I couldn't see him. My neck and wrists stuck out through holes in the wooden rack. My rear thrust out in the opposite direction. He'd fastened some kind of bar between my ankles to keep my legs spread. Every so often he stopped beating me. Then he slipped his fingers into my soaked pussy or wriggled the dildo he had stuffed into my rear hole.
I lost count of how many times I came.
I could still taste Ajarn's juices on my lips. That was so strange. I've never liked girls, but when Sam ordered me to lick Ajarn, I really wanted to. I loved it. She did, too. I could tell. It gave me a funny kind of power over her, in a way – the idea that I could make her come.
Was she watching us? No – no, something odd was going on. She slumped in the chair like she was asleep. Not like Ajarn at all.
And some people were bustling around her – an older Thai man and a naked girl about my age – talking to her, slapping her face, trying to pick her up...
Something was wrong. Keep your eyes open, Ajarn had told me. The murderer might belong to this club. I shivered. Suddenly I wasn't turned on anymore.
"Stop!" I called out to Sam. He ignored me. "Stop right now!"
He paused and came around where he could see my face. "Do you remember your safeword?"
Safeword? Oh right. He'd told me it was a signal, if I had enough. If I couldn't bear the pain or I wanted to stop. Otherwise, he'd keep torturing me, even if I struggled or objected. I almost forgot. I never thought I'd get enough of the things he did to me. "Durian!" I spat at him. "Now let me go."
"Okay, okay." He fiddled with the clasps that held the two halves of the rack closed.
"What they do to Ajarn?" He helped me stand. I reached behind me, plucked out the thing in my ass and threw it on the ground. My hole clenched around empty space. I felt an echo of my last climax. I ignored it.
"Go find out," I ordered him. He hurried off toward Ajarn's chair. Meanwhile I crouched down to unfasten the cuffs on my ankles.
Sam was talking to the man and the girl. I couldn't hear what they were saying. Everyone looked very serious. Finally I was free. I joined the group.
"Ajarn has lost consciousness. We think that maybe she had a stroke."
Oh no. "You call ambulance already?" I was still wearing my skirt (but nothing else), crumpled around my waist. I smoothed it down and pulled my phone out of the pocket.
"Khun Pichit has offered to take her directly to the hospital. That will be quicker than waiting for an ambulance. I'll help him take her downstairs to his car."
"I want to come." It didn’t seem right to be at the club without Ajarn. Also I was worried about her.
"No, no, you stay here." Sam gave me one of his bossy looks. My heart jumped despite my concern. "I'll be right back."
"Don't worry, Nok, I'll take excellent care of your ex-employer." The man Sam called Khun Phichit smiled at me in a friendly way, but he made me suspicious. How did he know my name? How did he know I used to work for Ajarn?
"Please, I go with you..."
"Not this time," Phichit told me. Something about his expression scared me. All at once I didn't want to alone in a car with him.
"You're not going anywhere, Nok." Sam gripped my wrist so hard it hurt. I'll bet he thought I liked that. "When I get back up here, I'm going to punish you for your disobedience."
I didn't trust this Phichit guy at all. And I was starting to think I shouldn't trust Sam either. Between them, they bundled Ajarn's body into a wheelchair that girl had fetched and headed for the exit. I started to follow.
"Stay here!" Sam slapped my face. "Go sit in that chair and think about what a bad girl you are. That's an order."
"Yes, sir." I pretended to be sorry. I sank into the chair, watching them disappear.
As soon as they were gone, I picked up my phone and searched my address list for that number. The hot line number the police colonel had given us after the first girl was killed.
Maybe this had nothing to do with the murders. But something wasn't right.
Chapter Twenty Three
"She saved your life." Apichat perched on a chair next to my hospital bed. He wore street clothes rather than his uniform and looked tired – I suspected his superiors had been running him ragged since the arrest – but his smile was the most encouraging thing I'd seen in several days.
"I've always known she was a smart young woman. Really, though, you shouldn't be so modest. You're the one who shot off that bastard's kneecaps!"
"Yeah, and I still might end up in jail for that." Apichat chuckled. "Right now, though, Khun Phichit is pretty tied up with his own legal problems. The DNA we picked from cigarette butts at the last murder scene looks like a match. We have one witness who saw him leave the Bua Thani the night of the murder. And then there's his ring..."
"His ring?"
"He wore a gold signet with his initial, Por Paan. It's a close fit to the burn on the last girl's thigh."
I shifted, trying to push myself up on the pillows. I was determined to ignore the pain from my bandaged wounds.
"Can I help you?" The colonel sprang to his feet.
