Chapter 4
CORAL
Coral paused to blow some warm breath into her frozen fingers.
She had to take her gloves off to fiddle with the aerator that had stopped working in one of her fish ponds.
Of all the times for the damn thing to seize up, it had to be in the middle of a blizzard.
She didn’t want to risk the chance of waiting until the snow had stopped falling since she wasn’t sure how deep it would be and if she’d be able to get out here.
By then all of her fish friends could be dead.
She glanced back towards the lodge hoping Mr. Wolfe didn’t notice she was outside.
He would make her come back in and then lecture her endlessly on proper dress during a blizzard.
Mr. Wolfe ran the fantasy lodge and he really was an incredible man, but she couldn’t help but think she was just an addition to his collection of wayward freaks.
He didn’t look at it that way, of course, and she actually believed he genuinely cared for her.
Coral knew the truth, though. She was a “little girl lost” running from her checkered past and hiding out until her past stopped looking for her.
But if she were really being honest, she was actually a “little mermaid lost”, and her checkered past involved a bad deal made with a cantankerous old sea witch.
Mr. Wolfe knew all of this and still welcomed her into his lodge with open arms. At first she thought he had ulterior motives.
In her experience, nothing in life ever came free, and he did run a sex lodge that specialized in making guests’ fantasies come true.
At the time she first arrived, Coral was just damaged and vulnerable enough that he could have taken complete advantage of her.
She was brokenhearted and lonely, with nothing left to live for.
But instead of preying on her weaknesses, he suggested she take care of the aquarium that had just been installed in their main sitting room.
Since then, two fish ponds had been added out back as well as two more aquariums in other areas of the lodge.
She had taken a room at the lodge—her defenses high and her suspicions even higher.
But that had been over two years ago. She had finally slipped into a familiar routine of taking care of her extended fish family and playing in the lodge’s dungeon as a resident submissive when the mood struck her.
She had sworn off love, but she wasn’t dead. She still liked to play.
She was broken out of her internal reverie as the aerator whirred back to life, the gentle humming startling her.
She bid her fish a quick goodbye and promised to come back to visit as soon as she could cut a path through the snow.
Bounding back into the house, her boots and pants caked in ice, she ran smack into Mr. Wolfe, who was walking with a tall and burly man.
Mr. Wolfe grasped her by the shoulders, steadying her as she swayed from their impact.
Coral’s eyes flicked from Mr. Wolfe’s stern look to the amused eyes of the handsome stranger.
His head was wrapped up in a bandage and his dark hair was sticking up at odd ends, but it was the kind eyes beneath the bandage that drew her in.
Blue as the ocean she once called home, and she felt lost in his gaze.
“What were you doing outside?” Mr. Wolfe gave her a little shake, snapping her focus back to him.
“The aerator went wonky again. I just wanted to get it going before the snow really started,” she replied.
He glanced outside at the ongoing blizzard then back at her, dressed in a hooded sweatshirt and light leggings.
“Go get changed and get something warm to drink,” he commanded.
“Yes, s-sir,” she stuttered.
“The next time I catch you out in the cold, not properly dressed, you will find yourself over my knee. Do I make myself clear?”
She opened her mouth to speak but the words got caught in her throat. She ended up letting out an affirmative squeak and nodding her head.
He rolled his eyes then gestured to the handsome stranger beside him.
“This is Jake Hill. Jake and his sister, Jillian, will be staying with us for a while.” Mr. Wolfe turned to Jake.
“Coral will also be able to show you where to find anything you need. She knows the ins and outs of the lodge better than most. Isn’t that right, Coral? ”
Both men stood assessing her now, but she still couldn’t get her voice to obey.
She gave another affirmative nod. Jake let out a deep chuckle and Mr. Wolfe narrowed his eyes at her before he turned on his heel and walked away, muttering something about stubborn women and people falling down hills.
Jake winked at her, then turned and followed Mr. Wolfe down the long corridor.
Coral heaved a sigh of relief. She had been prepared for another lecture, and although Mr. Wolfe ran his lodge with a heavy hand, he had never threatened to spank her before. The thought of it made her belly flip. And who was this beautiful stranger who had taken up temporary residence?
