by Livia Grant
“Yes, sir,” she answered, sitting up straight.
A second chance. A fucking second chance.
I can still fix this.
“Then get up, McKenna. We have another kink to spin.” Landon took her by the back of the neck as soon as she stood up, and it was strangely comforting.
He wasn’t ditching her yet, he still wanted to play, and he was leading them toward the theater for another spin.
Before they passed through the doors, he stopped and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Just so you understand, this conversation isn’t over. Once I know what kink I have to work with, we’re going to do it while we have a little talk about your drinking habits.”
Oh shit.
“Yes, sir,” she whispered, and the rest of the walk toward the stage was a blur. She felt off-kilter while Landon and Madison spoke, not quite grounded as her head spun over what he’d meant by her drinking habits.
Did he think she was some kind of alcoholic?
The idea bothered her. Actually, it irritated the fuck out of her. Having two drinks at a bar, two drinks that she was allowed to have, didn’t make her some kind of drunk. McKenna hadn’t paid attention to Madison’s words at all, but when Landon squeezed the back of her neck, she dropped the marble into the wheel.
It bounced and clattered before falling into the track to spin, all of the potential kinks just as mixed up as her own thoughts. Not that she cared what they landed on since it wouldn’t matter. Landon had a plan, and the spin was just a formality.
“Look at that, another role play!” Madison said, flashing a bright smile that McKenna tried to return. “You two are lucky though, cop and criminal role play is one we haven’t seen yet tonight. And I’m sure Officer Bartlett will come up with something very creative for his naughty criminal.”
Cop and criminal?
“Thanks, Madison.” Landon nodded at the MC, and then the grip on McKenna’s neck tightened a second before he headed off the stage, pushing her ahead of him once more. As they headed toward the exit, she could have sworn she heard him mumble something about luck being on his side, but there was no fucking way she was going to ask him about it.
He was already pissed off and role play meant he could do whatever he wanted as long as he pretended to be a cop while he did it. Well, anything that wasn’t on her limits list, but considering she’d only been allowed to choose four limits… there were plenty of things left to torture her with.
And she’d apparently given him the perfect excuse.
Hope the drinks were worth it, idiot.
Landon hadn’t said another word to her after the spin. They’d returned to the play area and he’d walked her right over to Tyler, one of the main DMs. The two men had some secret, whispery conversation while she’d stood off to the side getting stared at by random observers.
Then Landon just… walked off.
Tyler had told her to kneel, she’d obeyed, and for the last few minutes she’d felt more like furniture than a participant in Roulette. He kept talking quietly to the other DMs over their fancy radios, but she couldn’t catch much of it with all the noise on the floor.
The good news was that the DM didn’t seem upset with her, but that didn’t guarantee Landon hadn’t told him about the two drinks and what had happened at the bar. But even if he told Tyler all about it, she hadn’t done anything wrong. It wasn’t like she had tried to order a third drink. That had been Landon’s idea, and he hadn’t even given her the chance to explain herself.
No, instead he’d just made assumptions about her over something stupid.
And now he was going to punish her for what he thought she’d done wrong? Screw that.
Glancing up at Tyler, she watched his gaze scan the room for a few seconds before she asked, “Any idea what he has planned for me?”
“Well, I heard you’re a very bad girl who got caught doing something naughty. I imagine Bartlett is going to show you how cops at Black Light treat naughty girls.” Tyler grinned, and all she wanted to do was roll her eyes, but making the DM mad wasn’t going to help her situation.
Still… role play wasn’t the worst thing they could have spun.
After all, she played roles for a living, and getting the chance to play the criminal instead of one of the good guys sounded like a lot of fun.
And weren’t criminals supposed to be disrespectful to cops?
McKenna bit down on her lip to stop the smile as an idea formed in her mind. Sure, Landon had his own plan for how the scene was going to go, but she could have one too.
“So…” Lifting her gaze to Tyler again, she waited until he was paying attention before she continued. “I’m the criminal in this role play?”
“I don’t think Landon plans on having you arrest him, McKenna.” Chuckling, Tyler brushed a hand over her hair in a soothing stroke. “Don’t worry about it. You had fun with him earlier, right?”
“Oh yeah, it was a lot of fun.” And this is going to be even better.
For the next few minutes, she thought about every show she’d watched where bad ass women played criminals. Tough, sharp-tongued, fearless. She could do that, because a woman like that would make someone listen.
When Landon appeared in the crowd again, she took her time admiring just how good he looked stomping toward her, and the sight of the handcuffs dangling from his hand sent a zing of excitement through her.
“Looks like your officer is here, McKenna,” Tyler said, grinning down at her, but she only spared him a momentary glance before she fixed her gaze on Landon.
Letting a cocky smirk spread over her lips, she leaned back on her hands to look as casual as possible — even though it dragged that damn rope between her thighs again and added even more pressure to the knot.
“Hey, Officer Bartlett.”
“Uh, hey.” Landon gave Tyler an odd look before he shook the cuffs at her. “Get up, McKenna.”
