Slave To Love (sizzling erotic thriller noir - full length)

by Black, Nikita

  No fucking kidding. Some of the more sensational details of her and Mick’s relationship had come out in the tabloid blitz, and there were people at PPD who had a real hard time looking her in the eye. Not that she cared all that much. “Yes, sir. But—”

  “You also realize there’s no way I can let both you and Detective McGraw stay in Homicide. We’ve talked about that before. And he has seniority. Even keeping you in the same building would probably be a mistake.”

  Which meant she was back to Traffic. Shit. She had harbored a secret hope the Cap would suggest a different solution. Wishful thinking, obviously. “I understand.”

  “So, if there’s a better situation for you somewhere else, you might want to consider it.”

  “I’ll do that,” she said. You couldn’t get a more direct order than that.

  Whatever. There were lots of other police departments in the LA area. Her goal all along had been to work Homicide. Not necessarily here. Not if she couldn’t be with Mick.

  “Captain,” Mick said, and stepped forward from where he up until now had been standing silently behind her. “I’ll resign if—”

  “No!” she cut him off vehemently. “McGraw stays. If I go, he stays. That’s the deal.”

  She turned to square off against him, meeting him eye to eye. No way was she letting him throw away his career at PPD. Not after everything he’d gone through to keep it. Unlike hers, his reputation would only be enhanced by what he’d done: the dangerous, mysterious Iceman, able to seduce naïve, unsuspecting preacher’s daughter into becoming his kinky sex slave and catching the bad guys, all in the space of a week. Talk about juice.

  Well, she may yield to his commands in bed, but not here.

  “Forget it, Mick,” she told him levelly. “This is my choice.”

  She could tell he wanted to argue by the way his jaw set. But he didn’t. Instead, he said, “If you’re sure.”

  “I am.”

  “She can come work for us,” Woodruff said from against the other wall, where he’d been standing. They’d all been called in together, she, Mick and Bobby, to receive notice of their upcoming formal commendations, along with one for Jeff Cody from LAPD. Woodruff was there to represent the FBI, which was also throwing in some kind of citation for the joint operation. “The Bureau can always use a good undercover operative.”

  “You mean like Special Agent Adams?” she said, barely hiding a smirk. She and Lauren, now that would be an interesting team. Not.

  “Yeah. Like her,” Woodruff said, his lips curving up at the corners.

  Mick started to move, but Bobby stopped him.

  “I’ll think about it,” she said. The FBI. Now that would be the ultimate Homicide unit. “Thanks.”

  “The official award ceremony will be held as soon as IAB’s formal inquiry into McGraw father’s shooting is completed,” Captain Trujillo informed them. “No more than a week, I’d guess. The press will be there in force. Pass the word to Detective Cody, will you?” Mick nodded. “Let’s try to keep this thing dignified and professional, people.” He picked up a file from his desk, a signal the meeting was over.

  “Yes, sir,” the three of them chorused, and filed out of the office, followed by Woodruff.

  As soon as the door closed, Mick turned on Tim. “She’s not working for you,” he gritted out. “So just—”

  She grabbed Mick around the waist and Bobby stepped between the two before they came to blows. “Baby, calm down,” she said. “Tim’s a profiler out of DC. I wouldn’t be working for him.”

  “You can’t seriously be considering—”

  “You heard the captain. I can’t stay at PPD.”

  “But the FBI—”

  “We’ll talk about this later, okay?” But the more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. If they could work something out here in LA.

  He stared at her for a moment, then the Iceman chill descended, smoothing out his angry features. “Fine.”

  She never ceased to be amazed at how he did that. The same thing had happened the night of his father’s shooting. One minute he was a chaotic wreck holding her tight, the next, so completely the calm and in-control detective as he let the responding officers into the apartment, it almost scared her.

  She’d been a mess right up until this meeting, awaiting her fate. Now that it was over, she’d finally regained her strength and direction. At least regarding her employability.

  Her relationship with Mick was a different matter. They’d barely had a moment to themselves, let alone been able to talk about the future. It was almost as though he’d been avoiding her. Did they have a future?

  Woodruff handed her a business card, under Mick’s disapproving scowl. “Call me. I’m serious about the job.” Then he walked into the waiting elevator and was swallowed up.

  She looked at Mick as she slipped the card into her pocket, daring him to comment.

  “So,” Bobby said into the thick, broody silence, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “What a case, eh?”

  She figured he’d start whistling next, if nobody said anything, so she did. “Yeah,” she said with a sigh. “Case of a lifetime. Career-making case.”

  Bobby grimaced and punched the elevator button again, now that it had safely stopped on the ground floor. “Sorry about you having to leave PPD. Rough break.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll land on my feet.”

  Mick glanced at her sharply, his mouth a thin line.

  They got on the small elevator and Bobby looked down at her, his eyes snagging on the silver of the slave collar she still wore beneath her suit blouse.

  “You going to take that collar off her, Mick? Now that it’s all over?” he asked.

  She froze at the unexpected question.

