Writes of Submission (2 page)

“I don’t think I want a career here,” she said, reaching around him to close the email. “I’ve got the opportunity of a lifetime to work with an award-winning author at an all-expenses-paid resort and I need to take advantage of it. Unfortunately, I don’t have enough vacation time built up, so I’m afraid I’ll need to resign from this job, effective immediately.”

He jerked backward as if she’d threatened him with a knife. “You’re going to leave? Just like that? For the sake of—” He picked up the notebook again and his expression became sarcastic. “‘A young divorcee takes a job with a man she learns is into BDSM—’”

Nikki snatched the book out of his hand, feeling her face go hot. “That is my personal property.”

“Well, then why is it out during work time?” He seemed to puff himself up so that he towered over her. “That ‘contest’ is no doubt a scam. Don’t throw away your chance of advancement on some silly fly-by-night outfit. At least give two weeks’ notice so you have some small chance of returning when you come crawling back.”

Nikki faltered, thinking that she shouldn’t have closed that email yet. Was she
sure
it was legit? What if Kent was right? He was standing with his arms folded, glaring at her like an Amish father who had caught his daughter climbing through a window at two in the morning wearing a miniskirt and heavy makeup.

“I don’t care,” she said, wishing she felt as convinced as she sounded. “You may not have noticed, but the email was from Steamy Nights, an established romance publisher. Working with Candee Appelbaum is the opportunity of a lifetime and I intend to give it everything I’ve got. Even if I fail, I’ll know I tried to do something worthwhile.” She snatched her purse from the drawer where it was stored and grabbed for her coffee mug. Unfortunately she forgot there was still coffee in it. It sloshed over her, making Kent jump backward.

“Seriously? You consider writing romance novels with somebody named Candee Appelbaum to be doing something worthwhile?” He followed her as she headed for the door. Faces began to pop up above cubicle walls as his voice rose. Nikki could see Helen in the distance, her expression horrified. She was probably blaming herself for getting Nikki in trouble. Throwing Helen a kiss, Nikki made a mental note to take her out to lunch soon and explain everything. Helen would understand. They’d been trading Candee Appelbaum books back and forth, gushing about her writing style and her hot sex scenes. She only hoped her hero—no, her
heroine
—was as nice in person as she seemed from her Facebook page.

Taking a last look around, a quiver of excitement and bravery went through Nikki. “By the way, Kent, you’ll be the last person to ever see me crawl—except in your fantasies.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder and strode purposefully out the door and into her new adventure.

* * * *

“Nikki Sutherland was the winner. Seems she walked out on her job as soon as she got the email. Wrote back about an hour later to say she was packed and ready to go.” Kane Harris picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, looking thoughtfully out of the window.

Ellen smiled at him as she closed her notebook. “What did they tell her?”

Kane chuckled. “Knowing Burt from Marketing, they probably told her the book had to be done yesterday. He left me a message wanting to know if I’m available to start on the project right away.”

“So does that mean you’re going to head over to Clifftop Fantasies?”

He was silent for a minute. “I think I just might. This is intriguing.”

“Have you read her entry?”

“What? Oh, yeah. It was pretty good. A little stiff, maybe, but there’s definitely talent and potential there. I’m curious to see what kind of person she turns out to be.”

“Apparently the kind who walks out on her job at the drop of a hat. If she’s that impetuous, you might be in for trouble when she learns that you’re a man.” Ellen stood up. “Do you need anything before you go?”

“I don’t think so. I’ll call Burt and let him know I’ll head up there tomorrow. Can you hold down the fort for a while?”

“I always do.” Ellen leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

He changed his startled look into a mischievous grin. “What? Oh, yeah. I’m getting tired of doing all the work around here. It’ll be nice to have some help.”

Ellen slapped his shoulder and turned to leave. “Fuck you, too. Have fun.”

