Fall Into You (10 page)

It was like high school and college all over again. She was the girl who was okay
to fool around with on the sly for a fun night here or there, but not the girl guys
actually wanted to date. She was a buddy fuck. Always had been and seemed always would
be. She scanned the area for a somewhat safe place to sit and spotted a simple wooden
bench beneath one of the large oaks at the edge of his yard. It was shrouded in the
shadows and close enough to probably get the signal she’d come for in the first place,
but far enough that Grant wouldn’t see her if he happened to step outside. She headed
over, parked on the bench, and pulled out her tablet.

The signal wasn’t perfect, but it was there. She cued up her station’s Internet feed
and selected the most recent show. Most of today’s scores she’d already heard, so
she skimmed through that and made it to the part she’d been both looking for and dreading.
The nightly anchors invited Stormy to sit at the desk with them and introduced her.
Jack, head anchor, smiled an all-teeth smile at Stormy while he asked her questions
and surreptitiously checked out her too-low-cut top. If he’d been a cartoon character,
his tongue would’ve rolled out of his mouth and smacked the desk. And even
worse were the Internet messages from viewers below the video. No one, of course,
commented on whether or not Stormy had sports knowledge or experience. It was all
talk of how hot the new sideline reporter was.

Charli’s dinner churned in her stomach, and she clicked the off button. Well, apparently
they’d nailed their target market. The market that had no interest in her. But before
she could fall back into that lovely dark place of feeling sorry for herself, the
front door of the cabin opened and Grant stepped out. She instinctively shrunk backward,
making sure she stayed cloaked in the shadows of the oak. The last thing she needed
was Grant finding her out here and adding creepy stalker to her list of attributes
along with girl who throws herself at men whilst drunk.

He glanced around the yard, but not with intent, then shut the door behind him. He
was still fully dressed in what she was beginning to think was his uniform—plaid shirt
and worn jeans, but he’d taken his hat off, revealing that dark wavy hair of his beneath.
Her fingers flexed, remembering what it felt like between her fingers, wondering how
that shadow of a beard would feel against her skin.

Stop it.
Even knowing he had no interest in her, she couldn’t stop herself from the fantasies.
It was as if his presence scrambled the signals in her brain—making her think things
she never thought, want things she’d never considered. But after the humiliation of
last night, she’d needed to get herself together and show him that she wasn’t some
desperate woman trying to get his attention. He couldn’t know that he had any power
over her. Not if they were going to exist together these next few weeks. They would
need to agree to forget what happened last night and move on. Delete that episode
altogether.

Just not tonight. She wasn’t ready for that conversation quite yet.

She held her breath, though at this distance there was no way he’d be able to hear
her breathe, and watched. She expected him to
head to his truck, but instead he turned at the far corner of the house and walked
away from her and toward the resort. Apparently, he was going to work, but what would
a resort need the owner for this late at night? Wouldn’t everyone be settling in or
sleeping by now?

Once he was far enough away, she let her lungs empty and tucked her computer back
into her knapsack. She’d be able to escape to her cabin without him ever knowing she
was here if she left now. But as she watched Grant’s sauntering gait disappear into
the night, she found herself rising from the bench and heading away from her cabin
instead of toward it, the draw of the unknown too tempting for her reporter instincts.

If he could install a tracking device on her car, then she could be nosy, too.

She tucked her bag behind a bush near the back side of his cabin, then picked up her
pace so she wouldn’t lose him. She kept a decent distance behind him. Grant had been
in the military and so undoubtedly had finely tuned senses for people sneaking up
on him. And the grounds were so damn quiet, one snapped twig and she’d reveal herself.
But Grant never looked back, just continued to stride with that swagger of his. A
man on a mission by the looks of it. Maybe something had gone wrong at the resort
and he had been called over.

Grant opened the padlocked gate that led to the other side of the property, and Charli
ducked behind a tree as he turned to swing the gate closed behind him. Some creepy-crawly
thing landed on Charli’s arm and it took everything she had not to yelp and shake
it off. Grant snapped the lock closed, the sound echoing in the silence, and continued
on his way. As soon as his back was to her again, she did a little shake and got the
damn bug off her arm, shuddering. She’d rather face a coyote than bugs.

