by Lexi Blake
“You could have been a little gentler, Alex,” Derek complained.
But Karina knew there was no gentle way to deal with death. And she had a sudden suspicion of why she’d really been called in. How did he know? How the hell had the detective figured out she was working a case that involved a dead sub? Tanya Wilson’s mother had begged her to find her baby girl. Unfortunately, Karina had found the police report that led her to Jane Doe, who turned out to be Tanya. Sweet kid. Twenty-fucking-two years old. She’d been beaten and raped and her body had been dumped in an alley like she didn’t matter. Like she’d never mattered. Like she hadn’t hugged her momma before she went to sleep and led her high school debate team to a regional championship. Her life had been taken and pared down to nothing.
And Karina couldn’t accept that. Tanya Wilson’s great crime seemed to have been experimenting sexually in the D/s arts. A monster had lured her in and then made perverse something that should have been sacred. Karina had a five hundred dollar retainer with the promise of absolutely nothing else and she was on the case. She would find whoever had left Tanya Wilson’s mother in perpetual mourning for the child she’d lost.
She’d been very quiet about it, not wanting to tip anyone off. It had occurred to her to ask Simon Weston to work with her, but he’d been called away to London on another case and she’d lost her shot. She couldn’t ask the others. They were all married and she loved their wives. She couldn’t pull the husbands away. And she sure as hell wouldn’t ask the lieutenant. He would just as likely toss her ass in jail as work with her.
Was he going to do that now?
A man she’d never met before walked into the room, and Karina’s eyes widened. Stetson hat. Pressed blue jeans. Bolo tie over a dress shirt.
Damn. The Rangers were involved. If they were involved, it meant she’d been on the right track all along.
“It’s a serial case. Shit.” She flushed a little, stepping to Eve’s side. “I’m sorry to have cursed, sir.”
Derek Brighton’s eyes flared. “You’ve never been sorry before.”
Had he thought she was talking to him? She hadn’t meant Sir, but rather had simply meant to be polite to the baddest ass in the room. If there was one thing she’d learned since she’d moved to Texas, it was to respect the highest authority in law enforcement. “I was talking to the Ranger.”
The big guy tipped his head her way. He was a glorious specimen of masculinity. She put his age at forty and it looked good on him. “Ma’am. I’m Clayton Hill with the Texas Rangers. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mills. I’m sorry it’s under such tragic circumstances. You knew the victim?”
She hated the fact that Amanda was being referred to as the victim, but she understood the need to distance. She knew what it meant to be a cop’s wife. They dealt with the worst things a human could see. They had to have distance to do their jobs and maintain some sanity. “Yes.”
His blue eyes held a wealth of sympathy and he reached out for her hand, grasping it between his. “Then I’m especially sorry for your loss.”
Derek was right there, grasping her elbow and pulling her away from the lovely Ranger. “We need to move on. We have very little time. According to everything we know about this guy, he’ll strike again in the next two weeks.”
Her head was whirling a bit as Derek hauled her toward the conference table and pulled out a chair for her. If she’d had a minute to think about it, she would have found another chair out of sheer stubbornness, but he moved so fast, she found herself settled in next to him in an instant. “We know something about this guy?”
She didn’t even know there was a guy on their radar. The last time she’d talked to the local police, they were checking out Tanya’s ex-boyfriend as the main suspect. She seriously doubted the college kid had been running around killing subs.
Derek frowned her way, but then that was his usual expression when it came to her. “Why did you ask if this was a serial case? Do you know something?”
She bit her bottom lip, a nervous habit. So they didn’t know? “I’m kind of working a case.”
His frown deepened. “A case? What kind of a case?”
“I started working a missing persons case a few weeks ago. The girl was playing in some clubs. Tanya Wilson. My missing person became a murder investigation.”
There it went again. If he frowned any more, she was pretty sure his face would turn in on itself. “The second victim?”
