Alec turned the boat around and headed to Sequim. Time to get his truck out of the garage he rented and head to Port Angeles.
Chapter Two
James Kaden-Scott leaned heavily on the rail of the ferry as it chugged across the water. What had he been thinking taking a job on an island? He’d never done well on water. And now he would be working on land that was completely water locked. Well, at least once the god-forsaken ferry landed, hopefully he’d never have to get on it again. Or at least not for a long while.
He kept his head faced toward the oncoming wind as breathing it in kept the nausea at bay. His shoulder bag jiggled and he reached in and patted his dog. “Shh,” he said quietly. “I don’t think I’m supposed to have a dog here. Keep quiet.”
Zippo, who was used to staying quiet, stilled. James scratched his little head and went back to holding onto the rail.
His decision to accept the job of accountant for the Elan Township Cooperative had been more out of desperation than deliberation. He really should have thought it out. With a groan, his body gave emphasis to that fact, and he bent over the rail. He hated boats.
When he saw the docks ahead, he stood up again and reached into his bag to pull out a napkin. After hopefully getting all evidence of his recent sickness off his face, he dropped the napkin in a waste bin and sat down to wait. As soon as the ferry docked and the motor calmed down, he grabbed his two suitcases and dragged them behind him.
Getting his feet on solid ground felt wonderful. The world stopped shifting and he took a deep breath. While the air was filled with salt water, it also had the combined scent of trees and flowers. Land.
As he was the only person getting off on Elan Isle, the ferry took off again and he was left to walk from the docks toward the large gates ahead. A sign above them read Ye Olde Kinke Faire. He’d read about it in the information Kendrick Finleigh sent him on the accounts he would oversee. A renaissance fair for kinky people. What would they think of next?
As a non-kinky person… well, technically he didn’t know if he was kinky or not. He didn’t have a lot of experience except for a few groping hands in back rooms during his bachelor’s degree program. He’d been too afraid that someone would find out he was gay and tell his family, so he’d kept those to the bare minimum. There’d been nothing except porn during the three years of his master’s program and the added four years of his doctorate.
So here he was, practically a virgin at the age of twenty-nine—he figured having used dildos and plugs kept him from actually being a virgin—and working on an island where there’d be kinky stuff everywhere. He seriously should have thought this through.
His phone buzzed and he stopped walking and put his suitcases down before pulling it out of his pocket. The caller ID made him smile. “I’m here.”
Stan, his roommate during undergrad, chuckled. “Good to hear. Are you green?”
“A little,” James admitted, looking down. The dark olive skin tone covered most of it, but on the inside of his arms, there was an unhealthy pallor and he was sure his face was showing the worst of it.
“What’s your place like?”
“I just arrived and am on land. Haven’t talked to Mr. Finleigh yet.”
“All right. Well call me when you’re all settled. How’d Zippo do on the trip?”
James smiled. Unlike his family who didn’t think animals should be pets, Stan had supported him when he found the wonderful little dog. “Great, as usual. He’s still curled up in my shoulder bag.”
“Give him a treat for me. I’ve got to head over to my aunt’s house. Supposedly she’s found the perfect girl for me.” The droll way he said the last four words made James snort. “You’d think the fact I’m dating the perfect girl for me would have stopped her. But no.”
“I don’t think,” James said with a snicker, “that a relationship with a blow-up doll can classify as dating.”
“Fuck you,” Stan said with a bark of a laugh. “I’ll have you know that Amber is more than just a blow-up doll. She’s animatronic.” James shook with laughter. Amber was Stan’s on-again, off-again girlfriend and looked like the life-sized rendition of a Barbie doll. Personally, James thought she was too fake for Stan, but he never said so. “I think that kink community is rubbing off on you already. Good for you. Go find some bear of a Dom and let him fuck your brains out. Time to officially no longer be a virgin”
Heat flooded into James’s cheeks. “No comment.”
“All right. I won’t tease you anymore. But I wanted you to know I’ve got all your things in my shed. When you know if you’re staying, call me. I can ship everything out within a day or two.”
