The Hermit

When
Dr. Ryan Wallace retreats to the Alaskan wilderness to find peace with his
past, the last thing he expects is to stumble across a broken woman barely
clinging to life. 

As he
watches her fight her way back from hell, his own problems begin to pale in
comparison.  When she returns to her world, he finally understands...there are
some things you just can't live without.

Copyright © 2012 Shayne McClendon

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without written
permission from the author and publisher.  This is a work of fiction.  Names,
characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons,
living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely
coincidental.

What readers are saying about “The Barter
System”…

“The way that Shayne McClendon writes her characters makes
you emotionally invested in them.  This is one of the best books I have read
this year (and I have read many books this year). 
The Barter System
is
the book that I highly recommend on Facebook and to all of my friends.  You
care about all the men that come into Riya's life and I cried during one of the
farewell scenes as if I had left the character.  Aside from being a great book,
the sex scenes in this story are sooo well written that you can totally imagine
the scene in your mind.” 
Glorya

“LOVE!  LOVE!  LOVE this book!  I couldn't stop reading!  I
loved the story, you connect with each person, you feel their happiness, as
well as their pain.  I laughed, I cried, I cheered for Riya!  Can't wait to
read more books by Shayne!” 
Laurie

“This book was great and I did not want to put it down!  I
always wanted to find out what was next.  I read this book after reading
50
Shades of Grey
and
Bared to You
and can honestly say that I fell in
love with this book and all the characters.  Shayne is brilliant and I cannot
wait to read the next one.” 
Megan

Also by Shayne McClendon

Fiction:

The Barter System

In the Service of Women

Revenge is Best Served Hot

Ready to Rumble

Somebody

Fiction Coming Soon:

To Everything

The Playground

Non-Fiction Coming Soon:

Makeup and Blowjobs

Dedication

For every person who thinks it won’t get better.  For every
bad situation you think will never end.  For every moment you feel pain or
sadness.  Stay strong.  Keep fighting.  You can make it.  If you don’t fight,
if you quit now…you will never know the good things coming.

Much love,

Shayne

Table
of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

About the Author

Steven
was always so gentle.  Her best friend used to tell her about explosive orgasms
and she didn’t think she’d ever had one, but he was good to her and she loved
him.  Daphne watched her husband above her, felt him inside her, and relished
the feeling of snuggling him while he made love to her in a steady rocking
motion that felt nice, if not explosive. 

“Steven,
that feels really good, baby.  I missed you today.  I couldn’t stop thinking
about getting you back in the tent,” she whispered with a smile as she nuzzled
his ear.

He
stopped his rhythmic thrusts, lifting his face to look down at her with a frown,
“Daphne, you know it breaks my concentration when you talk.  I have to focus or
I can’t go as long.”  He had that little wrinkle between his eyes that told her
he was truly annoyed with her.  “I mean, if you want to talk after, or whatever,
that’s fine.  It’s weird to talk during.  Normal people don’t do that.”

Placing
her hand on his cheek, she smiled, “Okay, Steven.  I’ll be quiet.”  She was a
giver.  Some would go so far as to call her a doormat.  She lived to please the
people in her life; it gave her purpose, made her feel like she had her little
place in the world.  She’d been that way her whole life and she wasn’t about to
start regretting it now. 

Steven
made love for much longer than her first boyfriend in high school that could
only last about three minutes.  Steven could go as long as ten before the
sexual tension built to a point where he had to climax. 

Wanting
to touch him, to feel a stronger connection, she reached beneath the sleeping
bag they were cocooned in, put her hands on his ass, and pulled him harder into
her.  For one instant, she felt the beginning of something truly wonderful. 
The hint of a possibility she’d never felt before.

“Daphne,
I’m coming…oh damn, that feels so
good
.  There it is, honey.”  She felt
his come coat her body a moment before he collapsed over her chest and she
sighed silently.  After a moment, he rolled off to lie at her side and put his
hand over his eyes.  His voice in the darkness startled her several minutes
later.  She thought he’d fallen asleep.  “Did you do that on purpose, Daphne?”

“Do
what?” she asked him, honestly confused.

