Pleasure reached every nerve ending in her body, and the large star in the ceiling had turned into many as Autumn soared to the heavens. In the back of her mind she felt something poke at her, at the opening where no one had ever been before.

Something long and hard pushed inside her, just a little, and when she finally grabbed ahold of her senses she knew that Shawn’s cock, at least the tip of it, was in her ass.

“I…” She what? She wanted him to stop, to leave her? He wasn’t pushing inside her anymore, but his hands were once again playing with her breasts and clit, making her feel as if she would explode one more time.

She gasped and panted, trying to keep control of herself, but that was impossible. She felt him inch inside, and she felt the pain, mixed with more fullness than she’d ever felt in her life.

Tears leaked from her eyes, and she wasn’t sure if it was from the pain, or the fact that she felt out of control, and she loved it. He pushed and played and kissed until suddenly he stopped. Her back end pulsed and her whole body shook as she tried to come to grips with the idea she had Shawn’s cock in her ass.

Her legs were wrapped around his hips. He lowered his head and kissed her, gently.

“Tell me what you’re feeling.”

“I’m—not sure,” she sputtered. She tried to form more words, but she couldn’t get anything to come out of her mouth.

Her head rolled to the side. He kissed her eye and whispered, “Don’t cry.”

“Hurts but—”

“Shush,” he said. He kissed her cheeks, her lips, her eyelids, her neck, her shoulders—his lips moved to different places as she struggled against her bonds. When his cock started to move in and out of her she moaned, half in pain, half in pleasure. Shawn moved slowly, and she felt as if he were trying to keep from hurting her.

They stared into each other’s eyes as he moved, and when he tensed up she knew he was about to come. She wondered if his orgasm would be as strong as hers had been. She wondered about him shooting into her ass. She wondered, she wondered, she wondered.

“Oh, fuck me,” he whispered as he threw back his head. She felt him jerk inside her, and she was sure he was coming. When he was done he slipped out from her and collapsed beside her.

“Are you all right?” he said after a few moments.

“Sore,” she said.

“Give me a minute.” He moved faster than she thought he would and went into the bathroom. She heard water, and the toilet flushing. Then he was back. He had a cloth in his hand, and he knelt between her legs and gently bathed her backside.

“Am I bleeding?”

“I’m better than that,” he said with a seductive chuckle. “You’re going to be fine. Let’s go soak in the hot tub for a while. It will help ease the aches in your body.”

“You mean my ass,” she replied, and then she giggled. Where that reaction had come from she didn’t know. He undid her cuffs and led her to the deck. She slipped into the water, and when he returned she slipped into his arms, cuddling against his chest. He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“I didn’t expect love,” she said. Before he could think she’d meant she loved him she hurriedly added, “I mean tenderness and the like. That’s what I meant.”

“Have I been horrible to you after I was rough with you?” he asked.

“No, but that’s what I mean.” She sighed heavily. “I’m not saying this right. It’s just with the beating that Mary got the other evening, the tenderness afterwards seems like a change in positions, if you know what I mean.”

“I know,” he said. “Most people don’t understand. I hope you do before long.”

“I’m working on it,” she said. “It feels good to be in your arms.”

“I plan on keeping you here for a long time,” he said. “You’re going to stay, aren’t you?”

“What will I do?”

“Well, I think you should seriously consider writing a book on the 1964 robbery, and the recovery of the loot.”

“We haven’t found it yet,” she said.

“All in good time, my pretty, all in good time.” They both laughed. “You’ll have plenty of time to write, and we’ll have plenty of time to play. Plus, I just don’t want you to leave. I want you here.”

“Then I’ll stay,” she said. She jerked back and gazed up to where he looked down at her. “Did I really just say that?”

“You did,” he said. “And I’m going to hold you to your words.”

The kiss sealed the deal. She was moving in with a man she barely knew, but, amazingly enough, one that she felt she’d known her entire life.

“I’ll need an office,” she said. “There’s only two rooms here.”

“We’ll deal with the logistics later,” he said. “Right now, we need to soak, sleep, and then wake up and find our treasure.”

The garden behind the main lodge was beautiful. There were lots of plants that Autumn didn’t recognize, and an intricate watering system, which kept them all alive. At the far end of the garden were a few trees. None of them had any fruit on them right now but that didn’t stop Shawn from going to the one on the right end.

“We planted this year ago, and I’ve worked hard to make sure it lived.” He took one of the leaves in his hand and stroked it. It crumbled under his touch.

“So where should we dig?” she asked. She looked back to where Ethan and Randy stood, leaning on shovels. “We don’t want to damage the tree.”

