Snow Rebound

Snow Bound Volume 2

By Julia P. Lynde

Allison snuggled into my arms. I'd gotten carried away with her. I hadn't hurt her; I never hurt anyone. But I'd been so surprised she'd let me take control at all that I'd gotten immediately drunk on it. I wanted to lay her across my lap and spank her mercilessly for letting a complete stranger tie her up so thoroughly. She had been amazingly foolish.

If you can't trust the people closest to you, how could she have been so foolish to trust a complete stranger?

I finally told her all that. In response she cuddled in deeper. She didn't say anything. Freaking out at her earlier probably scared her. She didn't know what was safe to say.

Taking her like that hadn't remotely taken the edge off me. If anything, I was more worked up than before. Inwardly, I swore. I kept to myself to avoid letting the beasts out. Any of them. But she'd woken the two I fought the hardest to contain. If I ran, the one would melt back into the woods.

The scared one.

But the other one, that beast... That one wasn't going to be satisfied. Not with one little taking and one little mind game.

I hated myself.

I liked the Sarah who had helped her after her accident. The strong, competent Sarah who had seen a car run off a road and stopped to help. The Sarah who calmed a scared woman, checking whether she was hurt. I liked the Sarah who could be a little naughty and tie her brassiere to a tree, then calmly drive through horrible weather. I liked the Sarah I was up until I saw Allison's cabin.

Cabin. Yeah, right. Fucking mansion on a lake.

That's when the Scared Sarah had rushed to the front, barely contained. The distrusting Sarah, the Sarah that had been hurt. The Sarah that most ruled my life. Not the worst Sarah, far, far from the worst Sarah, but the one that was the hardest to contain.

It's not multiple personalities. Just facets of the same personality. Everyone is complicated.

Finding out Allison was a shrink didn't help. Mom was a shrink. I didn't have a lot of reason to trust shrinks. I knew Mom tried to be a good shrink, but when her daughter had truly needed her, well... Lesson learned, I guess.

Later, there were others. My time with them hadn't gone well, either.

So Scared Sarah had sat there, screaming at Competent Sarah, "Get out! Get out!" But Competent Sarah wanted clean clothes, a soak in a tub, and for once, a soft, warm bed. What an idiot Competent Sarah could be.

Allison's cabin and Allison's questions had brought Scared Sarah to the front. Scared Sarah and Competent Sarah fought for control with Predator Sarah watching the outcome. "Try me" had been just the right words to bring her to the front. Oh, and had she taken control!

Octopus wasn't a random code word. Eight arms on an octopus. Eight Sarahs. I hoped to keep the other five stuffed firmly away. The world was best when only Competent Sarah was in control. Allison screaming the code word had satisfied Predator Sarah, for now, but she was lurking. She wanted more. Much more.

Competent Sarah didn't think Allison would enjoy giving it to her.

I looked down at Allison. I caressed her arm and she shivered. I imagined she was still all a-tingle from what I'd done to her. I imagined she was hoping for more, but also afraid of it at the same time.

She was beautiful. Her black hair was barely shoulder length and straight. Quite different from my unruly mane, but I loved my hair. I loved her hair, too.

We were so completely different.

"You will answer my questions," I told her.

"Yes, Sarah," she said. Good. She was still meek.

"Are you afraid of me?"

"No."

"I scared you terribly."

"Yes. I shouldn't have been scared."

"I'm good at mind games," I told her. "I am usually good at containing them to just the mind." More mind games.

"Usually?" I smiled. I couldn't help it, watching her play into me.

Oh hell, Predator Sarah was back already. She hadn't remotely been satisfied. Allison was just too delicious. It didn't help I hadn't had a proper orgasm in months. A girl has needs. Fulfilling them was always a tricky proposition for me.

I slipped from the bed.

"Hey!" Allison complained. "Why are you leaving?"

"Laundry," I told her. I looked down at her. She was looking up at me with her big, brown eyes and her mussed hair. She still had a sheen of sweat I wanted to lick from her body. Competent Sarah stepped forward, but I knew Predator Sarah wasn't going to let that last.

"When I get back, the wisest thing you can have done is lock the door."

"That isn't going to happen," she said.

"The second wisest thing is to have rebound your eyes and be lying submissively on your back with your throat exposed to me." I leered. "If you are sufficiently submissive, you may enjoy what happens next."

I didn't wait for an answer. I already knew what I'd find when I got back. I pulled her bedroom door closed behind me and walked down to the laundry. Both machines were done. I emptied the contents of the dryer into a convenient basket and moved the wet clothes from the washer into the dryer. I started the dryer and then carefully folded the dried clothes.

I gave Allison's imagination plenty of opportunity to scare the crap out of her.

I finished with the clothes then walked back to the bedroom door. It was still closed. I opened it. She hadn't locked it.

Allison was lying on the bed, the scarf retied around her eyes and her hands at her sides. I imagined she was trembling in anticipation, but in reality I'm sure she wasn't. Predator Sarah shoved all the other Sarahs way down and crossed the room slowly, enjoying the view.

I stood over her, not saying anything for a minute. She surely knew I was there. I watched her breathe. She was taking rapid, shallow breaths. I hadn't even touched her and she had worked herself up. I decided to see if I could enhance that. I was getting a power trip just watching her.

"You look lovely, Allison," I said in a low voice.

She squirmed. Oh, she was going to be delicious.

"You will remain submissive. Meek."

"Yes, Sarah," she agreed. She squirmed again.

"You will answer any question I asked," I ordered.

"Yes, Sarah."

I walked around the bed, looking at her the entire time.

"Can you see anything?"

"A tiny bit of light. That's all."

"If you lie to me, do you know what happens?"

"You will punish me." She said it almost with awe in her voice. Was she awed I would punish her or awed she would let me? Perhaps even wanted me to.

I reached out and caressed her stomach. She arched her back, pushing her stomach into my hand. I slapped her face. Not hard.

"No!"

"I'm sorry," she said. "What did I do wrong?"

"You tried to take control."

"I'm sorry."

Compassionate Sarah stormed to the forefront. I leaned over and kissed her gently then began whispering in her ear. "You mustn't, Allison," I told her. "You may say 'no'. Or you may let me do what I want. Those are your choices."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," she said. "I'll behave."

"Is that a yes?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. "It's a yes." She paused. "I don't know if I can do this."

I paused, looking at her.

"Is it easier if I bind you?"

"Yes."

And like that, Compassionate Sarah was gone, replaced by Predator Sarah, and she was hungry!

I grabbed her arm. "Go limp!" I ordered. I then dragged her sideways on the bed. She let me. She didn't try to help; she didn't try to struggle.

"Good girl," I told her.

I found the scarves I'd used earlier. I roughly wrapped one around each wrist, tying it firmly, but made sure it was safe. I tied her right wrist to the headboard, her left wrist to the foot of the bed, pulling her arms tautly. Her feet faced towards the doorway. I pulled her until her head hung off the side of the bed.

I walked around, admiring her, admiring my handiwork. I wasn't done, but I wanted a taste. I walked back to her head and knelt down beside the bed. I stroked her sides. She shivered but otherwise lied still.

"Good girl," I told her again.

I cupped each breast. She almost arched her back. I saw her muscles tense, then I watched as she resisted the urges. I fondled each nipple, smiling. She moaned.

"Sarah?"

"Yes, lovely one?" I asked her.

"No one has touched me for a long time."

"I am touching you now, Allison," I replied. "Do you like it?"

"Yes!" She licked her lips. "It's very hard to not move."

"I know," I said. "You haven't finished surrendering." I licked her ear. She giggled. "You want to surrender, but it's hard."

"Yes."

She arched her back.

"Oh Allison," I said sadly. I leaned in so her head was resting on my shoulder then reached up with one hand, clamping it over her mouth. With the other I clamped her nose closed.

She began struggling immediately. She became frantic nearly instantly, her head trying to escape my hold, but I was clasping tightly. Her feet began to kick on the bed. I held her like that for a count of fifteen seconds, then released her. She immediately began hyperventilating.

"I'm sorry!" she said, panting, clearly in a panic. "I'm sorry."

"Octopus?"

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"No octopus," she said.

"You're very brave," I told her into her ear. "That was fifteen seconds. The next one will be thirty."

"I'm sorry," she said again.

I kissed her ear. "I know you are." I turned her head and kissed her lips. I imagined I could taste her fear and her lust. I thrust my tongue into her mouth, devouring her greedily. She moaned into the kiss.

She was breathless after the kiss. I set her head down gently and moved away from her. "You have a lovely body, Allison."

"I'm old," she said.

I was immediately back at her head.

"Oh god!"

I moved slowly. I slipped her head onto my shoulder. I clasped her nose.

"You are lovely, Allison," I told her. "You have a lovely body. But I am in control, and I will not tolerate an unworthy attitude."

"I'm sorry," she said meekly. I slowly moved my hand over her mouth. She didn't struggle. I felt her breathing against my hand before I clamped it tightly over her mouth.

She accepted her punishment meekly at first, but deprived of air, everyone eventually panics. I counted to thirty before I released her.

She gasped for air. I caressed her gently while she got herself under control.

"Octopus?"

"No!"

"The next one is forty-five seconds."

She didn't say anything.

"You will listen," I told her.

"Yes, Sarah."

"You have an amazing body. It drives me crazy looking at it. I really hope I get to taste all those lovely bits and pieces of it, but if I keep punishing you, you'll eventually crack and ruin all our fun."

"I'm trying to be good," she said.

I kissed her ear. "I know you are. Try harder." I caressed her soothingly for a while. "Do you like this?"

"Yes," she said quietly.

"I am going to tie your ankles next. Would you like that?"

"Yes."

I took another kiss from her, then caressed her face and stood up. I walked to the end of the bed, grabbing a bathrobe pelt, and grabbed her left ankle. I tied the belt around her ankle, then bent her knee before pulling her ankle towards the foot of the bed, tying it off. I crawled across her to tie her right leg. When I was done, her legs were spread wide but with her knees bent and in the air.

I stood watching her. I could see her sex clearly. I imagined she felt exceedingly exposed and vulnerable.

"I am looking at you," I told her. "Can you imagine what I see?"

"Yes," she said.

"How do you feel knowing I could go get my camera right now and photograph you like this?"

"Oh god, Sarah."

"Octopus?"

"No."

I smiled. "If it's any consolation, I don't do porn covers."

She laughed nervously.

"Do you think you could free yourself?"

"No," she said.

"I could photograph you and leave. When would someone find you?"

"Never."

I paused.

