Page 21

S nakes. Fucking snakes. Plus rats, spiders, and even a chimp. I might be a vet, but I’ve never been into the scaley creatures. I can appreciate what they bring to the world of pets and even how they can help in the creation of certain types of medicine, to a point. But I’ll never like them. Ever. I’ll treat them, but I’m not calling one Fluffy and willing to have it wrap around my neck to show it “loves to give me hugs.” Yeah, I saw that episode on “Why did my pet kill me?” No, thank you.

But while most of the animals are caged, four Dobermans aren’t. They aren’t sleeping either, just lying on the ground, staring at us. Any barking dog will rile up the others, and while there’s soundproofing down here, just like upstairs, I don’t trust it to keep us from being detected.

But that isn’t my first fear. Oh no. If these are like any of the dogs I train, Casper and I need to worry about getting out of here alive. Trained dogs don’t just detain a person. Maybe a cop dog. But dogs with bosses who sell people? Those are the types trained to gnaw on a person’s flesh, biting and eating their way through it till their new toy lies dead and bleeding out.

“Out,” I say a second before one of them snaps at us.

Casper grabs the handle and yanks it hard toward him as I sink back down to lock it. Just after I do, we hear the men coming back.

Casper pulls me back to the alcove, but this time he doesn’t just cover me. Pinning my hands above my head with one hand, he devours my mouth as the other hand reaches under my skirt and pushes three fingers deep inside. I might not have been wet a second ago, but that was then.

Seconds later, he has me gushing all over his fingers. A small part of my brain says this is just a cover, but the rest of me doesn’t give a fuck. He’s finally kissing me like I want, like I need. His fingers are where I’ve dreamed about them being for days. The lust in the air has finally combusted between us. His growls of pleasure match my moans for more.

“Hey, you can’t be here.” That voice, the same one that complained about being hungry and eager to dish out pain to those willing and unwilling. I hated the guy on his words alone, but now because he’s trying to interrupt us.

I hear the words but don’t stop. Not only because of our cover, but I don’t want to. And Casper doesn’t seem to feel the need to stop just because someone says to either.

“Did you hear me, asshole? I said you can’t be here.”

I watch with half-open lids and squeeze Casper’s fingers twice before the guy grabs Casper’s shoulder and shakes him.

Not sure if it’s an act—because it’s incredibly convincing if it is—as Casper pulls away from my lips and sighs a second before blinking and gazing at the guy as if he just now noticed he’s there.

His fingers, the ones still inside me, pump twice more before he pulls out. “Sorry, man. Got lost there for a second. Didn’t hear you.” He licks his fingers clean as he lets my hands go.

“I get it. She’s something, that’s for sure.” The way the guy looks at me makes me want to bare my teeth and snap at him, but I just lean against the wall and make a show of catching my breath. Though it’s not a show. Not completely. That zero-to-sixty was way more than I was expecting. Don’t hate it, just wasn’t prepared for it. And now my body is primed and ready for more.

“You still can’t be down here. This area is restricted to guests of the club. How did you get access anyway?”

Casper shrugs. “Girl gets hot when she breaks the rules. She gets bored with the traditional stuff upstairs too quick. Figured a bit of slipping in after someone exited was just enough of a spice for her. Fuck if she wasn’t coming for me the instant I got her in here.”

The guy chuckles and leers a bit more at me. He must be the one who was all for using a girl in this place as his plaything. What’s better than to get one already willing to break the rules? I’m betting that’s running through his head right now with the way he’s looking at me.

“Seems to be a troublemaker for sure. Let me know if you need help taming her.”

“Oh yeah? Dealt with this type before?”

“Yeah, man, just last night. Women like her just need a bit of edge to get them going.”

Oh, I can bet what kind of edge he puts on them. Once we find Candy, I’m going on a hunting spree for this one. Usually I leave that shit for Jack, but not this time. Maybe it’s because of the reminder of my kid’s death or just this place, but right now, I’m feeling every bit the homicidal bitch that Jack enjoys being referred to as.

“Thanks, man, but I think I can handle this one. I’ll let you know, though.”