"No, no." I waved him away. I hated having him see me like this, so powerless. "I want to know what you're talking about. You told me the brand looked like the English letter 'P'."
"No, no – sorry to confuse you. It was a Thai character – the first character in Phichit's name."
"Ah. Sounds like an open and shut case, at least as far as the most recent victim is concerned."
"It would be if he were an ordinary citizen. Given his money and power, though... well, you know how things are here..."
Thailand's corruption is legendary, though I'd never had it strike so close to home. All too often, the wealthy managed to slip through the judicial net, even when every item of evidence suggested their guilt.
Still, serial homicide – especially so bloody and vicious – might be taken more seriously. There was the killing of Apichat's lieutenant, too. I'd have to tell the colonel about that. But he was already getting up to leave.
"You look exhausted, Ajarn."
"Wait – please! I still don't know how you managed to show up, just in the nick of time."
"I happened to be at Bang Rak station when your girl called, only a few blocks from Siam Century Tower. I grabbed a motorcycle taxi – I didn't want to make it obvious I was with the police - and arrived at the parking garage just as Phichit was pulling out. I made the taxi follow his Mercedes. Meanwhile I called in the license plate to find out the owner."
"You rode a motorcycle taxi all the way to Rangsit?" Apparently Phichit had taken me to some deserted warehouse belonging to one of his many companies, along the river north of the city.
"Yeah. The driver wasn't at all happy." Apichat frowned. "We lost the car a mile or two from his destination, too. I'm so sorry. If not for that, I might have spared you – all this."
He gestured at my prostrate form. Phichit's cuts had been deeper than I realized. I'd needed dozens of stitches, and lost almost two pints of blood. I'd have a new scar on my breast. Maybe I'd get someone to add some details to my tattoo.
"Now you've got to rest. I will be back tomorrow. Follow the doctors' orders so that you can recover more quickly."
I held on to his reassuringly strong hand. "Me? Follow orders?" We both chuckled. "Thank you so much for coming to see me." He didn't seem eager to let go and I certainly wasn't going to rush him. "Maybe after I get out of here – maybe we could go away somewhere..."
"Together?"
"Why not? We're adults. And I don't have the bar to deal with anymore. Ask for some time off. You've earned it."
He extricated his hand from mine and stared at the floor. "Actually I've resigned from the force."
"What? I thought this arrest would get you a promotion!"
"I'm moving back home to Nakhon Si Thammarat. I don't dare stay here in Bangkok. I've made too many enemies by arresting Phichit. No, I just want to become a civilian and disappear."
"But Apichat – you've been with the police so long...!"
"Too long." He shook his head. "No, I've had enough. I'm leaving next week."
"So soon!" I clutched his sleeve. "I'll miss you. A lot."
He held my eyes for a long moment, then gently covered my grasping fingers with his palm. "You could come with me. I have a small house, a couple of rai planted with fruit trees, nothing much, but I'd be happy to share it with you."
Leave Bangkok? I hadn't figured out what I'd do with my life now that the murderer had been caught – maybe start a new bar, even a club like Sam's – but leave the city? Wouldn't I be totally bored? Out in the country, I'd be far less anonymous. I'd have to be more circumspect about my behavior. And though I did care about Apichat – could I really live with someone after all these years?
Could he live with me?
My doubts must have been apparent on my face. Apichat gave me a wistful smile, then leaned forward to kiss my cheek. "Think about it, Diana. I'll see you tomorrow."
A nurse appeared as soon as he'd gone. She handed me a cup with several candy-colored pills. I dearly hoped one of them was a pain killer. After swallowing them, I lay back and closed my eyes, trying to imagine a life with my tough, affectionate colonel – no, ex-colonel – in rural Thailand.
I must have drifted off into uneasy slumber. Then something – some sound or current of air – told me I wasn't alone.
I sat up abruptly, the motion pulling at all my stitches. With a groan, I sank back into the pillows, waiting for the pain to ebb.
Nok stood by the bed, wearing tight jeans and a form-fitting top and holding an enormous mesh bag of mandarin oranges.
"Sabaidee kheun, Ajarn?" she asked. "Are you feeling better?"
"Somewhat, thank you."
"These are for you." She placed the sack on table. "They're supposed to be good luck."
"Thank you, Nok. And not just for the oranges. I might be dead if not for your quick thinking. I owe you a great debt."
"Never mind. It was partly my fault. I didn’t pay attention, the way you said. Maybe I could have stopped them from taking you." She was so fierce, my Nok. So hard on herself. "I've learned my lesson."
I didn't ask her what lesson that was. Memories flooded back – her dark head buried between my thighs, the dance of her tongue on my clit, her confidence and competence with the flogger. "So have you found a new job yet?"
