The room was silent, except for the recorded moans, groans and demands from the couple on the screen. Autumn knew she’d stiffened, and not in a good way.

“Not exactly the best way to say that, was it?” Shawn said. He rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her with him as he moved. As they spooned, Autumn thought about how wonderful his body felt against hers, and how she wanted to stay here forever.

“What sort of permanent are you talking about?” she asked, praying her voice didn’t sound as shaky as she felt.

“Don’t worry, if I was going to propose marriage it would be much more romantic,” he said.

“Then what are you suggesting?” she asked again.

“I would like you to move here, to the resort, in the cabin, with me.”

“No one’s ever asked me to do anything like that,” she said. “I don’t know how to respond.”

“Say yes,” he said.

She turned her head, so she could look him in the eyes. “I’ve never thought I would have to make this decision. My crappy love life proved to me I’m not good at relationships. The sex has been great, but if we—what if I—screw things up? I’m really good at screwing things up.”

“Don’t take all the credit for past relationships,” he said. “It takes two people to make it work, and it takes two people to screw it up. I don’t think the men you’ve been with worked very hard to know you.”

Autumn couldn’t help but laugh. “We’ve known each other less than a week. I let you tie me up. Who knows if I would have let them do the same thing if they tried?”

“There is a bond between us,” he said. “I felt it the first time I saw you.”

“We fell in love at first sight? Is that what you’re saying?”

He caressed her cheek, then gave her a tender kiss. “I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I don’t really believe in love at first sight. I believe in attraction at first sight, lust at first sight, but I think that love needs time to grow. My mother taught me that.”

“So, you don’t love me,” she said.

“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” he said. “Do you love me?”

“I find you very intriguing,” she said. “I’ve savored everything we’ve done, despite my earlier misgivings.”

“I hear the but at the end of that sentence,” he said. “You’ll open yourself up to me physically, but you’re still closed off, emotionally.”

“I’m working on it.” She puckered her lips and he claimed them, making her moan. When the kiss broke she continued, “But, as I’ve said, I’m not good at emotions. I didn’t think I could ever please a man until I met you.”

“I blame them for that, not you.” He patted her thigh. “As much as I’m enjoying this, we do have an obligation. We need to get dressed.”

“Jeans and a t-shirt okay for me?” She watched as he got up. He was still wearing his clothes.

“Oh no, I have something planned for you that will make me the envy of every man in the room.”

She was naked. Well, not totally naked, but she certainly felt that way.

“I can’t go into public like this,” she said.

“It’s not public.” He tugged on the belt around her waist. “It’s a private party.”

“But they will see my tits and my hoo-ha.”

“Hoo-ha?” His laughter was deep. “How about pussy, or even cunt. Hoo-ha makes me laugh.” He turned her toward the full-length mirror. “Look at yourself. You and your—hoo-ha—look beautiful.”

Autumn stared at her reflection. She had a leather belt around her waist, with leather straps around her wrists and thighs. Her wrists were tethered to her thighs with very small lengths of chain. She had a collar around her neck, not one like she’d seen on others, but one with leather strings hanging down almost to her bare breasts.

“Stunning,” he said.

“I feel like I’m on display,” she said.

“You are.” He rubbed his hands up and down her arms. “I told you that every man in the room would be in envy of me and my beautiful guest, and I was right. Even Ethan, who is snarky with you every time he sees you, will get a hard-on when you walk into the room.”

“You want him to want me?”

“I want him to be jealous.” Shawn kissed the top of her head. “Now, let’s talk about shoes, or rather boots. X supplied us with nine wides, is that right?”

“Yes.” She watched as he walked to the closet. He brought out a pair of boots that would go up to her thighs, with heels that looked like she’d break her neck if she fell off them.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Autumn stared at them, her mouth hanging open.

“It’ll be fun to watch you walk in them.” He came over to where she stood. “Sit on the bed and I’ll put them on you, since your hands are otherwise occupied.”

“I’m not worried about my hands, or about my tits showing anymore,” she said. “I’m worried about walking in those heels.”

She sat on the bed and watched as he worked the boots onto her feet and up her calves. When he came to her thighs he ordered her to stand. She did so on wobbly legs. The boots were like a second skin, and they came to halfway up her thighs.

“Perfect.” Shawn patted her bottom. “Take some steps around the room to see how you do.”

She toddled around the room, wondering what would break when she fell. It didn’t help that she didn’t have use of her hands, since they were tied to her thighs.

