Reading His Submissive

by Brandi Evans

  She touched the outer edges of the keloid, soft as she could in case it still hurt him. “Is this from a bullet.”

  He tensed, and she swore she could feel his pain. “The hazard of being a cop.”

  His words were a forced nonchalance. He didn’t want to talk about the injury, and it hurt. She’d shared some of her most profound pains with him, but he didn’t seem keen on reciprocating. It shouldn’t bother her as much as it did.

  Judging by the proximity of the scar, the bullet had come damn close to hitting his heart. Was that the reason he didn’t want to talk about it? A brush with mortality left its mark. She knew this firsthand.

  “Could you not get a loan for the house?” he asked, effectively changing the subject. “I know that’s not what you want but—”

  She shook her head and cut him off with another bite. “Already tried. I’m too overextended to get a loan for the amount I’d need with practically nothing as a down payment. That’s why I’m trying my damnedest to get all the extra shifts I can.”

  “Overextended? Even with a paid off car and house?”

  “Car and house are paid off, but I’m still paying off loans I took out to bail Mama out, pay for lawyers and for the one time she skipped on bail.”

  “Fucking unbelievable.” He pushed the spoon away when she tried to feed him another bite. “How long are you going to keep paying the price for her mistakes?”

  Raven dropped her gaze, unable to face him, but he tilted her face back to him.

  “I’m serious, Genny. I know you feel guilty for what went down with What’sHisDickFace, but you were what? Fifteen?”

  “Seven, actually.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ.” He took the bowl of ice cream, set it on the night table beside them, and tugged her onto his lap. “You deserve to be happy, sweetheart. You deserve to have a place of your own, something that isn’t haunted by dark memories. You deserve more than to continually pay penance for an accident when you were the victim.”

  “I know.” At least on an intellectual level, but emotionally, she still longed for the days when she had a mother. And if she threw her mother under the bus, Raven knew it was a longing which would never come to pass.

  “Please don’t hate me for saying this,” he said after a while, “but you need to turn her in for the bank fraud.”

  She instantly shook her head. “She’s my mother.”

  “I know, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend the rest of your life paying for her mistakes. Turn her in. Break the cycle. Move on with your life. Be happy.”

  “But I am happy…” Well, when I’m with you. But she held the last part inside.

  “No, you’re not, sweetheart. I’ve been there for several tear fests over the past week or so, which is more tears than I’ve seen on your face since I’ve known you. That’s not happy.”

  He had such an uncanny way of barreling through the bullshit, and she wasn’t sure whether it was good or bad.

  “You’re right,” she whispered, “but I can’t turn her in. I just can’t.”

  “Let me turn her in then.”

  She leveled him with her stare. “Let you do what?”

  “Let me turn her in, so your conscience is clear.”

  “How would my conscience be clear? I’d still be telling a cop who’d, in turn, go arrest my mom. I can’t do that either, Carter.”

  “Then tell me what I can do to help.” He cradled her cheek. “I hate knowing you’re hurting. I hate it more because I can’t help.”

  “You are helping.” She closed her eyes, fighting back the tears and frustration, and rested her forehead against his. “But if you want to do more, you can start by kissing me again. I always feel better when you’re kissing me.”

  “I could do that.” But he didn’t. “I want to help. If you’ll just tell me how.”

  “I don’t know.” The words came out softer than she’d anticipated. “I honestly don’t. I want my own place, to get out of that shithole, and to finally extricate myself from my mother’s self-destructive antics. But then I think about what I’d be getting her into and—”

  “What she’s gotten herself into,” he corrected. “You’re the victim in all this. You need to remember that.”

  Victim.

  Raven didn’t like the word. It made her feel violated and helpless, and only one of those was true. She wasn’t weak, and she didn’t want him thinking she was. She’d spent most of her adult life—and childhood too—being strong because she’d had to be.

