“It’s almost a twelve-hour drive from here to Colorado Springs,” Autumn said as she and Shawn walked to her car. The attorneys and Ethan were drawing up a contact, but they wanted to see the police reports before anything was signed. That made sense to her.

“You’d better put that phone down before you step over your own feet,” he said.

“I can walk and find directions at the same time,” she said. “Should we fly?”

“Awfully expensive to take to the skies,” he said, “especially on a short notice.”

“True,” Autumn said. She thought about her old car as she opened the trunk. “We’ll take your car and split the gas.”

Shawn chuckled. “Thanks for letting me in on the decision making here.”

“I just thought it would be better,” she said. “I didn’t mean to take charge. I’m just used to doing things on my own and making decisions.”

“As it turns out I think your idea is the best,” he said. “We’ll leave first thing in the morning, get there tomorrow night and see Kate the next day.”

Kate, the woman who had set all of this in motion. Autumn wondered what she would be like. She didn’t remember how old she’d been when the robbery had taken place.

Autumn worked to remove the spare tire from her trunk. She noticed Shawn didn’t offer to help, and she wondered if it had something to do with her telling him she was used to doing things on her own. An independent woman was not what Shawn and his type was used to, she was sure.

“I wonder what she can tell us,” Autumn said as she handed one of three large manila envelops to Shawn. She handed him the other two, then started to reassemble the tire equipment. “Her age should be on the police report. I wonder what she remembers from back then.”

“Probably quite a bit,” Shawn said. “People tend to remember things that went bad. You remember your first kiss with affection; but it something went wrong in a relationship you remember that just as well, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes,” Autumn replied as she worked to get the dirt off her hands. “And this had to hit her very hard for her to do what she did.”

“The guy she was stepping out with was stepping out on her,” Shawn said as they headed back to the lodge. “My mother always told me if someone will cheat on their spouse they will cheat on you, too.”

“It was the other way around this time,” she said.

“We won’t know that until we know the whole story,” he said. “Hopefully, Kate will be able to tell us.”

“I hope so,” Autumn said.

They went into the office and Sara practically ripped the envelopes out of Shawn’s grasp. Autumn could see the gleam of the hunt in the woman’s eyes as she laid out the information that Autumn had found. Soon they were all sitting and reading, all except for Autumn, who had already been through every slip of paper there.

She went to the sideboard and poured herself a cup of coffee and listened to snippets of the group talking.

“Says nothing about safety deposit boxes, only about money,” Shawn said.

“Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?” Sara sounded shocked. “Holy crap on a cracker. Why did the bank have that much money in 1964?”

“That’s more than teller money,” Zach said. “That’s vault money, too. There’s got to be a reason they chose that day, and it wasn’t just for the eclipse.”

Sara was typing on the laptop, the keys clacking as Zach talked. “Kate Montague, age 78, lives in an assisted living facility in Colorado Springs.” Autumn watched as the attorney took out her phone and tapped keys. Sara left the room to speak. Autumn felt a bit of guilt that she was being paid five thousand dollars, but she wasn’t doing any of the work right now. That will come later she reminded herself. She had a trip to the Springs, and then back again with a man she barely knew.

Twelve hours in the car, two nights at the hotel, time with him at meals. Once again, she wished he was just a normal guy. But then again, she should be happy that he wasn’t. That meant she didn’t have to worry about giving into seduction. There was no chance of one-night stands when his idea of fun was in play.

“Okay,” Zach said. “Here’s what we’ve drawn up. Autumn, you’ll get thirty-five percent of anything we find, or receive as a reward.”

“Thirty-five?” she asked.

“Of course, your original five would be an advance on that.”

“That sucks,” she said.

“Does it?” Sara asked. “What would you see as a proper amount?”

“Fifty percent,” Autumn said, even as her mouth fought the urge to ask for more. “I’m the one who found the information.”

“Yes, and you expect us to fund the hunt,” Ethan said. “Thirty-five percent seems generous to me.”

He was probably right, but Autumn still wasn’t happy about it. Until she did a little bit of math in her head. If she was doing it right, she would get about ninety thousand dollars.

“Who gets the rest?” she asked.

“The attorneys will get thirty percent, and the resort will get the remainder,” Ethan said.

She thought thirty was a lot for the lawyers, but then she knew they would have to deal with the legal issues after they located the money. Better them than me, Autumn thought.

This was not as easy as she’d thought it would be, but if things turned out right the storage unit could turn out to be the best thing she’d ever purchased.

“Where do I sign?” she asked.

Later that afternoon, Autumn sat in her cabin, wishing she’d proposed a different procedure for finding the money. They should go out to the find the money and then decide what to do. But she couldn’t change things now. The attorneys, being attorneys, had put the procedure into the contract.

