She did choose the green dress, which surprised her. For one thing she wasn’t used to following directions from men she’d just met. For another she wasn’t a dress person. This particular dress was one piece, and she hated to ask X for help, but she had to.

X, who turned out to be a beautiful woman with cocoa skin and big blue eyes, had told her it was a wrap dress. Then she’d helped Autumn into the garment. Autumn stared at herself in the mirror. She’d never felt so sexy, or worn something so sleek.

“You’ll want to wear heels,” X said.

“And end up on my knees,” Autumn said with a laugh.

“Both you and Master Shawn might enjoy that,” X said, and then giggled. Autumn decided she liked this woman.

“May I ask you a personal question?” Autumn said.

“As you wish,” X said.

“How long have you worked here? Or do you work here? Or are you, um, what do you call it, bound to Shawn, or Ethan, or Randy?”

“My Master sends me here once every few months,” X said. “I don’t participate in sexual activities. I perform housekeeping duties and whatever other non-sexual tasks the Masters desire.”

Autumn studied the woman. She looked to be about forty years of age, about the same age as Autumn. She wore a simple shift, but the collar around her neck was ornate, black leather decorated with large red rhinestones. She had rope sandals on her feet.

Her outfit was very different from the one Rosa had worn, which was very sexual. Autumn made a mental note to ask Shawn about the differences in uniform for the ladies she’d met.

“What size shoe do you wear?” X asked her.

“Nine,” Autumn answered. She looked down at X’s feet. “Those sandals you’re wearing look like something I’d like.”

X laughed. “We’ll do short heels. And Master Shawn sent up a silver collar to complete the outfit.”

Autumn shook her head. “I’m not into heels, but the collar scares me more than falling flat on my face.”

“You’re new to this?” X asked.

“Very,” Autumn replied. She wanted to say something about the treasure, but she knew that wasn’t a good idea. That needed to be kept between the three owners and herself.

“My Master has taught me more about myself than I could ever had done on my own, and not just sexual things,” X said. “If you allow Master Shawn to guide you, you’ll be surprised at what you find buried beneath the surface.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell X that she’d rather leave here with a barrel full of money than a head full of guidance from a man she didn’t know. Stay silent, she reminded herself. You don’t know these people, there is no telling what they would do if they were faced with the information there was money buried on this land.

X handed her the collar. It was light to the touch, and looked like something a person would wear on an evening out; at least a person who didn’t live her life in jeans, t-shirts and sandals.

“Would you like me to fasten it for you?”

Autumn thought about saying not no but hell no, but then she remembered Shawn’s warning about the unattached Doms, who might consider her as being what she could only think of as prey.

“Thank you,” she said. She turned her back and tried not to wince as X placed the stones around Autumn’s neck and clicked the clasp in place. Although the jewelry was lightweight, it felt as if she had the weight of the world on her shoulders.

Autumn put her hand up to the choker and gently pulled on it.

“What brought you here, if you’re not sure of things?” X asked.

This would call for some creative thinking. “I met Shawn and he invited me,” she said. That wasn’t a lie.

“Then he really must see something then,” X said. “Don’t fight it.”

She patted Autumn on the shoulder and headed toward the door without saying another word.

“Thank you,” Autumn said as X disappeared through the door. Autumn was sure she heard a faint, “You’re welcome.”

A glance at the clock showed it was about twenty minutes to six. Autumn was pretty sure there wasn’t a golf cart waiting outside, which meant she would have to make it to the main house on foot. She looked at the heels X had set out for her. They were about two inches, which was too inches too high in Autumn’s book. She couldn’t remember if there was pavement, or gravel outside. A look out the door showed a golf cart waiting for her.

Wondering what she’d gotten herself into, she put on the heels and went out the door. No one had given her a key, which meant she couldn’t lock the door. The only thing in the house was the letter. Everything else was in hidden in the car. She would need the letter, so she toddled back inside, grabbed her purse and then headed back outside.

She arrived at the main cabin at two till six, and made it inside right on time. Shawn sat in a chair in the large room, flipping through a magazine.

“Ethan will be happy that you’re punctual,” he said. “He’s rather a stickler in that area.”

“Yeah, I gathered that,” she said. She held up her purse. “Do you have someplace I can store this? I don’t want to haul it around all night.”

“Don’t trust us enough to leave it in your cabin?” He actually winked at her.

“It has the letter,” she said.

“I see,” he stood and took her purse. “I’ll lock it up in the office. That’s where we’ll meet after dinner.”

She watched as he entered a room to the left. He was back moments later. “Care for a cocktail?” he asked.

“How about two?” she asked. “It might help fortify me to deal with tonight.”

“We’re not freaks, you know,” he said. He offered his arm and she took it. The staircase was wide enough for them to wide walk by side. “Look to me if you need guidance.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I will,” she said. “How many people will be at the cocktail party?”

