A Real Page Turner

by Rita Lawless

  It closed again and the unmistakable voice of Det. Threadway filled the room. “I hope I haven’t missed the fun,” he said, and April’s heart threatened to stop.

  Chapter Twelve

  April pulled on her hands, but the cuffs held her in place. She was thankful, though, for Titan, who covered her bottom with a swift tug of the pantalets. She hoped they didn’t rip.

  “What the hell?” She couldn’t see Titan, but the tone of his voice told her he wasn’t happy.

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Threadway said. April listened as he crossed the room, his shoes making a scuffing noise on the hard wood. When he was seated in a chair, he winked at her.

  “I repeat, what the hell?” Titan sounded extremely mad now. “This is not what we discussed, and I don’t like surprises where my lady is concerned.”

  April tugged at her wrists again. “Titan, please, undo me.”

  “Shush.” He caressed her back. “Easy, April.” Seconds later he did as she asked, undoing her ankles first, then her wrists.

  “That’s disappointing,” Poindexter said.

  “What’s disappointing is you blindsiding me,” Titan replied. “I don’t think I like your tactics.”

  “Don’t blame him,” Threadway said. “It was the easiest way I could think of for the three of us to talk without someone seeing us. Everybody here knows I’m a cop.”

  “So?” Titan helped April to stand, then took his place in front of her, as if he were acting like a shield.

  “Dex is my friend,” Threadway said. “When he has newcomers that he’s not sure about, he checks them out with me. Imagine my surprise…” Threadway let the statement drift off.

  “That doesn’t explain why you set us up,” Titan said. She imagined him glaring at the man she now knew was called Dex.

  “I want you to act as a spy, April. There is a man out there, blond hair, jeans, and blue shirt. He is the one who came into your store looking for Regency romance novels. Do you remember him?”

  “Yes.” She frowned. “How do you know he’s the one?”

  “Because I looked at the security tapes from the store next to you,” Threadway said. “I matched the dates and the times, and then showed the photo to Dex. He recognized him immediately. I haven’t been sitting around twiddling my thumbs, you know. I’ve been looking for the person, or persons, responsible for Virginia’s death.”

  “He was just a customer,” she said. “What made you suspect this man?”

  Threadway shook his head. “April, you may have bought his story, but I thought it was a little too coincidental. From information I discovered from Virginia’s files, I’d say she and this guy had known each other for a while, and that night at Charlie’s wasn’t their first meeting. I think they were blackmailing people.”

  “No way.” She stepped in front of Titan. The corset seemed to be tighter than it was before. “Virginia wasn’t that type of person.”

  “And you know this from the extensive amount of time you spent with her?” Threadway leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propped on his knees. Dex leaned against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest.

  “She was so nice.”

  Threadway smirked. “We found a hidden space under the boards in her bedroom. There was a lot of cash, a few guns, and some tapes of people in masks having really kinky sex. And I mean really, really hard core stuff.”

  “Guns?” She turned to look at Titan as she spoke. He was staring at Threadway.

  “Really?” the detective asked. “That’s what you got out of that?”

  “Well, we know Virginia wasn’t vanilla,” she answered.

  “The things on this tape made me sweat,” Threadway said. “They were—intense.”

  April’s stomach turned. She was about to ask what they were, but Threadway held up his hand, and she knew he wouldn’t tell them.

  He stood and pulled a photo from his back pocket. “Is this the man who came into the store?”

  April took it and sighed. “Yes.” She handed it to Titan.

  “Go look at him from behind,” Threadway said. “Then come back here and let me know if you think he’s the same person she was with that night at Charlie’s.” Before she could move, Threadway stepped in front of her. “Don’t approach him. Your mask will hide your face, so I don’t think he’ll recognize you. But if he thinks you’re studying him, he’ll be suspicious.”

  “I’ll be behind him, remember?” She tried not to laugh.

  “Don’t give it away,” Threadway said. “I’m counting on you.”

  April took a deep breath. She headed toward the door, stepping aside quickly when Titan rushed in front of her. “You’re not going without me,” he said.

  “Definitely not,” Dex said, breaking his silence. “When you come back, we’ll talk about that double spanking.”

  Titan opened the door and she went into the hallway. Once they were outside, he shut it behind them. “April, you have to believe me, I didn’t know—”

  She put a finger against his lips. “I believe you. But you shouldn’t apologize to me where some of the harder core people can hear. They’ll think we’re square.”

  “You mean vanilla?” He reached behind her and smacked her ass. “Not a chance. Plus, there’s no one up here. Let’s go see if we can find your phantom blond.”

  They made their way to the main room. April hated to admit she was nervous. She wanted to grab Titan’s hand and hold on to it, but she knew the people here would think that was strange.

  “You should have me on a leash,” she whispered as she leaned into him. Most of the attendees had their subs attached to leads.

  “Wait here,” Titan said. April hugged a wall as he walked toward the table where they had registered. He was back moments later, a black piece of leather in his hand. He attached the end of it to the red collar she wore.