  Mick reached out and grasped her by the arms, turning her to face him. His hands traveled up her shoulders to her throat and slowly he rubbed his thumbs over the braided ropes of her silver choker, warm from the heat of her body. Deliberately, he sought out the tiny padlock keeping it on her neck...keeping her with him.

  “I should,” he murmured. “I should let you go.”

  There was something dangerous about Mick’s expression, his stance, his harsh tone as he said the words. Something that waited to ambush her in a darkened parking garage, taking her from behind and—

  She closed her eyes against the vivid image and her nostrils flared, filling with the heady, musky scent of her lover. This was what she loved about him. That edge of danger...

  No one else would ever be able to do that for her, to take her to that place. She’d be lost without Mick. He’d taught her too well.

  “Do you want to?” she whispered, gazing up at him. “Let me go?”

  He’d said he loved her. Had he really meant it? Or had it all just been part of the game...

  He looked at her for what seemed like forever. The elevator hit the second floor for Homicide, the doors opened and Bobby walked out leaving them alone. Still Mick didn’t move.

  “No,” he finally said. “I don’t want to set you free. It excites me having you in my power, owning your sexuality. But—” He halted abruptly as the doors whooshed shut and the car lurched downward.

  “But what?” she asked, her pulse beating out of control.

  “What if I want more?”

  Her heart stuttered. Suddenly terrified of what he would ask of her, she thought of her mother. Of her bleak shadow-existence, subjugated to her overbearing father. Caro loved Mick, but she knew she could never become that person.

  At her hesitation, Mick’s mouth thinned even further. “Do you even want to stay with me?”

  “Of course I do. It’s just—”

  “There were a lot of men at the Tether Club who wanted you, Caro. Even Bobby and Cody.” Mick grimaced. “And Tim. You could have your pick of a hundred men. Would you rather be with someone else?”

  “Would you?” she asked, turning the tables. Because she needed to be sure, too. “Would you like some
one else? Someone who’ll give you her total submission, not just in the bedroom?”

  “No,” he said with a scowl. “I like you just the way you are.”

  Relief washed over her. Thank God. “So you’ll okay with me applying for that job with the FBI if I decide to?”

  His jaw clamped. The automatic door whooshed open. “You can work anywhere you like. As long as you come home to me afterward.”

  Incredible joy blossomed in her heart. That was all she needed to hear. “Every night, baby.” She slid her arms around his neck and kissed him. “You know there will never be anyone else for me but you.”

  “There better not be,” he murmured, pulling her close. “Because if you left me for another man I’d have to kill you both.”

  She smiled into his neck. She knew he could never hurt her. Ever. It was just his way of telling her he’d die before letting her go. Which was exactly what she wanted.

  She kissed him again. “In that case,” she murmured, “maybe we’d better leave my collar on.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  He led the way out of the elevator, took her hand and headed for the parking garage.

  “Wait,” she said, looking toward SIS.

  “What is it?”

  “I need to see Julio before we go. He left a message and sounded upset.”

  Distaste swept over Mick’s face. “You know he reported me to IAB, don’t you? For the way I left you at Su’s.”

  “He thought it was the right thing to do.”

  He snorted. “That’s rich, coming from him.”

  She stopped with her hand on the door knob. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I called him at home that morning to take care of you. His little lover boy beat him up for his trouble.” Her jaw dropped. “He knows I love you and would never hurt a hair on your head. But he still reported me. Then he goes home to a lover who beats the crap out of him every chance he gets.”

  Caro stared at him in astonishment, not sure what shocked her more, that anyone but she knew Julio was being abused, or the fact that Mick once again so offhandedly admitted he loved her.

  Suddenly, the door flung open and Julio himself walked through it.

  “Querida! I heard you were in the building. I was just—” He spotted Mick, who let her go and leaned negligently against a nearby desk. “Oh,” he said, his eyes shifting between them.

  Ignoring Mick’s disapproval, she jumped into Julio’s arms and gave him a big hug. “How are you doing?”

  Julio hugged her back, and she could feel the tension in him slip for a moment. “Better, now that I’ve left Barry.”

  “Oh, Jul. I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known—”

  He shook off her concern. “Not something I liked sharing with anyone.” His gaze slid to Mick for a second. “The strangest thing happened though. Barry got waylaid yesterday by some thugs. They told him if he ever touched me again, they’d come back and kill him.”

  “Really? Who could have—” She caught the direction of his gaze and gasped softly. Mick had his arms banded across his chest, looking as belligerent as ever, but there was something in his expression that gave him away. “You! But how—”

  He pushed off the desk, put a proprietary arm around her and pulled her away from Julio. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I help the fucker who turned me in to the rat squad? Now, I hate to cut short your girl talk, Martinez, but Caro and I have things to do. She’ll call you sometime when I’m not forced to listen.”

  With that, she was propelled away and out of the station, into the parking garage.

  “I can’t believe you did that,” she said when they reached the Z and he opened the door for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Thank you.”

  “You’re hallucinating,” he said, leaning down for a kiss. “I know better than to get involved in other people’s affairs.”

