by Anya Summers
“It was a mistake that I acknowledge my part in, but it’s not going to happen again.”
He slid his free hand about her waist, tugging her close so that she tipped her head up to meet his gaze. Her pupils dilated, her pulse fluttered in her neck, and her expression was a mixture of lust and fury. It was intoxicating watching her fight her attraction. It made Jack want to bust down her walls until she surrendered everything to him. “You want me right now. I bet if I dipped my hand into your panties, I would find you wet and ready for me.”
“So?”
Her tiny admission made him rock hard. “Try me on for size. You might like it.”
She huffed, rolled her eyes and gave him a derisive stare. “And become one of your little groupies? No thanks. Besides, I’m not submissive in the slightest, and if you tried to make me, I would break your thing off for the offense.”
He winced at her imagery.
But he had felt the way she had surrendered in his arms earlier. It had only been a moment, but it was enough of an insight into her makeup. True, she likely wasn’t a submissive outside the bedroom, but he could work within those parameters.
“I think you are. I think this world intrigues you. I’ve felt you watching me during a scene.” This much was true. He’d caught her gaze on him numerous times during a scene. “If it helps, I’ve not been with anyone since I was injured, haven’t wanted anyone since my injury. Except you.” Also, strangely true.
She quirked a dark brow, her skepticism clear as day. Yet she kept glancing at his mouth. She was conflicted, also something he could work with. He dangled the carrot. “All I’m saying is think about it.”
Rayna sighed and her body softened beneath his hands, some of the tension leaving her form. “Perhaps. Can I get back to you on that?”
“You know where I live.” Also true. At least for now. He let her go. She retreated, erecting her walls back up. She took his twenty for the beer. When she tried to give him change back, he said, “You keep it.”
She seemed to struggle with his more than generous tip, like she wanted to fight him over it, before she nodded curtly and stomped away. He let it slide. They weren’t in a relationship yet so he couldn’t discipline her sweet behind. But he would enjoy taming her.
Jack stayed until she was ready to depart. He followed her outside to his truck and then trailed her home, making sure she got inside before he went in, and began his night watch with the video feed.
Chapter 10
The following day, Rayna met Cora for lunch at the Indian Peak Ski Resort. Cora was a yoga instructor at the resort and worked with her fiancé, Garrett. They had a September wedding planned. The resort was like something out of a fantasy, all wood and stone, with a giant stone fireplace in the main lobby area.
It was a beautiful day out and they took advantage of it to sit in the resort restaurant patio area outside. From there, they had a clear view of the valley below.
Cora sat across from Rayna at their table, with a bright yellow umbrella shielding them from the sun’s rays, in a pair of violet yoga pants and a blush colored yoga top with a lotus flower etched in white across the bust. Her dark brunette hair was piled on top of her head and she stared at Rayna with that direct, unassuming chocolate gaze of hers.
After their waiter took their order, Cora said, “Okay, spill. What’s with the emergency need to meet for lunch? Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but I know you normally do your stock market trading on Thursdays.”
She did. Rayna had decided not to work today, which was unusual for her. Most of the last decade had been tumultuous, with the only thing she could truly call her own being her work, whatever that may be at the time. Which meant she tended to be a bit of a workaholic. But after last night, she had woken up at six this morning in a blind panic. Why? Because instead of the night being filled with monsters from her past, she’d had erotic, sensual dreams with Jack in the starring role. It freaked her the hell out. Not because of what was in the dreams so much as the way they made her feel—cared for—and she’d woken up, shaken and alone, wishing it had all been real.
She was confused about whether to take Jack up on his offer.
“I decided I needed a day off.”
“It’s about bloody time. But something’s up for you to take time off work. Spill the beans, sister biscuit.”
“You know me well. I’m having a bit of a crisis and don’t have anyone else I feel comfortable talking to about this.”
Cora beamed. They had become friends living next door to each other. And, luckily for Rayna, the friendship seemed to only deepen over time. For someone who hadn’t had much human connection in the last decade, she treasured the friendship that had developed between them.
