“You want to come again?” he asked, jacking his hips up and filling me hard to the very end of me.
“Yes! Yes, sir, please!”
His hand slipped from my waist and pulled my panties all the way to the side. He slapped my sex with the hand that had been covering me. I yelped, shocked. He slapped again—sharp and perfectly aimed.
“Oh, fuck, again. Simon, again!”
He did. It was a deliciously painful and pleasurable sensation, and I was almost there. His hand came down again, my pussy completely exposed and pinned open. The slap was loud, and it was the last thing I needed. He speared into me as I came and spilled himself deep inside me.
I slumped back against him as he pumped the last of his cum into my channel. Nibbling at his neck, I smiled as he finished.
“Thank you,” I managed.
“I plan to do a lot more of that from now on.”
“Mmm. I do hope so.” Wiggling my ass against him, I leaned back and stole a kiss from his lips. “I do hope so.”
He leaned forward and grabbed his coffee mug, taking a sip. “Damn. It’s cold.”
Simon
I stood in the doorway, watching the man who had walked into Piacere Pericoloso. He was standing in the center of the sitting room, tall, clean, well-dressed.
Titus Salucci was unmoved.
So was I.
Just watching this…odd stand-off, I started to understand what people meant by Alpha. There were two Doms—who were by nature alphas—and me, the police detective, holding my own against these two massive men and their personalities.
Someone had once told me that I walked into the room and my personality walked in with me. I got it now. Commanding a room, a person, a criminal, had always been second nature to me. I could shut down Franz and Cece if I had to. I didn’t wield it without reason, ever, but it was helpful a lot of the time.
This wasn’t one of those times.
The room was thick with the testosterone of the other two, and I just tried to pull myself back a bit, so I didn’t get pulled into that.
Titus finally tipped his head and nodded to the other man. “Benvenuto, sir. Welcome to Piacere Pericoloso. Have you come to respond to our request for assistance in the death of Mistress Dee and the beatings of other members of the community?”
He sniffed and rubbed the underside of his nose.
Cokehead. Probably not on it now, but still a user.
“I heard there was search on for someone who had not previously been in Pittsburgh seeking training as a Domme. I am curious if there is a reward for this information?”
Titus flipped a hand at me. I had no idea if there was money offered for this. I glanced to my right behind the wall and Donny was nodding furiously. Roger, his partner, flashed his hand four times—a $20,000 reward. Well.
Turning back to the room, I nodded. “There is a reward. It’s generous.”
“A cop?” the other Dom said, eyeballing me.
“I’m here to solve a murder. I don’t care what you’re consensually engaged in,” I snapped.
He grunted, “How you can you be sure what they are offering is really worth my time?”
I leaned up from the door frame. “Enough to keep your nose candy flowing for a month.” I barely veiled the threat. I wasn’t here to play games.
“What’s your name?” Titus asked.
“I’m not going to give you my name, not with the officer standing there.”
He stood from the chair. “Good day then, sir. No reason for you to continue to darken my door.”
The Dom was rattled by that—the promise of money, then having it ripped away made him reconsider quickly. “Wait. Is there really a reward?”
“Yes,” I answered.
He eyeballed me. “And you’ll leave me alone? I won’t get busted for any of this?”
“Any of what?”
“The coke, the sadism…”
“I don’t arrest people for sadism.” I laughed. “I don’t have an interest in an end user, either. I’d only be interested in your coke habit if it was part of your business. It isn’t, is it?”
“No, like you said. End user.”
“Then talk,” Titus said. “I have things to attend to in my house. Your being here disrupts my schedule.”
I bit the inside of my cheek so I didn’t laugh at his ‘shed-yool.’
He stared at me and finally answered, “Fine. My name is Master Oliver. That’s all you need to know about me. There was a woman who appeared at my doorstep, about four years ago. She asked for training as a Domme, specifically in the cane and whip. I had no reason to question her on this. She was with me for six months and I released her. She stopped by now and again, but mostly disappeared, but when I saw Mistress Dee’s picture on the internet last week, I wondered if it was her—but it didn’t fit Dee’s timeline. She’s been running Sadique House for years.”
“What did your trainee give her name as?” Titus asked.
“Dee as well.”
That was interesting.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Donny, Roger, and Darien with their mouths wide-open in shock. They had no idea that our sadist was a woman.
“Anything else?” Titus asked, looking at his watch.
“She had a Maine driver’s license. Her car had temporary Maine plates until she got an address here. She kept to herself, she didn’t stay in a dorm with my pet. She also paid very well.”
Titus turned his lip. It wasn’t terribly polite to talk about pay rates, or costs, if you weren’t an actual employee of the house or club. Cece and Emmy drew a salary because they were on the payroll at Club Imperial. But Vanity had a tribute paid for her time as a sub there. So that this Master Oliver was bragging about the price…
I tipped my head to consider him. “How much?”
“I refused her at first, but she tripled the number.”
That was going to be an impressive amount.
“Are we done?” He eyeballed the both of us.
“No,” Titus said. “We all have people coming to us to ask for training. What made this woman stand out in your mind that you remember her four years later? And don’t insult me with the cash answer.”
