The Natural [Answers 3] (2 page)

Billy laughed. “I don’t think you have to worry about her shyness.”

Wilder looked up at him. “Really. She’s here already?”

Billy nodded. “I just tucked her into her suite.” He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorjamb. “She was early and actually didn’t wait for someone to meet her in the lobby. She just walked right down the hall as if
she
owned the place. Luckily I came out of the office when I did or she may have disturbed one of the other clients while looking for someone to tell her which way to go.”

“And you say she’s not shy.” Hunter was intrigued. Most women who came here were either so shy they had to coax them into their suites or so excited to be here they could barely be controlled. He hoped she was not one of those. They always wore him out, mentally and physically. Being a sex therapist wasn’t an easy job. After the training and getting used to being with women who were sometimes so reluctant to allow themselves to even be seen with no clothes on, Hunter was exhausted most of the time.

“Far from it,” Billy said with a wink. “She’s tall and blonde and walks like she’s on a mission. Very vocal and seems to know what she wants. She wasn’t afraid to ask questions, either.” Billy shook his head and smiled. “It’s not often we get a woman like her. I have a feeling she’s going to be a force to be reckoned with.”

Wilder rubbed his hands together. “I can’t wait to get started. It makes me wonder even more why she wants to learn to be submissive and explore bondage. A woman like you’ve described usually likes to be in charge most of the time.”

Hunter rubbed his chin. “You’re right, Wilder. Why would she even be here in the first place? I’m sure, if she’s as confident as Billy says, she could have found someone who isn’t a therapist who would be happy to oblige her desires.” Tall, blonde, and confident was a definite head-turner for any man.

“There must be something deeper,” Wilder said. “Something about trust, I’ll bet. Well, brother”—he rose from his chair—“let’s go meet Miss Holiday and get this started. We’ll know more once we start talking to her.”

Hunter stood, his gaze locking with the mirror image of his own. His brother was almost an exact copy of himself. The only difference was Wilder was a bit more beefy, thanks to working out with weights. Hunter always took pains to notice the way a client reacted when he and his twin brother arrived at their door. “All right then. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

* * * *

Peering into the fridge, she found a bottle of white wine. “Perfect.” She pulled out the bottle and, within a couple of minutes, was sipping a wonderful glass of wine while she looked out the windows of the living room. This was an experiment she had been looking forward to for a long time. She’d heard about Answers Spa from a few of the women she worked with and also, about how discreet they were here. It was perfect. There were things she wanted to know, and she didn’t trust anyone to teach her and keep their mouth shut. She’d always been a woman who sought out what she wanted, but the whole world didn’t have to know about her personal life. Some things begged to be kept private if she wanted to get anywhere in this world.

When she had filled out her questionnaire for her “therapy,” she made sure she made herself clear when it came to what she wanted to accomplish. She also stressed the fact that she wanted her therapy to begin immediately upon arrival. Dawn was not one to hesitate or pussyfoot around. When it came to acquiring something she wanted, she went after it with a vengeance. She hoped they had read that part of her questionnaire and didn’t mess around when it came to getting this whole thing started.

A knock on the door caused her to turn away from the windows. “Come in,” she called.

The double doors opened, and two men entered. “Good afternoon, Miss Holiday,” they said in tandem.

Dawn drew in a long, slow breath, trying to keep her expression neutral as she watched them close the doors behind them and walk toward her.

They were both about six feet tall and had blond hair that was parted in the middle and hung past their shoulders. One of them looked a bit more muscular than the other, but their eyes were mirror images of cool, blue water. Their light tan spoke of spending time outside in the Nevada heat, and it accentuated the blondness of their hair. Both were dressed in jeans, but where one wore a T-shirt the color of coral, the other wore a pale-blue polo shirt. If these were her counselors, she was one lucky girl.

“It’s so nice to meet you,” the one in the T-shirt said, offering her his hand when he came up to her. “I’m Wilder McCabe, one of your counselors for the weekend.” He took her hand and held it gently.

