Tyler just stared at her, trying to figure out how to answer.
"I know a little about what my brother is into, and while his brand of kink isn't exactly my own, I guess I just figured that any friend of his that's been around that long might be into something a little off the wall as well."
Tyler thought about that, she was telling him she was kinky, but not into what her brother was into. Tyler knew first hand that Mac was really big into group sex, often two guys on one girl, but he was okay with five guys on three girls too, or almost any other combination, if that's the way it worked out, and as long as it was all consensual. But Tyler was a sexual Dominant; he got into the whole domination and pain aspect of sex. The giving of it, not the receiving of it. And here was this beautiful woman hinting she was kinky and asking him questions about what kind of kink he was interested in. He should go back upstairs and end this conversation, but he just couldn't.
"And what brand of kink would you happen to be into then, if it isn't exactly like your brother's?"
"You first, Tyler."
He put the weight down he was working with and stood to leave. "Sorry princess, I don't take orders."
"Yeah, that's what I thought. You're a Dom, aren't you? I knew it. Almost the instant I saw you in the kitchen, I knew it."
He was momentarily speechless, but he'd had years of practice to keep his face from showing when he'd been caught off guard, so he just relaxed against the wall with his arms crossed and let his eyes slowly rove from her feet to her face before saying, "If you figured that out, then I'd have to guess you're in the lifestyle as well. Does big brother know about this?"
She stopped the treadmill. "Are you crazy? If he knew that men had spanked and flogged me he'd tear their balls off their bodies and stick them down their throats."
"Exactly, so what makes you think that you and I could have any kind of relationship when he knows I'm a Dom?"
"If I weren't my brother's sister, would you be interested?"
"Yes, I would, actually. But that's beside the point, because you are your brother's sister."
"Okay then. I'm going back upstairs, I want to take dad out on the porch and let him get some fresh sea air this afternoon before the sun goes down."
As he watched her go up the steps he imagined her ass with a butt plug in it and her hands tied behind her back. He shook his head, he couldn't think of her that way. Mac was like family.
* * * *
He had blown her off! Because of some chivalrous honor code about not doing your friend's sister! That gorgeous man with the Dom eyes and Dom voice. She thought she'd recognized him at first, but then she had started doubting herself. Master James' hair had been shoulder length and black, and Tyler's hair was dirty blond and was styled in a professional cut. Master James had spoken with a touch of a Canadian accent and Tyler didn't seem to have an accent at all. Plus Master James had brown eyes and Tyler had the most beautiful green eyes. But when she'd first seen him a trick of the light had made her think he might have been the man she'd fallen for in New Hampshire three years ago.
Both men had a similar smile that grabbed her heart, though. And they were both a touch over six feet tall with a slim but very muscular build. Tyler wasn't bulging with muscles like her brother, but something told her he was just as strong.
Of course, Tyler would know how to create a disguise that worked. And how big of a coincidence that Tyler is a Dom? No, if we're talking coincidence then what are the odds that the stranger she fell in love with three years ago just happens to be her brother's best friend? Right. Not likely.
Well, no matter who he was, she was attracted to him, and she wasn't giving up just because he happened to be her brother's friend.
Chapter Four
The next morning Tyler woke up early to run on the beach. He'd mentioned it last night and Mac had said he'd get up and run with him, so he expected that the coffee he smelled coming from the kitchen meant that Mac was up. Tyler usually didn't drink coffee, but he loved the smell of it. As he went out on the front porch he saw Viv sitting in a chair with her feet on an ottoman and her laptop perched on her lap with a large cup of coffee beside her. Mac was doing some stretches while they talked.
Viv looked up at him. "Hi Tyler, I was just telling David how I'd asked you to take me to a movie or something this weekend to get me out of the house and you said that you couldn't do that because I'm Mac's sister."
Tyler looked at Mac and Mac did not look happy. Shit.
"Viv, leave my friend alone. He's not your type."
"Oh, but big brother, I think he's exactly my type. I pegged him as a Dom when I walked into the kitchen last night. Don't look at me like that. I'm a big girl, and I know the kind of sex games you play, so you can't pretend you're all innocent or anything."
Tyler just wanted to escape. "I think this is my cue to leave and let the brother and sister sort things out. I'll take off down the beach and run solo this morning."
"No Tyler, I'm coming with you. This conversation with Vivian is over."
They probably ran for two miles without talking. Finally, Mack stopped and started pacing. "What does she mean that she pegged you for a Dom? What the hell did the two of you talk about when she followed you downstairs last night?"
"Pretty much what she told you. She hit on me, I told her that guys don't go out with their best friend's sister, she kept at it, and I told her I'm not a nice guy anyway, not her type. And she pretty much told me what type I am, and that I'm exactly her type. Blew me away. But I thought I'd gotten her to drop it, I thought the conversation was over. Look Mac, I told her the truth, you are my best friend and I'm not going to date your sister, okay?"
"If I say no at this point, I'm going to look like a bastard. I know my sister is beautiful, and if I didn't know what you like to do to women I'd be fine with you going out with her, to be honest. But knowing what you like to do... even with her telling me that you are her... type. That's gonna be rough, Tyler."
