Caught by Menace

by Lolita Lopez

  “Oh, I remember all right.”

  “Then please listen to me. You are in the wilds of the galaxy out here. You cannot protect every shipment that comes your way.” Naya stopped herself before she said something incriminating. This definitely wasn’t the time to come clean to him, not here in his office. “Look, all I’m saying is that there have been things that came through the front doors of my pawnshop that were straight off your ships. You couldn’t control pieces of tech. How the hell do you intend to control the flow of weapons, Menace?”

  He sat back in his chair and studied her. Finally he spoke. “I don’t disagree with your assessment, but that’s not my department. I’m just the weapons specialist.”

  She sighed slowly and dropped her gaze. “People are going to die, Menace.”

  “They already are, Naya. That’s why we have to stop these terrorists before they gain a real foothold on your planet. A handful of surgical strikes and we solve the problem.”

  She shook her head and stared at him. “That easy, huh?”

  “That’s what they tell people in my paygrade.”

  Signaling an end to their discussion, Menace returned to his work. Naya stifled the inner voice that urged her to just fucking tell him already. Their discussion had given her the perfect opening to just lay it all on the line. Fear stopped her. The idea that he would react with anger or disgust made it impossible for her to take the brave step of confessing her sins.

  Menace worked diligently at her side. The hands that had brought her such pleasure and that cradled her close at night mesmerized her. She gazed at his handsome face. The thought of never again seeing his smiling face across the dinner table or feeling his lips gliding over her skin squashed whatever courage she’d been able to muster.

  Refusing to ruin what she shared with Menace, Naya convinced herself that Terror couldn’t possibly know what she’d done. There were no records. She’d only ever been arrested for petty crimes. Maybe Terror had his suspicions but he didn’t have proof. She wasn’t about to give it to him by unburdening her conscience on Menace. Some secrets had to be kept…whatever the cost.

  Naya had gone awfully quiet as he worked. Menace scanned the last card and inputted the final pieces of data before logging off. He placed the cards back in their case and slipped it into the drawer of his desk where he kept the range records of every soldier on the ship. Touching her knee, Menace got her attention. “I have something I want you to see.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I think you showed me that this morning in the shower.”

  Menace chortled and shoved out of his chair. “No, not that.” He held out his hand and tugged her off his desk. “I was going to give it to you later but you’re here now so we may as well play with it.”

  “Now I know you’re talking about sex. Is it another one of your weird toys?”

  Menace frowned at her. “You make it sound like I’m a sex-addicted pervert.”

  “Um…have you looked in the mirror lately?”

  “Watch it,” he warned. “There’s enough soundproofing in the shooting range for me to toss you across my knee and swat that little ass of yours until it’s bright-red.”

  Naya laughed and patted his chest. “Tease.”

  “You’re awfully brave today, sweetheart.” He led her into the shooting range and punched in the activation code that would alert the control rooms and police that any shots fired were for training purposes only. The last thing he wanted was an SRU team storming the range in the search for an active shooter.

  “Take these.” Menace pressed a pair of headphones and safety glasses into her hand. “You’ll have to wear them.”

  She examined the protective equipment. “Why?”

  “Because I’m rather fond of your beautiful eyes and I’m sure you like being able to hear,” he replied. “Once we’re in the shooting area,” he gestured to the stations on the far end of the room, “you’ll wear that gear or else you won’t get to fire your weapon.”

  She perked up at that tidbit. “My weapon?”

  Menace nodded. “Venom brought it down earlier. Vicious and Admiral Orion finally got around to stamping my permit. I know this is your firearm, but technically it’s mine now. That means I’m responsible for it which means that after firing it today it goes right into the gun safe in our quarters.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’ll bring you to the range as often as possible.” Menace unlocked the armory gun safe. Unlike the small box in their closet, this safe was actually a room with walls covered in weapons. He kept at least two models of every weapon within the current Harcos arsenal in the safe, one for testing and the other for teaching.

  Naya’s small firearm was in a drawer near the door. He retrieved the unloaded weapon and removed four magazines from a nearby drawer. He didn’t keep many of these old-school projectile rounds on the ship. They were so antiquated that only he and Venom had any proficiency with the projectile weapons.

  “Before I give this to you, we need to discuss the safety procedures down here.” Menace pocketed the magazines and carried the gun out of the safe. As he led Naya to a shooting station, he walked her through the rules and regulations of the range. To be sure she was paying attention, he made her repeat them and quizzed her on what to do if she had a jam or a misfire. Satisfied with her answers, he instructed her to put on her safety gear and handed over her weapon and one magazine.

  Like an expert marksman, Naya checked the weapon. Holding it with the muzzle pointed downrange, she pulled back the slide along the top of the barrel twice to ensure the chamber was empty. Satisfied it was clear, she examined the magazine to be sure it had been loaded properly. She smacked the magazine into place, racked the slide again to force a round into the chamber and ran her finger over the safety to ensure it was locked.

  “Fuck, Naya,” Menace swore loudly. “That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  She laughed and shot him an amused grin. “Whatever happened to your no bad language rule?”