“Thanks, Stan.”
After they hung up, James put his phone away and picked everything up again. He didn’t like being secretive, but the fact was that he left in the dead of night. His father expected him to take a job with the family back in Saudi Arabia, and he’d been turning him down for years. In fact, the only reason he went for a masters and doctorate was to keep from having to go to the Middle East. Since he was a teenager, his father had been pushing him to convert to Islam and he’d found ways around it. There was no way he was telling his father he was gay.
Kaliq Zaman was Muslim and James knew how Muslims viewed homosexuality. In many Middle Eastern countries, just by being him, he could be put to death.
He took the job when Kendrick Finleigh offered it without thinking too much about it and had left three months before graduation. All of his work was done and he’d already defended his dissertation. His father didn’t think he’d be free until June. Stan picked up James’s boxes and James took a bus across the country to a place he’d never been before. He hoped it was better than the alternative.
A trail ran to the side of the gates. A small sign read Elan Township with an arrow to the left so he went in that direction. There was a ten foot tall fence between him and the Faire so he couldn’t see in, but he wondered what it looked like. Just what did a kinky renaissance faire do? He had no idea.
Zippo lurched as though trying to get comfortable. “I know,” James said. “As soon as we get into our cabin, I’ll let you out.” He hoped they got their own bedroom. Mr. Finleigh had explained that since James was working for the co-op, he would be housed in a cabin with other people who, like him, had a six month span of time to decide if they wished to buy into the co-op or leave. He wasn’t sure about the whole thing, but as he rounded a bend and took in the gorgeous trees ahead of him, he thought that it looked like a beautiful place to live.
A couple voices to his right drew his attention and he turned to the strangest scene. Two men stood talking and a naked woman knelt at their feet. She looked calm and happy. And very nude. James averted his gaze, not sure what to do.
“Can I help you?”
One of the men spoke to him. He needed to answer. “I’m looking for Kendrick Finleigh,” he said, still looking away.
“You’ve found him,” said a nice deep voice. The crunch of boots on gravel told him one of them was coming closer. No. Two of them. Did they leave the woman behind? Cautiously James turned toward them and tried to ignore the fact that it was one of the men and the woman. She was following Mr. Finleigh and when he stopped and held out his hand, she knelt by his side as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
Keeping his eyes on the man in front of him, James shook his hand. “I’m James Kaden-Scott, Mr. Finleigh. Your accountant,” he added lamely as he didn’t know what else to say.
“Perfect.” His eyes, a wonderful sky blue, lit up. “Please call me Kendrick. Becca, why don’t you go back to the cabin? I need to show James around.”
Becca rose to her feet. “Yes, Sir.”
She turned and walked up the gravel lane through the trees and James gawked for a moment before realizing he was doing it. His mouth slammed shut with a snap.
Kendrick’s eyes softened. “Never seen BDSM up close and personal?”
“No.” He hadn’t seen it onl
ine either.
Kendrick patted his shoulder and picked up one of his suitcases. “You’ll get used to it. In the office where you’ll work, you won’t see anyone naked as children might come in, but if you walk around, you’ll see couples engaged in all sorts of wonderful acts. And once the Faire season launches, it will be twelve hours a day of kink, sex, and fun.”
I’m totally out of my comfort zone. What do I do now? James managed some semblance of a smile and followed along as Kendrick led him into the woods.
Chapter Three
The co-op office was, at least, normal. “Your computer will be here later today,” Kendrick explained as he showed him his office. “My office is down the hall and you’ll meet the rest of the owners of the co-op and Faire over the next few days. Since it’s Saturday, let’s get you settled in your cabin and you can spend today and tomorrow getting to know your new home.”
James might have looked forward to it if it weren’t for the fact that he might run into more naked women. What was the acceptable thing to do in such a situation? Look? Not look? If he was heterosexual, he supposed looking was expected. Damn. He had done everything except look. Would Kendrick figure he was gay? He gulped and followed him from the office.
