by Maren Smith
Holy mother of cannoli, what had she gotten herself into this time?
Fawn’s head felt like it was spinning when she finally set down the folder Don Lenzo had given her. It hadn’t just provided information on her target, who was the right hand man to some guy named Carmen and presumably the man Don Lenzo wanted to send the message to, it also had a full information packet on the Castle along with her reservation to the place.
Yeah. Don Lenzo’s explanation of “it’s a specialized resort” before dismissing her from his office had been more than an understatement, it had been misleading. BDSM? Masters and submissives? Littles? Ponies? Everyone dressed up and playing a part while spending the weekend in an actual fifteenth century Scottish castle complete with a dungeon and gaolers? Oh, she was so in over her head.
She’d barely had time for a few one-night stands here and there during the past few years between trying to keep her own head above water, her dad in the long-term care he needed, and fulfilling the mob’s demands. Now she was supposed to go find and kill some guy who was going to be at a sex resort getting his freak on?
Even worse, some of the stuff in the brochure… well, it kind of appealed. A lot. How was she supposed to do the most harrowing job of her life when she was distracted by… all the things? The naughty, dirty, kinky, fascinating things that were already succeeding in distracting her from the fact that she was supposed to kill a man.
Or maybe there was some part of her that wanted to be distracted. That wouldn’t surprise her either.
Of course, the fact that she couldn’t even remember the last time she’d masturbated didn’t help. Just reading the brochure had made her nipples tingle and kicked her libido up… all while she was planning an honest-to-goodness assassination.
Groaning, she put her head down on her kitchen table and gently banged her forehead on the hard wood.
“I’m so fucked.”
And not in the good way that the Castle advertised.
Chapter 2
Looking down on the courtyard from one level up and watching the new arrivals for the weekend, Dane spotted her. Long black hair waving around her shoulders, tanned skin that looked like her natural coloring, a nicely rounded, spankable bottom, and absolutely gorgeous—but that wasn’t why he noticed her. Well, at least not the entire reason. No, he noticed her because as his eyes scanned through the crowd she was just slightly off.
He couldn’t define what made him think so, couldn’t explain it, but he could feel it. There was something about her demeanor that was making her stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Watching with interest, he noted the black bracelet which was handed to her, meaning she was part of the Dungeon program.
After giving her bracelet a dubious look, her gaze came back up… and landed on a couple with a German Shepard service dog. Dane had noticed them earlier and would be willing to bet money they were some kind of K-9 unit, also undercover. He couldn’t help but wonder exactly how many undercovers were going to be milling around this weekend, but he wasn’t surprised that multiple agencies wanted coverage. The Butcher was a big fish and he’d escaped the net too many times.
What he found highly suspicious was that Raven-Hair seemed to suspect what they might be too—and she immediately began to move as far away from the couple and dog as possible.
As everyone was directed to the folding chairs around the podium, she made sure to sit far, far away from the couple. As the Mistress, Mrs. Hardwick, came out to welcome the new arrivals with her speech about the Castle and what to expect, Dane continued to study the whole crowd, but his eyes were constantly drawn back to Raven-Hair. She was listening to the Mistress, but not as intently as everyone else was. Her eyes darted to and fro, like she was looking for something… or someone.
There was no doubt in his mind now; she was definitely up to something. With multiple agencies sending in their people, it wasn’t a stretch of the imagination to think the other side might be as well. A woman, especially one in the submissive program, would have a decent chance of being overlooked as suspicious.
Was she a possible contact for Carmen? As good as the man was, there was no way he was masquerading as this particular woman unless he’d shrunk a good half foot in height and dropped a significant amount of weight even for that scrawny bastard, but she might be someone who knew Carmen. Might be someone he was meeting or maybe even someone just looking for him. Possibly even someone who knew what Carmen currently looked like? Dane didn’t doubt the man would be in one of his infamous disguises, probably a new one that hadn’t already been identified.
Since he didn’t notice anything or anyone else out of place he figured that he would start with Raven-Hair and see if he could figure out what her deal was. If she didn’t have anything to do with his case, then at the very least he’d have some time with a very attractive submissive—and in his undercover role as a Castle employee, he was supposed to be engaging with the guests.
Feeling strangely upbeat, he made his way to the head Master’s office to tell Marshall that he needed to be in the Dungeon and also to look through the files of the new arrivals. Before he saw Raven-Hair again, he was going to know everything he could about her.
Feeling completely overwhelmed, Fawn shut the door to her room behind her and leaned her back against it. Unfortunately, it didn’t help. The room just continued to remind her exactly how out of her element she was—as if walking through a castle full of some of the most exotic, sexy, and beautiful people she’d ever seen hadn’t already done that. Not to mention the Castle itself. It was full of erotic, exotic art and one stunning room after another. The bedroom she was staying in was the same.
This was the kind of room she had never once in her life been able to afford. Doing medical coding from home and keeping her expenses down meant she could take a vacation now and then, but definitely nowhere like this and not in a room like this. Was this one of the perks of being sent on what was very possibly a suicide mission by the mob? Don Lenzo, soothing whatever tiny sliver of conscience he might have?