Master Oliver worked his jaw. “Her attitude. I’ve been on the dark side of the lifestyle for years. Ten, maybe longer. She was…cold. Ruthless. She didn’t want anything gentle about her training.” His gaze dropped to his shoes, and then back up. “She was particularly disturbing in her pursuit of inflicting pain. She loved to hear the screams.”
That was a good reason as any for this woman to stick out in his mind. I glanced at Titus, who inclined his head.
Oliver tossed a look between us. “Can I claim my reward?”
“Only if we catch the woman and you can identify her as the person you taught,” I said. “Leave a number where we can reach you with Master Titus. The person in charge of the reward will get in touch with you, for identification and the potential reward.”
“You lifestylists make me sick. You wouldn’t know a sadist if one struck you across the face with a whip.”
I folded my arms. “You can go. Or I can take you in on suspicion of drug possession. Your call.”
“If I don’t hear from you, you’ll all hear from me.”
I yawned.
He turned on his heel and marched out of the room, and out of the house. Titus and I didn’t move until his car was pulling out of the driveway.
Titus sighed. “Disgusting human being. I’m sorry I let him in.”
“I’m not,” I said, as Darien, Roger, and Donny walked into the room.
“You’re serious?” Donny asked. “The Northside Sadist is a woman?”
“That is not public knowledge yet,” I said. “Don’t let that cat out of the bag.” I really didn’t need that getting out before we could break the case.
I needed to catch this woman before she killed again.
Simon
I made it a point to ask Cece and Killia
n where the most private dining option was. They suggested one Grand Terminal and then offered up their reserved table that they shared with the likes of Franz Dorn, Emmy Walsh, and Titus.
I didn’t expect that, but they were happy to.
Apparently, the place was a hot spot for wealthy couples and they all liked their privacy. Not that I could blame these couples—there was a high level of kink with the ones who reserved the table. They liked the seclusion of the table.
It was easy to see why as the maître d’ led us to the table deep in the corner. Holding her chair, I allowed Vanity to sit first and then I sat down myself.
I was fucking nervous. I had never been this nervous in my life. Not even when I had taken down my first perp or proposed to Cameron.
This was straight up changing everything about my life. And Vanessa’s and Cameron’s.
I set up the date by text. I hadn’t said anything to Cameron about my suggestion, and I didn’t think Vanessa had either. I’d made the date as fast as I could, knowing the two of them were still chatting.
Vanessa’s hand was on my knee under the table. “Simon. It’s okay. Relax.”
I stopped bouncing my leg, but it desperately wanted to keep going. Grabbing her hand, I wound my fingers in with hers. “Sorry, pretty girl. I’m just…”
“A wreck, Si. Relax. This is just dinner.”
“Is it?”
“It is. We’re just going to talk.”
The sommelier was suddenly next to the table and Vanessa expertly rattled off the name of a wine. He was impressed and trotted off to find what he could.
“No one, including you, has to agree to this, Simon. Please relax.”
I looked at her and shocked myself when I answered, “I’m not afraid she’ll agree, I’m afraid she won’t.”
Vanessa’s brow shot up, and a smile crept onto her lips. “That’s adorable, Simon.” She leaned over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “You really are too good for words.”
I took a deep breath. In the four days since I’d suggested this, I had taken a good hard look at what I was thinking because as much as I was happy with the idea, I was also afraid this was me getting my cake and eating it too. The exact reasoning my brain had come up with to start objecting to Vanity’s singular poly relationship.
In that time, I hadn’t been able to convince myself that my motives weren’t entirely unselfish, but nor was I able to convince myself I was being selfish. It was just spinning around my brain and driving me nuts. I decided that if this didn’t calm down, I would have to talk to a shrink.
I even had Peter Billing’s card in my wallet.
“Here she comes,” Vanessa said.
This time, I knew what to expect when I stood to hold her chair.
My wife headed for the table with us. I had to take a deep breath, because once again—I’d forgotten how gorgeous she was. And tonight, she was done up to the nines, and my dick just decided to remind me what happened last time, when she was in sweats.
Cameron smiled at me. “Hi, Simon.”
“Hello, Cam,” I answered and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
She sat, and I pushed her chair in. I watched as Vanessa grabbed her hand and squeezed it. “Hi, Laicy.”
Cameron’s thumb traced over her knuckles, and she grinned at Vanessa. “Hi, Vanity.”
I sat back down and glanced between them.
It was so, so obvious they were in love with each other. It was so obvious I was in love with both of them.
This was fucking insane.
The sommelier came back with three glasses and the bottle Vanessa had picked. I hadn’t even realized she’d asked for the three glasses. But he poured, and I remembered I was supposed to sniff and swish. It was excellent, and I nodded. I was really having a hard time keeping my mind in the game here.
After the wine was poured, Cameron let out a sigh and leaned forward. “So, I…um, well. I brought the divorce papers with me. I haven’t signed anything yet, but I thought that we could just polish it off here.”
“Well, that escalated quickly,” Vanessa mumbled.
I couldn’t disagree. This wasn’t going to be a conversation over dessert and coffee—this was going to happen up front. Great.
