Tag: wilderness

Weekend Excerpt–WARRIOR MINE

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

She is the perfect combination of princess and warrior.

Scott Nielsen and Jackie Walker

Their attraction is instant from the moment they meet.
But he’s Dominant. And no way is she submissive.
Is it a missed connection? Or a divine appointment?

Scott Nielsen is ready for change. He’s walked away from his career as a wilderness counselor, planning to start his own outdoor survival school. He looks up his old friend and former colleague Blake Walker, intent on leasing space at Blake’s family’s remote wilderness guest lodge. That’s where he meets Blake’s sister Jackie, who runs the lodge with her brother’s help. Her strength and independence intrigue Scott. A single mom, Jackie has no intention of being anyone’s submissive.

In his personal life, Scott is tired of casual sex in the BDSM club scene. Envious watching his buddy Blake fall head over heels for his own submissive, Scott thinks he might be ready to take the plunge himself. As he and Jackie spend time together, he’s enchanted with her inner Warrior Princess. But Jackie’s been burned before. And she has two children who are her priority, not to mention the business to run. As independent as she is, she can’t see relinquishing her power to a man, not even one she’s falling for.

Scott’s heart aches at the idea of not having Jackie in his life. Can she take another chance on love, or will she insist on ignoring her submissive soul?

If you enjoyed LOST & BOUND, you’ll love this spin-off stand-alone story.

In this snippet, the usually confident and independent Jackie is way out of her comfort zone.

Jackie found a place to park a block or so down from Kink Ink. She’d never been to the shop before. The owners, Eve and Sam, were friends of Blake’s. She’s met them a few times, including when they’d come to the lodge before Amy’s arrest, but if she was honest, she found them a bit intimidating. Eve was a little Goth spitfire, covered in piercings and tattoos. Sam was tall and quiet, a mountain of a man of First Nation descent, his black hair long and flowing.

“Come on,” Amy said, grabbing Jackie’s hand and pulling her down the street.

Say what you will about Shasta Pyke, Jackie mused privately, but I don’t think she was ever intimidated by anyone.

As they approached the tattoo shop, Jackie could see Sam through the front window. He was sitting on a low stool, working on a design on the wrist of a female client.

Overhead, a bell tinkled as Amy pushed open the door. Eve looked up from the computer at the reception desk and smiled at the two of them. “Ladies! How are you today? Are we getting ink?”

She walked around the desk and hugged Amy, then Jackie.

“Nope. No ink today. Jackie and I were interested in doing a little shopping.” Amy grinned mischievously.

Eve arched an eyebrow. “Two subs out on the town,” she laughed. “What could go wrong? Follow me, girls.”

Eve made her way toward a black curtain dividing the front of the shop from the back. Amy and Jackie followed.

“I’m not actually…” Jackie began.

Eve stopped at a heavy wooden door and leveled a curious look at her.

Jackie blushed deeply. “I mean, I’m not a sub, actually.”

The dark pixie-like woman watched her for a nanosecond, then threw back her head with a hearty laugh. “Yeah, okay, kitten. You keep telling yourself that.”

She opened the door and gestured dramatically. “Knock yourselves out, ladies. Let me know if you need any help.” She turned and made her way back toward the front of the shop, laughing lightly as she did.

Jackie felt her face redden again. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“Eve has an uncanny sense of intuition,” Amy said. “She’s a Domme, you know.”

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Eve? A Domme? Who’s her sub? Sam?”

Amy nodded sagely.

“Get out of town! She Dominates him? He’s ten times her size.”

“I know. She invited me to play with them once. But she was teasing me.” Amy frowned. “I’m pretty sure she was teasing me. Anyway, come on, let’s find you a vibe.”

Amy took her hand again and pulled her into a room filled with all kinds of kink gear. Everything was displayed as items would be in a department store, with racks of clothing and shelves of smaller items. Amy pulled her toward a lighted display case of dildos of various sizes, shapes, and colors.

“Ooh, I have one of those. They’re nice.” Amy pointed to a small pink vibrator.