"You don't look nervous about it," I told her.

I watched her smile. "You're trying to play mind games with me."

"I could step them up," I said. "The mind games." I didn't wait for her to respond. I walked into the other room and returned with my camera.

"Do you think I'm bluffing?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she said.

I turned the camera on, walking around the bed. I knelt down near the foot of the bed, facing her in profile, and took a photo.

"Oh god, Sarah!"

I took two more photos. She turned away from me after the second one.

"No!" I told her. "Put your head back where it was RIGHT NOW."

Meekly and slowly she complied. I moved around her, taking several more photos. She was trembling, but not once did she ask me to stop.

So far every photo I'd taken had been tasteful.

I moved to the other side of the bed and focused on her face. I took a photo.

"Oh god, Sarah," she said.

"Are you going to stop me?"

"No."

"You know what I'm going to do with these."

"Yes."

I moved down so that I was looking up her body. "Raise your head, Sarah," I ordered. She did. I took a photo, capturing an in focus belly button in the foreground, everything past that out of focus.

"Octopus?"

"No."

"Why are you letting me do this?"

I didn't wait for an answer. I took a photo of a bended knee.

"I don't know," she said. "Sarah, I don't know."

"Are you an exhibitionist?" I asked her. I photographed her foot and ankle with the restraint holding her securely.

"I don't know," she said.

I took one of the other ankle. "Maybe you don't think I'm really taking photographs of you. I promise you, I am."

"I know," she said.

I took two more photographs. Every photograph I'd taken had been tasteful.

I moved back to her head and cradled it on my shoulder.

"I've been good!" she said. "I've behaved!"

"I know you have," I told her. I slowly pulled the blindfold from her eyes.

"Are you untying me?" she asked sadly.

"No," I told her. "I'm only showing you the photographs." Then I held the camera up and went into preview mode, showing her the photographs. "You may tell me to slow down or go back," I told her. "I won't punish you."

"That one!" she said. I stopped scanning through them. It was the one I'd taken of her belly button. She turned her head to look at me, then back at the photos. She stared at the camera. I held it steady for her. Finally she said, "May I have a copy of that one?"

"They're all yours," I told her. I set my camera aside and immediately began kissing her. She opened her mouth obediently, and I invaded as far as I could. We both were squirming and moaning by the time I was done with the kiss.

I smiled at her and she smiled back. Without asking her, I replaced the blindfold and kissed her again.

"Allison," I told her. "If you try to take control again, I'm going to post these pictures on the internet."

"Oh god. Sarah."

I leaned over her and took a nipple into my mouth. She immediately squirmed and moaned, but she didn't try to push into me. I was getting impatient, and my hand snaked it's way down between her legs. I began tapping my fingers against her labia. She squirmed again. I parted her labia and began to tease her clit.

"Oh god!"

"If you invoke the name of God again, Allison, I will punish you. I am the only one here with you right now."

"Sarah!"

"Better." I gave her an especially nice flick on her clitoris.

"Oh Sarah!" she was squirming terribly, which got me even more excited. I stole her mouth with mine, my fingers continuing to tease her clit.

I whispered into her ear how lovely she was, how delicious it was to watch her squirm. My fingers continued to tease her clitoris. They slipped into her vagina for a moment, pressing against her G-spot, but then I went back to her engorged clitoris, whispering quietly the entire time how much I wanted her.

I pulled her lips to mine, kissing her. Her squirms were indicating a level of desperation. I broke the kiss.

"May I come?" she begged. "Please, Sarah, may I come?"

"Yes, Allison. Come! Now, come, Allison!"

"Sarah. Sarah. Sarah!" The last cry of my name was drown out, almost a howl. She arched her back as she came, the shudders driving through her. I forgave her this time as the shudders wracked her body.

She collapsed to the bed, whimpering my name.

I withdrew my hand and knelt down to cradle her head on my shoulder.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "Oh Sarah."

I watched as another shudder burst through her followed immediately by two more.

The whole scene was giving me a huge power rush, knowing what she was letting me do to her, knowing she'd let me do it all again, knowing she was hoping I wasn't done with her.

I gave her my hand and told her to suck. She latched on obediently. I watched her as I slowly unbuttoned the borrowed blouse. I slipped one shoulder out of it, then pulled my fingers from her mouth and finished removing the blouse.

"My prisoner," I told her.

"Yes," she said.

"Do you want to be freed?"

"No."

I smiled. "Good. It wasn't an offer, of course."

She giggled nervously. "What are you going to do to me?"

I immediately slipped back under her, her head back on my shoulder. "You don't get to ask questions like that, Sarah. Forty-five seconds."

I didn't wait. I immediately covered her mouth and pinched her nose. She struggled briefly, then relaxed, surrendering to me.

"Good girl," I told her. "Surrender, Allison, surrender feels so good." I let her breath for a three-count, then clasped her mouth again. She relaxed into it immediately. Twice more I let her breath and clasped her again.

When I released her, she gasped, then quietly whispered my name.

"Yes, Allison?"

"I'm sorry."

I kissed her cheek. "Could you tell what is different?"

"You took off your blouse."

I shifted out from under her, then turned her head and shifted until she could take a breast into her mouth. I pulled her to me as her tongue began flicking against the nipple.

"Oh yes, Allison," I told her. "Good girl."

Her mouth felt wonderful. She nipped me a few times, very gently, sending shivers through me.

I pulled away from her. "It's my turn, Allison," I told her. I stood up and shed the rest of my clothes impatiently. I walked around the bed and pulled her by her hips until she was fully on the bed, then climbed my way up between her legs. She smelled so wonderful I gave her clit a little attention on the way. I slipped my tongue into her, tasting her. She was positively dripping, and her musk filled me with lust, as if I wasn't already full.

I climbed the rest of the way to her and kissed her, thrusting my tongue into her mouth. She could taste herself on my mouth now. She sucked greedily at me. Then, slowly and carefully, I climbed the rest of the way, positioning my sex over her mouth. "You will give me an orgasm, Allison, with that pretty mouth of yours. I wonder how clever your tongue is."

She lifted her head to me and blindly searched for me with her lips. She found my labia. I reached down and spread myself for her, then lowered myself a little further. Her lips found my clitoris, sending my first tingles through me.

"Oh yes, Allison," I said. "That's good."

I kept my weight off her, letting her breath when she needed to. I wanted her thinking about pleasing me, not worried about being able to breath.

She nipped me very gently and I gasped.

"Oh, naughty girl!" I told her. "If you do that again, I'll be spanking you later."

She immediately did it again and I gasped. Then her lips massaged my now engorged clit. I squirmed and resisted the urge to press myself into her.

I rode the wave of what she was doing to me, moaning and squirming over her mouth. Her tongue slipped deeply inside me and I gasped in pleasure and shuddered for an instant.

"I'm close, Allison. Make me come!"

She brushed her teeth over my clit, then thrust her tongue inside me again. The actions sent another quite wave of pleasure through me.

"Yes, Allison, again!"

Obediently she did it again, and I moaned. "Oh so close, Allison."

She pressed her mouth against my tightly, thrusting her tongue deeply inside me, her nose pressing against my clit and I immediately began coming. She was gasping underneath me, fighting for air, but still she buried her face inside me.

"Oh Allison!" I screamed. "Yes!"

The shudders slammed into me. I reached down for her head and shoved her back against the bed before grinding my sex into her mouth. She thrust her tongue back inside me, giving me another wave of pleasure.

It went on and on until I finally I collapsed off of her.

We both lay there panting for several minutes before I could fully untangle myself. I untied her closest hand. She had been pulling on the scarf, tightening the knots, and it took some time to release her.

"Release yourself," I told her. I collapsed against the bed, still panting.

It took her a few minutes, but she extricated herself from the knots. When she crawled up the bed to cuddle against me, she was still wearing the scarf over her eyes.

Predatory Sarah was satisfied. She had retreated. Possessive Sarah was trying to assert herself, but that would have been a mistake. I gathered Allison into my arms and cradled her as we lied together, spent. For now.

"I'm proud of you," I told her when we could both talk.

She snuggled closer. "Was I blushing?"

"You were already flushed," I said. "If you blushed further, I couldn't tell."

"What will you do with the photos?" Then she clasped a hand over her mouth. I pulled it away and pulled her back to me.

"They're yours. If you have a computer here, we can load them there. Or I can delete them from the camera directly."

"You don't want them?"

"I don't want you to ever worry a client will someday ask you, 'Is that you?' If I keep any, you will always wonder." I paused. "Some of them are very good. I'd be tempted to use them" I smiled. "Or just look at them. So, remove temptation."

She didn't say anything to that.

"Kiss me," I told her.

She did. She tasted like me. I pulled her mouth to me firmly, then released her. She settled back in next to me, her head on my shoulder.

"I owe you a spanking," I told her.

"Yes."

"I'm not sure I believe you," I said.

"About what?" she asked. "I haven't lied to you."

"You're too greedy for what I've been doing. Too accepting."

"Just because no one has ever done any of this to me before," she explained, "doesn't mean I haven't wanted someone to."

I laughed. "No, I suppose it doesn't."

I pushed her away a little and pulled off the scarf. "Look at me."

She lifted her eyes to me. She was amazingly beautiful. The look of trust in her eyes made me want her again. "You will remain submissive."

"Yes, Sarah."

"I mean it."

"I know you do." She laid her head back down on my shoulder.

"I am sleeping in here with you," I told her. "And I am going to do anything I want to you."

She looked up at me and smiled.

"Do you have any ice cream?" I asked her.

"Yes. Several flavors."

"Vanilla?"

"Boring," she said. "Yes."

"Find our undies," I told her.

She slipped off the bed. She found hers first and pulled them on, then found mine and handed them to me.

"Kneel," I told her. She immediately dropped to her knees at the side of the bed. I smiled at her and slowly pulled the undies on. She watched me the entire time. I stood up and stretched languorously then walked around her, looking at her as she knelt on the floor.

I stepped up behind her and whispered into her ear, "How does it make you feel, kneeling for me?"

"Hot."

I caressed her neck.

"Octopus," I said.

She turned around and looked at me.

"Where am I allowed to mark you?" I asked her.

She frowned for a moment. I let her think about it. "I can wear a turtleneck if I need to."

I grabbed her and leaned her head backwards as I leaned over and moved my mouth to her neck. She struggled feebly as I left a mouth mark on her neck, taking my time. Finally I pulled away and admired the mark. We smiled at each other.

"The last time I had one of those, I was still a teenager," she said.

