A Shot in the Dark

by Christine d'Abo

  Ian glanced at Blue Eyes before turning to her. “Are you okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t she be okay?” Rick stepped up flush to the counter and threw a twenty between them. “One coffee. Double, double. You, go talk to your boyfriend.”

  Paige had always hated the way Rick had treated Ian, and her brother was more than ready to get into a fight with anyone who wanted to push matters. She reached up and took Ian’s fist. “Go see to our other customer. I can handle this.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She smiled. “Not like you’re far away.”

  Ian gave Rick one last glare before moving down to talk to Blue Eyes. Paige ignored him to concentrate on the bastard at hand. “Let me get your coffee.”

  The weight of his stare was like an electrical current running up and down her spine. She wanted to scratch her arms to chase away the feeling of bugs beneath her skin but wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her uncomfortable.

  The sugar was swallowed up by the chalk-colored coffee, the best effort she was willing to make for him, letting her know it was done.

  “There you go.” She slid it across the counter. “Anything else?”

  Leaning over to close the distance between them, Rick grinned. “I heard a rumor you’d gone back to the club.”

  Fuck. “Who the hell told you that?”

  “Doesn’t matter. Though she did say you were all alone for a long time. Like you didn’t know what to do with yourself.”

  Paige hadn’t recognized anyone there that night, certainly not anyone from their old crowd. “I was fine.”

  “Yeah, the person said that too.” There was something in Rick’s tone that had Paige paying attention. He lowered his voice and placed his hand over hers. “I heard some asshole took you upstairs. You were gone for a while and when you came back the two of you were smiling and laughing at people. Is that true? You find someone who could pretend to give you what you want?”

  “Shut up. That’s none of your damn business.” She tried to pull her hand away, but he pressed down hard, preventing her escape.

  “No, you listen. I left you alone because you told me you weren’t into pain anymore. That you didn’t need to be spanked and tied up, and ‘please Rick you don’t need to do that anymore. I’m over it.’” His cheeks were red and his eyes were bug wide as he whispered softly enough so no one but Paige would hear. “I don’t care what you think. Your ass still belongs to me.”

  “Let me go.”

  “No.”

  Paige jerked on her hand, but he held her fast. “I said let me go.”

  “I think you better listen to the lady.” Blue Eyes was on his feet and beside Rick before either of them realized. “You’re getting dangerously close to assault.”

  “And I’ll make sure you won’t be using that hand again anytime soon,” Ian said with enough venom to make Paige believe every word.

  Rick glared at them and for once did the smart thing. Lifting his hand, he grabbed his coffee and took a step back. “We can finish this conversation another time.”

  Blue Eyes stepped between them, forcing Rick backward. “See, I also think that is a bad idea. You’re going to leave now and if this nice lady tells me that you’ve been bothering her, then my friends over at the police station are going to take a special interest in you. Understand?”

  Taking a long sip of his coffee, Rick stepped back again, keeping his gaze on Paige. “Sure thing. I have to meet someone anyway. Thanks for the coffee.”

  Blue Eyes walked forward, forcing Rick to leave and keeping her view of her ex thankfully blocked.

  When the door closed, Ian pulled her into a hug. “You okay?”

  The sting of tears was back. Paige burrowed into his arms and tried not to cry. “I will be.”

  When Blue Eyes came back in, the muscles in his jaw and throat were still tense. “I think he’s gone for now. Who the hell was he?”

  “Her ex-asshole.” Ian kissed her temple. “I don’t know why you decided to leave him, but I’d never been happier. What did you ever see in him?”

  “I would tell you, but you said you didn’t want to hear about my sex life.” Paige sniffed as she pulled away.

  Blue Eyes laughed. “She told you.”

  Paige reached across the counter and pulled Blue Eyes in to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

  A grin split his face as he slipped his hands into his pockets. “All in a day’s work.” He turned to face Ian. “Do I get a kiss from you too?”

  “I never kiss on the first date,” Ian said casually. The effect was ruined by the dark blush covering his cheeks.

  “But we haven’t had a date.”

  “I don’t even know your name.” Ian smiled, reaching for a mug. “Let me get you some on the house for defending the honor of an employee of Pulled Long.”

  Blue Eyes kept his gaze on Ian, who turned to make the drink. “I’ll keep that in mind for future payments. Nothing better than free coffee. Your pocket’s buzzing.”

  Paige blinked at him. “What?”

  “Your pocket. Someone’s trying to get in touch with you.”

  Carter. Pulling out the phone, Paige groaned when she realized she’d missed seven texts from him.

  Jason put hemorrhoid cream in Scott’s socks. Entertaining party. When will u b home?

  Paige?

  Customer?

  We can do burgers tmrow if u want?

  I might make u do naughty things to earn yr supper. Crawl across the floor naked.

  I keep thinking about yr red ass and how good yr pussy tasted. Want more.

  U there?

  Her hands shook as she ran her thumb across the display. “Ian, I’m going out back for a few.”

  “Go ahead. I’ve got things covered.”

