No Limit

by L. P. Dover

  “Why is that?” I asked slowly.

  Chuckling, he continued up the stairs. “Let’s just say it’s where I like to have fun. I might need to warm you up first before we go down there.”

  He showed me the rest of the house, including his bedroom which was where we ended up. “Do you have anything to drink?” I asked. He walked over to the mini bar in the corner of his room and lifted a fancy glass bottle filled half-way with an amber liquid.

  “Scotch?”

  “Sure.”

  He poured a little in two different glasses and handed me one while he took a sip of the other. All I needed was for him to step away so I could squirt the serum into his drink. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like that was going to happen; he watched me like a hawk. I took a sip of the scotch and felt the burn go down my throat. That was when the idea hit. Turning my back to him, I glanced up at his walls and pointed at the paintings.

  “Those are very interesting. What made you choose them?” He walked toward me, but I kept my back to him and continued my stroll around his room. Slipping my hand into my purse, I pulled out one of the syringes and expelled the contents in my own drink, quickly sticking the vial back in my purse. I had a plan and I hoped to hell it worked. If not, I only had one dose left. I stopped so he could join me and looked up at the last painting.

  “To be honest, I didn’t choose them; my interior designer did. She thought they matched my personality.”

  Snorting, I nodded up to it. “I’d say she hit the nail on the head.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Let’s see . . . they’re all black, white, and gray. Abstract. It also shows a dark and wild side. Not too sure if I like that combination.”

  “You’re about to see it, sweetheart. Don’t worry, I think you’ll like it once I break you in.” Taking my arm, he pulled me out the door and back down the stairs toward the kitchen. There were no extra doors that could possibly lead to a basement. However, that didn’t mean there weren’t any. What appeared to be just a wall of cabinets, turned into a large door that swung open, revealing a set of stairs leading into the darkness below.

  He dragged me along, but I planted my feet into the floor. “I don’t think I’m going to enjoy what’s down there.”

  “Are you scared? Out of all the girls I’ve fucked, you were the last one I’d suspect to be scared.”

  “I’m not scared. I just don’t like surprises.”

  “Once you see what’s down here, you won’t be surprised anymore. It’s all laid out for you.”

  Taking a deep breath, I took a step forward and let him guide me down the stairs. It was dark, but there was a red light glowing from deep within. I felt like I was in a horror movie sneaking into a house where the killer awaited my arrival. But curiosity killed the cat. Once I stepped off the last stair, I had to blink my eyes a few times to comprehend what I was seeing. “Oh my God.”

  Chazz turned on another red light, highlighting the bed in the corner of the room. There weren’t axes, knives, or anything that could be used to mutilate someone’s body, but there sure as hell were sexual torture devices, a flogger being the first thing I saw. It wasn’t the room of doom I was expecting, but a sadist’s room of pleasure. Chazz picked up the flogger and slapped it on the red, silky bed sheets. “I think your ass will look perfect being the same shade as your hair.”

  “You want to whip me?” I asked incredulously.

  Setting his glass of scotch down, he unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it across the room. “Why not? Has Avery never punished you before?”

  “Not like that.”

  “You’re both missing out then. It’s pleasurable, heightens the senses.”

  “For you maybe,” I scoffed.

  Setting the flogger down, he beckoned me toward the table of toys. Not only was there a flogger, but there was a whip, handcuffs, rope, a couple of different sized dildos and a few other things I could only imagine what were used for. “Do I use the dildos on you?”

  He picked one up and handed it to me. “It’s for me to watch you use. Surely you’ve pleasured yourself before?”

  “I’m a woman, Mr. Davies. I’m sure you can figure that out.”

  “Then get on the bed and show me.”

  I turned and walked over to his drink, quickly switching it with mine before I handed it to him. “I need a drink first.”

  He held his glass and brought it to his lips. “You must be new at this. The women I bring here aren’t usually so . . . nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous. I just need a fucking drink,” I growled. He watched me until I downed all of mine, then he finally did as well. Breathing a sigh of relief, I set my glass down. The effects of the scotch began to make me feel fuzzy.

