Clifftop Fantasies [BDSM Menage Fantasies] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Read Free Page A

crawl back into bed and hide.
    The woman’s businesslike expression changed to a warm smile. “My dear, you have no idea how happy I am to finally meet you. I’m Jane Hammond.”
    Allie blinked. She had been bracing herself for something unpleasant, like news that someone was contesting her father’s will. It was like a vicious barking dog had been running at her and then suddenly stopped, wagging its tail and licking her hand.
    “Um…it’s nice to meet you, too,” Allie said slowly, trying to decide whether to get out the guest register, invite her in for tea, or call a lawyer.
    “I love how you’re fixing the place up,” Jane said, turning in a circle to admire the peaches-and-cream décor of the lobby.
    “Oh—have you been here before?”
    Jane looked back at her, eyes wide, then laughed cheerfully. “I see. You don’t know who I am, do you?”
    Allie smiled and shrugged self-consciously. “I’m afraid not, no. Should I?”
    Jane put her hands on Allie’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. “I was your father’s lover,” she said seriously. “I know you weren’t close to Allen, but is it true that you don’t know anything about me or…that part of his life?”
    Allie resisted the urge to point out that there was no reason she would have known details of her father’s love life. She just shook her head, trying not to look as if it were a topic she would greatly have preferred not to be discussing. She had assumed from the woman’s professional demeanor that this trip had something to do with some business. But now she had a much more maternal air, as if she expected Allie to embrace her as a long-lost stepmother or something.
    “So,” she said brightly, before Jane decided to provide her with some kind of proof of the relationship, “are you planning to stay with us for a few days?”
    Jane gave her a sly smile. “I was hoping to, yes,” she admitted. “I’d love the chance to get to know you a bit. Al—Your father talked about you all the time.”
    Allie found herself doubting that statement, although she couldn’t have said why. “That sounds lovely,” she said, pulling out the guest book that had been sitting idle for far too long. There had been a few guests in the months they’d been open for business but not nearly enough to justify her faith in the bed-and-breakfast as a successful enterprise. She gave Jane the guest form to fill out, wondering how she was going to broach the topic of payment options.
    The older woman filled it out efficiently and handed it back, smiling as if she were conferring a great honor on Allie and her house by agreeing to stay there. “I was hoping to be able to work from here while we get to know each other,” she confided, picking up her suitcase and heading for the wide, curving staircase. “Please tell me the front bedroom is available. My most productive time is early morning, and as I recall, the sunrise from that window is breathtaking. I see you’ve inherited Allen’s artistic talent,” she went on, looking around as she led the way upstairs.
    “Um, thanks,” Allie said, following her at a trot. She had an uneasy feeling at the way Jane examined everything, as if she was a real-estate agent appraising the house for sale. She tried to tell herself not to be paranoid. Jane was her father’s girlfriend—no, the word “girlfriend” was much too trivial for this formidable person. She had described herself as his “lover,” but Allie knew she couldn’t use such an intimate word comfortably. She was going to have to come up with another classification. Her mother had had boyfriends while she was growing up, but that seemed completely different. That was a harmless word, not necessarily invoking any sexual images. It was impossible not to think of Jane as her father’s lover without imagining…
    Karl. Karl must know this woman if she really had been involved with Allie’s father. She had to get Karl in here. Shaking her head to