Crime and Punishment 4: Burning Submission

by Trista Ann Michaels

  He wrapped his arms around her and held tight. What the hell was he going to do without her?

  “Where did you learn to do all that?” she asked sleepily.

  Josh smiled, thankful for something to think about other than a future without her. “At clubs.”

  “Did you have a teacher or something?” she asked. “Are there classes for this?”

  Josh chuckled. “Probably somewhere, but I never took any. I just watched others, practiced on a few willing subs. That sort of thing.”

  “Oh,” she said and tried to reposition. “Am I squishing you?”

  “I can assure you, you’re not squishing me,” he replied with amusement as he slowly slid his finger up and down her spine.

  She shifted as though it tickled, and giggled when he slid his finger over her ribs. She stiffened and lifted her head to look down at him, worry in her gaze. “I shouldn’t be lying on your chest like this. You’re sternum may not be fully healed.”

  He smiled. “I’m fine.”

  She pushed off him with a stern look. “Which one of us went to med school?”

  Josh lowered his arms, allowing her to move. “Fine. I concede. But only on one condition.”

  She frowned down at him as she sat up. “What?” she asked warily.

  Josh chuckled. “What’s that about? Don’t you trust me?”

  “Well, yeah,” she began. Then grinned and sighed. “Fine. What’s the condition?”

  Josh couldn’t help but laugh at her. She was so damn cute. As his laughter faded, he feathered the backs of his fingers down her arm. “That you join me in my room for a movie. I still haven’t gotten to watch that X-Men movie I have up there.”

  She pursed her lips briefly and then replied, “That sounds tame enough.”

  “Tame enough, huh?”

  She smiled as she leaned down and placed a quick kiss on his lips. “I would love to watch a movie with you.”

  “Good,” he whispered against her lips as he put his hand at the back of her head and brought her down for another slow kiss.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Jenn moaned as a warm hand gently cupped her breast from behind. She arched, filling his palm, silently begging him to squeeze harder. Rough fingers brushed over the sensitive skin that had been burned by wax hours earlier. The brief bite of discomfort sent a shiver of delight down her spine.

  Was she dreaming? The last thing she remembered was falling asleep in Josh’s arms as the movie played in the background.

  The sheets felt soft against her skin. A hard body pressed against her back, and she tried to snuggle closer. Her body ached in places she’d never noticed before. Even the morning light felt oddly sensual as it heated her flesh.

  “Josh?” she whispered.

  “Who else would it be?” he murmured in her ear, his voice deep and full of promise.

  “Well, it could be that adorable produce boy at the store or that sexy male waiter at—”

  Josh pinched her nipple hard, making her squeak.

  “Was that bad of me?” she asked playfully. “Will you punish me now?”

  Josh’s chuckle was both sexy and wicked, which made the tingles simmering under her skin begin anew.

  “Have I created a monster?” he whispered as he let go of her breast and feathered his palm lower.

  Jennifer held her breath as his fingers moved between her legs and smoothed over her pussy lips in a sensual caress that quickly had her panting for more.

  “Just…uh…just trying to…” Josh separated her labia and slid his fingers through her cream.

  “No punishment this morning,” he said softly as he lifted her leg over his and pushed the head of his cock into her wet channel. “Just sex.”

  Jennifer moaned as he gently pushed into her tight passage. She felt tighter than last night and wondered if maybe she was a little swollen, but that thought soon faded as the sensation of him filling her shoved out what was left of her wayward thoughts.

  “I like sex,” she whispered as he began a slow assault on her pussy as well as her senses. “Oh, I definitely like sex.”

  Josh kissed her neck, and she sighed. God, this felt so good. She could wake up like this every morning for the rest of her life. If he would only stay with her. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him—to beg him—to stay, to make this farmhouse his home along with her, but instead she bit down on her tongue and winced.

  Josh whispered, “Shh,” in her ear, and she closed her eyes tight against the tears that threatened to spill.

  Sharp tingles sparked along her spine, and she sucked in a breath. Josh hissed softly, and she assumed he felt them too and tried to concentrate on keeping them more under control.

  How had she allowed herself to fall in love with him, especially after he’d made sure to tell her this wouldn’t be permanent? She’d accepted it. Agreed with him, even. She didn’t have a future and had no right to ask him to give up his just so she could have sex like this every day. It wasn’t fair to him.

  Josh took her hand and lowered it to her pussy. Cream coated her fingers as he placed them against the base of his cock. She felt him moving in and out of her. She wished she could see it.

  The rolled end of the condom caught her finger, and she wondered what it would be like to feel him inside her just once without it. She imagined a child with his smile and eyes, his teasing, easygoing personality.

  This time, a tear slipped free. She should never have a child. She would be terrified. What if they found her again? What would happen to that child?

  Josh moved her fingers to her clit, and she shuddered at the feel of both their fingers slowly massaging the hard nub.

  “Josh,” she whimpered.

  Would he make her hold off this time? She wasn’t sure she could even if she wanted to. She felt it building from deep inside, taking everything she had bottled up and letting it loose.

  “That’s it, sweetheart,” Josh whispered. “Let me feel those walls suck at my cock as you come all over it.”