“The cabins we’re using for temporary housing are in the closest pod,” Kendrick explained as they walked directly north to a set of ten cabins. “You’ll be sharing this one with Bronick Neirson. He’s a contractor working on the Faire project. However, he’s straight and while he hasn’t said anything outright, he has made a couple comments that make me wonder if he’s homophobic, so if he says something to you about it or is demeaning in any way, tell me. I’ll nip that in the bud.”
James’s eyes widened. “You… kn-know?” How could Kendrick know he was gay?
Kendrick paused, his key in the lock of one of the cabins. His eyes softened further. “I do extensive background checks on anyone coming to the town. You don’t have anything to worry about, James. We’re a kink community and I’d like to think that we’re not just LGBT friendly. That we’re welcoming to everyone. Currently we have thirty-five stakes sold and one of those is to a lesbian couple, one to a single lesbian domme, and four are to single gay men. I hope those who are LGBT find they are accepted members of the community. If you ever feel like you’re not, tell me. I don’t put up with bullshit.” Something in his eyes made James wonder why it was so important.
“It sounds personal to you.”
The seriousness turned to amusement. “My elder brother’s gay. He’s had to hide who he is through a lot of his life and I absolutely hate it. When I was a teen, I got beat up more than once because someone made a derogatory comment about him and I acted before thinking.” He opened the door and waved James forward. “All the cabins have a large fireplace. And it saved our asses this winter. Our power was knocked out for two weeks but the one thing the original architect did know was the area. Each fireplace not only keeps the entire home toasty warm, but it can double as a cooking fire if need be.”
Kendrick pointed to the left of the large hearth. “The kitchen and dining room are through there. And we’ve got a grocery in the building just south of the office. Of course, you can always take the ferry across to the peninsula and shop over there.”
James shuddered at the thought of getting back on that boat. Kendrick went up the stairs and he followed. “The bathroom’s straight ahead and Bronick is in the room on the right so you’ll be in here.” He opened a door to the left on a well-lit room. James looked up as he entered, delighted to find a skylight. “If you stay and buy into the co-op, your cabin won’t be furnished, but for the temporary ones, we’ve furnished them with what we hope you’ll need. Queen sized bed, bookshelf, dresser.” Kendrick pointed at each one and put the suitcase he held down on the floor. “Also, until you’ve stocked up on food, there’s a cafeteria. We didn’t run it during winter. Until June, it will run for lunch and dinner. During the summer, we’re not sure yet of its hours as this will be our first season with enough eateries. That building’s in the same one as the grocery. Our chef fixes incredibly good food.
“So does the pastry chef,” he added with a fond smile. “He’s been providing us with wonderful baked goods all winter long. Unfortunately we’ll lose some of that for the summer as he’s asked to open a permanent eatery and will be providing kinky cupcakes and confections to our guests.”
“Kinky cupcakes?” James asked, his lips twisting into a grin. What was a kinky cupcake?
Kendrick grinned back. “Slate’s calling it A Taste of Twink, but cupcakes, pastries, and desserts are his service.”
James put his suitcase down and Zippo moved. Kendrick’s eyes moved to his shoulder bag and James froze. Then his mouth opened and everything poured out. “I know I didn’t ask if I could bring a dog but I didn’t have anywhere else he could go and he’s no trouble. Really. He’s quiet and sweet and would never hurt a fly. Well, maybe a fly, especially if they buzzed around his head, but seriously, he’s a good dog.” He smashed his mouth shut to stop talking and amusement danced in Kendrick’s blue eyes again.
“Can I meet him?”
James opened the top of the bag and lifted out Zippo. His little chihuahua had dark gray fur except for a strip of black along his back and three white socks. The reason he had three white socks and not four was because some lowlife had tossed Zippo into a garbage bin at six weeks old and one leg had been trapped under a heavy box. By the time James walked by and found him, his back left leg had been in bad shape. The vet had removed it at the knee. Thankfully Zippo didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with him and got along on three legs as well as he would have on four.
“This is Zippo.”
