Invitation to Ecstasy

Nina Pierce

A woman unwilling to trust…
Sara Lancaster isn’t sure
accepting her invitation to a BDSM weekend at XTC Resort is a good idea—though
she does have something to prove. Years of abuse at the hand of her former
Master have taken their toll. Now, two years later, Sara believes she’s ready
to embrace her submissive side once again and enjoy the carnal pleasures of a
younger Dom.

A man testing his limits…
Derek Thomas has lost
belief in his abilities as a Master. Accepting an invitation for Dom training
could be exactly what he needs to regain his self-confidence. Challenged with
an experienced older woman, he soon realizes wielding a flogger isn’t always
enough to break down the emotional walls and heal a damaged submissive.

Two people with something to prove…
Sara and Derek
sizzle with sexual heat the moment they step into the dungeon. The mind-blowing
sex and physical pain may satisfy their bodies, but wounded souls and broken
spirits just may require something even more intimate—their hearts.

Ellora’s Cave Publishing

www.ellorascave.com

Invitation to Ecstasy

ISBN 9781419935329

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Invitation to Ecstasy Copyright © 2011 Nina Pierce

Edited by Mary Moran

Cover art by Syneca

Electronic book publication August 2011

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Sara Lancaster had definitely made the wrong decision.

Less than twenty-four hours ago she was sure this weekend
was just what she needed. Eight hours ago, excitement had fluttered in her
stomach as she’d left Boston, overjoyed to accept the invitation. Hell, just
two hours ago she’d been giddy with anticipation as she’d collected her bags at
the Key West airport and caught a taxi to the boat landing.

But her tiny apartment and the bungalow where she currently
stood weren’t merely thousands of miles apart—a whole world separated the
comfortable life she’d finally made for herself and the fantasy she was
standing in.

What the hell had she been thinking?

Sara was fooling herself. Life didn’t offer people second
chances. No one understood that better than her. The fates dealt crappy cards
and a person either played them to the best of their ability or they folded and
left everything to chance. Sara had tried it both ways and neither method had
netted her anything but heartache and pain.

And a person could live with pain.

But heartache? Heartache ripped at the soul, leaving gaping
holes of emptiness that nothing could fill—not even pain.

The tropical breeze lifted her hair and she absently brushed
it out of her face. The salty aroma of the ocean curled around her nose,
bringing back memories she’d stored away and tried to forget. Toying with the
gold and sapphire choker in her hands, she let the tides of the past flow over
her. Tears welled unbidden, distorting the sugar-white sand and turquoise ocean
spread out before her. Sara thought she’d gotten beyond it all, but the
memories expanded and crashed over the walls of her heart. Misery rushed in but
still left her feeling hollow and alone.

Yes, this really had been a bad decision.

A knock at her door pulled her from her morose thoughts.

“I’m coming.” She swiped her hand across her cheeks, trying
to brush away the sadness as she rushed off the veranda and back through the
sliding glass doors and into her room. She threw the choker on the end table
next to the sitting area, nearly tripping over the overflowing suitcase she’d
yet to completely unpack.

Inhaling a steadying breath, she forced a smile and opened
the door. Her guest didn’t wait for a welcome. Burly arms swept her off her
feet into a bear hug and swung her out the door.

“Sara!” A deep laugh rolled over her, soothing away the
misery of a moment ago. “I knew you couldn’t avoid me forever.”

Despite the sorrow clogging her throat, a nasally laugh
escaped. The big man set her back on her feet, his huge frame towering over her
as they stood toe to toe on the stone path outside her bungalow.

“Ethan Jacobs.” Her palm curved around his strong jaw and he
breathed deep, as if he could inhale her presence. “I’ve missed you, dear
friend.” Tears stung the back of her eyes. She shouldn’t have stayed away so
long.

He stooped to look her in the eyes. “Hey, those had better
be tears of overwhelming happiness at seeing me again.”

Her mouth curved in the semblance of a smile. “I thought I
was ready…” She paused, knowing that Ethan, of all people, understood without
her having to explain her trepidation.

“Has it really been three years?” he asked quietly, steering
their conversation to a more comfortable topic. “I feel like you were here
yesterday. You look as young as the day we first met.”

