Secrets Dispelled Read online

  “You looked as if you needed a hug, and you wrinkle your nose so cutely.” He ducked the cushion she threw at him. “You have to tell Lachy.”

  She sighed. “I will, tomorrow.”

  “Fair enough. And out of interest, where is Donny?”

  Finn colored.

  Interesting. He waited to the count of ten and then raised his eyebrows in query. She sighed.

  “Dammit I hate grassing someone up, but needs must, I guess. In bed with his lady friend, I reckon. His wife and kids are away this week. I was told not to disturb him unless it was Lachy or Jeff after him. I wished to hell Marie would come back unexpectedly. I’d certainly not warn him. After all he didn’t mention her.” She rolled her eyes. “If it wasn’t so cruel to her, I’d get her back on false pretenses.”

  Coll agreed with her on all counts. Although he wondered how much Marie suspected and how much she turned a blind eye to. From what he knew of her, she understood a lot more than Donny gave her credit for.

  “Tell Lachy and let him sort it.”

  “I guess, but it doesn’t sit well with me. I mean, okay, the man’s a waste of space, but I still feel I’m doing the dirty. And poor Marie.”

  “Poor Marie is probably plotting her own revenge on the shyster. You tell Lachy the facts and”—he put on an American accent—“‘just the facts, ma’am,’ and let him and Jeff sort it. Make sure that nothing rubs off on you even inadvertently.”

  Finn nodded. “I know you’re right but…ah well…” She swung her legs to the floor and looked up at him. “Can we go now?”

  “Eager to check on Depp?”

  She reddened. “I can’t help it, I worry. Depp will be hungry again. He’s still not acclimatized to me or the cottage properly so he’s confined indoors for a bit. Bless him, he’s only a kitten, and the shelter said he was a wee bit timid. True enough, he’s very fond of under the duvet or behind the settee.”

  Her compassion stirred him. There was so much more to Finn than showed on the surface. “Then we’ll away. Mind you your outdoor clothes aren’t dry, so do you want to go in that robe, which I may add looks a lot better on you than me, or will a pair of my sweats be better?” He winked. “I’d prefer the first and think the second more practical.”

  Finn looked at the robe, pulled one side up to cover her shoulder for the umpteenth time, and shook her head. “I’ll borrow some sweats and socks if I may, thanks. Sorry if it’s not to your best liking.” She paused and obviously thought over what she’d said.

  “If you know what I mean?”

  He nodded.

  “Phew. It was horrid wearing my work clothes to the hospital and I was glad to get out of them again. I reckon they’re only fit for the rag bag now. How the hospital accepted I’d just taken a tumble from my quad bike due to inattention, I’ll never know. In fact I don’t know whether to be annoyed they thought it was a natural thing for a woman to do or not.” She wriggled her nose. “Shows that emancipation hasn’t got as far as it should.”

  Coll grinned. “Well, we were very emphatic, so why not accept it? Make’s life easier all around, I guess.”

  She shrugged. “I guess. Anyhow, this robe swamps me. I must look stupid, like a five-year-old dressed up in her dad’s clothes.”

  “It’s a turn-on, not the five-year-old bit but the overlarge robe with the hint of what’s under it. One big tease and turn-on.” Coll stroked the bulge under his jeans in one long strike and watched, amused as she blushed again, raised her eyebrows and let her breath out in a long sigh.

  “Yeah, right.”

  “Yes, pet, right.”

  “Oh, don’t start with the pet stuff again, please.” Finn rolled her eyes. “I’m not a sub, not your sub and let’s face it, never likely to be.” She fiddled with the belt of the robe and avoided looking at him. “I’m not sub material.”

  “Would you like to be?”

  Chapter Five

  Heat rolled through her. Had she really heard him right? “Could you say that again please?” she asked cautiously. After all she didn’t want to make a fool of herself. Her heartbeat sped up as she waited for his answer.

  “I asked you if you’d like to be sub material.”

  “I thought that was what you said.” She bit her lip. Dammit, it was becoming a habit. If she wasn’t careful, she’d have horrid red marks under it, like weird bruises or something. It was a habit she thought she’d grown out of. It seemed not.