  “What would you do, Carter, if you were in my place? Imagine it was your mother who’d screwed you over. Would you be able to turn her in, even if she was a pure piece of shit to you?”

  He didn’t answer.

  “She makes me so angry,” she pushed on. “She does. Part of me wants so badly for her to receive her comeuppance, but the other part of me knows if that happens, if I play a part in it, I’ll lose whatever chance I have of ever getting my mother back.”

  “Shh.” He wiped a tear from her cheek—funny, she hadn’t realized she’d started crying—pulled her into his arms, and kissed her slowly, thoroughly, like she’d wanted. His lips were the ideal distraction, and god, she needed a distraction more than ever.

  Pushing onto his knees, he dragged her along with him and pulled her—well, technically his—T-shirt over her head. She pushed his pajama pants down at the same time.

  “On your back,” he ordered as he pulled away and stepped from the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

  She obeyed, enjoying the view of his naked ass as he walked from the room.

  He was back in no time, rolling on a condom as he walked, and by the time he knelt on the bed between her legs, he was ready to go. She was, too.

  She reached for him as he lowered his body over hers, but he caught her by the wrists and pinned her hands over her head, which excited her more than she wanted to admit. Submitting to him, being bound by him, was quickly growing her addiction to submission. With him, anyway.

  “Sir,” she said on a groan as his glans slid over her labia, over her clit.

  Holding himself above her, her hands squished between his weight and the softness of the mattress, his gaze locked on her, he breached her. She instinctively softened her body as his cock slid deeper, stretching her, and when he was as deep as he could go, he stopped, released her hands, and dropped to his elbows.

  He kissed her, sweet kisses made more potent by the feel of his erection heavy and hard inside her. Not moving, he’d simply connected their bodies.

  She wrapped her legs around his hips, her arms around his torso, and drew him closer. She doubted she could ever get close enough to him.

  Her Sir.

  The minutes stretched on for an eternity, and by the time he began moving inside her, she was brimming with hormones and emotions. Everything swirled and collided inside her until she could barely breathe.

  “Genny,” he murmured as he broke their lip lock and kissed his way along her neck.

  Genny.

  Not Raven.

  Not pet.

  Not sweetheart or sub.

  Genny.

  The only person she’d given permission to use her given name. The only person she’d trusted enough, even before now. It hadn’t felt so vast and life-altering until now.

  This, she knew without a doubt, meant as much to him as it did her. Well, maybe not as much, but this wasn’t a booty-call either. He cared for her. In what way, she’d yet to figure out, but he cared.

  She held onto the knowledge as her orgasm built inside her. Rolling her hips to meet his ever-powerful, ever-quickening thrusts, she gave as good as she got. For her pleasure but mostly for his. He’d given her so much she wanted to return the favor in what limited ways she could.

  “I wish I could spend every moment of every day inside you.” His breath was a hot stream of air against her neck.

  “I wish you could, too, Sir.”

  He pushed onto his hands, taking her fa
ster, harder, and she had to tighten her hold on him to keep him close enough for her liking. The result had her rising off the mattress and losing her ability to move, to thrust. All she could do was hang on for dear life as he pumped in and out of her.

  She dug her fingernails into his back as her pleasure crested. The orgasm took forever to fully unfurl, which only made her fight harder for it, and Sir never stopped moving. He kept fucking her, even as a layer of sweat formed on his skin, making it harder for her to maintain her hold on him.

  She slipped and fell to the mattress; the slight change in position had him slamming back home with renewed force, setting her off.

  She came hard, clawing at the mattress, her legs flailing. Sir, holding himself on one hand, caught one of her legs and held her open to him as he pumped harder still, faster. His breath sounded in frantic pants. He was close too. She could feel his desperation in every thrust, and it was beautiful.

  “Sir,” she breathed, part plea for more, part plea for him to join her, to take his pleasure as he consumed her.

  But he didn’t. He kept on pumping, pushing her higher and further, until finally, her climax ebbed. Only then, did he drop onto her, capture her head between his hands, and hammer a frantic pace as he, too, found release.