I laughed. "Get up." I helped her to her feet. "Ice cream."

She led the way to the kitchen, both of us wearing nothing but our undies.

"It's a little old," she said. "Leftover from this summer. It might be freezer burnt."

She had several flavors. "Vanilla," I told her. She pulled it out and handed it to me. I opened the lid on the one-quart container and peeked inside. It looked okay. She grabbed some mint for herself. "Just a little for me," I told her. "And a little of yours." She grinned at me.

She served us two small bowls of ice cream and put the rest away. I helped her eat hers. "Aren't you eating yours?"

"In a minute," I said. We finished hers together and I took the bowl and spoon away from her. "Up on the island," I ordered. "Flat on your back."

"Yes, Sarah," she said obediently. She hopped up on the center island and lied down. "It's cold!"

"You'll be hot in a moment," I told her. I handed her my bowl and spoon. "I will lick off any ice cream I find."

She looked at me then took a small amount with the spoon. She closed her mouth then deposited the ice cream on her lips. I immediately bent over and licked it off before kissing her. The next bit went on her right nipple, which was closest. I spent some time making sure I got every drop. Then it was her left nipple. I had to lean across her to reach it.

She dropped some into her belly button. She was giggling long before I was satisfied I'd gotten all of it. Then she left some on her pelvis at the crease of her leg. That one earned her a second hickey.

She took a peek into the bowl. There was only a little ice cream remaining. With one hand, she slipped her panties down around her thigh, wriggled more until they were past her knees, then scooped up the last bit of ice cream, spread her legs, and deposited it right on her clit.

"Cheeky girl!" I told her. I pulled her across the island to the end with her feet hanging over my shoulders, tossing her panties to the floor. I went down on her, my tongue exploring for every bit of the ice cream.

"Oh god!" she said.

I immediately jabbed my fingers into her ribs, hard.

"I'm sorry!" she said.

I pulled my mouth off of her. "If that happens again, you are going to go streaking in the blizzard."

"Oh-" she clamped her hand over her mouth.

I lowered my mouth and immediately began teasing her clit. She was squirming and moaning into her hand. I slipped two fingers into her but pulled my mouth away from her. "Get that hand down, Alison. I want to hear you."

She lowered her hand and arched her back, her hands now scrambling on the countertop. I lowered my lips to her clit and began to suck, my fingers sliding in and out of her, then slipping around to press against her G-spot.

"Sarah!"

I laughed into her, my mouth vibrating against her.

She became increasingly frantic and started saying my name like a mantra. "Sarah! Sarah!"

I loved how she tasted, her wet musky juices filling my mouth. I loved hearing her saying my name over and over.

I pulled my mouth away. "Come for me, Allison!" I flicked her with my tongue. Her vagina clenched around my fingers and she thrust her hips into me, the shudders starting deep inside. I gently wrapped my lips around her engorged, sensitive clit, sucking.

"Oh Sarah!" she screamed, her entire body shuddering.

I pressed hard against her G-spot, then held it, letting the waves crash through her. She collapsed back to the countertop, little shudders rolling through her every few seconds. I pulled my mouth away, removed my fingers, and lapped up her juices for a moment before leaving a trail of wet kisses to her mouth.

"I don't think I can move," she said when I was done kissing her.

I kissed her again. "I am going to fold the rest of my laundry. When I'm done, you will receive your spanking."

"Yes, Sarah," she said submissively.

I took my time with the clothes. I pulled out clothes for tomorrow but stuffed the rest back into the backpack, ready to go. I turned off lights on my way back to the kitchen.

Allison was still on the countertop but had rolled over. Her head was cradled in her arms. I looked at her.

She was radiant.

"Are you sorry you bit me?" I asked her.

She grinned impishly at me. "No."

I walked all around her, looking at her from every angle. She followed me with her head, with her eyes.

"Are you expecting a token spanking?"

She didn't answer right away. I waited. "I don't know what to expect," she said. "It was a playful nibble, and I think you liked it."

"You directly disobeyed me," I told her. "Do I need to restrain you for this?"

"No, Sarah," she said, meekly.

She shifted position so she was clutching the countertop with her hands, her head up, her back arched. I rubbed her bottom then delivered a stinging swat to her left cheek with a cupped hand.

"Count them," I ordered.

"One."

I gave her two more swats, alternating cheeks.

"Two. Three."

I stopped at ten, five on each side. She liked the first several. She didn't like the last few.

When I was done, I gently rubbed her now tender, flaming bottom. During the entire spanking, she hadn't tried to move away. Other than counting, she hadn't said a word, but she hissed between her teeth during the last several swats.

"Good girl," I told her. "Octopus."

She looked over at me.

"Is there any reason you can't come to bed?"

"No," she said.

"Do you want to share your bed with me?"

"Yes."

I smiled and kissed her bottom sweetly, both cheeks.

"Turn off the rest of the lights and come to bed. Naked. When you arrive in the bedroom, you will kneel beside the bed and remove the undies I am wearing. You will put them somewhere convenient, as I am taking them with me when I leave."

I turned around and walked to the bedroom without a second glance. She followed me shortly.

* * *

I watched her kneeling beside the bed. She looked so lovely. When I'd set out for a weekend of snowy photos of an isolated Minnesota lake in the winter, I hadn't imagined there would be this delicious twist of events.

I lied on my side, my head cradled in the palm of one hand, watching her. Her head was bowed. She was waiting for my next orders.

"Do I need to bind you to be assure of your submission in the morning?" I asked her.

She didn't answer at first. I let her think about it. "I don't know how I'll be in the morning," she finally admitted.

I watched her face for a moment. "Bring me one of the scarves," I ordered. "And get up here." While she found a scarf, I sat up. She climbed onto the bed, smiling at me, and handed me the scarf.

"Turn around. I want your feet in my lap, Allison."

She rotated around and carefully placed both feet in my lap. I caressed her feet for a moment, enjoying the softness, then used the scarf to hobble her much like I had before. She had some motion, enough to move around the house, but every time she moved, she would feel her ankles bound together, and it would remind her.

When I was done, I bent down and gently kissed each foot.

Throughout all this, she watched me. I looked up at her. "If you have misgivings in the morning," I told her. "Untie this yourself. I will understand."

"I won't have misgivings," she replied. She paused. "I may not want to continue this way, but I will have no misgivings."

"Come here."

She turned around and crawled up to me. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her. We crawled under the covers together, me on my back, her in the crook of my arm, her head resting on my shoulder.

"Who is in control?" I asked her.

"You are, Sarah," she said.

I kissed the top of her head then reached for her hand and moved it between my legs. "Are your fingers as clever as your tongue?"

* * *

Scared Sarah woke me sometime later. I was alone in the bed. For a moment I felt abandoned. It was a feeling I'd had before. I shoved Scared Sarah down and sighed. Well, it had been fun. I'd get up early and sneak out before things got awkward.

Then I heard a toilet flush and the bathroom door open. I rolled over onto my side. In the dim light, I saw Allison shuffling from the bathroom. She shuffled to the bed. She was still naked, as was I. She crawled back into the bed, trying to be quiet.

"Are your ankles still bound?" I asked her.

"Yes," she said. "I'm sorry, I tried not to wake you."

"I thought I'd have to sneak out in the morning before things grew awkward."

"I'm sorry," she repeated.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I told her. "Come here."

She came into my arms. We kissed briefly. "Roll over," I told her. "I want to hold you." She rolled over and wriggled her ass into me. "Vixen," I told her. She giggled. I rubbed her bottom for her.

"Sarah?"

"Yes, Allison?"

"I'm trying not to ask anything."

"I know it's hard for you." She didn't say anything. "Are you hoping I'll volunteer?"

"Yes."

I sighed.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

"I've tried to get help," I told her. "But they always start with trying to force me into their mold. Try to force me to talk. Try to force me to take medications. Lock me in a cell where I can't breath."

I stopped talking.

She tried rolling over to look at me.

"No!" I told her. "You will lie there."

"Yes, Sarah." She settled back in and wriggled her bottom at me again. It was exactly the right thing to do. I laughed softly, kissed the back of her neck, and began rubbing her bottom again.

"I don't like being alone all the time," I told her. "I'm actually very good at being alone, but I miss this." I patted her bottom very gently. "I miss conversations with intelligent people, as bad as I seem to be at them."

We were quiet for a time. I wasn't sure what I wanted to tell her.

"I don't respond well to even the mildest attempts to control me. It's an extreme reaction; I know that. I know you're not trying-"

I stopped. Swore.

"You don't have to explain," she told me.

I thought about leaving it like that. Finally I blurted out. "Is this a one-night stand?"

"Will you let me roll over and look at you?"

"Yes."

She rolled slowly until we were facing.

"May I kiss you?"

"Yes."

It was a nice kiss, soft and sweet. Then she pulled away and looked at me. "I don't do one night stands," she said. "If you leave in the morning, this will have been my first. It's not what I want." She looked into my eyes in the dim light.

I kissed her again. "Roll over. I like rubbing your bottom."

She smiled and rolled back again. She wriggled for emphasis.

I kissed the back of her neck and began rubbing her bottom again. My bottom arm was under her head. She'd pulled a pillow in as well, and she'd placed both her hands in mine.

We lied quietly for a while before I asked her, "Did you come up here to work this weekend?"

"I came up most distinctly to not work. I came up to breath."

I laughed.

"I wouldn't have called it that," she said. "But now I will forever."

"What does that mean to you?"

"I brought several trashy novels," she said. "They're in the car with the groceries."

"And instead you got a porn star in your bed."

She laughed. "Are you really?"

"No," I told her, laughing with her. "I only do the book covers, and the books are actually pretty good. Erotica, not porn."

"Why were you up here? Was it just to breath?"

"No," I told her. "Pictures. I need a snowy lake."

"With you naked, rolling in the snow?"

I laughed again. "No. Just the lake."

We didn't say anything for a while. I continued to rub her delicious bottom. She traced patterns in the palm of my hand with her finger.

"Sarah?"

"Yes, Allison?"

"Would it upset you if you caught me reading your book?"

I thought about it. Then I realized how I felt about it, and I pulled her into a hug against me.

"Damn it," I said.

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I shouldn't have asked."

"It's not that. I care what you think. Damn it." She didn't say anything. I think I hurt her feelings. "What if you hate it?"

"What if I love it? Which would be worse?"

"What if you hate it but are afraid to tell me, so you lie?"

"I won't. I can't promise I'll love it, but I won't lie. I can promise that. Please, may I read it?"

