persona took off, and I decided to become a full-time Pro Dom—not just to help people reach their goals when they’re struggling on their own but to fulfill my need to lead, to take control, and to give people the structure they crave in submission—she came to the rescue. My website, which looked like it hadn’t been touched in ages, got a full overhaul that would have cost me thousands if I had hired someone, thanks to her.

I’m guessing she won’t see it until late in the morning, but I shoot off the quick message to her. I thank her for the entertaining email and let her know I’ll take on her friend if she contacts me. I also can’t resist reminding her to drink water with an electrolyte packet and take painkillers. Fox is not only her husband but also her Dom, and an incredible one at that, but she’s a friend I care about, so I type it out anyway.

I sip my cognac, the oak and black pepper taste popping on my tongue. My shoulders relax as I fill my lungs with the dry air of my cabin and stare at my unlit fireplace. I was tempted to light a fire, but while it’s cooler at night in the mountains, it’s not cool enough for one.

Imagining the flames flickering and heating my face, I sink into the cushions of my recliner and revel in the silence, a silence that comforts me and provides a level of peace I crave and have continued to crave since I was young.

Before the memories of my childhood can fill my mind, I take another sip of my drink and open my DomInTheWoods account. I posted a late-night video about two hours ago, and there are already over two hundred comments. While I don’t respond to every comment made, I try to respond to a few on each post. It makes my followers feel good and appreciated, and I like to connect with people all over the world who find comfort in my content and what I offer.

I scroll through my notifications and stop when I see several comments from a user with no picture and the handle @WhyAmIHere33. While profiles with no picture and funny names are common, what has me pausing is that they’re commenting on old videos from when I first started my account years ago. It also appears that they’re making their way through every video in order.