She complied and felt the silky soft texture of material binding her wrists. Without conscious thought, her whole body went rigid.
“Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay,” Laurence soothed. He rubbed tender hands up and down her arms until the stiffness in her muscles relaxed. “I’ve got you, baby. Remember your safe words?”
“Y–yes.”
“Which one are you feeling now?”
“Yellow.”
He gathered her close against him, lacing his fingers with hers behind her back. Dropped butterfly kisses over her forehead and eyes. Resting his forehead against hers, he looked into her eyes.
“You’ve got this, baby. Remember, the power lies with you. One word, and it all ends. I give you my word. Always. Just one word and it ends. Yeah?”
She closed her eyes against the rush of feeling his words invoked. God, this man. There had never been a time he’d let her down. He may have broken her heart when he’d left, but he’d never given her his word then gone back on it.
“Yes.” She nodded. “I’m okay.”
She turned around and presented her hands to him. He finished tying the strip of fabric – she had no idea what he’d used.
With a gentle slap on the ass, he instructed, “On the bed – on your knees. Put your cheek against the mattress. I want to see that luscious ass in the air.”
Never in her wildest dreams would Tahlia have thought she would find herself turned on by a man telling her to prepare herself to receive pain. But there was something so damn appealing about the change that had come over Laurence when he went all Dominant on her.
She heard the rustle of clothing and lamented the fact that she wouldn’t get to see him undress. Since she couldn’t watch, she used her memory to call to mind the images of him stripping earlier that day.
The man was built. There were men half his age who didn’t look nearly as good. It made her hot just to think about it. She was so lost in her thoughts of how sexy the man was, in and out of clothes, she wasn’t paying attention.
The first slap caught her off guard, and she cried out in shock.
Her head snapped up and tears welled. Almost immediately, with the lightest of touches, Laurence smoothed a hand over her ass cheek.
“You okay, baby?”
It took a moment for her to gather herself before she replied, “Yes. It was just a bit unexpected. I got a fright, is all.”
“I’m going to do it again. Can you take it for me, sweetheart?”
Tahlia wasn’t quite sure how to feel about the situation. But this was Laurence. She trusted him.
“I’ll try.”
“That’s my girl. What do you say if it gets too much?”
“Red.”
“Good. How are you feeling now?”
She was still a little uncomfortable, if she were being honest, and that’s what she needed to be for this to work. “Yellow.”
“Fair enough. I can understand that. Let’s see if we can get you to green, shall we?”
“Okay.” She nodded, her cheek rubbing against the sheet where it rested.
Laurence massaged first one cheek, then the other for a moment. Then he slapped her on the opposite one. The same as before, he ran his hand over the heated globe. Repeating the process, he went back to the first one.
Left, right. They followed in quick succession, with a soothing touch between each one.
Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined she would, but Tahlia started to tremble in anticipation of the next slap. However, she lay quietly waiting for it. One after the other, they continued, never landing in the same spot twice.
Heat and lust, anticipation and pain all combined into one heady brew of sensation winding her tighter. Her mind was finding it difficult to process everything. Her body, however, was a different story. It knew exactly what it wanted and how to feel about it.
Incredibly, she could feel an orgasm building as the pleasure surged through her. Pleasure she’d never imagined she would feel in a situation like this.
“Oh god, Laurence ...” His name was nothing more than a moan on her lips. “I want to come.”
“No sweetheart. Hold on to it. You are not to come until I give you permission.”
“I’m not sure I can,” she replied, her tone breathy as she fought back the impending orgasm as he’d instructed her to.
“Fight it, baby. Your orgasm belongs to me, understood?”
“Yes, Laurence.” She bit down on her lip to stop herself from begging, fighting the urge back.
“That’s it, Lia. God, you’re so beautiful. I wish you could see how beautiful you are all rosy from my hand. Do you want to come, baby?”
“Yes ... please,” she moaned.
“Hang on, baby. I want you to come around my cock, while I’m buried deep in you.”
Tahlia moaned again, battling not to orgasm just from listening to him. She heard him move away and then the sound of ripping. The bed dipped as he joined her there. When she felt his fingers rub through her wetness, she thought she’d simply melt right then.
A groan rumbled from Laurence, and he sank first one finger and then another deep into her soaking core. “So wet for me.”
Her inner muscles clamped down on his fingers, and she had to clamp her teeth down on her bottom lip to stop herself from coming all over them. She felt a warning ripple.
“Laurence, please,” she begged. “I can’t hold on much longer.”
She startled as she felt him nip her butt cheek. “Just a little longer, baby.”
His hands went to her hips, gripping tightly. He rocked his hips, rubbing his cock against her sensitized clit. Her body clenched, winding tighter still. She prayed for the strength to hold out against his onslaught.
14
Larry was balls-deep in heaven. He was convinced that’s where he’d gone as he sank slowly into Tahlia’s tight, wet heat. As the pleasure stole his breath, he had to clench his jaw against the urge to rut on her like a teenage boy experiencing his first time with a woman.
He paused a moment to savor the feeling. And then he began to move. Tahlia cried out as he thrust into her. He kept each stroke measured, drawing out the pleasure.
