The Forever Forest
A
series of unusual, and unexplained murders in Bath, England, pushes
Detective Sergeant Rebecca Leigh and Psychic Investigator, Gabriel
Lewis, to work together.
They
discover a link to a new Steam Punk nightclub, The Wolf's Den, where
owner Darius Wolf, when interviewed, disorientates Rebecca. On
exciting the club, Rebecca collapses, seemingly intoxicated, leaving
Gabriel no choice but to take her to his home.
She
has no memory of meeting Wolf, but attraction between Rebecca and
Gabriel reaches boiling point as she discovers Gabriel is not as he
seems. The timid psychic is a Dominant in the bedroom and turns her
world upside down, as the normally strong willed Detective realizes
what has been missing in her past relationships, the submission
Gabriel requires from her.
Darius,
now obsessed with Rebecca, gains access to her dreams when she is
kidnapped by him, leaving Gabriel having to find a passage into
Rebecca's dreams and save her from The Forever Forest.
"You
mentioned Jekyll and Hyde earlier, I'd that how you see me?"
Gabriel asked as they sat eating their pasta.
"A
bit yes. You seem so quiet normally, but this morning, when we were
in your bedroom, you were a different person. More forceful."
"I
asked you this morning if that scared you and you said no, but when
you walked in here today you seemed very nervous."
"Apprehensive
I think is more the terminology you should be using."
"Why?"
he asked casually.
"The
word dominant conjures up many images in my head. I've read books,
and I know what it means."
"Is
that how you see me?"
"Yes."
She gulped.
"You
are a very astute woman. You've already worked me out from this
morning?"
"Yes.
I'm a Detective you know, it's my job." She tried to make a
joke, but she knew it just sounded like panic.
"The
term Dominant can mean all sorts of things in life."
"What
does it mean to you?"
"I'd
like you to look at yourself," he said, deflecting her question.
"In
what way?" she asked.
"You
are an extremely dominant woman in your work, and I presume you are
like that because you are in a very male oriented world and have had
to learn to be like that. Am I right?"
"To
a certain extent, yes," she agreed.
"But
I get the feeling that is not your natural personality." He took
a long drink from his glass and refilled both glasses again.
"How
so?" She nodded in thanks to the wine and picked her glass up
and put it to her lips. The wine, along with the food that Gabriel
had prepared, was a taste sensation. "Every now and then I see
Alice falling down a rabbit hole, only fleetingly, but it's there."
"That's
a strange analogy, explain." She smiled as she put her glass
down and picked up her fork once more.
"I
know you're good at your job and you are obviously very thorough, but
I get the feeling that this persona, this hard woman, is not the real
you. You have been dragged out of your comfort zone with this career
and have had to learn to adapt."
"Keep
talking." This man was good.
"You
are an extremely foreboding personality and I wouldn't want to cross
you at work, but last night and this morning I saw a different side
to you, a timid side, and one I'd like to explore a little further."
She went to open her mouth, but Gabriel put his hand up to stop her
saying anything. "Before you jump down my throat, hear me out
please."
"Ok."
She was beginning to take offense at his hint that she was weak.
"You
do not socialize with people from work, do you?"
"No,
they're a bunch of arseholes. I like a few of them, but I still
wouldn't choose to spend any amount of with them, Tanya is probably
the only one I would see out of work."
"So
is that because you don't want people to see the real you when you
take your mask off?"
"I'm
sorry?"
"When
you get home, do you close the door behind you and lock the woman
away and the little girl is released?"
Rebecca
didn't say anything, visions of her unicorn pajamas folded on her bed
suddenly flicked through her mind.
"I
take it by that silence I'm correct."
"Go
on..."
"Let's
take another avenue. Tell me about your last relationship."
"Er,
ok, I met Harry when I was working on a stalking case few years ago.
He was the victim before you ask."
"And
you started a relationship with him?"
"After
the case was over, yes, I did. He was a lovely man and wanted to
marry me, but it wasn't what I wanted."