“Depends,” he said as they gained the second level. They were in the dining room that Autumn had seen when they arrived. “Some people come, some don’t. It’s the same with dinner. It depends on what they’re doing, and how sociable they feel. I know there are four couples and our two unattached Doms scheduled for dinner. The cocktail party is come and go.”

“Even though Ethan told me I had to be here by six?”

“He was testing you,” Shawn said. He turned her toward the right. “Ethan is much stricter than I am. You should be glad you addressed your email to me and not him.”

“Your name is on the lease,” she said.

“That’s because this land has been in my family for centuries,” he said. “My ancestors found silver in some of the surrounding mines and bought this land. It came to me when my father died.”

“I’m sorry,” Autumn said. “I mean, about your father.”

“Thank you,” he said. “It was years ago, I mean when my father died. He told me many stories about this land, about the miners who worked the shafts. But he never once told me there was buried bank robbery money here.”

“Maybe he didn’t know,” she said.

They had just entered the party, but he stopped and pulled her back outside. “I want you to think about something. If your fabled bank president’s cheating wife hid money stolen in Colorado on land in Nevada, how did she get it here? How did she find the area? How did she keep it secret from the family that has owned this land since 1908?”

Autumn opened her mouth, but then closed it before a word could come out.

“Yeah, ponder that while we’re enjoying our libations,” he said. He led her back into the room.

Autumn had prepared herself for naked women and men trailing whips, but what she found was women dressed much like her, except their heels were much higher and their collars were made of leather and not rhinestones. The men wore pressed jeans and button-down shirts, exactly like Shawn. There were two couples and three single men, one of them Ethan.

The couples were talking together, but the men turned toward them as they walked into the room.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed, and Autumn recognized the look of approval on his face, only she’d never seen it directed toward her, only toward other women. She guessed the green dress had been a good choice. Suddenly, she wondered what she would look like with higher heels.

“Autumn Pumpkin, this is Phil Getty and Walt Abbott,” Ethan said.

“Autumn?” Phil said moments before Walt said, “Pumpkin?”

“My parents had a sense of humor,” she said.

“A bad one,” Phil said, and Autumn couldn’t help but laugh.

“Autumn and I met online,” Shawn said. “She’s curious about the treasures she might find at Silver Creek. This is her first time experiencing the BDSM world.”

“They are beyond your wildest imagination,” Phil said. “I’m just sorry you’re wearing that collar around your neck. That means I can’t help you search for them.”

“That’s right,” Shawn said. “She’s my guest, which means hands off for the three of you.”

Autumn wanted to grab Shawn and kiss him. He’d just told them all that she was his. While she normally wouldn’t like to be claimed, in this case it meant the other men would keep their hands off her, or at least she hoped that’s what it meant.

She didn’t have much time to ponder the idea, though, because a maid, dressed exactly like Rosa had been that afternoon appeared. This woman, who wore no nametag, was dark-haired and very busty.

“I’d like a beer, and Ms. Pumpkin would like a—” Shawn’s voice trailed off and Autumn finished the sentence for him, “A gin and tonic, double the gin, please.”

“Could it be she’s not happy with her first few discoveries?” Phil asked.

“I’m just nervous,” she said. “Shawn is not kidding when he said I’m a newbie.”

“She’ll be around for a while,” Shawn said.

“Cocky much?” Autumn asked.

“Oh, a brat,” Walt said. “Please let me play with her.”

Shawn stared at her, and for a moment she thought he was going to yell at her. Instead he cocked his head ever so slightly and said, “That’s one.”

“One what?” she asked.

“I’ll explain later,” he said. Their drinks arrived and once hers was in her hands, Autumn took a big drink. The waitress had definitely taken her words to heart when Autumn had asked for double gin.

She knew she should take it easy on the alcohol, but she finished the drink pretty quickly, and the waitress brought a second one without being asked. She started to take a drink, but Shawn took it from her hand.

“How much have you had to eat today?” he asked.

“Not much,” she said.

“Bring her a soda,” he told the waitress as he handed her Autumn’s drink. “It would be better if you were not inebriated for our later plans.”

“Yeah, alcohol and BDSM don’t mix,” Phil said. “Safe, sane, consensual and sober, or at least that’s how it is in my world.”

Alcohol might help her argue her case for treasure hunting, but Autumn took the soft drink the maid gave her and drank it slowly. As they talked about jobs, Phil was a blackjack dealer and Walt owned a construction company, and oddly enough the weather, Autumn wondered why Shawn had been so worried about her coming to the cocktail party. So far it had all been so very normal.