With a pat on the guy’s back, Casper pulls me up the stairs and out the way we came. Neither of us stops or speaks as we continue to our room. Casper nods at a few people but just keeps marching on with his hand hard around my wrist. He’s not leaving a mark, but I wouldn’t complain if he was. Waking up the other day to find his teeth and finger imprints on me from our little episode in the chair was something I was sure I would hate. Being marked by anything isn’t a good trigger for me. But when it’s Casper’s mark? Showing to others that I’m taken? It brings out my submissive side more than anything ever has before with just a simple look in the mirror.

Casper’s the first through our door, and once I’m in, he releases my hand and heads to the bar that got restocked while we were out. He grabs a beer, twists the top off, and drinks most of it down.

My palms are sweating. I feel as if the air is statically charged. Something is in here, making me feel jittery in a way.

“I need to call my team.” Not sure why. Just seems like something to do, to say. We have nothing new other than it appears that these people will smuggle just about anything into and out of the country. No clue if those animals were local or not, but I recognized several that are venomous and not native to the United States.

“No.”

My head was in a fog till I hear that one word. A word I’ve never been good at listening to. “Why not?”

He sets the beer down and rests his palms on the bar counter. “’Cause we’re not done.” A beat sits between us till he turns his head to look at me over his shoulder. “I’m not done with you yet.”

I back up as he marches toward me till I bump into the door. The pain from my head hitting the wood is short-lived, as in the next second, his lips are back on mine. Lips that are amazing, soft, and strong. Exploratory and obedient. Everything a dream guy should be is in these lips.

My palms are flat to the door as he grabs my hips and pulls my lower half to him, his upper body bending to meet me at this angle. His mouth coaxes mine to open, and our tongues dance together as if we’ve done this a thousand times and not three. The moan he pulls from me is one of need and want.

He pulls back just enough to rest his forehead on mine. We’re too close to look at each other’s eyes; all I see are his plump lips stained lightly with my pale pink lipstick.

“Tell me to walk away. Tell me to stop. Hell, safe word out.” He’s breathing hard as he pulls one of my hands away from the door to kiss my fingertips before placing it on his chest. I flex my fingers, feeling him. It’s the first time I’ve ever really touched him. We might still have clothes on, but I can feel the way his heart is beating so fast. How his pec pulsates beneath my touch.

My lips are too dry to speak, and licking them seems to do nothing but make me want to lick him. “We never picked one.”

“Now seems like a good enough time, don’t you think?” He tilts his head back to look into my eyes. I see his too. I see everything. There’s no hiding that he wants this, maybe even more than me. He’s offering me what I want, even for a moment.

Dare I take it?

“No.” I feel his heart skip a beat before it starts again as I run my fingers over his chest to soothe the hurt. “I don’t want a safe word.” I know what I want to say, but I’m scared. Scared enough to not look at him when I take what I want. “I… I trust you. You’ll stop when you think I’ve had enough.” With one last push for the brave girl I always try to be, I look up and meet his eyes.

I’ll say no. I’ll fight him off if it comes to that. But I trust him. I really do. And I need him to know that. Want him to. This is big for both of us. This isn’t just us giving in to our desires and letting our baser instincts take over. It’s more, at least for me. It’s so much more. And from the way he’s been fighting this attraction between us, I know it means more to him too.

“Yes, pet, I’ll stop.” Pushing my hair back, he holds it to the nape of my neck as he cradles it. “I’ll stop once we both get what we want, but not a second before.”

And then his lips meet mine again. Bolder now, more aggressive, harsher in a way as his teeth nibble away at me. He slams me back against the door, forcing a yip from my throat that has him growling in approval.

His hand on my hip shifts to my ass and then lower. In one move, he lifts me, and on instinct, my legs wrap around him. My hand on his chest slides to his shoulder, nails digging in deep as I lift a bit and take the lead on a kiss that I’m very much enjoying being owned by. My other hand mimics his in my hair, but I use my nails to scratch along the surface, to feel all of him but not hold him in a way that controls his movements.

