“I’ll start the water. Takes a while to get hot.”
She watched him walk away, allowing her gaze to slip down his back. The jeans he’d slipped on earlier were worn and fit like an old ball glove. She sighed, partly because she couldn’t figure out how she ended up with such a delicious man, and partly because of his behavior. She knew he had been an infantry sergeant when he was in the Marines. He had fought, killed, and had several shootings under his belt as a cop. Not to mention he liked to order her around. She shivered at the thought and forced herself to get her bag. There was something so wonderful about the makeup of Rome Carino. Just when she thought she knew him, he surprised her. She wasn’t so sure she liked it. She found her bag just inside the door where she had left it.
As she walked to the bathroom, she thought of her earlier behavior. She never told anyone about her mother’s death. It was just easier to let people think her mother died in some kind of accident or of cancer. She’d learned long ago that allowing people to believe in that was easier than explaining what happened. With Rome, though, she seemed not to have any issues. His silence hadn’t hurt. In fact, just the small touch to her back did more than any words of condolences had done in the last sixteen years.
She stepped into the bathroom and realized he wasn’t kidding. She hadn’t been in there before and was mesmerized by it. Even the bathroom in her house back in the DC area wasn’t this wonderful. Light grey ceramic tile on the floor, red accents, a double sink vanity, and then there was the tub. It sat next to a wide ceiling-to-floor window. It was a claw foot and about three times the size of any other she had ever seen.
“Where did you get that?”
He smiled at her, and she tried to keep her heart from falling down at his feet. He had one of those smiles that lit up his whole face, including his eyes. There probably wasn’t a woman alive that could resist that smile. To keep herself busy, she placed her bag on the counter.
“It came with the house. It was the one thing that sold me. That and the kitchen.”
He was pouring in some kind of oil. It was lightly scented but not flowery, thank goodness. She really hated anything that reminded her of a garden. Instead it was almost masculine in the scent.
“Come here,” he said and held out his hand.
She did so without hesitation. Maria saw no reason to resist him. Even if she wanted to, she didn’t think she could. She was tired, and with the cozy warmth of the moist heat of the bathroom surrounding her, she allowed her entire body to relax. He tugged on the waistline of her jeans and pulled her in between his legs. She smiled when he slipped the button open and then tugged down the zipper.
“I thought you said you’d go back to work.”
He sighed. “I did, didn’t I? And if I see you naked, that isn’t going to happen.”
He looked so unhappy, she couldn’t resist touching him. She leaned down and cupped his face in both of her hands and gave him a simple kiss, barely brushing her lips against his. When she pulled back, he looked a little stunned.
“Rome?”
He said nothing as he looked at her. She resisted the urge to fidget, just barely.
“Is there something wrong?”
He shook his head. “No, love, there isn’t anything wrong. I’ll leave you to your bath.” He walked to the door then stopped, looking back at her. “Call if you need anything.”
She nodded and watched, perplexed when he shut the door and left her. What was that about? She sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to figure it out. She didn’t know the romantic nature of men. Fighting them, or beside them, that was easy. But trying to understand how their minds worked, that was just not her strong suit—not on this level. Hell, she didn’t understand what she was feeling, or how to deal with it. She decided she would be able to think better after a long, hot bath, just as Rome had suggested. She tugged off her clothes and sunk chin deep into the scented water, glad that for once she had followed some good advice.
· · · · ·
“Anything going on tonight?” Rome asked Micah over the phone. He could hear the muffled music in the background telling Rome that Micah was up in his office.
“Nope. Actually kind of quiet after your performance last night.”
Rome rolled his eyes. “I didn’t perform anywhere. I just laid the groundwork to catch someone’s attention. Did you have any problems with your employees today? Anyone call in sick?”
“No, like I said, a quiet night. I thought I would see you both here tonight.”
He bit down on his irritation. “We’ll be there tomorrow night. I figured it would be odd if we showed up tonight.”
Micah chuckled. “Yeah. Sure, tell yourself that.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“You just didn’t want anyone looking at your new plaything.”
“She isn’t a plaything. I thought we went over this earlier today.”
“Oh, there’s Evan. I’m talking to Rome.”
He heard Evan in the background.
“No, he’s pissy because I called Maria a plaything.”
He ground his teeth. “That’s Agent Callahan.”
“And he’s now saying I have to call her by her title.”
Evan said something else, and Rome felt his face heating again. Dammit, these two were enjoying this too much. Soon the phone was jostled, and the next voice he heard was, of course, Evan’s.
“Hey, bra, how’s it going?”
He sighed, knowing there was no way out of it. No matter how much he tried to keep himself aloof from the whole group of friends, he couldn’t seem to do it. They just ignored him.
“Fine. We’re looking over all the women to see if they had any contact with police. We’ve found eight so far. But if some of them were given warnings, or maybe not even named, this could be hard.”
“May wanted you to know that she talked to Lisa’s roommate, and she said she did have contact with the police.”
Rome sat up. “What happened?”