* * * *

Nikki stared at her reflection in the rearview mirror wondering if she should have gotten her hair done, or her nails, or bought some new clothes. She still couldn’t believe she was getting the chance to meet—and work with—her all-time favorite author. She’d read every single one of Ms. Appelbaum’s books, wishing she could write such sweet prose and hot sex herself. It hadn’t occurred to her to actually try until Helen had seen the information about the publisher’s contest. “Win a contract to cowrite a book with Candee Appelbaum.” How could she not try for it? She’d spent almost two months on that story, writing and re-writing, trying to make it as perfect as she could. Helen had told her it was good, but she hadn’t dared to believe it until yesterday morning when the email came in.

That email. Her dream had actually come true. She hugged herself, remembering the phone call with Burt from Steamy Nights. Candee had agreed to come to Clifftop to meet her and start on their project right away. It was the first really nice thing to happen to her since the divorce was final last year.

She got out of the car and pulled out her suitcase. She hadn’t expected Clifftop Fantasies to be such a beautiful place. It was a sprawling yellow house with an old-fashioned wrap-around front porch. As she stood looking around, the screen door opened and an attractive woman emerged. She had dark blonde hair that curled around her face down to her shoulders.

“Hi,” the woman said, extending her hand. Nikki thought she was going to shake and was surprised when she took the suitcase from her instead and turned to lead her inside. “I’m Allie Walker. Are you Nikki Sutherland?”

“Yes.” Nikki’s voice sounded a little raspy. She cleared her throat and looked around. “Is she here yet?”

“She who?” Allie put the case down next to a desk and started pulling out paperwork. She slid it in front of Nikki. “Your stay is being paid for by Steamy Nights Publishing, of course, but I need you to fill out these forms. You do know that this is a BDSM resort, right?”

“Burt told me,” Nikki said, feeling suddenly nervous. “I guess I’m not sure exactly what that means, though.”

Allie gave her an appraising look. “Are you familiar with BDSM?”

“Only what I’ve read about in Candee’s books,” Nikki said, picking up the first paper. It seemed to be full of legalese agreeing not to sue Allie for any harm or trauma she might experience at Clifftop. She glanced around again, wondering if she should ask about the frequency of people getting hurt here. It looked like an ordinary old farmhouse, but what did she really know about these people? Kent’s words came back to her. Was it possible this was all a setup? Maybe they’d used Ms. Appelbaum’s name to lure her here for some nefarious purpose.

But that was stupid. What could they possibly want with a plump thirty-eight-year-old divorcee? It wasn’t like she was particularly attractive. They didn’t even know if she had family waiting for her, people who would get alarmed if she didn’t check in frequently.

Not that she did, but they’d never asked. She shook her head, mentally chiding herself for her paranoia. Pasting a smile on her face, she began filling out the required information.

“I’ve only read a couple of them,” Allie admitted. “But Burt said that he wanted both of you to get a good grounding in what the leather community is all about. He wants your book to be as authentic as possible. We’re very excited for the opportunity to help educate the public a little about alternative lifestyles.”

Nikki finished the registration paper and picked up something called a Confidentiality Agreement.

“I have two partners,” Allie went on. “Karl is the boss here. We’re in a power exchange relationship and he’s my Master. Brad is my fiancé and he submits to me occasionally. Feel free to ask questions about any aspect of our lifestyle that you want to know more about. I’m not sure how much Kane knows.”

“Kane?” Nikki was only half listening as she read through the confidentiality agreement. What kinds of things
did
they do here?

“Yes. Oh, here he is now.” Allie went to the door. Nikki glanced past her to see a bright green sports car pull up next to her battered Subaru. Her heart began to race. Could that be—But wait. Allie had said “he.” It couldn’t be Candee. She followed Allie out to the front porch and watched a tall, handsome man unfolding himself from the car. He was too good-looking to be real, though, she thought as she automatically reached a hand to check her ponytail.