The warmth of his hand seeped into hers, sending a smoky tendril of his heat up her arm. “Very nice to meet you, too, Mr. McCabe.”

He dipped his head slightly. “Wilder, please. We’re always on a first name basis here. Do you mind if I call you Dawn?”

“Of course not. Please do.” She looked at the other twin. “And you are?”

“Hunter,” he said, smiling.

She noticed a dimple in his right cheek that the other twin didn’t have. It might be a good way for her to tell them apart. They were so similar, if they were dressed the same, they would be almost exactly alike. “Hello, Hunter.”

“Please, why don’t we sit down and get to know each other a bit,” Wilder said, leading her toward the couch.

“I’ve got to tell you,” Hunter said, sitting down beside her. “You have the most wonderful name. Dawn Holiday. It reminds me of either a showgirl or a female gunslinger.”

Dawn chuckled. “I’ve heard the showgirl reference before and someone also told me my name could be a stripper’s, but I’ve never been told it reminded someone of a gunslinger.”

“Well, you don’t look like a gunslinger,” Wilder commented, running his hand down her arm. Sitting on the other side of her, he smiled. “You look like a runway model.”

Sitting between two handsome men who were just her type with their blond hair and blue eyes was exactly where she wanted to be. It was all good, but it could be better. She raised her glass to her lips and finished the wine. “Wilder, Hunter,” she said, leaning forward to place her glass on the table in front of the couch. “I do like being complimented, but let me assure you, I don’t
need
it. I’m very confident and always have been. I’m a realist though, and I know a lot of men are drawn to my looks and not what’s behind them. My intellect.” She stood, moving around the table and turning to face them where they sat. “I hope we can dispense with the stroking of my ego and get on with my therapy. If you don’t mind.” To be honest, she loved being complimented, but she didn’t like to show it. She didn’t want to appear to be vulnerable when it came to her looks. Dawn was very aware of how words could sting.

Both men looked up at her and blinked as if they’d just awakened from a deep sleep. Then Wilder laughed, a sound that was full of mirth and came from deep inside him. “You are very refreshing,” he said once he had his laughter under control. “Keenly honest and outspoken. I like that.”

“Me, too,” Hunter said. “I think we’re going to get along famously.”

Dawn placed one hand on her hip. “I’m glad we’ve got that out in the open. I’m here for therapy, and I want to gain as much as possible from it. I’m a no-nonsense type of person, and I want both of you to always give me your honest opinions with no sugar coating. Agreed?”

Both of them nodded. Then they stood and rounded the table, one on either side. They pressed close to her, so close she could smell their cologne. It was the same for both, woodsy and very male.

Wilder leaned close to her ear. “Are you ready to start your therapy then?” he asked.

Anticipation of what was going to happen next caused her stomach to quiver, just for a moment. “Yes,” she said. “Very ready.”

“We’ve read the questionnaire you filled out,” Hunter said, standing at her other side. “We’re looking forward to teaching you what you want to know.”

Unable to help herself, she caught her bottom lip with her teeth.

Both men moved closer, pressing against her. “I get the sense you’re a very forceful woman,” Wilder said, his voice low. “Are you sure this is what you want to know about?”

She nodded, glancing toward him out of the corner of her eye.

“Then we’ll begin,” Hunter said, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans.

Dawn heard a metallic jingle, and then she saw what he had in his hand.

A pair of shiny handcuffs.

“Wait a minute,” she said, “I don’t know if I’m quite ready for this.”

Hunter snapped one of the handcuffs on her right wrist. “Don’t worry. We will take care not to do anything you don’t want to do.” He drew her arm behind her back. Wilder took her left wrist and moved her left arm behind her back close to her right. Hunter snapped the handcuffs around that wrist also.

Now she was shackled with her arms behind her back, the cool metal of the handcuffs sliding easily over the skin of her wrists. They weren’t too tight or too loose, but the sense of not being able to use her hands was completely different than anything she was used to.