For the next fifteen minutes she chided herself for thinking there were going to be people hanging from the rafters or having an orgy on the dining room table. And then the room seemed to spin.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” a deep voice said from the doorway. “If I may have your attention, please. I have a naughty girl that needs to make amends for her behavior. If you will, please, have a seat and allow her to atone for her behavior.”

Before Autumn could figure out what was happening, Shawn pulled her into his chest and whispered in her ear, “Don’t say anything, don’t do anything. This is something that happens every time this couple comes to spend a few days. The Doms are the ones that will take part in this scene. You will sit on the couch with me and watch, nothing else. Do you understand?”

Autumn didn’t care for the tone of his voice. She’d never been very good at taking orders, which, in addition to the fall of the newspaper world, was why she was working for her cousin.

“What is he going to do?” she asked.

“Don’t say anything,” he repeated, his voice deeper. “If I have to take you out of this room it ruins the scene for her, and believe me, she is a very into what is about to happen. Do you want to be the one to ruin her fantasy?”

“No,” Autumn whispered.

“Then do as I say.”

Shawn sat down on the sofa with a plop and pulled her down next to him. He took both her hands in his and squeezed tightly.

“Are you going to behave?”

“It’s a fifty-fifty chance,” she said. “I didn’t sign up for this.”

“Think about your money when you decide whether to go to the north, or south, of your fifty-fifty idea.”

That was easy enough to do, she thought. “Fine, I’ll behave.”

But it was a bit late for her decision. The man who had come in earlier was back now, leading a naked woman by a leash. She was on all fours. Autumn couldn’t see her face because her eyes were trained on the ground.

“Tell them what you did,” he said.

“I disobeyed my Master,” the woman said. “I talked back, and I told him no.”

“Why did you talk back to him?” Ethan asked.

“Because I’m a naughty girl,” the woman said.

“That’s a very feeble answer,” Ethan said. “You need to be more specific than that.”

Autumn noticed the Dom who had brought the woman into the room did not stop Ethan from questioning his submissive. Autumn wondered what that meant. Had they set this up somehow?

Her journalistic self had done a little research on BDSM when she figured out she would be dealing with someone from the Silver Creek Resort, but she had never heard of one Dom questioning another’s sub. She made a mental note to ask Shawn about it when this was all over.

“Give him a straight answer!” The Dom screamed the words, and it made Autumn jump.

“Relax,” Shawn said, softly. “Don’t respond in any way.”

“Is he going to hit her?” She hated that idea.

“She’s going to get a good spanking,” Shawn said. “Let me know right now if you want to leave.”

Before she could say, “Let’s leave,” the unnamed Dom yanked on the woman’s leash. She yelped, and Autumn opened her mouth to object to the woman’s treatment. But Shawn put his hand over her mouth. She wasn’t sure if anyone noticed her muffled yelp, but she knew she could feel someone staring at her. She looked up to see Ethan glaring at her. The look on his face frightened her more than Shawn putting his hand over her mouth.

Something told her Ethan would be a formidable opponent if you got on his bad side.

“I won’t say anything,” she whispered into Shawn’s hand. He must have understood her because he moved his hand away. The man had taken his sub to where one of the unknown men sat with his woman at her feet. The sub got up from all fours and offered her backside to the man. The Dom holding the leash handed the seated Dom a hairbrush.

Autumn clamped her lips together and dropped her gaze to the floor as the seated Dom slapped the sub’s bottom repeatedly. The woman cried out with each stroke, but Autumn kept her mouth closed. She told herself that, as a journalist, even one that was currently out of a job, she should not pass judgment on different aspects of life. She should look at this as research.

The Dom was moving his sub to another Dom. She received the same treatment from the second Dom, and then from Ethan, who gave his swats from his standing position.

When the woman presented her behind to Shawn, Autumn lifted her gaze and stared at the woman’s reddened backside. The swats she’d received in this room wouldn’t have produced the redness that Autumn saw right now. This woman had been spanked before she’d come here.

Autumn clasped her hands into fists as she watched Shawn take the brush and slap it against the woman’s backside. The woman cried out, but from this distance, Autumn was pretty sure she heard a moan on the tail end of the yelp. The sub was definitely enjoying her punishment.

It wasn’t something Autumn understood, but she couldn’t very well ask the woman about what she was feeling, and why. How could someone enjoy being swatted like that, not just by one man but by the others that were in the room? Why would you allow yourself to be put on display like that?

When Shawn was done, the Dom jerked on the leash. “We’re going back to our cabin. Thank you all for helping me discipline my wayward sub. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He started out the room and the sub crawled after him.

“I believe that makes it time for dinner,” Ethan said with a laugh. “I’m afraid Shawn and I are having a private dinner with Shawn’s new friend, so you’re on your own for the evening. Please behave, or not, according to what you all want.”

