Secured Heart

by Measha Stone

  After calling upstairs to let the doorman know the party had reached capacity, Kendrick went in search of Ted. He found him leading the redheaded vanilla toward the spanking benches. Her eyes were no longer enthused; they were glossed and dazed. Her lips sagged and her feet barely moved on their own.

  The argument went quickly, two shots to Ted’s face and he was down and stayed there. Derek pleaded with Kendrick not to make a spectacle, and they agreed he’d take the lady for help and drop the asshole at the station on his way.

  “Hello?” The girl was up.

  Kendrick let the bag of ice slip off his knuckles onto the table and left it behind. She was sure to be startled out of her mind, waking up in a strange place.

  He found her sitting up in his bed, the sheet covering her breasts. Her hair, a mangled mess the night before, seemed no more unruly. For a brief moment the idea of winding the mass of curls around his fist passed through him. He coughed to shake the image from his mind.

  She eyed him with caution, narrowing her eyes at the bright sun invading the room.

  He moved to close the blinds. “Sorry. Sun shines right on the pillows.” He turned back to her.

  She massaged her temples. “Uhm” She looked him over with searching eyes, trying to place him. “This has never happened before.” She groaned, rubbing both sides of her head with her fingers.

  “I should hope not.” He tried to smile.

  Her face flushed a hushed pink. “I don’t remember your name.” She breathed out and hugged her knees to her chest.

  “Why would you? I never gave it.” He walked around the bed and sat beside her. The back of his hand met her chilled forehead. “Good, no fever.”

  “Do you typically give women fevers after fucking them?” Her words were brazen, but her eyes locked on his shoulder.

  “What exactly do you remember from last night?” He crossed his arms over his chest, a habit from previous work.

  “I went to the bar. Saw Alex, brushed him off. Met Ted.” She scrunched her lips together and moved them to one side of her face as she tried to remember more. “I remember getting in a cab and going inside a house. Wax, I smelled wax.” She closed her eyes then opened them with memory.

  “OH!” She scooted back on the bed, away from him. “Ted. He was going to—” she explained into her hands.

  Her eyes swept up to him, and she dropped her hands from her mouth. “Who are you!?” she demanded.

  “Calm down.” Kendrick stood from the bed, sensing she was about to pounce at him any moment with her claws drawn. “My name is Kendrick. I was working security last night. Ted didn’t hurt you. He was stopped before he could, but he slipped something into your drink,” he explained methodically.

  “I was drugged.” She sounded more annoyed than worried at the idea. “That fucker drugged me.” She punched the bed.

  Kendrick let a grin escape his stony expression; she had spunk. He liked spunk.

  “Why didn’t you take me to the hospital? Shouldn’t you have called the real police?” Her gaze shot anger at him.

  He held his hands up to ward off her temper. “Ted is in lock up. They are holding him until you decide if you want to press charges or not. I didn’t take you to the hospital because you just needed to sleep it off, and well…” He paused; there really was no good reason for him to have taken her home. “I’ll be honest. Derek didn’t want an ambulance at the house, and I went along with him.”

  “Derek?” Her lips thinned.

  “A friend. It was his house party.” Kendrick stepped toward her again. “I should have taken you to the hospital. But you weren’t harmed, you slept it off, and you were safe here. I’ll take you to the precinct if you want to press those charges.”

  “I’m naked.” She accused him.

  “Not my doing.” He put his hands up in the air again. “You were mostly out of it when we got here, but you saw the bed and stripped down before you dove under the covers.” He remembered vividly.

  She had shimmied her way out of her skirt, wiggling her bottom until the skirt dropped to her ankles from where she kicked it across the room, smacking him in the chest with it before it landed on the floor. She had giggled as she pulled her shirt free from her body and played with the hooks of her bra, dancing around on one foot. He would have offered to help, but he had been enjoying the scene too much at the time. Finally, the hooks cooperated, and she slid the straps down her arms. Each breast popped free of the cups, the dark pink areola pert from the chill in the room. Her breasts would fill his hands if not more. Her bra landed on his shoulder, breaking his trance. Lastly, her panties were rolled over her hips and down her legs, exposing her round bottom. He had seen her ass at the dungeon, but his main concern at that time had been her safety. This time he’d allowed himself to drink in the sight of her apple bottom.

  “Oh.” The wind blew out of her. She leaned back against the headboard and stared at him, sizing him up. “Oh no!” She sat straight up. “What time is it? I had a class at nine. Where’s my phone!?” She looked around wildly.

  He reached over her, letting his shoulder brush hers, and picked up her phone from the nightstand and handed it to her.

  “Thanks.” She spoke softly.

  “It’s eleven o’clock. A text came in a few hours ago asking about where you were. I assumed it was a co-worker or boss, so I answered for you.” He stood from the bed and collected her clothing from the dresser.

  “Who are you again?” she asked after checking her phone.

  “Kendrick,” he said again, placing the pile of clothes on her lap. “Here are your clothes. If you’d like to shower, the bathroom is right through that door. I’ll make some breakfast while you’re getting cleaned up. I can take you to the station if you’d like.” He eyed her more closely.

