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T hey had spent the past few weeks getting to know each other. Maybe they did things a bit backward, jumping into bed first, but he didn’t give a fuck. He wanted Cynthia and the more time he spent with her, the more he wanted her. had a feeling that would never change for him.

They were coming up empty for suspects. They had questioned some of the guys down at the club and no one seemed to have any answers. He had gone into the office yesterday and Razor barreled out of his office, making believe that he had some news. Instead, he told him some crazy plan to have Cynthia see a hypnotist. At first, he told his boss that it was a bad idea, but Razor broke him down, explaining that it might be their only way of catching who did this to Cynthia. He told Razor that he’d ask her about seeing a hypnotist, but if she said no, he wouldn’t push her. Razor agreed and gave twenty-four hours to convince her, and then, he’d get involved. had a feeling that his boss wouldn’t be as nice about convincing Cynthia to agree to his plan, so he knew that failure wasn’t an option.

found her in the kitchen, sitting at the table, having a cup of coffee. He almost hated to bother her, but it was now or never. He was down to the last ten hours, and he needed to convince her that Razor’s idea was the best way forward in her case.

cleared his throat to get her attention. Cynthia looked up at him and smiled, pushing the seat next to him over so he’d sit down with her. “Razor has this crazy idea about you seeing a hypnotist. He has one on retainer and she helps with cases of amnesia, and stuff like that. He thinks she might be able to help you, too.” There—it was out there. He was always a pull-the-band-aid-off quickly kind of guy, but even that was fast for him.

Cynthia sat the coffee mug down on the table. “As in, I’ll be in a trance?” she asked.

“Well, yeah, but it will be done with a professional doctor who is trained to do this kind of thing,” he said.

“Do you think it’s a good idea too?” she asked. “What if she tells me to cluck like a chicken every time I hear a certain word or phrase?” she asked. “I mean, I can’t live like that—running around, clucking like a chicken.”

chuckled and pulled Cynthia into his arms. “I’m sure that she won’t make you cluck like a chicken, honey,” he assured. “If it helps, I’ll be in the room with you.”

“You will?” she asked. nodded, “Will anyone else?”

“Only if you want them to be. It can just be you, me, and the doctor, or just you and the doctor. It’s totally up to you.” He was hoping that she’d want him in the room with her, but he’d find a way to understand if she didn’t. He just felt very protective of her since the night that she was roofied, he didn’t want to leave her out of his sight.

“Would you be okay if I wanted you to be in the room with me?” He started to tell her that he would, and she held up her hand, stopping him. “Before you answer, I just want to warn you that I’ve never been hypnotized and I might say something embarrassing,” she said.

He couldn’t help his smile as he pulled her hand down, kissing each one of her fingers before answering her. could see the effect he was having on her and he loved the way that she responded to even that simple gesture. She leaned into his body, and he chuckled. “Hold that thought, honey,” he said. “We’ll get back to that in a minute. You can’t say anything that will embarrass me or you, and I’d love to be in the room with you. If you can’t tell, I’m just a bit protective of you and I don’t like leaving you alone with anyone—doctor or not.”

“Protective,” she breathed, “of me?” She was teasing him, and he loved it when Cynthia was playful. “I hadn’t noticed.”

He stood and picked her up from the sofa. “Well, then, how about if I remind you how protective I can be?” he asked. He carried her up the steps to his bedroom and gently tossed her on his bed, making her giggle. He loved that about her too. Cynthia’s laughter always sounded magical to him. God, he was losing his mind over this woman, and they had only been together for a handful of days now.

lay down next to her and pulled her into his body, loving the way they seemed to fit together. “I, um,” she stuttered. For a split second, he thought that Cynthia was going to tell him that she loved him, but that was ridiculous, right? How could she be in love with him when they were just getting to know each other still?

“I really like you,” she said. His heart did a little flip-flop in his chest, and he wondered why that was. Did he want her to use the “L” word already, or was he relieved that she hadn’t?

“I really like you too, Cynthia,” he said. “But I’m betting you already knew that.”

“I kind of figured that out when you asked me out at Ink’s the first day we met,” she teased.

“Well, that was a major clue,” he teased.

She cuddled into his body, and he wrapped his arms around her. “I’d like to see the hypnotist if you and Razor think that she can help us solve the case. And I’d like you to be in the room with me, . I feel safe around you.” His heart did another flip-flop, and this time, he knew exactly why. He was falling in love with Cynthia and hearing her say that she felt safe around him had him wanting to spill his guts to her. But it was too soon for that stuff, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare Cynthia away.

