Raleigh sighed. So how could he find them their mate? She wasn’t going to come to the mountain and drop into their laps, that was for sure. Likely it was time for him to visit some of their more distant branch offices and check out the women there. It never hurt to pay even the smallest of branches some individual attention and while he was there perhaps he could find them some new clients. Yeah, okay. He’d pack a suitcase and make a surprise visit to some of the branches starting tomorrow.
* * * *
Fury raced through Kingston’s veins as he stared at the strange woman in his hot spring. Were the fucking gold diggers following him to the mountain now? Where the fucking hell had she come from? He couldn’t imagine a woman hiking up the mountain. It’d take days and she’d need a support crew with a tent and food and all her equipment. No, she must have had a helicopter bring her and the pilot had landed her at the wrong spring. For a moment he wondered how long she’d been lying there waiting for him to find her, then shrugged it off. Too bad. She was about to have a reality check. It was a good three miles over very rough rock back to the pack’s home. That should teach her not to act precipitously in the future.
He stood on an overhanging rock and roared at the interloper, “What the fucking hell are you doing in my hot spring?”
He felt a momentary flash of guilt when she startled so badly she sank beneath the water and came up coughing and splashing.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize this was private property.” He watched her scramble out of the water, keeping her back to him. Did she really think that acting all shy and hiding her nakedness when she’d come here deliberately to entice him would work? She couldn’t possibly be that stupid. Then he remembered some of the other women who’d pursued him. Yes, she could be that dumb. He watched her open her backpack and pull out a towel, rub her body briskly then climb into jeans, a T-shirt, and a sweater. The clothes looked well-worn. He’d expected her to wear something nicer, but perhaps she intended to keep up the innocent act.
He also noticed she dried her feet carefully—far more carefully than she’d dried any other part of her body—before putting on clean socks. That was the way genuine hikers behaved. Feet were the most important part of a hiker’s equipment and it made good sense to treat them properly. He watched her push the dirty clothes that had been left on the ground beside her boots into the backpack, and then shrug it over her shoulders. Like her clothing, the backpack was far from new. Likely she’d bought it secondhand or from a thrift store. She had a bedding roll pushed through the straps of the backpack.
She kept her back to him and walked up the hill at the side of the hot spring, heading west.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Back to the river. Or is that still on your land? May I stay at the river tonight please?”
“Why?” He couldn’t understand why she hadn’t asked to go to his home. What devious plan was in her brain?
“I don’t have any food left and if I set my net now I might catch a fish for breakfast.”
“Why don’t you want to come to my house?”
“You told me to get off your land.”
“No I didn’t. I asked you what you were doing in my pool. A question you haven’t answered.”
While they’d been talking he’d walked around the rim of the hot spring so he was still above her but much closer to her now. Her brown eyes were a little bit sunken in her face and she looked tired. The jeans she’d put in her backpack had been very dirty, as if she’d been wearing them for a while. He wondered if she really had climbed the mountain, or at least come quite a distance, and if she had run out of food or if that was just a ploy to get his sympathy. Some women were incredibly manipulative, especially when they hoped to catch a rich husband.
She turned to face him fully. “The short answer is soaking and resting. The long answer is I came to the mountains for peace and a break. I saw the steam rising from your pool and I thought it was going to be a volcano so I wanted to look at it.”
“There are no volcanoes in these mountains.”
“I didn’t know that. I didn’t know there were hot springs here either, though. Listen, is it all right if I stay by the river? I need to leave now to get there before dark and set my net.”
“Follow me to my house instead. I’ll feed you.” He was probably being naïve letting her come, but if she genuinely had no food he couldn’t leave her out on the mountain. Besides, even if she had just landed from a helicopter after eating a five course meal, she’d made an effort to get to him so the least he could do was spend enough time with her to decide she was just another rich bitch he had no interest in knowing better.
He didn’t wait for her to answer, but started walking back toward the pack building. He hiked at his usual pace, allowing her no leeway for not knowing the track or for being female, and, presumably human, without his extra shape-shifter abilities of balance and keener vision and hearing. He heard her boots on the rocks from time to time, but there was no heavy breathing and she didn’t speak to ask him to slow down or say anything at all. At the top of the first hill he turned to watch her. She was only a few paces behind him, apparently quite capable of keeping up with him, despite her pack. He supposed if he’d been a gentleman he would have carried it for her. But she’d come here of her own volition. He hadn’t invited her and he wasn’t even sure he hadn’t been quite idiotic to invite her to the pack’s home.
He turned and kept walking, still not moderating his pace at all. Only when he crested the rise that brought the building into view did he turn and watch her face. Now would be the time when she displayed glee at the sight of the large house. Of course, she wouldn’t know how many people lived here. But then the house was much bigger than it looked from here anyway. It had been carefully designed not to be overly impressive. Two levels were below ground, the dungeons and hot springs at the lowest level, then mud rooms, the laundry, machine rooms and other equipment store rooms on the level above them. The three levels visible were apartments, communal living areas and offices.
