The toys were not that interesting to her. As she walked around the room she noticed that most of them were pretty standard, or at least she thought they were—plugs, vibrators, dildos, clamps. There was only one of them that she thought wouldn’t be found in a couple’s bedside table. She didn’t know what it was called, but it was like a steel circle that had been cut so the edges were sharp points.

“It’s a pinwheel,” he said. “You run the points along sensitive areas of your body and the pain is, well one friend of mine described it as delicious.”

“Do you have sex with all these women?” She picked up the pinwheel and ran it across the back of her hand. She imagined what it would feel like on her nipples, or on her clit, even. She shivered. There was a part of her that wanted to know what it would feel like, and another part that didn’t.

It took her a few moments to figure out he hadn’t answered her question.

“Do you?”

“A few,” he said. “But I don’t have a collared submissive right now, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Nobody to lead around on a leash?” she asked as she held up the pinwheel.

“Do you want to try it?” he asked. “Take off your shirt and I’ll show you how it feels.”

The tone of his voice was different; it was as if he were angry about something. She turned to look at him. “Have I crossed a line?” She wiggled the pinwheel. “Is this one of your favorite toys?”

“I don’t care for your tone of voice since we entered the dungeon,” he said. “It’s very judgmental.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to—”

“Yes, you did,” he said.

“Why do you think that?” she asked.

“Because this is different, and it scares you, and when people don’t understand something they tend to attack it, to try and push their fears aside.”

“I’m not scared,” she said.

“Really?” He leaned against the doorjamb. “If you’re not, I’m surprised. Or maybe the lack of fear means you’re more experienced in the BDSM world than you’re letting on.”

“I’m not scared,” she said. “Okay, I don’t understand it, but that doesn’t mean I’m scared.”

“Okay,” he said.

“That’s it, just okay?” She dropped the pinwheel on the table. “Aren’t you supposed to try and convert me?” She rubbed her fingers over the rhinestone collar.

“And?”

“And what?” she asked.

“You’re fingering the collar like you expect it to catch on fire and you want to pull it off before the flames shoot out.”

“You’re equating the idea of a fire with me being frightened?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “It’s burning your skin, even though it was just meant to keep you away from the other Doms, you’re thinking it means something else,” he said.

“Bull crap,” she said. “You’re trying to mess with my mind. I notice you didn’t bring up the collar while we were eating popcorn and watching a movie.”

“You weren’t messing with the collar then,” he said. “You didn’t do it until you stepped into the dungeon.”

“I don’t think that’s true,” she said. Was it true? Had she not thought about it until they got in here? No, she’d thought about it before, but they just hadn’t talked about it until now.

“Listen, we need to concentrate on the treasure,” he said. “What we do here is not part of our deal. I’m going to my cabin. Have a nice night.”

He left without waiting for a response. Autumn stared after him, shocked that somehow, she’d pissed him off. What had she said? Was it the snide remark about walking someone on a leash? That was the only thing she could really think of. Should she go after him and ask what she’d done? She didn’t know which cabin was his, so she couldn’t go to his door. There was a landline in the room. Maybe there was an operator in the main office she could call and ask for Shawn Higgins.

Or, while she’d been standing here staring at the door, she’d wasted the time she could have run after him and asked what the dickens she’d said to tick him off.

She hurried through the house and when she made it out the front door it was to see that it was dark, and there was no one around.

“Crap on a cracker,” she said. She went back inside and slammed the door. In the journalism world, that would be what a friend of hers would call a busted interview.

She plopped down on the couch and picked up the bowl of popcorn.

This day had not turned out as she’d planned. She wished Shawn had not run off. Although she hadn’t expected to be here, she did have questions about what she’d seen. Of course, she had to figure out a way to get him to open up before she would get any answers.

That would mean not making snide remarks. As the thought passed through her mind she thought about how they’d connected in the first place—through email.

She snatched up her phone and called up her email app. She started an email and took a few minutes to figure out what to say.

Finally, she giggled just a little and wrote, “I realize I pissed you off. I’m sorry.”

His answer was immediate. “Apology accepted.”

“Good,” she replied. She paused before she typed the next words. “May I ask what I did wrong? It will keep me from doing it again.”

“We’ll talk some other time,” he said.

“We didn’t finish our tour,” she typed. She realized these emails were more like texts.

“Some other time,” his reply read. “Ethan left me a message and said we’re meeting with the attorney at ten tomorrow. I’ll come and get you around nine for breakfast, unless that’s not good for you.”

“I don’t have a curfew,” she typed. “Do you?”

“Yes,” he replied. But there was a smiley face behind it.