  The air in the kitchen still smelled of the cookies Sadie had made early that day. It gave the illusion of warmth and safety, that life was simple and uncomplicated and the man she’d thought loved her wasn’t back in her life. Without thinking too hard, Paige pressed Carter’s number, nerves making her breathing shaky as the phone rang.

  “Hey.” His low voice warmed her, chasing away some of the darkness. “You on a break?”

  “Hey. Yeah, I needed to get some air.”

  “What’s wrong?” The certainty in his voice left no room for her to argue.

  She sat on the stool and tried to find the words. Nothing seemed adequate enough to describe the hell her emotions were churning up. “Remember you asked me why I left the clubs and didn’t do scenes anymore? Well, he showed up today.”

  “Are you at the store?”

  “Yes, but—”

  “Is Ian or Sadie with you?”

  “Ian’s here, a customer too.”

  “Don’t move. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Thirty tops.”

  “Carter, you don’t have—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence. Thirty minutes and I’ll be there. Then we can talk.”

  The dial tone sounded before she had a chance to argue further. Okay, the reason she’d called him was more for the comfort factor than anything, and wasn’t that screwed up seeing as she’d only known him for a short time. Still, he was coming, and knowing that helped her ease up on her panic.

  The baking smells and the soft laughter of Ian and Blue Eyes helped her spin down enough so she was no longer nauseated. Rick wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t do anything to hurt her with the guys around. And while he could probably figure out where she lived, she’d long ago had monitored security installed. She still had her phone unlisted, which would mean he couldn’t get to her that way.

  Paige pressed her thumb to her wrist until her nail cut into the sensitive skin. The small burst of pain was enough to help center her mind. Closing her eyes and pulling her legs up, she sat precariously on the small stool and let her mind wander as she ran through the meditation techniques she’d learned.

  Time melted, and it wasn’t until the door to the kitchen was pushed open that she re
alized she’d slipped out of reality and into her own head. When she opened her eyes, Carter stood there, his hands on his hips, staring at her with an odd expression on his face. He was wearing a T-shirt and jeans despite the coolness in the air.

  “Hi.” She tried to let her feet fall to the floor, but she’d lost the feeling in her legs. “Mind giving me a hand?”

  Carter moved to her side and slipped an arm around her waist. The smell of sun and beer clung to him. “Go slow.”

  The sting from the pins and needles returning had her sucking in a breath, fighting against the chewing sensation. “God, I hate this.”

  “Then you shouldn’t sit that way.”

  “It was that or beat my head against a wall. I figured this would be less painful for everyone.”

  Carter chuckled. “Let me know when you can walk again.”

  Paige put her hand over his, holding him in place, and leaned into his side. She’d missed the comfort his physical presence offered, even if they were in constant communication via text messaging. With the life coming back to her extremities, she looked up and shrugged.

  “I could go for that burger right now.”

  The scowl on his face told her the distraction wasn’t going to work for long, but for the moment he didn’t push.

  “Can Ian do without you?”

  “He’s a bit distracted at the moment, but I think he’ll be fine.”

  “The guy at the counter seems pretty taken with him.”

  “If Ian doesn’t ask him out soon I think Blue Eyes will. I don’t know why they’ve been playing this game for as long as they have.”

  “Probably for the same reason you’re not telling me about Mr. Asshole who showed up and freaked you out. They are scared of the consequences.”

  Paige didn’t like to think of herself as being scared of anything, but in this instance she couldn’t argue with him. “We can go to my place. Only if you want.” While the last thing she would normally do was to bring someone back to her place, knowing Carter was there in case Rick decided to show up was a comfort in itself. “I’ll buy the burgers.”

  “I have beer in the car.”

  Paige told Ian she was leaving. “Sadie said she could come in if you need her.”

  Ian gave Carter the once-over. She knew he didn’t know what to make of the fireman yet, but his reaction was already better than it had ever been toward Rick. “No problem. We’re pretty quiet here today.”

  Blue Eyes remained surprisingly silent for once, though he did nod at Carter.

  The entire way from the store to his truck, Carter had an arm around her waist or a hand on her shoulder. The constant physical contact was enough to help keep her from frantically looking around to see if Rick was watching. Not that she had any illusions about him coming to find her again, but he would think twice about it with Carter present.

  They rode most of the way to the burger joint in silence, and Carter only filled her in on a few of the details about the happy-to-be-a-single-guy party he’d been attending. “It was sad how what we all wanted was a girl to go home to.”

  “They should go out more.”

  “That’s what I said, but I wasn’t about to tell them where.” He changed lanes and pulled down the side street leading to her house. “I don’t think any of them could handle going to a place like Mavericks.”

  Paige smiled and twisted her hair around her finger. “They don’t know about your preferences?”

  “They think I’m an overbearing jerk and they can’t figure out why any woman in the world would be interested in me.”

  “I can name a few reasons.”

  “Then I might bring you down to the station house and you can let them know personally. Use inches and diameter if you need to.”

  That had her laughing. “Next left. Third house on the right.”

  The burgers were still warm when she tossed the bag on the kitchen counter. Carter followed her right in and didn’t even check her place out. It was nice to know he respected her privacy as much as he did her body.

