Autumn tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable spot long after Shawn’s snores had filled the room. He’d been able to fall asleep in moments, but all Autumn could think about was the unused vibrator sitting on the table between the beds.

“Jerk,” she said as she threw back the covers and stood up. She wanted to pound him over the head with her pillow, wake him up and tell him to make her come again, as he had at the spa. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

Instead, she grabbed the vibrator and headed for the bathroom. It wasn’t the first time she’d used one, although she didn’t get much satisfaction out of it before. She put several towels on the floor and sat down on them, spreading her legs. She turned it on, wondering if Shawn was asleep enough to miss the sound that would soon be coming from the bathroom. This was the first time they’d shared a bedroom, so she wasn’t exactly sure how soundly he slept.

This was an experiment she wanted to do on her own, without him watching. She turned it on low and touched it to her clit. It didn’t surprise her that she was wet. She’d been thinking about this ever since he’d given her the vibrator. The touch felt good, but it was nowhere near as intense as when Shawn had bit her.

She turned the handle and the pressure on her clit increased.

“Hmm, good,” she murmured. That felt good. She started to move it around, and the pleasure grew. “Yeah, that’s it,” she said. Her breathing became irregular. It felt good, but not as good. Still, she knew she would come from this. The question was would it be as intense?

As the thought passed through her mind she heard movement on the other side of the door. Shawn was awake. She went back and forth on whether she should invite him inside to witness her inability to control herself. He already knows, she thought right before she said, “Come in.”

The door opened but he didn’t take a step closer to her.

“Turn it on high,” he said. “It’s the best way to get the most, shall we say, force out of the vibrator.”

She did as he said, fighting back the urge to tell him she wasn’t an idiot, and she knew how it worked. The pleasure that shot through her made her tense up, and she pressed the vibrator into her clit and came so fast it took her breath away.

Once the sensations had passed she groaned softly. It had felt good, but not as good.

“I don’t like you anymore,” she said.

“I’ll take it that means you liked it, but not as much as last night.”

“I don’t like you anymore,” she repeated. She wasn’t sure exactly what to say.

“That’s okay, apprentice,” he said. “You’ll like me a lot more as each lesson progresses.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said. “I don’t want to be weird.”

His soft laughter was like a caress. “Weird is where the fun is,” Shawn said. “And we’re going to have lots of fun together.”

The cop’s son, Jacob Hand, lived in a much better neighborhood than she did, Autumn thought as she studied the address in Pueblo. Thinking about the upcoming interview took her mind off what had happened last night. She had thought Shawn would want to have sex, but he hadn’t. He didn’t even satisfy himself. They’d gone to bed—in their separate beds—and once again she’d been unable to sleep. Once again, he’d started to snore almost immediately.

Autumn, on the other hand, thought about what she’d just started. She wanted to set up rules, but to do that they needed to talk about things. She’d slept fitfully, and awoke late. They’d left for Pueblo almost immediately, and the minute the car had started down the highway, Autumn had fallen asleep.

Shawn had woken her when they’d hit the Pueblo city limits.

“Jacob Hand is expecting us in an hour,” Shawn said. “You want something to eat?”

“No,” she said. “I can’t help but wonder why we’re talking to the son. I’m not sure what he can tell us.”

“Just covering all our bases,” he said. “We’re a little early. Do you know where we’re going?”

“Yes.” She gave him the directions and he followed them. As they turned the corner to pass by his house she called out, “Stop.”

He slammed on his brakes and said a not so nice word.

“What is it?”

“That car,” she said, pointing at the older model muscle car sitting near the curb. “That’s Brent Mach’s car. Sitting in front of Jacob Hand’s house.”

“Brent Mach? The guy you bid against for the storage unit?”

Yeah,” she said. “What’s he doing here? Is he looking for the loot, too? If he is, how did he find out about it?”

They stayed parked down the street, and after about ten minutes, in which time neither of them spoke, Brent came out, got in his car and left.

“Right before we’re expected,” Shawn said. “I don’t believe in coincidences, do you?”

“Not where Brent is concerned,” she said. “Let’s cancel our appointment with the cop’s son.”

“No, let’s keep it to see if we can draw him out,” he said. “He could be after the money. Or the necklace that Kate told us about. Both are worth a lot.”

“Should we let him know we saw Brent?”

“Nope,” Shawn said, but then he put his hands on the wheel. “Maybe we should. Call and cancel. Then we’ll drive back up to Denver, turn in the rental and fly to Vegas. We can be back at Silver Creek tonight, and leave them wondering what we know.”