The entire space was the size of a regular hotel room, but was impeccably decorated. Fawn knew quality furnishings and décor when she looked at them, even if they weren’t worth stealing. The massive bed drew her eye, of course. A sturdy post adorned each corner, all of them sporting a heavy iron ring.
Fawn had done her research online. She knew exactly what those were for and her entire body tingled at the prospect.
Focus. You’re here for work, not pleasure.
Swallowing hard, Fawn made herself straighten up. Work—which had become even more difficult because she was pretty sure she’d spotted some undercover agents in the crowd of people at Orientation. While their dog was marked as a service animal, they’d set off all sorts of alarms in her head. Still, they hadn’t been hard to avoid with the number of people here and they didn’t have any reason to look twice at her unless she gave them one. So she’d just have to make sure she didn’t.
Her bags had been brought up so she might as well unpack and try to get herself used to her new, opulent surroundings. Better to do it in here alone so when she was out with everyone else she could at least pretend to fit in.
That should be the easy part, but she’d never had to fit in to a place like this before. How was she supposed to fit in when everyone was so different? Not just from her usual targets, but from each other. Yet all of them had seemed perfectly comfortable in their own skins—excited, happy… yeah, that was probably going to be her biggest challenge.
Well, that and finding a weapon capable of killing a man, and then actually killing a man, preferably without being caught. If she ended up in jail, Fawn had no doubt the mob’s reach would find her there and she’d be dead. If she didn’t kill Mario, she’d be dead. Basically, if she did anything but succeed one hundred percent, she’d be dead, and honestly, she wasn’t even sure if she completely trusted Don Lenzo to let her live even if she completed this last task.
But th
is was her best chance at the normal life she’d always wanted to lead. One where she didn’t have to steal things or risk her freedom for anyone else. A life where she could just work, maybe even date, fall in love, have a family… A girl could hope, right?
One step at a time.
First, unpack and explore the room.
Second, scout the Castle. While she’d memorized the map, there was no substitute for seeing everything in person. Maps weren’t blueprints, after all, and they didn’t include decorations or security camera locations. Supposedly, the entire Castle was wired for security, both visual and audible, and she needed to find out how that worked if she could. Charming a security guard was probably her best bet for that—it was amazing how informative they could become when reassuring a seemingly anxious woman about how safe she was in their care.
Third—and possibly at the same time as her second step—keep an eye out for Mario. Especially if she could discover what room he was in. Don Lenzo had been sure he would be here this weekend and Fawn trusted that intel. Definitely after seeing this room. There was no way he would have paid for her presence here on a lark.
She also totally understood why he thought this was probably a good place for an assassination. The security here was high—it had to be to protect the guests’ privacy—and that would make some parts of her mission more difficult, but on the other hand, everyone was relaxed and here to have a good time. Add in that Mario would probably be actively looking for women to spend time with during his stay, and Don Lenzo’s plotting made even more sense. This was somewhere that even a highly trained, deadly criminal would relax his guard.
Not that she found any of that reasoning comforting, but at least she understood why she was being sent on this mission.
As she moved over to her bags, the black band on her wrist caught her eye and made her shiver. She wasn’t used to wearing jewelry and exactly what this jewelry meant… Don Lenzo, or someone working for him, had filled out her application and requested the Dungeon program for her. After her research, Fawn now had a decent idea of what that meant and she had very conflicting feelings over it.
Work, remember? Not pleasure. Start unpacking and let’s get to it.
“So, because she didn’t want to go anywhere near a dog, you want to be paired up with her?” Marshall asked.
“Yes,” Dane said. He knew it sounded a little ridiculous, but he was sure it meant something. “She was behaving suspiciously and I want to keep an eye on her. Is there any reason I can’t?”
“Other than messing with the pairings we already put together, no,” Marshall grumbled as he flipped through a stack of paper, separating out several sheets. “Fine, congratulations, you’re her partner for the weekend. It’s done. Here’s her intake form.”
Dane took it eagerly, wanting to see what they had on her. Fortunately she hadn’t been at all hard to identify, thanks to the photos Marshall had of all their incoming guests.
Fawn Pike, the first page said, although she’d chosen the alias of Flora. His lips quirked up, wondering if she was making a deliberate flora and fauna reference. Twenty-seven years old and working from home as a medical coder. No criminal record, nothing to make her stand out. Which, conversely, only made him more suspicious. He flipped to her experience and interest survey.
“Thanks,” he said, almost absentmindedly as he left the room, his mind already working.
“Don’t mention it,” Marshall called after him.
Hmmm. Domination, bondage, flogging, anal… yeah, he was definitely down with her interests. This list would also be a good way to test whether or not she was really here for Castle amenities. If his suspicions were wrong, then it would still provide good cover for him.
Win-win as far as he was concerned.
He grinned when he saw that she had sex checked off as well. Then his grin faded a little. If she was mixed up with Carmen, he’d better keep his cock in his pants.
Dane tried to tell himself he wasn’t too disappointed by that.