“Laurence, I can’t– It’s too much. Please, please. I need to come,” she mewled.
“Come for me then, my beautiful Lia.” He wrapped her braid around his hand, powering deep. He felt her go slick around him just as the walls of her core tightened. “That’s it, baby. Come all over my cock. Let me feel you. Let me hear you.”
Tahlia wailed out her release as it hit her. Her inner muscles clamped down on him, pushing him closer to his own orgasm. He released her braid, covering her body with his, causing her to collapse onto the mattress. Lifting her hips, he tilted them so he could thrust deeper.
He slid his hands under her body and curled them around her shoulders, anchoring her to him. He thrust faster, the sound of his flesh slapping against hers filled the room. Larry felt the tingle of his impending orgasm along his spine. His balls tightened, and he couldn’t stop himself from sinking his teeth into the delicate curve of Tahlia’s shoulder.
He was drowning in her – the sound, the feel, the smell of her. His orgasm crashed into him, stripped him bare, left him boneless and gasping for breath. He rolled to his side to avoid crushing Tahlia as he collapsed. He took a moment to catch his breath before he reached over to untie Tahlia’s hands. Tenderly, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, massaging her hands to ensure circulation was fully restored.
When he was satisfied, he released her hair from the braid he’d done earlier. He luxuriated in the silky texture of the strands as he ran his hands through them to loosen them. “Better?” he asked. She gave a mumbled “Mmm” before letting loose a deep sigh. He smiled to himself, then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her body into his. He held her close. She melted against him, snuggling close, their bodies still joined.
For long moments they lay like that, neither one capable of movem
ent.
“You doing okay, sweetheart?” Larry ran his hand lovingly over the flare of her hip.
Once again, all he got was a mumbled “Hmm.”
He rolled Tahlia over onto her back. She offered no resistance, simply lay with her eyes closed, a soft smile on her face. He lay staring down at the woman beside him and marveled at her beauty. He’d always thought she was a looker, but as she lay there relaxed and at peace, she took his breath away.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at him, a world of emotion held in their depths. Not quite sure how to read what he saw, he nonetheless got caught up in her gaze, felt himself freefall into a love unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He’d thought he loved her before. Only, in that moment, he realized he hadn’t known the true meaning of the word. An emotion, the depth of which caught him completely unaware, engulfed him. Had him swallowing down the lump that formed in his throat.
In his fifty-eight years, Larry had never felt vulnerability like he did as he lay there, lost in her eyes. He felt raw, as if his emotions were laid bare for her to see. Unsure how else to handle the situation, he leaned into her, kissing her deep and long. Hid behind desire – a feeling he was far more comfortable with.
He felt Tahlia’s hands in his hair, holding on as if to anchor herself. It comforted him to know he was, perhaps, not the only one caught up in something so much bigger than themselves.
When they eventually broke the kiss, she touched a soft hand to his face. “Will you stay with me tonight? I’m not ready for you to leave.”
Closing his eyes against the clench of his heart, he pulled closer still. “There’s nothing I’d like more.”
He watched as Tahlia stretched, appreciated the picture she made – her striking red hair spread out over the pillow beneath her, her naked body loose and relaxed. She made a contented humming sound as she stretched, which brought a smile to his face. With a kiss on her forehead, he rolled away and out of the bed.
“I’ll be right back, sweetheart,” he said as he headed for the bathroom.
By the time he came back, she’d made herself comfortable on her side of the bed. With sleepy eyes, she watched him cross the room. She pulled the bedding back and patted the spot beside her.
Laurence climbed in and gathered her close. Tahlia relaxed into him. She rested her head on his shoulder and her hand right over his heart. He felt her lips lightly brush the underside of his jaw and couldn’t hold back a deep sigh. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt this happy.
“Night, Laurence. Sleep well.”
With a squeeze of his arm, he hugged her closer for a second. “Good night, Lia. Sleep well, sweetheart.”
Just as he was drifting off, he thought her heard her murmur, “I love you”, but couldn’t be sure. Whether he’d heard correctly or not, his own heart felt whole for the first time since he’d walked away from her those years ago. As if the missing piece of him had been restored to its rightful place.
Larry stood in a corner of the room and watched Finn stare Hector down. They’d left the lowlife to sweat in the tank overnight. When Hector had come into the interrogation room, he’d looked somewhat worse for wear.
The dark circles under his eyes and the hollow look in them told a story of a sleepless night in a cell with one of the scariest men Larry had ever laid eyes on. Not easily intimidated, even he had eyed the hulking mountain of a man who’d been Hector’s cell mate cautiously.
Despite that, their overnight guest still seemed reluctant to share his knowledge. Larry was convinced he was a vital piece of this fucked-up puzzle. So, he stood back and left Finn to work his magic. The man had quite a reputation in the interrogation room. It didn’t hurt that he was tall and built like a linebacker.
At six-foot-four, he towered over the much skinnier Hector, and he wasn’t above using that to his advantage. Add to that the silent stare that he’d seen many a man back down from, and he hoped it was enough to make the man crack.
