"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Scott said from behind me as he wrapped his arms around me and pressed his hard warm body against my back.
I nodded dumbly, unable to speak just yet, as I continued watching the couple soar together.
"Don't worry, babe," he murmured seductively in my ear. "You'll get your turn soon enough, when we're in our private room."
I stiffened at the thought of being flogged, and a frisson of fear shuddered through me. I wanted to fly, but I didn't know if I was ready for anything that extreme, at least not yet anyway.
"I'm not going to flog you tonight, Luisa," he said in the low commanding tone of a Dom, sending a measure of disappointment through me, even as I felt relief too. "You're not ready for that yet, even if your clit disagrees," he added with a heated chuckle.
"Sí, mi Rey," I murmured with a smile.
"Good girl," he whispered directly in my ear as he briefly tightened his arms around me, those words and his warm breath sending a shiver through my entire body and making my sex ache for him. "Now come on, babe," he said in a more serious tone as he stepped away from me and moved forward, coaxed me along with him. "We've got work to do before we can play."
Right. It was time to get a grip on my lust, regardless of how provocative I found this entire room, hell the whole building really. I tried my best to push aside everything that was going on around me, and focus on the task at hand.
Scott led us around the edge of the seating areas spread around the stage, that were filled with couples making out and blatantly fondling each other, to the far-right corner of the dungeon. I easily spotted Van Allen and his sub taking a seat near the stage. Scott and I circled around to the far end of the room, and he pulled me down with him onto a low black leather love seat. It afforded us a view of the stage and the couple, so we could surreptitiously watch them without it being obvious. Scott slid a hand under my knees, and pulled me over to sit on his lap, then held me close and leaned in to nuzzle my neck.
"You keep an eye on them, and I'll take one for the team and cover you by making sure we look like we belong here," he murmured before pressing feather soft kisses to my skin as his fingers dug into my ass.
I sighed with pleasure and smiled. "I'm so sorry this is such a hardship for you."
He let out a low chuckle, then started nibbling me with his teeth. Desire zinged through my entire being and down to my crotch. I couldn't hold in a low moan as I went limp in his arms. "No teeth," I groused quietly. "I can't think when you do that."
I felt his lips turn up into a grin. "Duly noted, babe," he said in amusement. "I'll keep that in mind later tonight when I have you all to myself though." His tongue laved my neck next.
"Stop it," I hissed as I writhed in his lap, his erection underneath me impossible to ignore and so close to where I wanted it later.
"Sorry," he whispered unapologetically, but he tempered his mouth's exploration of my tender and sensitive skin enough that I could function properly. I settled into his ministrations, and his somehow comforting embrace, and I was finally able to relax. This whole situation was surreal. Never in my life would I have imagined I'd be sitting in a BDSM club like this, and never would I have thought I'd actually enjoy it, but here I was doing both. Who'd have thought?
I looked over at our quarry through slitted eyes. Van Allen and his bimbo were doing much the same as Scott and me, making out and doing some pretty heavy petting as they watched the couple performing on stage. After a little while, the woman slithered down onto her knees between Van Allen's feet, her hands gliding up his thighs toward his fly. I tensed, because I knew what was coming next, and I didn't know if I could keep watching without blushing the deepest darkest crimson of my life in utter embarrassment. I didn't consider myself a prude, but I'd never watched anything like this in real life before either.
Scott lifted his head from my neck and glanced over at Van Allen with narrowed eyes. "Let's switch, babe," he suggested quietly, readily realizing my discomfort and giving me an out.
Thank God, first because I didn't have to watch the bimbo in action, and second I'd finally get my hands and lips on Scott. It was a win, win for me, and I eagerly accepted his offer. I shifted in Scott's lap and buried my fingers in his hair before latching my mouth onto his jawline and the sexy stubble there. Holy fuck, he tasted and felt so good, his heavenly scent overloading my brain and shutting out everything around me. He groaned deeply and lifted his chin, encouraging me to do more, and I happily obliged and went to town on every inch of his bare skin I could get my hands and mouth on. I licked and nipped at his neck until I felt his dick throb under my ass, then preened inside with feminine pride and satisfaction as I wriggled around on his lap to torture him some more.