"What
did you want?"
"Something
else."
"And
what was that?"
Silence
reigned as Rebecca couldn't quite give him a reason why she didn't
want to marry Harry.
"Did
you ever take that mask off in front of him?"
"Why
do you keep going on about a mask?"
"Because
I think, and please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, that you
are such a force in your work and all you want to do when you get
home is curl up and lock the door with a book and a glass of wine. Am
I right so far?"
"Possibly."
"Harry
met you in a work environment, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"When
he was possibly at the lowest time in his life being stalked, making
him jumpy and needy."
"True."
"And
you were the strong Detective Sergeant Rebecca Leigh, crime fighter
extraordinaire."
"Now
you're taking the piss." She laughed. "You had me believing
you then."
"Look
at the situation. Was it the tough DS Leigh he fell in love with, or
the little girl lost that escapes to her fantasy world in books or
TV?" Silence again. "How was your sex life?"
She
blushed. "Good, I think." She hated talking about her sex
life as she'd discussed with Tanya that morning.
"Was
it always you that took the lead, perhaps always instigated sex?"
She
thought for a moment. "He was busy, always working long hours."
"And
you weren’t?"
"That's
not the point," she answered abruptly.
"It
totally is the point. He saw you as the dominant personality in your
relationship and in all aspects of it, and I don't think you are.
Yes, you are dominant in your work life, but you want to be that
woman who is taken care of, too."
"I
think I get what you mean."
"So
I want to explore that side of your quieter personality, not the
tough CID Detective Sergeant."
"How
do you intend to do that?"
"There
is one avenue I want to explore with you, Rebecca. It will probably
make you very apprehensive."
"What's
that? You're killing me here, Gabriel. Get to the point will you?"
"I
want you to submit to me."
"What,
in everything I do?" She panicked.
"No,
just in the bedroom or wherever sex occurs. Your life is your own. I
would not try and change that. I like that side. It's feisty, but it
is Rebecca I want to explore further, not Detective Sergeant Leigh."
"I'm
not into whips and chains and things."
"Stop
panicking. It's not all about that. It's about control. It can be,
but that's not what I want from this."
"What
do you want from it?"
"Basically,
to Dominate you in our sex life."
"I'm
not sure about this, Gabriel. Is this something you're used to?"
"It
has been in the past, yes. It can make a very interesting
relationship. Basically I want to pleasure you in every way possible,
and I want to ensure that you have enough orgasms to make your ears
bleed."
"And
what do you get out of this?" she asked curiously.
"To
take care of you. Don't worry, you will satisfy me, too, but my
purpose will be your pleasure."
"The
perfect man?" She chuckled.
"You
said it, not me." His eyes looked over his wine glass, and
although she couldn't see his mouth she knew he was smirking behind
the blood red liquid.
About the Author
Gayle
Cranfield was born in London and found her forever after, Mark at the
age of 14.
After
nearly
30 years
of being together, they have two children,
both
at
a university, and
now live in Wiltshire in the South West of England somewhere between
Stonehenge and Bath.
Whilst
on
a road trip around California in 2013, she read some disastrous books
and when she returned
home decided to write one
of her own.
Having never creatively written a word since school, she picked up
her iPad and hesitantly started to write in secret thinking she'd
write a short story, before she knew it she had 97000 words!
That
was four books ago. She has written three erotic thrillers for Siren
Publishing and this time has written her first erotic/paranormal, The
Forever Forest, and has chosen Evernight to publish it for her.
"It
is great to see your work come alive," Gayle says. "Although
you have various Beta readers telling you it is a great story and a
real page turner until a publishing company says 'Yes we want your
work' you only think your friends are being nice and trying not to
hurt your feelings. Seeing the front cover being emailed to me for
approval is
always the best part and Jay Aheer has done the most amazing job, as
she always does ,with all the Evernight Authors."
www.Twitter.com/@gaylecranfield
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