Okay, she was getting nowhere fast. “Who do I talk to about getting coffee first thing in the morning? Before we go to breakfast?”

“There is a coffee pot in the kitchen,” he said. “If that is not good enough use your landline to leave a message for X by dialing 8. See you tomorrow.”

Well, that was a bust. Clearly, he wasn’t interested in her. They would work together to get the treasure, and she would keep her questions about the ranch, and BDSM, to herself.

When she woke the next morning, Autumn went to the kitchen to find a full-sized coffee pot. She assembled a pot, then went to the bathroom to take a shower before it was ready.

Unlike yesterday, her bathing went without incident. When she was clean she put on the only spare pair of jeans she’d brought with her. She topped it with a t-shirt, and then pulled on her sneakers.

The coffee was ready, and she poured herself a cup, doctored it with some of the flavored cream she found in the refrigerator then took it out to the deck. It was a wonderfully cool morning, well cool for the desert. She took a sip of coffee after she was settled in a chair. She had just pulled out her phone when a female voice offered a greeting.

Autumn looked up to see the woman who’d been flogged on the deck last night standing at the bottom of the stairs.

“Permission to come up,” the woman said. She held out a plate. “I brought blueberry muffins.”

“Yum,” Autumn answered. “Can I pour you a cup of coffee?”

“That would be wonderful,” the woman said. “My name’s Paige.” She offered a hand. Whereas she’d been naked the day before she wore a midnight blue caftan today.

“Autumn.” They shook hands and Autumn asked her to sit while she went inside. “How would you like your coffee?”

“Yours smells delicious,” Paige said. “I’ll take whatever you’re having.”

“Hazelnut,” Autumn said as she went into the cabin. When she came back on the deck, Paige was already eating a muffin. She laughed as she took the coffee Autumn offered.

“I’m a caffeine nut,” she said.

Autumn took her chair. “Did Shawn ask you to come and see me?”

“He’s a hunk, isn’t he?” Paige asked. “If I didn’t already have two of the best Masters on the face of the planet, I’d think about throwing myself at his feet. But in answer to your question, no. One of my Doms, Miles, told me I might want to stop by. I guess someone, either Shawn or Ethan, told him you’re a newbie. He’s afraid we might have frightened you off last night.”

“Wow, that’s very nice of him,” Autumn said. “I was a little freaked out, but that’s because I saw another woman being spanked during the cocktail party.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry we missed that,” Paige said with a laugh. “So, what do you do for a living?”

How to explain that. “I’m a writer,” Autumn finally said.

“That is an awesome job,” Paige said. “My Doms and I own a car dealership. I’m the CEO, and Miles and Rick are CFO and COO.”

Autumn stopped with her cup halfway to her mouth. “You’re their boss?”

“Yup.” Paige took a drink. “We separate work and pleasure.”

“Did you have a relationship with them before you worked with them?”

“No,” Paige said. “I hired them, and as we got to know each other, we realized we shared the same sexual leanings. We’ve been together for more than ten years now.”

Autumn took another drink, then picked up a muffin. “Are you married to one of them?”

“No,” Paige said. “But we’re legally bound with papers that give power of attorney and medical powers and the like. Our lives are perfect as they are.”

They ate and drank in silence before Autumn said, “May I ask you a question?”

“Writers are very curious,” Paige said.

“Why do you like being whipped?”

“Oh, that’s one that will take a while to answer,” Paige said. “The short of it is it brings me pleasure, and it makes me feel close to my lovers. I like giving over to my lovers. It helps keep me balanced.”

“Do the people who work for you know about your lifestyle?”

Paige winked at her. “They know we live together, and have a huge California king bed in our room. But they don’t know about the dungeon, or the collars or toys. They just know we love each other.”

Love. Autumn had to admit hearing that word made her jealous. She’d never been in love with a man before. She didn’t think she knew how. The two guys she’d dated had turned out to be pricks.

“What are you thinking?” Paige asked.

“Um, that I would love to be in love,” Autumn said.

“When you stop searching for it is when you’ll find it,” Paige said. “Enjoy the rest of the muffins. I hope to see you around. We’ll be here for a few more days.”

When she was gone, Autumn wondered how someone got that comfortable with themselves. Maybe she needed to call Paige back and ask her. Or maybe she should just realize she was too old to find a man, much less two.

She ate a second muffin, and then a third, and she was just reaching for a fourth when she decided she’d had enough. She pushed the plate away and thought about the money. Did she really think they would be able to keep it? Did she want to? It was stolen funds.