  Chazz grabbed my arm and turned me around, his breath hot by my ear. “I want this dress off now.” Sliding the straps down my shoulders, he ripped the rest of it off my body and he bent me over, pushing my chest onto the bed. His belt clanked as he undid it, dropping his pants to the floor. I had about four minutes left for the serum to knock him out, but his sexual tendencies had been heightened.

  “I thought you wanted me to use the dildo?” I asked hastily. Grabbing me by the waist, he held me in place with one hand, but he swayed on his knees. His cock was between my legs and he trembled, moaning as his hands glided across my body. Three minutes.

  “Your skin . . . feels so . . . so fucking good,” he slurred. I stood up and leaned against him, rubbing my back against his chest. His fingers dug into my hips and I yelped, grimacing in pain as his body jerked. I was going to have half moon scratches on my skin after that. Pushing his cock between my legs, it didn’t take long for him to come all over the bed. Two minutes. “Holy fuck, what are you doing to me?” He leaned against me, his body growing heavy.

  I rolled out from under him and watched him fall face first into his own jizz. Slapping a hand over my mouth, I tried to silence my laughs. He was going to hate me after tonight. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t care.”

  He moaned and just laid there, completely worthless. After quickly slipping on what was left of my dress, I checked my phone, thankful Jason had found me. My torn dress was barely covering my body and there was no way I was going to walk the streets at night like that. Not to mention, I was going to have to deal with Jason’s wrath once he saw me.

  Jason: I’m here.

  Me: I wish I wasn’t. Chazz is clean. Well, maybe not at the moment.

  Jason: ?

  Me: Tell you soon. Be out in 10 minutes.

  Grabbing the rope off the table, I wrapped it around Chazz’s wrists and tied him to the bed posts. He moaned and started thrusting his hips into the bed. “Let’s see how you like being the tortured one, Mr. Davies. From now on, I bet you’re going to love getting your ass flogged.”

  I left the ropes semi-loose so he could get out on his own when he woke up. I would love to see his face when that happened, all covered in his dried-up semen. Taking the flogger, I traced it over his back and he shivered. It was strange to see the effects the serum had on different people. In the lab, I didn’t excite my hosts so it was simply watching them pass out and recording the lengths of time and their vitals.

  “How about we make your ass the same color of my hair? That way it’s you who won’t be able to walk for a week.” Lifting the flogger high, I slapped it across his backside and he groaned. Little red welts appeared on his skin and I smiled. “You want one more?” When he didn’t answer, I did it anyway, only harder. Now that his ass was red, my work was done.

  However, my victory was short lived. There was nothing in Chazz’s basement that would suggest he was a killer. We were back to round one. Before going up the stairs, I glanced at him one more time and sighed. My search wasn’t over, but now I had no clue what to do. Tiptoeing up the stairs, I pulled out my phone.

  Me: Coming out.

  Jason: I’ll come get you.

  I wasn’t ready to explain to him why my dress looked like a b
ear slashed through it, but hopefully, I could get him away before he tried to kill Chazz. Finding one of his coats, I slipped it over my tattered dress before walking out the door.

  Jason pulled in just as I came out of the house. He got out of the car and raced up to me. “Are you okay? Why are you wearing that?”

  “I was cold. Let’s just get out of here.” He opened the car door for me and rushed around to his side. “What happened with Angelica?”

  “She’s passed out in my bed. As soon as you left, I went straight to your room and put some serum in her wine. I don’t think I said more than two words to her the entire time.” The second he sped us out of the driveway, I breathed a sigh of relief. I wanted him as far away from Chazz as possible. “Now tell me what happened,” he demanded.

  I shrugged. “I don’t think Chazz is who we’re looking for. He took me for a tour of the house before anything ever happened.”

  He grimaced. “I was wondering what took so long.”