“I’m glad you feel that way around me, honey. I won’t let anything happen to you—promise,” he said. Cynthia rolled on top of him, straddling him and his cock sprang to life. Wanting Cynthia was never the problem, but falling in love with her might be. He had no idea how she’d feel about him making such a declaration this early in their relationship. Hell, he didn’t even know if she thought of the two of them as being in a relationship.

“Is this okay?” she whispered against his neck as she kissed a path down his body. It was more than okay, but finding the words to tell her that was going to be difficult with no blood flowing to his brain at the current moment.

“Yeah,” he whispered. She pulled his shirt up his body and continued to kiss her way down to his boxer briefs. When she dipped her hands into them to find his erection, he hissed out his breath.

“How about this?” she teased, “is this okay?” Now she was just playing with him.

“Stop teasing me, Cynthia,” he growled. “Just remember, turn about is fair play.” She giggled as she tugged his boxers down his thighs and settled between his legs. Every time Cynthia touched him it felt like the very first time, and now was no different. She licked down his shaft and he wanted to yell at her to get on with it, but Cynthia didn’t need his impatience.

It was as though she could read his mind, sucking him into her warm mouth. couldn’t help himself; he took over, grabbing handfuls of her hair and working his cock in and out of her mouth. She felt like heaven, and he never wanted her to stop, but his dick had other ideas. He could feel his erection building as he shoved his cock to the back of her mouth and came in hot spurts down her throat.

Cynthia licked him clean and let his cock pop from her swollen lips and he thought she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She smiled up at him and he could tell that she was feeling pretty smug about what she had just done to him. “Was that okay?” she asked.

“It was perfect,” he breathed. He felt as though his body was boneless as he lay there trying to get his body and his fucking emotions under control. He didn’t want to screw everything up with Cynthia just because she had given him the best blowjob of his life. No, he was going to remain calm and keep his damn feelings to himself—for now.

set up the meeting between Cynthia and the hypnotist, and while Razor seemed confident that she was going to remember something from the night she was roofied, had his doubts. He’d never really worked with a hypnotist, and wasn’t sure that Cynthia believed it would work either.

He filled his club’s Prez, Mace, in about what was happening, and he offered for them all to meet at the bar. liked the idea of meeting someplace public since he didn’t know the hypnotist. He wasn’t going to trust anyone with Cynthia’s safety hanging in the balance.

Mace and Razor had agreed to meet him and Cynthia at the bar at noon and promised to give Cynthia some space. Mace offered the use of his office, and accepted. He knew that he was going to owe his Prez a favor, but he’d very willingly pay him back for helping Cynthia. She was quickly becoming his woman, whether she knew it or not, and Mace seemed to understand that and accept how protective was when it came to Cynthia.

The hypnotist was waiting for them back in Mace’s office. She introduced herself and asked them both to call her Naomi. It made him feel a bit better knowing that she was a doctor and that Cynthia would be well taken care of. After the pleasantries, Naomi asked if she was ready to begin, and could appreciate that she was a no-nonsense kind of person. The sooner they got started, the sooner he could take her back home.

They both settled on the sofa and got comfortable. Naomi told Cynthia that the key to being hypnotized was to relax and think about her directions. She told her to concentrate on her voice and Cynthia closed her eyes.

“Think back to the night at Road Reapers when you were drugged,” Naomi said. watched as she seemed to struggle to remember that night. The hypnotist was trying to be patient with her at first but then started asking more and more questions.

“What do you remember most about that night?” Naomi asked. “How were you feeling?” Cynthia seemed to resist everything that she was supposed to be doing—especially relaxing. She seemed as though she was in pain with the way her beautiful features twisted with each question. He was going to put a stop to it when Cynthia smiled.

“I remember wanting . When he was dancing with me, I felt safe and wanted him to keep holding me. I wanted him to more than just hold me, too.” She was talking slowly, almost robotically, and he almost found the whole scene comical. He knew that she wanted him, but hearing her admit it under hypnotism made him feel a little better. He had gone into the bar that night believing that Cynthia had a boyfriend, and even after he found out that she didn’t have one, a part of him still believed that she didn’t want him. She pushed him off at every turn and kept him guessing. Hearing her tell him the truth about how she felt was refreshing and would be something that she wouldn’t be able to hide from anymore.

“Are you at the bar now?” Naomi asked. stifled his laughter, and Naomi shot him a scorching look. They were all at the bar—why would the doctor ask Cynthia where she was? “Can you hear the live band playing while you and were dancing?”

“Yes,” she breathed. “I love this song.”

“How are you feeling at that point in the night?” the doctor asked.

“Safe,” Cynthia breathed. “Turned on.” Fuck, hearing her admit that kind of shit to the doctor felt personal.

“I want you to look around the bar room and tell me what you see,” Naomi insisted.