  In one elegant movement, Coll stood up and tapped her lips. “Don’t do that. Every time you do it, I’m, making a note. Do you have an answer?”

  A note? Like I’ll have to do lines or something? Dare I ask?

  “Do you, pet? I’m listening.”

  Did she? Okay, inside she was excited and aroused and her pussy was incredibly damp. If it hadn’t been such a tell-tale sign, she’d press her legs together. As it was she couldn’t take her gaze from his face. He’d changed somehow. Finn realized he’d slipped into his—well, she presumed it was his—Dom persona. The one she read about and always thought she’d either run from screaming or sink to her knees and do whatever was asked of her. In reality it was a mixture of both.

  “Sort of, but not really.” Dare she tell him the truth? His expression gave nothing away. Would he want her to be or not?

  Well, if you don’t ask, you’ll never find out.

  “Waiting, pet.”

  Oh my, that voice but please, not pet.

  “I’m interested,” she said slowly. “But not if you call me pet.”

  “Why not?” he asked. His tone gave nothing away. He could have been asking something as innocuous as if she preferred butter or marge on her bread.

  Good question. She’d never really thought about it, just known that it wasn’t her.

  “I don’t like it.”

  “Why not?” He sounded genuinely interested. “It’s a pet name for a sub.”

  “Pet in both senses of the word,” Finn said. “It makes me want to bark or miaow.”

  Coll laughed. “Then pet it isn’t. I’m guessing that encompasses kitten as well?”

  Finn grinned. “Sorry, yes. It makes me shudder. That apart, well, maybe.” God, she sounded so pathetic. However opening up and telling an almost stranger that yes, the idea of being a sub, specifically his, excited her, didn’t come easy. She’d always been one who didn’t share her thoughts, hopes and ideas easily. Now she was in essence being asked to bare her all. That thought made her want to giggle. She’d done that already.

  “Baby, sweetie? Sweetness, babe, petal? Cheeky chops?” He winked. “Pet lamb, chick, hen and duck I’ve discarded.”

  She couldn’t help but laugh. “None of them, my name is Finn.”

  He shook his head, in what she hoped was mock anger. “Trust me. The one sub I want and she’s going to fight me every inch of the way. Seriously, love, a name is a great help when we scene. It’s a signal, if you like. Something to get you into the correct mindset. And something to let anyone else know we’re Sir and sub. It’s not compulsory, but I like it.” And so will you, his tone inferred.

  She rather liked love, but surely that wasn’t appropriate. Finn thought slowly, went to nibble her lip and stopped herself. She wasn’t sure what his adding up was all about and not certain she wanted to know. “I guess if you must, I’d cope with kitten. At least they have claws.” She grinned as he chuckled at her.

  “Oh yes, and my sub wouldn’t be all peace and love would she”—he paused—“kitten?”

  “Well, as I don’t know your s… Okay.” Finn stopped as his eyes narrowed. Why was she playing with fire? It wasn’t like her. She preferred a quiet life. Or did she? Maybe she should amend that to had preferred a quiet life. Her pulse jumped as she thought of the what might happen scenario. “But all you’re going to do is show me around sometime. Why are we talking about stuff like this?”

  “For when I show you around. In about three minutes hopefully, and then we’ll head to Keeper’s Cottage. It’ll
give you time to think over what you’ve learned. Now I’ll get you some sweats, and we’ll go and rescue your kitten, not my kitten, from starvation.”

  Be still my heart. The thought of seeing even a little bit of the club was enough for her to hope the gown covered her well enough not to show any evidence of her arousal. She’d be investing in lady pads if this instant reaction didn’t slow down a bit.

  Finn’s tummy rumbled and she giggled. “Both kittens I reckon.”

  Coll laughed. “I’ll get you some clothes.” He left the room and Finn took the time to look around properly.

  Decorated in shades of browns and cream, the room wasn’t overlarge. The comfortable suite was covered in tweed, the side tables were oak and the mantel matched. It was a room she realized that suited both Coll and the castle. The deep window had uneven panes, which were covered in streams of water and the shutters that adorned it stood open and looked as if they were centuries old. From her reading before she took up the job, Finn decided that this part of the building must be one of the few parts that remained standing after the fire, which had destroyed most of it several years earlier. She wandered over to the window and traced circles in the condensation. Something white caught her eye and she leaned forward to get a better view.