“I don’t think he would have gone that far down,” Shawn said. “Front and center is the best place to start, or that’s what Dad always said. So, let’s get to it. Not to sound sexist, but we’ll do the digging.”

“Fine with me,” she said.

“Let’s be careful of the roots,” Shawn said to his partners. “I don’t want to lose this tree because of greed.”

Autumn watched as Randy handed Shawn a shovel. He started the work, tentatively at first, and then putting more force behind his work. He dug a nice, neat hole and didn’t find anything.

Shawn rejected an offer to take over and he moved to the left. After about an hour of digging he said, “Found something.”

They gathered round and watched as Shawn drew a burlap sack out of the ground. He opened it and pulled out a wooden box. His name was carved in the top.

“Let’s fill up the holes and take it back to the lodge,” Shawn said.

They three of them worked quickly to return the dirt to where it had been. Once they were in the lodge they went into the office and ordered some iced tea. Once it had been delivered, Shawn locked the door and took the box out of the sack once again.

“You want to be alone?” Ethan asked.

It was the first time Autumn had heard him do anything she considered compassionate.

“No, I’m fine.” Shawn opened the lid and then said, “Shit. There’s just a letter.”

“Read it,” Randy said. “I mean do it silently first if you want, but I know we’re all dying to know what it says.”

He opened the envelope and took out a sheet of paper. Then he turned the envelope upside down and out came a small silver key.

“Oh crap, this is not good,” Shawn said. “My dear son, I hate to sound trite, but if you’re reading this, then I’m gone. Know that I love you, and your mother, will all my heart, and it will continue in death. There is something I did, though, that has bothered me for the last part of my life. I don’t know a way out of it without leaving myself open for prosecution, so I am dropping this in your lap. For that I am so sorry.”

Shawn looked up. “I don’t like where this is heading.”

He looked up at her, and Autumn could tell he was scared to read the rest, to find out exactly what his father had written.

“Do you want me to finish?” she asked.

He took a deep breath. “No, I can do it.” He rattled the papers and cleared his throat.

“Years ago, around 1964, I met a woman named Jane Bolton. Your mother knows about her, but she doesn’t know how hard I fell for her. I thought I was deeply in love with her. At the time I lived in Colorado Springs, and, I’m ashamed to say, I would do anything Jane wanted, including hiding money she, her cousin Kate, and Kate’s husband, stole from the bank he managed.”

“Son of a bitch,” Ethan said. “He was guilty.”

“You knew he hid the money knowingly,” she said. “But his story does not match what Kate told us. She didn’t say her husband was involved, and she said that they were hiding it from her lover. Read more and see if your Dad mentions Kate’s lover.”

He took a drink of his tea and looked at the three of them. No one said anything else and he started to read again.

“As we all know there is no honor among thieves,” Shawn read. “Soon the police started to suspect Kate and her husband. In one of my more stupid moves I agreed to hide the money on our land. I know it was stupid, but like I said, I was in love with Jane, and I wanted her so badly. I thought we would spend the rest of our lives together. I gave her the coordinates. But then, suddenly, she disappeared. I asked Kate where she was, but she ignored my phone calls, and when I went to see her it was to find out she and her husband had disappeared.”

“There’s none of this in the police reports,” Autumn said. “Nothing about Kate and her husband disappearing. And we talked to her at the nursing home. How did the letter get into the storage unit? Why wasn’t it paid for?”

“Let the man read,” Randy said with a laugh. “We’ll ask questions later.”

“Just like a journalist,” Ethan muttered. Autumn stared at him.

“So, I’ll just read some more,” Shawn said. “When I found out Jane was gone, and that they had used me and had coordinates to the money, I moved it. I dug it up and put it in a safety deposit box in Colorado Springs. I paid for years in advance. Twenty to be exact. When that time was up I paid for fifty more. That means the lease on the box should be up in 2034. I will be dead by then. It will be up to you to decide what to do with the money.”

“He doesn’t say anything about a necklace,” Autumn said. “Kate used us. Why didn’t the police say that Kate and her husband were suspects? Why didn’t they say anything about them disappearing?”

“Why didn’t they come after your dad for the money?” Ethan asked.

“Why, why, why,” Shawn said. “The only person left to answer any questions is Kate,” he said. “When Autumn and I go to get her things, we’ll make a visit to the springs and ask her, and we’ll empty the box.”

“What do you mean get her things?” Ethan asked.

“She’s moving in with me,” Shawn said. “She’s staying for a while.”

Randy professed his delight, and Ethan stormed from the room without saying a word.

“Why does he hate me?” she asked.

“It’s not you, it’s your profession,” Randy said.

“A junk hunter?” Autumn asked.