JAKE
Bertram Wolfe showed Jake into his office.
It was lined in dark wooden panels and dark wooden furniture filled the room.
Jake was a large man, but the furniture in the room demonstrated such strength and power that he felt a little nervous.
Jake had the same feeling he had as a boy when he was called into the headmaster’s office to be taken to task for pulling the girls’ pigtails.
Bertram motioned for him to take a seat in a high backed chair across from his desk.
Jake settled himself into it and looked at Bertram expectantly.
He could already tell just from the way the rest of the staff and guests regarded Bertram that he was a kind man, but not one to be taken lightly.
The poor girl he had just met seemed to be shaking in her snow covered boots after just a simple look from him.
“Intimidating, isn’t it?” Bertram glanced around at the surroundings and Jake smiled.
“A little,” he replied.
“My partner’s. I don’t have much use for an office. A little hoity-toity for my tastes.” He stopped and gave Jake a reassuring look. “I hope you will find yourself at home here,” Bertram began.
Jake let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding. In some part of his brain, he did feel like he was about to be scolded for something. “I have no doubts I will be right at home.”
Bertram smiled at him. “The reason for your visit is unfortunate. But since you are here to wait out the blizzard, I want you to enjoy any amenities you have a desire for.”
Jake turned that over in his mind, “The girl you just introduced me to. Coral?”
Bertram’s features hardened. “She is not an amenity.”
“I wasn’t saying she was. I was just curious about her. She is so—”
“Stubborn?” Bertram finished his sentence for him.
“No, I was going to say—”
“Foolish?”
“I wanted to say beautiful. Enchanting.” Jake caught the wistfulness in his own voice and straightened his shoulders. He didn’t want to gush, especially not in front of Bertram.
The look on Bertram’s face said that he was already wise to Jake’s interest. “Oh yes, she’s those things too.
Beautiful, enchanting, stubborn, and foolish.
She can also be quite sarcastic and a bit exasperating.
” He shuffled a few papers on his desk, then looked up at Jake with a crooked grin. “She’s one of my favorite employees.”
Jake smiled at the thought of the enchanting little fairy. She had long red hair that cascaded past her shoulders and a petite frame, but she had fire behind her sparkling blue eyes. He had no doubt of Bertram’s assessment. Her meek and chastened demeanor was probably not the norm for her.
“That’s why I brought you in here. I wanted to talk to you about that one,” Bertram continued speaking.
“You wanted to talk to me? About Coral?”
“Yes, your sister told me you were on your way to a matchmaker.”
“My sister has a big mouth.” Jake felt his hackles rising. Where did Jillian get off telling complete strangers about their plans?
“Yes, we can agree on that. I feel your sister may need some guidance, but that is a separate matter.”
Jake’s interest was piqued; if this man was crazy enough to try to keep his sister in check, then he may as well listen to what he had to say.
“Coral, she is a special girl,” Bertram began. Jake nodded, he could already see that and she hadn’t even said two words to him. “But I fear I have let her get a little out of hand.”
Jake raised his eyebrows at the man sitting across from him. He had a hard time believing Bertram would let anyone get out of hand.
“Let me start at the beginning. She came here looking for a place to hide.” Bertram drummed his fingers on the desk. “I don’t normally like to use my lodge as a long term escape, but I couldn’t turn her away. She was so…” he leaned back in his chair as he searched for the right word, “…broken.”
Jake let that sink in. He had a hard time imagining the girl he had just met in the hallway as the same girl that Bertram spoke of now.
“She hardly spoke to anyone. She would spend hours, sometimes days, locked in her room. She was always so sad.” Bertram had a faraway look in his eye as he recalled the past. “When she finally came out of her shell, finally showed some spirit, I was eager for her to remain that way. I like to maintain a well-disciplined staff. I don’t think twice about correcting anyone for their behavior. But with Coral, I let things slide.”
“With all due respect, sir, she was out in the cold without a coat. But I would hardly call that out of hand,” Jake said.