“There are so many people,” she groaned. “I hate it when this place is so crowded.”

“Good,” the doctor said, “do you see anyone who looks out of place? Maybe someone new that you haven’t seen at the club before.” Cynthia turned her head as though she was really looking around the room and when she stopped and gasped, knew that something was wrong.

“What is it?” Naomi asked. “Do you see someone?”

“Yes,” Cynthia said, “I think that my ex-boyfriend’s wife is here. I saw a picture of her when I looked up his Facebook page. I was trying to find out who Eric married. She looks a lot like the pictures on his page. Why would she come to the bar?” Cynthia asked.

“I want you to get closer, and get a good look at her.” Cynthia seemed to be struggling again, and looked at the doctor. “She’s fine,” Naomi assured.

“I’m at the bar, and it’s definitely her,” Cynthia said.

“Is your ex with her?” she asked.

Cynthia seemed to look around and shook her head, “No, he’s not here.”

“You said she’s at the bar,” the doctor said. “Do you see her around the drinks?”

“Yes,” Cynthia said, “she's standing at the end of the bar watching the bartender making the specialty drinks for that night. It’s what Charlie was drinking and what Ink brought me.”

“You’re doing great,” Naomi praised. “Can you tell if she’s putting anything in the drinks?”

“I didn’t see her put anything in the drinks. I only saw her standing there. She looks so out of place,” Cynthia said.

“Okay, Cynthia. When I clap my hands twice, I want you to wake up and remember everything that we just talked about.” Naomi clapped twice and on cue, Cynthia opened her eyes.

“How do you feel?” asked.

“Relaxed, even rested,” Cynthia admitted. “I can’t believe that she was there. I’ve known it this whole time but must have blocked out the memory.”

“That’s usually how it works. That’s why hypnosis is sometimes needed—to help patients remember something that they didn’t know they saw,” Naomi said.

“I’m going to fill Razor and Mace in,” said, not wanting to waste any more time. “Do you remember her name?” he asked.

Cynthia yawned and stretched, “It’s Melissa Santos. Well, that was her name on Facebook, but she might have taken Eric’s last name which is Dixon.”

“We’ll put out a warrant for Melissa Santos Dixon and see what we come up with. She’ll need to come in for questioning before we can charge her with anything,” said. The issue might be finding her. If Melissa was smart, she’d already have an alibi or left town. Either way, charging her with the crime of drugging the drinks down at Road Reapers was going to be tough.

They walked out to the main barroom and found Mace and Razor sitting at the bar, waiting for them. “Did she remember anything?” Razor asked .

“Yes, and we have a name,” said. “You’re looking for a woman named Melissa Santos Dixon. She might be going by either last name. The woman is Cynthia’s ex’s new wife. She remembered her being there that night, and she was hanging around the bar.”

“Great,” Razor said, “that’s enough to at least bring her in for questioning. Good job, Cynthia. You too, doctor.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Naomi insisted. “I’ll be sending you a bill. Paying that will be thanks enough.” Razor rolled his eyes at the doctor. “Just call me if you need me,” she said. “It was nice meeting you all. Good luck, Cynthia.” She turned to leave through the back door of the bar before getting back to their conversation.

“Well, at least we know that she was trying to hurt you, and not just randomly drugging drinks at the bar,” Razor said.

“Yeah, it makes me feel so much better knowing that my ex’s new wife is out to hurt me—or worse. Why would she roofie my drink though? What was the point of all that?” Cynthia asked.

“Maybe she was going to try to kidnap you from the bar. You did say that you were there alone that night, initially,” Razor said. “Maybe she was going to wait in the parking lot for you to leave and force you into her car. A person who has been roofied is easy prey.” The thought of that woman getting her hands on Cynthia scared the hell out of . But if he wasn’t there that night, that’s exactly what would have happened.

“You will have the club’s help,” he said to . “What ever you guys need, all you have to do is ask.”

“Great,” said, “we will need any video surveillance that you have from that night—inside and outside cameras. If we can prove that she was here, it will help us with making an arrest. We’ll need more than just Cynthia’s memories from that night to build a case against her.”

“You’ve got it,” Mace said. “I’ll send everything to you by this afternoon.”

“Thanks, man,” said. “I won’t let Melissa near Cynthia again, so I might need to borrow a few guys.” Mace nodded is approval and had to admit that he was grateful for the help. He wouldn’t make the mistake of underestimating Melissa. Now that they knew who she was, he was going to make sure that Cynthia had round-the-clock security detail. If he couldn’t be there, he’d either get one of the guys from the club to watch her, or one of his buddies on the force. There was no way that he’d let Melissa get close enough to hurt her ever again.