“A journalist,” Shawn said. “His wife always wanted to be one, and she and a friend of hers were hunting down a story when she was killed in an accident. He thinks if she had minded her own business she would be with him today. Don’t expect him to be cozy with you. Sorry.”

“Me, too,” Autumn said. “He went along with the hunt for the treasure, though.”

“Because we talked him into it,” Randy said. “He wanted to kick you out the first night you arrived.”

“Wonderful.” Autumn looked out the window. “Glad to know he’s going to make me welcome here.”

They flew to Denver and rented a car. At the urging of the lawyers they stopped by the police station in Colorado Springs to let them know what they were doing in town. They asked an officer to accompany them, and that’s why at nine o’clock in the morning two days after opening the letter, Autumn, Shawn and Det. Frank Hart walked into the First State Bank, which had changed hands several times since Shawn’s father had rented the box.

“I’m nervous about this,” Autumn said.

“You did the right thing,” Hart responded. “And it’s good that I’m here to watch the box be opened.”

The woman working the safety deposit box area was concerned they had a cop with them, and she insisted the bank manager be let in on what was happening. Autumn thought it was all taking way too long. Her hands itched to turn the key in the box, although she knew Shawn would have to be the one to do it, since his name was on the lease.

“It’s one of our larger boxes,” the bank manager said. “We always wondered why no one came to take things out, or check on it. It’s a little unusual, but not unheard of. When the bank changed hands we simply held it over, since the rent on it was paid.”

“Let’s get it open,” Shawn said.

They located it and it took two of them to heft it onto the table. When they inserted the keys and opened the lid, Autumn’s mouth opened in shock. The box was full of money, except for one small part of it where a dark blue jeweler’s box lay.

“Oh Lord, there was a necklace,” Autumn said.

“There must be two-hundred grand here,” the detective said.

“Almost two-fifty according to the police report,” Autumn said. “But they never mentioned jewelry.” She pointed to the bag.

The detective pulled a pair of plastic gloves from his pocket and pulled them on. Then he picked up the bag and opened it. He looked inside and when Autumn heard his soft whistle she knew what was in the bag was big.

He held out his hand and dumped out a handful of diamonds.

“Holy crap,” Autumn said.

“We’ve already sent for your friend Kate, but when we got there it was to find her gone.”

“She died?” Autumn asked.

“No, she’s gone, as in she flew the coop,” the detective said. “We tried to go see her last night and were informed a young man came and picked her up to go out to lunch, and they never came back. How she knew we were coming I don’t know.”

“Brent,” Autumn whispered, “that sneaky little rodent.”

“Who?” the detective asked.

“Brent Mach. He buys storage units.” Autumn pounded her fist on the table. “He’s been snooping around. He was arrested in Nevada for trespassing. How did he get here so fast?”

“Bonded out, I’m sure.” The detective picked up a packet of money. To Autumn it looked so old compared to the new money.

“We leave all this with you, right?” Shawn asked.

“Yes, sir,” the detective said. “I don’t know about rewards since the bank has changed hands so many times, but you did the right thing.”

“I’d like the information to get out there, somehow, that we don’t have this money in our possession,” Shawn said. “I don’t trust Kate, or Brent Mach.”

“There will be a story in the paper, and on TV,” Hart said. “It was a big deal when the bank was robbed. Finding the money is a big thing, too. It will attract a lot of attention.”

Autumn thought about the book Shawn had suggested, the one that was already forming in the back of her mind. She would start with the robbery, and then move to the discovery. She could use the letters, although the one she found in the storage unit still surprised her.

Kate had lied to them, obviously. She had written the letter and put it in the storage unit for someone to find? It seemed to Autumn that she would have selected a storage unit in Colorado Springs. And who was Earnest? Autumn wanted to find Kate and ask her to come clean, to tell them the truth. How could she go about that?

And then it popped into her mind. Mach. It couldn’t be a coincidence that he bid on the unit, and gave it up, and then rubbed her nose in it. He wanted her to be the one to search. Somehow, he was connected to Kate.

“The weasel,” she whispered.

Shawn frowned, and she shook her head. “Sorry, I’m just thinking about Mach. He’s a weasel.” She locked her gaze on Hart. “You want to talk to her, right?”

“Oh yeah,” he said.

Autumn held up her phone. “Can you track cell phones?”

The detective smiled. “We sure can.”

Autumn rested the box against her thigh before she hefted it up against her hip and started up the stairs at the Shawn’s cabin. She stopped at the top and reminded herself that when she’d said something about his cabin last night, Shawn had reminded her that it was “their” cabin. She lived here now, after she’d sold her furniture and brought the few remaining books and other items here, to Silver Creek.