The knock on Fawn’s door just as she was steeling herself to go back out into the main portion of the Castle made her jump. She was definitely already nervy, which was not a good way to start.
“It’s fine,” she muttered under her breath. “Everything is fine.”
Rubbing her sweaty palms on her thighs, she pasted a look of anticipation on her face. Because a regular patron would be excited, right?
When she opened the door, excitement wasn’t that hard to feign. The man standing on the other side was panty-meltingly hot. Tall enough she had to tilt her head back slightly to meet his gaze, which put him around six feet, he had long, dark hair that waved back from a very handsome face. A square jawline that the ends of his hair would brush against if they weren’t pushed back, dark eyes that promised all sorts of dark pleasures, and lips that curved up in a pleased smile that made her heart pound.
The leather vest he was wearing did nothing to hide a spectacular body—broad shoulders, chest hair curling over defined pecs and turning into a happy little trail right down to snugly fitting leather pants. Fawn nearly whimpered as every muscle in her lower body spontaneously tightened. Holy sex on a stick, she was in so much trouble.
“Hello there,” he said, his eyes dropping down her figure in a way that said he liked what he saw. “I’m Master D and you must be Flora.”
She opened her mouth to correct him before she remembered that it was her pseudonym for the weekend.
“That’s me,” she said, smiling a little weakly as she nodded.
He raised his eyebrow at her. Fawn blinked, as he seemed to be waiting for something.
“What do you call me?” he asked, his voice becoming stern.
Crap! She knew this and she couldn’t believe she’d already forgotten.
“Sorry, Sir,” she said, her smile even weaker. Thank goodness she’d spent time looking into BDSM and trying to figure out what would be expected of her beforehand; she’d almost blown her cover on her first minor test. “I’m just excited, it won’t happen again.”
“Wonderful,” he said, flashing her another panty-dropping smile. Were the sparks of attraction she felt zinging between them real? It was possible she was just so hard up for sex that she was imagining them, which would be hugely embarrassing. “Normally, I’d have found you at the meet and greet, but your room was on my way so I figured I’d knock and find out if you were still in here. Since you’re here, would you like to skip the usual schedule and go on a tour of the Castle?”
“Oh, right, okay, Sir,” she said, trying not to feel too disappointed that that was all he was there for.
As if he could hear her thoughts, he winked at her. “I’ll also be taking care of you for the rest of the weekend.”
“Oh, okay, Sir.” Then she shut her mouth before she could begin to sound any more inane than she already did. She needed to snap out of it and get her head in the game. She’d known she was going to be distracted this weekend—although she hadn’t counted on being quite this distracted—but it was time to buckle down. A tour of the Castle was exactly what she needed, and she bet Master D would be a good starting place for all the questions she had. Fawn smiled brilliantly up at him. “Where do we begin?”
Wardrobe, was the answer.
Master D escorted her down several halls and handed her off to a chirpy, pretty woman named Janice to be outfitted. Since everyone in the Castle had to dress in period outfits or, at the very least, some kind of fetish gear, Wardrobe was there to assist. There were outfits for all sizes, all time periods, all kinks.
Once in Janice’s capable hands, Fawn had the disconcerting experience of being stripped down and dressed like a doll, with very little say in what she was wearing.
“Leather or satin?” Janice asked her, holding up two corsets.
“Um, leather?” Fawn said, her voice squeaking a little as she stared at the gorgeous creations.
Janice beamed at her. “Perfect! You’re going to look amazing in this.”<
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To Fawn’s delight, Janice was completely right.
About an hour later she felt like a whole new person. Her dark hair had been pulled back and put up in a high ponytail that showed off her bare neck while still leaving the mass of her hair free to swing around her shoulders, her make-up had been done to make her look like a movie star, and she’d was wearing an outfit she would have never dared put on in her real life.
The leather corset was supposed to make her look badass, that’s why she’d chosen it, but she didn’t feel badass. No, she felt like a sex kitten. The corset pushed her breasts up into ample mounds and narrowed her waist so that she had a perfect hourglass figure. The tiny leather skirt she was wearing barely covered her ass and made her legs look impossibly long, and she was far too aware of exactly how little coverage the wisp of a G-string she was now wearing provided. She looked like sin… and she liked it.
The expression on Master D’s face when she came out sent her confidence soaring even farther. He’d looked approving before, when she was in her regular clothes, now he was staring at her like a wolf ready to pounce on its prey, and in her high heels, Fawn wouldn’t be very hard to catch.
“You look delicious,” he said finally, standing up from the couch he’d been waiting on.
Beneath the stiff leather of the corset, her nipples tingled and tightened as his gaze swept over her again. Yeah, he definitely had a hungry look in his eyes when he looked at her.
Focus. This is not what you’re here for.
Right.
“Thank you, Sir,” she said, a little breathlessly. She told herself it was just the corset making it hard for her to get enough air. She needed to get him to continue the tour so she could keep looking for Mario. “So, where else are we going?”
The smile that spread across his face made goosebumps pop out all across her skin as a little shiver went up her spine. “Let’s make our way through the rest of this floor, and then I’ll show you the Dungeon.”