I pushed her away just a little and began scratching her back. "I'm not going to sleep for a while," I finally admitted.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Would you like me to read the first chapter to you?"

"Yes! Will you let me watch you?"

"If you lie to me about it, it's betrayal," I told her.

"I won't lie."

I kissed her shoulder. "Wait here." I pulled myself out from my entangled position with her and went in search of my laptop. It was in the living room. I came back into the bedroom with it. She hadn't moved. I climbed on top of the bed and arranged myself against the headboard. I opened the computer and found the document with my book. I looked at it for a bit.

"You may sit or lie however you like," I told her. "But your ankles stay bound."

She rolled over and sat up, twisting the silk on her ankles so she could set cross legged on the bed, facing me.

I began to read.

* * *

I didn't look at her while I read. I simply read the first chapter. It wasn't a long book. Seven chapters. Each chapter was a story. The odd chapters were about being outside in the different seasons. The chapters in between were about being cooped up inside, away from the beauty. Chapter one was spring.

When I finished, I looked up. Something looked odd about her, but I couldn't tell what it was in the dim light, especially as my eyes were now accustomed to reading the computer screen. I turned the computer around and used it like a flashlight to illuminate her face.

Two tears were crawling down her cheeks.

I closed the laptop. "I don't understand," I told her. "It's a happy story."

"I know," she said. "It's what all my clients are missing. Is the rest like that?"

I shook my head. "The odd chapters. The even chapters are dark."

"Does it have an odd or even number of chapters?"

"Odd," I said. "Seven chapters. It ends well."

She wiped the tears away then crawled up the bed to me and laid down in her spot. "Please wait here," I told her. I got up and put the laptop back in the living room, then returned to her. "Roll over," I ordered. "I want to spoon. It's time to sleep."

She wriggled her bottom again. I slapped it just a little. "No more tonight. Sleepy time."

We cuddled up and I buried my nose in her hair.

"Sarah?"

"Go to sleep."

"I won't be untying my ankles in the morning."

I kissed her neck.

* * *

I almost panicked when I woke up in the morning. Someone was holding me, imprisoning me. A pair of arms were wrapped around me from behind, and there was a knee stuck between my legs.

I started to struggle to get up.

"Hey," said a voice. Allison's voice. I remembered.

I stopped struggling. "Are your ankles still tied?" I asked.

"Yes."

She started to unwrap herself from me. "I'm sorry," she said.

"No." I grabbed her arms and pulled them back where they were, wrapped around me. I kissed an arm.

We cuddled like that for a few minutes, but I started to get antsy. I rolled us both over, her on her back, me on my side facing her.

"Regrets?" I asked.

"No. Will you read me the next chapter?"

"Maybe," I said. I tried to look out the window but couldn't see very well. "This room doesn't have as good a view."

"It used to, then those evergreens grew up."

I got out of bed. The cabin was chilly. I ran out to the living room. It was still snowing.

I ran back into the bedroom. "It's still snowing. I need to take photos."

"May I come?"

I smiled. "I was hoping you would." I walked to the bed and ripped the bedding off her.

"Hey!" she complained. "Cold!"

"Ankles. Now."

She obediently offered me her feet. I untied them. "Are you going to let me put this back on later?"

She nodded slowly.

I rolled her over and swatted her bottom. "Get up! Bathroom. Teeth!" Then I went over to her dresser and helped myself to another pair of her undies.

She saw me slipping them on and smiled.

We both did our morning rituals. I went to the laundry room and dressed in my own clothes then brought everything I needed to the kitchen island. I grabbed my camera from its bags and switched lenses. From my backpack I retrieved the weather case I used in situations like this and stuffed the camera inside.

Allison arrived. I pulled her to me and kissed her. "Kneel!"

She immediately dropped to her knees with no hesitation. I kissed her again then held her for a moment. "Are you starving?"

"No. How long will we be outside?"

"An hour," I told her. "Then inside for breakfast." I leered down at her. I kissed her again then pulled her to her feet. "Thank you," I whispered into her ear.

We finished bundling up before stepping outside. We stood on the deck and watched the snow falling. It was coming straight down. No wind. The world was nearly silent. The air felt crisp.

"Is the lake safe to walk on?" I asked.

"Yes," she said.

The cabin was set back from the lake. The slope that had started at the road continued gently all the way down to the water. I followed Allison as she led the way. I stopped her as we approached the bottom. "Let me lead from here," I said. She nodded.

There was a pile of some structure near the lake. I asked her what it was.

"Dock sections," she said. "You have to pull it out of the water for the winter or the ice destroys it."

I took a handful of photos. I wasn't sure why, but it seemed to set a tone.

Then we approached the water.

The entire lake was frozen over and white. The falling snow gave everything a crisp but subdued appearance. It was beautiful. I started taking pictures. The ones I liked the most were taken from very low, just inches above the snow, and pointing along the shoreline. I took shots of my own footprints. I took shots of trees laden in snow.

I turned to Allison, trudging along behind me, smiling. "Allison," I said. "Would you stand over here?" I pointed to a spot twenty yards from shore. The shoreline here was filled with conifers, and they would make a great backdrop. She stood where I asked. I walked around her. She tried following me. "Hold still," I told her. "Just like that."

I didn't take photos. I framed shots and thought about it.

I walked over to her. "I want you to take some photos of me," I told her. "Walk around me like I just did, shooting constantly." I handed her the camera, still in its weather case. I looked around. "Do you think anyone is watching us?"

"I don't know," she said. "Are you thinking of doing something you don't want anyone to see?"

"I don't care if they see," I said. "But you might."

She looked at me for a moment then shrugged. "I'm not going to judge. Tell me when to start shooting."

I smiled. I took my hat off and fluffed my hair. "Any time. Just keep shooting."

She lifted the camera and started shooting. I could tell working it through the case was awkward for her, but she figured out how to access the controls. She did one circle, and I ignored her. For the second circle, I followed her with my head, staring directly into the camera.

For the third, I unzipped my jacket and held it away from me. After she'd gotten several photos, I dropped it. She took a few shots of the jacket in the snow. I took the sweater off and unbuttoned the blouse. I decided that was enough. After that, I flirted with her through the lens of the camera.

I saw her lick her lips at one point. Knowing I was affecting her gave me a little rush.

"Okay, cold now!" I said. I didn't bother buttoning, but I pulled the sweater back on, pulled my hat over my ears, and put my jacket on. I took the camera from Allison, and she pulled her gloves back on.

"Thank you," I told her.

"You're welcome," she said. "I thought you weren't going to do any like that."

"Upset?"

"No. Just curious."

"I was being opportunistic. You were here and took nice photos last night." I paused. "Ready to go inside?"

She nodded. I took her hand and we walked to the cabin together.

One we got to the porch, we brushed snow off each other and shook off as best we could before stepping inside the cabin. Once inside we climbed out of our outerwear and carried them to the laundry room to hang up or set on the rug. I grabbed Allison and pushed her firmly against the wall, pressing my body against her. I wove my hand in her hair and pulled her mouth to me for a kiss.

She whimpered into the kiss. The sound woke up Predator Sarah, but I shoved her back with an unspoken "Soon".

"Breakfast first," I told Allison, releasing her.

She smiled at me and nodded, but before I could step back, she put her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder. I enveloped her in my own arms for a moment, then pulled away. "What are you cooking for me, Slave Girl?"

"Slave Girl, is it?"

I looked at her.

"Are pancakes all right, Mistress?"

I laughed. "Yes, Slave Girl. Pancakes would be fabulous."

She laughed, leading the way back to the kitchen.

While she cooked, I downloaded everything from the camera to my computer. I went through everything and immediately realized I had all the photos of her from last night. I dug through my camera bag and found my collection of USB thumb drives. I searched for a blank one and copied the photos of Allison to it, deleting them from my hard drive as I went, but staring at each one first.

I would have used all of them. It was definitely best to remove temptation.

I went through the photos I'd taken this morning. There were a couple that were blurry. I deleted them. The rest I liked.

"May I see?" she asked.

I turned the computer around and went through the photos. When we got to the ones she had taken, she asked me to slow down. I went through them slowly until she said, "Stop."

It was one of the photos she'd taken once I was trying to flirt with her. The background was the snow-covered trees. My head was down and I was looking at the camera through my eyelashes, my head slightly cocked. There was a half smile on my lips. You could just see the lace of my bra.

"Sarah," Allison said quietly, "may I have a copy of that?"

I smiled at her. I turned the computer around and sat at a bar stool. I pulled the image up in Photoshop and did a little cleanup. When I was done, I copied it to the thumb drive.

I finished with the photos and put the computer and camera away. I set the thumb drive to the side after telling Allison what it is. "I wouldn't leave it sitting around for anyone else to see," I told her, grinning.

She blushed.

* * *

After a far too fattening breakfast, I pulled her to the bedroom and immediately began pulling clothes off her. She giggled and was very cooperative. She reached for a few kisses, but I swatted her on the bottom and told her to knock it off.

She pouted. It was cute.

"Undress me," I ordered. "But behave."

She did.

Then I put my hands on her shoulders and started marching her backwards into the bathroom. I grinned at her.

"Oh no," she said. "I was good."

I pushed her until she had her back against the shower. "Get in," I told her.

She tried to reach around and turn the water on.

"Get in right now," I told her sternly.

She meekly climbed into the shower. I turned the water on, and she immediately began shrieking. "Cold! Sarah! Cold!"

"Let me know when it's a comfortable temperature," I told her.

She continued to shriek for several seconds but finally got the water adjusted properly. I reached in, testing it, then climbed in after her.

"Sarah? What did I do to deserve that?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry. I was feeling playful. It wasn't fair."

"Are you going to make it up to me?"

"I might," I said. "How long will the water last."

"A long time," she said. "I have a very large hot water heater. It doesn't do to make guests take cold showers."

I maneuvered her until the water was pouring over her head from behind her, then pulled her forward and took her mouth in a kiss. Her lips parted immediately for my tongue. She tasted like a mix of Allison, pancakes and syrup. She reached up with her arms and draped them around my neck. I wrapped mine around her body, my hands cupping her ass. We molded our slippery bodies together.

I broke the kiss and reached for the soap. "Turn around," I ordered. "Hands on the wall." I made her lean against the wall like I was a cop about to frisk her, the water raining down her head, and began to wash her.

I loved touching her. She had an amazing body. Just looking at her made my hormones go wild.