  Those words were the final straw. Josh pinched her clit between their fingers, and she exploded like a rocket, screaming as every pulse seemed to shoot out of her like a fountain of sparks.

  She heard Josh curse in her ear, and then he shoved deep as he shouted out his own pleasure. Even though the sex was so different from the other times, the release was just as sweet if not more so. She’d never felt anything like it.

  Josh kept his cock inside her as he cradled her back against his chest. “Talk to me, Jenn,” he whispered. “Why the tears?”

  She tensed, shocked that he’d actually known. She sniffed and shook her head. “Don’t make me talk about this. Please.”

  JOSH FELT A tightening his chest. He had a feeling he knew what the tears had been about. As her Dom, he should force her to talk about her fears or her wants, but the realist in him decided not to push.

  He’d spent half the night thinking about them, about how they could make this work.

  Would he be happy to quit his job? Could she live with him if he didn’t? Would he eventually run her off like he had the other women in his life? The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but neither of them would get out of this unscathed.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispered and kissed her temple.

  She snuggled closer to his chest and wiggled her hips. Josh pushed his cock deeper, and her moan sent a tingle along his spine. She’d gotten much better control over her abilities, but it still hadn’t stopped the weird fiery tingles that sparked along his cock as he came. It was the oddest damn feeling, but at the same time, it intensified his orgasm and made the top of his head feel like it was shooting off.

  He sighed and kissed the back of her shoulder. He wished they could stay here just like this for the rest of the morning. Unfortunately, they had work they needed to do. He wanted to help her get as much stuff done to the house as he could before he left.

  Which meant they needed to lay off the sex for a few hours.r />
  His phone beeped, indicating an incoming text. With another tired sigh, he pulled free of her warm pussy and rolled away so he could grab his phone.

  He glanced at the screen and read the text from Nathan.

  Jennifer rolled to her back and stared over at him. “Anything important?” she asked.

  “Nathan says we’re doing Skype at ten this morning.” He grinned. “So that means we have two hours to get our showers and get something to eat before he calls.”

  Jennifer frowned. “I don’t have the Internet here.”

  “I have one of those Mi-Fi devices, so we’re good.”

  “Oh.”

  Her brow creased, and Josh rolled to his side. Resting his head on his palm, he stared down at her. “You wouldn’t be looking for reasons not to do this, would you?” She bit her lip, and Josh used his thumb to pull it free. “Jennifer,” he said, expecting her to answer.

  “I remember so little,” she argued.

  “You might be surprised how much comes back once you start talking about it.”

  “But what if it doesn’t?”

  “Maybe Nathan can pick something up.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

  “Nathan is an empath, remember? Sometimes he can…get impressions or see things when he talks to people.”

  She pushed up on her elbow as she turned to face him. “Really?”

  “Like I said before…it’s a regular world of X-Men out there.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Now, go shower before I end up pushing you to your back and fucking you again.”

  She grinned. “Well, we do have a couple of hours.”

  “Jenn!” he yelled in amused exasperation.

  Laughing softly, she rolled away and threw the covers off. Just for the hell of it, he leaned over and swatted her ass hard enough to leave a handprint. She yelped and rubbed her behind, mumbling as she left the room, “Damn sadist.”

  “I’m not a sadist,” he called after her.

  “My ass would disagree.”

  He fell back with a chuckle. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled this much. Spending time with her seemed to melt away all his stress and left him happy. His smile faded. He had to find a way to get her free of this situation. Somehow. Then maybe he could think about a future. In the meantime, he would keep his mind in the present and his heart tucked away.

  “Yeah…that’s going to be easy,” he murmured sarcastically toward the ceiling.

  * * * *

  Jennifer found Josh at the kitchen table, setting up his mobile hot spot. He wore jeans this morning with a brick-colored corduroy shirt that was open down the front. He probably wore a T-shirt underneath, but because of the way he was sitting, she couldn’t see what color it was.

  Truthfully, it didn’t matter. Josh looked good in almost anything he wore—at least to her anyway.

  He glanced up at her before turning back to the prompts on the screen. From what she could see, Josh took his computer security very seriously.

  “Morning, sweetheart. There’s coffee if you want it and some cinnamon rolls in the oven,” he said as he typed a password into his computer.

  “You’ve been busy this morning,” she replied as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

  “Nothing like a good fuck to get you energized.”

  Jennifer flicked the back of his head before turning to open the oven door and drag out the pan of rolls. “That’s just wrong.”

  Josh laughed but didn’t disagree.

  “Would you like one?” she asked.

  “Yeah. Hand me a couple.”

  She passed him three on a paper towel along with a couple of napkins, then took some for herself before heading to the table to join him.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked, watching her closely.

  She lifted a roll and studied it. “A little. I’m still not sure how much I remember about them or if what I remember is even correct.”

  “No harm in trying, right?”

  She shrugged and took a bite of the sweet roll. The icing melted on her tongue, and she sighed, trying to focus on her food instead of the growing knot of nerves in her stomach. Were they doing the right thing?

  “It’s going to be fine, Jenn,” Josh tried to reassure her.

  Jennifer frowned. “Are you an empath now?”