“I feel like this isn’t taking things slowly,” she said as she turned toward him. He caught her when she almost fell. “I’ve never walked in heels this high. I need a practice session.”

“You’re trying to worm your way out of wearing them,” he said.

“I am,” she admitted. “Can I bribe my way out of it?”

“It’s a possibility.” He lounged on the bed, propping himself up on his elbows. “What are you offering?”

“A blow job?” she said.

“Rather mundane, really.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “What else have you got?”

“Spanking?”

“I can do that anytime.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Next.”

Autumn laughed in frustration. “My inexperience puts me at a disadvantage. Tell me what you think would be a fair trade for not wearing the tower of death on my feet.”

“You’ll wear them one day,” he said. “But if you don’t want to wear them tonight there is something you can do that will make me happy.”

“Okay, then let’s do it,” she said. But then her eyes widened. “Wait, what exactly are we talking about?”

But it was too late. Whatever he had planned made him chuckle, and it was a sound that made her stomach flip.

She had on boots, but they had a low heel, for which she was extremely grateful. Unfortunately, she’d traded four inches of heel for a vibrator stuffed into her pussy. Shawn had the control for vibrator.

They had barely made it to the public punishment on time. Ethan and Randy were sitting near the front. There were about ten other people in the room, none of them the friends that Autumn had made earlier in the week. Neither Ethan nor Randy had a woman with them, so she was sitting there with three men.

The man meting out the punishment was named Josh, according to Shawn. His wife, Mary, was tied to a post in the middle of the room with her arms above her head. She was about Autumn’s size, which meant she was larger than most women. She had an hourglass figure, which matched Autumn’s. It made her wonder if Shawn enjoyed watching her bare breasts as much as he liked Autumn’s.

“Thank you all for being here,” Josh said. “Mary hates to be on display, so that’s a great part of the punishment. It means the more people here the better. Mary, tell the people here what you did today.”

“I disobeyed my Master,” she said.

Master? If she stayed with Shawn would he want her to call him Master someday? Was this a requirement? Was calling him Sir the first step, and then she’d move up to Master? Would that come with earning a stripe?

Her hands were sweaty. So far, the vibrator inside her was nothing more than a soft plug that she could feel as she sat. It hadn’t vibrated, and for that she was grateful.

Josh slapped Mary’s ass with the palm of his hand. “Be more specific, do you think they can read your mind?”

Autumn winced at the tone of his voice. It was harsh, as if he were trying to embarrass her. She needed to talk to Shawn about it. It was things like this that let her know she still knew so little about this lifestyle, too little to make a decision like he’d asked her about this afternoon.

“I disobeyed my Master,” Mary said again. He slapped her bottom again, and then he grabbed the leash that hung from her collar.

“Do I have to spell it out for you?” His voice seemed more like a growl, and Autumn shivered.

“Relax,” Shawn said softly, and then the vibrator inside her buzzed. It went off almost as fast as it had started, and Autumn was rather happy about that. She was sure that those around her would hear the sound of the vibrator and would know what was happening inside her.

“I don’t think—” She stopped speaking. She didn’t think what?

“Stay silent,” Shawn said. “We will discuss it later.”

Autumn glanced back at the scene in front of them. She knew she’d missed something between Josh and Mary. He was whipping her now, not with a flogger but with something that was short and hard. It didn’t bend when he hit her with it. It looked like a riding crop, but it wasn’t long enough.

Mary cried out each time the implement hit her. And each time she cried out the vibrator inside Autumn went off and shut off again. She wasn’t sure how Shawn was timing his play with the vibrator with the strikes, but he was doing it perfectly.

Mary was screaming with each strike, and it seemed to drive Josh to hit her harder. When she yelled out, “No more!” Autumn jumped up from her seat. Before she could do anything, Shawn was behind her; he put his hand over her mouth and stifled her words, since she’d been about to yell at Josh to stop.

“Take her out,” Ethan said, his voice low and demanding.

For an answer, Shawn lifted her off her feet, holding her close to his chest, his hand still over her mouth.

“I’m going to put you down, and you’re going to walk out of this room without saying a word, do you understand?”

Autumn nodded. “Please understand that if you don’t follow my directions we will no longer be taking things slowly.”

Oh, she understood him perfectly. They backed out of the room. She could still hear the strikes, hear Mary screaming that she’d had enough. Yet, he continued.