He studied the twenty-something man as Finn stared him down, noticing the sweat that began to bead on Hector's forehead and smiled to himself. Yeah, he was definitely starting to feel the heat.
Without warning, Finn slapped a hand on the table at which the two of them sat, launching himself out of his chair to lean over the smaller man.
“I’m getting really sick of dicking around with you, dude. You don’t want to share what you know, you can go back to the cells. You can go bunk down with Bubba another night.”
Larry watched as the man paled. “Whatcha mean I gotta stay here another night, man? You can’t hold me. I ain’t done nothing wrong.”
“You’re impeding a federal investigation, Hector. That’s a criminal offense. You know that. I’ve got every right to hold you for seventy-two hours.”
He hadn’t thought it possible, but Hector went even paler. He looked past Finn, directly at Larry. “Why you gotta do me like this, man? What’d I ever do to you? I don’t know nothing,” he whined, on the brink of tears.
Yeah, definitely coming apart at the seams. Time to finish this.
Larry straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall. “Come on, Hector. All three of us know that’s a lie. You’re involved in this. You know it, we know it. It would be in your best interests to come clean. The sooner you do, the sooner you can get back to all your other nefarious activities. Otherwise, as Agent Finn mentioned, it’s back to sharing with Bubba tonight. He seems to have taken quite a shine to you.”
As if watching an overextended rubber band snapping, he watched as Hector finally caved. He looked Larry directly in the eyes. “If I tell you what I know, if I know anything, you gotta protect me. These hypothetical people are crazy, dangerous people, man. The kinda people you don’t wanna fuck with. They know I talked to you, they’ll kill me and won’t even think nothing of it.”
Larry wanted to dance with elation. Slowly, after all the manhours they had invested in this case, the pieces were coming together. Agonizingly slowly, but at least they were coming.
“Here’s the deal, Hector. You tell me what you know. All of it – you leave nothing out. If I so much as suspect you’re holding out on me, I’ll take the deal back. In return, I’ll get you into witness protection – new name, new identity, fresh start.”
He watched as a range of expressions crossed the man’s face while he considered what Larry had just offered him. Just as he thought Hector would chicken out, he saw the fight go out of him.
“I want everything in writing before I say a word. Just being here put a bull’s-eye on my back, man. I need to get gone so’s they won’t find me ever again. If they do, I’m a dead man guaranteed. I ain’t playing around witcha when I say they’re crazy and dangerous people.”
“Fair enough. I’ll arrange for you to go into a cell on your own while I get this organized. Hang tight, Hector.”
Larry indicated with a tilt of his head for Finn to follow him from the room. In the hallway, he instructed the Marine standing there to guard the door while they were gone. Once out of earshot, he spoke.
“Let’s take a walk.”
“Right behind you, sir,” Finn replied.
The two men made their way out of the building, heading for the bakery where Larry had met Tahlia. A waitress came over to take their order as soon as they were seated. When she’d left, Larry turned to Finn.
“What do you reckon, son? Do we place a call to the District Attorney? You think the intel will be worth it?”
Finn considered his answer before speaking. “I’m not sure he’s got anything important that’ll break this thing wide open. If anything, he’ll just be more confirmation that we’re on the right track. But yeah, I think whatever he can give us would be worth the call.”
He nodded his agreement and reached into his pocket for his phone. While he waited for Preston to answer, he remembered he wanted to follow up with Jim about another visit with Marcus.
“Finn, do me a favor. Put a call through to
the warden. Find out when we can get in to see Forrester again.”
He heard the call connect and then heard, “James.”
“Preston, it’s Larry. Got time for a meeting? I have a couple of things I need to discuss with you. It’s pretty urgent.”
“Hey, Larry. Give me a sec.”
He heard the rustling of papers and muted voices before Preston came back on the phone. “Yeah, I can shuffle a couple things and meet you in about an hour and a half. Will that work?”
“Perfect. Appreciate it. I’ll meet you at Giorgio’s Bakery in an hour and a half then.”
“See you there.”
His phone call over, he waited patiently for Finn to finish talking to Jim. He sat staring out the window, contemplating the arrangements that needed to be made with the District Attorney. He wasn’t sure how happy his friend was going to be now that there were two people standing in line for witness protection.
He, however, was willing to do whatever it took to convince the man that they needed these two witnesses if they were ever going to solve this sex trafficking case. He and Finn had been working this case for more years than he was happy to own up to. Each time they thought they were getting close, the trail would run cold.
While he didn’t think Hector would have any intel that would help solve it, the more fingers pointing in the same direction, the stronger the case they could build against the cartel. The things they’d seen they could never unsee – the inhumane degradation of women whose only crime was being born beautiful. And all that for the depraved enjoyment of the entitled few.
One night, after a particularly disturbing raid, he and Finn had gone out and gotten roaring drunk. They’d sworn that night to do whatever it took, no matter what, to bring those responsible down.
For the first time in a very long time, Larry felt optimistic they’d be able to keep their promise, not only to themselves but to the women affected.
“What did Jim have to say?”
“He’s happy for us to come either this afternoon or tomorrow sometime. We just need to give him a heads up before we go. He says James is welcome to come along.”
Trusting Laurence Page 12