  “Clothes.” Coll’s voice echoed from behind her.

  “Yeah, thanks. Can you come over here a sec?” She didn’t want to move just in case whatever it was disappeared.

  “What are you looking at? I’d have thought it was too murky to see past the flowerbed.”

  Finn briefly turned her head. “Just about, but look, tell me what you can see.” She moved to one side and watched as Coll stared in the direction she pointed.

  “What am I… Oh yes… I see it.” He took a step back. “Interesting. Shove those clothes on quick, and let’s see what we can find out.”

  Finn scrambled into the tracksuit with little thought of what Coll could see, even if he were looking. The trackies were warm and the socks he handed her fleecy and cozy. Within a minute she was pulled on her own clammy boots and shrugged into an overlarge waterproof coat he handed her. Coll had dressed in similar fashion.

  “Ready?”

  Finn nodded. “Any clues as to what it is?”

  “Not really, it’s too murky to see. But as we need to go out anyway, we might as well take a look-see. I’m afraid your look around will have to wait.”

  As she had no idea she was even going to get a look around, she could cope with that. After all she needed to get back to Depp, so it would have been a quick look around anyway. Finn wanted time to savor her visit and take it in. It might be her one and only time in a BDSM club so she might as well make the most of it.

  To her surprise they exited the castle by a side door half hidden by leaves which opened into a lean-to shed. Finn didn’t even know it existed and she’d used the lean-to on a couple of occasions when Lachy had asked for a couple of bales of straw to be stored there. Now, looking around she realized the straw, along with an old door and some gardening tools, made a great camouflage for the hidden entrance. It did a good job.

  They left the shed and went into a tangle of shrubs and trees. Finn shivered suddenly.

  “Cold?” Coll took hold of her hand. “We’ll soon be back in the warm again.” His callused fingers rubbed comfortingly over her smaller, softer ones.

  “Goose over my grave.”

  He squeezed her fingers. “Ah, love, it’ll be fine.”

  “Workman’s hands,” she said without thinking. “What do you do?”

  “Apart from torturing potential subbies? I’m a…”

  “Sexy bum… Oh Lord, ignore that.” She must get out the habit of opening her mouth and forgetting to filter her comments.

  Coll stopped and turned to her and used his thumb and forefinger to pinch her chin and tilt her head up so she stared at his face.

  “What?” The moon came out from behind a cloud and in the pale light his eyes twinkled.

  “Um, nothing.”

  “Kitten.”

  Good grief, how that one word, in that tone, made her knees knock and her nipples tighten and rub against the rough weave of the tracksuit top. Now she understood why a sub submitted. Even she was nigh on ready to sink to her knees and she was in the middle of a wood, in a murky, wet and midge-infested Scottish evening. It was something to think about. Idly Finn wondered if there was a Subbing for Dummies or something she could read.

  “Earth to kitten.” That was a much more, ‘I’m waiting—not very patiently’ tone. It did more for butterflies in her stomach that even riding the end of the earth rollercoaster at the theme park the previous year had.

  “Oh Lord, sorry,” Finn said quickly. She didn’t want to upset Coll for no reason. Not that she thought he’d expect her to be totally with it, not after the day she had, but this was pure wool-gathering, and not really the time for it. “I’ve just realized you’re the guy who I saw in the park carving that dead tree trunk.”

  He nodded. “And?”

  Finn wanted the earth to swallow her up. There was no way she wouldn’t be able to answer him truthfully. “And you bent over and well, I thought, yee gods, he’s got a sexy arse. Look, hadn’t we better go see whatever it is we saw?” she asked desperately. “While it’s there.”

  Coll rubbed the pad of his thumb over her jaw line. Zaps of arousal zinged over her skin like electrical impulses. “It’s still there. Look.” He pointed and Finn stared.

  “What the…” She bit back the epithet that had hovered in her mind. “What is it?”