  “Everything was pretty normal until we got to his basement.”

  His head snapped my way. “Basement? What the fuck was in there?”

  “A sadist’s dream come true.”

  “You can’t be serious. Are we talking whips, chains, and all that bullshit?”

  I nodded. “He gets his jollies by using them.”

  His anger filled the car, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel. “He didn’t use any of that on you, did he?”

  “On the contrary, now he’ll be the one needing a rubber donut to sit down.”

  Thankfully, that brought a smile to his lips. “No, you didn’t.”

  “Oh, yes I did. He’s going to be uber pissed when he wakes up.”

  “Good. Serves the fucker right. I was thinking we should call Chatfield and get her to pick up her girl. That way we can get her out of the way.”

  “Good idea. I can also give her the news we’re back at square one. I have no clue who the killer is.”

  “We’ll figure it out. It could still be one of them. The victims weren’t knowingly with any of them the nights they died. We just have to wait and see who comes after you next, if anyone.”

  “Ryan’s not going to like this. We probably need to get in touch with him in the morning.”

  Jason tucked my hair behind my ear and I leaned into his touch. “We’ll take it one step at a time, baby. It looks like you’ve had enough for one night.”

  I was disappointed, but shamefully, also relieved. Solving the case meant we were done, that I had to leave Jason. I wasn’t ready for that, but I also had a duty. Duty had to come first.

  “Thank you for calling me,” Ronnie said, coming through the door.

  “You’re welcome. I called you as soon as I was done with Chazz.” Jason and I had just walked in ourselves. I hadn’t even had time to change clothes. Luckily, she brought a buff young man to help—Thor, a male escort. Jason led him to the bedroom and he came out carrying Angelica in his strong arms.

  Ronnie sighed and nodded toward the door. “Take her to the car, please. I’ll be down in a minute.” As soon as he left and the door shut, she faced me. “What happened? Do you know who the killer is?”

  I shook my head. “I haven’t been able to find anything on anyone. We’re not going to give up though. Did you know Angelica was going with Chazz tonight?”

  “No, she failed to tell me. You might have just saved her life. I wish I knew how to keep my girls safe.”

  “Like you said before, you can’t. It’s a dangerous profession, just like my job. It’s something you can’t control.”

  Her lips pulled back in a sad smile. “You’re right. I guess I shouldn’t get attached. Okay, I’ll keep in touch if I hear anything or if any of my girls go missing.” She started for the door and walked out, leaving me alone with Jason.

  “You ready to call it a night, babe?” he asked softly.

  “Sure, just let me get some clothes out of my room. Do you mind getting me a bottle of water? I feel a little dehydrated.”

  Narrowing his eyes, he raked them up and down my body. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I replied, plastering on a fake smile. “Really.”

  I walked to my room and rushed to my suitcase to find something to wear. Ripping off the jacket, I glanced quickly at my tattered dress and started to take it off, only to stop when I felt a pair of eyes on my body. In the mirror, Jason glared at me, his fists clenched.

  Turning around, I slowly approached. “I can explain.”

  “No need,” he growled. “I’ll take care of it myself.” Storming off, he grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

  “Jason, stop. Where are you going?”

  “To kill that motherfucker! He’s not going to get away with this.” He reached for the door handle, but I barreled into him and stood in his way.

  “He didn’t hurt me,” I cried.

  His nostrils flared, especially when he looked at my arms. “What do you call this?” he shouted, pointing at my wrists. There were already bruises showing up from where Chazz held onto me. Swallowing hard, I closed my eyes and then opened them slowly.

  “Okay, so maybe he hurt me a little, but it’s not as bad as it looks. Trust me, if he’d gotten his dick anywhere near my orifices I was going to cut the fucking thing off.”

  “It doesn’t matter! He left marks on you!” His eyes blazed and it was frightening. I’d never seen him look that way. “Where else did he hurt you?”

  “Nowhere.”

  He stepped back as if I’d slapped him. “After everything we’ve been through . . . you’re going to fucking lie to me? Tell me the fucking truth!”