“Nothing big. Her roommate had a fender bender. It was just a few days before the murder.”
“Can you shoot me the info on the roommate?”
“Sure.” He said nothing for a second. “So May said you’re kind of serious about this Maria.”
Rome sighed. “I know you and Micah have moved into the Dr. Phil camp, but I don’t think I want to discuss my relationship with you.”
“You’re right. He is pissy. Did you not get her to submit last night? What?” Micah was talking in the background.
“It was one night, and this is part of the job.”
“Be careful what you say, bra. Take it from Micah and me. It only takes one time to know someone is that perfect sub. So you better be ready to fight for her if she is.”
He shifted in his seat, not wanting to talk about it. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about it. Rome was pretty sure if he did, he would end up having a full-blown panic attack.
“Again, I’m not in need of any Dr. Phil advice.”
“Just trying to save you some problems.” There was some talking in the background. Dammit, they were doing it again. He didn’t have the patience for this tonight.
“Anything else?”
“No. I’ll get the info on the roommate. Be careful.”
With that, Evan hung up. He knew his friends were right, but at the moment, he couldn’t deal with what was going on inside of him. It was bad enough that a little kiss from Maria had his heart tripping over itself. Less than a week and he was falling for a woman who was going to leave when the job was over.
He walked to the bathroom and listened at the door. He heard no splashing, so he opened the door to check on her. She was sunk down into the water chin deep, her eyes were closed and her breathing even. Dark circles marred the delicate skin beneath her eyes. She hadn’t really had a break since she arrived. He was amazed she hadn’t dropped the moment they walked in the door tonight. The time change was bad enough, but burning the
candles at both ends could end up messing with you.
She was a contained woman who thought she never showed her emotions to the world at large. Most people probably missed them. In the short time that he had known her, he’d realized that the layers she had draped over her were a shield. Just four days and Rome knew he was easily becoming obsessed with her. He noticed every move, every flicker in her eyes, betraying what she was thinking.
Now, though, she lay sleeping, totally silent, the only movement the rise and fall of her chest. He knew he was in deep. Less than a week with her and he was having problems concentrating at work. His ill behavior wasn’t something that he would normally do. He didn’t let his personal life interfere with the job. It was one thing he’d learned from his father who’d spent twenty years in the Seattle PD, and it was solidified in his years as a Marine. As soon as Maria popped up on the island, all that training dissolved.
Getting involved with her was probably a mistake. Not like before, not like with Renee. No, this time he knew that Maria wasn’t dirty. If anything, she was squeaky clean. Probably her father’s doing. Still, this desperate need he felt for her was starting to bother him. He wanted to make her happy, see her smile, and get another simple kiss.
Jesus, he had almost come undone by that little brush of the lips she gave him earlier. It had been the first spontaneous touch from her. It wasn’t that she didn’t shy away from affection. She seemed to soak it up in a lot of ways. He had noticed the way she snuggled closer to him in bed. And when he did touch her, she seemed surprised by it. That made him want to shower her with it. Of course if he came on too strong, she would definitely shy away. He had a feeling she kept herself separate.
“Are you going to keep staring at me?” she asked, her tone filled with light amusement.
“Maybe I just want to watch you.”
Her lips curved, and he felt his heart do a little dance. “Okay, then.”
He would have thought she would be kind of shy about her body, but she wasn’t. Probably that practical nature her father instilled in her.
When she said nothing else, he found himself searching for something to get her to talk. “I thought you were sleeping.”
Opening her eyes, her smile turned into a grin. “I was sort of drifting. You were right, this was a good idea.”
He cocked his head. “Did you actually just admit I had a good idea?”
“I never said you didn’t have good ideas. You said I had bad ideas.”
“Your idea of using yourself as bait is the only thing I disagreed with,” he said as he approached the tub and sat on the ledge.
“You would do it. Did do it when you worked vice in Seattle.”
He nodded as he trailed his fingers in the water. “This is a little different. I had a lot of backup. We have none.”
“This is just allowing us to talk to people. Just the little bit I’ve done in the last few days has helped. Admit it.”
Because she was right, he nodded. “But going to the club does what?”
“Not sure right now. I did hear about Ashton. He likes to pick up women you’ve had.”
“He isn’t very successful.”
“Yeah, a few of the women said to avoid him. He’s not the kind of Dom a new sub would go after. They say he messes with a sub’s head. One of the women he was involved with tried to commit suicide.”
He raised his eyebrows at that comment. “I can’t believe that Micah allowed him to stay a member with that on his record.”
“It’s all rumor and innuendo. She wasn’t a member of the club, and she had issues before then.”
She moved, causing the water to slosh against the tub. It brought his attention back to her breasts. Because of the cool air, her nipples were hard. He couldn’t resist. He reached out and brushed the back of his fingers against the tips. She shivered.
“The water’s getting a little cold, why don’t you come out of there?”
He held his hand out, and she took it readily. Her easy compliance had his blood humming. She rose out of the water, and he sighed. Water dripped down her flesh, off her nipples. He helped her out of the tub.