She felt her eyes widen. She’d known there was more to this. It just felt wrong to her. “How many vics have we got so far?”
Holy shit. She’d been hunting a serial. She’d had that feeling in the pit of her gut. It was why she hadn’t been to Sanctum for weeks. She’d been busy letting herself be seen at the more dangerous clubs, the ones Tanya had frequented.
Alex sat down in front of her, Eve sliding in on his side. “Four that we’ve found. Karina, there’s something you should know.”
“What?” Yes, something was so wrong because Alex put a hand over hers as though giving her comfort for the horror to come.
“The Rangers identified the woman he’s targeting as his next victim.”
A little thrill ran through her and now she let herself grin. Oh, she was good. Damn good. Now that she knew what was going on, there was really only one reason to bring her in. Only one reason Alex looked scared to give her the news.
He had no idea she’d been trying to make this happen for weeks.
“It’s you, Karina,” Derek said with a grim finality.
“Fuck, yeah!” She got out of her chair and did a little fist pump. “Finally something goes right.”
She couldn’t help but notice Derek had turned the brightest shade of red.
Well, she couldn’t win them all.
Chapter Two
Derek herded her into his office. Herded? Hell, he’d practically picked her hot ass up and run away with her after the hour-long briefing because all he could think about was wiping that self-satisfied smile off her face. From the moment she’d fist pumped like a teenager winning a video game, he’d thought of nothing but getting her alone.
Karina Mills thought it was awesome that she’d managed to get a serial killer to notice her? Well, she was going to get some serious attention from her brand new Dom, and there was no way she was going to like it.
She turned on her heels, a frown on that gorgeous face of hers. “All right, Detective. You’ve got me alone. You want to tell me what crawled up your ass and died a slow and obviously painful death?”
He was going to enjoy the next few moments because it was painfully obvious to him that she hadn’t understood a damn thing about the way this was going to work. Clayton Hill had used technical words like “liaise” and “report to.” Derek was about to use a few words Karina would fully recognize and then he’d see if she was still ready to jump up and down with excitement.
He ignored her very rude question as he walked around his office, shutting the blinds with a careful hand. Privacy was required for what he was about to do. He could hear her foot begin to tap against the floor.
She was such an impatient woman. They would have to work on that.
He took a minute to gather himself, to calm down. They had to work together. This was a serious case. Alex and Eve McKay were still closed up with the Rangers and their forensic expert, going over all the technical details that would help Eve profile their killer. Sean and Liam were on their way to Karina’s apartment to set up additional security, including cameras. They were going to take jobs at one of the clubs Karina had been frequenting.
Alone. She’d been visiting clubs without even bothering to tell anyone where she was. The clubs weren’t known for their safety. Derek would never take a sub there and yet Karina had walked right in without any backup.
Fuck, he was getting pissed again. And his cock was hard as a damn rock.
“Are you having trouble, Brighton? Should I get someone? Because I need to go and meet Little Tag a
nd Li. We’ve got a bunch of stuff to go over before tonight’s op.” She talked like she was doing an everyday job. Nothing to be concerned about. She wasn’t throwing herself in front of a known serial killer or anything.
“We’ll talk to Sean and Li when I’m through discussing the situation with you.” He had to get his unruly dick under control.
“Well, I’m done now, Brighton. I’ll send you a report.” She sighed a little. “I don’t know why I can’t just work through the Rangers. I get that DPD wants to protect its turf. I really do understand that. How about we work something out? I promise to keep you in the loop. I’ll talk to you on a daily basis and keep you up to date. If your chief asks, you’re totally in on this. But you certainly don’t have to watch over me.”
She had a bad habit of hearing what she wanted to hear. He had to correct that behavior, too. For the first time in a very long time, he found his blood pulsing at the thought. The last several years, the training he’d given to various submissives had been delivered with a practiced hand. It had been something he looked forward to, something that made him feel needed.