  She put up a brave front, but something in her eyes told a different tale. She looked defeated.

  “Thanks.” She waved him away.

  He stole another glance as he made his way from the room. She slipped from the bed, leaving all the covers behind. He noticed a diamond shaped mole on the inside of her left thigh.

  Kendrick scrambled eggs and made toast for his guest. The guest that sang in his shower while cleaning off the scum from the night before. She surprised him with her reaction to the events of the night before. Most women would be completely freaked out and screaming at him when they woke up someplace strange. She seemed irritated by Ted’s actions, but more disappointed than scared.

  The eggs were plated up just as she walked into the kitchen. Her wildly curly hair had been tamed into a ponytail at the back of her neck. One strand continued to be disobedient and laid down the side of her face. Her shirt was only a little crumpled from the night’s events, and her skirt snuggled her hips. It rose higher on her thighs than he would like for his girl, but she wasn’t his girl.

  “Thanks.” She pushed the errant strand of hair behind her ear and pulled out a chair to sit. “Your place is beautiful.” She picked up the fork he placed on the table. “I didn’t realize apartments could have second floors.” She dug into her breakfast.

  He poured a glass of water and slid it across the table for her. “How are you feeling?” He leaned against the counter, folding his arms over his chest.

  “Fine,” she said between bites. “Have a bit of a headache, though.” She looked up at him, her eyes washing over him before focusing back on her breakfast.

  “I have some aspirin that should help.”

  “This is completely weird, isn’t it?” She put her fork down and folded her hands in her lap. “I mean, shouldn’t I be freaked out…? I mean, that asshole drugged me. He could have raped me. He could have killed me.” She took a deep breath.

  “He didn’t though.”

  “No. he didn’t. You were there.” She half-smiled. “Thank you for that.” The defeated look crept back into her eyes.

  “How long have you known Ted?” He dug deeper.

  “Oh, about three hours.” She
tried to laugh.

  “You just met him last night?” He tried to keep his voice controlled, but feared he wasn’t succeeding. He could feel his stare hardening on her. “Where’d you meet?”

  “Krush.” She took a bite of eggs.

  “You met a guy at a bar and got into his car to go to a house party where you knew no one?” His jaw tightened. She was lucky the worst that had happened to her was a date rape drug in her drink.

  “I didn’t get in his car.” She pointed out with a firm tone of her own. “I took a cab.” She shrugged.

  Kendrick ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath, reminding himself again that she wasn’t his to deal with.

  “You realize how stupid that was, right?” he asked pointedly.

  She looked at him, her chin raised and shoulders squared. “Of course I do.” She turned back to her eggs. “I misjudged him, obviously.” She grabbed the water.

  Kendrick watched her eat in silence. Her bravado didn’t match the weariness in her gaze. He’d seen that look too many times over the years. Another bad night to add to a slew of others, he guessed.

  “Did he tell you where you were meeting him?” Kendrick continued to question her.

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “I knew where I was going. We’ve already established it was a bone-headed thing to do.” Her fork clunked onto the plate. “You do a lot of security there?” Her eyes brightened.

  “For Derek? No, not usually. His parties aren’t managed well enough for me, but he was in a bind. It was either me or no security at all.” Saying it out loud made him glad for the first time that he did take the job. Ted would have had free reign on her body if Kendrick hadn’t been there to shut him down.

  “There are better parties?” she asked, hope saturating her words.

  Ignoring her question, Kendrick swiped her plate from the table and took it to the sink.

  “I know it was stupid to follow that jerk-wad, but you seem to be at least a tiny bit more decent—”

  “Only a tiny bit?” He laughed. This woman in his kitchen stirred up too many different reactions during one conversation. If he loosened his control, he would quickly lose track of the subject.

  “Well, let’s be honest. I’m not sure exactly what happened last night. When I was passed out, naked in your bed, anything could have happened, and I wouldn’t remember.” Her eyes washed over him as though she were taking inventory.

  Kendrick bit down hard on his lip and took a deep breath. He took controlled steps toward her and placed his palms flat on the table, leaning over until his nose was only a scant inch from hers. She didn’t flinch. “If I wanted you, I wouldn’t need a drug to get you in my bed.” He promised.

  She smelled like soap, his soap. Her eyes searched his face, and he stared into hers. Green. Not a grass green or a pale green, a deep, dark green.

  A slow smile crept onto her lips. Her pink, kissable lips. “Okay,” she whispered.

  He kept his eyes glued to her stare for another moment before he pulled away. “I’ll take you to the station if you want to press charges.” He leaned against the counter, hands shoved into his jean pockets.

  “I don’t know. If I press charges, there are a lot of questions, right?” Her forehead wrinkled, and she bit the corner of her lip, thinking.

  “You’ll have to give a statement, yes. You should also get your blood tested to show the drug in your system. The precinct should have a list of labs they use.”

  “What do you think?” Her eyes turned to him. She wasn’t smiling, and the twinkle of levity had left her eyes.

  “I think he’s an ass. I doubt this is his first time doing this, and it won’t be his last.” Kendrick scratched his neck.

  “You’ve met him before?” It was more of an accusation than a question.

