by Kim Linwood
“Put it down, Nora. You're not going to shoot me.”
“I will if you won’t answer my questions.”
“I’ll give you all the answers you want, but not like this.” With practiced ease, I move.
Rolling right, I shove her gun left, quickly twisting the Glock out of her grip. It falls to the floor and I kick it away. Academy training is no match for years of experience in a war zone.
Nora snarls as I continue my motion, spinning around to her back. I have her arms pinned behind her with one hand, and my other arm across her chest, holding her in place against me. She struggles and I tighten my hold. It would be completely inappropriate to find this sexy, so of course my cock decides it likes this kind of wrestling. I can tell the second she feels my reaction, because her body goes still and she draws in a quick breath.
But Nora isn’t the lie down and play dead type. Her foot comes down hard on my instep.
“Ow! Fuck! Stop that!” That would’ve been more effective if she’d been wearing shoes.
“Are you kidding me?” Nora renews her squirming. “Let me go!”
I don’t budge. Have I lost her? “You were so sure I was one of the good guys.”
“Yeah, well. I was an idiot,” she spits. “Unless you have a good explanation for being linked to the same people who want the alderman dead.”
“Linked? Linked how, exactly?” Fuck. Fuckfuckfuck.
I take the arm from her chest and pull a length of nylon rope out of my jacket. Unfurling it with a flick of my wrist, I make short work of binding her arms quickly together. There, loose end tied up. All she needs is a bow.
“What the hell are you doing?” she asks, tossing her soft hair around to get it out of her eyes as I march her over to her bed.
“Bad guy, remember? We do stuff like this.” I smile. “Now about that link—”
“They called your freakin’ phone, Payne. I saw it with my own eyes, and heard that guy’s voice! If you aren’t undercover, then go on, explain that away.”
“You were on my phone?” I throw her on the bed where she lands on her stomach with a whoosh of air. She tries to roll, but I sit on her legs with a hand on her back to keep her in place while I think.
She growls and tries—unsuccessfully—to push me off. It’s cute. “Yeah, so sorry, but is that really the big issue we’re going to focus on here?”
“Wait a second.” I tap a finger on her back. “I’m still adjusting to the betrayal.”
Nora gives up trying to overpower me and looks over her shoulder. I can’t tell if she’s about to laugh or cry. “You’re crazy.”
“No. I’ve been through extensive evaluation, trust me. I am many things, but crazy isn’t one of them. Not to mention that ‘crazy’ is an inexact and frankly outdated term.” I shake my head and get back on track. “But back to the whole linked issue, is this something you brought to the attention of your superiors?”
Her eyes go wide. “Yes. Yes, of course. I wrote like… ten emails. At least.”
“Yeah, right.” I relax a little, seeing through her hasty insistence. I don’t blame her for trying to play me. I’d do the same.
This is doable. She’s already given me the benefit of the doubt once.
I just have to convince her to do it again. Fast.
28
Nora
“Okay, look.” I take a deep breath and force myself to relax. No matter who or what Payne is, he doesn’t seem to be trying to hurt me. “Maybe I jumped to conclusions.”
“You think?” Payne almost sounds hurt, but mostly just annoyed.
My gun peeks out from under the corner of the bed. There’s no way I can reach it with all two-hundred some odd pounds of man on my legs and my hands tied behind my back, but if I can convince him he’s winning me over, I might have a chance.
“In my defense, you have this whole… wounded hero thing going on. If this was one of my books, you’d either be the tough-as-nails FBI agent with the heart of gold, or the tortured hitman, rediscovering his humanity with the help of my magical vagina.” Is my shirt pulled up on the side? I wiggle a little to try and make my side-boob more obvious. Guys never seem to think straight when that happens.
Payne jerks like I landed a hit. “This isn’t a book.”
“Trust me, I know. If my vagina really was magical, I’d be shooting lasers at you right now.”
He spanks me. “That might work better if I wasn’t sitting on your ass.”
“Oh my God! Ass-lasers then! Either tell me what’s going on, or get the hell out of here already. It’s not like I’m exactly dangerous.” I let my body go limp, and sniffle a little, turning my head away so he can’t see my face.
“Nora, I—” Payne slides off my legs, pushing me to the side and starts to lean forwards.
Five, four, three…
I flip to my back and head butt him in the chin.
“Fuck!” we shout in tandem.
Holy shit, that hurts a lot more than it looks like it does in the movies. I blink away the stars and try to draw my legs up to kick him away, but he recovers too quickly. This time when he pins me to the bed, I’m on my back and he has me completely covered.
“It wasn’t supposed to go like this,” he growls.
“Like what? Kinky WrestleMania?” I try to throw him off but it’s like trying to move a boulder. A big, muscled boulder that smells really good.
“Like this! Look,”—Payne glares down at me, black hair falling over his forehead—“I’m not a nice guy, and if you’d shot me, I’d probably have deserved it, but right now we’re both in deep shit and Chicago is not the place to be if we want to keep breathing. Hate me all you want, but I’m getting you out of here.”