  “Come on, I think it’s only that and us around, and it sure ain’t going to bite.” Coll pulled her after him. Finn jumped a tree trunk and did her best to keep up. But as her borrowed sweats kept slipping off her waist and over her hips and she only had one hand to haul them up again it wasn’t easy. She should have asked for some string to hold them up. Or the ropes from the bed. That thought set the juice-inducing shivers and tingles off again.

  Coll noticed. “You are cold. I can soon remedy that, I know some good ways to warm you up.”

  I bet he does. Finn knew she’d like to learn more. She screwed her nose up and resisted poking her tongue out. “No, I’m fine.”

  He slung his arm around her back and pulled her in close. “Or scared? No need.”

  “Neither, I’m fine honestly.”

  “Ah.”

  She saw the probable reason dawn in his mind and he grinned. Trust him to realize how her body reacted to him and his lifestyle.

  Finn acknowledged she was in deeper than she could have ever imagined on such a short acquaintance. But then hadn’t her mum seen her dad and accepted that whatever she needed to get to know more? “Sometimes,” her mum had told her, “if you’re lucky, one look is all you need to know that he could be the one, and you want to discover if he is. Or even, sometimes it shouts at you, he is the one.”

  “Hold that thought, whatever it was, and we’ll come back to it later,” Coll told her. “Look, this is our mystery.” He pointed to a white object on the ground a few yards in front of them.

  “A stuffed sheep. What the fu…flip is that all about?” Finn looked at the life-size stuffed animal then at Coll. “Is it an ambush or something? Packed full of sheep poo that’ll explode out if we touch it?”

  He laughed. “I doubt it. Someone is taking the mickey. Check out the markings on it.” He pointed to the toy’s rear. “Don’t touch yet.”

  Finn looked carefully and clenched her hands into fists until her knuckles where white.

  “Bastards, sorry, but are they saying it’s dead and stuffed? I’ll kill them. How dare they? That animal was going to be a champion, I know it. It was beautiful and didn’t deserve this, no animal does. Ours are slaughtered with dignity. The f… Damn and blast, add up twenty to your list of whatevers ’cause now I’m going to let rip. Fuckers, arseholes, bastards…”

  Coll put his hand over her mouth again. This time she gave into temptation a
nd sucked the softer skin of his palm into her mouth.

  “Nice, kitten, but not yet. Let me phone Jeff, we’ll go to feed Depp and take it from there. This is just someone’s idea of a joke.”

  She lifted his hand a few inches from her mouth and he let her. “Some joke, Coll. It’s sick.” She felt her stomach churn at the ‘what if’ scenario that had briefly run through her mind. “A joke on me, it seems and I’ve no idea why. Shit, I’ve only been back here a week. That makes me think that whatever it is has been going on for ages and me around upsets their plans. And then I wonder just who might be in on their plans and who maybe set me up. And that makes me bloody angry. A toy sheep, for fuck’s sake. When they know, because I’m darned sure they do, I’d be out looking for sheep. Do you think if I’d’ve been alone, I’d have got another hit on the head? It sucks and boy, if I find out who I think it is, is behind all this, I’ll make him wish he’d never been born.” She wound down her tirade and huffed loudly. “Bastard.”

  “True, and you’ll have to stand in line. For the record, I think the toy was just to distract you. Hold on, I’m going to make some calls.”

  She stood and listened as he briefly explained the situation to what sounded like Jeff, Jess and someone he called Ailsa our friendly subbie copper. Then he put the phone away. “Jeff’s going to ring Lachy, and they’re off to rout your boss out of his lady friend.”

  Finn snorted at the description.

  “Then they’ll come here with the police. You’ll need to make a statement so I suggested we all meet in my place at Diomhair in an hour or so. Just time to feed the cat.”

  Damn, in all the excitement, she’d almost forgotten Depp again.

  Chapter Six

  Her face was so expressive. Coll watched her fuss over a tiny tabby kitten, whisper silly endearments to it and pick it up to cuddle. The purr was louder than an alarm clock. Finn buried her face in its fur. The kitten looked at Coll in such a way it seemed to say, ‘yeah, I know, but hey, she loves me’. Eventually Finn lifted her head, looked at her watch, the cat and finally Coll.