I had exhausted my virgin, but I kept my promise.  She came harder than ever before and she got to experience it over and over until she had nothing left to give.  It was clear from the way her body reacted that it was an entirely new experience and I knew there was no way she could have done so much to herself.  She looked beautiful in my bed, like she belonged there.  She started to lightly snore a few seconds after my lips left her forehead.  I walked back to the kitchen and poured myself a second cup of coffee.  My lust had taken control and I had left a mess in the kitchen, so I cleaned it between sips. When I heard the sound of gravel on tires, I was reminded that Sheriff Thompson was supposed to stop by.

That must be him.

I walked to my window and confirmed it was a patrol car outside before opening my door and walking down the steps.  The door opened and he stepped out of the car, but it wasn’t him—at least it wasn’t the Sheriff Thompson I remembered.  Sheriff Thompson was an old man when I left town at the age of eighteen.  The man that emerged from the patrol car was much younger.  I squinted against the sun as I walked and when I finally got close enough to recognize his face, I realized it was Sheriff Thompson’s son—who had apparently managed to inherit his father’s title on top of the name.

“Billy Thompson Jr.”  I laughed as I got close and extended my hand to the boy I went to school with who had the same age on his face as me.

“How’s it going, Red?”  He slammed the door and shook my hand with a firm grip that rivaled my own.

“When Charlie said Sheriff Thompson was coming by, I guess I still pictured your father.”  Our hands separated and I dropped mine by my side.

“Nah, he’s long since retired.”  Billy put his hands on his hips.  “I guess people thought I’d do a good job since I had his name.”

“What brings you up to the resort?  Charlie said it had something to do with permits?”  I tilted my head with an inquisitive stare.

“Yeah, you know I wouldn’t get involved in this kind of thing normally, but Charlie has been talking about all the stuff y’all are working on when he stops by the bar at night.  Hell, I didn’t even realize you were still around until someone told me what they heard.  You probably don’t know since you’ve been away for a while, but Blue Ridge incorporated the whole mountain about five years ago.”  He motioned with his hand.  “Anything that happens up here, whether it is a new building or a simple repair, has to go through Mayor Remington’s office first.”

“Mayor Remington.”  I narrowed my eyes at him.  “I see.  Would Mayor Remington be related to the same family that owns almost all of the luxury cabin rentals up here?”

“There aren’t many Remingtons in Blue Ridge, so I’m sure you already know the answer to that question, Red.”  He shrugged.  “They own a lot more of them than they did when you left, too.  If you’ll stop by the Mayor’s office tomorrow, I’m sure they’ll help you get everything filed properly—for the necessary fees.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I decided to take the day off work.”  I nodded.  “So what happens if I decide to keep working without the permits?”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to use these.”  He turned and tapped his handcuffs.  “But that won’t be necessary, right?  You understand it’s just my job to enforce the law.”

“Right.”  I nodded with absolute clarity.  “I guess I’ll have to get those permits then.”

“Oh, and Red?”  He turned his head towards Mandy’s car.  “You don’t have any guests do you?  You have to get this place inspected before you can.”

“No.”  I lied eloquently without moving my eyes or my head.  “It’s just a friend.”

“Okay, good.”  He exhaled sharply.  “By the way, when you do stop by, you might want to just try and avoid Mayor Remington altogether.”

“Why is that?”  I felt concern growing and my face didn’t hide it.

“Cause there’s a Remington that you probably don’t remember from back in the day, but you know her quite well.  I hear you two reconnected yesterday in the supermarket.  The Mayor’s real unhappy about that.”  He opened his car door.

“Sharon...”  I blinked a couple of times.  “Sharon married into the Remington family?”

“She did.  Hell, it wasn’t long after you left.”  He slid into his car, closed the door and rolled down the window when the engine was roaring.  “You know you could just sell this place, right?  I know it ain’t worth much after the incorporation, but there’s no reason for you to bust your balls up here if you don’t want to be in Blue Ridge.  The price ain’t going up any, even if you get it back to the way it used to be.”

“Brandon Remington.”  I ignored the rest of what he said.  “She married Brandon, didn’t she?”

“She did.”  He put the car in reverse.  “They’re real happy, too, so don’t go fucking that up for her.  You left her, remember.”

“I haven’t forgotten.”  I nodded and watched as he turned his car around and headed down the mountain.

Brandon Remington.  That stupid fucking, pussy-ass, mama-boy bitch.  I turned back towards my cabin and I was raging inside.  Sharon could have married anyone in Blue Ridge but him.  I wouldn’t have even cared if she married one of the other Remington brothers.  I played football with the eldest and he was a beast of a man, even at eighteen.  Hell, I would have felt better if she married their old man.  Anyone but the conniving little whore-child, Brandon.  He was a scrawny runt with an squeaky, annoying voice.  He had been up Sharon’s ass since we were in grade school.  He always pretended to be her best friend, and when they hugged, he smiled at me knowing that I couldn’t lay a finger on him, because Sharon loved him like a brother.  He cock blocked me for years while trying to get with Sharon, but when she finally gave in and agreed to a date, he swore he’d hurt me.