Shawn pushed her into one of the rooms that bordered the large room and he shut the door.

“This room is soundproofed,” he said.

“Where is my phone?” she demanded.

“For what?” He glared at her. She’d never seen him look at her that way before, and it frightened her.

“I’m calling the cops!” she yelled. “He’s beating her and you all are acting as if you’re at afternoon tea. You’re as guilty as he is!”

She reached for the doorknob, but he stepped in front of her.

“What is your safe word?” he asked.

“Excuse me? What the hell does that matter?”

“Tell me what it is,” he said.

“Stop the presses,” she said with a sneer.

“Mary’s is quarter,” he said.

“What does that matter?” Autumn stomped her foot. “Give me your phone!”

“Oh, why do you know that, Shawn? Well, Autumn, let me tell you how I know that, because Josh told us what word to listen for in case the scene got out of hand. Did you hear her say the word?”

“He’s beating her!”

“Did you hear it?” Autumn had never heard Shawn sound so pissed.

“No,” she said. “But that doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter,” he countered. “For lots of submissives part of the fun is them screaming at the Master to stop. It takes the process out of their hands, so to speak. Mary is one of those submissives. Josh performs this scene every time they come here, and she loves it. Trust me, if you talk to her afterward you will see that the beating you think she is getting is a way for her to reach sub space. You cannot interfere. I think we’ve had this discussion before.”

“Oh, yes, we have, but this time it has more meaning, considering what you said earlier,” she said. “I cannot be in a relationship where I’m expected to be used as a whipping post. I’m sorry, but all bets are off with us. I’ll stay long enough for us to search for the money again, but after that I’m leaving.”

He didn’t look surprised, but she could tell he was disappointed by her words.

“I won’t force you to stay,” he said. “I am sorry that you are not giving things a proper try, though.”

“Proper try,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve seen enough.

“But what have you experienced?” he said. “No two couples are the same, and you seem to judge our relationship by what you’ve seen with others. I hate it that you won’t trust yourself, or me.”

“Try your psychology somewhere else,” she said. “I’m done. I want my cabin back.”

“Unfortunately, we’re full up,” he said. “I have a spare bedroom in my cabin. You’re welcome to it.”

“Is there a lock on the door?” she asked and immediately regretted her words. He looked as if she’d slapped him across the face.

“Don’t worry, I won’t stay there tonight,” he said. “I’ll escort you back.”

“Don’t bother,” she said. When she went for the door this time he didn’t stop her. She stopped at the doorway to the main room and saw that Mary had been let loose of her bonds. She was cuddling against her husband’s chest, and she looked as content as the proverbial cat with a saucer of cream.

Autumn knew that meant she couldn’t call the police now. What would they find when they got out here? Nothing but a bunch of people having a party. Plus, the sheriff, whatever his name was, would respond, and he wouldn’t do anything to upset his friends.

No, on this part she was on her own. The sooner they found the money, and the necklace, and the sooner she could get away from here the better.

She woke up the next morning wondering where she was. It took her a few moments to realize she was in Shawn’s spare room. He’d walked her back to the cabin and left her at the front door, telling her how to find the guest room. She’d fallen into bed, wondering how she’d gotten herself into this situation. Then, she wondered how she’d ever thought she could be in a relationship that involved the disgusting things she’d seen earlier that evening.

After she got out of bed and did her morning business, she walked into the living room and called out Shawn’s name. There was no answer. A check on her cell phone showed no messages, and it was almost ten o’clock. She hadn’t slept this late in some time, but then again, she’d been awake until almost three, tossing and turning as she replayed the incident in her mind. She supposed she should say incidents, plural. She saw, and heard, the whipping as she’d tried to sleep.

Then she’d replayed the fight. She couldn’t get the sound of them screaming at each other out of her mind. Why did she do that? Why couldn’t she have a normal relationship with a man? Could she blame things on her parents? They didn’t seem to care for each other, or for her, and had never made a show of care for anyone. Was that her problem? Had she been taught that relationships were bad?

Possibly that was part of it, but she also thought it was the fact she just didn’t trust people. Last night she put herself in Mary’s place. She would have been screaming stop the presses before the first strike landed. That’s why it upset her so much. She couldn’t see herself submitting to the riding crop, if that’s what it was.

And because she couldn’t see herself doing that, it meant her relationship with Shawn was over before it even truly started. She’d known it before they’d slept together for the first time, but she’d allowed herself to open up, and she was knocked out before it was all over.