I began by washing her back and under her arms, then washed all the way to her wrists. I worked my way down her back, massaging the muscles of her lower back for a while. She moaned in appreciation. I washed her bottom and then began on her legs. I teased her for a moment, my wet, soapy fingers sliding into her. She squirmed. "Oh Sarah," she said quietly. "I love what you do to me."

I kissed her soapy bottom before sliding my fingers back out. She squirmed some more, but didn't complain. I washed both legs, then said, "Give me a foot."

She lifted her left foot. I washed it very thoroughly, teasing the toes while I was at it. Allison giggled and wriggled her foot. Before I set her foot back down, I made sure the bottom was clean of soap and the tub was also clean. "Make sure that's not slippery," I told her, setting it down. Then I took the right foot.

I worked my way back up, washing her again. I wrapped my arms around her and washed her tummy, then here breasts. For a moment, I simply held her, my front pressed against her back.

I knew what we were doing wouldn't last forever. It wouldn't last past the weekend. But it had been a long time since I've been able enjoy intimacy with someone. Holding Allison felt good.

Then my hands began moving again, first kneading her breasts, my fingers teasing her nipples. I felt them both engorge under my touch. "Today, Allison, you have permission to squirm all you like."

Oh, I loved touching her. I wanted to hear her screaming my name again. I wanted to taste her, soak in her scent.

I turned her around to face me, then jockeyed in the shower until we were sideways to the water. I kissed her, my face a little soapy. I broke the kiss and pushed her against the wall of the shower, staring into her eyes.

"You're amazing," she told me.

My entire body tingled from the complement.

"Is it my turn to wash you?" she asked.

"No," I said. I grinned then rinsed some of the water from her body, brushing her with my hands. The shower head could be pointed around the enclosure, so I reached up to it and directed it at her, rinsing the suds from her body before pointing it to the floor. I pressed against her, kissing her again, then moved my lips to her neck and began to suck voraciously.

She struggled weakly, clutching me and moaning. Her moans drove me crazy with lust.

I lowered my lips to her breast, teasing first one nipple before the other, but I was impatient now. She thrust her chest at me; I'd given her permission, after all, but I pulled away and smiled at her, then slowly lowered myself to my knees in front of her.

It was awkward in the shower, but I forced her legs further apart and maneuvered between them, my mouth seeking her sex, finding it. Her hands began to beat against the wall of the shower as I reached with my hands and spread her open for me, my tongue flicking against her clitoris, the water splashing against us.

Then her hands were in my hair, holding gently, not guiding, not pressuring, just holding my head softly. She didn't keep them there very long, as I thrust my tongue inside her and she spasmed, spanking her hands against the wall of the shower again. "Sarah!"

I hummed into her, wondering if she could feel the vibration. I nipped her clit very gently once and she jerked. I kissed her clit, pulling it into my lips, sucking on the tip of it, and her movements became more frantic. "Oh Sarah!"

She ground her hips at me, pressing herself firmly against my mouth. I shoved her back against the wall of the shower, but pressed my mouth more firmly into her sex.

Her hands were back in my hair, clutching at me, while she was saying over and over, "Sarah! Oh Sarah!"

She began to shudder, the motion filling her body, letting out a long, loud, "Sarah! I'm coming! I'm coming! Oh Sarah!"

I kept her in my mouth until the shudders dissipated. I pulled away and looked up at her. She was pressed against the wall of the shower, her eyes closed, breathing heavily. I worked my way out from underneath her, then traced a line of kissed up her body to her neck. She pulled me into a kiss.

We hugged in the shower for a while before she pulled away. "You certainly aren't my first lover, but you are the sexiest woman I've ever held."

I smiled. "Time to wash your hair.

* * *

After the shower, we took turns pampering each other. I brushed and dried her hair, then she attended to mine. I got the better end of the deal. By the time we were dressed, the snow had stopped.

We moved to the living room and sat on the sofa, curled up with each other, staring out the window and talking quietly. "Sarah," she said. "That deer was the luckiest thing that has ever happened to me."

I laughed. "I thought perhaps I was the luckiest thing that ever happened to you."

She laughed with me. "I guess perhaps they are intertwined." She paused. "Will you read more from your book?"

"The next chapter is dark," I told her.

"I'd love to hear it," she replied.

"All right," I said, pushing her away from me a little so I could extricate myself from the sofa. I retrieved my laptop then sat down on the opposite end of the sofa. She pouted a little at the distance.

"When is the last time you pouted?" I asked her.

I watched her think about it. "I honestly don't know," she said finally. She laughed at herself. "You make me feel young."

"Are you on that old thing again?" I asked her, my brow furrowing.

"No," she said.

I eyed her suspiciously. "All right. Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes." We both shifted on the sofa so we were sitting sideways, our legs partly intertwined. She closed her eyes. I opened the laptop and found the second chapter.

Chapter two of my novel is set in the city. It is written to be intentionally discordant. It is actually a good story, but it's not designed to make you feel good. I watched Allison as she became increasingly restless. At one point she opened her eyes to watch me read. I felt her gaze on me and stopped reading. "No," I said. "Eyes closed. Listen and feel the story."

She closed her eyes. My eyes lowered to the screen again, continuing the story, but I kept stealing glances at her. I watched as she slowly curled up and wrapped her arms around her knees, withdrawing from me.

I finished the chapter and watched her. She sat quietly for a minute longer, still hugging her knees, but looking restless. Finally she opened her eyes and looked at me. She looked at the distance she'd put between us and considered her own body language.

"I'm sorry," she said.

I smiled. "You have nothing to apologize for."

"That's very unsettling." She paused. "I can't even tell you why. But. It's almost like I can taste the smog choking the tree she planted."

A rush of pleasure burst through me. If that was all she got out of the story, I was pleased. That had been my goal when I wrote it, to make the reader feel choked by the city, all the noise, all the unnatural smells, all the crowding. I understood that cities were important in their way, but how can one breath?

"Sarah," she said. "Are you going to leave me like this? Is the next chapter just as unsettling?"

"No," I said. "It's not. Would you like me to read it?"

"Yes, please."

"All right," I said. I lowered my eyes and began reading again. I didn't worry about whether she closed her eyes. I didn't worry about her body language. I let her decide what her own reaction would be. I read slowly and clearly, enjoying the words, savoring them.

Chapter three is set in the summer and tells of a canoeing trip in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. It starts with the boat sliding into the clear, still cool water. It ends with a loon crying across the water after sunset.

When I looked up, Allison was relaxed, her eyes closed, leaning against the back of the sofa. Our feet were touching, and she was smiling softly. I closed my laptop and set it on the coffee table, then leaned against the sofa and watched Allison. She sat there for a while, not speaking. Eventually she opened her eyes, fluttering them a moment before focusing on me. "Thank you," she said.

I smiled.

"I've never read any of this to anyone before," I told her.

"May I ask questions?" I nodded. "Is it possible to buy copies?"

I frowned. "Are you trying to butter me up so I'll make you scream my name some more?"

She laughed. "You can't read my body language? It's not lying."

I told her how she could get copies, both electronic and paperback. She moved back to my end of the sofa and stretched out with me. We cuddled and kissed for a while. It felt good to hold someone. She was soft and warm.

"Allison," I told her eventually. "That was a very fattening breakfast. I think we need to go work it off."

"You're insatiable," she said, grinning up at me. "But if you insist."

I pinched her nose. "Not like that," I said. "It's lovely out. Why are we inside?"

"Because being held by you feels so wonderful," she told me.

"Does that mean if I go for a walk, you won't lock me out?"

"Did I just get uninvited?"

"No, I thought you were telling me you didn't want to go."

* * *

We bundled up in warm clothes. I left my camera behind. We stepped outside wearing all the accoutrements of winter, but I still reached over and took her gloved hand.

We walked down to the ice and walked on the lake, walking the perimeter of the little bay that held her cabin. There weren't very many other cabins. We walked past the camp grounds where I had expected to camp.

"Would you really have camped out?" she asked. "During a blizzard?"

"Yes," I told her. I explained about my gear.

We were outside for about two hours before we both started to get cold. As we approached her cabin, I started a snowball fight.

She screeched at me and began throwing snow back. Eventually I caught her in the face with a big pile of soft snow. She sputtered through it. When I leaned down to pick up more snow, she ran up and stuff a handful down the back of my jacket.

It was my turn to screech. I danced around, trying to get the snow to fall out of my jacket. Allison stood a few feet away, giggling at my antics. As soon as I got the snow out of my jacket, I rushed her and pulled both of us down into the snow with Allison on the bottom. I sat on her and pinned her hands above her head.

She squealed and struggled, still giggling.

I transferred both her hands to just my left hand and used my right to pick up a pile of snow. Her eyes grew wide. She could have pulled her hands out of mine, but she behaved, her struggles little more than token.

"Sarah," she said. "Please don't."

"Oh I don't know," I said. "I think watching you squirm from the cold would be almost as fun as watching you squirm for other reasons." I began lowering the snow, deciding where to stuff it.

"You don't want to do that, Sarah," she said, renewing her struggles. "You don't want a frigid love slave, do you?"

I laughed at the pun and threw the snow away before lowering my lips to kiss her. Cold kisses aren't as good as warm kisses, but they're still nice. By now we were both well past wet and cold, though, so I climbed off her and helped her to her feet. Arm in arm, we walked up the slope to the cabin.

* * *

We were still stepping out of our wet clothes when her phone rang. She ran to answer it. I listened to a half a conversation, learning very little. She hung up and turned to me, still stepping out of wet clothes.

"They found my car but he doesn't expect to get it back to me until early tomorrow afternoon. He says he'll plow my driveway as soon as the county does the road, but that might not be for a few more hours." She smiled.

"You're happy I'm stuck here?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"Show me how happy."

She did.

* * *

After lunch I made her sit outside with me. I made a little nest in the snow and settled down, pulling her down beside me.

"What are we doing?" she asked.

"Breathing," I told her. "I want you to stay here with me until you can't stand it anymore. You can go inside when you've had enough."

After that I forbade any talking. We sat side by side in the snow. I closed my eyes and began to meditate. She was a distraction. She didn't know how to sit still, although she tried.

"I'm sorry," she said after a while.

"Are you too cold to stay?" I asked without opening my eyes.

"I'm cold, but mostly I know I'm distracting you."

"You'll still distract me if you go," I told her. She leaned her head on my shoulder. "You've never meditated?"

"I never got the point," she said.

"It's a reset," I said. "Our minds get so cluttered and frantic, always worried about something. We get conditioned to what evolution tells us is an unnatural level of stress. Thirty minutes of good meditation can act like a reset button. You can be calm and clear headed afterwards."