  “Let’s go,” he said. He moved into the room, tugging on the leash. April put her hand up to tug on her collar, which made her feel as if she would choke. She stayed close to him, since he’d let very little of the leash dangle between them.

  The sounds of spanking once again filled her ears, but April tuned it out, searching the crowd for the blond man Threadway said was here. One turn around the main room turned up nothing.

  They were on their second pass when a man stepped in front of them. “If you want to spank her here, you can use this chair. I’m done for a few minutes, and I’d like to watch you whip her.”

  April looked at him, and then looked down at the woman who knelt by his side. Her cheeks were stained with tears, but she was smiling.

  Titan sat down in the chair the man indicated. She wanted to ask him what he was doing, since they had specific orders from Threadway about what they were supposed to be doing.

  But then she reasoned the motives behind his action. If they continued to circle the room, people might become suspicious. It was best to do a spanking, and then they could start back on their rounds.

  “Come across my lap,” Titan ordered her harshly. She hurried to do his bidding.

  “Can I get you anything?” their new friend asked as she settled herself across Titan’s thighs. “Brush? Paddle? Belt? Or are you just going to use your hand?”

  “A hairbrush would be good,” Titan responded.

  April couldn’t see what happened, but she heard the woman groan. She thought the man might have slapped her ass, but it was hard to distinguish sounds with so much going on in the room. “Go get the man a brush, and be quick about it.”

  “Clive,” the man said. April imagined Clive offering Titan his hand to shake.

  “Brandon,” Titan replied, and April bit back a laugh. Brandon was the name of a character in his most recent book. He was a rake, and had taken many lovers, and spanked them all. The preview of the next book showed that Brandon would find his one true love, and she would reject him, until he won her heart, after he’d reddened her bottom a few times.

  It was, she sup
posed, something like what happened between her and Titan, only in the book it had gone on for chapters. In real life, she and Titan had connected within days.

  She heard Titan say thank you, and she supposed the woman was back with the brush. April shivered as he raked the bristles against her ass. She still wore the thin pantalets, and truthfully, she was happy about that. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about being half naked in front of total strangers.

  “Oh come on,” she heard Clive complain. “You’re going to let her get away with the pants?”

  “Don’t try to control the situation,” Titan answered. “This is our first time here, and I know my lady. I know what is right for the moment, and what is wrong.”

  She waited for Clive to apologize, but he didn’t. Titan continued to stroke the bristles across her ass. April tuned out the sounds of other people being spanked, and concentrated on the feelings building inside her. She wanted him to smack her ass, now.

  But he didn’t. Instead he turned the brush over so the smooth wood was now rubbing against her bottom. She closed her eyes, wishing they could communicate silently. She wanted him to…

  “Oh,” she groaned as Titan smacked her ass the first time. As was his custom, it was immediately followed by a second strike, and then a third one. He rubbed her bottom again, and then started spanking her, the brush coming down harder and harder.

  April bit back a moan of pleasure, trying to listen to what was happening around her. What would these people expect? Were the other people being spanked crying out in pain, or pleasure? She tuned in, and all she could hear were cries asking for more.

  So she decided to join in the fun. “Please, Sir, please,” she cried out. “Harder, harder. You know I love it when you smack my ass.” It sounded so contrite that she almost laughed. But it got immediate results. Titan slapped her ass harder than he had before.

  “More, more!” she screamed.

  “Are you telling me what to do?” He smacked her ass harder. “Are you?”

  “No, Sir,” she whimpered. “I’m sorry, Sir.”

  “Do it again and it stops, understand?”

  April shivered, and didn’t immediately respond. Titan slammed the brush down on her ass and she yelped. “Yes, Sir, I understand.”

  Five more hard smacks and it was all she could do to hold back her pleading. It felt incredible, the warm feeling building inside her as he slapped the brush against her bottom. She was surprised to find out that despite her earlier misgivings about being spanked in front of people, the thought that she had an audience made the spanking more intense. It made her enjoy the spanking more, if that were possible.

  Titan delivered ten more delicious swats, and then he barely tapped the brush against her ass. “Stand up,” he commanded.

  She did as he asked.

  “Over the chair,” he said after he’d stood. She bent over the well-cushioned arm, gasping a little as she felt him tug on the pantalets to bare her ass.

  “Will someone get me a riding bat?” he asked the crowd. All thoughts of what they were supposed to be doing fled from her mind as the delicious idea swept through her. She was about to taste her favorite implement. Well, a shorter version of a crop, but still just as tasty. The leather-covered fiberglass would leave welts on her bottom, and she would savor every strike he delivered.

  April kept her gaze down, but from her position she could see there were quite a few pairs of feet gathering around the chair to watch as Titan delivered her ‘punishment.’

  She wanted to look around, see what was happening behind her. But she got her answer soon enough. Titan rubbed the riding bat against her ass.

  “Not one word, or sound,” he said, his voice level and soft. And then he started to spank her.

  April pressed her lips together so she could follow his instructions, but it was difficult. The swats were hard, but they were not fast, or even. One minute he delivered two in direct succession. Then it seemed as if forever passed before he swatted her ass again.