Jackie shrugged uncomfortably. “I don’t know, Amy. I don’t really think I need anything.”

“Yes, you do. I want you to enjoy that bath bomb I gave you. Anyway, Daddy says I can pick out a new vibe, and I’m not going to waste that.”

“I can’t believe you call him that,” Jackie scowled. “I could never do that.”

“That’s because you’re not a baby girl.” She laughed lightly. “But that’s me in spades. Calling Blake Daddy was weird at first, but now it’s just natural.”

“A baby girl,” Jackie repeated thoughtfully.

“Yeah, there are different kinds of subs, you know. You’re more of a…” She cocked her head, and Jackie waited to hear what she’d say. “I don’t know, like a warrior princess. You’re badass, Jackie.”

With that, Amy turned her attention back to the business at hand. Thirty minutes later, she and Jackie were back in the car, each with a bag containing a new vibrator, along with a bottle of cleaning solution and a satin drawstring storage bag.

When Jackie pulled up to the lodge, Scott and Blake were relaxing on the covered front porch. Scott flashed her a panty-melting smile, and she couldn’t help smiling back. As she and Amy approached them, the men walked down the steps to meet them.

Amy jumped into Blake’s arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and kissing him affectionately. Sheepishly, Jackie smiled at Scott, embarrassingly aware of the contents of the shopping bag in her hand.

“Kink Ink,” Scott read on the side of the bag. “Did you two get tattoos today?”

Jackie felt her face turn four shades of red. “No, we just… I mean…” Her face felt like it was on fire. “No. No ink for us today.”

He chuckled, and Jackie realized Blake had undoubtedly told Scott the reason for their trip into town.

Let me just sink into the earth right now, she wished feverishly.

WARRIOR MINE by Pandora Spocks

WARRIOR MINE is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/WarriorMine

Weekend Excerpt–LOST & BOUND

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

Hollywood bad girl Shasta Pyke
is used to getting her own way.
She’s met her match
in Dominant mountain man Blake Walker.

Blake Walker is no stranger to tragedy. Immediately following a horrific event years earlier, he was lost for a while until he embraced his Dominant nature and found his true calling. But things change, and now he’s back where he started, helping to run his family’s secluded lake lodge.

When pampered Hollywood starlet Shasta Pyke gets into trouble with the law, she’s sent to the wilderness of northern Ontario to cool her heels for a few weeks. There she meets sexy bush pilot Blake, who is tasked with seeing to her needs as the sole guest at the lodge.

Initially, Blake isn’t impressed with the spoiled actress, but he’s happy that her visit allows for his sister Jackie and her kids to go on a much-needed vacation. Try as he might, he can’t figure out what the hell Shasta Pyke is doing so far out of her element.

Shasta is attracted to Blake’s obvious good looks, but there’s more to him than that. He sees through her armor to the vulnerable little girl she hides from the world. The Daddy Dominant in him craves to shelter her, to make her his own.

Is there any way Shasta will agree to submit to Blake’s Dominance?

If you can’t resist a hot Daddy Dom, you’re going to love LOST & BOUND.

In this scene, Shasta meets the Dominant side of Blake for the first time, and for good reason.

When the power went out, Blake wasn’t surprised in the least. If anything, he was surprised it had lasted as long as it had. This was undoubtedly the worst storm so far in what had been a very dry summer. Angry lightning streaked across the dark sky, with thunder booming almost instantaneously. For microseconds, the flashes illuminated the entire lake like mid-day.

He slid open the sheer drapes that shrouded the glass doors overlooking the lake and settled in, book in one hand, a second bottle of Lebatt Blue in the other. Leaning back, he rested his feet on the battered leather ottoman, content for the moment to watch the storm’s fury.

His eyes moved to the dark shape in the middle of the lake. He knew from experience that a wild storm like this one was a dicey proposition in the tiny island cabin. For one thing, because it was situated on the crest of the island, the wind howled mercilessly around the structure. And being on the highest point, with thirty-foot pines towering over it, the cabin was a natural lightning rod. The thunder would be deafening.