In order to follow Grant, she had to climb over the low post-and-rail
wooden fence, which made her glad she’d chosen sneakers tonight. She hopped down to
the other side and glanced around, half-expecting a SWAT team to lower down from the
surrounding trees. Grant had made everything sound so top secret over here.

But no one came to tackle her, and she was able to catch sight of Grant again in no
time. There were paved paths on this side with solar-powered garden lights lining
some portions of the trails. The wild Texas brush and trees were trimmed back and
looked neater, more manicured. There really was no way to remain hidden, so instead
she pushed her shoulders back and tried to pretend like she belonged there. If anyone
but Grant saw her, maybe they’d assume she was another guest.

The main house loomed in the distance—a breathtakingly large building of cedar and
river rock. Lights glittered around its perimeter but the few windows she could see
were all dark. She had no idea if the main building had rentable rooms or if it was
just the place for dining rooms and spas or whatever the hell rich people needed on
their rustic vacation. Regardless, Grant seemed to be making a beeline in that direction.

As soon as she rounded the last bend though, something off to the right caught her
eye. A flash of movement. She turned her head, taking her eyes off Grant, and almost
tripped over her feet when she saw two men underneath a nearby tree. One of the men
was shirtless and pressed up against the bark; his partner’s forearm was pressed over
his wrists, holding his arms taut above his head. Charli’s gaze tracked down and she
couldn’t help but gasp when she saw where the man’s other hand was. The fly of shirtless
guy’s pants was spread wide and the man’s fist was wrapped around his partner’s shaft
in what looked to be a painfully tight grip.

The man against the tree shifted his gaze, catching sight of her. Their eyes locked.

Charli stopped, feet frozen in place. Not sure what to do. Was
the guy being attacked? She couldn’t imagine any man wanting to be gripped that tightly.
Did he need help? But then he smiled at her—a lazy, drunk-on-pleasure smile, one that
stirred something unfamiliar within Charli. His partner released his grip on the man’s
cock in an instant and smacked him audibly across the cheek.

Charli let out a little yelp.

“Eyes on me.” Or at least that’s what she thought she heard the man say after the
slap.

She moved forward, not sure what she was going to do, but unable to stand there and
watch someone get hurt. But the man against the tree shook his head at her and winked,
then apologized to the guy who’d just hit him and lowered his head.

She halted her step. This was some kind of game.

A game he didn’t want her interfering with.

She backed away, moving onto the path again and trying to get her legs to work correctly
beneath her. She had no idea what was going on. How had Grant passed right by this
couple and not seen what was happening? What if someone on a family vacation passed
by with their kids?

She wrapped her arms around herself, somehow both hot and cold at the same time. Her
body’s odd reaction to seeing the couple was something she’d rather not think too
hard on. She started walking up the path at a much faster pace than before. Now she
was going to have to admit to Grant that she’d snuck onto the property. She didn’t
know what was allowed at his resort, but she couldn’t imagine public sex was okay.
He had a right to know what was going on.

She scanned the path in front of her and sighed. Of course, she’d lost sight of her
cowboy during the diversion. Some stalker she was. Not sure what else to do, she made
her way up to the main house and considered her options. The place had a number of
doors and she had no idea which Grant had gone into or if they were locked
or alarmed. And really, she no longer remembered why it had sounded like such a good
idea to follow him in the first place. Maybe it was time to tuck tail and run.

“Do you need some help?”

The soft female voice startled Charli. She spun around to find a stunning blonde smiling
back at her—a stunning blonde wearing what looked to be a red latex catsuit. “Uh…”

She tilted her head, assessing her. “You new here?”

“Yes.” The word tumbled out automatically. “I’m a friend of Grant’s.”

“Oh, wow, that’s great,” she said with genuine warmth. “Just a friend or a trainee?”

“Huh?”

She laughed. “Sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. We’re all
just a little curious about our tight-lipped boss.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Kelsey,
by the way. Or Lady K as most everyone knows me around here these days.”