Much to his surprise, she stared at the building but kept walking. Either she was a damn good actress or else she hadn’t understood this was where he lived. Shrugging, he led her up to the path. His apartment was on the top floor, at the front corner of the building, meaning he had twice as many windows as most people. One of the perks of being Alpha. However his apartment was not lavishly furnished. He had a living room, a functional kitchen, a bedroom, and bathroom, just the same as everyone else, apart from the giant windows in two rooms—his bedroom as well as his living room.
They climbed the stairs to the top floor and he noted she still wasn’t out of breath or lagging behind. “Leave your pack by the door,” he ordered her, marching straight through the living room and pulling two meals out of his freezer. He put them both in the microwave oven, pressed the timer and then turned to her. “Now tell me why you are really here.”
“Everything I’ve told you is the truth.”
“What’s your name?”
“Andorra Yasbit.”
He crossed his arms and stared at her. “We’ve got ten minutes while the food cooks. I want to know exactly how and why you ended up on my mountain.”
She seemed to sigh and collapse into herself. At last. Now we get the poor little rich girl story. Instead she told him about her family disintegrating, traveling for three months, losing the job at the bar which she’d desperately needed, then hiking up the mountain. While she spoke he made mental notes to Google her name, the bar, and the bar owner. All those things could easily be verified.
He put their meals on plates, handed her a fork, and offered her a choice of beer or orange juice. She chose juice so he had that, too. He still wasn’t fully convinced about her story, but she’d eaten her chicken risotto as if she were hungry and without appearing to notice it came out of a box instead of from a gourmet supplier. It was time to test her further.
“This is a BDSM community. Do you k
now what that is?”
“Yes.”
“I am a Dom. You should call me Master.”
This time her gaze rested on his for a long moment, before she said softly, “Yes, Master.”
“Have you ever participated in BDSM?”
For the first time she smiled. It was a happy little grin as if she were remembering something she’d enjoyed. “My stepbrother took me to a BDSM club once and we watched. It was—interesting.”
His heart suddenly beat faster. “And would you be interested in that kind of lifestyle for yourself?”
“As a lifestyle I don’t know enough about it yet to say. But I would be interested in pursuing the idea, Master.”
It was too soon, much, much too soon, to know if she was who she said she was or not. But there was a flicker of hope deep inside him. Maybe, just maybe, she might turn out to be the kind of woman he wanted.
Chapter Two
“This is Nevis. She’ll show you around, answer any of your questions, and look after you.”
Andorra was left standing in the hallway staring at his shut door. He’d given her a meal, for which she was extremely grateful, made a call on his cell phone, and as soon as there’d been a knock on his door, he’d introduced her to this woman and left her. She smiled at the woman. Nevis was a bit older than her, with short, curly, salt-blonde hair and blue eyes.
“What would you like to see? We don’t get many visitors here,” said Nevis.
“I have no idea. I didn’t realize this place was private property. I just wanted to get to the top of the mountain. Then when I saw the hot spring I couldn’t resist soaking in it.”
“I could take you up to the roof of the building so you could see the view, and after that we could go lie in the hot spring for a while if you want to. The water is wonderfully relaxing. It’ll soothe away any aches and pains you have,” said Nevis.
“That sounds great, thank you.”
Nevis turned and led her to the stairway she’d used before. It continued up one more flight, with a door at the top. Nevis pushed the door and they emerged out onto the roof. They were in a sort of garden, with raised flowerbeds filled with flowering shrubs. Andorra had no idea what their names were, but the ones in bloom looked very pretty indeed. They walked on a path which wandered between the flowerbeds and when they passed sweet-smelling lavender even Andorra, with a minimal understanding of horticulture, recognized it and breathed the delightful scent deep into her lungs.
The garden only occupied one corner of the roof, Andorra realized, as she followed Nevis out from that area onto a bare roof. A huge helicopter sat on a square pad on the other side of the roof and Andorra stopped dead when she saw it.
“What?” asked Nevis.
“I’ve never seen a helicopter before. I mean, I’ve seen them on television of course, but not…” She waved her hand at the huge machine, at a loss for the words to say.
Nevis smiled. “Not up close and personal?” she suggested.
Andorra smiled back at her. “It’s so big. I had no idea they were huge like this.”
“Helicopters are like trucks. They come in various sizes. This one is a bit larger because it has to fit quite a lot of cargo in it. We have to bring in most of the things we need to feed and maintain the community here. And now Master Kingston lives here instead of in the city. That means more of the managers coming back here when they need to talk to him.”
“I know it took me over a week to hike up the mountain. But I wasn’t in any kind of a rush. I had to catch fish and pick berries because I didn’t have much food with me, and I didn’t know where I was going anyway. I just wanted to keep climbing. But wouldn’t you just drive down the road to go to the store? How many miles is it back to town?”
Nevis turned and stared at her. “There isn’t a road.”
“What?”
“Come over here and look.”
Andorra followed Nevis to the edge of the roof. She leaned on the waist-high metal railing and stared out at mile after mile of magnificent scenery. Sharp, craggy mountains, sheer cliffs, wooded valleys. The mountains stretched as far as she could see in every direction. Andorra walked around the roof following the railing, taking in the scenery as she went. It was truly beautiful, with sunset still an hour or more away, but the deepest valleys already dark with shadows while the higher peaks were still bathed in sunlight.