  “Yeah, that went right out the window the second you picked up that gun and showed it who was boss.” Menace moved behind her and touched the target control built into the station’s frame. “If your aim is as good as mine, it’s all over, honey. I might have to take you right here.”

  Naya glanced over her shoulder. “You’re joking.”

  Gripping her hips, Menace pressed his erection against her soft backside. “Does that feel like a joke?”

  “No, but it sure feels like a violation of your range safety rules.”

  Laughing, Menace put on his safety glasses and headphones. He tapped her shoulder twice to let her know she was clear to fire. She flicked off the safety, took aim and fired her first round. She hit close to the center target, close enough to tell him that she knew exactly what she was doing with that gun. She popped off two more and moved closer to the highest target value.

  When she’d emptied the first magazine and stopped to reload, Menace took the opportunity to adjust her stance. “You’re a damn good shot but you could be even better.”

  To his surprise, she didn’t give him her usual attitude when he tried to correct her.

  “Show me.”

  Menace wasn’t about to pass up the chance to teach her or to put his hands on her hips and arms. Ever the good student, Naya followed his instructions to the letter and vastly improved her accuracy and precision. By the end of the fourth magazine, he was already making plans to bring her back and let her try out different firearms in the arsenal.

  Back in the gun safe, he reloaded the four magazines and tucked them into their drawers. He made quick adjustments to the inventory and did a final sweep of the range to make sure everything was cleared away and tidied. The layers of ballistics gel and magnets behind the projectile targets had caught the bullets fired by her. The spent casings were nabbed by the vacuum sensors on the floor of the shooting station.

  “Thank you,” she said as he closed down the range and locked the d
oor. “This was actually a really sweet thing for you to do.”

  Menace tucked her unloaded firearm into his empty thigh holster. “I knew the moment I Grabbed you that you were the woman for me.”

  “Oh really?” Now she was laughing at him.

  “Yes.” He snatched her by the waist and dragged her into the small engineering access room just inside his office. “Any woman that thinks an afternoon at the gun range is sweet is a woman after my heart.”

  Giggling, Naya kissed him. “Why are we in a closet?”

  “Why do you think?” The blinking lights from the ship’s systems and the miles of communication conduits and cables glowed all around them.

  “I think we’re going to get into trouble. Aren’t there cameras all over this ship?”

  “Not in here,” he answered. “There’s too much interference from all this stuff to let them work properly. Now lift up your skirt and let me take off your panties.”

  “Menace!” she hissed. “We can’t have sex in here.”

  “We can and we are.” He dropped to his knees and shoved her skirt out of the way. If she wanted to play hard to get, he would just have to play harder. He gripped her inner thighs and forced them wide apart. The soles of her shoes whooshed as they slid across the slick floor. He grasped the fabric of her panties and pulled it out of the way.

  “No, Menace! You can’t—oh fuck!”

  This was one time he didn’t mind her exclamation. He sucked her clit right between his lips. Her hands flew to his head but she didn’t try to force him away from her sex. Her capitulation only confirmed what he already knew. She couldn’t resist him any more than he could resist her.

  Intoxicated by his need for her, Menace lashed her pussy with his tongue. He coaxed her clit out from its hood and fluttered his tongue over the swelling bud. She moaned his name and scratched her nails over his scalp. The fiery sensation she evoked made his toes buzz. Loving her taste, he lapped at her pussy until she hovered right on the edge.

  When he pulled his mouth from between her legs, she groaned in protest. He made quick work of freeing his cock and grasping the backs of her thighs. She placed her hands on a wide, strong bar that ran around the room and lifted her ass so he could jerk her panties down her legs. Balancing with one hand, she reached down and grabbed his dick. She pressed him into her wet entrance. He thrust forward and impaled her on his cock.

  Gripping his shoulders now, she let him bear her weight and fuck her as if he were a wild man. Cheek-to-cheek, they panted and moaned. She clawed at his back and whispered his name again and again. In their month together, he’d grown so attuned to her body and her needs. A shift in the angle of his penetration and sinking his teeth into her neck sent her over the edge with a screech of pleasure. He surrendered to the sheer delight of her pussy gripping and squeezing his cock. Balls-deep, he shuddered and shot his seed.

  She lovingly stroked the back of his head while they both tried to recover from the intensity of their quickie. Smiling, he licked the spot he’d marked with his teeth and kissed it gently. Now seemed like a good time to tell her about his plans for their evening. Sated and sleepy with afterglow, she was less likely to whack him upside the head.

  “We’re going out tonight.”

  “Dinner, right?”

  “Not exactly,” he said carefully and pulled back enough to meet her questioning gaze. “I’m taking you to the officers’ club.”

  “You’re what?”

  “I’m taking you to the officers’ club. We’re going to have some fun.” Before she could argue, he put his finger to her mouth. “This isn’t up for discussion. We’re going. You will have a good time.”

  “Will I?” The tone of her voice warned him there would be repercussions for his unilateral decision to take her to the BDSM club.

  “You don’t scare me, sweetheart.” He kissed her hard and deep and then let her slide to the floor.

  Naya righted her clothing. “Brave words from a man who is bringing my sidearm back into our quarters.”