’Cause I’m not in control. I might be the taller one at the moment, but he’s the one holding me. Taking me. I’m the willing victim in this and yet not a victim at all. A partner. There’s a give and take in this exchange. Sub to his Dom.

I’m so lost in exploring his mouth that I don’t even notice we moved till he sits me on the back of the couch and pulls my hands off him, placing them on the couch to hang on to. His lips move from mine, but he doesn’t stop kissing me as his hand travels to my legs wrapped around him. First the left, then the right, unzipping the calf zipper and taking my shoes off before removing the ankle holster and socks. He slides everything over the end of the couch to pool on the cushion.

My eyes are taking in everything as my body reacts to what he’s doing to me. His mouth is rough as he bites and nibbles along my jaw, but his hands soothe my legs as he moves them up the outside of each one, going far enough under my skirt that my breath hitches, hoping he’ll have his fingers back on me again. I don’t need buildup; that’s what the last few days have been. Hell, the months before that were the foreplay. This week was the undressing. Now it’s time for the fucking—and lots of it.

But he doesn’t, and I whimper in protest as his hands continue upward, this time diving beneath my sweater. But unlike the skirt, he doesn’t stop till he takes it off and tosses it across the room. Then he pulls away and steps back so he’s out of reach. Not that I would reach out. His silent order to keep my hands on the couch was clear in the placement of them.

I can only imagine what he sees. My pleated skirt has risen far higher, as my legs are spread wide from where he stood between them just moments before. Can he see my panties? Does the red color peeking out send him into a frenzy like it would a bull? My body is shaking with need as I let him look me over lazily, seeing every part of me on display. From the pink on my toes, to the scars on my ribs from my first knife battle. Even the mark on my arm that started all this. He takes in everything as I take in the way he removes his suit jacket and starts unfastening his shirt.

Casper is many things. A suit guy isn’t one, but he can fill it out like no one else I’ve seen. He’s shedding the persona, the disguise, to be himself. He already removed my mask; now it’s his turn. In this moment, we aren’t Ghost and Wendi, not even Casper and Billy, but a girl and a boy who like each other. We aren’t the Crazy Eights or the Hounds of the Reaper. No club president or undercover operative is present in this room. It’s just us.

Ford and Krista.

With every bit of skin he reveals, I salivate even more. The prize is just out of reach, and I feel giddy knowing what’s coming next. What I’ll finally be able to have. So much so that I forget myself and speak as he stalls a bit.

“More.” One word, spoken in a plea and carried on the air to his ear. But one word nonetheless. And he stops completely.

He tsks at me. “And you were doing so well, pet.”

My mouth opens to protest that I did nothing wrong, but I close it quickly. His rules. No talking unless asked a question. Noise is okay—moans, cries of pleasure. Just no talking.

He takes a step closer, between my legs, and I bite my lip, wondering what he’s going to do now. He’s only hinted at a punishment, but I don’t know his preference on what he plans to do. Will he stop completely? Refuse to let me find release while he does? Spank me?

I’ve read about this. Played a little girl’s game before all this in thinking I knew what this was about. But having a Dom in front of you, looking at you with both lust and glee for a punishment he’s about to bestow on you, it’s daunting. Even if I’m incredibly wet from the idea alone.

“What are the rules, pet?” He pinches my chin and pulls till my lip pops out. I wasn’t even aware I was biting it.

“No speaking unless you ask a question. Keep eyes level.”

“Good girl. And no restraints. That one was yours, remember?”

I nod, mouth too dry to speak.

“But I think we need to break that one. Make up for breaking one of mine.”

My breath hitches, and a bit of fear filters into my lust-filled brain. That he could easily break a rule makes the fear seep in more and more as I look at the wildness in his eyes till he takes a step back again.

“Turn around and put your hands behind your back.”

Swallowing hard, I do as he says. I want to be restrained. I want to feel what it’s like to be fully without power and submit, but I also fear that it leaves me open to being a true victim. Like I was before. Like I refuse to become ever again.

His hands grab mine in a punishing grip as he whispers in my ear. “I would never break a rule you set. They’re there for a reason.” He kisses my temple softly, but his next words are harsh. “Now bend over and take your punishment like a good fucking pet.”