He’s telling the truth, or at least believes he is. The knowledge settles uncomfortably in my gut. When the alderman’s FBI contact called me about the shooting, he told me to lie low and wait for them to get in touch. I’m a nobody, but apparently, because of my connection to the alderman, I could be in trouble too.
Up until last night, I honestly believed Payne was a part of their team.
Now I have no idea who he is, but it doesn’t look good. Three people are dead and the alderman’s in protective custody. When I heard a key turn in my lock, I’d gone into survival mode because I knew trouble had found me.
I just wasn’t expecting it to be him.
“Did you kill them?” I whisper, watching his face for any sign of guilt or denial.
For a long moment, Payne watches me right back. His eyes are like cool green pools, unreadable. “Yes.”
That one little word stabs into my heart, even more painful than the throbbing in my forehead. “Why?”
“Because they wanted to hurt you.” He shrugs just a little.
“You… you did it for me?”
Three men are dead.
Mobsters, my brain reminds me.
“No, I did it for me, because they were going to hurt you and I was in a position to make that not happen. I knew you wouldn’t have wanted me to shoot them.”
“But you did it anyway, and you knew their plans because…?”
He looks away. “In the context of other business I had with them, it came up.”
The weight of that business hangs between us unsaid. The kind of business where he has Mafia connections who’d bring up things like that in casual conversation.
I squeeze my eyes for a second, trying to distract myself from how close he is, and desperately wanting to take back the last twenty-four hours. Before our fight, before the shootings, before whatever the hell this is. “Why couldn’t you have just been a photographer?”
Payne’s face softens. “Could you love a photographer?”
“I thought I did.”
He leans forwards.
I’m not going to kiss him.
His lips come closer.
Not going to happen. Never again.
He shifts, one of his legs falling between mine, and his fingers slipping into my
hair. His mouth brushes mine, and I feel the tingle all the way to my toes.
Just once to say goodbye.
29
Nora
I strain upwards, tipping my head to give him better access, and sighing softly as his tongue brushes mine. I could blame it on Stockholm Syndrome, but I think that takes more than twenty minutes to kick in.
Never in my life have I thought bondage was anything more than rope burn waiting to happen, but pinned to my bed with my arms tied behind my back, the reasons for why I’m in this position fade into the background. All I know is that he has total control of my body, and if I’m never going to see him again, I want this one last memory to be worth the heartache. I know it’s wrong, but Payne’s mouth is at my throat and the rough calluses on his fingers are teasing their way up my sides, taking my t-shirt with them.
“Tell me you had to do it,” I gasp.
“No.”
“Then don’t tell me anything.”
He sucks one of my taut nipples into his mouth, and my back arches in response. His tongue flicks the tip while his teeth dig in behind it, making me growl.
This thing between us is wild. Animalistic, like we’re in heat. He brings out a side of me I never let myself explore, that part that wants to let loose, but has always been held in check because a woman in my field is under twice as much scrutiny as a man.
Well, fuck that.
Payne tears off his coat and throws it aside, then his hands go straight to his belt, working it open. From below, I watch him hungrily, eager for him to come back to me.
He puts one large hand on my stomach, holding me in place so he can tear off my pajama bottoms. I lift my hips to help.
He’s fully dressed, boots and all, but I’m naked aside from the soft cotton t-shirt that’s pushed up over my breasts, and that’s not going anywhere unless he unties me. Briefly, I test my bonds, but they’re solid.
Abs tight, I try to pull myself into a sitting position to get closer to him, but he pushes back, holding me to the bed. “Fuck, even tied up you can’t stay still.”
“Then stop making me wait.”
His eyes go dark with lust and he slaps one hand down beside my head, the other going straight between my legs to cup me. One finger slides between my folds, unleashing the slick moisture trapped by my eager body. “I’m calling the shots here,” Payne growls into my ear, removing his hand to prove his point.
“If you’re looking for an obedient little sidekick, keep looking,” I growl right back.
“Naughty, naughty.” He stands, and slipping his belt off, looks down at me with an intensity that steals my breath away.
The first slap of cool leather hits the bottom of my feet. The second taps the side of my breast. Over and over, back and forth, he warms my naked skin in short, controlled snaps that startle more than they hurt.
My whole body burns from the inside out. I close my eyes and revel in the tiny bursts of sharp pleasure that have me buzzing. “Payne, please,” I beg, unsure what it is that I want most, because right now I want it all.
His hand clasps gently over my throat, then slides over my breasts, rubbing against my nipples before continuing down to rest between my shivering thighs. “You look so fucking hot right now.”
“Enough talk!” My hips rise, seeking the contact he keeps denying me.
Payne’s lips curl up on one side in a smug grin. “You want my cock?”
With speed and strength that’s nearly as terrifying as it is impressive, he flips me onto my stomach and hauls my legs up beneath me so my chest rests on the mattress and my ass is in the air. He pushes apart my thighs, opening me to him. I whimper at the soft tickle of his breath on my sex.
“What are you—”
“Ssh, just obey.”
Who is this man taking me in my bed?
My lover. My tormentor.
He draws his broad tongue through my folds, and if I wasn't locked in place, I’d launch right off the bed.
Oh. My. God.
He does it again. Sucking my needy little clit into his mouth and teasing me with light brushes of his fingers over my thighs while his tongue works its magic.