Autumn made the call, apologizing for breaking the appointment but telling Hand that something had come up and she would call him in the next few days to ask some questions.

“Do you want copies of the reports?” he asked. “If you’re in town I can give them to you.”

“No, we’re not in town,” she said. “Can you mail them to me, in Nevada?”

She snapped her fingers and Shawn mouthed a P.O. Box for her to give Jacob. When they’d disconnected she said, “Let’s go to my house. Something tells me Brent has been through it.”

It was about a fifteen-minute drive. The window in the back was smashed, and when they got inside Autumn shook her head.

“We need to call the cops,” Shawn said.

“Why, there is nothing here of value,” she said. “I need to warn my cousin, although I don’t think Brent would make that mistake. How did he find out about what we’re looking for?” A pit seemed to open in her stomach. “I didn’t even tell Albert.”

“Your cousin?” Shawn asked.

“Yes,” she said. “How did Brent find out?”

After a moment’s silence, Shawn said, “Through the owner of the storage units is the only way I could see. This guy obviously became suspicious after you left. He called your cousin looking for you. He probably started looking into the unit and found…”

His words drifted off and Autumn finished the sentence for him, “Found Jane, which led him to her obituary, which led him to Kate. Was that sweet old woman lying to us?”

“Why would she?” Shawn asked. “Unless she’s just playing both sides of the fence and hoping someone would recover the loot and she’d get her hands on it.”

“She asked us to get it back to the proper owners,” Autumn said.

“Maybe she feels she’s owed it,” Shawn said.

They glanced at each other, and Shawn finally said, “Can we fly out of here to Vegas?”

“We can,” she said. “I’m not sure about the times, but it would be faster than going to Denver.”

“Then let’s go,” he said. “The faster we get home the faster we can go searching for the loot and hopefully put all the pieces together.”

They arrived in Vegas after ten. Autumn was exhausted from lack of sleep the night before. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. The next morning, she woke to an empty room and a note that said, “Went to buy a car. Be back as soon as possible.”

She lay in her bed and wondered what it would be like to buy a car on the spur of the moment. Maybe if they received a reward for turning in the loot she would be able to do that, too. But somehow, she doubted it. This whole thing was turning into a huge mess, one that she wished she’d never started.

Why didn’t she just toss the letter in the trash and leave well enough alone? But she hadn’t, and what was done was done. They had to finish with their search. Besides, she’d met Shawn. Time would tell her if it was a good or bad thing. Time would tell her if she was a freak or not.

But she couldn’t sit around and worry about it. She needed to get showered and dressed before Shawn returned with his new wheels. The shower was fast, and she was just stuffing the last of her dirty clothes in her bag when the door opened.

“That didn’t take long,” she said.

“Well, I’ve been looking at this vehicle for a while,” he said. “It’s a big SUV that will take the back roads really well. I can also use it to transport equipment.”

“Are you sure you didn’t have the accident so you could have an excuse to buy your new car?” she asked with a smile.

“Don’t tell my insurance agent,” he said. Then he winked at her. “I’d like to get back tonight, so I thought we’d pick up fast food and eat in the car. I have a delivery to pick up, too. We might not get back until after dark.”

“Then let’s get cracking,” she said.

They found a food truck and ordered burritos, eating them at the tables near the stand. By this time, it was after four. Autumn hadn’t realized she’d slept so late, or that it was after two when Shawn had returned from buying the fantastic vehicle he was now driving down the road. A black SUV with brown leather seats. It had all the bells and whistles, and as they drove he turned one and pointed out its special feature.

“You should pay attention to the road,” she said.

“Okay,” he said. He pulled into a parking lot, and she sat and watched as he pointed out each knob and showed her what it did. After a few moments he pulled back onto the road.

“No buyer’s remorse for you, right?”

“Not even an ounce,” he said. “I should have bought this ages ago.”

“But then we would have been driving it when we crashed,” she said.

“There is that.” He turned right off the main road.

“I hate that we checked out late,” she said. “You’ll have to pay for an extra room tonight at the hotel that we’re not using,” she said. “You’re going to need it to make a partial payment on this car.”

“I’ll just have to book more rooms at the resort,” he said. He backed into a parking space in front of a warehouse. “Stay here. They’ll load us up and we’ll be on our way.”

“Yes, Sir,” she said, saluting him. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do now, call you Sir?”

“Watch it, apprentice,” he said. “We haven’t set the rules yet. I plan on doing that on the trip back. Don’t make me spank you in front of all these nice workers inside.”

She sat and played with her phone while boxes were put into the back of the SUV. From the sounds of it, they all barely fit.