“Screw you, cop,” she snarked, staying exactly where she was. Smirk on her face, still on her knees, but leaned back on her hands with her body on display for everyone. Including him.
Tyler stifled a chuckle as Landon’s eyebrows slowly climbed up his forehead before his expression hardened again. “You’re not being smart right now.”
“Since when do I care if a cop thinks I’m smart?” Letting out a laugh, McKenna ran a hand back through her hair, shaking it out behind her as she lounged again. “Nah, I think I’m just fine right here.”
“Last chance, McKenna,” he growled, but she just smiled. Excitement buzzed through her veins, blended with a little nervous energy and more than a bit of anticipation at what he’d do with his ‘naughty criminal.’ He moved closer, planting the toe of his shoe between her knees so he could lean over her. “Get up, or I make you get up.”
“Then it looks like you’re gonna have to make me, cop.” She popped the end of the word with as much sass as she could muster, and in the next moment Landon’s iron grip was on her arm, hauling her to her feet with a rough jerk.
“You really want to play this game?” he asked, lips right against her ear, and she laughed.
“Like I said before… screw you, cop. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Fucking hell, McKenna.” Grumbling to himself, he pulled her arm up and locked one of the cuffs around her wrist, but when he just held out his hand for the other, she knew he didn’t understand the game at all. “Give me your other hand.”
“Hell no! What the fuck are you arresting me for? Aren’t you supposed to tell me before you drag me off like a total asshole?” The words had barely left her lips when his massive hand caught her chin in a rough grip.
“Did you just call me an asshole?”
“Sounds like you got a feisty one, Officer Bartlett,” Tyler said, laughing under his breath. “You going to let her talk to you like that?”
“Fuck no.” Landon jerked her chin up, forcing her mouth shut and straining her neck as he towered over her. “You want bad cop? I can do bad cop
, sweetheart.”
“Go fuck y—” This time she didn’t even get to finish before Landon shoved her into the wall beside Tyler, spinning her until her cheek was pressed against the paint, grip tight on the back of her neck as he pinned her there.
“Stay,” he commanded, but the moment he let go, she tried to push off the wall. He was too fast for that though, and she hadn’t expected anything different. Landon had her back against the wall in a breath, crowding her with his body so he could force her other arm behind her back.
The click of the second cuff locking around her wrist sent an exhilarating thrill rushing down her spine, but she couldn’t show that because criminal McKenna wouldn’t be quite as happy about it. “Let me go, asshole! You can’t just arrest people for nothing. Fucking cops think they can do whatever they want!”
“Shut up,” he growled, switching his hand to the back of her head to press her cheek into the wall while he checked the cuffs. He tightened them another painful notch, then took a handful of her hair in a tight fist, using it to yank her away from the wall. Little stings skittered across her scalp, but all she did was laugh like the badass bitch she was supposed to be.
“Good luck, officer,” Tyler called out, chuckling as Landon shoved her past him toward the hall with the fantasy rooms.
“This is bullshit,” she snapped and — judging by the sharp tug on her hair — he really didn’t like that.
“Keep going, McKenna. I’m going to make you regret every fucking word.” It was a promise, but it was one she was definitely looking forward to him fulfilling as they entered the hall.
Her eyes were drawn to the only open door, which she knew was the medical room, but as they passed the window her jaw dropped. It didn’t look like the same room at all anymore. The table wasn’t padded anymore. Instead, there was just a flat, shiny metal surface, which matched the two stark metal chairs that had been set up facing each other. What really made her second-guess the room was the empty, white wall that McKenna was fairly sure had been medical cabinets the last time she was in there.
Landon wasn’t nearly as interested in the scenery though. He didn’t even look around as he dragged her inside and over to a chair, shoving her into it without an order to stay this time.
Not that it would have mattered.
The second he turned away to slam the door, McKenna jumped up, knocking the chair over for a bit of dramatic effect — and it worked. Landon spun around, all that wild hair making him look deliciously dangerous, but she wasn’t afraid of him.
And ‘Criminal McKenna’ wouldn’t be either.
“Get back in the damn chair,” he growled, and she laughed, letting it roll like it was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.
“Are you serious? I’m not doing anything for you, cop. You hauled me in here for nothing, and you got nothing on me.” Lifting her chin in defiance, she watched him rub at his forehead, an irritated sigh following. He wasn’t enjoying the character she’d chosen, but it’s not like he’d put role play on his limits list. The least he could do was play along since he’d gone to the effort of turning the medical playroom into a makeshift police interrogation room. Pushing his buttons a little more, she added, “Nothing to say?”
“Sit down. Now. Before I tie you to the fucking thing.” Landon pointed at the chair, but he really should have picked a better threat, because that just sounded fun.
“Oh yeah? We’ll see what my lawyer has to say about that.”
“What makes you think you’ll get a lawyer?” he asked, and she loved the little spark of mischievous energy in his eyes.
Maybe he would play along.
“Umm… it’s my fucking rights? That’s why.” Jerking her chin toward the door, she pressed her luck a little more. “Now, be a good little cop and go get one for me, because I’m not saying shit.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” she confirmed, flashing a grin at him, but it disappeared when he crossed the space between them in a couple of long strides and grabbed her by the neck. McKenna gasped when her shoulders collided with the wall, her arms pinned behind her back by the cuffs, forced to stare up at him as he moved in close.