“You
pulled me…made me bump in harder…made me come too soon.  I only lasted six
minutes that time.  You know I like to draw it out.”  He rolled on his side,
“Did you come?”

She
nodded, lying to him like she did so often to preserve his feelings, and rolled
to face him.  “I love when you make love to me, Steven, and it’s always very
good.  Why do you worry so much?  Were you really timing yourself just now?”

He
closed his eyes, “I want it to be good for you.  I know I wasn’t your first.” 
The tone of disapproval she heard wasn’t her imagination and she mentally
gritted her teeth while outwardly maintaining her calm expression.

“Steven,
why do you dwell on the three boyfriends I had before you?  I wasn’t your first
time either.”  She could feel the bubble of annoyance in her heart that wanted
to tell him off about his double standards and insecurity.  “You had several
lovers before you met me.”  Idly, she wondered if
they
had enjoyed
having sex with Steven before tamping down the disloyal thought.

Her
husband of a year rolled his eyes, “It’s not the same, and you know it.  It’s
different for guys, Daphne.”  She hid her aggravation by pulling her clothes
back on.  It was too cold in Alaska to sleep naked.  She was fully dressed
except for her hiking boots. 

He
watched her silently until she laid back down beside him, pulling the sleeping
bag up her body.  He got dressed and rejoined her.  He was on his side again,
watching her pretend to sleep.  “You seem upset.  Are you upset?”

Schooling
her features carefully, Daphne replied calmly, “Of course not, Steven.  I love
you and I know that means we accept one another for who we are now, not who we
were before we met.” 

She
hoped that maybe this time her gentle message would get through to him.  She’d
been shocked the first time he’d brought up her lack of virginity.  This wasn’t
the middle ages or even the 1950s.  It was a hang-up of his she hadn’t expected
and had frustrated her from the beginning.  It wasn’t like she could do
anything about it.  They had held this same conversation half a dozen times
since the first time they’d slept together.  It was getting old.

“I
love you, too, Daphne.  I really do.  I’ll make it up to you in the morning. 
Make it all about you.  Okay?”  His face was so hopeful she couldn’t help but
smile and he smiled back.  In his mind, the problem was solved and there was no
need to discuss it any further.  “Good.  You should get some sleep, we’re
hiking the other side of the mountain tomorrow, and you aren’t in the same
shape you were in college, baby.”

Nice
little passive-aggressive thrust and parry there
, she
thought with an unusual burst of anger.  “I resent that, Steven.  I’m in
perfect health.  You’re just mad because I don’t hang out at the gym like you
and don’t have to watch what I eat.”

He
laughed and straightened his clothing, tugging her against him beneath the warm
sleeping bag.  “I hate that you never have to work out.  If I don’t, I end up
with a beer belly…and I don’t even drink beer.  It sucks.”  He kissed the top
of her head and hugged her close.  “Love you, Daphne.”

“I
love you, Steven.  And I’d love you even if you had a beer belly.” 

They would
be the last words she ever spoke to her young photographer husband.  Daphne
would think about that later, that she’d been kind to him when she’d wanted
nothing more than to fight.  His last memory of her was being told he was
loved.  Not the sweet but ultimately bad sex, not who she’d been with before
him, not one of a thousand petty irritations she’d apparently caused him over
the two years they’d been together. 

That
she’d love him, no matter what. 

The
sun was higher than it should have been when Daphne opened her eyes.  Steven
was already up and moving around outside.  With a heavy sigh, she sat up and
pulled on her boots, pulled her hair into a snug ponytail and grabbed her
jacket. 

Rubbing
her face free of the annoyance of him not keeping his promise, she unzipped the
tent and crawled out, zipping the tent behind her. 

Someone
grabbed her by the hair in the same moment she registered her husband’s
bleeding and unconscious body a few yards away.  He was naked from the waist
down and there was blood on the back of his thighs. 

She
knew in that instant neither of them was going to survive whatever was
happening. 

As she
was dragged screaming back into the tent, she suddenly wished she’d been honest
with Steven when he’d asked her to marry him.  Told him she loved him but
wasn’t in love with him and let him go on his way.