by Measha Stone
Black Light: Suspicion
Measha Stone
Copyright © 2018 by Measha Stone
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
e-Book ISBN: 978-1-947559-97-4
Print ISBN: 978-1-947559-97-4
Cover Art by Eris Adderly
Contents
Untitled
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
About the Author
Also by Measha Stone
Black Collar Press
BLACK LIGHT: SUSPICION
BY
MEASHA STONE
Blurb
“I have my own suspicions about you, Sophie.”
Sophie Nelson knows her kinky interests are no more than fantasy, definitely not something that’ll ever happen in the real world. So the sexual playground Black Light is the best place to turn. A safe place to play. Until Scott.
Detective Scott Russo knows better than to get sexually involved with his partner. Mixing business with pleasure never ends well, but sometimes rules are meant to be broken. He can’t avoid the temptation of giving Sophie exactly what she needs, even if that means a firm hand.
While Sophie and Scott find themselves mired in a high-stakes investigation, their off-duty kinky explorations intensify. With danger at the door, and complications that threaten to tear them apart, can they survive the tug of war.
Chapter 1
Fate could be a cruel fucking bitch.
Detective Scott Russo stared across his desk to where his newest partner sat clicking away on her computer. Her long hair was twisted into a high and tight bun, meant to keep it from being a danger when they worked cases on the street. To him, he could easily use it to grab in his fist and pull her head back and get her mouth lined up to meet his.
Or to get those pouty lips to start telling him why she hadn’t taken a bite of the chicken sandwich she’d ordered from the takeout cart down the street.
“You gonna stare at me working, or you gonna actually jump in and help?” Sophie smiled at her computer screen.
They’d finished a case, thankfully rather easy and not too gruesome. Working homicide didn’t exactly make for cheerful conversation most shifts, but Sophie’s easy banter made the days less horrific. Since she’d started, he found himself less unwilling to get his ass to work every day.
“I finished mine already,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “You can take a break you know. Your sandwich’s been sitting there for a while. Probably cold by now.”
She stopped typing and glanced at the unwrapped sandwich sitting center stage on her desk. Not once in the short time they’d been partnered up had she skipped a meal. Not even after working a crime scene that could have been taken right out of a Freddy Krueger flick.
Sophie had a few more curves than most female officers in the precinct, but unlike other women he knew, it didn’t seem to bother her. So her staring at the sandwich, with her tongue running along her lower lip, and then shaking her head and going back to her report didn’t sit well.
“I’m good. After I finish this,” she said, her gaze sweeping over his face, but never landing on him.
He didn’t push the issue, but he really wanted to. He wanted to yank her from her chair and demand full honesty, but this wasn’t that sort of partnership. This was only work.
“Sophie, you seem distracted today? Got a new boyfriend causing trouble?” Okay, he was fishing, but he didn’t care. The idea of her going home at night and meeting someone for dinner made his spine tingle. He had no right to lay claim to her. They were partners, friends, and he doubted she would submit to his type of relationship, yet he still needed to probe.
She reached over the desk for a file. “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” She opened the file and flipped through until she found what she must have been looking for and pulled out the sheet of paper.
“Ah, hard to find Prince Charming in this city, right?” He pressed, pulling himself closer to the desk. His erection wouldn’t be easy to miss if anyone walked past, and damned if he’d let her see how much of an effect she had on him.
“Not every girl wants Prince Charming,” she muttered more to herself than to him and turned back to her computer.
“No, I suppose not.” The last time he’d heard a girl say something along that line, she’d been negotiating a hard flogging scene with him at Black Light.
“But yeah, it’s definitely hard to find what I want in this city- or any other city.” She cast a short glance at him then straightened her back and dove into her report again.
Scott learned long ago not to play in the vanilla world. If a girl wasn’t into submission, he wouldn’t be the one to introduce the topic. But he couldn’t get an accurate read on Sophie. One second she could look at him with the softness he loved in a sub, and the next it was gone.
Aside from the fact she had more beauty in her little toe than that last dozen women he’d taken out, she had the brains and the confidence to go along with it.
“Russo! I need you a second.” Captain Peterson called from his office door.
He discreetly adjusted his hard on in his jeans and threw on his jacket to hopefully help hide it more before he stood up.
“Better go.” Sophie smiled, peeking at him from around her screen. “Don’t want to earn a spanking, “she teased. Her cheeks bloomed pink right before his eyes.
Fuck.
Yeah. Fate was a cruel bitch.
Chapter 2
Did people get food poisoning from bottled water?