To keep things from going “off the farm,” as Zach had said, they would do their research on Kate and the story first before they went on their search.

Autumn was on the couch, wondering what the other people in the resort were doing. Things were quiet here, which was something she hadn’t expected. If people were being beaten and tied up, they should be screaming, according to her thinking. But there was no noise. To assure herself that she wasn’t hearing or not hearing, more to the point, things she went out onto the back deck.

She closed her eyes and listened. There was nothing. She opened her eyes and looked at the expanse of flat land in front of her. She could see hills in the distance. Somewhere out there was two-hundred and fifty-thousand dollars, buried and waiting for someone to come along and become rich.

There were also abandoned silver mines, where men had toiled to bring the precious metal out of the dark. She wondered who had discovered the silver on this land, and who had worked the shafts. She hadn’t really asked Shawn about his family and their ties to the ranch, or to Hollis Spring, the town that bore his surname.

That was something they could talk about during their trip. She wasn’t sure how she felt about spending twelve hours, one way, in a car with someone she didn’t know. But then she decided, talking about their lives would keep them busy.

Maybe she should write down some questions, a few ideas of what she might ask him. How would he feel if she pulled out a notebook and started asking him questions? Would he think she was interviewing him? But that’s what she was used to, something she’d done for ages.

She had a notebook in her purse. She’d just pulled it out when her phone dinged that she had a message. She picked it up and winced. Her cousin. His text was short and to the point: Where are you?

On vacation, Albert, she answered.

Vacation? She could almost see him frowning as he typed the words.

It’s a thing where people go away for a while and have some fun.

Her screen remained blank and she wondered what he was thinking. What he typed next she didn’t expect to see: Brent Mach has been looking for you.

She held out the phone as if it were a snake and was about to bite her.

What for? she asked.

I didn’t ask. He’s been here twice, though, once yesterday, once today. He wants your number. I told him I had to ask you first.

Not no, but hell no, she answered. She pondered what this could mean. Mach had never tried to get hold of her before. If he comes in again ask him what he wants.

Okay. Have fun on your ‘vacation.’

Check on my mother.

Will do. Be safe.

One thing she could say about Albert, he could be a jerk, but he cared about her and her mother. Although he hadn’t really asked where she was, just what she was doing.

Pushing thoughts of her cousin aside she wondered what in the devil Brent Mach wanted with her. They were always at odds with each other while bidding on storage units, whether it was in Pueblo, the Springs, or up in Denver. He seemed to show up at many of the same things she did, which wasn’t surprising since they did the same thing.

Still, why would he ask about her? He’d never done it before.

“Something’s rotten in the Brent Mach world,” she said.

“Are you thinking about me?” Shawn came around the side of the house and mounted the stairs two at a time. He winked at her when he was at the top.

“No, not you.” She told him about the text from her cousin.

“And this Brent Mach was bidding against you for the storage unit?”

“Yeah,” she said. “We’re not friends.”

“What do you think his motive was, then?” Shawn sat down in one of the chairs and propped his feet up on a table. He looked so comfortable, and so sexy, that Autumn had to look away before she got lost in his gaze.

“Maybe he misses sparring with you at auctions,” Shawn said. “Maybe he’s secretly in love with you and is just now making his move.”

Autumn laughed. “Fat chance of that happening. I’m not the sort of girl that attracts that sort of attention.”

“You’re selling yourself short,” Shawn said. “You’re a very pretty woman with lovely curves. Maybe you’ve misread the situation between you and Brent Mach. Maybe he’s been flirting with you all this time and you misread him.”

“Doubtful,” Autumn said, then she cleared her throat. “What time do you want to leave in the morning?”

“Nice way to change the subject,” he said with a soft snort. “We can talk about it later when you’re a captive audience. In the meantime, I think eight is a good time. Of course, we have some really important decisions to make before we leave.”

Autumn’s heart slipped into overdrive. Was he going to suggest something to do with things here at the resort?

“What’s on your mind?” she asked.

“Well, we need to settle two things, the first is snacks, and the second is about radio stations. I prefer classic rock. And you?”

She turned back toward him. He was smiling, and damn if he didn’t seem even sexier than he had just moments before. She looked back toward the barren land.

“That’s good for me,” she said. “And I’d say chips, and the weather is cool enough now that we don’t have to worry about chocolate melting in the car.”

“Melted chocolate, that sounds—entertaining,” he said. “Do you want to stop on our way through town tomorrow, or go in tonight?”

“Either one,” she said. “I don’t want to take you away from the resort if there’s something you have to do tonight.”