He slung a backpack over his shoulder and loped to the house, taking the three steps in one long stride. Dark, wavy hair curled over his forehead in a way that made her want to run her fingers through it and his face split into a cheerful, infectious grin as he came to a stop in front of them. He wore a black T-shirt that read, “Wouldn’t you like to be my Bunny, too?”

“Allie Walker, I think?” He stuck out a hand to her and Nikki involuntarily took a step back. He was like a tidal wave, she thought, carrying everyone along with him in a gush of good humor and amusement.

“That’s me.” At Allie’s voice, he turned the force of his gaze away from her and Nikki discovered that she hadn’t been breathing. While Allie shook his hand, smiling into his face, Nikki took the opportunity to collect her thoughts. He couldn’t be a day over thirty, which made him too young to flirt with, but he was certainly nice to look at. His shoulders were broad, his thighs were long and muscular, and his face was more full of life than anybody she’d ever met. But who was he? A player, she would bet, judging by the T-shirt. Well, she’d be damned if she’d be one of his conquests. Not that he was asking, of course.

“I’m Kane Harris. Great house,” he said, pumping Allie’s hand before turning back to Nikki. “Are you by any chance Nikki Sutherland?”

“I am.” She stared at him for a second before sticking out her hand, feeling extremely foolish. She had no idea who this gorgeous enigma was. Maybe a cover model? Had Burt sent him to give inspiration to them as they wrote? She’d never heard of anything like that, but surely Candee was successful enough to be able to insist on it if she wanted.

“Nice to meet you. I enjoyed your contest entry. Very naughty,” he said, winking at her as he turned to follow Allie inside the house.

So he
was
from the publisher. Maybe Candee had an assistant? Nikki followed them, wondering how to ask politely who the hell he was.

“We’re expecting one more guest today,” Allie was saying. “He’s also from a publishing company, oddly enough. He’s the marketing guru for our new cookbook.”

“You wrote a cookbook?” Kane Harris gazed at Allie as if she’d told them she won the Nobel Prize. Nikki began to get slightly annoyed, although she wasn’t quite sure why. “What’s it called?”

“Stealth Veggies.” Allie blushed a little. “I’ve made it a focus of the cuisine here to incorporate as many vegetables as possible, although in ways that aren’t always obvious.”

“Sounds fascinating,” Kane said. Nikki wondered if he was being sarcastic, even though his wide, happy grin never faltered. “I’m looking forward to trying your cooking. I may even need to buy the book for myself. Like most guys, veggies really haven’t been that high on my list, so learning how to hide them sounds like a good idea.”

Allie laughed as she led them to the stairs. “I’ll show you to your rooms. I’m expecting Dante to be here by dinnertime.”

“Dante? What a great name,” Kane said.

“Yes, isn’t it? By the way, you’re welcome to use any of the rooms for your project,” Allie said. “There’s the living room, dining room, and your bedrooms, of course. There’s also the barn, if you want more privacy. It’s got a kitchen and some comfortable couches.”

“Thanks,” Kane said as they reached the second floor and started down the hallway. “How many people do you have staying here?”

“Just the three of you for now, but with this kind of business you just never know,” Allie said. “Kane, I thought I’d put you in the literary room. It seemed fitting, although I guess it would work for either of you, wouldn’t it?” Nikki frowned, wondering why the literary room was appropriate for Kane. She opened her mouth to ask him if he worked for the publisher but he was already inside, looking around and exclaiming about what a great collection of BDSM literature Allie had.

She’d have to ask later, Nikki thought. Hopefully he wouldn’t be staying here the whole time. He’d be a distraction from her work with Candee.

Allie led her into a room filled with teddy bears, mostly with little leather outfits or tiny ropes tied around their plump little bodies. Some had what looked like small ball gags over their mouths.

“I don’t know if you like teddy bears,” Allie said, picking one up and smiling fondly at it. “I think they’re funny and cute. Feel free to practice your bondage on them. Maybe they’ll come in handy for figuring out scenes. I’m not sure how that works.”