“Let me make something clear to you. You don’t tell me what to do. Actually, you don’t fucking speak unless I ask you to, got it?” The rough, intense way those words came out shouldn’t have been hot, especially not with his massive hand wrapped around her neck, squeezing lightly… but it was more shocking than uncomfortable. He hadn’t actually hurt her when he grabbed her and the way he’d shoved her against the wall had been controlled. Everything about Landon Bartlett screamed ‘control’ in that moment, and it was seriously hot.
He had promised to give it to her rough and hard, hadn’t he?
“I thought you wanted to interrogate me,” she snarked, and his grip tightened just enough to threaten her airway. The frisson of panic was exhilarating, but she held onto her character. “Isn’t that what you said, cop?”
“Oh, I’m going to interrogate you, and you’re going to answer all my questions honestly, or I’m going to make you regret ever crossing my path tonight.”
Holy shit. Was that Landon acting, or had that been real? She really couldn’t tell, which was the sign of good actor, but… shit. That did not bode well for her.
“Ready to sit in the chair?” he asked.
“Screw you.”
“Fine, have it your way.” The world spun as Landon took her from the wall, turning her until her back met his chest, his hand still tight to her throat. Dragging her with him to the upright chair, he stepped around it so that he could force her to sit, and then she heard keys jingling.
“Letting me go?” she taunted, and he squeezed the air off with a slight shift of his hand. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Blood pounded behind her eyes, and she squirmed, pulling her hand forward when he undid the cuff.
She tugged at his hand on her throat, but he didn’t budge at all as he spoke calmly. “Give me that hand back and then you can breathe.”
McKenna tried to stand up or twist off the chair, but none of it worked. Landon was just too strong, and he had the advantage, while her lungs were starting to set off alarm bells in her brain about wanting oxygen.
“Put your arm through the opening in the back of the chair so I can cuff you again, McKenna. Preferably before you pass out again, because I think it would be a bit hard to explain away this time.” It was the cold, calm way he said it that finally forced her to obey.
Hell, even ‘criminal’ McKenna needed to breathe.
The second she passed her hand through the slat, he released her throat to lock the cuff, but she barely paid attention as oxygen and blood started moving in her body again. A wave of dizziness came along with it as she gasped in air, sputtering curses in between each inhale and exhale.
“See how easy things can be for you when you act like a good girl?” he purred, his lips close to her ear, and it was so tempting to give in to that hungry edge in his tone.
Luckily, he moved away before she broke character, scooping the other chair off the floor to plant it across from her. When he sat down, she was still breathing hard, but he looked calm and relaxed and criminally gorgeous as he stretched those long legs out in front of him.
“Ready to cooperate?” he asked, and she sat up as much as she could, trying to adjust to having her arms through the back of the chair.
McKenna took a deep breath, working to compose herself before she met his gaze and smiled. “Not a fucking chance, cop.”
Chapter 9
Landon
He should have known she wouldn’t give in.
The little actress was having way too much fun playing the bitchy criminal, but while it had irritated the fuck out of him at first, he’d enjoyed subduing her a lot more than he would have guessed.
Still, he had to figure out how to approach the questions he really wanted to ask while still doing the stupid roleplay because he knew there would be people lurking in the hall now that the r
oom was occupied.
“Let’s start with something easy. What did you have to drink when you arrived here tonight?” It was a good question to test her honesty with, because Susie had already given him the answer, but the real issue would be if she lied to him.
Then he’d be right back where he started — unsure if the feisty redhead had been honest with him at all. And without honesty, there was nothing more he could do. No more play tonight, or any other night… and that was the part that bothered him the most.
“Answer me.”
“Oh, am I allowed to speak again?” she snarked, giving him an exaggerated eye roll that showed the faint redness on her neck.
“I’m waiting.” Tucking his thumbs into the front of his slacks, he rested his hands in his lap and tried to look a lot more patient than he actually was.
“Hmm… when I arrived?”
Sighing, he nodded. “Yes, when you got here.”
“I drank water at the bathroom sink,” McKenna answered, a victorious grin passing over her lips, and it took all his self-control not to snap because she was so satisfied with herself that he knew it was true.
But they both knew it wasn’t the question he’d asked.
“At the bar,” he clarified. “What did you have to drink at the bar?”
“A drink.”
“Answer the fucking question, McKenna. Last chance,” Landon warned, feeling his temper rising.
The beautiful redhead tilted her head, pretending to think hard, before looking at him again with that same self-satisfied smirk. “An alcoholic drink.”
“That’s it,” he growled, shoving himself out of the chair to stomp over to the metal table where the riding crop was just begging to be used. The second he picked it up, McKenna’s face changed, and it was his turn to grin.
“It was vodka, okay? Vodka and cranberry,” she said, shifting on the chair as the cuffs clattered against the back of it.
He was glad she’d told the truth, but it really was, “Too late.”