"Like hypnosis," she said. "I've never used it in my practice, but I know people who do."

"Yes," I said. "They both can create similar brainwave patterns."

"I don't have a lot of faith in hypnosis," she admitted. "I've had several people try to hypnotize me, but it's never done anything. I spent the entire time analyzing what they're doing."

I walked her through my thoughts when I meditate. She settled down, listening to my voice. We began to breathe in unison, and she settled in for a while, but then a tree off to our right dumped a load of snow to the ground, and the sound startled her out of it.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's okay. Do you want to try once more?"

"Will you be upset if I go inside?"

"No," I told her. "You did good for a first try. If you decide to try again in the future, you'll at least have an idea of what I do."

I felt her stand up. She brushed snow off herself.

"If I'm still out here in an hour," I told her. "Come get me. Be gentle."

I listened to her step into the cabin and close the door. I focused on my own breathing and tried not to think of Allison. That was a lot like not thinking of the purple bunny when someone says, 'Don't think of purple bunnies'."

I listened to the light breeze in the trees. I listened to my own breathing.

* * *

I didn't hear her approach. I felt a light touch on my hand. "Hey," she said quietly.

I didn't respond right away, awareness slowly coming back to me. I opened my eyes and looked over at her.

"I waited an hour," she said.

I smiled, still not quite ready to use words. We stared out at the lake for a while.

"Do you meditate every day?"

I shrugged. It wasn't every day. I hadn't yesterday. I laid my head on her shoulder for a minute, finally coming out of the post meditation bliss enough to answer. "Most days. Not every day."

"Will you meditate tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"May I try again?"

I pulled her head towards me, kissing her.

* * *

My body was cold by the time we got back inside, especially my bottom. Access to a dryer made me cavalier about letting my clothes get wet. I told her I was going to get spoiled. She smiled.

We got each other naked and put all the wet clothes in the dryer. I immediately headed for her bedroom and acquired a third pair of her panties. She caught up to me and laughed. "Am I going to have any left?"

"Depends on how long I stay," I told her, laughing with her. I stared at her. "On the bed, on your stomach, right now."

She stared at me for a moment, her look challenging. I stared her down, and she lowered her eyes. "Yes, Sarah," she said obediently. She climbed onto the bed and lied down.

I looked around the room and found one of the scarves, tossed casually over a chair. I grabbed it and walked over to her. I massaged her bottom with the silk for a moment, then hobbled her ankles again. I kissed her bottom.

"Still submissive?"

"Yes," she said.

I swatted her bottom lightly, then kissed it.

"Come on," I told her. I helped her roll over and pulled her to her feet. "Let's make some tea and find a game to play."

* * *

I kept her naked all afternoon. The snow plow came through late in the afternoon. Allison looked out the kitchen window at it and frowned. She looked over at me with a worried expression.

"Am I welcome for the night?" I asked her.

She smiled broadly. "Yes."

I let her dress when we made dinner together. She made stir fry. As soon as we were done cleaning up, we collected a bunch of blankets and pillows, spreading them on the living room floor in front of the fireplace. We slowly undressed each other then made gentle love together.

"You're not so frantic tonight," she told me later.

"You feel good," I told her.

I gave her a choice. Another chapter of the book or she could ask me any one single question she wanted. I promised I would answer.

She was clearly torn. Then she decided. "If I ask the questions I want to ask, it's going to destroy the mood. Will you read from your book?"

Chapter four was the city in the summer. She was fidgeting by the time I finished. She opened her eyes, and I could see the pain behind them. "That's my life," she said. "Even when I come up here, I'm working. It's better here, but I'm working."

"Do you want the next chapter?"

She nodded.

"Go make us some herbal tea, Love Slave," I ordered.

She giggled and kissed me before getting up. I watched her wriggle her naked ass at me as she walked into the kitchen. Possessive Sarah got a real good look at her ass and started to growl, "Mine!" I shoved her back down. "We're leaving tomorrow," I told myself. "This is just a fling."

She brought our tea back and sat down in our pile of pillows, handing mine to me. It was hot. I took a sip and set it on the stones of the fireplace hearth.

Once she was settled in, I began reading chapter five. It was a story about a fall hiking trip in the mountains.

* * *

Later, I tied her to the bed and spent an hour teasing her before I let her come. She spent most of the time squirming and begging. When I finally let her come, she went through a series of orgasms that lasted several minutes. I had her untied before the last one faded away. She wrapped herself around me and shuddered every few minutes with the afterglow.

We murmured quietly at each other as we fell asleep.

* * *

I woke in the middle of the night. My left arm was asleep and pinned to the bed. I started to panic before I was awake enough to realize I was in bed with another woman, and it took me a few more seconds to put the rest together. What a fuzzy head.

"Are you okay?" Allison asked me.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I'm not used to waking up in bed with someone else."

I wrapped my arms around her, then pulled her over to the other side. She squealed for a moment. We adjusted the covers and proceeded to go back to sleep, my right arm pinned now instead of the left.

* * *

When I woke in the morning, she was already awake, watching me. "Good morning, Sleepyhead," she said. I made some non-committal noise. She began petting me and pushed me onto my back. I was too asleep to protest.

"Your love slave wants to make you feel good," she told me.

She didn't want for an answer.  She did a good job making me feel good.

When I was done shuddering from the series of orgasms she gave me, she cuddled into me.

"You're a pretty good love slave," I told her after a few minutes. "Are your ankles still bound?"

"Yes, Mistress." She gave me a sober look, but there was a laugh just under the surface.

"What time are you leaving today?" I asked her.

"I'm not," she said. "I don't have any appointments until Tuesday." She paused. "Were you hoping for a gracious exit later today?"

I thought about it. "I was expecting one." I thought some more. "Getting tired of being the love slave yet?"

"No," she said. "It's like a fantasy world, and I'm not in a hurry for it to end. If you're tired of me, I understand."

I smiled. "Not yet."

"Will you let me take you to breakfast, then?" she said. "You'll have to drive. My car isn't back yet. And I want to buy fresh groceries for dinner tonight."

I smiled. "And then a walk on the lake."

"Before or after you read me the next chapter? I could just read it myself, but I love hearing your voice."

* * *

When we drove into town, my red bra, looking somewhat worse for wear, was still hanging from the tree. "We're lucky some teenager didn't decide to claim that as a prize," Allison told me.

I laughed. "I never even considered the temptation."

* * *

It was colder that day, the sun bright and clear, the snow beautiful. I brought the camera and told Allison, "No messing around on this walk." We went a different direction than on Saturday. When we got back near her cabin, I asked her if she'd take more photos of me. "The sun will make them look different."

It was a lot colder, and I didn't last long before I was bundling back up.

When we got back, her car was in the driveway. Together we brushed the snow from it and put it away in the garage. Her groceries from the trunk were all frozen solid. Allison moved everything into her freezer and decided she could straighten it all out some other time.

We were both wet and cold from the walk. I was deeply invigorated. I loved winter! So cold and crisp and beautiful. The city in the winter isn't necessarily beautiful. It can be stunning during a snowfall, but once the snowplows put sand and salt down, the pretty snow turns ugly. Out here at the lake, it was beautiful all winter.

But we were cold and wet. We stood in the laundry room, pulling clothes off each other, giggling, and tossing them into the dryer. Both our legs were red. I slapped Allison's bottom once, not hard, but she complained.

"I'm sorry. Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Yes," she said, pouting, then bending over the wash machine to stick her ass out for me. I knelt down behind her and kissed the cold skin gently, one kiss per cheek. She giggled and led the way to the shower.

We climbed into the shower together, and I immediately pressed her against the wall, rubbing my body against hers and claiming her mouth. I reached over with one hand and directed the showerhead to rain hot water down on both of us while I kissed her.

It took a while to warm up. Our skin went from red from the cold to flushed from lust and heat.

I handed Allison the small bar of soap, rotated us around so had my back to the wall and spread my legs. I looked at her suggestively and closed my eyes.

At first she washed me slowly.

"Love slave, that's not what I'm waiting for."

She giggled. "Are you in a hurry?"

"Yes!"

Her lips moved to my breasts. The hand with the soap slipped between my legs. She teased me with the bar. I felt myself spread, and the wet slippery soap pressed against my clitories.

"Yes, Allison," I told her.

Her giggles were muffled by my right breast in her mouth.

She slipped the bar of soap inside my vagina and I jumped. She went fishing after it with a finger and slid it slowly back out of me. She used it to tease my clit then let it slide back in.

I'd never been made love to by a little bar of soap before.

She teased me with the soap for a long while. My squirms grew more frantic. The soap felt good but it wasn't going to finish me.

"Stop teasing!" I ordered.

She giggled, pulled the soap out of me one more time and let it fall to the shower floor. Immediately I felt her fingers of one hand slide into me while she used her other hand to press against my engorged, needy clit. It only took a few more seconds before I was panting madly and started to come.

"Yes! Slave! Yes!" I yelled at her. The orgasmic rush poured through me. I shoved my pelvis against her hands as I came, the shudders wracking through my body.

She climbed back up and I threw my arms around her, leaning on her and panting. She kissed my shoulder and my neck.

When I could finally think again, I leaned away from her, my arms still around her neck. "I'm full of soap, aren't I?"

She smiled. "Yep."

It took her a while to clean me out.

"Squeaky clean," she said eventually.

"No one has ever said that about my vagina before," I told her, laughing

* * *

We spent the afternoon more subdued. I was completely satiated and happy. Allison seemed pleased with herself but remained submissive. On Friday I never would have thought she'd ever turn submissive to me, and then once she did, I didn't think she would have kept it up.

I told her that. "You make it easy," she said simply. "Will you read the rest of your book to me?"

"I was thinking tonight," I told her. "Before we go to sleep." I paused. "I have two book covers I need to do. Did you want to see how I do them?"

"Yes!" she said. "I'd love that."

"If you make us some tea, I'll set up."

She made tea and a little vegetable tray to munch on. I set my laptop up on the dining room table, retrieving my pen tablet from the computer bag and connecting it. When she came back with a steeping pot of tea, I showed her the setup.

Some book covers are very easy to do. Some take more time. The two I had waiting for me would be on the easier side. One was for a book of poems about winter on a lake as a child. I wanted to use one of the photos of the lake I'd taken yesterday along with a stock image of a teenage girl in a ski jacket. I went to a stock image web site and started looking for an image to use, explaining everything to Allison.

I wasn't having any luck finding a good image and explained I may need to take an image of a girl and then overlay winter clothing. "That will make this take a lot longer," I told Allison.