"Look, I can get my own place to stay while I'm here so that Viv and I won't be around each other. I don't want to do anything to hurt our friendship."
Mac's cell phone was going off; he answered it and stepped away from Tyler to talk. When he came back, he looked white as a ghost. "I know you came here to get away for a bit, but you may have just walked into something. Three years ago I came up against some twins on one of my missions, man and woman. I ended up killing the woman and taking the man into custody. We handed him over to his government and he's been in a prison in Kazakhstan since then. Last year he managed to find out my real name. He called me from prison, told me that when he got out he was going to kill my sister as payback. After that I managed to get the paperwork to go through so there was a notation with customs that if he entered the U.S. on his passport I'd be notified. He came through customs at Miami International Airport twenty minutes ago."
Tyler looked at his watch to start the clock ticking, the soonest he could be here was forty minutes, but since he'd have to rent a car it would probably be more like an hour. "What does he look like?"
"Black hair, dark eyes, thin, about a hundred and fifty-five pounds last I checked, five foot ten inches tall. Nose is just a hair crooked where it's been broken. Small scar above his left eyebrow."
"He won't know I'm here. I'll get your sister and your dad and take them to a hotel, get them settled in under my name, and then come back to help you deal with him."
"I'd rather you take them and stay with them so they are guarded. And he may know you are here, so nothing in your name, either. I can handle this guy here. But time's going to be short to get all of dad's equipment packed up. Let's go."
As they ran back Tyler thought about the best way to protect Mac's family. They'd need a hotel suite with two beds in the bedroom, and then Tyler could sleep in the living area. So much for getting him away from Viv, now it looked like he was protecting her. As they reached the house Mac said, "You explain to Viv and Dad while I start packing Dad
's stuff. Have Viv get started packing as soon as you can, and then she'll need to make sure I've got everything Dad will need. Especially his medicines and therapy stuff."
As Mac ran in the house Tyler stopped on the porch. Mr. MacNeill and Viv were both there, and Tyler tried to say it as gently as possible while still getting across the urgency of the matter. "Several years ago Mac had a mission where he ended up in a firefight with twins, a man and woman. He killed the woman and the man has been in prison. He found out Mac's real name at some point and contacted him from prison that when he got out he would go after Mac's sister. Mac was just notified that the man passed through customs at Miami International Airport about thirty minutes ago. Mac is packing up your stuff, Mr. MacNeill. Viv, you need to go pack as quickly as possible and then make sure Mac got everything packed that you'll need for your father. Plan to be gone for four or five days at this point, though I hope it doesn't take that long. I'm taking the two of you to a hotel, Mac will stay here to neutralize the situation and I'll make sure the two of you stay safe."
Viv got up without saying anything and headed into the house. Tyler told Mr. MacNeill that he was going to go in and pack his things as well, and suggested that everyone come inside so they could lock the doors, just in case.
Twenty-five minutes later Tyler was driving Mr. MacNeill and Vivian in the truck, with all of their luggage in the back under a hard flat locking cover. Instead of a hotel they would be staying at a rental house in a gated community. The house was bigger than a suite would be and had a garage so they could hide the truck. They had used a secure VOIP connection to call the rental company, the owner was a friend of Mr. MacNeill so there had not been a problem securing it, and it was empty for the next four nights. There wasn't a hit on a credit card this way, so it would be impossible for anyone to find them unless Mac or Tyler screwed up and led them there. And four nights was plenty, if the situation wasn't resolved soon he'd be getting Viv and her dad out of town anyway, so that was probably more time than they needed. Tyler had been responsible for protecting civilians before, and had the whole spiel to give them on the way. "I'm in charge. If I tell you to stay inside, you stay inside. If I tell you to stay out of a particular room, then you stay out of that room. Until we get there I won't know specifically what those kinds of rules are going to be, but for now I know for sure that there will be no internet surfing and definitely no checking your email, just in case this guy is watching your email address to see where you are accessing the internet. Viv, if you want to use your laptop then I'll disable the Wi-Fi first and then you can use it. Also, I've already taken the battery out of both of your cellphones so you can't be traced that way. We will be stopping at the grocery store on the way and buying enough groceries to last for four days. If there is a place in the same strip mall that sells pay-as-you-go phones I'll get one for the two of you so you will have them in an emergency. But you are not to use them, or the rental house phone, to call home or to call any of your friends." He looked at Mac's dad. "While at the grocery store we will get a motorized cart for you, and we will all stay together. I will throw food in for meals, if there is anything you want besides that, get it as we go by, we won't be going back down any aisles."
He looked at Viv. "I don't suppose you've been wanting to try a new hair color?"
"No, I haven't, actually."
"Well, we'll be buying something to use in case we need to alter your appearance. I don't think it's necessary at this time, but if it becomes necessary I'd like to have it handy. Your hair is pretty light, so that means we'll be making it dark brown or black if we need to do something."
"Dark brown, not black. I've got a dark wig. I can wear that if it comes to it."
Tyler gave her a double-take but decided to not ask about the wig in front of her dad. Probably something an old Dom had wanted her in.