He wondered how Shasta was faring. As he watched, another jagged bolt etched a path across the sky. He chuckled lightly, picturing her, eyes wide, with the covers pulled up over her head.

I should check on her first thing in the morning.

Eventually, he lit the oil lamp beside him and began to read. Bear paced anxiously back and forth in front of the huge window. He’d never been a fan of storms, not since he’d been a pup. Suddenly the dog stopped pacing and whimpered softly.

“What’s wrong, boy? You’re okay, it’s just a summer storm.”

Bear whimpered again and woofed softly. Frowning, Blake set down the book and stood beside the dog, looking out into the stormy night. “What is it? Is something out there?”

Then he saw it. A tiny point of light between him and the island. It bounced and tossed as it…

Blake shook his head. “No way. No way is she in a boat in the middle of this storm.”

In the next instant, lightning flashed and he saw her clearly, Shasta, huddled against the wind and rain, steering the tiny skiff toward the lodge’s dock. She was battling against the ferocious gusts of wind and white-capped waves on the lake that threatened to capsize the boat.

“Son of a bitch!” Blake growled. “No more sense than a…” He threw on his boots and shrugged into his rain slicker, pausing to don his headlamp before pulling up the hood. “Son of a bitch!”

He kept his eyes on Shasta as he stalked out to the dock, crossing to the end to wait for her. When she was close enough, he held out an old wooden oar and she grasped the end of it, allowing him to pull her the rest of the way to the side of the dock. Blake reached down to cut the motor and grasped her by the upper arms, pulling her out of the boat.

She stood in front of him, eyes wide with terror, and she was soaked to the skin, not having bothered with a raincoat. He shouted above the storm. “God-dammit, Shasta, what the hell were you thinking?”

She just blinked up at him, shaking either from fear or cold, or both. “Come on, let’s get you inside.” He easily scooped her up in his arms and she buried herself against his chest.

Blake was shaking too, but it was from anger. She’d recklessly endangered herself. If he hadn’t seen her, if the boat had swamped… It was beyond his comprehension. He carried her straight into his cabin, kicking the door closed behind them. He set her down in the kitchen and stepped back.

“Explain yourself.” He crossed his arms and watched her expectantly.

Shasta stood shaking, her red hair plastered to her head, her soaked white camisole completely sheer, her pink pajamas clinging to her legs. She crossed her arms, too, but the gesture was self-protective rather than angry. It only served to push up her breasts, punctuated by hard-tipped nipples, made harder by being cold and wet. He worked to ignore them, trying to understand what she’d been thinking.

“Well?”

“I…” she stammered, “I was so scared.” She was shivering constantly now, and a trickle of blood ran down the side of her face.

Blake lifted her chin gently. “What happened? Why are you bleeding?”

Her head shook slightly. “I don’t…” her teeth chattered, “I don’t know.”

Peering closely, he saw a cut at the hairline above her right temple. Swiping the hair back, he spied a sliver of glass and carefully removed it. “Come with me,” he commanded.

She followed him through the living room as he picked up the oil lamp and carried it into the bathroom, where he lifted her up and sat her on the counter. The cut on her head had begun bleeding in earnest when the glass had been removed. Blake used a gauze pad to apply direct pressure on the cut. Shasta sniffled softly as tears ran down her face.

“What’s wrong?” he growled.

“You called me Shasta,” she sobbed.

He snorted. “What you did was a very ‘Shasta’ thing to do. That’s the least of your worries right now. Hold this.” He moved her hand to hold the gauze in place and he reached around to turn on faucet in the bathtub.

She sat shivering, watching the tub fill with hot water. Clouds of steam filled the room. He left for a moment, returning with a flannel shirt of dark red plaid, which he hung on a hook on the back of the door. Next he turned off the water.

“Let me see how it’s doing,” he murmured, carefully peering under the gauze. The bleeding had slowed. He took a bandage from the medicine cabinet and applied it over the cut. Shasta was still shaking like a leaf.

“You’re almost hypothermic. I want you in the tub. Strip.”

Shasta blinked up at him.

“Don’t make me tell you twice.” His voice was quietly intense as he lifted her off the counter and stood her in the middle of the floor.