  The gentle buzz of his cell phone drew Carter from an exhausted sleep. Raven had kept him up all night with her distracting body, not that satisfying her was precisely a chore; he just wasn’t used to non-stop sex. Usually, once he left the club, he was done.

  Speaking of Raven and her incredible body, she was snuggled against him, limbs entangled, warm and naked. He hated having to roll away, but being a cop meant he was never off duty. So, he had to check his damn phone.

  He grabbed the device from the bedside table and checked the caller ID. It was Maddox.

  “Carter.” His voice sounded as if it had been raked over hot coals.

  “We’ve got a problem.” Just like Maddox to get right to the chase.

  “What do you mean?” Carter asked as he tried his best to roll from bed without waking Genny.

  “It’s Katlyn. She’s having second thoughts. She keeps telling me it would be safer to go home to her fucking husband, that if she left him, he’d track her down and kill her.”

  “Goddamn it.” He said the words louder than he’d meant, but hopefully, he was far enough from earshot he hadn’t woken his lover. “Did she?”

  “No. I got her calmed back down, but we have to move her, now. There’s no time to wait. It’s all hands-on deck. I left her sleeping in one of the interrogation rooms.”

  “You’re still there?”

  “I didn’t want to leave her,” he said simply and without further explanation. “I showered here, but I’m about to run to 7-Eleven to get Katlyn some cappuccino and a couple blueberry muffins.”

  “Okay, okay. I’ll meet you at the precinct in—” No, wait. He couldn’t leave Genny here without a vehicle and running her home would take way too damn long. Not to mention, it was too damn early to wake her. “Would you mind picking me up? I have… a car situation.”

  Car situation? It was lame, but he had no desire to explain any of this to his partner yet, especially considering Carter had yet to figure out where he stood on all of it.

  “Sure ‘nuff. Be there in about twenty. Maybe twenty-five. And we’ll hit 7-Eleven on our way back.”

  “Great. See ya soon.” Carter clicked off and glanced at the device: 4:17. He was seriously getting too old for this shit.

  He scrubbed the sleep from his eyes and turned back to his bedroom—and froze.

  Genny was leaning against the doorframe, as naked as he’d left her—as naked as he was—and looking way too damn tempting for his own good.

  “I take it you have to go,” she said, her voice sleepy, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a little disappointed.

  “That’s the life of a cop.” And something she’d have to get used to if this thing between them was going to move forward.

  “Is everything… okay?” she asked. “I mean as okay as it can be given what you do for a living.”

  “Yeah.” Almost shocking himself, he kept talking about the case. “A battered wife has decided to testify against her abusive husband, and Maddox and I are helping relocate her somewhere far away where he can’t get to her.”

  She nodded. “How soon before you have to go?”

  “Twenty minutes or so. As soon as Maddox gets here.” He pointed to the spot where he’d left his keys the night before. “I don’t know how long I’ll be, but you can take my car when you’re ready to go.”

  “Are you sure? I’m sure I can find someone to pick me—”

  “Positive.” He went to her and drew her into his arms. “It’s not like I don’t know where you live. Or work.”

  “True.” She draped her arms over his shoulders and tapped her lips against his. “Do you want me to make you an early breakfast while you’re in the shower? Or do you want to forgo food altogether and just drag me into the shower with you?”

  “I’m afraid if I did the latter, there’d not be much actual showering involved.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She winked. “Breakfast it is then.” She stepped away and gave him a playful shove. “Go. I’ll see what I can wrangle food-wise.”

  But he didn’t budge. He already missed the feel of her body against his, but he was right. If he took her to the shower, he doubted they’d come out until the water turned cold. A smart man would turn around. Right now. And damn it, he was a goddamn smart man.

  But he wasn’t sure how long he’d be away. How long could he go without the feel of her naked against him?