“It’s all so beautiful. I’m glad I hiked up here. I’ve never seen such amazing rock formations.” Then she had a guilty feeling, remembering she’d strayed onto private property. “I didn’t mean to hike on your private land. I just had this urge to get to the top.”
“You said that before. Why?”
Andorra turned to look fully at Nevis. “I don’t actually know. When that man was so rude to me, I just wanted to get away. But soon I couldn’t think of anything except continuing to climb the mountain.”
“What man? No, hold that thought. We’ll talk in the hot spring.”
Nevis turned and led Andorra back to the stairs. Andorra expected her to stop just one level down so she could pick up some spare clothing, but Nevis kept going so Andorra followed her. The last thing she needed was to get lost here and require someone to come looking for her. They’d never believe she wasn’t trying to sneak off where she shouldn’t be.
They kept going down and down, past where Master Kingston had first brought Andorra and still the stairway went farther down. When Nevis pushed the stairwell door open for Andorra and held it, Andorra had to stop and take a breath at what she was seeing. The walls here were solid rock. “Are we inside the mountain now?”
“Yes. These are the original caves. Hot Springs Caves.”
Nevis was walking again so Andorra followed her, wishing she was brave enough to reach out and touch the rock to feel if it was slimy or wet or cold. At the end of the hallway was a huge room—well, cave she supposed—and the center two-thirds of it was a rock pool with steam rising off the water. There were chairs and chaise longues around the walls, and a table piled high with towels. Across the ceiling above one corner of the pool was a curtain on a metal rack. It was open right now, but Andorra followed the track with her gaze and it just seemed to circle a very small part of the pool and the area behind it.
Nevis stood beside a chair and started to get undressed. “Come on, Andorra.”
Obediently Andorra followed her to the next chair and stripped out of her jeans, boots and sweatshirt, then pulled her hair up higher on her head and tied it up.
“I’ve often thought about growing my hair longer, but I guess I’m just too lazy to look after it properly. It’s so much easier to keep it short,” said Nevis.
“I haven’t been able to afford to go to a beautician since—for a while. I’ve cut it myself a few times but it’s too hard to keep a straight line across the center back. It’s easier to let it grow.”
Nevis walked across to the pool and stepped casually into it. Andorra noticed it wasn’t deep, not even up to Nevis’s knees, so she followed her across. Exactly as she’d remembered from the hot pool out on the mountain, the rocks were smooth and easy to walk on, likely worn away from the water rubbing over them. The pool was natural so neither round nor square but with curves and bends and wave shaped rocks surrounding it. Nevis sank down on the rock base, leaning against the wall, so Andorra copied her, wishing she had the other woman’s grace and confidence.
“Now, do tell me. What man?”
“Huh?” Andorra had no idea what Nevis was asking.
“The man who was rude to you so you came up the mountain. Very few people climb the mountain. Why did you? Actually why don’t you start from the beginning and tell me all about yourself?”
“There’s not a whole lot to say and it’s pretty boring, really. Four months ago my dad ran off with a blonde from his office. He cleaned out his and my stepmother’s bank accounts first, and naturally my stepmom wasn’t very happy about that. She closed up the apartment and took my stepbrother, her
son, and went off to live with her family in another state. I’ve always loved hiking so I’d planned to backpack around the United States for a while and choose somewhere new to settle down, but then I found my bank account was empty as well. I expect it was Dad, not my stepmom who did that.”
“If he’d taken your stepmom’s money it seemed likely he’d take yours as well,” said Nevis.
“I’ve been doing some waitressing, then traveling on a bit more, but I hadn’t been able to get a job lately and was almost out of money. Then I got hired at a bar in the town at the foot of the mountain and I was to be allowed to sleep in a storeroom there as well, which meant I’d be able to save most of my wages. But a patron pushed his chair back into me and I spilled the drinks I was carrying and I got terminated on the spot. So with no money, no tips, and no accommodation, I just started walking up the mountain.”
“And you still don’t know why?”
Andorra glanced at Nevis. She was lying back in the water, her head resting on the edge of the pool, but her eyes were open and her gaze fastened on Andorra’s face.
“I suppose I sound crazy. But first I simply wanted to climb the mountain. And then I kept thinking if I could get to the top it’d solve all my problems. Kind of like a little kid hiding under the blanket from the boogey man I guess. The boogey man would never think to look under the blanket. And getting to the top of the mountain isn’t going to give me a home and a job or my family back.” Andorra shrugged then laid back under the water.
“So what will you do?” asked Nevis.
“Get a map of the most direct route down the mountain, ask if I can have some food to take with me, and find a town where I can get a job. There has to be plenty of places where I can work my way through community college and get a job.”
“What kind of job do you want?” Nevis said and sat up a fraction in the water.
“That’s part of the problem I suppose. I’ve never known what I wanted to be when I grew up. Just happy I guess. As long as I have friends to share my life with, I’d be content in an office or in an outdoor job. Whatever. What about you? What’s your job?”
Naked for Her Two Masters [The Wolf Masters 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage and More) Page 2