Autumn cursed herself for bidding on that storage unit. She cursed herself for getting in touch with Shawn Hollis. She cursed the people who had robbed that bank in 1964 and set all this in motion.

She sipped her coffee and picked up a muffin. This one was lemon poppy seed, and it tasted divine. There was no other noise or traffic as she savored the quiet of the resort. She ate and drank and thought about her next move. What would happen if they actually found the money? But could she search for it with Shawn? He hadn’t even stayed around last night to go through the dungeon with her. How would they be able to work together when it was obvious he had problems with her?

“You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Autumn shook her head and stared at the man standing next to her; no, he was almost on top of her. How had he moved so close and she hadn’t seen him coming?

“Do you like me?” Had she really just asked that question.

“Excuse me?” he replied.

“I know it sounds juvenile, but I’m—I’m worried about us working together if you don’t want to be near me,” she said. “You ran out of the cabin last night like it was on fire. Do you think we can work together?”

He was quiet for a moment, and she thought maybe he was coming up with something that sounded plausible, maybe it’s the old it’s not you, it’s me speech.

“I was a coward last night,” he said. “I ran because I didn’t trust myself.”

“You didn’t trust yourself not to tell me I was a fool, and I was dragging you into an unwinnable situation?

He chuckled, the sound deep in his chest. It was sexy, and it made her toes curl.

“I’m not sure I understand,” she said.

He picked up a muffin, tore off the paper and ate it two bites. “Give me a minute,” he said. He went into her cabin and Autumn shook her head. What the hell was happening?

He was back a moment later. He poured a cup of coffee and doctored it with a spoonful of sugar.

“Well?” she asked.

“I’m a Dom, Autumn,” he said, his voice low and sexy. “When I saw you looking at all the equipment last night, well, to put it quite bluntly I wanted to strip you naked and tie you to the spanking bench. After that, I wanted to turn your sweet butt bright red.”

The world spun, or at least it felt like it was. “You wanted to beat me?” Was that fear she felt? Or something else?

“I wanted to spank you,” he said. “It’s a common misconception with people who don’t know anything about the lifestyle that you start off with something heavy. You didn’t ride a bike at first without training wheels, did you?”

“No,” Autumn said. She cleared her throat when she realized her voice sounded as if it had been sliced over a cheese grater.

“Frog in your throat?”

“You’ve just shocked me,” she said. “I had no idea you were thinking that.”

“Then you do yourself a disservice,” he said. “You’re very lovely.”

“Thank you,” Autumn said. She knew she wasn’t the classic idea of beauty, but she’d never thought herself ugly; chunky maybe, but not unattractive.

“We should just get it out of the way, then,” she said. “Nothing about being spanked fascinates me.”

“As you say,” he replied.

“What does that mean?” She focused on his face while he ate a muffin. He took a few swigs of coffee, and then ate another muffin.

“Are you not going to tell me what that means?”

He gave her what she could only term as a look of pure innocence. Somehow it made him look more dashing, and it perked up her nipples. Why did he have to be in the weird stuff?

“It means it’s a good thing I left when I did,” he said. He brushed crumbs from his fingers and stood. “Let’s go have breakfast and see what’s what in our plan.”

“Okay,” Autumn said. She felt a little disappointed that he was ending the conversation so abruptly.

She took the empty cups and remaining muffins into the cabin. When she came back out Shawn stood at the bottom of the stairs next to a golf cart. He knocked on the hood top and sat down behind the wheel. She hadn’t noticed it when they’d been sitting on the porch, and she hadn’t heard it when he’d driven up. She was not in good form today and needed to amp up her game while talking with Ethan and the attorney.

“Did you drive this up?” she asked as she slid into the seat beside him.

“I did,” he said. “You were deep in thought.”

“Yes,” she said.

He started toward the lodge and she glanced around them. “Where is everyone?”

“It’s vacation time for them,” he said. “They’re doing whatever they want.”

“You mean the Doms are,” she said. “The subs are doing whatever they’re told.”

He was silent for a moment before he said, “I’m going to leave a few books in your cabin for you to read while we’re hunting. Or I should say you can read them if you want, or you can go on making assumptions without the facts. Is that what you did when you worked as a journalist?”

“Of course not,” she said. “I did research.”

“Then give us the same courtesy,” he said.

She hated to admit that he had a point. She usually wasn’t one to pass judgment on people without knowing the facts. She needed to keep that in mind as this adventure progressed.

They pulled up in front of the lodge, dismounted and then climbed the stairs. Ethan stood at the top. Was Autumn imagining things, or was he smiling? He usually seemed so severe. She wondered what had brought about his change of heart. Maybe he’d just needed sleep last night.