"No – I'm leaving Bangkok. I came to say good bye."
The pang of loss I felt astonished me.
"What? Where will you go?"
"To Wat Nong Pa Pong in Ubon. To become a mae chee."
"A nun! You?" I couldn't help laughing.
She gave me an indignant glare. "I need to think about my life, Ajarn. About who I am and what I want. I think I've made some mistakes. Spending time in the temple will help me see my path more clearly."
"Of course – I'm sorry." So much for my ideas about starting a new club, with her as my partner. "But – what about Sam? I had the idea that you and he cared for one another."
"Sam doesn't care about anybody but himself." She shook her head, as if impatient with herself. "Anyway, he's in prison. They’re going to deport him. I told the police about his club. And then, when the police didn't do anything, I told the newspapers."
I could just imagine the scandal. And once the media got wind of it, the police wouldn't be able to hush it up, no matter how many well-connected people were involved. I'm sure they were delighted to have an evil, perverted foreigner on whom they could pin the blame. I almost felt sorry for Sam, especially now that I knew he hadn't been involved with the killings.
"Anyway, I better go. My bus leaves in two hours."
I reached for her hand. "When will you come back to Bangkok?"
"I don't know, Ajarn. Probably not for at least a month. Maybe never."
"When you do come back – call me. Please?"
She nodded, running her fingers through her long hair. "Okay. I hope you feel better soon."
Desire left me momentarily speechless. "Me too," I answered after an awkward pause. "Good luck, little bird."
Her news left me feeling lower than ever. I told myself it was just the result of being cooped up here in the hospital, helpless and dependent. Once I got back to my apartment and my life, I'd cheer up. Even if I didn't accompany Apichat to the south, maybe he'd want a disciplinary session before he skipped town. I'd take him back to the Palace Hotel. I still kept a few toys there, including some wicked clamps that I suspected he'd appreciate.
I was deep into my lascivious day dream when the phone rang. By now I recognized Aphichat's number.
"I was just thinking about you."
"Ajarn, I'm coming to discharge you from the hospital."
"What are you talking about? The doctor says..."
"Never mind the doctor. You have to get out of there."
"What?"
"I just heard the news from a friend of mine at the station. Phichit has been granted bail."
"A suspected serial killer? You can't be serious...!" But I knew my colonel wouldn't jest about something like this.
The murderer was free, with more or less unlimited resources at his disposal.
My life wasn't worth fifty satangs.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A dozen years ago Lisabet Sarai experienced a serendipitous fusion of her love of writing and her fascination with sex. Since then she has published four single author short story collections and six erotic novels (and counting!), including the BDSM classic Raw Silk. Dozens of her shorter works have been released as ebooks and in print anthologies. She has also edited several acclaimed anthologies and is currently responsible for the altruistic erotica series Coming Together Presents.
Lisabet holds more degrees than anyone needs from prestigious universities who would no doubt be embarrassed by her chosen genre. She loves to travel and currently lives in Southeast Asia with her highly tolerant husband and two cosmopolitan felines. For more information on Lisabet and her writing visit Lisabet Sarai's Fantasy Factory (http://www.lisabetsarai.com) or her blog Beyond Romance (http://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com).
ALSO BY LISABET SARAI FROM BOOKS WE LOVE
Just A Spanking
Tales of Domination and Submission
Is a pure spanking, stripped of any sexual manipulation, enough to make a submissive come? Can a Dom turn a woman into his slave using just his voice? Can a banana split be an instrument of torture? Find out in this lively, arousing collection.
Just a Spanking collects eight of Lisabet Sarai's hottest BDSM stories, including three previously unpublished tales. From the light-hearted fantasy "Ruler" to the raw intensity of "Limbo", these stories explore the many variations of power exchange, demonstrating how whips, canes, candles, ropes, or handcuffs, as well as the classic palm on a bare bottom, can open doors to the ultimate erotic experience.
Body Electric
A vampire ménage. A Victorian scandal. Crossdressing, spanking and electric play. Body Electric presents eight supremely erotic short stories that explore the many facets of desire from a wide range of orientations. The book includes acclaimed favorites as well as several previously unpublished tales. (m/m, m/m/f, m/f/m, f/f, f/f/m, m/f)
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Thank you for purchasing and reading this Books We Love eBook. We hope you have enjoyed your reading experience. Books We Love and the author would very much appreciate you returning to the online retailer where you purchased this book and leaving a review for the author. Best Regards and Happy Reading, Jamie and Jude
Books We Love Ltd.
http://bookswelove.net
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