When he was back inside he handed her a box, one about the size of what she considered to be melon boxes at the grocery store.

“What’s this?”

“A present,” he said. “It’s toys, for us to use.”

Something, either fear or excitement, crept up her spine. “I thought my cabin, and I assume yours, is already filled to the brim with toys.”

He nodded as he drove back to the main road. “They are, but these toys are new, used only by you and me. I wanted us to have a clean slate, so to speak.”

“That’s oddly romantic,” she said with a laugh. “May I open it?”

“Sure.” He turned right onto the main road again. “It will give us something to talk about while we drive.”

“Okay.” She flipped open the lid, which was like the lid on a shoebox. She tossed it into the back seat as she glanced inside.

“Let’s see,” she said as she picked up a pair of furry handcuffs. “These don’t need any explanation.”

“They will be easier on your wrists at first,” he said. “Once you’re used to being restrained we can move on to other things.”

“Like what?”

“Steel cuffs, ropes, chains, lots of different things.”

Autumn stared into the box. “What have I gotten myself into? I don’t think…” Her hands were clammy, and her heart was definitely out of rhythm. This had seemed like a good idea when it was vibrators and orgasms. But she hadn’t really thought it through in the heat of passion.

“Relax, you’ll earn your stripes one at a time,” he said. “You don’t go into the service as a general, you go in as a private. In your case, an apprentice. One of the main things a sub has to learn is to trust her Dom. We’re going to have to work on that.”

He was on the highway now, and he kicked up the speed, which made Autumn laugh softly. “You’re a kid with a new toy.”

“I am at that,” he said. “I’m going to wait until we’re closer to home to take it past a hundred.”

“I hope I’m not with you then,” she said.

“You will be if we make it there before dark tonight,” he said. “In the meantime, keep searching through your box. Try and figure out which one you want to use first. Tells me which one intrigues you the most.”

She riffled through the box, which was full of pointing things, obvious gags to keep a person from talking, ties to keep a person in place—it was a huge mix of things to restrain her, and cause pain.

“I have no clue,” she said. “My experience with sex is very limited, and this stuff is just—too much for me to consider.”

“I told you, baby steps,” he said, his tone soft and seductive. “Nothing in there is too advanced. Close your eyes, reach inside and take out the first thing you feel.”

He made it sound so easy, but her fingers itched as she reached toward the box again. She quickly told herself to quit being a baby; she closed her eyes and reached into the box.

“Ouch,” she said, pulling back her hand.

“Something sharp?” he asked.

“Yes.” She reached back in and pulled out the object. “It’s that pinwheel thing that you showed me when I was in my cabin.”

“Good choice,” he said. “It will stimulate you in all the right places.”

“You mean when you use it, right?” She held the pinwheel up and studied it. The sharp points looked lethal, and she thought about asking if she could select a different toy from the box, maybe another vibrator like the one he’d bought her last evening.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this on the basis of two orgasms,” she said. “This isn’t like me, at all.”

“You never know until you try,” he said. “And I want you to try.”

“This is not what I expected, you know,” she said.

“Sometimes surprises are the best.” He looked at her long enough to wink. “Let’s lay out the rules, shall we?”

Her stomach did a little flip. “Okay,” she managed to say.

“You will call me Sir,” he said. The tone of his voice had changed. She wanted to joke about it, but she was afraid he wouldn’t take it too well.

“Yes, Sir,” she said.

“It might be a little difficult for you to remember at first,” he said. “I won’t dock you the first few times, but after that, you’ll start racking up strikes.”

“Three strikes and I’m out?” she asked.

“Not quite, but you’ve got the right idea,” he said.

“Two strikes?” she countered.

“Watch it, or it will be one,” he said.

“Shaking in my shoes,” she said. If she didn’t laugh about it, she might explode from nervousness.

The side of his lips tipped up in a smile, just long enough for her to notice. Was she doing something right? Or was he laughing at her? She wasn’t sure, but she felt a little more at ease as they traded barbs.

“What part of your body needs attention from the pinwheel?” he asked.

Autumn hadn’t expected that question, and it made her sputter as if liquid had gone down the wrong pipe in her throat.

“What?”

“Where would you like me to run the wheel?” he asked. “I thought the question was self explanatory.”

“No, this is too advanced for me,” she said. She dropped the pinwheel back in the box. “Let’s just stick with simple stuff like—this.” She picked up the furry handcuffs and swung them around. She didn’t mind the idea of being handcuffed. She trusted Shawn with that much.

“I repeat, which part of your body needs attention from the pinwheel?”