* * * *
Viv couldn't believe what her body was doing in response to Tyler barking out orders and commands. She should be afraid for her life, and instead was just turned on.
As they went down the cosmetic aisle in the grocery store Tyler insisted on a box of dark brown hair color even though she told him again that she had a wig. She knew he looked at her that way wondering why she'd brought it with her, but she didn't answer his unspoken question. In truth she hadn't brought it with the idea of disguise, she'd thrown it in her bag with the idea of putting it on and doing her face up and walking in on Tyler to see if he recognized her. She had hoped when she mentioned the wig that he would suddenly realize who she was, but he hadn't.
They loaded up on groceries and snacks and Tyler paid cash for them. Then they walked next door and bought three pay-as-you-go phones, again using cash to buy them and the extra minutes. Tyler explained to her that he was going to call Mac with the one he'd be keeping and would talk about going to a game that weekend, nothing they'd be doing, but just something that sounded casual instead of ‘this is the number to call if you need us’. He asked her to be quiet. When she heard him say "David, it's James..." her heart soared. James was the name he used when he wasn't being Tyler!
They all got back in the truck and she realized her dad was really tired. She'd need to get him into the rental house and down for a nap as quickly as possible. Tyler handed her the directions. "Please tell me when to turn, and tell me well ahead of time, not as we are going by the road."
Viv couldn't resist, "Yes, Sir".
Tyler swung his head around to look at her in surprise. She just grinned back at him with a twinkle in her eye.
She was almost sure it was him now. The trip through the grocery store reminded her that Tyler was a gourmet cook, as James had been. Plus she now knew he used the name James as an alter-ego, plus the fact he was a Dom, and he had the same build. The only question was… how to find out for sure, and how to tell him.
* * * *
Tyler couldn't believe his dick was responding to her "Yes, Sir" the way it was. He needed to be watching for people following them, needed to be concentrating on details, not trying to figure out how to keep Viv and her dad from seeing his hard on.
He breathed a few times and focused. He made a note of the cars around them, and asked Viv how far until their next turn off. They had mapped the route so that they wouldn't be going straight there and would be going through a few other residential areas first so he could be sure they weren't being followed. The rest of the trip was uneventful and when he finally had them backed into the garage of the rental house he breathed a sigh of relief.
He helped Mr. MacNeill get out of the truck and up to a room. He did a quick walkthrough of the house and told everyone where they would be sleeping, explaining why he was placing people the way he was to keep them from arguing with him. He'd learned in the past that if someone understood he wanted them to sleep in this room instead of that one because he could better protect them, there was usually less discussion to be done about it.
Viv got her dad settled and he was down for a nap before they had brought everything up from the truck and put a tarp over it, just in case someone looked in the garage. They got the groceries put away while Tyler gave her some basic instructions about what to do and what not to do, as well as what kind of activity she should make sure Tyler knew about if she noticed it. Tyler was impressed with the questions she was asking, she had a good head on her shoulders and she wasn't panicking or anything.
"You know, a lot of women would be pretty freaked to know that an international bad guy had come to town to kill them."
"I figure that between you and my brother, I'm safe. Sure, I'm a bit freaked, but it won't really help the situation any to lose focus, so I'll do what needs to be done. Right now it seems that it's your job to watch over us and it's my job to take care of dad. But, there is something I want to talk to you about, when we get a chance to talk."
Tyler didn't want to go there with her. "No, there is nothing we need to talk about. On my run with Mac this morning I had offered to leave so that I could put distanc
e between you and me. My friendship with your brother is important to me. I'm not going to do anything to bring harm to it."
Tyler saw her make a quick decision; he wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
"Okay, let me tell you where I was living three years ago. Let me tell you about three days that happened three years ago, and then I will drop it if you tell me to. Deal?"
"How long is this story going to last?"
"I can tell it in ten minutes if pressed to keep it brief, though I could also take a whole day to tell it and still miss details. It's a pretty intense story."
"Let me put some electronic stuff at a few doors and windows and I'll be back. Then you can give me the important points of your story."
Tyler grabbed a bag and put some movement sensors on all of the doors as well as the windows he felt were most vulnerable. If anyone opened a door or window with one of these on it something in his pocket would vibrate to let him know. He wouldn't know which door or window, but he'd at least be alerted that something was up. This wasn't the best, but it was all he had with him right now so it would have to do.
He really didn't want to go back and listen to Viv's story, but if that was what it took to get her to back off then it was a small price to pay. So, he went back, told her that she wasn't to open a door or window without letting him know she was going to do it, and then sat down and told her to say what she had to say.
"I debated on whether to show you or tell you. It seems a better idea to tell you, though I was tempted to show you. Anyway," she took a deep breath, "three years ago I had a deal with the University of New Hampshire to work for them as a professor while I was also working on my most recent PhD. But once I'd taken the job I realized it meant I couldn't just go to a BDSM club and play because the risk of running into students was too great. My old club had given me a good enough reference to get me a membership at the one in New Hampshire, but I needed to find some way to go without harming my career. So, I came up with a disguise: a short dark brown wig and my eyes made up in a very feline way. It worked, no one who knew me in real life ever recognized me when I was there."
Safeword: Rainbow Page 5