Pieces started to slide into place in Charli’s brain. “Nice to meet you. I’m Charli.”

“Are you only new here or are you new to this altogether?”

Oh, shit. “Altogether.”

“Well, come on in, Charli. Boss man shouldn’t have left you alone if you’re brand-new.
It’s easy to get overwhelmed around here.” She pulled open the nearest door. “I’m
supposed to be assisting Colby with one of his training sessions. Feel free to come
and watch. Or participate if the spirit moves you.”

She walked through the door, her hips swaying on top of crazy-high-heeled boots with
the ease of a pendulum. Charli followed her in, feeling like a schlub in comparison.
How were some girls born with that vixen gene? Charli had no interest in other women,
but even she couldn’t help but be drawn in by Kelsey’s magnetic sexuality.

Kelsey walked forward with long strides that belied her petite size. “So what side
of the sandbox do you play in?”

Charli frowned. “I’m, um, not sure yet.”

Kelsey gave her a quick grin over her shoulder. “Oh, I know how that is. Sometimes
you just have to give each role a shot and see what lights you up.”

“Right.”

The halls were quiet and decorated with deep maroons and dark wood. There were no
windows but soft glowing sconces lit their way, giving the whole place a somehow comforting
womblike vibe. Kelsey turned a corner and crooked a thumb toward the door on the left.
“Here we are. Keep quiet when we go in. I’m a little late, so things have probably
already gotten started. This is an open session, so if you want to join in at any
time, go for it.”

Charli nodded, scared about what she was walking into but too damn curious to turn
around and hustle back home. “Thanks.”

Kelsey turned the knob with nimble fingers and pushed the door open without a sound.
On the other side was a small room. Charli peered over Kelsey’s shoulder, her lips
parting when she saw the space was filled with half-dressed men and women on their
knees. She pressed her fingers over her mouth, barely managing to choke down a gasp
of surprise and avoid alerting everyone to her presence. Having a notion of what the
place could be and actually seeing it were two different things. A ripple of nerves
went through her.

Kelsey stepped inside, and Charli didn’t know what else to do but go in with her.
Hell, at the very least, this was a whole lot more interesting than what was going
on at her empty cabin. The man at the front of the room—the only person standing—nailed
the two of them with his gaze. “Ah, I told you all we’d have a special treat. Lady
K has generously offered to help tonight.”

One of the two men kneeling turned his head to see Kelsey and broke out into a wide,
awed smile. Kelsey’s expression turned icy in
an instant—from Snow White to evil queen in zero point five seconds. “Sub, I didn’t
give you permission to look at me.”

The words were like the snap of a whip. The man instantly lowered his head as if he’d
been struck. “So sorry, mistress. Forgive me. I was overwhelmed by your beauty.”

She sniffed, a haughty tilt to her chin. “Flattery will get you nowhere. Master Colby
must’ve not gotten to that part of your lesson yet.”

The man at the front—Colby presumably—sent Kelsey a conspiratorial smile. “We’ve only
started working on proper kneeling techniques. But I’ll be sure Antoine earns your
forgiveness later, Lady K.” Colby looked to Charli as if noticing her for the first
time, then back to Kelsey. “Have you brought us another trainee?”

“She’s new and just observing tonight, trying to figure out her inclination,” Kelsey
said, her tone softening from the harsh one she used with the man.

Colby’s dark eyebrows lowered, thunderclouds crossing his features, and he shook his
head. “No observers for my trainings. Participate or leave.”

Charli’s throat seemed to shrivel, and she couldn’t get a response out. Kelsey must’ve
recognized the panicked look because she put a hand on Charli’s elbow and leaned next
to her ear. “Don’t freak out. Nothing major happens in this session—it’s all manners.
Stay and see how you feel. Might help you with your decision.”

More because her legs wanted to give out from under her than anything else, Charli
let Kelsey guide her down into a kneel. So this is why Grant had been so guarded about
the resort. Grant—the cowboy military guy turned vineyard owner—ran some sort of kinky
S and M club? She couldn’t even wrap her mind around the thought.