  The urge to plead for more was strong. It was as if he were teasing her, goading her into disobeying him. Maybe that’s what he wanted. If she were a brat, breaking his command, would he give her more of what she desired?

  Time to find out. “Wimp,” she whispered, hoping he would hear it above the noise in the room. The man who had been sitting in the chair, what was his name again? April couldn’t remember, but she knew he’d heard her, because he whispered and said, “Wow, what a brat.”

  Titan must have heard her, too, because the bat came down harder, and harder. April totally ignored his order to stay silent. All memories of the spankings earlier in the week were gone, and she knew she would pay for this in the morning. She moaned and whined as the bat bit into her skin.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she called out. But Titan didn’t answer her. He continued to abuse her bottom, and the painful pleasure she’d felt before was now turning into just pain.

  “Please, please stop,” she whispered. He ignored her, delivering a rapid succession of slaps until she cried out one last time.

  Seconds later, the bat was in front of her face. “Kiss it,” Titan demanded. She did, wondering how something so small could deliver so much pain. He dropped it from his hand, and she could see that he’d wrapped the leather strap near its handle around his wrist. Titan held out his hand and she took it.

  After he’d helped her to stand, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry if that was harder than usual, but I wanted the man standing over my left shoulder to stay. Look at him, but don’t focus too hard.”

  He stroked her hair, and she knew most of those gathered would think he was comforting her, or telling her she was going to get more later, when they were at home.

  April lifted her gaze over Titan’s left shoulder. It didn’t take her long to see what he’d been talking about. The blond from the store was there, wearing a leather vest and leather pants. His well-toned body was displayed magnificently in his outfit.

  He had two leashes in his hand, one that led to a man, the other to a woman. Neither of them wore masks, and they were much older than the blond, at least twenty years, April would say.

  The blond smirked at her, as if to say he could have done a better job than Titan. He didn’t speak, though. After a few moments he yanked on the leashes. The man and woman dropped to their knees and he walked them toward the back exit, the door April knew led to the place where the ‘harder’ things took place.

  April whipped her head around so fast she thought she might get whiplash. But although she got a good view of the back of the man’s head, she couldn’t tell if he was the man she’d seen with Virginia that night at Charlie’s.

  Threadway would be disappointed, she knew, but she hadn’t been telling him a lie when she said she’d be unable to identify the man she’d only seen from behind. Who could, she wondered.

  April kept her gaze on the back door, through which the man had already disappeared. She wanted to follow, see if he was going to the other place, or if he was leaving. Perhaps his car was parked in that area. She didn’t know enough about the layout here to know what was what.

  When it became obvious he wasn’t going to appear again, she turned her attention to Titan. He was talking to the man who had offered his chair. She struggled for a few moments before she remembered the man’s name was Clive. She wasn’t really listening to their conversation, and when Titan tugged, not too gently, on her leash, she said, “Ouch.”

  “Watch it,” Titan said, “or you’ll end up over the chair again.”

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” April said, looking down.

  “Better.” Titan tugged again. “But I think we’re going back upstairs where you and I can have a chat in private.”

  Titan said goodbye to Clive before he lead her to the stairs. They went to the room where they’d left Dex and Threadway. The men were talking, but the conversation stopped when Titan and April entered the room.

  When April exp
lained that she didn’t know if the blond was the man at Charlie’s, but that he was the man who had come into her shop, Threadway sighed in exasperation.

  “It’s hard to distinguish people from behind, detective,” April said. “I can say the hair looks the same cut and color, and the build is similar, but, I couldn’t swear in court that he was the man I saw.”

  For a minute, April thought Threadway was going to argue with her. Instead, he shook his head. “If charges were ever brought against him in this case, his lawyer would tear you apart on the stand for the same reason. I’m going to have to bring him in, but I’m not sure why yet. He hasn’t done anything that I could question him for. I’m going to need to think.”

  Wanting to continue the conversation while Threadway was forthcoming, April asked, “Where is your partner? He hasn’t been around lately.”

  “He went to Montana to the service for Virginia. Lots of times, murderers attend so they can either gloat that they’re getting away with it, or silently say goodbye if, for instance, it was an accident.”

  Titan spoke first. “Do you think it was an accident?”

  “No,” Threadway replied. “I think someone went over there with the express purpose of killing her. I just can’t figure out why.”

  “He went to the—I’m not sure what to call it—rough room?” April said.

  Dex laughed. “It’s a private room, yes. You have to have an invitation to get in there.”

  “They’d turn us away?” Titan asked.

  “Oh yes,” Dex replied. “Most of the people in there know each other very well and many of them go without masks. They are very selective about who they let inside.”

  “I take it the interview includes more than a spanking.”

  Dex shrugged, and April thought he was a little embarrassed. After all, the promo for this had labeled it a spanking party. He didn’t want to admit there was a BDSM orgy going on just steps from the house.

  There was a strained silence before Dex said, “Do I get to spank her?”