The couples left, all of them laughing. Shawn and Ethan talked to them all while Autumn sat in her seat, watching but not saying anything. She secretly wished she’d had a second gin and tonic instead of a soft drink.

“You were almost in big trouble,” Ethan said. He stood in front of her. “Shawn can be credited with saving you from breaking one of our rules, which is to never interfere with a scene.”

“Is that what that was?” Autumn asked. “Plus, you two threw me into this. This is my first night in BDSM World.”

“Watch your tone,” Ethan said. “I realize you’re here for other things besides playtime, but you should have looked a few things up before you agreed to come.”

“I didn’t want to be here,” she said. “I just wanted money.”

“Greedy,” Ethan said. “Let’s talk about that over dinner, shall we?”

Autumn was pretty sure she didn’t like Ethan, and she was happy, once again, that she’d addressed the letter to Shawn.

“I had a table set up for us on the outside deck,” Ethan said. “It’s a nice evening outside, and I think it will be a nice, quiet place for us to talk.”

Shawn came over and offered her his hand. She took it and stood.

“Don’t let tonight scare you off,” he said. “I think you have a bit of sub in you.”

“Oh really, how did that thought cross you mind?” she asked. “Would it have been when I screamed out while she was being spanked, or maybe it was the look of horror on my face while you guys were using that woman as a spanking post.”

“That woman, as you named her, loved every swat she got,” Ethan said. “You may not believe it, but it’s true. I’ll set up a time tomorrow so the two of you can talk. Would that make you feel better about things?”

“I’d like to talk to her right now,” Autumn said.

“Not going to happen,” Shawn said. “Listen, we’ll talk about this later. Right now, I’m starved. And I’m sure my steak is getting cold.”

“That’s because you eat it rare,” Ethan said with a laugh. Autumn was pretty happy that Ethan was laughing. Something told her he was the type of person you didn’t want to get angry, at least any angrier than she’d seen him earlier tonight.

They went onto the deck where there was a table set for three. There was no food there yet, but there was a bottle of wine, and Autumn was happy to see that.

She sat in the seat that Ethan pulled out, and watched as Shawn took the seat next to her. He grabbed the bottle of wine and popped the cork, which had already been loosened. He poured them each a glass. Autumn took a sip.

“Do things like that happen often?”

“Yes,” Ethan said. “We have parties where scenes are acted out quite a bit.”

“But you’re not here to learn about BDSM, right?” Shawn said. He leaned back in his chair and drank from his wine glass. A waitress appeared with salads. Autumn was glad to see food, because she was very hungry. She dug into the greens.

“You’re asking for a lot of money,” Ethan said between bites of his own salad.

“The information I have is worth what I’m asking,” Autumn said. She finished her salad and pushed away the plate. Then she told him about the bank robbery and the money buried on the land.

“You’ve talked with the woman who wrote the letter?” Shawn asked. “I thought about that earlier.”

“No,” Autumn said. “She’s still alive, but she’s in a nursing facility in Colorado Springs. I wanted to talk to her, but something told me she wouldn’t remember much.”

“She might,” Shawn said. “You should never suppose something.”

“True,” Autumn said.

“There’s another reason for not contacting her, isn’t there?” Shawn asked. The waitress took away the salad plates. As she worked, Autumn noticed she wore the same French maid’s outfit that she’d seen on several ladies.

“Is X an employee here?”

“No,” Ethan said. “Shawn, go on with what you were saying.”

“There is one thing you didn’t tell me this afternoon,” Shawn said. “One thing that has bothered me. How much money was taken in the heist?”

The waitress was back again. She set their steaks in front of them and Autumn’s stomach rumbled with happiness. It smelled perfect.

“Please cut into it and make sure it’s cooked right,” the waitress said.

Autumn did. She took a bite from what she’d cut and said, “Oh my, that is delicious.”

“Good.” The waitress left. Autumn dug into her steak, savoring the flavor.

“You didn’t answer Shawn’s question,” Ethan said. “How much money are we looking at?”

“I just want fifty thousand,” she said.

“Be straight with us, Autumn, or this conversation ends right now,” Shawn said.

Autumn put down her knife and fork. She took a sip from her wine and cleared her throat.

“According to the police report, the bank lost almost two-hundred fifty thousand in the robbery.”

“In 1964?” Shawn asked. “I find that hard to believe.”

“All I know is that’s what is on the police report,” Autumn said. She picked up her utensils and started to eat again. “I think the amount of money I’m asking is much less than what you will make when you find the money. So, if you just want to write me a check, I’ll be on my way, and you can spank all the little ladies here to your heart’s delight.”

“Not so fast, Autumn Pumpkin,” Shawn said. “You and I are going to have to do some research before we shell out that amount of cash. Is there anyone you need to call to let them know you’ll be gone from home for a while?”