Discipline had been something he enjoyed delivering, but now his blood was pumping through his system and he realized exactly what he’d been missing. He’d deeply missed the game, the thrill that came from taming a sub to his hand.
This sub. Unruly. Arrogant. Gorgeous. Could he turn her into a sweet little kitten?
It was a bad idea and yet the thought of even playing with her got his dick stiff and aching. It wasn’t like she was looking for a permanent Dom. She liked to play at Sanctum. She wasn’t really submissive. She was the type of woman who played at it for sex. As far as he could tell, Karina had slept with several of the Doms, the latest being Simon Weston. She’d hooked up with O’Donnell and Big Tag before they’d gotten married. Maybe after, too. Her relationships were fairly shallow and she didn’t seem to require much more from her men than a good time in bed and a deft hand with a flogger. He could give her both.
Would it really be so bad to take what she had to offer?
“Brighton?” Annoyance was creeping into her voice. “I don’t have all day. What do you say? We pretend to work together?”
“I’m not going to pretend, Karina. We are going to be working together.”
He heard her sigh. “That’s a bad idea. Can’t you see that?”
“Why?” He’d love to know why she couldn’t seem to stand him.
“Because you don’t like me.”
He heard a wealth of possibilities in those words. For the first time since he’d met her, he heard some vulnerability. “That’s funny. I thought you were the one who didn’t like me.”
“Derek, you can’t stand me.”
He owed her some honesty. He gave it to her in the plainest fashion he could. He turned around and let her see the state of his cock. “Oh, there are parts of me that like you quite a bit, Karina.”
He couldn’t help but smile at the way her eyes widened, her mouth dropping open. Finally, finally he’d managed to shut her up and all he’d had to do was point a dick her way. If he’d known it would be that easy, he would have tried it a long time back. After all, he was always hard when she was around anyway.
He moved toward his desk with care. Now that he had her attention, it was time to talk to her. “Why don’t you have a seat, Karina?”
She shook her head, nibbling on that plump bottom lip of hers. “This is a bad idea.”
“You’ve said that several times. It’s not an idea. It’s what’s going to happen.” He sat down, happy to have some furniture between them. He gestured to the seat in front of him. “We seem to have been in two different meetings. You’re not in charge of this operation, Karina.”
She finally moved to the chair, her body folding as she sank down. Maia had been perfectly graceful, every move and action of her body a dance of seduction. Karina just plopped down and slumped over slightly.
Why was he so fucking fascinated with her? Why this woman? He appreciated grace and precision, but he couldn’t deny that Karina Mills fucked with his system. She looked so lost, he had the sudden impulse to pull her into his lap and have the whole conversation with his hand teasing her pussy, relaxing her.
Of course she wasn’t wearing a handy, frothy skirt. No. None of that for tough PI Karina. She had on a sturdy pair of jeans and a high-necked T-shirt. Masculine. He preferred her in a corset and thong.
“The Rangers are in charge, Brighton.”
As attempts to regain control went, Derek thought it was fairly weak. “Yes, the Rangers are in charge of the investigation, but I’m in charge of you.”
Let her sit on that for a moment.
“No.”
“Yes.” It was time to get a little firm. “You will report to me during this operation or I’ll have you in protective custody and in a safe house before you can take your next breath. If, at any time, I decide you’re a danger to the operation or yourself, I’ll place you in protective custody. If you step out of line or disobey me, I’ll…”
“Have me in protective custody,” Karina finished with a bitter note. “Yeah, I get it. I know this case better than you.”
She was obviously recovering. “You didn’t even realize it was a serial case.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t even realize it was a case at all, Mr. Hotshot Homicide Detective. I bet Amanda wishes you hadn’t dropped the ball on that one.”
There was the righteous bitch he knew so well. She was hard on a man’s ego and she’d managed to score a perfect shot. Amanda had given everyone around her hell, but that didn’t mean he wanted her dead. He should have protected her, should have seen what was going to happen.