Though she worked out regularly, thirty-seven years of
gravity were working hard to sink the parts of her body Sara was trying to keep
afloat. No doubt the long travel day accentuated the crow’s feet scratching at
the corners of her eyes. She definitely wasn’t a college coed anymore, but she
appreciated his flattery nonetheless. “You’re a liar, Ethan Jacobs. But thank
you.” She ran her hand over the white polo sleeve that barely contained the
muscular curve of his biceps. “You, on the other hand, look better than ever. I
guess managing the resort has treated you well.”

“It’s a rough gig, living here in paradise with beautiful
men and women running around half naked.” He shrugged. “But hey, someone’s got
to do it, and I’m willing to take one for the team.”

“Very noble of you.”

“I’m nothing if not a gentleman.”

“You are that, Ethan.” She laughed and invited him into her
bungalow. The initial punch of seeing him had worn off, leaving only the
comfortable friendship that had developed over too many bottles of wine, late
dinners and life lessons. It had been the last that had solidified their bond.

“I was pleased you accepted my invitation, Sara.” Ethan
settled in one of the leather chairs in the corner of the room. “I debated
whether to even send it.”

She’d known this conversation would be coming, and she tried
to ignore the dread knotting cold and hard in her gut. “It’s hard to say no to
you, Ethan.” Sara reminded herself it was all part of the healing processes and
no one could help her over this final barrier better than Ethan. Needing to
keep busy, she grabbed two bottles of water from the mini-fridge and handed one
to him before settling in an identical chair across from him. “Though it was a
little bit of a shock to find it mixed in so innocently with the sale flyers
and electric bill after so many years.” She laughed.

“I figured it was time. You’ve been in Chicago a couple of
times in the last few months, I figured you were working your way back into the
scene,” he said. Casually tipping back the bottle, he took a long pull, his
eyes never leaving hers.

The water bottle froze halfway to her mouth before she dropped
her hand to her lap in stunned disbelief. Water sloshed onto her bare thigh,
but she barely noticed the chill.
What the hell?
With just a simple
sentence, Ethan turned their happy reunion into something ugly. The feelings
she’d been working to dismiss steamrolled over her heart, keeping her from
replying. Hell, at the moment, she couldn’t even swallow her fear and
incredulity. He’d spoken the words so nonchalantly, but they implied something
she didn’t want to contemplate.

Leaning forward, he braced his forearms on his knees, his
eyes turning to deep pools of ebony. “It’s a small world we live in, Sara. You
didn’t think after all that happened I wouldn’t be watching over you?”

“Spying on me is more like it.” Anger blossomed hot and hard
in her chest, making it hard to breathe.
How dare he?
Unable to handle
the turmoil of emotion bubbling inside her, Sara pushed to her feet and stalked
away from him, hoping the space would allow her to think. “I thought you were
different.”

“Sara—”

“No.” She turned on him, venom dripping from the word. “No,
Ethan. You can’t justify this. I walked away, and there’s no way in hell you
should have followed. Not after everything I’d been through.”

“Bullshit!”

Ethan slammed the water bottle on the table next to him. He
was up and standing only inches from her in a single breath. She craned her
neck to look at him and it took every bit of willpower not to cower at the
intensity of emotion flaring in the narrow slits of his eyes and the hard set
of his mouth.

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he said through clenched
teeth. “It was
because
of what you went through that I did it. Marc was
one of my first regulars here at XTC Resorts. I considered him a friend. What
he did was reprehensible. Forgive me if
I
haven’t forgiven myself for
everything you went through.”

She should have known Ethan would lay their ugly history on
the table. But what he’d just admitted didn’t make sense. Ethan was a Dom.
Aware and in charge of his environment. “Your responsibility?” She softened.
“How could you blame yourself?”

“It all happened on Paradise Cove. In
my
dungeon.”
The knife edge of self-recrimination dissolved into disappointment. “I should
have known what Marc was putting you through. I should have seen it. That’s my
job. But more importantly, you’re my friend and I let you down.”

She shook her head, denying his words, knowing it had taken
a long time to stop blaming Ethan for ever having introduced her to her late
husband. But years of therapy and a new life had helped her realize it had been
her
mistake. A mistake she had no intention of repeating—ever.

Ethan’s long fingers swept hair from her forehead, his
piercing gaze raking her face, conveying the profound sorrow they both felt.
“An apology doesn’t begin to cover what I owe you, Sara. But if I could take
all the years back…”

The knots of tension in her shoulders and stomach released.
Ethan hadn’t been spying. He’d been watching over her. Despite the fact that he
was four years her junior, Ethan had always been as protective as a big brother.
Years and circumstances would never change that.