“Huh? Has to be man problems.”
Rayna almost choked on her iced tea. “Why do you say that?”
Cora grinned like the Cheshire Cat. “Honey, typically when women are having a crisis, a man is involved somewhere. Now, spill. Don’t make me pull it out of you.”
“How’s Milo?” She tried to deflect.
“Nice try. He’s having a blast over in the daycare center. Stop delaying.”
“We could talk about your upcoming wedding to Garrett.”
At his name, Cora softened and seemed to glow with happiness. “As much as I love talking about that man and our upcoming nuptials, that can wait. Spill.”
Their waiter chose that moment to bring their plates. Cora had ordered some salmon salad confection while Rayna had gone for the carbs and comfort food. The truffle macaroni and cheese at the resort was to die for.
Rayna took a few bites of her mac and cheese before she finally responded. “You’re right, a man is involved.”
“I knew it. Do I know him? And what are we talking, one-night stand, dating, what?”
“We’ve only shared a kiss, but holy hand grenade, it was hot.”
“On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest on the hot-o-meter, how high was it?”
“A thirteen.”
“Reeaaally. Okay, now I’m dying of curiosity. Who with?” Cora leaned forward with an insistent, excited gleam in her gaze.
“Jack.”
Cora’s gaze widened. “Our Jack, as in Jackson Stone, detective with the Jackson Hole Police Department, Jack?”
Rayna nodded. “That’s the one.” Then she scooped up another bite of her meal, letting the carbs and gooey cheese soothe her.
“How? When did this happen?”
“He moved into your old place this past week and we kinda had a thing.”
“He did? I hadn’t heard that. So how did this kiss come about?”
“I was paying him back,” Rayna explained.
“With your mouth?”
“Haha, no, he’d cooked me dinner. Well, not really me, he was barbecuing outside his place and offered me some. I took him up on it because hey, it was barbecued brats. I’m not going to turn down food someone else has cooked. So to pay him back I gave him a massage, with his arm still bothering him and all. But seeing him naked scrambled my brain a bit.”
Cora’s mouth dropped open with a grin. “You’ve seen him naked already? What was that like?”
Rayna smirked. “Beyond hot. The man is gorgeous. Seeing every inch of him, and I do mean every sordid inch, I sort of lost my head.”
“Understandable. I felt the same way about Garrett when we first met. Kind of like being hit upside the head with a baseball bat. So you want him, he wants you. What is the crisis?”
“He wants more than just a kiss. In fact, he wants the full enchilada. It’s been a while since I did the deed. I don’t know if sex is the right move.” She didn’t mention that she was lying to him, because then she would have to admit she had been lying to Cora and everyone else currently in her life too.
A secretive smile hovered over Cora’s lips. “It had been almost three years for me the first time Garrett and I slept together. I hadn’t been with anyone since Jeff. Is it because h
e’s a Dom?”
Jeff was Cora’s first husband, a firefighter who’d died fighting a fire in Seattle when she was six months pregnant with their son, Milo. It made it doubly sweet that she had found love again after such a huge loss. As for Jack being a Dom… “In part. I haven’t done the deed in forever. I don’t know that I’m built for—”
“One-night stands with a Dom?”
No. Those, she was built for. It was the lasting relationships that made her panic, for more reasons than one. Her body was one hundred and fifty percent on board with taking Jack to her bed. So much so that her body was not speaking to her at the moment because it would rather she be doing Jack than merely contemplating it. Then again, she had been unintentionally celibate for four years.
“Yeah? I guess. The Dom thing is something I’ve never done before, so there’s a bit of the fear of the unknown, even with working at the club and seeing what they do. I’m worried that he wants more than a single night. Or perhaps he doesn’t, and just wants to have some fun in the bedroom. But he’s my neighbor and it could get complicated real fast.” Not to mention he was a cop and might end up doing some digging into her background if the one night developed further into multiple nights. While the Bureau was thorough, if Jack caught a hint of her true identity, it would put him in danger. It would put them all in danger.