Shakily, she pulled the camisole over her head, dropping it to the floor. Blake watched unblinkingly, a hard expression on his face. She hooked her thumbs into the top of her pants and slid them, panties and all, down her legs. She nearly tripped stepping out of them, and Blake reached to steady her.

Naked, she stood trembling as he devoured her with his eyes, starting with her perfect round tits and their tight pink points, her narrow waist and the flair of her hips, the bare cleft at the junction where her legs met. After all, she’d been on display on the dock, surely she wasn’t shy now. He knew he was being an ass and he didn’t care. Anger still thrummed through his veins.

“Get in the tub. I’ll set a timer for fifteen minutes. After that, the water will cool off too much to help.” He disappeared, returning moments later with a kitchen timer which he set on the bathroom counter.

“Why aren’t you in the tub? Was I unclear in some way?” he snapped.

Shasta touched the wall for stability as she dipped one foot into the tub. “It’s hot.”

“It’s supposed to be hot. We have to warm you up.” He watched her step in with the other foot and ease herself down. She looked like a drowned rat, peering up at him all wide-eyed.

“When the timer goes off, get out and dry yourself. You can put this on,” he indicated the flannel shirt he’d hung on the door. “You will go into the bedroom and sit on the edge of my bed. You will wait until I come back. Is that clear?”

Shasta nodded silently.

“I said sit. You will not lie down, you will not get into the bed. You will sit. If you’re cold, there’s a blanket you can use to wrap around yourself. Do you understand?”

Again, she nodded. A look of annoyance crossed his face, and then passed. He nodded sharply. “I’ll be back.” He closed the bathroom door behind him and she heard him speak to Bear. “Stay here, boy, keep an eye on her. I need to think.”

LOST & BOUND by Pandora Spocks

LOST & BOUND is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/LostandBound

Weekend Excerpt–WARRIOR MINE

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

She is the perfect combination of princess and warrior.

Scott Nielsen and Jackie Walker
Their attraction is instant from the moment they meet.
But he’s Dominant. And no way is she submissive.
Is it a missed connection? Or a divine appointment?

Scott Nielsen is ready for change. He’s walked away from his career as a wilderness counselor, planning to start his own outdoor survival school. He looks up his old friend and former colleague Blake Walker, intent on leasing space for his business at Blake’s family’s remote wilderness guest lodge. That’s where he meets Blake’s sister Jackie, who runs the lodge with her brother’s help. Her strength and independence intrigue Scott. A single mom, Jackie has no intention of being anyone’s submissive.

In his personal life, Scott is tired of casual sex in the BDSM club scene. Envious watching his buddy Blake fall head over heels for his own submissive, Scott thinks he might be ready to take the plunge himself. As he and Jackie spend time together, he’s enchanted with her inner Warrior Princess. But Jackie’s been burned before. And she has two children who are her priority, not to mention the business to run. As independent as she is, she can’t see relinquishing her power to a man, not even one she’s falling for.

Scott’s heart aches at the idea of not having Jackie in his life. Can she take another chance on love, or will she insist on ignoring her submissive soul?

If you enjoyed LOST & BOUND, you’ll love this spin-off stand-alone story.

WARRIOR MINE came about as a follow-up to LOST & BOUND. While readers enjoyed Blake and Shasta’s story, they were eager to know what happened with Blake’s sister Jackie and his best friend, Scott. From the get-go, Jackie was strong and independent. So I thought, wouldn’t it be great to write a submissive who rescues her Dominant?

Here’s a snippet from WARRIOR MINE.

Wringing her hands in front of her, Jackie paced back and forth by the windows as cold fear thrummed through her veins. The storm seemed to have increased in intensity, but she wondered whether it was just her imagination.

She’d received Scott’s text half an hour earlier, and she’d forced herself to walk away from the computer where his GPS location was being tracked on a map of the lake. Watching minute by minute wasn’t helping anything, and she had guests to attend to.

A glance showed her that Emma and Grant were still playing quietly, unaware of the danger Scott faced alone in the snow. Perhaps it was that, to them, strong and larger than life as he was, he was simply invincible. She envied them, she realized.