The little bastard found a way—even after I was long gone from Blue Ridge.

***

I WAS BOILING WITH rage when I returned to my cabin, and even the sight of my sweet peach ripe for the taking wasn’t enough to calm me down.  Neither was whiskey—at least not at first.  I poured gratuitous amounts into my glass and then into my stomach.  I had almost forgotten about Mandy when I heard footsteps behind me and she walked into the living room, rubbing her eyes.  She still looked beautiful, but I was fuming with an anger that I couldn’t control.  She looked at me for a moment and then walked over.  She plopped down on the couch and turned in my direction, with her feet folded underneath her ass.

“Is Mr. Grouchy Pants going to come back out and start spanking me or can I just hang out in here?”  She leaned forward and nudged me with a grin on her face.

“I’m angry right now.”  I looked towards her and took a sip of my whiskey.  “I would never lay a hand on someone like that when I was angry.”

“Did I do something wrong?”  The smile instantly faded from her beautiful face.

“What?  No.”  I shook my head back and forth as I finished my glass.  “I need more whiskey.”

“I’ll get it.”  She hopped up, grabbed the bottle from the table, and poured it into my glass.  “What’s the problem?”

“I got some bad news after you went to sleep.”  I exhaled sharply.

“I mean, I know you just met me and all, but I’m a good listener.”  She scooted closer and squeezed my hand.

My story began at the beginning and it started without me even thinking about what I was saying.  I told her about Sharon, our high school romance, and the way I left her because of my desire to find a place in the world outside of Blue Ridge.  I told her about Brandon and what a snake he was, always tormenting me because he knew I couldn’t snap his neck if I wanted to keep Sharon by my side.  I told her about college, feeling like I was dumb as a brick, but still managing to graduate.  I told her about my suffocating job at an insurance company.  I even told her about my ex-girlfriend, in so much vivid detail that my sweet virgin’s eyes were bulging out of her head when I described the D/s life we had when things were good.

“Well, I guess I understand how you got so good at all of the things you did to me earlier.”  She bit down on her lip and still looked surprised.

The story was quick from there, because life just kind of paused and repeated itself after I was with my ex.  Sometimes she was with me, sometimes she wasn’t, and most of the time I drove her away because she was too submissive.  She did things that were incredibly stupid, just to chase the high of my wrath, and when I wouldn’t give it to her, she made me angry.  That only pushed me further away.  The back and forth continued until we had a blow up that we couldn’t come back from and she chose another man who would give her the awful things she craved—things that were too depraved for me.  It was shortly after that when my father passed, and I put my past in front of me to start rebuilding the resort.

“This is pretty heavy.”  She squeezed my hand a little harder.  “Keep going, please.”

That almost made me smile—she’s better at this than she realizes.

“Mild, mostly.  Mistakes were made, I suppose.” I shrugged, took a huge gulp of my whiskey, and finished my story by relaying the conversation I had with Sheriff Thompson.

“Do you think Sharon married Brandon because she was mad at you for leaving her?”  Mandy bit down on her bottom lip as if she was trying to solve a problem in her head.

“Maybe.”  I shrugged again.  “I don’t know.  He was literally one aisle over from us when we were talking at the supermarket and she never mentioned who she married.  If she wanted it to hurt, that would have been the first opportunity, I guess.”

“Then that means Brandon is the prime suspect.”  She narrowed her eyes into a very cute squint.

“Prime suspect?”  I raised my eyebrows.

“Sorry, I’ve watched too much Law & Order.  I mean, he got the girl, so I guess in the end, he got everything he wanted.  Although, he did threaten to hurt you.”  She shrugged and tapped her fingers against the hand she was previously squeezing.  “Unless this is all a ploy and the big twist is that he’s actually your long lost brother who has come back to take his birthright—Blue Ridge Resort.”

“No.”  I laughed—I laughed louder than I had in a while.  “This place is an obvious dump.  His family owns so much land around here that none of them would ever have to work again if they sold half of it.  Hell, it might be several generations before a Remington had to get a job.”

“So that just leaves Sharon, the jaded ex-girlfriend who has come back with a vengeance to make you suffer for your mistakes.”  She spoke in a mocking, sinister voice that made me laugh again.  “Perhaps, she’s teamed up with your newest ex, and I’m their secret lesbian lover sent to distract you until they can make their final play.”

“Lesbian, huh?  You did take quite a licking.”  I flicked my tongue at her.

“I could put that to good use.”  She slid closer.  “Or, I could return the favor and take your mind off all of this.”

“Have you ever done that before?”  I raised my eyebrows.

“No, but I never had anyone do what you did earlier.”  She slid her hand across my leg.  “I’m ready to do something else I’ve never done either.”