  Josh’s lips twitched adorably, a sure sign that something sarcastic was about to come out of his very sexy mouth. “No. I’m the plucky sidekick, Big Dick.”

  “Oh my God,” Jennifer yelled as she busted out in laughter. Leave it to Josh to pull a smile out of her even when her nerves had her practically shaking.

  Josh’s computer beeped, indicating an incoming Skype call. “Hey, Nate. How’s it going?” Josh said in an overly chipper voice.

  He pushed the screen back a little so Jennifer could see as well. A very handsome man with dark, shaggy waves, a thick covering of morning stubble along his jaw, and eyes the color of whiskey lifted his middle finger and pushed the reading glasses up the bridge of his nose. Jennifer snickered around her sip of coffee.

  “Just fine, Joshy,” Nathan drawled in a deep voice that Jennifer imagined would flow over a woman like warm honey.

  Josh and Nathan shared a grin before Nathan turned his attention to her. “Hello, Jennifer. I’m Nathan. Are you ready?”

  She swallowed her coffee and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  He stood from his chair and allowed another man to sit down. “Josh, I’m sure you remember Mike Tremer.”

  Mike waved, and Josh waved back. “Hey, Mike. Thanks for doing this on such short notice.”

  “Not a problem.” Mike pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “I owed the big guy one.”

  Josh snorted. “Don’t we all?”

  Mike opened his sketch pad and grabbed a pencil. “Okay, Jennifer. Tell me what you remember.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Jennifer started with what she could remember: older man, white hair, beard. What she had trouble with were the small details. The shape of his eyes or nose. How big his forehead was.

  Nathan squatted down next to Mike’s chair. “Close your eyes, Jennifer.”

  Jennifer glanced toward Josh, who nodded in encouragement. Licking her lips nervously, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of Nathan’s voice.

  “Are you going to hypnotize me?” she asked.

  “No, sweetheart,” Nathan replied in a soothing voice that quickly put her at ease. “I just need you to relax and concentrate.”

  She nodded but kept her eyes closed.

  “Think back to the first time you saw him. What do you remember?”

  “I remember feeling groggy, slightly nauseated He was kind to me. He tried to help me relax. He was angry with someone. He…uh…he had a scar over his left eye, just above his eyebrow. It wasn’t long but jagged. His lips were thin. His beard covered his jaw, so it was hard to tell the shape.”

  “What did the beard look like? Was it more stubble like mine, or was it thick? Maybe long?” Nathan asked.

  Jennifer frowned as she tried to remember. Shaking her head, she sighed in frustration.

  “Don’t get frustrated, Jennifer,” Nathan said softly. “Just keep concentrating.”

  Jennifer tried to remember, but images began to blur together, confusing her. She’d been too drugged at the time to remember clearly.

  “Do you recall any names?” Nathan asked.

  “No. All I ever heard anyone called was doctor.”

  Nathan murmured something, and she opened her eyes to see him and the artist going over the sketch, neither paying attention to her anymore. Instead, it was now Nathan giving the instructions. Nathan’s brow creased into a frown as he grabbed the sketch and turned it to face her. She gasped at the man staring back.

  “Is this him?” Nathan asked.

  She stared in awe at the drawing. “How did you…?”

  Nathan set the drawing down and stood. He tapped his finger
against the paper. “I think I know this man.”

  “What?” Josh and Jennifer exclaimed at the same time.

  “He’s a neurologist. Last I heard, he was working on a project for the military that dealt with telekinesis.”

  “I was kidnapped by my own government?” she yelled.

  Nathan held up a hand. “Not necessarily. If I remember right, that project partnered with a drug corporation. Were you given drugs while they had you?”

  Jennifer nodded.

  “Do you know what kind?”

  “No,” she replied.

  “Josh, overnight me a hair sample. I’ll get it tested and see if there’s anything left. If it’s been less than six months, there should be. In the meantime, stay put until I tell you. I’m going to see if I can track this guy down and find out if this project is still in the works.”

  “He was only there in the beginning,” she said. “I believe they hid me from him.”

  Nathan nodded. “He could be the threat I’m sensing. It’s possible he’s still trying to find you. I’ll know when I find him.”

  Josh reached under the table and grabbed Jennifer’s hand, giving it a squeeze. The contact helped to calm her and made her feel safe.

  “Keep me informed,” Josh said.

  “Will do, and that package you requested should be arriving anytime.”

  Jennifer raised an eyebrow. “What package?”

  Nathan grinned wickedly. “Have fun.”

  Josh snickered as he cut off the connection.

  “What package?” she asked again.

  Josh stood and walked over to the pot to pour another cup of coffee. “It’s a surprise” was all he said.

  Jennifer frowned. “I hate surprises.”

  “You’ll like this one,” he said as he walked past her and tapped her nose briefly with the tip of his finger. He stopped and studied her as he ran a finger through her hair, separating a few strands. “I need a strand of hair, sweetheart. Deep breath.” He tugged one out, and she winced. “All done. I’ll get this out to Nathan when the UPS guy delivers my stuff.”

  “Okay. So what do we do while we wait?” she asked as she rubbed at the spot where he’d pulled her hair.