“He’s fine, Jacks.” Blake materialized beside her, handing her a mug of coffee.

Jackie accepted it, nodding her thanks. “I know. I just…” She shrugged, not knowing what else to say.

A loud bang from the reception area startled them, and a whoosh of cold air swirled into the room.

“Oh, thank God!” Jackie ran to the dining room door, several others following behind her. Across the reception area, the lodge’s front door had swung all the way open, banging against the wall. Snow swirled wildly on icy gusts around a lone figure in a black parka.

Jackie grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the room, then battled the wind to close the door. Hadley Pierce tugged down his hood and stomped to shake off the snow from his boots and clothes.

“C-c-cold,” he shivered, pulling off his heavy gloves.

“Come on, bud,” Dan Spinelli said. “Let’s get you by the fire.” He helped the man out of his coat and guided him into the dining room.

Jackie hung the coat on a hook and followed. “Where’s Scott? Putting away the snowmobile?”

Pierce pulled off his black knit beanie, uncovering his shaggy dark hair which stuck out in all directions. He dropped the cap to the floor and held his hands out toward the fire. “So fucking cold,” he muttered.

“Scott! Where’s Scott?” Jackie grabbed the young man’s arm and spun him around.

He blinked down at her.

“Dammit! Where is Scott?”

“How should I know?” he shrugged, turning back to the fire.

Jackie grabbed him again, whirling him around and slamming him against the stone of the fireplace. “You should know because he went out looking for your sorry ass when you went out in the middle of a fucking blizzard,” she growled.

Blake placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Easy, sis.”

Indignance flashed in Pierce’s eyes. “Look, all I know is, your piece of shit snowmobile broke down, and I had to walk all the way back here. I don’t know anything about Scott.”

He shoved past Jackie to return to the fire. “He’s a sorry excuse for a wilderness expert, you ask me,” he muttered.

Before Blake could stop her, Jackie spun the young man around once more and slapped him hard across the face. A second crack rang out before Pierce could recover from the first.

“You listen to me, you snot-nosed motherfucker.” Jackie waved her finger in his face.

Blake gently wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the young man.

“He’s out there looking for you after you ignored his instructions. He told you not to go out in a blizzard. He’s risking his life for you, you sorry sack of shit!”

Pierce opened his mouth to reply, but Jackie raised her hand as if to slap him a third time. “Not another word. You keep your mouth shut, and you stay away from me. As soon as this storm’s over, I want you out of here, and I never want to see you again.”

She turned on her heel, heading to the office. Blake followed close behind her. “Jacks, we’ll just text him and tell him to come back.”

“Yeah, but it still infuriates me that one idiot created such a mess. And the snowmobile didn’t ‘break down.’ He wrecked it on the rocks at the end of the lake. Scott found it.”

She tapped in the password and the screen lit up with a topographical map of the lake. Leaning closer, she blinked. The blip that had been Scott was gone. She refreshed the page, but there was no red path leading from the lodge to the end of the lake.

“What the…” Blake clicked a few things, but nothing changed the map.

On her phone, Jackie sent a quick text.

The douchebag just showed up. Hurry back now.

The message was immediately returned with an error notification. Receiving device unavailable. Try again later.

Jackie looked up at Blake, who shrugged slightly. “Something must be wrong with his sat-com.” He scrubbed a hand across his mouth as he sank into a chair. “So, we don’t know where he is, and we can’t communicate with him.”

“I’m calling the police,” Jackie said, determination in her voice. She tapped the number into the office phone.

After a trio of rings, someone answered. “Eliot Lake Police, Ned Hart.”

“Ned, thank God! This is Jackie Walker at Lake Miranda Lodge. One of our survival school students went AWOL in the storm, and Scott went out after him. The thing is, the guy wandered back, but Scott’s still out there. We can’t get ahold of him on the sat-com, and I’m frantic. Can you send someone out to look for him?”