"Fuck, Lu," he growled out. "Ease up. You're killing me."
I ignored him, too lost in this delicious man to listen, and went at his ear like a fiend, relishing his low moans of appreciation until he finally gripped my upper arms tightly and pushed me away. I made a noise of protest and fought him.
"Stop," he growled out fiercely in a commanding tone that I instinctively obeyed, and I leaned back to meet his fiery blue gaze.
He nodded toward Van Allen and his sub, and I glanced over and was relieved to see her moving to her feet and wiping at her mouth with a smug expression. Thank God, they were done. She said something to her Dom, then moved away toward the room's entrance. Shit. Now what? Did I go after her?
"Follow her," Scott suggested, seeming to read my thoughts. "Talk to her and get a read on her if you can. I'll keep an eye on Van Allen."
"Okay," I replied as I clambered off his lap, then almost pitched over as my head spun. Scott grabbed my hand to steady me.
"Easy, babe," he said with a sexy smirk. "I know I'm hot as fuck, but there's no reason to faint over it."
I arched a brow at him and frowned as I shook my head in exasperation. The man was completely incorrigible, and I was starting to realize that he got off on getting a rise out of me. I glanced down at his crotch and the obvious tent in his pants. "Well, at least I'm not the one being left with blue balls, babe." I added sarcastically.
His eyes narrowed. "You just earned yourself another punishment later, Luisa," he told me with an evil grin.
I leaned down closer to his face. "I look forward to it, mi Rey." Then I gathered my wits about me and hurried after the blond before I lost sight of her, with Scott's throaty and lustful laugh following after me.
Moments later, I was following Van Allen's sub across the main club room toward the back hall that led to the restrooms. She went to the end of the short line to wait for her turn, and I followed and stood behind her, eying the back of her barely there dress in unfeigned astonishment. I'll give her this much, she definitely had the body for the dress, even if it was artificially enhanced. She glanced back at me and noticed my attention with a smile.
"I love your dress," I told her as I returned her smile, hoping to engage her in a conversation.
"Thanks" she said brightly. "My Master bought it for me. He likes showing me off." Her eyes roved down my body, and I tensed inwardly for a derisive look or comment. "Your dress is perfect on you," she said sincerely. "Your tits are natural, aren't they?"
"They are," I answered, her direct and pointedly personal question pulling another smile out of me.
She let out a beleaguered and melodramatic sigh. "I wish I'd been graced that way, but I had to pay through the nose for mine." Her face turned regretful. "I wish I'd been happy with what I had before I went through hell to get these. It would have saved me a lot of pain and money." She grinned again. "Luckily, James loves me for more than just my body." Her eyes turned dreamy. "And to think a man like that wants to marry a girl like me after just a few months together." She shook her head as she raised her left hand to brush her hair out of her face, and I saw a massive glittering diamond on her ring finger. "I never thought I would be lucky enough to find a good man who didn't just see me as some empty-headed bimbo."
Her disarming and genuine honesty made it really hard to keep hating on her. It made me feel guilty for judging her so harshly, even if I thought she was nuts for getting engaged so soon, but she seemed happy.
"Good for you," I said warmly, and she grinned broadly and thanked me.
The line finally made it to the restroom, and we both went in to take care of business. Then I took a few moments to smooth down my slightly disheveled hair in front of the mirror. By the time I made my way back out into the hall, the blond was long gone, but I wasn't worried about it. I was pretty much convinced now that Van Allen wasn't our guy anyway. His background didn't indicate even a hint of any questionable or violent behavior. I'd talk with Scott, but I was certain he'd agree with my assessment.
And speaking of Scott, I wanted to get back to him as soon as I could. I was eager to get my hands on him again, and this time with no distractions. I grinned in anticipation and hurried away from the restroom down the hallway. I rounded the next corner with swift strides and plowed right into a hard wiry body. I bounced backwards and stumbled on my three-inch navy stilettos. I threw out a hand onto the nearby wall and barely saved myself from falling on my ass.