  “Except when it involves violence,” she murmured, loving the taste of him, the feel of his strong arms around her. It seemed like it had been years since they’d been able to indulge in even a simple kiss without cameras flashing. She snuggled into his embrace, encouraging him to hold her tighter. “I know what you did for Lauren, when her husband was abusing her. That cost you years of your career.” She gazed up at him tenderly. “You may act tough, but at heart you’re just a softie.”

  “You have no idea how wrong you are,” he said, his eyes hard as blue ice.

  “Is it true?” she asked, inhaling the delicious scent of his skin, loving how the suppleness of her breasts pillowed against his rock-hard, muscled chest. “What you said?”

  “There’s nothing soft about me, baby.”

  “I meant what you said earlier, about loving me.”

  He grasped her chin and lifted it, capturing her with the intensity of his look. “I don’t know anything about love, Caro. I don’t even know if I’m capable of love. But if it means waking up every morning wanting you, and falling asleep every night still wanting you, craving your kisses and your sexy body, needing your love and adoration, your devotion and your faithfulness, desperate to keep you close and safe from all the bad stuff out there, then yeah. I love you. I love you and want to be with you for as long as you can stand being with me.”

  Her heart melted more and more as she listened to his words, until it was a small puddle at his feet. She never thought she’d ever hear those words from any man, let alone the one man on earth who attracted her in ways she’d never dreamed possible. The man who knew her better than she knew herself. The man who scared her and thrilled her, who made her feel more alive than she’d ever felt before.

  “I love you, too, Mick. And I’ll always want to be with you. Always.”

  “Then move in with me.”

  Her eyes widened speechlessly.

  “I’ll get a bigger place, a house, so all our things fit. Baby, I can’t promise you marriage, because frankly, the idea of that scares the shit out of me. But my collar around your neck means a hell of a lot more than any damn piece of paper, if you’re willing.”

  Her breasts tingled and a sharp craving settled at the apex of her thighs. The thought of being Mick McGraw’s sexual slave indefinitely made her weak with desire. To be possessed by him, fully, knowing he’d come home to her every night and take command of her body, filled her with a carnal longing so strong she moaned softly.

  “Yes,” she said breathlessly. “I’ll live with you.”

  “You’ll do my bidding, and answer my body’s call, whenever I demand it?”

  The utter raw sensuality of his mouth, the indolent droop of his eyelids as he murmured the words low and rough, sent a shiver through her flesh.

  “Oh, yes,” she whispered. “I’ll do anything you want, to have you inside me.”

  His answering growl reverberated through her whole body. He caught her up in his arms and kissed her.

  “It’s settled then,” he said. “I’ll start looking tomorrow.”

  ***

  “You sure you want to do this?” Mick asked one last time. He wanted Caro to be absolutely certain.

  She looked around at her furniture and the boxes of her belongings piled on his new living room floor, and nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.”

  She was naked, except for her slave collar. The movers had left five minutes ago and she’d just taken off her clothes—she liked being nude for him at home—and already he was hard like he hadn’t had sex in a year, instead of just a few hours.

  He glanced around in satisfaction. Perfectly restored, the house he’d bought was a hundred years old and large, with plenty of room for both of them, and more. His thoughts went to the fourth bedroom, upstairs in back and still empty, and the plans he had for that space. His cock lurched in sinful anticipation.

  Patience, McGraw.

  “I’m going on my run,” he said.

  He was several hours late, but it was Saturday, so it didn’t matter; he wasn’t scheduled to work this weekend. Since his father’s
shooting had been cleared by IAB and he’d been reinstated to full duty, things had been a little crazy. The press still hounded him. Even if he and Caro hadn’t decided to move in together he’d have been forced to change addresses to escape the paparazzi weeks ago, but that was okay. His broker had been telling him for years he should invest part of his assets in real estate. His salary might not be the highest, but he’d lived cheaply and invested wisely. He’d paid cash for the house.

  “How long will you be gone?” she asked.

  “An hour or so.”

  He walked over and ran his hands down her silken body, pausing at her perfect rosy nipples, then stroked over her smooth mound. She’d started waxing down there, and he loved how she felt. Bare and completely exposed to him. It never failed to turn him on, seeing her like that. He slid his finger through her folds, gratified to find her wet and slick.

  “When I get back, be ready for me. I’ll want to fuck.”

  She moved against his hand. “Why don’t we fuck now?”

  He covered her mouth with his and kissed her hard, driving his finger deep into her. So he could carry the taste of her, the scent of her, with him as he ran. As incentive to get back quickly.

  He swatted her on the ass and strode to the door. “Do whatever you want with the house. It’s all yours.” He went out, calling over his shoulder, “Just be ready.”

  “Always,” she answered as he shut the door.

  He smiled, taking off down the path at a slow run. It was true. She was. Whenever. Wherever. However.

  And to think, three months ago he’d only hoped to survive his father’s vengeance—and his own—any way he could. Even if it meant giving up everything he’d worked for and dreamed of. And it had been a very close thing.

  How had he managed to turn the tides of fate? How had he ended up the hero, his job intact, with a woman who loved him in spite of the darkness that lived inside him? A woman who let him rule her body completely, and gave him everything he asked for, and much, much more? One who trusted him so absolutely that she had single-handedly banished the rage and the violence from within him....