There was a pause on the other end. Then, “Jackie, I can’t send anyone out in the middle of a blizzard. Now I’m looking at the radar, and it looks like this might all be past us in another couple of hours, but I’m sure you understand, I can’t risk the lives of my team in the middle of a storm like this.”

Jackie felt as though she’d been gut-punched. She fought to breathe.

“Jackie?”

She pulled herself straight and tall. “Fine,” she said softly, “I’ll just go find him myself.”

WARRIOR MINE by Pandora Spocks

WARRIOR MINE is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/WarriorMine

Weekend Excerpt–LOST & BOUND

Published on by Pandora SpocksLeave a comment

Spoiled Hollywood starlet Shasta Pyke
is used to getting her own way.
She’s met her match in
Dominant mountain man Blake Walker.

Blake Walker is no stranger to tragedy. Immediately following a horrific event years earlier, he was lost for a while until he embraced his Dominant nature and found his true calling. But things change and now he’s back where he started, helping to run his family’s secluded lake lodge.

When pampered Hollywood starlet Shasta Pyke gets into trouble with the law, she’s sent to the wilderness of northern Ontario to cool her heels for a few weeks. There she meets sexy bush pilot Blake, who is tasked with seeing to her needs as the sole guest at the lodge.

Initially, Blake isn’t impressed with the spoiled actress, but he’s happy that her visit allows for his sister Jackie and her kids to go on a much-needed vacation. Try as he might, he can’t figure out what the hell Shasta Pyke is doing so far out of her element.

Shasta’s attracted to Blake’s obvious good looks, but there’s more to him than that. He sees through her armor to the vulnerable little girl she hides from the world. The Daddy Dominant in him craves to shelter her, to make her his own.

Is there any way Shasta will agree to submit to Blake’s Dominance?

If you like your romance with a little BDSM and a lot of heart, you’ll love LOST & BOUND.

In this teaser, Shasta begins to realize she might be in for more than she bargained for.

Blake expertly angled the small boat to rest beside the tiny dock and killed the motor, tying off his end before jumping out and tying the front end as well. Then he again offered his hand, helping Shasta climb out of the boat and onto the dock.

She stood taking in the view as he unloaded her things. The lodge was visible across the water, seemingly closer than it actually was, judging by the ten-minute ride. If she hadn’t been in such a foul mood, she would have found the place beautiful. The only sound she could hear was the wind in the tops of the countless pine trees covering the island. It would be a short climb up to the crest of the island where a log cabin sat. She could see a stone-surrounded fire pit flanked by a quartet of dark green wooden Adirondack chairs and further away, stretched between two large pines, was a white canvas hammock.

When all her things were on the dock, Blake turned to her. “Let me take you to the cabin. There are a few things I need to show you.”

He took off up the hill and Shasta teetered along behind him, carefully avoiding large rocks that were in the way. “Are you making it?” he called over his shoulder.

“I’ve got this, don’t worry about me,” she muttered.

Blake turned away and grinned to himself. He was waiting for her when she finally made it up the hill. “I hope you brought other shoes.”

Out of breath, Shasta put her hands on her hips and nodded.

He unlocked the door and held it open for her to enter the cabin. She stepped into an open room featuring a seating area in front of a fireplace immediately to her right. Further into the room, a kitchen was arranged in the back left quarter of the space with a cast iron stove on the back wall and a kitchen table pushed against the right wall down from the fireplace. Between the fireplace and the kitchen table was a small desk that held some sort of radio equipment. Shasta peered into an alcove to her left and saw that it was a tiny bedroom.

“Now,” Blake was saying, “the lights run on propane. You turn this little lever and you can light them with a lighter. The fridge and the cooktop also run on propane. Same thing, you turn the knob and then light it with the lighter. I already lit the pilot on the fridge and it should be fine.” He indicated a small metal box beneath the kitchen counter.

Wordlessly, Shasta followed him around the room, trying to take in all his instructions. “Now if you want to bake, or if you’re just cold, you can build a fire in the stove.” He showed her where to put the wood. “And there’s always the fireplace. Wood is stacked outside against the back of the cabin. I can always bring you more, too.”