“No, the blame falls squarely on my shoulders alone.” She
covered his hand with hers and leaned into his touch. “I loved him too much,”
she said quietly. “Was willing to give up too much.”

“Still, there were signs I missed.”

“I should have been brave enough to ask for help.”

“But I—”

She silenced him with a finger to his lips. “Ethan, no one
but Marc is to blame, and if he weren’t dead, I’d kill him all over again.” She
tried to lighten the mood, but her joke fell flat. “Anyway, I stopped playing
the blame game years ago. Coulda, woulda, shoulda won’t change the past for any
of us, and it’s time we all move on.” She wrapped her arms around him, finding
comfort in the solid warmth of his embrace. “Obviously since I’m playing in
Chicago, I’m trying to find the balance in my life again.”

He gently kissed her forehead and steered them back to the
chairs. “Sara, it wasn’t like I was
spying
on you.”

“Of course you weren’t. It was a knee-jerk reaction,” she
said, settling on the edge of the chair and setting the water bottle on the
floor. “It just sort of took me by surprise when you mentioned Chicago, though
I don’t know why. I mean, I did flaunt myself at your old BDSM club on more
than one occasion.” She shrugged and wrapped her hands around Ethan’s. “I guess
even I thought they’d look after me.”

“I made sure of it.” He winked.

“I have no intention of history repeating itself. I’ve
definitely learned from my mistakes.” Her lips curved in a trembling semblance
of a smile. “But a little backup never hurt.”

He laughed—a deep rumble that seemed to smooth the rocky
ground they were navigating. “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t go to
the clubs in Boston.” He shrugged, giving up any pretense of secrecy. “I had
people there watching too.”

“Riiiiight. I’m sure Boston General would love to find out
that Nurse Lancaster of the pediatric wing has a thing for leather and
bondage.”

“I meant
discreet
clubs.”

“Yeah, well, Chicago just seemed safer all the way around.”
Though they had found equilibrium again, her confession made her restless. Sara
picked up the water bottle again, toying with the label. “I actually went there
to prove to myself that I didn’t want it anymore.”

“And?”

“And I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Some things are a part of us, Sara. Ignoring your sexuality
would leave you incomplete.”

“I wanted to walk away, to blame my shortcomings on the
lifestyle. But the truth is being submissive is who I am. I just happened to
give the honor of dominating me to the wrong man.” She took a long swallow of
water, washing away the hot coal of sadness burning her throat. “And
that
will never happen again, I assure you. This is a new chapter for me.
Unencumbered sex. No attachment. Your invitation couldn’t have come at a better
time.”

“I’m
really
glad you accepted. I’ve missed you.” He
picked up the gold choker on the table next to him, toying with the sapphire
pendant. “I thought you would have left this behind with the relics of your
former life.”

“That choker had nothing to do with Marc and everything to
do with a dear friend.” Ethan had given it to her on one of Sara’s many visits
to XTC Resorts before she’d met her husband. With no one left to celebrate her
birthdays, Ethan had surprised her with a small party and the beautiful piece
of jewelry. It meant more to her than the vows she had recited a year later.
She’d hidden it from her jealous husband and only recently had begun wearing it
again. “It was a gift, given in love. Of course I couldn’t part with it.”

He arched a well-manicured brow. “It has nothing to do with
me. It’s about who you are. You know it and I know it.”

She sat back, a smile lifting one corner of her mouth.
“Yeah, well, like I said, my fetish is what drives me. I tried dating men who
weren’t in the scene, but there was something missing.” She shrugged. “I march
to the snap of a different kind of whip, what can I say?”

“Don’t let my guests hear you saying that. We work very hard
to convince them they’re normal.” He laughed as he winked at her, both of them
enjoying the lighthearted banter.

Sara shook her head, still unsure of her decision to accept
Ethan’s invitation. “After all I’ve been through, it just seems so foolish for
me to be opening myself up to it all again.”

“Sara, your sexual propensities are hardwired into you…into
all of us. There is no black-and-white when it comes to the human psyche, only
varying shades of leather.”

She laughed.

“If you had become a nun and given up sex, I guess I could
see you walking away from the scene.” He reverently set the gold choker in her
palm, wrapping her fingers around the warm metal. “But being submissive is as
much a part of you as your gorgeous blue eyes.”

She bravely met his gaze. “It took me awhile to come to
terms with it, but that’s the conclusion I’ve come to as well.”

“Are you
really
ready for this?”