“Derek, I shouldn’t have said that.” She leaned forward, her eyes sympathetic. “That was rude of me, but it points out all the reasons we shouldn’t work together. Believe it or not, I’m actually quite thoughtful. I’m very rarely rude to anyone, but you bring out the worst in me.”
And the deep need to lash right back at her had damn near overwhelmed him. Somehow she managed to hurt him more than anyone else. He’d always given in to those instincts before, but he needed to deal with her fairly and in a D/s fashion. “We should settle on punishments first then. Every time you’re rude to me, it’s a count of twenty. I don’t expect you to obey me in everyday life, but when we’re working, there will be stiff punishments for any infraction of the rules. I understand that you’re a professional investigator, but you are no longer in charge of this case. You will turn over everything you have to the Rangers and consider yourself under my charge until this is cleared up.”
He kind of loved the fact that her jaw had dropped and she shook her head in a slightly stunned fashion. “No. I…no.”
He reached for the phone. “All right. I’ll make sure the protective custody officers find you someplace nice.”
It wouldn’t be nice. It would be some rathole because that would be all the department could afford. He was sure if Big Tag hadn’t been traipsing around Europe he would lean on someone and get Karina off the hook, but without him, Karina was at Derek’s mercy.
And he had none. Damn, but it was good to have the advantage for once in his life.
Her hand shot out, staying the call. “Don’t. I’m not spending the next two weeks in some fleabag motel eating bad takeout. This is stupid, Derek. You can’t want this. Besides, isn’t it going to throw this guy off if I suddenly show up with a Dom?”
“Two of the vics had full-time Doms. Amanda had been seen playing with a Dom she’d dated for a month. She hadn’t been collared, but he was with her just a few hours before her death. The unsub doesn’t give a shit about whether you’re taken or not. Very likely he’ll find it a challenge to try to kill you right under my nose.” Something about the crimes screamed arrogance to Derek. This perp was proud of his work. He was showing off.
“Or he’ll get scared off.”
“That’s better than the alternative.”
“What alternative?”
“He actually kills you.”
She snorted, an entirely unfeminine sound that he should have found offensive. Should have. “Like I would let that happen.”
“Amanda was a cop. She might have had a nasty personality, but don’t think for a second that she didn’t know how to handle herself. She’d taken all of her self-defense courses. She was perfectly fit. And she’s dead. So I don’t give a damn what you think you can handle. You can handle working with me or…”
She snarled a little as she finished the sentence for him. “…go into protective custody. You’re starting to sound like a broken record, Brighton. You need to get some new material. Damn it. You see what you push me to? I am not this girl.”
“Whichever girl you are, she’s racking up the punishment.” He pushed his chair out a little, giving himself room to work. “I’m going to give you the earlier rude remarks. But it’s time to begin as we mean to go, so I’m going to demand payment for the last volley. Twenty over my lap. Let’s get this out of the way and then we can get something to eat and talk about this like adults. We need a contract in place. I’d like to go over your hard and soft limits.”
He was going to sign a contract with Karina Mills. Earlier it had seemed like the worst idea in the world, and now he couldn’t wait to get her signature. It would be proof that she belonged to him for however short a time.
Karina stood, but she wasn’t moving toward him. She backed away. “You can’t be serious, Brighton. You can’t expect that I’ll let you spank me right here.”
Patience. He needed an enormous amount of patience to deal with her. That was what he’d forgotten during earlier encounters. Karina required patience and a very firm hand. He hadn’t been patient with her the one time they’d played before. He’d been awkward. He was going to handle her better this time around. “I don’t merely expect it, Karina. I require it. You’re going to unzip your pants, push them down, and settle your bare ass over my lap. You’re going to allow me to discipline you because that’s what Doms and subs do. Are you trying to tell me you don’t enjoy a spanking? Or is it just that you think you won’t enjoy one from me?”