  “Fuck it.” Taking Raven by the hand, he tugged her back into his arms and kissed her all the way to the shower.

  As he’d anticipated, what should have been a five-minute shower had turned into closer to a twenty-five-minute shower, but he didn’t regret it one damn bit. He should be so lucky to start every day off with a blowjob in the shower. Of course, he’d given as good as he’d gotten, and by the time they’d left the water, they’d both been breathing heavier.

  He grabbed the Cowboys T-shirt he’d lent her from the floor, took a pair of pajama bottoms from his dresser, and then handed them both to Genny. “In case you want something a little more covering than my T-shirt.”

  She took them and hugged them to her breasts. “What? You don’t think me walking around your place naked would be appropriate?”

  Although she’d said it with a smile, her words made him shiver. Knowing Genny could be waltzing around his house buck-ass naked while he was at work? Fuck. Talk about the distraction to win all distractions.

  “You can either wear them home,” he said, “or you can toss your clothes from last night in the washer.”

  “I’ll be leaving here with your car and the shirt off your back. Sounds like I’m getting the better end of this deal.”

  He chuckled. “Not in the slightest, sweetheart.”

  Grinning, she blew him a kiss before dressing. She was headed out of the room before he’d managed to get one foot into his jeans or before he had a chance to warn her the front part of the house might not be empty anymore. The sharp intake of her breath, however, as well as a surprised cough, as if his partner had been drinking something which had suddenly gone down the wrong pipe, told him she’d figured it out.

  Shit.

  Maddox’s fingerprint had been keyed into the lock when Carter had first moved in, so of course, he would have let himself in. Carter hadn’t thought this through, had he? If only he’d have jumped in the shower alone like he’d intended, he could have been waiting for Maddox in the driveway, and all this could have been avoided.

  Maddox was more than a partner. They were brothers. So, Maddox knew good and well Carter didn’t bring women home, so this revelation would undoubtedly lead to some unwanted conversation in the car.

  Carter finished dressing as quickly as he could, and by the time he joined Maddox an
d Raven in the living area, the pair were seated at the kitchen table, the same one Carter had fucked Genny on only a few short hours ago.

  Maddox had toasted some bagels and made some coffee while he’d waited, which the pair were both enjoying. Raven didn’t seem to be too out of sorts by the morning intrusion. In fact, the two were laughing like this was a typical situation for them both.

  Why did their carefree interaction frustrate Carter so much?

  Maddox and Genny were close, sure; they were Restrained Fantasies’ two bartenders after all, but seeing them getting along outside the club slammed Carter with a jolt of jealousy he hadn’t been expecting. Nor did he want. His feelings for Genny were damned confusing enough without having jealousy tossed into the mix.

  Maddox gave him a nod hello before returning his attention to Genny. She sat with her legs crossed in the dining chair, slathering an insane amount of cream cheese on one of the bagels. The girl liked as much cream cheese as he did.

  Carter had to force himself from going straight to her and planting a big, wet, sloppy kiss on her, marking his territory like he was a fucking dog.

  To distract himself, he gripped the bottom left-hand corner of the painting hiding his wall safe and flipped it open. The safe was thumb-print activated, so he applied his thumb and waited for the door to pop open.

  After removing his sidearm and badge, he headed to the table. His badge hung from a thick chain around his neck, and his sidearm clipped to his belt.

  When he sat, Raven handed him the bagel she’d been prepping. “Maddox said you liked a shit-ton of cream cheese,” she said as he took the offered pastry. “If he was just punking me, I apologize upfront, and I’ll remake it.”

  She’d made this for him? Why did that make his chest tighten?

  “It’s perfect.” Index finger to her chin, he turned her face up and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. God, she still smelled like him. “Thank you.”

  She smiled, positively pleased with herself.

  He wanted to kiss her again, but the sooner he and Maddox were gone, the better. He’d given his partner enough ammunition as it was.

  “Ready?” he said to Maddox.