Wilder reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear. “The first thing we want to establish is your safe word. Pick a word, and we’ll know if you say that word during your therapy, it will tell us to stop what we’re doing and take a step back to let you get your bearings. What word would you like to use?”

Dawn wracked her brain. What should she use? It had to be something she could just rattle off without thinking about it. “Vegas. That’s the word.”

“Good choice. Easy to remember.” Hunter slid his hand in the crook of her arm. “Come with us. We’ll introduce you to everything you wanted to know about.” He led her toward the locked door.

As they walked toward the door, Wilder spoke softly and soothingly. “Your questionnaire stated you wanted to know all about bondage. You seemed to have tried everything else during your sensual awakening, and this is something that has intrigued you for a long time. Can I ask why you’ve never tried it before? It didn’t say on your paperwork.”

She watched as Hunter pulled a set of keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He opened it and swung the door wide. She tried to peer past him but couldn’t. The room was dark inside. She turned back to Wilder. “I’ve never found anyone I could trust enough to allow them to do anything like this to me without speaking about it later. I thought Answers would be the perfect place to dabble in something a little more extreme than I’m used to.” She looked directly into his cool, blue eyes. “I have to tell you, I’m not sure I will enjoy it. I’m not used to giving up control.”

He smiled a warm, inviting smile and placed his hand on her back. “I can tell you like to be in control of things. This time, let us take you places you’ve never been. I noticed in your questionnaire you wrote that you wanted to be taken out of your comfort zone. We’ll definitely do that and more. So, let’s get started with your therapy and see how far we can go today. And later, another of our counselors will join us. His name is Micah London, and he’s very in depth when it comes to therapy.”

Three? There were going to be three of them? Dawn felt a little twinge of nervousness invade her thoughts. She hoped they lived up to their promise to stop if she said her safe word. “Well,” she said, “I’m here to find out what my limits are, so that’s what I’d like you to do—push me to my limit.”

“We will, Dawn,” he said, sliding his hand down her back and lower, caressing the globe of her ass. “I’ll push you to the edge and then some.”

“Come inside, Dawn,” Hunter said, tugging at her arm. He flicked on the light switch, and the room was bathed in glowing red light.

Dawn blinked, trying to get her bearings as she stepped into the dimly lit room. “This has a really different feeling than the rest of the spa,” she said, noticing the walls were painted some dark color that was hard to tell what it was in this lighting. The lights were recessed into the ceiling, washing them all in a rosy glow. “It’s edgy in here. Why aren’t there any windows?”

“Oh, there are windows, but we like to keep things private in here. Unless the client wants to reveal themselves to the outside. If there comes a time when you’d like an audience, we can arrange it.” Wilder rubbed his hand over her back in a circular motion. It felt very soothing, calming in fact.

Hunter moved away from them, into the room. “We’ve got an assortment of equipment that we’ll put to use, but first, we’re going to ease you into this.” He stopped in front of what looked like a closet and slid the door open. “I want to assure you that anything that happens here at Answers will be kept confidential. We won’t reveal your desires, but you can, if you decide to.” He took the bottom of his polo shirt and pulled the shirt off over his head, revealing a flat stomach. “We’ve also all been tested for all communicable diseases, as you have as a requirement of your scheduled retreat.” He moved toward her, and once close enough, he slid one hand beneath her hair to the nape of her neck. “I don’t mean to be so formal, but we need to get that out of the way before we begin.” He was an inch from her face, so close she could feel his warm breath waft over her lips. “Once we start, I don’t want any distractions. I only want you to feel, not think.”

He was so close and so sexy, she wanted him to kiss her. Though she wasn’t normally the type of woman who jumped into bed with a man as soon as she met him, her reason for coming here was to experience sex in a new and unusual way. Her confidence reared its head, in spite of the handcuffs. “Then make me feel something wild,” she whispered. She leaned forward, pressing her lips against his.