“Stay there.”
He grabbed the towel and dried her off. He moved his hands over her body, his pulse pounding.
By the time she was dry, he was ready to strip off his clothes right there and take her. Hell, his hands were shaking. Not for the first time did he realize he was acting like some green Dom, not truly ready to take on his first sub. She turned him inside out without even trying. And the hell of it was that she didn’t realize her power. If or when she did, Rome knew he was going to be in big trouble.
He wanted to set her up on the wide bathroom counter and feast on that sweet little pussy of hers. But he had toys he’d bought her, ones he wanted to use on her and only her. Somehow he pulled himself back from the brink of losing complete control.
“Come on, Maria. Let’s have some fun.”
Chapter Ten
Maria followed Rome into his bedroom. Every step took considerable effort. From the first, she had known sex with Rome would be different, but this was…beyond what she would have accepted just two weeks earlier. She was naked, walking through his house, following him like she was some kind of slave.
She shook that idea away. It wasn’t the way Rome saw her. Being the sub didn’t mean he didn’t respect her. But this was one thing she wasn’t prepared for. She’d never been ashamed of her body, but walking naked through a house with a man wasn’t something she did on a regular basis. As she stepped into the room, she had to fight the urge to run screaming. She knew he would push her, and ask things of her that she wasn’t sure she could give him. She had done enough research to know that last night, Rome had taken it easy on her. She didn’t know if she could do it. It would be harder this time. Rome would push her over the edge, push her farther than she’d been before.
He took her to the bed. “Sit down.”
She did as ordered and waited. The silence stretched as he went to his dresser and took out some things. At this angle, she couldn’t see what they were and her imagination ran wild with the possibilities. Rumor was that Rome preferred anal sex. Could she do that? She had never done it before, but she had been interested in it. In fact, it was the one thing she thought about during masturbation that sent her over the edge.
He turned to face her, a small smile playing over his lips. She loved when he smiled. It made him look so carefree, so much younger. He had these little crinkles that formed around his eyes that just caused her to sigh. It was then that she noticed the wide paddle he had in his hand. She felt her eyes widen at the sight. Large, wooden, with one side padded with red leather.
“You understand when you became my sub last night that you are now mine to pleasure.”
She nodded, unable to tear her gaze away from the paddle. He kept stroking his long fingers over the soft leather. She could remember the way his fingers had skimmed over her flesh with the same kind of delicacy he now showed the paddle. Damp heat gathered in her pussy, and she had to force herself not to squirm. She knew without being told that Rome would punish her for it.
Like that was a deterrent.
“I want to go back over the rules, although you apparently have the ‘do not speak unless spoken to’ rule down.”
She said nothing, her focus on the paddle. Did he intend to use it on her? What a stupid question. Of course he did. There was no reason he would have it out right now if he didn’t plan on paddling her. Just the thought of having him spank her had her blood churning. Fear and arousal slipped through her veins as she tried to concentrate on what he was saying.
“Maria, look at me.”
It took her a second, but she finally raised her gaze to his. His expression was impassive, but she could already see the heat building in his eyes. His gaze was so intense she could feel it all the way to the soles of her feet. If she’d had to speak at that moment, she would have failed. Maria knew without trying that words w
ould have escaped her. No man had ever looked at her like she was the only thing on earth he ever needed. She was trying hard to ignore the way her heart trembled as her lungs seized. All her rational thought started slipping away. For once, she wanted to pretend that this was for good, forever.
“I am going to test some of your limits tonight. There are situations that might make you uncomfortable. Don’t ever think that using your safe word is a coward’s way out. We all have boundaries. We all have things that we can’t do. This is all about learning these things to better understand our true selves. Do you understand?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
He stepped closer, slipping his hands over her cheek. As he continued to cup her face, he leaned down and gave her a kiss. It wasn’t very erotic as kisses went, but it sent sparks of heat racing through her blood. “Good. Now, I want you to stand up and turn around. Place your hands on the bed.”
She complied but apparently it wasn’t enough.
“Spread your legs out further.”
When he had her in the spot he wanted her in, he brushed his hand over the full part of each of her ass cheeks. The touch was delicate, almost reverent. She really hated to think she was standing there, naked, her most hated body part on display. But as he caressed her flesh, those worries dissolved. No matter how she felt about herself, Rome had some kind of ability to ignore all her self-doubt. The fact that he affected her so much in such a short amount of time should worry her. But as his hands moved over her skin, she couldn’t think.
With one last soft touch, he pulled away. Without warning, the next thing she felt was the hard whack of the paddle. Pain hit her first and then pleasure eased the ache as little ripples of heat filtered out over her skin. She curled her toes into the bare wooden floor.
“Aw, honey, you should see your ass.”
His voice had deepened, and it sent a dark thrill through her. She liked the feeling, the way her flesh heated. She was already wet, had been from the time he touched her. But knowing how much it aroused him added to the excitement.
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