"Is this a book of erotic poems?"

"No," I said. "The woman I'm doing it for is going to print them and give them to her grand children."

Allison smiled. "I'll be right back."

She disappeared for a several minutes then came back with a thumb drive. She set it on the table and said, "Maybe one of these will help."

I gave her a questioning look then inserted the thumb drive and looked at the contents.  There were a dozen photos of a teenage girl with long black hair. They had clearly been taken over a variety of years, as the girl was of different ages. I looked at her.

"Several years ago, I had all my photographs digitized."

"This is you?"

She smiled and nodded. "Can you use one of them?"

I looked through them again. "This one," I said. It was a fully body shot taken on a cloudy winter day. She was smiling at the camera but looking a little impish. "I'd love to use this one," I told her.

"I'd like that," Allison said.

"Will you sign a release?" I asked her. "Sometimes my clients ask. It's rare, but sometimes they ask."

She nodded and found a pad of paper. I dictated a standard release, which she wrote out in long hand and signed.

I did my magic with the two images, adjusting colors slightly and cutting off her feet a little so it looked like she was standing in the snow. That part took the longest. I added the title and author's name, spending time getting the colors and font just right, then cropped the overall image just the way I wanted it.

"Thank you," I told Allison. "This could have turned into four hours. But instead it was easy."

"It looks amazing," she replied. She looked at me. "Can I have a copy?"

I put two copies on her thumb drive, one with the titles and one without. I then put a big bold watermark across the image and emailed it to my client for approval.

"One down," I said. "The other one should be easy as well."

I dug through the photos she had taken of me out on the lake. "This one is for a racier book," I said to Allison. I smiled. "One not too unlike how our weekend has gone." She laughed.

"May I?" she asked?

I relinquished the computer and she sorted through the photos. "I like this one the most," she said after a moment. "But that's just my opinion."

I looked at the image. It was pretty sexy, for a photo of a woman standing on a frozen lake in northern Minnesota during a blizzard. It was one she'd taken while I was flirting with her through the camera lens, and you could see that come through. I looked through a few of the others, but she really had picked the right one.

Twenty minutes later, I had emailed the second one off.

Allison looked at me. "So you just made one hundred dollars?"

"Yes, but not just here. I had to drive up here for the photos. Rescue you from the ditch. Spend a weekend making love to you so you would help me take the photos. It was a rough assignment."

She laughed.

"Plus the emails back and forth deciding what to do for each of these. Each of the authors will Paypal me my payment if they like the images, and then I'll send them copies without the watermark. Sometimes I can whip one of these out in twenty minutes because I am able to use photographs I already have with minimal effort. Other times it can take hours."

She kissed me. "Thank you for letting me watch."

* * *

After dinner I asked her, "How did you want to spend the evening?"

She leered. "Tied up, helpless, and screaming your name over and over."

And so she did.

Once I'd wrung everything out of her she had to give me, and she lay panting on the bed, I retied her bonds. I tied her ankles together and her hands in front of her. "You're staying this way until morning," I told her. "If you need to use the bathroom, I'll help you hop." I didn't have her blind folded.

She smiled but was too wrung out to protest.

Then I arranged her on the bed the way I wanted her and read the last two chapters to her she had tears at the end. I kissed them away.

"Thank you," she told me. "I loved your book."

We cuddled together until we fell asleep.

* * *

She woke up in the middle of the night. "Sarah," she nudged me.

"Hmm?"

"You need to untie me."

"No."

"Sarah, you need to untie me."

I woke up more. "Not my love slave anymore?"

"Yes I still am," she said. "But I really need to use the bathroom. My bladder is bursting."

I smiled. "Don't need to untie you for that."

She stared at me in the dim light. "You're going to make me die of embarrassment. Please, Sarah. Please untie me."

I didn't want to. I really didn't want to. I wanted to help her hop into the bathroom and hop back out. I told her that.

"Sarah, please."

I untied her, but doing so made me sad.

"Thank you," she said before running to the bathroom.

I rolled over and lied there, now wide awake and upset. What a stupid response. It was then I realized Possessive Sarah was firmly in control. Hell. She was trouble.

I got out of bed and went into the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. I carried it to the living room and looked out the window. I proceeded to have an argument with myself. It basically went something like this:

"Mine."

"Shut up. She's yours until morning, then we're leaving."

"Mine."

"No."

"Mine. Forever."

"Damn it, Sarah, no. We're leaving in the morning."

"Mine."

Possessive Sarah tends to be pretty focused.

"Yours until the morning, then we're leaving," I told myself.

"Mine. Until morning." Possessive Sarah wasn't happy with that, but she wouldn't do anything stupid.

I heard Allison behind me. "Sarah?"

I didn't say anything right away. She walked over and knelt down in front of me, her head bowed. "I'm sorry, Mistress," she said.

"MINE!" Possessive Sarah screamed to me.

"For now," I told her silently.

"MINE! For now," she agreed.

I stepped forward end wrapped my arms around Allison. She turned her head sideways and wrapped her arms around me, holding on tightly.

"Will you retie me? I'd like that," she said.

"Yes," I said. "As soon as your tongue has satisfied me."

* * *

Allison spent the rest of the night rebound. I tried to blindfold her, but it fell off sometime while we were sleeping. In the morning she apologized.

I kissed her nose.

I gave her two more orgasms before I untied her. "You're not going to keep my ankles tied?" she asked. She sounded disappointed.

"I have to go," I told her.

She looked away then turned back. "I want to time my drive to be back in St. Paul at seven," she said. "I won't leave until after lunch." She paused. "You could come with."

Possessive Sarah screamed at me, "MINE!" I rudely shoved her aside.

It had been a long time since I'd wanted something as much as I wanted to say, "Yes." Instead I said, "It wouldn't work."

We both looked away. Neither of us spoke for several minutes. Finally she said, "I thought we had something."

"Allison, I can't begin to explain how much I want to say Yes. But I am one screwed up bitch."

"No you're not!" she said firmly "Please don't talk that way about yourself."

I thought about it. "Maybe I shouldn't have used that last word. But I am screwed up. We both know that." I reached out and turned her to face me. "You won't stay submissive. You're having a fun weekend, but it's a big time out for you. A reset. Halfway home you're going to have a sudden case of 'what was I thinking, letting her do those things to me?' And by the time you get home, you'll be back to normal."

She looked down, not denying it, then looked back at me. "I might not stay submissive, but I'm not going to have misgivings for this weekend. I know exactly why I let you do those things to me, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat." She paused. "Please don't go yet. We have until after lunch. Please tie my ankles, Mistress."

I smiled. "I never told you to call me that."

"I know," she said. "I'm trying to make a point."

"Promise to think about me as Sarah and not Mistress, and I'll tie your ankles until after lunch."

"I promise, Sarah."

I made her please me once her ankles were hobbled.

* * *

The morning was strained, but we were both happy to be together. Possessive Sarah repeatedly told me we should keep her. Competent Sarah told her she'd just get her heart broken. "You know what happens then," I told her silently. "Vengeful Sarah comes out. And we like Allison too much to let Vengeful Sarah do anything to her."

Possessive Sarah shut up after that.

I kept Allison naked through lunch. I stole one more pair of her undies, which she laughed about. "Do I get anything of yours?"

I thought about it, then walked over to my backpack and dug through it until I found the undies I had been wearing on Friday. "Do you have a scissors?" I asked.

She pointed to a drawer in the kitchen. I found the scissors and walked over to her. I handed them to her then lifted my hair. "You may take a small lock of hair, too." I turned around. She hesitated. "Unless you don't want one."

She stepped close then carefully snipped some of my hair from deep underneath where it wouldn't show. She hugged me. "Thank you, Sarah."

I packed all my things before lunch and put them in the car.  I cooked lunch for us while asking her about her job. Then I told her she wasn't allowed to feed herself, and I slowly fed us both lunch.

We made gentle love together one more time. I untied her ankles when we were done. She had tears in her eyes, but we both pretended she didn't.

I watched as she put my panties on though. We helped each other to dress, exchanging more kisses and touches.

When we were done dressing Allison turned to me. "I want to see you again."

"It won't work," I told her.

"Will you let me call you?"

I sighed. "No."

She started to cry. I kissed her tears away and held her. She pulled away eventually and said, "I know you want to see me again."

"Yes," I said. "I do."

"Will you promise me you'll think about it?"

"Allison," I said. "It's all I'm going to think about."

She smiled and dried her tears. "Will you take pictures of us together? How do you do your self portraits?"

I smiled. "I would love to have photos of us together."

So she went to the bathroom to clean up and I retrieved the things I'd need from the car. I set up my camera on the tripod and pulled the remote from the camera bag. I set everything up in the living room. I took several photos looking out the window with exposure for the sunny outside, then adjusted the settings on the camera for interior shots.

I took a few photos of us arm in arm, smiling at the camera. I took more with us looking at each other. I got one of me touching her face, another of us kissing, a few of me holding her while standing behind her.

When I was done, she asked, "Do I get copies?"

"If you give me your email address, I will mail them to you once I've fixed them up."

She nodded and retrieved a business card for me. I slipped it into the camera bag while putting everything away. I put everything back into the car and returned to the living room to say goodbye.

"I want to tell you something," she said, taking my hand. I nodded. "No one has ever made me feel like you have. I would do anything in my power necessary to keep you in my life."

I kissed her gently, then stared into her eyes.

I almost told her how screwed up I really was. I almost told her about the different Sarahs. I almost asked her for her help.

And if I had, I was sure it would have ruined everything.

"Thank you," I told her instead. "I can't even explain what this weekend has meant to me."

I hugged her once more and turned around.

I almost caved when I heard her sobs. I managed to hold my own tears in until I was a mile away, driving slowly down the slippery roads.

Snow Rebound is continued in the third Snow Bound short, Snowed Alone, coming soon.

About the author:

Julia P. Lynde lives and works in the American mid-west.

Julia is older than most of the characters in her books. She has blue eyes and grey hair. She enjoys hiking in the mountains (difficult to do in the mid-west) and hosting dinner parties.

Julia can be reached via email as julia.p.lynde@gmail.com.

Julia's other works include:

Novels

Rewind:

Emerging from traumatic events of her past, Shane is left dealing with newfound self-revelations until she seeks help from an unexpected quarter.

Veronica is a stunning and powerful businesswoman who knows what she wants and lives for the seduction involved in getting it.

Complicated doesn't begin to describe the results.

Rewind features graphic sex between consenting women and some light BDSM.

