Masters 01 Master of the Mountain by Cherise Sinclair Page A

hands when he tied her ankles to that wedge thing. She leaned against the wall in the stairwell and concentrated on slowing her breathing. What if Matt had tried to dominate her? Would she have let him? Would her submission have heated up their sex life?
     
    Get real. The thought of Matt with wrist cuffs in his hands made her giggle, and she gave up on thinking.
     

    She had a grin on her face when she walked into the dining room and found Matt and no one else. Apparently indulging in an hour-long shower with Logan had made her late for breakfast. The hum in her body said it was worth every minute. “Morning,” she said casually, walking past her boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. Roommate. Whatever.
     
    He turned and rested an arm over the back of his chair. “You slept in, didn't you?” His gaze slid down to her chest, and his eyes widened. “Ah. Yeah. So where did you spend the night?”
     
    “Logan let me stay in his quarters,” she said politely.
     
    “Really?” His refined face twisted into an expression of concern. “You know, he's got a rather bad reputation, babe.”
     
    “What does that mean?”
     
    “He's ex-military and has some problems, I hear. I prefer to have Jake as a guide; at least he won't go psycho on us.”
     
    “Oh, get real.” Had she ever met a more self-assured man than Logan? Dangerous, maybe…but surely not unbalanced.
     
    “I'm not joking. I heard he even attacked Jake once.”
     
    “Well, he didn't attack me.” Not much anyway, unless that time in the shower counted. She could feel her nipples tighten. God, he really was dangerous if just thinking about him…his skilled hands…and his mouth, the way he could… She shook her head. Why couldn't she find a snowbank when she needed one? “He seems perfectly nice, Matt. You shouldn't listen to rumors.”
     
    “I don't think they're rumors, but whatever. So do you want to come with us today? Jake is taking us up to a waterfall where we can picnic. It's an easy hike, and there's a meadow filled with wildflowers, he says.”
     
    “Sounds pretty.” And everyone will screw everyone in that meadow. “But I don't like group hikes. I'll just do my own thing.”
     
    Footsteps pattered across the main room, and then Ashley trotted into the dining room. She put her arms around Matt from behind, giving Rebecca a smirk.
     
    Rebecca's palm itched to slap the gloating expression right off the blonde's face.
     
    “Hi, babe.” Oblivious, Matt patted Ashley's hand, before turning back to Rebecca. “Don't go out on a trail by yourself. That's one of Logan's rules, remember?”
     
    She could feel her cheeks heat at the thought of Logan and his rules: “ You will call me Sir .” “ Don't move, sub .”
     
    “Ah. Right. I remember,” she said, giving Matt a sweet smile. Ignoring Ashley, she walked into the kitchen. As she poured herself a glass of orange juice, she shook her head. Truly she didn't want Matt anymore, but watching Ashley's hands on him twisted her stomach. Maybe because she didn't like the sly brat. Matt deserved better.
     
    As if to prove Rebecca's opinion of her, Ashley said in a whisper loud enough to be heard in the kitchen, “Is she coming on our hike?”
     
    “No, she doesn't want to come.”
     
    “That's good. You know, even before you said anything, I could tell from looking at her that she's, like, really frigid.”
     
    Humiliation twisted Rebecca's stomach. Pouring the rest of the juice in the sink, she set the glass in the dishwasher, resisting the urge to throw it at the cheerleader from hell. Or maybe at Matthew. How dare he talk about her?
     
    She spotted her art bag still sitting at the end of a counter. She grabbed it, then walked out the back door, almost tripping over a dog.
     
    Don't run. Breathe. Breathe . After three slow inhalations, she felt the panic subside, and she saw Thor, not a monster. “Hey, you.”
     
    His bushy tail swayed back and forth. Wasn't it odd how every time she met