I looked up to find the asshole that had pissed off both Scott and me the other night. It was Vinnie, Scott's old acquaintance who had basically suggested a threesome just seconds after starting a conversation with us. He was smirking at me in a condescending way that wasn't anything like the sexy ones Scott liked to give me. It instantly set me on edge.
"Watch where you're going there, babe," he said in a patronizing and amused tone, his voice low and raspy. His use of Scott's pet name for me struck me instantly wrong, not to mention the fact that the jerk didn't even attempt to help me when I almost fell down.
I straightened indignantly and shot a glare up at the guy. I couldn't help but notice the glassy look in his eyes that told me he was high. "Excuse me," I bit out sharply as I went to move past him, having no intention of spending anymore time with this pendejo.
He moved into my path, his eyes trailing lecherously down my body. "Whoa, where's the fire, babe?" He placed a hand on the wall behind me, partially blocking me in, and I tensed to defend myself and shove his balls up into his throat with my knee. "Does your Master keep you on such a tight leash that you can't even talk to me?"
His words reminded me that I was undercover, and that kicking his sorry ass would probably blow my cover for sure. I pressed back against the wall to put some distance between us while I figured out what to do. Vinnie took advantage of my retreat and moved in closer so we were mere inches apart now, caging me in with his other arm.
"Maybe you'd like to spread your wings and have a little fun with someone else?" he asked suggestively in a voice I assumed he thought was sexy and seductive, but wasn't at all. I clenched my hands into fists, fighting the urge to punch him in the throat, and wishing I had my Glock 19, so I could shove it in his goddamn face and end this now. I suspected he was high enough that it wouldn't take much to subdue him, but then our investigation could be at risk if I did. Shit.
"My master doesn't share," I told him firmly, somehow thinking he would respect Scott's claim on me.
He barked out a sudden and loud laugh that startled me. "Is that what he told you?" he asked in a sardonic tone as he shook his head in disbelief. "That's fucking hilarious."
Before I could think too much about what he'd just said, he pulled his right hand from the wall next to my head. For a second, I thought maybe he'd wised up enough to back off, but no such luck. He reached toward my face. Oh, hell no.
"Don't fucking touch me," I snarled out viciously in a last-ditch effort to get him to stand down without having to get physical with him.
He paused, his eyes widening in surprise at my vehement words. I thought I finally got through to him, but apparently I'd overestimated his ability to use his drug-addled brain. He scowled and narrowed his gaze determinedly, and I knew I was screwed, because as soon as he laid a hand on me, I was going to defend myself, the investigation be damned.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
____________________
Scott
"Would you care for something to drink, sir?" A polite female voice asked from my left.
I glanced up at the twentysomething waitress who was standing next to the love seat I was still occupying in Désir Dangereux's public dungeon while I kept on eye on Van Allen. She was giving me a placid and friendly smile as she awaited my reply. I wasn't familiar with her, but that wasn't unusual since it wasn't like I had a lot to do with the club's day to day operations as a silent partner. She was Hispanic with a curvy body, large brown eyes, and caramel skin a shade darker than Lu's, but that's where the similarities ended. She was attractive in a cute and innocent way that was the polar opposite of Lu, who oozed a fierce and dangerous sex appeal that tempted me at every turn. This girl couldn't hold a candle to my Lu.
Wait...did I just call her my Lu? I blinked stupidly at the waitress as my mind tried to make sense of that particular thought and failed.
"Sir?" she asked with cute furrow between her brows that did nothing for me. I guess I'd been staring at her in silence longer than I thought.
"Um...uh...no, I'm good," I blurted out, sounding like an imbecile even to myself.
She nodded with a knowing expression, and walked away. She probably thought I was new and overwhelmed by what was going on around us, and not the inexplicable and disturbing possessiveness I felt over Lu. I shook my head at my own lunacy before shoving away the crazy shit in my head and glancing at Van Allen again. I had a job to do here.
