Returning to Her Master

Heart heavy, she stood to head back the way she came when she realized the surrounding woods were so dense she couldn’t see a shred of sunlight through them. An icy chill settled in her bones as she looked in every direction and saw with a sinking feeling she couldn’t even make out the trail she had been following. On top of everything else that had gone wrong today, she let herself get so mired in grief, she got well and truly lost.

* * *

“Where’d this come from?” Marc asked Morgan when she entered the loft, her arms laden with canvas and paints.

Looking at the box she had set on the kitchen counter, Morgan checked her watch, blanching at the time. “Isn’t Cassie back yet?”

Jack came out of the office, saw Morgan’s pale, stricken face and rushed over to her. “What’s wrong?”

“Cassie was here?” Marc asked at the same time, wondering what was going on. It wasn’t anywhere near time for him to pick her up.

“I’m sorry, Marc. You know how I lose track of time when I’m painting. No excuse, I know, but I’m sure she’s fine as I told her to stay on the north trail and within sight of the lodge.”

His gut tightened in dread. She didn’t know her way around these woods, had no clue about the perils lurking in the thick foliage despite doing his best to educate her the few times they had hiked. Glaring at Morgan, he snapped, “Back up, damn it. How long ago did she leave? What’s she doing here at this time of day and how did she get here?” He had a bad feeling and worry over Cassie was at the root of it.

Morgan set her paints down, her brow furrowed in thought. “I don’t know. I ran into her downstairs over two hours ago. She seemed really upset and asked if I’d set that box in the kitchen. I offered to go with her when she said she was going for a walk, but she wanted to be alone for a while.”

“You said something that upset her?” Jack asked her, his eyes narrowed.

“Yes, but I don’t know what.”

Jack looked at Marc. “Two hours ago we were discussing you helping out Jason again. You don’t think she misunderstood, do you?”

Marc tried to remember what he said. Jason Davies, a friend from their Army days who had saved his ass one night when a group of them went off base to a bar while stationed overseas and Marc got jumped, hadn’t fared well since leaving the military. On and off drugs for years, Jason had called him a few times to bail him out of jail or help him get into rehab. He had gotten a call from him that morning and planned on making one more trip to Denver on his friend’s behalf. Hell, he had even thought about asking Cassie to accompany him, the first time he’d considered testing their relationship beyond sex. It would have also given him an opportunity to grill her again about the root of her panic attack last night, the one that took ten years off his life. Recalling the short conversation, he couldn’t imagine why anything they said would have upset her. He mentioned Jason’s name, but since she didn’t know him that wouldn’t have meant anything.

Anger joined the worry churning in his abdomen. Just as he had grilled into her the first time they met about the importance of open communication, he had emphasized several times the dangers of going into the woods alone. “I can’t fathom why our conversation would have upset her, but she knew better than to take off alone. Between her panic attack last night, which I haven’t had time to get to the bottom of, and now this little stunt, that woman has taken ten years off my life.” He ignored Jack’s smirk as he paced. “I swear, she won’t sit down for a week when I get through with her. Hell, she’s been gone two fucking hours. She could be anywhere.” Picturing her lost, alone, and afraid had him breaking out in a cold sweat. There were numerous hazards that could befall an inexperienced hiker unfamiliar with this area.

“God, Marc, I’m so sorry.” Morgan had tears in her eyes as she saw the worry reflected on both their faces.

“You call Scott, I’ll round up our guests and get a search party going.” Jack took Morgan’s hand and turned to go.

“I’ll start out on the way she went. Keep in touch.” He followed them down the stairs, pressing Scott’s number as he went. A few minutes later he had the whole story of why she returned to the lodge this morning and a promise from Scott he’d be here to help as soon as possible. Hastening down the trail Cassie had taken, he alternated between cursing her for her rash flight and praying for her safety.

Traipsing through the woods he knew like the back of his hand, he had time to think with a more rational head and admit to his own mistakes, even though his anger simmered over her blatant disregard of his number one rule. From the moment she walked into the lodge and looked at him with such naked longing out of those big blue eyes, he’d refused to think of her as anything but an old acquaintance, a former sub, fuck buddy, whatever label he could think of instead of the one woman who always meant more than any other.

He hadn’t wanted to go down that road with her again, couldn’t trust that she wouldn’t bail if his lifestyle became too much for her to handle. If she had just stayed and talked to him that night when she looked at him with stunned betrayal in her eyes, he would’ve sat down with her and discussed her misgivings, her fears and concerns. And if she still hadn’t wanted to be shared, he would have respected her wishes. But she had run and refused every attempt he made to get hold of her over the next few days.

Living in such close quarters with Jack and Morgan the past six months, seeing how rewarding a committed relationship could be with the right person, had driven home how much he wanted the same thing. He made a mistake keeping their relationship strictly sexual once Cassie finagled her way out to the lodge and into his bed. He never would have given in to her had his feelings not already been leaning toward giving her another chance.

“Marc!”

“Over here.” He stopped on the trail and waited for Scott to catch up.

“No sign of her?” Scott asked, meeting up with him at a fork between three trails.

“No. I found where she veered off the trail though and I think I’m on the right track.” Anger and worry colored his voice as he paused and looked ahead through the dense woods. “Son of a bitch, I’m going to blister her ass when I find her,” he swore as the two of them set out again together.

“I’ll help you. What made her take off? I thought she had a lot of baking to do at your place.”

“I’m not sure, but whatever it was doesn’t excuse her rash behavior.” Pausing, he took a deep breath, trying to quell the panic threatening his composure. “Hell, I’ve made a few mistakes, avoided talking about our relationship or any kind of future.”

“Are you glad she’s here?” Scott asked him in his direct way, his gray eyes shifting from their path to gaze at him.

“Yeah, yeah, I am. I wanted the girl the minute I saw her two years ago and nothing has changed since. If anything, I want her more now than I did back then. It took a hell of a lot of guts to travel here, start a new business, and look me up without knowing whether she’d be welcome. Gotta admire her determination, even if it put me on the spot at first.”

Holding back a large tree limb, Scott smiled. “Then let’s go find her.”

* * *