  “Yeah. We’ve met.” He scoffed. On more than one occasion they’d bumped into each other, none of the experiences had been pleasant or worth repeating.

  “Okay. I’ll file.” She pushed the chair back and stood from the table. A lone curl fell in front of her face, bringing attention again to her deep, emerald eyes.

  Kendrick moved across the room to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He handed it to her as he walked from the kitchen.

  “Drink that.” He disappeared into the next room, searching out his keys and wallet.

  She caught up to him in the living room, holding the unopened bottle of water.

  “Kelly, drink the water. It will help flush the drug from your system.” He shoved his wallet into his back pocket and swung his key ring around his finger. “If you’re ready, we can go.”

  She followed him to the front door, where she found her purse sitting on a small table and swung the thin strap over her shoulder.

  She stopped in the doorway and looked back at him. “How did you know my name? I don’t remember telling you.” She pushed the curl away from her eyes.

  “I checked your ID.” He grinned. “Couldn’t have some underage girl sleeping nude in my bed.” He gave her a wink and stepped toward her to get her going.

  He didn’t tell her he’d also run her ID through the department. It wouldn’t do for an ex-cop to have a criminal sleeping in his bed.

  CHAPTER three

  A Mugshot Says a Thousand Words

  Kendrick drove a reasonable sedan. Kelly was unimpressed. She liked speed, danger—a thrill. He held the passenger door open for her, and she slid onto the beige upholstered seat. She watched through the mirror as he walked around the car to his own door.

  She didn’t know what to fully make of Kendrick or the situation at all. There was a streak of righteousness in him. It mingled with a danger hidden in his gaze. She hadn’t missed the casual glances he took at her cleavage while she ate her breakfast or the dilated pupils when she’d brushed against him in the elevator.

  Given the events from the previous night, she should be rattled and terrified. She should be leery of his good intentions and keep him at arm’s length. Saying she had not used her best judgment in meeting Ted at an unknown location for an S&M party was an understatement. She realized that.

  Getting into the car with another man she didn’t know didn’t seem to be much of an improvement. Even if he was twenty points higher on her hotness scale. Almost a perfect score.

  “So, you’re a security guard?” She broke the silence after a few minutes of maneuvering through Friday morning traffic in the city.

  “No, not exactly.” He grinned, not taking his eyes off the road.

  She noticed a deep crease alongside his mouth when he smiled. It was too large to call a dimple; it ran along his cheek from his upper lip to just below his lower lip.

  “I own the company. We provide security for many clubs here in the city and also for private parties.” He looked over his left shoulder and changed lanes.

  “What clubs? Like the one last night?” She turned in her seat, so her back was pressed against the door and she was facing him.

  He glanced at her new position and shook his head. “Sit forward.” His tone left no room for her to disagree. He sounded every bit the authoritarian.

  She shifted in her seat, facing the road again.

  “Most of the clubs are just dance clubs. We do have two dungeons on our client list, though.” He kept his eyes forward as he answered, changing gears effortlessly.

  “Dungeons.” She let the word hang in the air. “Where are they?” she asked with a quick breath.

  “The clubs?”

  “No, the dungeons.” She tucked the annoying stray hair back behind her ear.

  “Why?” he asked with a casual glance over in her direction. “It’s not your scene.”

  “How do you know what my scene is?” Her temper began to simmer.

  “I saw you last night. You were out of your element.” He flicked the turn signal and checked his mirrors.

  “Well, maybe.” She had to agree with him on that point. “Look. Understand me when I say that whether you tell me or I sear
ch them out myself, it won’t matter. Better you tell me a safe place to go, don’t you think?” She played into the protective piece of his personality.

  He pulled into an alley that led them to a small lot behind the police station. He parked and turned to her. “Fine. I’ll give you the phone number to one of them. You have to be a member to get in. But you have to agree only to go on a Friday night.” His eyes darkened with his terms.

  “Why a Friday?” she asked, turning in her own seat to face him.

  “Because that’s when I’ll be there. I want to be sure no other Ted-like creep brings you a drink.” He ran his hand over his head, his short cropped hair stood up until he brought his hand back toward the front, smoothing it down again. “Understand?”

  “Sure,” she agreed and turned back around to open her door. His sigh could be heard over the sound of the door shutting behind her.

  The police station was a new experience for her. Having never broken a law or known someone who had, she’d never been to the local precinct. The front lobby was surprisingly quiet. The electronic ring of telephones could be faintly heard in the background, and a few of the officers standing at the front desk were chatting.

  Kendrick’s hand wrapped around her upper arm, pulling her toward the large desk. A staunch looking young man stood behind the desk holding a clipboard and a radio in his hands. Kendrick’s appearance seemed to lighten the man’s mood as a friendly grin crossed his lips. The two men didn’t exchange any words, only a nod toward the closed door beside the desk.

  The young officer buzzed the door, and Kendrick led them into the next hallway.

  “A regular?” she asked as she pulled her arm free of Kendrick’s grasp.

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he walked ahead of her, leading her down several winding hallways until they reached the office he seemed to be looking for.

  The office came alive before them as Kendrick opened the door. Phones rang insistently. Chatter came from most of the desks, where officers sat typing away on computers.