  He wanted to believe she was joking, but she was just feisty enough to be serious. “It’s unloaded.”

  She brushed by him and opened the door. Tapping his chest, she smiled mischievously. “As if I’d let a little thing like that stop me.”

  Her breasts rubbed against his chest as she disappeared out of the closet. He stepped out after her and snatched her arm, hauling her tightly to his chest. He pushed loose waves of hair behind her ear and peered into her dark eyes. “Give this a chance, Naya.”

  She exhaled roughly. “You could have asked me first.”

  “I could have,” he agreed, “but I wanted to surprise you.”

  “Yeah, well, mission accomplished.”

  “Don’t be like that,” he whispered and kissed her tenderly. “I arranged something especially for you.”

  Interest sparked in her eyes. “Oh?”

  He let his hands travel the curve of her back to settle on her backside. He gave her bottom a little swat and she rose up on her toes. “Remember that film we watched last week?”

  Her shallow breaths and the faint blush of embarrassment told him she did. “Um…yes.”

  The moment her riveted attention had snapped to the screen that evening in their quarters, he had recognized that he had finally uncovered her deepest, darkest fantasy. He still wasn’t sure if she wanted to live that fantasy out in the flesh, so to speak. Tonight he planned to get that answer.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Naya nervously adjusted the cups of the black leather bra. She gazed at her reflection in the mirror and wondered how in the hell she was ever going to work up the courage to walk out that bathroom door. It was one thing to prance around half-naked in their home, but quite another to go to a club dressed like this.

  The leather bra pushed her breasts up and together, creating an obscene amount of cleavage. The tiny scrap of fabric that was supposed to be panties barely covered her privates and completely exposed her ass. Black stockings with a wide lace band hugged her legs. Bright-red pumps tilted her forward and made her legs look longer and leaner.

  Menace had given her the new outfit with such excitement but she wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of letting other men see her like this. She enjoyed looking sexy for him, but having strange guys ogling her? Not at the top of her list of ways she wanted to spend a Friday night.

  “Do you need some help?” Menace’s voice penetrated the door.

  Naya picked up the strange black contraption that had come with the outfit. She still hadn’t figured out how it worked. “Yes.”

  The door opened but Menace didn’t come inside. She met his gaze in the mirror. He looked taken aback. She squirmed anxiously. “What?”

  “Baby, you are hot.” He crossed the distance between them in two long strides. His appreciative hands roamed her body. “So sexy.”

  She could say the same about him. He wore leather pants and a skintight black shirt that outlined all those hard muscles of his chest and arms. His tattoos looked even harsher on his tanned skin. The way he looked at her made her pussy throb. She showed him the strange leather belt with the dangling straps. “I don’t know what this is.”

  “It’s a garter belt.” He took it from her hand and wrapped it around her waist. His strong fingers easily snapped the silver studs together in the back. Hands on her hips, he kissed his way down her back. She shivered under his sensual touch. Kneeling behind her, Menace rubbed her bare upper thighs. “These straps clip on to the tops of your stockings.”

  “Oh.” She used the mirror to watch him fix the garter belt. She touched the metal rings placed at each hipbone. “What are these for?”

  “Your cuffs.” He rose slowly and put his hands on her shoulders. He dipped his nose into the high ponytail she’d fixed according to his instruction. “I’ll keep your hands cuffed at your sides in the club.”

  “Why?”

  He kissed her shoulder. “Because I want to.”

  She fro
wned. “So that’s the way it’s going to be tonight?”

  He skimmed his lips across the sensitive patch of skin just below her earlobe. “Tonight is all about your pleasure. The moment we walk out of the bathroom you are going to give up complete control to me. You’re going to trust me to take care of you.”

  Could she do that? Naya watched him slide his soft lips along her shoulder. His big hands spanned her bare belly as he gently stroked her skin. The answer came swiftly. Yes.

  Stomach wobbling and mouth dry, she whispered, “I trust you to take care of me.”

  Menace’s gaze snapped to the mirror. They stared at each other for a long moment before he straightened to his full height. Even in the high heels, she was dwarfed by him. When his fingers moved to the buckle on the white bride’s collar, Naya experienced a tremor of uncertainty. Had she said the wrong thing? Why was he taking his collar off her?

  “Easy,” Menace urged as he removed the collar he’d used to claim her. He placed the white collar on the counter. “We’ll put this in a keepsake box for you.”

  Naya touched her bare neck, the sensation strange after a month of wearing his collar. She’d gotten so used to its familiar embrace. She felt more naked without it than she did in the skimpy leather outfit.

  He reached into the pocket of his leather pants and retrieved a bright-blue collar with a simple silver tag dangling from the front. “It’s customary for a husband to gift his wife with a permanent collar. I was going to give you this one later tonight, but I think now is the right time. Don’t you?”

  His husky voice left her nearly breathless. To these Harcos men, a permanent collar was as good as a wedding band. They put a lot of thought into picking the right one. Instead of the customary black, Menace had chosen her favorite color. The tag dangling from the front bore the initials of both of their first names. His initial was larger and in upper case while hers was smaller and in lower case, denoting who was the master in their relationship.