“It’s just sex, honey. And from what I hear through the grapevine, Jack packs a punch, if you know what I’m saying,” Cora teased.
“I know.” Rayna did. She had seen firsthand how much was there. The thought of it left her a shivering, burning mess of sexual frustration.
“The question is, do you want him? It sounds to me, from what you’ve said so far, like you’re overthinking things, and that you do want him, which is why you’re conflicted.”
“But do you think it’s wise? Regardless of whether I do want him or not, I—crap… am just trying to make excuses.”
Cora leaned forward and whispered in a low voice, “Is it the BDSM aspect of it? The fact that he is a Dom?”
Those were some, but not all of her reservations, yet she went with that as the best excuse because she couldn’t tell Cora the full brunt of it. “Yes. The whole Dom thing makes me uneasy. What’s it like to be tied up while Garrett, you know…”
“Screws my brains out?” Cora smirked and wiggled her eyebrows.
Rayna nodded. “Yep.”
Cora got a look on her face. It made Rayna think of a cat which had imbibed an entire bowl of cream and was licking its chops in satisfaction afterwards. “Unbelievably amazing. Until Garrett, I didn’t think I was submissive either, and the man proved me wrong. I’ve never been so happy about being wrong, either. It’s the best sex I’ve ever had and I’ve been married before. Jeff was a wonderful husband and lover, in his way. Whereas Garrett, he knocks my socks off every time, until I’m whimpering and sated and, in some cases, too limp to move a muscle. It’s fantastic.”
“That’s what I thought you were going to say,” Rayna replied a bit grumpily.
“Honey, it’s okay to be nervous and excited all together. As for the restraints and what you’re comfortable with, that’s something you will have to communicate to Jack. In the time I’ve known him, I’ve seen he treats every sub well. He can be a bit authoritarian. But I’ve never known any of the subs to complain that he was too harsh or didn’t listen to their concerns. More like they sung his praises.”
Rayna sighed. “But that’s just it. I don’t want to be just another one of his groupies from the club.”
“Then what do you want it to be? Because if all we’re talking about is getting some action, worrying about his fan club would be the last thing on your mind.”
“I don’t know.” And that was the God’s honest truth. She didn’t have any idea. On the one hand, she would like nothing more than to say to hell with it and enter the arena with Jack. On the other hand, could she maintain an emotional distance if she did the deed with him? Because the thought of being with him and being relegated to one of his groupies made her want to spit fire, which was an irrational response for only a simple hookup. Deep down, she didn’t think there was anything simple about being with Jack. Hence the way her internal panic button had been flipped to Defcon one.
“Sweetie, I think you need to decide what it is you do want and then go for it, or not. It’s okay to have needs and to want to fill them. A healthy sex life does a world of good.”
Rayna snorted. “Spoken like someone who is getting lucky all the time.”
“Garrett tends to bring out a woman in me I didn’t even realize was there, and I’m not ashamed of it. You shouldn’t be, either.”
“I will think about it. I do want him.”
Cora gave her a lopsided grin. “Back to the whole seeing him naked thing. So how’s his, um, package? Are we talking a solid six inches?”
“More like eight, and thick too.”
Cora fanned her face. “Ooh girl, if I were you, I would hop on that train and not get off until you can no longer move.”
Rayna snickered. Cora chuckled. And then they were giggling and laughing so hard they had tears streaming from their eyes. All in all, it was a perfect lunch.
And Cora was right. Rayna had to make a decision one way or the other. Cora had helped her, more than she might have realized. Rayna checked the time. She didn’t have to be at the club that evening. She wondered if Jack was home. After all, really, sex was pretty basic and wouldn’t take hours on end.
They could do it and she could be back home to watch her shows that night.
Chapter 11
Jack waltzed into the station. He didn’t like that he wasn’t on Rayna’s tail this morning, especially after last night, but this meeting had to take place. He nodded and responded to hellos along the way from both the uniformed officers and plainclothes ones he passed. They were his family. His brothers and sisters in blue.