“Are you fishing?” he asked.

“What?”

“When you fish you have to use bait,” he said. “For instance, you don’t want to take me away from something I have to do at the resort tonight. But, of course, if I have to go you can tag along, to get a first-hand view of how things work here.”

“That would be bait?”

He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and glanced up at her. Autumn responded immediately, her nipples tightening and her clit pulsing.

“Bait would be saying you want to see what’s happening in the playhouse because you’re curious.”

“Playhouse?”

“It’s like the common meeting area,” he said. “Every cabin has its own dungeon, and the place where couples can play together is called the playhouse.”

“With a capital P?” she asked.

“I don’t know, do you capitalize cabin, or lodge?” He shrugged. “I never really thought about anything like that. I’m not a wordsmith.”

“Maybe we should go buy snacks,” she said. “Chips, chocolate, maybe some pretzels? Do you prefer salty, or sweet?”

Too late she realized she’d left herself open for something she wasn’t prepared to face.

“Interesting question,” he said. “A mixture? Nice, salty skin mixed with sweet, savory chocolate, melted, of course. You could lie down, and I could cover those perky breasts of yours with the sugary treat.”

He stood up and crossed the deck, stopping right in front of her. Autumn couldn’t tear her gaze away from his face. He was looking at her as if he knew what she looked like without her clothes on. Well, he had seen her in the bathtub.

“Tell me, Autumn, if I wanted to cover your body with chocolate, would I have to secure you to the bed first?” His voice was deep, and velvety.

“I,” she managed to say before she cleared her throat. “We should keep our relationship professional.”

“Right,” he said. He reached out and ran his finger up her arm. “I think I’d need to tie you down. Making it so you can’t move adds to the excitement. Think about how you’d feel if you were tied to a bed, unable to move. Struggling, trying to get away as I poured the silky liquid over your body.”

He was standing right next to her now, his lips inches away from her cheek.

“What do you say, Autumn? Ties, or no ties? Or would you prefer handcuffs? Are you a steel girl, or a leather girl?”

Get yourself under control, she said, silently. “I told you, I’m neither. I’m not into the kinky stuff.”

“That’s because you’ve never tried it,” he said. “Weren’t you taught not to turn your nose up at something until you’ve tried it?”

Autumn laughed. “I notice you expect me to be used as a chocolate treat. What if I wanted my first try to be the other way around. What if I wanted to drop chocolate on your chest and—other things?”

“Done,” he said. “Meet me in the playhouse around ten. I have a few things to get done before we leave tomorrow, and then it will be playtime. Do you want dinner at the lodge, or here?”

“Here,” she said. “But, I didn’t mean—I mean—my question was rhetorical. It wasn’t an offer.”

“It wasn’t? I’m shocked.”

His aftershave smelled sinfully good, as he pressed against her. Autumn would have moved backward but she was already pressed against the deck railing. Any farther and she would topple over.

“Don’t be late,” he said as he started down the stairs. “I’m not as strict as Ethan about it, but I do like punctuality.” He stopped and turned. “I’ll have your dinner delivered to your cabin. See you tonight.”

Autumn stared after him. She should have screamed that she wouldn’t be there, that she didn’t even know where the playhouse was. She decided to ask. Not knowing would give her an excuse not to show up. She sat in the chair he’d just vacated. She could feel the warmth he’d left behind and the arousal she’d felt before shot up a notch.

“Keep it business,” she said, feeling a little strange that she was talking to no one. “Just remember, you couldn’t show up because you don’t know where the playhouse is.”

Even as the words left her mouth, Autumn knew she’d find the place, come hell or high water.

Yes, no, yes, no, yes, no, yes—her mind wavered back and forth all afternoon, even as she enjoyed the delicious salmon and veggies that were delivered to her around six. There was another slice of cheesecake to complete the meal. If she stayed here too long she would gain enough weight that her clothes wouldn’t fit.

After she’d devoured every bite she went to the desk and opened the top drawer. She took out a map that showed the layout of the Silver Creek Resort. Locating the lodge, she found her cabin, and then identified the other buildings. There was a pool/sauna/hot tub area, a tennis/volleyball court, and a large building at the end of the layout. She figured that was the playhouse that Shawn had mentioned.

The place where she was supposed to meet Shawn later tonight. She thought of more excuses, anything that would keep her out of the playhouse. She could tell him she’d fallen asleep early, in an effort to get ready for tomorrow’s trip. She could tell him she had an upset stomach from dinner, which was a ridiculous idea because dinner had been perfect. She could tell him—oh, she couldn’t think of another excuse because, truthfully, she wanted to go.