Sophie Nelson rubbed her stomach as she inched her way through the crush of the crowd. She’d traded in her daily meals for large bottles of water in anticipation of the evening’s events. Knowing nerves would finally show their ugly head at exactly the wrong moment, she wasn’t taking any chances on getting sick because of them.
Except, her stomach still twisted and turned, though she was pretty sure she’d be able to hold it together. She had waited too long to finally go for it—no way she was letting a little nervousness get in her way.
A quarter of DC showed up at Black Light for the Valentine Roulette. Or rather it just felt that way with everyone crowding around, waiting for the event to begin.
She’d joined the club only a month ago, so it seemed like the perfect way to start down this new path of hers. Go to the party, get paired with someone, and fall to her knees in servitude. Of course, she knew it didn’t really happen that way, but a girl could dream.
Even though she’d become a member, she hadn’t actually set foot in the club until the night of the roulette game. She considered the wasted money a down payment on her future bliss.
If this worked and she actually met someone.
She made her way to the bar and ordered another water. A bourbon straight sounded better, but on an empty stomach it was like lighting a match near an open g
as line. She’d never make it back to work in the morning.
“Sophie?” a deep voice, a familiar voice, a spine-tingling familiar voice, called her name from behind her.
Placing the bottle of water back on the bar, she pushed on a smile and turned around.
Fuck.
“Scott! Hi.” She forced lightness, while her toes scrunched up in her flats.
“What are you doing here?” He maneuvered through a small group of women and stopped right in front of her.
The odds of her new partner showing up at the same BDSM club, at the same event on the same night as her? Shouldn’t it have been an impossibility?
Her face heated, but with the dark ambiance and the neon lighting, she could find some comfort in that he probably couldn’t see how deep her blush burned.
“Same as you, probably.” She gripped the end of the bar, pushing the edge into her palm.
“By yourself?” he asked, looking behind her and around.
“I didn’t think this was really a plus one event.” She tilted her head and bit down on her lower lip.
He took half a step back and ran his gaze over her. The ground could open up any time now to swallow her up. She’d gone with a pair of black leggings, a white tunic, and a thick black belt to accentuate her waist. His stare paused but didn’t linger where she’d left the top two buttons of the low neckline unbuttoned, showcasing cleavage but more importantly the purple lace bralette she’d picked up for the evening.
“You’re rolling?” he asked with a furrowed brow. He’d shaved. He must have gone home after their shift; his beard was trimmed, his hair neater, and styled. The sandy blond hair paired beautifully with his light brown eyes.
She cleared her throat to pull herself out of her trance. “Yes. Of course… Are you?” What could be more awkward?
He laughed. “Yeah. What are the odds, huh?” He leaned one elbow against the bar, regarding her with a relaxed smile that tore right through her.
After her move from the second district to the third within the Metropolitan Police Department, she’d been paired with Scott. As a partner, he was efficient, smart, and completely easy to work with. They’d already managed to get two closed cases under their belts. And while on duty, when she had the badge strapped to her belt, she could forget how handsome he was, how enticing his rock-hard body could be. She forced her libido to chill out. But now, with his casual smile distracting her and those tattoos of his she hadn’t seen before peaking out at her from beneath his black t-shirt—she couldn’t function.
“You okay?” he asked, placing his hand on hers.
“What? Yeah. Of course.” She pulled away, his touch too warm, too tingling. Her head spun, a little tilt at first, but then it really took a nose dive, and she latched onto his arm to keep from falling over.
“You sure?” His eyebrows knitted together.
Blinking a few times and grabbing a few more sips of her water, she nodded. “Yep. Just got a little lightheaded. Must be all the people. It’s really crowded in here tonight.” She turned, pushing her back against the bar, wishing it had more of a bite. The rounded edges didn’t do much for a distraction.
“How long have you been a member?” He angled his head. She knew that look. He’d given the same one to the suspect they’d questioned in an armed robbery case last week. Cool tone, but serious eyes. He was fishing.
“Recently enrolled. Really hoping for the free month though, right?” She laughed then cleared her throat again. When the hell were they going to get the party started?
“Uh, huh. So, you’ve been here, how many times exactly?” He took the water bottle from her hands when the plastic crinkled.
“What about you, new or veteran member?” Turn the questions on to him and maybe he’d drop it. She didn’t need to explain her complete lack of experience. It was nerve-racking enough being a complete newb in the presence of so many people who appeared every bit like they belonged there. A neon light over her head alerting everyone how virginal she was in their realm would only make her nerves heighten.