Agent Carson had already arrived and was standing with the chief by his office door.
“Sir,” Jack said to the chief.
“Agent Carson mentioned that we need to bring more people in on this case. You have any idea on who you want?”
“I do.” Jack handed him the list he’d made up overnight.
Chief Sheffield scanned it. “It’s a good list.”
“Sir, I don’t mean to pull people away from other investigations but if we don’t, it could blow up in our faces.”
The chief nodded. “I agree.” Then his voice rose, making everyone in the bull pen stop. “Listen up, I need Martin, Connors, Pearson, Jeffries and Finch in the conference room.”
The three detectives and two uniformed officers rose from their desks. Jack’s partner, Mitch Martin, flashed him a grin as he approached. Mitch was five years older than Jack, married with three kids and a mortgage he liked to bitch about constantly. His black hair was graying at the temples and his brown eyes were always smiling, even after everything they had witnessed.
Mitch clapped him on the shoulder. “Jack, you didn’t tell me you were coming in this morning. What’s going on?”
“Let’s get in the conference room first and we will tell you everything you need to know.”
They filed into the room, which was full of gray tables that sat two apiece. At the front of the conference room was a podium, a whiteboard, and a large standup corkboard they used when they had big, ongoing investigations.
The chief and Agent Carson brought up the rear and closed the door behind them.
“Detectives, Officers, this is Agent Carson with the FBI. We are working on a case with him and the US Marshalls in the area. Jack has already been laying the groundwork, but he suggested we bring you in. I’m going to turn the floor over to Agent Carson to give you more details about this case,” Chief Sheffield said.
Agent Carson stepped up near the podium and stared at each of the detectives and officers in turn, like he was sizing each one up. “Okay, before I continue, you need to know that none of what is sa
id in this room goes any further. If one of you talks, I will put you into federal custody for interfering with my case. Not your wives, husbands, girlfriends, and so on. Is that understood?”
They all glanced at Jack before turning to Carson and agreeing.
“Detective Stone has been aiding me with a witness in the WITSEC program with the US Marshalls Office. It’s a case I have been involved in with the Marshalls for over ten years. The problem is, the person we didn’t want to find our witness has located her.”
Then Agent Carson ended up taking the five new additions through the case. By the end of his diatribe, they were wide eyed.
“Holy shit,” Mitch said.
Yep. That about summed up what Jack had felt the first time he’d discovered it.
“Look, guys. I know it’s a lot to take in. But I think adding the five of you on to the case will work to our advantage.” Jack surveyed the team he had assembled. Detective Woody Pearson was a twenty-year veteran; the five foot seven, reed thin man had skin the color of polished ebony, and was always kind. His partner, Judy Connors, was his direct opposite. Judy sported bright red hair in a pixie cut and stood a good six feet. She was lean, but busty.
Officer Jeffries was levelheaded and thorough. Her partner, Officer Clare Finch, was half a foot shorter, blonde haired and blue eyed, but the pair were among the best uniforms in the department.
Mitch tilted his head to the side. “And what do you propose?”
Jack grinned. Leave it to his partner to ask that. There was a reason they worked so well together. “All right, Pearson and Connors, I thought we could have you stationed with round the clock surveillance at her places of employment. Mitch, I need your help guarding the witness when I can’t be there or need some shut eye. Officers Jeffries and Finch, I need you to patrol her street and the surrounding neighborhood. The surveillance I have set up will only get us so far. Her life is in danger. We screw up here, and she dies.”
Then, between the six of them with the Agent and Chief, they hatched a plan to up the amount of protection around Rayna. By the time he left the station, Jack felt that they were moving in a positive direction. Agent Carson had his people using facial recognition software on the street cameras in the area to try and locate Travino. The chief, with Carson’s permission, distributed an image of Travino to his traffic officers, saying that he was a person of interest and if they spied him while they were out patrolling, they were to contact the chief immediately. That they weren’t to apprehend him or make it seem like they were tailing him, but give the location, description of where he was at and where he was headed, and what he was wearing.