  “I can give you the fifty-cent tour later on if you want.”

  “Food first, tour later. I missed out on the steak.”

  They slipped into easy conversation as they ate. Paige kept her focus on his face for as much of the conversation as she could. Carter’s blond hair was messier today and his clothing more casual than she’d ever seen him in before. He wasn’t at all self-conscious about anything, and his easygoing nature wrapped around her and helped her relax.

  It was only once they’d cleared the dishes away and they’d opened up their third beer that he pulled her over to the couch and turned her to him. “Are you going to tell me what happened earlier, or am I going to have to make it a command?”

  There was no malice. Paige knew he was trying to appeal to all aspects of her nature—the woman and the submissive. He would do whatever she needed to make this easier.

  She slipped to the floor by the couch, spread her thighs and bowed her head. “If you don’t mind, Sir.”

  The silence stretched on for several moments before he set the beer bottle on the side table with a soft thunk. “Paige, who showed up today?”

  She licked her lips. “Rick.”

  “And who is Rick to you?”

  “He is…was my Master.”

  “Your…what?”

  She took a breath. “He told me to refer to him as my Master. He was my first serious partner and Dom when I was young and naïve about the lifestyle. At the time, I didn’t understand there was a difference between being submissive and being a slave. Pain for pleasure, instead of pain for…” She shrugged.

  Carter’s fist tightened where it rested on his thigh. “Did he ever cross the line with you?”

  She snapped her head up. “I didn’t even know there was a line. I figured being submissive meant I had to take everything he dished out. I liked pain, but he didn’t always know when to back down.”

  “Did you safe word out a lot with him?”

  “I didn’t know what that was until over a year of us being together. By then, it didn’t seem important. He wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.”

  The muscle in Carter’s jaw twitched and his breathing grew shallow. “What happened? You left him?”

  She nodded. “I came home late from the office one night. Everything we ever did was normally easy to conceal. The marks from the flogger, the riding crop, his belt, they were all on my back or ass. But when I was late…”

  The events of that evening weren’t as clear as she would have liked. The nurse at the hospital had told her it wasn’t uncommon for head injuries to cause problems with the victim’s memory. The woman had tried to get Paige to admit she was being abused, but she couldn’t come to terms with it to admit the truth. She’d asked for the pain, got off on it, yet Rick never knew when enough was enough.

  She hadn’t left him that night. It had taken her two weeks to build up enough nerve to get her things and get safe.

  None of this could she adequately put into words to tell Carter. She knew he’d react the way Ian would if she’d ever told him. Shit, the only person who knew the truth was Sadie, and she’d been ready to set fire to Rick in his sleep.

  “You were late?” Carter relaxed his hand and laid it flat on his thigh. Paige wasn’t fooled into thinking he wasn’t still furious.

  All she could do was tell him what she remembered as plainly as possible. “I was late and it had ruined Rick’s plans. He’d had tickets to something and we weren’t going to be able to make it. He punched the back of my head and knocked me out.”

  Carter somehow stiffened more. “I’ll kill him.”

  “You’ll go nowhere near him. Rick has been out of my life for a long time now. I’m a different woman from the girl I was when I was with him. I know more about the lifestyle. I know what my rights are, what I like and what I don’t like. I have a voice and I’m not afraid to use it. I’m not weak.”

  “No, you’re not. But you�
�re not over this either.” Leaning down, Carter framed her face with his hands and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “If you were, going to Mavericks wouldn’t have been as traumatic for you.”

  “I was scared he would find out I was getting back into it and would show up.” She chuckled, the sick feeling in her stomach threatening to come back. “Guess I was right.”

  “He won’t lay a finger on you.”

  In that moment, Paige believed Carter was capable of doing bad things to a person.

  “I swear I’ll do everything I can, talk to everyone I know to make sure you can go wherever you want without this fucker bothering you.”

  Normally, such a statement Paige would either brush off as being optimistic or foolhardy. But by the combination of absolute belief and the quiet steel in his personality, Paige knew Carter could live up to every single promise he made her.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  The kiss came out of nowhere. One moment they were staring at each other, and the next he had her pulled against his chest, his mouth devouring hers. Her body ignited as his hands roamed down her back to cup her ass and pull her onto his lap. Carter shifted to kiss a path across her jaw to her throat and down until he reached her collarbone, where he nipped her.

  “I swear no one will touch you.” He licked the hollow of her throat and cupped her breast. “You can walk out of my life tomorrow and I’ll still make sure no one ever hurts you again.” He pulled back, brushing his nose against hers. “Let me prove it to you?”

  “Okay, okay, yes.”

  Chapter Six

  Paige didn’t know what Carter had in mind when he carried her to the bedroom. She couldn’t speak, even to give him directions, leaving him to push every door open with his foot until he found the right one. When he dropped her on the bed he pointed at her.

  “Stay.”

  There wasn’t the malice she’d grown used to over the years, a simple command and the promise of pleasure. Paige let her head fall back against the mattress as he moved around the room. Scarves she hardly ever wore were scooped up from their home in her closet to be deposited beside her on the bed.

  “Safe word?”