Autumn had always been curious about things; it was one of the reasons she’d become a journalist, because no matter what she saw, or what happened, she always wanted to get to the bottom of things. She always asked too many questions, or so her mother had always said.

Why was that not happening right now? Why was she not curious about what took place here? She was pretty sure it wasn’t exactly the same as what happened in fictional books. Was she frightened of what she would see? Or discover? That wasn’t like her, and it upset her to be such a fraidy cat.

There was one way to discover things about the lifestyle that Shawn lived, one from which he made his living. If she really wanted to show him she was a big girl, one who wasn’t afraid to learn about new things as he’d accused her of being, then she needed to do the one thing that she did best—interview him.

She picked up the phone and dialed zero. “Do you need something?” a woman asked.

“Yes, to speak to Shawn, please,” Autumn answered. Step one of doing an interview, setting up the time. Even though they were supposed to meet at ten, she wanted to let him know the reason for her showing up. She didn’t want him to think she was there to play, as the name of the place suggested.

“I’ll have him call you right back,” the unidentified female said. Autumn put down the receiver and went to her laptop case. She took out a spiral notebook and a pen. Then she opened her laptop and started a search on BDSM resorts. She’d already done this once, when she figured out the treasure was on Silver Creek Resort land, but she wanted to see what other places offered, so she could compare it to what Shawn showed her tonight.

She flipped through two sites as she waited for the phone to ring. Both of them seemed nice, but neither of them had the beauty of the Silver Creek. It wasn’t just the scenery that made the Silver Creek attractive to her. They went out of their way to offer state-of-the-art accommodations to their guests. The cabins were beautiful, and even her untrained eye could see the dungeons offered a lot of equipment people who were into BDSM would like.

Once she’d taken a seat at the table she scribbled down a few questions, about the history of the ranch, why they decided to open it and how they got their first customers.

On a more personal note she planned to ask Shawn how he’d become involved in BDSM. She wanted to know what he would be doing if he wasn’t running a BDSM resort. What he had done before this? How old was he? What about his personal life? He’d been hitting on her, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was unattached. If he was a swinger as well as a Dom, he might be willing to share.

She wrote down another question. Others were forming in her mind when there was a knock at the door. Thinking someone was here to retrieve her dinner dishes, Autumn opened the door without checking to see who was there first.

Shawn stood there, wearing pressed jeans and a button down light blue shirt. He looked like he could grace the cover of a men’s magazine.

“You were supposed to call,” she said. She looked down at the jeans and t-shirt she wore. “I’m decidedly underdressed.”

“May I come in?” he asked. “I’ll wait while you change.”

She wanted to tell him they had two hours before they were supposed to meet, and he was putting her plan into jeopardy.

“I wanted to talk to you about tonight,” she said. “To make sure we keep things purely professional, I want our time together to be an interview. I want you to answer my questions and tell me about the Silver Creek Resort, and your life as Dom.”

He nodded, but then said, “Why tonight? We have almost twelve hours in a car tomorrow. The interview would kill time.”

He took a step toward her and Autumn fought the urge to tell him it had to stay professional or there was every chance she would be taking off her clothes tonight.

“You want to see the resort, which is a good thing,” he said. “Let’s take a tour and I’ll show you the cabins, the recreational areas and we’ll make our final stop the playhouse.”

“I’m just wondering about how this works, because I haven’t seen anyone around really, not since the first night.”

“Many people come to spend time alone,” he said. “The playhouse can be full, or empty, depending on what people have planned. On the weekends it’s generally very full. Now, do you want to clean up and change? If you’re uncomfortable with me being here, although I’ve already seen you naked, I can leave and come back.”

“I think that would be best,” she said. She didn’t want to tell him it was because she didn’t trust herself.

“If you want to see the resort we need to do it before the sun sets, so chop chop, Ms. Journalist. I’ll be back in thirty minutes.”

That would be plenty of time for her to take a fast shower and change. “I’ll see you then,” she said. “Strictly professional.”

“As you say,” he said. “As you say.”

When he was gone, Autumn leaned against the door. The heady scent of his aftershave lingered in the room and it made her tingle. She repeated the phrase strictly professional to herself as she showered, updated her makeup and put on a pair of jeans. All she had with her were t-shirts, because she hadn’t expected to stay longer than one day.

A quick look in the closet showed clothing that wasn’t hers, but she was sure had been left for her. She went through them slowly, stopping at a maroon top decorated with lace and bare shoulders.

“Perfect,” she said. But she stopped her hands before she took it off the hanger. “Strictly professional.”

She moved the shirt to the side and found a green jersey top that was pretty, but not sexy. This would help her keep her word about not taking things farther than she wanted.