  Frozen, I stood there staring into his tormented green gaze. It was in that moment I realized I loved him. Instead of waiting on me to show him, he lowered my tattered dress to the floor and I let him. His fingers brushed across my collarbone on down to my breasts and my stomach. A murderous growl escaped his lips when he found the marks on my hips. Reluctantly, I looked down at the damage and closed my eyes. The half moon crescents were deep red and turning purple. Just a simple touch from him made me balk in pain.

  “Goddamn, son of a bitch,” he yelled. Storming away, he punched a hole in the wall and ran a hand through his hair. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Just let him get away with hurting you?”

  “Jason, I knew there was a chance I’d get hurt doing this, maybe even killed. It’s the risk we take. There’s nothing you can do.”

  “Like hell there’s not. The next time I see him, I don’t give a shit where we are, or what’s going on. I will fuck him up.”

  Slowly, I walked over to him and I placed my hands on his face. “I paid him back for what he did to me. I flogged him pretty good. So don’t think for a second I let him get away with putting his hands on me.”

  Sighing, he lowered his head. “It’s not the same.”

  “Why? Why is it not the same?”

  Lifting his head, he looked down at my lips and kissed me. “Because I’m the one who needs to protect you, to keep you safe. It’s in my blood.”

  “Is that it? You just want to keep me safe?”

  He brushed a finger down my cheek. “Well, there’s that and also one other thing.”

  “What?”

  Taking my face in his hands, he stared into my eyes. “I’m falling in love with you.”

  I clutched my chest, then jumped into his arms. “I thought I’d never hear you say those words. I’m falling for you too. So much it hurts.” He kissed me hard, opening me with his tongue. I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me into the bedroom, never taking his mouth from mine. “Make love to me, Jason.”

  Gently laying me on the bed, he covered me with his body. “Are you sure that’s what you want after tonight? I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “You won’t. I trust you.”

  The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed and panicked. “Jason?” There was no sound. I jumped out of bed a
nd slipped on my bathrobe, rushing into the living room. “Jason?” He wasn’t in his room either. “Fuck me.”

  “Gladly, but you’ll have to wait until after breakfast.”

  Jerking around, I watched as Jason came through the door, carrying two cups of coffee and a bag. “What the hell? Why didn’t you tell me you were going for breakfast? You had me worried.”

  He set our stuff down on the counter and I joined him. “You mean you were worried because you thought I’d gone after Davies?”

  I bit my lip. “It crossed my mind.”

  Opening the bag, he pulled out two apple pastries and slid me one. “I’m going after him and nothing’s going to stop me, not even you. I just don’t want him drugged out of his mind when I do. It’s important he remembers my lesson.”

  I just wished he could see that leaving Chazz face down in his own fluids and a flogged ass was payback enough. The humiliation alone was retribution. “Have you talked to Ryan yet?” I asked nervously. I wasn’t looking forward to telling him we didn’t have a single shred of evidence from anyone.

  He took a bite of his pastry and nodded. “He’s coming to see us today. I didn’t go into details, but I’m sure he got the hint.”

  “What do you think he’ll say?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll find out in an hour when he gets here.”

  I finished my pastry, then hurried off to take a shower while he stayed in the kitchen and worked. After getting dressed, I watched Jason from the doorway to my room, his forehead all scrunched in concentration. The stubble on his face had grown thicker; I liked it that way, even though I knew he hadn’t shaved because he was stressed. It made me wonder what things would be like between us if we weren’t here for work, if we could just be ourselves.

  My phone rang and I jumped, drawing Jason’s attention. His muscles relaxed and he smiled. “I knew you were watching me, firecracker.”

  “It’s kind of hard not to. Give me one sec.” I hurried over to my phone and my heart leapt when I saw my uncle’s name. “Uncle G,” I answered excitedly. His name was Gary, but uncle G was what I had called him ever since I was little and it stuck over the years.