“Who cares,” she said as she fixed a pot of coffee. “You didn’t come here for a relationship, you came here for money.” Which reminded her about how she’d only thought about the money, and not the people involved in the robbery, and how they’d been hurt.

She pushed that thought aside and pulled out her phone. She texted Shawn, to see where he was and if there was a plan for the day.

His reply was quick and terse, “In town, talk later.”

When she asked what he wanted her to do he reminded her of the boxes in the closet that had been stored away when his mother moved.

“See what you can find,” he texted.

“Great, let me go through your junk,” she said to the phone. “It’s not as if I don’t do this every time I buy a storage unit.”

Rather than let him know she wasn’t happy doing what she thought of as his cleanup work she simply texted the word, “Okay.”

Rather than go right to the chore ahead of her, she took her coffee to the backyard deck and sat to drink and enjoy the cool morning air. It really was beautiful here, and there was a small part of her that had enjoyed the thought of staying.

Stop lying to yourself, a voice inside her head said. It was more than a small part. You were intrigued by the sex. You were intrigued by Shawn himself. You were excited about the idea of staying here with him, of being part of a couple.

She wanted to argue with that voice, but she knew it was right. But part of her thought that Shawn was to blame. She wasn’t ready for what she’d seen last night, of him mocking her and the pain of the beating.

“Stop thinking about it,” she said as she finished her coffee. She cleaned up the kitchen and went into the spare bedroom where she’d slept. When she opened the closet door, she found boxes packed to one side, floor to ceiling.

It brought to mind storage units she’d bought that had been crammed full of what she thought of as nothing. But the people who had thought enough to store the boxes had not thought of them as nothing. Everything in the boxes meant something to the people that had packed it up, and paid to store it.

What did the things in these boxes mean to Shawn, or to his parents? She couldn’t answer those questions. All she could do was go through them and see if Shawn’s father had left something that gave them a clue as to where the money could be found.

The first three boxes were clothes and cards given to Shawn’s father for his birthday, on his anniversary and at Christmas. It was obvious from the inscriptions that Shawn’s parents enjoyed a very passionate, very deep love.

After reading one that was particularly emotional, Autumn took a break, wondering once again if she would ever find that type of love. Given the fact that she managed to screw everything up she doubted it.

Tears dotted her eyelashes as she went into the main room. At some point someone, she was guessing it was X, had come into the cabin and left a note that said a cold lunch, of sandwiches and potato salad, was in the refrigerator. Autumn wondered how she had missed someone coming into the cabin. Had they tried to get her attention and she’d ignored them? Or had they just put the food in the fridge?

It didn’t matter, she supposed. Maybe Shawn had told X that Autumn was persona non-grata here and to just give her as little service as possible. Or maybe X had not wanted to disrupt Autumn in her work.

“Ignore it,” Autumn said. She took her lunch onto the back deck again and ate. She did so quickly so she didn’t have a chance to dwell on the things that had been picking at her brain all morning long.

She went back to work immediately, and it was on the seventh box that she found books. For some reason her fingers tingled as she took them out of the box. It was on the fourth book down that she gasped.

It was a collection of short stories by John Fortenberry. Shawn had said his father was a big fan of the horror writer. She ran her hand over the cover, and then opened it. Inside was a letter, or rather just a note.

It said, “Number three, four boards down.”

Autumn thought about the abandoned mines. The men had looked through all of them, but they had found nothing, no sign of a beetle or any other sort of inscription. But this was practically a map.

Something was in the third mine, fourth board down.

She pulled out her phone and texted Shawn that she’d found something. She waited and waited for his response, but it didn’t come. Was he so angry with her that he would ignore her find?

If he wanted to be so crappy just because she’d said their relationship was over, she’d get the keys to the truck and she’d drive out there herself. It wasn’t hard to find the keys. They were on a hook near the front door. She went outside and saw one of the resort trucks, the same one they’d driven to the mines before, sitting in front of the cabin.

Deciding it was fate she grabbed a few bottles of water, went outside and took up residence behind the wheel.

If she found the money on her own, she would demand a bigger share, and that was all there was to it. She drove slowly to the road they’d taken out into the desert. The voice that had been telling her she was giving up on Shawn too soon yelled out she was making a huge mistake by going out to the mines on her own.

She ignored it and turned away from the resort, excited to find the money and be done with this whole thing.