“Leave it in your purse, Cam. I don’t want it on the table. And I mean that in every sense of the word,” I said. “I wanted to take my time with this…”
“What do you mean?” She let out a sigh. “Look, Vanity told me she’s choosing you. You’re hers. If you won’t agree to the arrangement we’ve had, then…there’s nothing I can do.” Cameron looked between us. “This is a kiss-goodbye dinner, isn’t it?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I mumbled.
She looked hopeful, and I saw her squeeze Vanessa’s hand. “You’ll agree to the relationship?”
“No. Not the way it was. Not at all.”
She looked at Vanessa. “I thought you said—”
“Let him talk, Laicy. Just let us get through this.”
“Now I’m terrified.”
“Please don’t be,” Vanessa said quietly.
I had to get through this quickly. I didn’t want anyone at this table frightened. I took a sip of wine, swallowed hard, and let out a long, slow breath.
“I won’t agree to the arrangement. Not the way it was, not with Vanessa seeking you out to fill a need. Cameron, when we were in the kitchen, you said you regretted leaving, that you didn’t want to end the marriage. Is that true? Is it still true?”
She blinked, then nodded. “Yes. It’s still true. But I want Vanity happy. I want her—”
I held up a hand to hold her words off. “If you could, you’d come back?”
“To you. To home. Yes.” She turned to Vanessa. “I’m sorry, love. I would. I’m sorry we cheated on you. I regret so much of what I’ve done in the last year—not you. Never you. But so many other things.”
“I’m not upset that you had sex with him,” Vanessa said.
“I am, though. I am upset I was weak enough to ask for it, weak enough to give in. Awful enough to enjoy it. Sad that we let it happen.”
She shook her head. “Don’t be. I know Simon is feeling the same way. But don’t.”
“That’s a big request.”
“I know it is,” I chimed in. “And I’m fighting it myself. But that’s what Vanessa says. I’m trying to take her at her word.”
“So, what’s going on here?”
“I don’t want the divorce either, Cameron. I know you brought the papers, but I don’t want to sign them.”
“Simon, I won’t come back if this leaves Vanity in the cold. This is for her. I want her happy. I want her—” She choked on the words.
I reach across the table and took her free hand. “Come home. Tear up the divorce decree and come home.”
“I’m not leaving Vanity alone.” She was distraught.
“I never said you were.”
The light clicked on. “What?”
Both Vanessa and I squeezed her hands, and she looked utterly panicked.
“More than one person has told me to sit back and consider our situation,” I said. “More than one person has said that this is an interesting situation we’re in. I do still love you. I never wanted to end this marriage. You don’t really want to end it either. And then we both have Vanessa.”
Cameron pulled her hands away from ours and covered her mouth, in what I guessed was shock. She stared between us a few minutes. It was minutes, because the waiter came over and asked if we wanted appetizers. I dismissed him quickly with the idea that he should bring us what Killian and Cece usually ordered.
Taking a solid drink of wine to fortify herself, Cameron shook her head in disbelief. “Simon Massimo Garabaldi. Let me make sure I understand this. You are saying that you would like me to move in with you and Vanity at our house. A roommate?”
I shook my head slowly. “No.”
“No?”
“I mean, we could each have our own room
s, but…that wasn’t the way I was going with this.” This was hard, and the topic so strange I was having trouble finding words, and even more trouble using them. Finally, I just hauled in a deep breath and spat it out. “A three-way relationship. You and me and Vanessa.”
“…holy shit, Simon.” Her words were quiet and shocked. “Three-way?”
“A relationship with three people in it. Not a one-time thing, not a once-in-a-while thing. Three of us. Living, working, being together. I can’t deal with the go-elsewhere poly shit. That’s how you ended up spread eagle on my dick in the kitchen. I couldn’t deal with it.” I folded my hands. “I don’t want to deal with it. There’s no reason we should deal with it.”
“Where the hell did this come from?” she asked.
“Sal.”
“Your brother?”
I nodded. “He has Stat and Nadine. Three of them are in the relationship. It’s amazing how it works for them.”
“When were you…?”
I chuckled. “I had to hide somewhere after I realized what I did with you and to Vanessa. I couldn’t kick her out of the house, so I crashed at Sal’s. Lo and behold, Stat and Nadine.”
Vanessa had sat back a bit and looked as nervous as a hen at the end of the pecking order. She was chewing on her thumbnail and watching us. Cameron looked over at her with a curious glance. “And you? What do you think about this?”
“Darien suggested it to me, but I didn’t think Si would go for it. I kept my mouth shut and made the decision to let you go if I had to,” Vanessa answered. “He came to me with the idea.”
“What do you think of it?”
“I’m here. I want this. I can’t find a way that this doesn’t work for all of us.”
Cameron ran a hand down her face. “Christ, I came here expecting to say goodbye. I didn’t expect we’d be talking about…this. It’s so far from where I started.”
“You don’t have to say yes right now,” Vanessa assured her. “You don’t even have to tell us yes this month. Take your time. Think about it. We can go on dates and hang out together. Move slowly, clear the hurdles as we come to them.”
Double Entendre: (City of Steel 2) (The Vault) Page 20