Her stomach swirled, and she swallowed. The lightheadedness from a moment ago increased. The crowd moved forward, closer to the stage.
“Looks like they’re starting.” She pointed and moved along with the crowd. Scott followed, standing behind her.
Another couple appeared beside him, talking with each other. The low murmur in the room rose in volume. Chattering, laughing, a squeal from a microphone. She touched her forehead to steady her mind.
She was actually going to go through with it. She was going to be paired up with a man, who would spend the next three hours dominating her. Finally, she’d know what it was like. All the fantasizing, all the horrible attempts with previous boyfriends who placated her would finally be worth something. Those experiences brought her to where she stood.
What if she couldn’t do it? What happened if she rolled the roulette wheel and landed on an activity that sounded perfectly hot when she’d filled out the application for the evening’s game, but once in the middle of it, she needed to cry red? She wouldn’t only be blowing her own chance at a free month’s membership, but her partner’s as well. It would be her fault. He’d hate her. He’d tell everyone in the club how much of a pussy she was, and she’d never find anyone. She’d be stuck in the vanilla world forever.
Her chest constricted. Air became harder to take in as the crowd moved again, closer. Too close to her. She tried to turn to her side, to give her chest more room to expand. Nothing. Maybe it was the bralette; maybe she had it too tight.
“This was a bad idea,” she muttered to herself. Scott moved behind her. She could feel him shift from one foot to the other.
Again, her mind lurched, spinning off its axis. She needed air. She needed to get a grip.
“I have to go. I-I don’t think I can do this,” she said and turned to push her way out of the crowd. Instead of taking a step, she fell into darkness.
He glared at her.
When Sophie opened her eyes, the dim lighting didn’t hide his hard stare. Scott sat beside the medical cot she lay on, leaning over her with a fierce frown planted on his face.
“You’re awake,” he said, although it sounded more like an accusation.
Of course, she was awake. Her eyes were open, weren’t they?
“Hey.” She smiled, pushing her hands against the cot and trying to get up.
“No.” He shook his head and pushed against her shoulder, putting her right back down. “Not until Garreth examines you again and tells me you’re okay.”
“Can’t I tell you I’m okay?” She pressed the heels of her palms to her eyes. She’d fainted. Fuck. She hadn’t fainted since high school. Her head fogged up, and a headache wasn’t too far off.
“No, but you can tell me what you ate today.” No more lighthearted questions.
She sighed. “Nothing. I ate nothing. Which is probably what made my blood sugar drop and made me faint.” No sense in lying. “Why are you here? You should be out there.” She jerked a finger at the door. “They’re going to start soon.”
“They already did.” He sat back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest.
“Oh.” She closed her eyes again. She’d ruined her night, and his. No wonder he was pissed.
“You didn’t need to stay with me. I’m fine.”
“Hey, you’re up. Good. How do you feel?” Garreth walked up to her with an open bottle of water and some sugar cookies.
“Like an idiot.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Scott didn’t move from his position, so she had to scoot down to make room for herself. “I’m really sorry.”
“Not a problem. It happens. Nerves are normal when you’re trying new kinks for the first time. And tonight is a big event.” Garreth handed her the cookies. “As long as you’re doing okay, I’m going back to the floor. There’s a medical scene I want to be near tonight.”
“Yeah. I’m fine. A few cookies, and I’ll be good to g
o.”
Garreth studied her. “Okay. If you need anything, Scott can come get me.” He slapped Scott on his back.
“Will do,” Scott answered, but continued to grind his glare into Sophie as she nibbled on her cookies.
“Okay, then,” Garreth said and left.
“Don’t look at me like that.” She pointed a finger at him and shoved the last cookie into her mouth. The buttery, sugary crumbles melted on her tongue. Her stomach growled.
“Like what?”
“Like I’m the asshole sitting across the table from you in an interrogation room. So, I’m a new member, never been here before. I was nervous, so I didn’t eat today. And now I’ve ruined my night, and yours. I’m sorrier about ruining yours.” Her shoulders drooped. Humiliation could be handled but tanking someone else’s fun just plain sucked.
She focused her attention on the bottle of water in her hands. He should be saying something. Anything would be good. The silence stretching out made her ears throb.
“Did you drive?” he asked after a heavy sigh.
“No. I cabbed it. Wasn’t sure if I’d be—” She stopped herself from finishing her sentence. She wasn’t about to tell her partner, her very hot partner, that she’d hoped to go home with someone that night.
Ugh. What a whore she’d sound like. She capped the water and placed it on a nearby table.
“I’ll drive you.” He stood from his chair and offered his hand to help her up.