She looked out over the other cabins. It was quiet today, but there was a playtime scheduled for that evening. Considering her reaction to the last one, Shawn had made what he called an “executive decision” which meant the two of them would stay at their home and play.

Randy had nodded his assent when Shawn had told him at lunch, but Ethan had glared at her as if she were responsible for bringing trouble to the resort. He hadn’t talked to her since.

Right now, Shawn and Randy were inside, building shelves in what was her office. She would start work on Monday on the book that would, hopefully, sell.

She thought about the notes she’d made that morning, about the finale of the case. The Colorado Springs police had used Brent’s cell phone to track down the duo. It turned out that Brent was Kate’s great-nephew. They had been waiting in Colorado Springs, because they wanted to contact Autumn again, and try and take the loot away from her. They’d been surprised to learn Autumn and Shawn had contacted the police.

“What can you charge her with?” Autumn had asked Hart, who had shaken his head.

“Not much. There is a statute of limitations, especially since no one was hurt. The only thing we can do is return the money to the bank and the jewels to the family they had been stolen from.”

But Autumn had wanted to talk to Kate. She wanted to talk about the letter, and about the reasons for planting it in Pueblo. They had taken the elderly woman to the police station to talk. She had been very willing.

Kate and Brent had talked about the heist, and the fact the money was buried on the Silver Creek resort.

“I had the coordinates, but I couldn’t get onto the land.” Kate had laughed. “So, I made up the letter, made up Earnest. It was a nice, romantic touch that Brent assured me you’d fall for, Autumn, and you did.”

“You used me,” Autumn said.

“And you failed me,” Kate had said. “It’s a shame you wanted to do the right thing. I would have shared part of the money with you.”

“The money was not yours to share,” Autumn said. “Why did you wait so long?”

“Oh, I tried many times,” Kate said. “But it wasn’t until I let Brent in on it that he helped me devise the scheme. We bribed the owner of the storage place. Truthfully, I think you owe me for that. I hear you received a reward.”

“We did, twenty thousand from the bank, which I split with my partners.” Autumn glared at the woman. And then she and Shawn had walked out.

Autumn needed to ask Sara if, legally, Autumn could use Kate’s name in the book, if she could name her as a bank robber. The last thing she wanted was for Kate to file suit, and win money from her.

“Off in LaLa land?” Shawn asked. She turned to see him standing in the doorway.

“This is the last box,” Autumn said. “After I move this in you’re stuck me.”

“What a horrible idea,” Shawn said. “We better leave this box out here in case I change my mind.”

“I think the threshold is here,” she said, drawing the toe of her line over the top step. “Technically, I think I’ve already moved in.”

“You’re contradicting yourself,” he said. “Which is it, after the box is in the house, or now?”

Before she could answer he took her face in his hands and kissed her, long and deep. She melted into his chest and moaned softly.

“I’m out of here before you two get more mushy,” Randy said with a laugh. “Have a good time.”

He was down the stairs and in his car before they could respond. Shawn picked up the box and took it in the house. Autumn followed him in and closed the door. To her new home.

He put the box on the couch, turned around and kissed her again as he’d done on the porch. They hadn’t had sex since the night he’d taken her in the bedroom, the night she’d decided to give things a chance between them.

“I have something for you,” he said.

“Diamond bracelets that clink together?” she asked.

“You’ve been peeking.” He pulled back from her and the look of shock on his face made her think she’d guessed the truth. But then he laughed. “Close, but no.”

He led her into the bedroom. The handcuffs and chains were in the middle of the bed.

“Should I get undressed?” she asked

“You have to ask?”

She stripped, and then before he could order her to she laid down in the middle of the bed. He cuffed her and then climbed on top, fully clothed. He had a bag in his hand, much the same as the one that had been in the safety deposit box.

“Are you going to cover me in diamonds?” she asked.

“Maybe on our first anniversary, but they wouldn’t be real,” he kissed her again. “That’s a little above my pay grade.”

He opened the bag and dumped the contents on her chest.

Autumn giggled. “What’s there?”

“Two collars, one for here and another for being in public, and then, yes, a pair of handcuffs and all decorated with diamonds.”

He held up one of the collars. “This one has O rings, and is the one you wear in the house.” He placed it on her neck and Autumn shivered.

“It’s beautiful,” she said.

“The stones in the collar you wear out of the house are real,” he said.

“Thank you, Sir,” she said.

“No longer Sir,” he said. He kissed her as he pressed the collar into her neck. “From now on you call me Master.”

Autumn bit her lower lip. His words made her nervous, but she knew he was waiting to see how she would respond. She wiggled a little and then smiled.

“Whatever you say, Master.”

His smile told her she’d said the right thing. She had so much to learn, and she was thrilled that Shawn would be her teacher.