“None of it,” she said. “I don’t want pain.”

“Take it back out of the box and touch your finger to one of the spikes,” he said.

“There’s the problem with the pinwheel, you said it yourself.” Now, she dropped the cuffs back into the box. “Spikes. I don’t do spikes.”

“Do as I say, apprentice,” he said. “Do it now.”

“I don’t want…” Her words drifted off as she glanced over at him. His jaw was set in a firm scowl, and it made her stomach drop.

They were entering a small town, one of those that had one stop light and not much else. He passed through, and when they got to the end there was a small motel that looked empty. There looked to be a dozen rooms, done in an L shape.

He pulled in and she said, “What are you doing?”

“Fucking you,” he said. Shawn was out of the car before she could respond. She stared after him, her mouth wide open. She hadn’t expected to stop. She thought he wanted to make it back to Silver Creek tonight.

He came out of the office moments later and stopped to make a phone call. She imagined him calling Ethan to say he’d stopped to dip his wick for the evening.

Autumn tightly clasped the box in her lap, even though it contained items that could cause her pain. Right now, it provided her comfort, because it gave her something to do with her hands rather than reach for the door handle, get out of the car and run like the devil was behind her.

He got back in the car. “There’s only a few rooms full, and I talked him into giving us the one on the end, away from everyone.”

After he parked in front of the unit he handed her the key. “Take the box inside. When you get there, handcuff your hands behind your back.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” she asked.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out,” he said. “I’ll give you three minutes. Now go.”

Rather than argue she ran out of the car and was thankful the key worked in the door. Despite her trepidation, she was a little excited about the idea of having sex with Shawn. She had to admit she was excited about him becoming her third lover. She would learn things from him that she’d never thought about doing before.

How she would feel about things after they’d started was still to be seen. What would happen, she wondered, if they got started and she didn’t like what was happening. How would she let him know? Would he tell her? She thought they still needed to talk about a few things, but she didn’t want to take the time out of her three minutes to ask questions. Hopefully he would give her the chance to do it before they had sex.

The box bounced a little when she put it on the bed. She pulled out the cuffs and wondered how she was supposed to handcuff herself. The first thing, of course, would be to put a cuff on her non-dominate hand.

She let the other cuff dangle, then picked it up and tried to hold it with her right hand. It took her a moment, but she did it. Then she put her hands behind her back and closed her eyes. There was no reason to close her eyes, but it was, she decided, like turning down the radio in the car while you were trying to read street signs.

Nerves took over as she tried to work her hand into the cuff. It didn’t work, and when she heard the door open she turned to find him standing there, their bags in his hands.

“I see you failed,” he said.

“I tried, doesn’t that count for something?”

Without answering he dumped the bags and crossed the room. He quickly completed what she couldn’t do. Then he went to the bed nearest the window and looked out. He turned a few buttons on the air conditioner and cool air started to filter into the room.

“Now, what did we discuss in the car?”

“Is this a test?”

He turned to glare at her, and Autumn took a step backward. “Um, I’m supposed to call you Sir.”

“Have you?”

“Not yet, Sir,” she said.

“Better.” He crossed the room put his hands on her shirt. He tugged her shirt over her breasts, then he did the same with her bra. It was uncomfortably tight, but she didn’t say anything. When he grasped her nipples and twisted, she groaned softly. She hated to admit that it felt good. Very good.

Without warning his fingers went to her jeans. He undid the button and zipper and then tugged the clothing to her knees. He put his face right next to her pussy, his hand on the small of her back.

“I remember how this tastes,” he said. “You’ll have to earn the next one.”

He crossed the room and sat down in a chair next to the hotel desk that seemed to be in every hotel in the world.

“If you are scared, or if you are not enjoying anything we are doing, you need to use your safe word.”

“Which is?”

“Something that you wouldn’t use in everyday conversation,” he said. “It can’t be easy. It needs to be unusual. But it also needs to be something you remember, so it should have something you like.”

Autumn smiled, despite her discomfort. She was half naked in front of a man who’d just said he was going to fuck her; and he was asking her to come up with a word to bring things to a close if she wanted. The first thing she thought was would she be able to stop things if she didn’t like it. She wondered if that truly worked.

She hoped so. But she knew she trusted Shawn. She’d spent enough time with him to know he wasn’t going to hurt her, at least not in the method that you read in the newspaper. If he were going to do that, he already would have done so.

“Stop the presses,” she said.

“That works for me,” he said. “You need to know that, if you use the word, the scene is over. All action stops. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” she said.

He stood and crossed to the box where he picked up the pinwheel. “Shall we begin?”