He’d been impressed with her performance since she returned from college. Amber was chomping at the bit for more responsibility. He couldn’t fault her work ethic, or the magic she had worked with the marketing department. Perhaps it was time. He could certainly use the assistance—transfer some of his responsibilities to her, and see how she did with them. It could end up being a viable solution all round. “Fine, you win. I will look through your proposal and get back to you on it. Give me a week or so to go over it before you start hounding me. But if you are wanting more involvement, more responsibilities in the running of the company, I have some departments I would be willing to hand over into your capable hands. I’d like you to manage both reservations and staffing, in addition to the marketing department. They are both time consuming departments and you will be up to your eyeballs in work. I will expect weekly reports on guest capacity, any changes that you implement, problems that arise with staff and guests alike. I will expect the reports on my desk every Friday by noon. How does that sound?” That way, at least for the foreseeable future, while Avery was here, his time would be freed up considerably so he could be with her.
“You won’t be sorry about this, Colt. I swear to you, I’m ready. I won’t let you or the family down.”
“I know you won’t. You’re an Anderson, it’s in our blood to excel at whatever we put our minds to.” He was pleased that she was thrilled at the prospect of more responsibility, while he was relieved. It lifted a weight off his shoulders.
Amber came around the desk, bent down, and hugged him. “I appreciate this. Really, I do. By the way,” she backed off with an interested stare, “where have you been spending all your time lately? You were gone most of the weekend. Haven’t even heard you coming or going from the house most days. Have you been you spending time at Cabin X?”
“Cabin X is not a place for you, and is off limits. I’m not sure how you even know about that cabin,” he fumed with a scowl.
Amber rolled her eyes. “Do you really think that at my age, I don’t know about sex or the kinkier aspects of it that go on at Cabin X? Do you really think I’m still virginal, brother dear?”
He winced. The last thing he wanted to know about was his sister’s sex life. “I don’t want to know one way or the other. All I will say is that Cabin X is off limits for you.”
She shot him an unamused glare. “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, big brother.”
Like hell it was. Colt vowed to put the word out with his friends that if any of them so much as touched a stray hair on Amber’s head, they would be dealt with swiftly and unmercifully. Before he could reply to her taunt, his cell phone rang. He glanced at the number, and pleasure speared him at the name that popped up. “I need to take this.”
“I have as much right as you do to go to Cabin X, Colt. I’m not finished with this discussion.”
“Well, it’s done for now, I need to take this call. And shut the door on the way out.” He jutted his head toward the exit. Amber glared and stomped out of his office with a slam of the door. She wasn’t using Cabin X, ever, not if Colt had any say in the matter.
He pinched the bridge of his nose when he answered. “Avery, how are you? Is everything all right?”
“Um, not exactly.” The dulcet alto tone of her voice carried a hint of worry.
“Tell me what’s going on,” he demanded, instantly alert.
“Well, last night I ate dinner outside while I was watching my comet. I got really focused on what I was doing. You’ve seen me working with the telescopes enough to know that’s what I do. And well… I had this mountain lion join me. He—at least, I think it’s a he—ate the rest of my unfinished sandwich.”
Fear for her safety whipped through him. “Did the mountain lion attack you? Are you stuck up in a tree again? What’s going on?”
“Um, no. I was able to get inside the cabin and thought it would leave overnight. Ah… but you see, it’s still here. It didn’t leave. It’s lounging on the front porch. I can’t scare it away because I forgot my foghorn outside by my equipment. It probably wants another sandwich. Should I give it the ground beef you brought? Maybe it’s just hungry and will go away if I feed it.”
“No! Don’t feed the damn thing. It’s not a house cat, Avery. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Stay inside, keep the door barred.” The woman attracted catastrophes like strippers did dollar bills. It was a wonder she was still alive.
“Okay. If you’re sure.”
Grinding his teeth, already in motion, Colt muttered, “I’m on my way. Stay put, or I will spank the daylights out of you for putting yourself in harm’s way.”
“Orders and dirty talk? Well well well, cowboy, you continue to amaze me.”
“That’s what you get when you’re fucking a Dom, sweetheart. I’m hanging up now and will be there shortly. Stay inside, leave the mountain lion alone, and I will take care of it.” The woman was a menace. A sexy, sultry, absent-minded menace. Fury and fear combined in his chest.
On his way out to his truck, Colt texted his sister that he was heading out and might be unavailable for the rest of the day. Amber responded with an emoji giving him the middle finger. So apparently, they were resorting to teenage insults. Christ, he didn’t need to worry about his sister showing up at Cabin X one night. He’d send out an email with a warning to the group of Doms who used it. But that was on the agenda for tomorrow.
First up was rescuing Avery before she ended up dead. He could see her attempting to feed the mountain lion and losing an arm because of it.
In his truck, he kept his velocity just below the speed of light. The woman would get herself killed one of these days, stumbling into danger. She didn’t even have to look for threats. They seemed to find her wherever she went. Avery had no one looking out for her. It was clear, at least to Colt, that she needed someone to keep her safe.
And he would be lying if he said the thought hadn’t crossed his mind that he should be the one, that he yearned to protect her from all harm. She brought out his protective urges in spades. Hell, for one of her smiles, he would slay dragons in her name, just to keep her safe. All he had to do was think about Avery, and lust surged in him, left him fantasizing about the myriad of ways in which he craved her.
She was wildly sexy, and an enthusiastic lover—so much so that he’d not introduced her to bondage or discipline yet. Mainly because the moment he touched her, all thoughts but being inside her escaped him. She left his vaunted self-control, the thing Doms prided themselves on, in tatters.
Sex had never been this way with any other woman, not even his one-time fiancée. And his time with Avery was not something he would consider vanilla, either, not with her willingness to engage in carnal escapades anytime and anywhere.
Colt had spent Sunday night and all day yesterday trying not to think about Avery. He’d been able to whittle it down to only every other minute of the day that she came to mind. The short separation had been a test, to see if he could make it a day without being near her, without touching her.
Yesterday had been the longest fucking day of his life.
At points throughout the day, he had found himself making excuses for why he should go see Avery. He’d even climbed into his truck last night before he stopped himself, calling himself a fool, and a moron to act this way with her. They barely knew each other, and she was here temporarily. That meant there was no possibility of a future with her beyond her time at the cabin—at least, not a prospect of one that he could envision clearly.