He was still in the same club chair avidly watching the stage, so there wasn't much to see. I looked toward the stage myself to find that the African-American couple was nearing the end of their scene. The Dom was slowing the strokes of his flogger as he skillfully brought his sub back down from the deep subspace he'd sent her into. The couple was a joy to watch since the man was an artist with a flogger, and the woman was the perfect responsive sub. Derek West, R&C LTD's corporate attorney, and his wife Thea, were an experienced and well-respected couple who had been members here for well over a decade, long before Calder and I took over the place from Rex Landis. They regularly visited the club and loved performing onstage for everyone to see. They always drew a crowd when they were here, and tonight was no different.
Movement caught my eye in Van Allen's direction, and I glanced over to see the blond he'd come in with returning to him. Van Allen's eyes lit up as soon as he saw her, not just with lust, but with something more, the same something more I saw in Calder's eyes every time his new bride, Ella, entered a room. Yeah, Van Allen wasn't our guy. He was completely enamored with his sub to the point that nothing else existed. I highly doubted our killer was capable of anything like that, let alone faking it.
The blond climbed into Van Allen's lap, and they commenced to making out like teenagers again. They went at each other for a few moments before they came up for air. I could clearly read Van Allen's lips as he suggested going to a private room, and the couple rose and quickly left the public dungeon with their hands still all over each other. Check one suspect off the list. I sank back into the love seat in gratification since we were one step closer to solving this for Lu.
I turned my attention back to the stage to wait for Lu, and watched Derek carefully uncuffing his wife from the St. Andrew's cross with gentle and tender care. Within moments, he was carrying her from the dungeon to take her to a private room for aftercare, an important and integral part of safely bringing a sub out of subspace. The couple always did that part of their play in private.
After they walked out, an inkling of worry began nagging at me. Lu should have come back to me by now. Where was she? Another minute passed, and the unease only increased and turned into a hard knot in my gut. One thing I learned from being a P.I. was always to listen to my gut. It had saved my ass on multiple occasions, and I certainly wasn't going to ignore it now sinc
e there was potentially a murderer loose in the club. "Fuck," I snarled out under my breath as actual fear hit me at that thought, then immediately rose to my feet and walked swiftly out of the public dungeon to go find her.
The main room was a mass of people since it was Saturday and our busiest night of the week. I looked around as I crossed the space, checking for Lu even though I doubted she was out here carousing without me since she was still a little uneasy being here. I pushed through the crowd to get to the hall that led to the restrooms since that was most likely where she'd followed the blond earlier. If she wasn't there, I'd check the security feeds to find her if I had to.
I hurried down the back hallway and rounded the corner that led to the lady's room, then jerked to a halt at what I saw. Vinnie was there pressing in close to Lu, where he had her backed up against the wall, and was currently reaching up to touch her face, to touch what was mine. Fiery possessive rage violently burst to life inside me, and all coherent thought fled my head in a rush. I was moving an instant later, grabbing Vinnie by the scruff then whipping him around and shoving him face first against the opposite wall with a hard bone-jarring thud that pulled a satisfying grunt of pain out of him.
"What the ever-loving fuck do you think you're doing?!" I snarled out viciously as I braced my forearm across Vinnie's upper back and pressed him firmly against the wall. He somehow managed to crane his head around and lock his glassy eyes on mine. Fuck, of course the dumbass was high again.
"Take it easy, bro," he said with a smile. "I was just checking out the goods like old times."
The dumbfuck was too hopped up to have the sense to be afraid of me right now. He should be because I'd never been this close to the edge of completely losing control of my temper in my life.
I leaned in close as I stared balefully at him and spoke in a low deadly tone. "Listen carefully, Wilkes. If you come anywhere near what's mine again, if you even look at her the wrong way, I'll make what your Mistress does to you seem like a walk in the goddamn park compared to the hurt I'll put on you." I gave him a hard shake for emphasis. "Do you understand?" I asked, but it was a demand not a question.
Tempting Calm Waters Page 15