No one’s ever tied me up during sex, and being forced to accept whatever he wants to do drives me crazy, in more ways than one. My head swims with excitement while my slick center aches to be filled.
One of his hands reaches forwards and plays with my breasts, squeezing, stroking and making me moan for more. I barely recognize the sounds that come from my throat.
His mouth pulls away, followed by the scratch of a zipper being pulled down and the rustle of clothes.
Finally.
The bed sags as Payne climbs behind me. Twisting my head on the sheets to see as well as I can, I’m disappointed to find him still mostly dressed.
But the most important part is exposed and the disappointment vanishes as soon as the head of his cock nestles between my folds. I groan, pushing back but unable to capture him. He sucks in a harsh breath and lets it out in a low chuckle.
“Tempting, so tempting. You have no idea how much I want to feel you skin on skin.”
Oh, shit.
I try really hard to care, but right this second, if he took me like this I’d throw caution to the wind and beg for more.
He slaps his cock against me, and then reaches between us to hold it tight to my body, not entering, but pressing his length against me so he pokes out between my legs. “Ride me,” he whispers, voice like gravel.
From the first tiny move of my hips, I forget to be self-conscious. Waves of heat flare up in my core and wash over my entire body. Our combined juices make it a slick, hot ride, his rigid cock smooth yet bumpy in all the right places. I grind my clit against the head, tempted to shift and impale myself. It would take so little.
I press my cheek against the bed, arching my back and shaking with the strain. My orgasm twists and turns, always just out of reach. I’d reach between my legs to finish myself off if I could, but the ropes don’t budge any more than they did when we started.
Payne wraps his free arm around my chest and pulls me up. I’m grinding shamelessly on his cock, my breasts swaying in the cold air of my bedroom, but feeling none of the chill.
“Payne, I… I need…” I’m not even sure what I need, just that he can give it to me.
“I know,” he soothes. “But first I want to feel you come all over my cock.”
The words undo me. I buck against his hold, moaning and crying as I fall to pieces. Tears escape the corners of my eyes, leaving wet tracks down my cheeks. He’s breathing as hard as I am, and I can feel his heart beating wildly through his shirt. My own heart is ripped bare, vulnerable and bleeding in a killer’s hands.
When my breathing finally slows, he eases me back onto the bed. He tugs and the ropes around my forearms loosen, slipping from my wrists. A little alarm goes off in my head. Move now! Grab the gun and stop this.
Payne rubs my wrists while I turn over to my back. I don’t know what he sees in my eyes, but his shoulders tense. Who am I kidding? I’m not running now.
I pull off my shirt and fling it to the floor. “You are seriously overdressed.”
“You think?” A relieved grin spreads across his face. “The way I see it, something’s missing.”
He reaches into my bedside table and pulls a condom out of the drawer. His glistening cock bounces out of his pants that are pulled down just far enough to give access. My face warms when I get why it’s so wet.
Licking my lips, I swallow and watch as he rolls the condom over all of that beautiful, hard flesh. “What do you think you're doing with that?” My voice is low and husky.
“I think this is more of a show than a tell.” He settles between my legs. I run my nails up his chest under his shirt and pull him to me. The soft but insistent press of him is sharply contrasted to the rough feel of his denim against my thighs. I raise my hips, hoping that finally this time I’ll get what I want.
“Look at me
,” he orders. Our eyes meet, and the tip of him slips between my folds.
Need burns me up inside. Need for Payne, need for what he can do. What he will do if he knows what's good for him. “Fuck me. Please. Just fuck me.”
He smiles and slides forwards, sinking all the way in one smooth, wonderful, delicious motion. I’m so ready that his size feels perfect, stretching and pressing exactly where I need him.
Earlier I could I claim I was just swept up in the moment. Emotions were running high and it wasn’t so surprising that it turned sexual, but now? Now is different.
Payne hovers over me, his powerful arm holding him over me as he thrusts. Slow and long at first, rolling his hips with every deliberate stroke and leaving me desperate to get him back every time he pulls away.
Our lips meet and his tongue slips into my mouth. I melt against him, my mind blowing as I eagerly taste him.
This isn’t fucking.
It’s making love, and it scares the hell out of me, because he’s a killer and I’m a cop and this sort of thing isn’t supposed to happen. Where the hell do we go from here?
My legs wrap around his hips, and I dig my nails into his back. Slow turns fast, his hips pounding into me with a ferocity that makes my toes curl and sparks the still smoldering embers of my last orgasm.
His lips soft and insistent against mine, and his huge cock working me, I don’t have a chance. I explode, coming around him so hard it hurts. I groan into his mouth and then throw my head back and scream as my world turns white with pleasure.
Payne’s shout joins my own as he drives deep one last time to fill me completely.
For what seems like forever, but still not long enough, we lie together, just breathing and feeling each other's presence. His clothes rub against my skin as he rests on top of me, still buried deep inside. The closely shaved stubble on his chin tickles my neck every time he exhales.
I’m wrapped in the arms of a killer who owns my heart. My voice is an exhausted murmur, “This can’t last. You have to let me go.”
“Never.”