“Zach and Sara are here,” he said. “They said they had good news, and bad news.”

“Zach and Sara?” Autumn asked.

“Attorneys at law,” Ethan said. “Chef has outdone himself this morning. I think he’s trying to impress Sara.”

They went into the dining room, which was empty except for two people that Autumn guessed were the lawyers. They were at a table, full plates in front of them.

“The huevos rancheros are to die for,” the woman said. She put a bite in her mouth just as Autumn took a seat across from her. A waitress appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and put a plate in front of Autumn. Her mouth watered at the sight.

Ethan made introductions and instead of shaking hands they wiggled forks in the air. Autumn had to admit she liked the fact these people were so laid back, for the most part. Although Ethan seemed that way now, she felt as if he could turn sour at any moment.

Shawn took a bite of food, and after he’d swallowed he said, “So, are we going to be rich?”

“Not from this,” Zach said. “Unless the bank decided to give you a reward.”

“Or we could just keep the money,” Autumn said.

“Highly illegal,” Sara said. “Besides, how would you tell people where it came from? Especially the government, you know, the IRS? If you start spending money out of the blue, with no way of showing where it came from, you’re going to attract attention.”

Before Autumn could say anything, Sara laughed. “Did you think we would search, find the money and divide it between us all?”

“No, I didn’t care about that part,” Autumn said. “Well, at first I thought about trying to find it myself. But then I just wanted to sell the map and my research, recover some of the money I spent on the auction.”

“For fifty grand,” Ethan said. “That’s more than some of the money. That’s a nice chunk of change.”

“It’s a good plan,” Zach said. “You can’t blame her for trying to capitalize on a situation that might be profitable for all involved. Where’s the research you’ve talked about?”

The attorneys had put down their forks, even though their plates were still half-full. Autumn wondered if she should tell them everything, or if she should just call it off with them, take the map to its rightful owner and be done with it all.”

“Well?” Sara asked.

“It’s in my car,” Autumn said. “Newspaper clippings, police reports, and the map, which I found in the box. And I’m not getting near as much for it as I thought I would.”

“There’s no guarantee of anything,” Sara said. “The evidence points to it being out there, but what if it’s not? What if all you find is an empty silver mine, a few snakes and some trash left by people who’ve been in the area before?”

“What if we find the money, though?” It was Shawn who asked the question.

“We turn it in,” Sara said. “You might get a reward from the bank, and you might not. There’s no way to tell. Let me ask you, Autumn, was there anything besides money taken in the robbery?”

Autumn was so happy to hear that question she wanted to laugh out loud. She was afraid that Sara was going to ask if her name really was Pumpkin.

“That’s all that’s mentioned in the reports,” she said.

“Even the police reports?” Sara asked. “Sometimes the police keep some information secret, so they can use that information to find out if people are telling them the truth.”

“That means we need to talk to the people involved,” Sara said. “We should spend the afternoon doing some searching: finding the robber, his girlfriend who grew a conscience, the people at the bank and the police officers. You never know what they might tell you that they didn’t write down.”

The men had started eating, but Shawn stopped suddenly and looked at Autumn. “Will you stay and help? You can keep Scarlet for as long as you want. We can move around bookings.”

“For five grand?” she asked. She wanted to make sure they remembered they’d offered her five grand.

“You’ll be an employee,” Ethan said.

“What happens when—if—we find the money?” Autumn asked. She fought the urge to ask him what she’d be expected to do as an employee. She opened her mouth to ask, but then closed it. Were the attorneys involved in the resort, too? She didn’t want to sound like a prude by saying she wanted to be an employee in the treasure hunt only, and not in anything else.

“We can draw up a contract,” Zach said. “We have to turn the money over to the bank. That is a given. If they provide us with a reward, it could be split between you and the owners of Silver Creek.”

The idea of putting it in writing made Autumn feel better about things. “Let’s do it,” she said.

“What about your life at home?” Shawn asked. “Won’t your cousin raise questions? Do you have a cat to take care of at home?”

“No, and no,” Autumn said. “I freelance, so I don’t have a quote, unquote, real job. And I have no pets. But I do have rent on my apartment. I could use the five grand for a few months there.”

“Then we’re agreed,” Shawn said. “Sara, Zach, draw up the papers and we’ll all sign them. Then we’ll look at the research and decide on a plan of action.”

Autumn nodded. It was a good idea, really. She might just come out with some money from this after all.

She glanced at Shawn, who was next to her. Their gazes locked, and she felt a strange movement in her stomach, one that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. She was attracted to him. Very attracted.

Once again one question passed through her mind—why did he have to be involved in the weird stuff?