He waved at the few kitchen cabinets. “We’ve stocked the cabinets and the refrigerator but if you need anything, just let me know.” He headed for the door. “Water comes from a spring near the front of the island.”

“Wait. What?”

“Water. You know, to drink?”

Desperately, Shasta searched the room, making a beeline to the sink. Instead of a faucet, there was a green-painted old-fashioned hand pump. She worked the handle a few times and a spurt of water came out. She looked back to him, bewildered.

“Well, you can’t drink that. Not without boiling it for about ten minutes. It comes straight out of the lake. Use it for dishes and things. You can drink the spring water right out of the ground.”

“Wait a second. Where’s the bathroom?”

“I was just going to show you. Follow me.”

Blake headed out the door and Shasta followed along behind him. He turned down the right side of the cabin, following a narrow trail through the trees. Shortly, the path opened onto a small clearing and to the right of the clearing was a tiny log structure. “Here’s your bathroom,” he pointed.

She began to shake her head. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no,” she murmured. “There must be some mistake. I don’t do outhouses. Does Eddie know about this?” she demanded.

“Who’s Eddie?” Blake returned, picturing the smarmy suit guy.

“No. Absolutely not. This is completely unacceptable. Besides,” she breathed deeply, trying to regain her composure, “where is the shower?”

“Well, some guests bathe in the lake.” He took in her incredulous expression and continued. “On the other hand, we do have a solar shower. I’ll show you.”

Shasta followed him down the other side of the cabin, to the place where the tiny bedroom jutting out from the main cabin made a little sheltered corner. A post was situated in the corner with a pulley rigged to the top.

“This is a solar shower.” Blake held up a large flat rectangular vinyl pouch that was clear on one side and black on the other. The clear side had a large round valve and there was a handle on one end. The other end had clear tubing attached and at the end of the tubing was a tiny shower head.

“You fill this up with water, seal the valve, and lay it out in the sun. The dock is a good place.” He watched as Shasta held her forehead with the palm of one hand, gaping at him in disbelief. “Anyway, when you’re ready for a shower, you hang it up here,” he indicated the pulley, “and just shower away. The spruce trees right here make for privacy, although you shouldn’t have any folks out on the lake, seeing as how you’ve rented out the whole place.”

Wordlessly, Shasta turned and hobbled back to the front of the cabin, sinking into one of the Adirondack chairs. Blake followed, hands in his pockets, uncertain whether or not to continue the tour. She glanced up at him, deciding to change tacks.

“Listen,” she smoothed, “we seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.” She pasted on her dazzling Shasta Pyke smile. “Obviously, there’s been some kind of mistake.” Standing, she approached him, pushing her glasses back up onto her head and fixing him with soft brown eyes.

“Here’s the thing.” She reached out to stroke his arm, biting her lower lip provocatively. “I can’t stay here. And you don’t want me here, not really. The place is already paid for. Just,” she stepped closer, brushing her breasts against his arm, “maybe you could drive me someplace where I can get a cab or an Uber or something, and I’ll be out of your hair.” She wrinkled her nose and winked. “What do you say?”

A slow smile spread across Blake’s face. “What do I say?” He laughed lightly, shaking head. “I say, you’re a piece of work, lady.” With that, he turned. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

“Wait!” she shouted after him. “You can’t just leave me here!”

He waved over his head and didn’t turn around.

“Come back here! You come back here right now!”

Wordlessly, he cast off from the dock and pushed the boat away from the shallow water.

“What about my bags? They need to be taken to the cabin!”

“And it will be dark soon. So you might want to get on that,” Blake chuckled.

Shasta was on the dock by now and she stomped her foot, fists balled at her sides. “Do you know who I am?” she screamed.

“You look to me like a little brat who needs her ass tanned,” he fired back.

She shrieked unintelligibly and threw a rock at the boat. She missed by a mile and the rock plonked harmlessly into the water.

Blake laughed again, started the engine, and headed back to the lodge.

LOST & BOUND by Pandora Spocks

LOST & BOUND is available
at your favorite online bookseller.
books2read.com/LostandBound