“Hello,” Kendrick said and offered a hand to sniff. Zippo obliged but when no food was forthcoming, he looked up at James and wagged his tail. “Well as long as you clean up after him—I do ask that you keep him leashed when he’s outside the cabin—I don’t see a problem with it.”
Relieved, James nodded. “Thank you. He’s special and I wasn’t sure what I would do if you said I couldn’t keep him.”
A speculative look came into Kendrick’s eyes but only for a second and then they were back to their regular shiny blues. “All right. Now, is there anything you need? Any questions you have before I go?”
“Is there anywhere we can’t go?” James asked, waving toward Zippo to reference who the ‘we’ was.
“Zippo shouldn’t be on Faire grounds when there’s something going on, but other than that, no. The map I gave you shows there are two sections to Elan Township. The one in the lower left that includes this cabin and the office is considered the Child-Safe Zone. There’s no sex or kinky play in public. Collars are fine. Leashes are fine. But no play. Outside the Child-Safe Zone, the rules for SSC play are acceptable in public and are in your paperwork.” He shrugged. “As much as I would have loved to accept RACK, the insurance would have killed us.”
James had no idea what SSC or RACK were. He had the feeling being on Elan Isle was going to be a bit of an education in and of itself.
Once Kendrick left, he attached Zippo’s halter and a leash and took him out for a walk. They were both happy to be out amongst the trees and without worrying where he was going, James headed north and followed Zippo as he checked out his new home.
Chapter Four
Alec looked at the full pantry and rubbed his stomach. It seemed a bit incongruous that now that he had a full larder of food, he didn’t want to cook. Perhaps he’d go down to the cafeteria and see what Chef Michaelo had cooked up. If he was lucky, he’d get a few moments to ask if Slate wanted to hook up as well.
While his and Slate’s kinks didn’t align, they had still enjoyed each other over the winter as the only two single gay males there. There were two other gay males who had bought into Elan Isle, but as far as Alec knew, they were both Doms and neither had actually moved in yet. While Slate wouldn’t allow CBT or anal fisting—two of Alec’s favorite k
inks—he loved a good rough fuck and Alec was happy to plow his ass.
Figuring he’d invite Slate over that night for some barbecue and a fuck off the back porch, Alec closed the door to his pantry and headed to put the barbecue together. He had just barely stepped out of the back door when he heard an anxious male voice call out, “Zippo! Zippo, come to daddy. Come on, Zippo. Please.”
Zippo sounded like a strange name for a child, but if one of the children had entered the adult zone, he or she needed to be rousted instantly. He glanced around and movement caught his eye. A tail waved from between the tall grasses between the trees. And while it was wagging, it wasn’t moving one way or another.
Alec strode over and looked down at the cutest dog he’d ever seen. Zippo, as he assumed the dog was, couldn’t be bigger than three or four pounds. He wagged up at Alec and lifted one of his paws as though it hurt. He wobbled and instantly put it back down. Wondering why he wobbled, Alec looked closer. The dog only had three full legs. “Hey, boy,” he crooned and Zippo wagged his tail again. Talk about a good natured dog. He slowly reached forward and patted Zippo’s head. When it appeared the little guy wasn’t in the mood to bite, he wrapped his hand around his chest and picked him up.
“Over here,” he called. “I think I have Zippo.”
“Zippo!” The word came right before a tall, thin man broke through the trees, his entire face one of anxiety and worry. When he spotted Alec with Zippo, relief entered the most gorgeous brown eyes Alec had ever seen. “Oh thank you,” the man gushed and he rushed forward and gingerly lifted the chihuahua out of his arms. “Are you okay?” he asked the little dog.
“He seems to be favoring his front right paw,” Alec offered. “Why don’t you have a seat on my back porch and you can check him out.”
Nodding almost absentmindedly, the stranger walked over to Alec’s porch and sat down. In his hand was a leash attached to a halter. The first thing he did before checking Zippo’s paw was attach the halter. He gingerly turned the dog upside down and looked at his paw. “Oh, he’s got a sticker of some sort. I’m sorry to bother you, but do you have any tweezers?” Once again, those stunning brown eyes looked up at him.
Making His Stand Page 2