Pulled to the Dark: The Siriena Series Volume 1:

Felicia Conner begins having recurring dreams of the woman who gave her a great new job. Night after night, Petra appears in her dreams. Petra begins to teach Felicia the wonders of the dream world she inhabits while Felicia begins to wonder how she can have such lifelike dreams night after night.

Petra welcomes Felicia to the world of Siriena, where the world may just very well be as it seems.

This complete novel of 95,000 words contains swords, magic, intriguing characters, an easy-to-hate villain and graphic sex scenes between Felicia and Petra.

Shorts

Bound in Arrogance

"You wouldn't last two hours of my attention," Penny told me, turning it into a wager. Foolishly, I rose to the bait.

Bound in Arrogance features Veronica and Penny several years prior to the events in Rewind. It features light BDSM.

Snow Bound

First in the Snow Bound Series.

After a near experience with a deer, Allison is pulled from her car by Sarah, troubled twenty-five-year-old photographer. Sarah drives Allison to Allison's secluded cabin on a lake, where the two become snow bound.

Allison finds Sarah deeply attractive. Will Sarah's troubled past interfere with a possible future?

This short of 10,000 words contains graphic sex, light bondage, domination, and a mind game or two.

An Excerpt from Rewind

I remember the girl. She was young enough I thought of her as a girl but old enough I should call her a woman. She seemed unextraordinary. She was of moderate height wearing nondescript clothes. Jeans and a tee-shirt, I suppose. I’m not really sure now. In an earlier age she would have appeared out of place downtown during business hours, but with casual Friday turning into casual everyday over the years, the girl looked only slightly less dressed up than many of the people hurrying along the sidewalks during their lunch breaks.

Only she wasn’t hurrying. Maybe that’s why I first noticed her. Or maybe it was her hair. Long and almost flame red. One couldn’t help but notice her hair. It was unkempt and wind-tossed, but still very striking. I remember wondering whether she realized just how wonderful her hair was.

She seemed oblivious to what was going on around her. She stopped and knelt down, I suppose to tie her shoe. She must not have noticed the light rail train coming up behind her.

I don’t remember where I was going, what I was doing there. But I remember this. I was suddenly next to her, reaching down and wrapping my arms around her midriff, yanking her up to pull her out of the way moments before the train could reach her. She let out a quick screech. Or maybe it was the train.

I remember the impact. The train struck me in the back, really just a glancing blow, but it sent both of us flying. I hit something else. A parked car, perhaps.

Then all went black.

* * *

Time passed. I couldn’t have told you how much. I could only tell you that time had passed. Awareness came to me patiently. It started with sounds. None of the expected sounds, though. No traffic noises, no beeping of hospital machines, no footsteps of nurses hurrying to tend to patients.

I remembered the accident. I knew I had to have been badly hurt. I did a little mental check, wondering when the pain would kick in. I wondered briefly if I had been paralyzed in the accident, if that was the reason why I couldn’t feel anything. But I realized that I could feel my weight against the bed and a sheet pulled up to my chin. I eventually decided I must be on some really good painkillers. Gratitude seemed an appropriate emotion.

At some point I opened my eyes. It was dark at first, but then the room began to brighten. It was strange. Although I could see light, there was no form, nothing for my eyes to focus upon. It was as if I were seeing the entire world through frosted glass.

I heard a noise, the sound of someone shifting in a chair beside my bed. I turned my head to see who was watching over me. What I saw instead was a bright light, too bright to look into. I squinted, but that didn’t help. Then the light began to dim and a form began to take shape. Sitting in a comfortable chair beside my bed was a woman I didn’t recognize.

She was glowing with a white, golden, purple, red, silver light. I blinked. She was still glowing, smiling softly at me. I looked around, but all I could see was the bed I was in and the woman in her chair. There was nothing else to see.

I looked back at her, opened my mouth to speak. All that came out was a rough croak. I closed my mouth and swallowed. The woman continued to wait patiently, still smiling softly at me. I looked at her, waiting for my voice to come to me, and realized how amazingly beautiful she was. Here was a woman to steal the hearts of all mankind with just a glance of her eyes and a twitch of her mirthful lips. I was at least half in love with her immediately.

I tried again to speak. This time, the sounds made more sense. “Where am I?” I paused for just a moment. The woman seemed to know I had more to say. “The girl? Is she okay?”

As if pleased with my questions, her smile grew briefly before being replaced with a more serious expression. “Where are you? You are Between.”

The answer made no sense. “Between where?”

“Between Earth and Heaven,” was the reply. Which also made no sense. The woman just watched me, ever patiently, while I puzzled it out. I stared off in the distance, focusing on nothing for a moment, then my eyes snatched back to hers.

“I was wrong.”

“To be fair,” she replied. “You never really made up your mind one way or the other.”

I considered her words. She didn’t seem upset with me. “You’re…” I said, asking a question.

She just nodded once, slowly, almost as a mini bow.

“So, I died.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” she said. “Neither of you were. I’m sorry. I was…” she paused. “Distracted,” she said eventually.  “If I had seen what she was going to do, I’d have intervened.”

“But,” I said, sputtering. “You’re God. You can do anything! Can’t you just roll back time, undo everything?”

She looked at me sadly, apologetically. “You shouldn’t believe all the propaganda.”

“You said, ‘What she was going to do.’ She knew the train was coming?”

The woman nodded again. “I knew she was troubled. She had much to be troubled over, but so much promise too. I had such hopes for her.” Then she looked at me directly. “And for you.”

“For me? I’m just-“

She interrupted me. “No one is just anything. You all cast ripples throughout the world with small actions sometimes having such profound effect. You had some ripples waiting inside you, ripples I very much would have enjoyed watching. And the girl, too. I needed her, needed her to seek help for her troubles.” She paused, smiled for a moment. “Help can appear in the strangest places, you know.”

I let her words sink in. “The girl died too?”

“No. And yes. Her body is in a coma. Very recoverable. I wouldn’t even need to nudge things along. Which I almost never do anyway. But her soul is a different story. It’s in tatters. I can’t send her back like this, not for a long time. Too long for her body to wait for her.”

A glass of water appeared in her hand. She stood up, cradling my body for me, and held the glass to my lips. I drank carefully. Then she laid me back into the bed and smoothed the sheet over my body again.

She watched me, allowing me to settle my thoughts, before she spoke again.

“So, where was I? Oh, yes. Ripples. I would really, truly enjoy watching those ripples from both of you. But the problem is, I have one working soul: yours. And one working body: hers. I can’t send her soul back to her body, and I can’t send your soul back to your body. So we’re left with one working solution.”

She sat back, looking quite pleased with herself. She let me figure out the rest on my own.

“You want to send me back into her body?”

“Exactly!” she said, beaming. “It’s a good body. Slightly bruised of late, but bruises heal. She’s troubled, and you’ll inherit those troubles. You’ll have her memories, and I’ll leave you some of your own. I can’t let you take too many details with you; leaving you with the temptation to contact people from your old life is far too cruel. And I hope you can embrace this new life rather than pine for the old one.”

“You’re talking as if I have a choice.”

“Of course you do,” she told me. “I never send a soul to Earth if it doesn’t want to go.”

I considered for a moment. “Can I ask some questions first?”

“You want to know why I allow evil in the world.”

It was my turn to smile. “Of course I do, but I can figure that out on my own.”

She laughed, and it was if the heavens laughed with her. I suppose they did. “I gave you all brains,” she said finally. “I do so love when you actually use them.”

She sat, chuckling to herself for a few more moments, then quieted down and waited for me to ask my questions.

“Why me?” I asked simply.

“Oh, so many reasons,” she said. “But at the core of them is this: you have such a strong sense of right and wrong, and it all comes from within yourself. You don’t need me or anyone else to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. I love this about you.”

I considered what she said. She was right, I guess. I hadn’t lived my life worrying so much about what others thought was right and what was wrong, but I decided myself. “What about when I’m at a disagreement with the religious leaders?”

“Ah, the people who profess to speak for me, who know what I like and what I don’t?”

I nodded.

“Take those people with a grain of salt,” she said simply.

“One more question?” I asked. She nodded. “My dog?”

“Your brother.”

At that point, I started to cry. “Hush, hush,” she said, patting my hand. “Your brother is going to grow to love your dog.”

“I know,” I said, blubbering. “He’s good with dogs. I was just afraid no one would take her in.”

She crawled into the bed with me, cradling me in her arms, rocking back and forth and making soothing noises.

“I’m sorry,” I said after a time. “I shouldn’t be this upset.”

“It’s hard to give up everything you once knew,” she replied. She continued to rock me as a mother would a young child. As I calmed down, she laid me back into the bed and slipped into her chair again. I dried my eyes with the sheet. She smiled.

“So what do you want me to do when I go back?”

“Be yourself,” she said. “Would you like some advice?”

I nodded.

She raised one finger. “Don’t talk about any of this.”

“They’ll think I’m mad.”

“Exactly.” She raised another finger. “Follow your heart.” She raised a third finger. “Trust your instincts.” She waggled her fingers at me. “Remember, help is sometimes found in unexpected places.”

She continued to waggle her fingers, almost in a wave, and I felt myself slipping away from her. But then she spoke again, and it was is if she were whispering directly into my ear.

“One last thing,” she said. “I surely do enjoy reading your stories.”

I remember my last thought as everything disappeared.

God likes my stories?

An Excerpt from Pulled to the Dark

I couldn't move.

At first I couldn't see, either.

I heard a voice, a woman's voice. She was humming and speaking words in a language I didn't recognize. Then, slowly, I could see.

I still couldn't move.

The woman was kneeling over me. That's all I could see, her form, kneeling over me. She saw my eyes looking at her, and she smiled, still humming and speaking words I didn't know.

She had long, raven black hair. It was brushed away from her right ear and hung over her left shoulder, dangling down between us. She was dressed in a bright red silk blouse and black skirt. She had slight features and bright green eyes. I judged her slightly older than my twenty-eight years.

She was perhaps the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

I stared into her eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came forth. "Where am I," I wanted to ask. "Who are you? What are you doing to me?"

She lifted her hand and placed it over my lips. Still, she smiled, speaking those words, her beautiful green eyes staring into mine.

She lifted her fingers from my mouth. They were long and delicate. Then I felt her stroke my sides with those same fingers, long, delicate strokes. I realized I was undressed, lying on my back with this woman staring down at me, still speaking her magic words.

I woke with a start, but one word hung in my ears.

"Mine."

Snow Rebound

Copyright 2012 by Julia P. Lynde

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.

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