“Jaz, I’m right behind you,” Jorges said as he steadied both her and the captain while a steward worked on freeing his wrists.
“My room. Now.” She brushed his hands away. “Help him. I can walk.”
“I don’t think so, Jaz. You’re not looking so hot.”
“I’ll run ahead and prepare the room.” She bent to retrieve her whip and leapt off the stage without another glance backward. She raced from the room with murmurs of confused patrons filling her ears.
The captain’s needs. That was her only concern. Everything else, every thought that had nothing to do with the captain’s welfare didn’t, couldn’t, exist. Focusing on that one task kept the jitters out of her hands and the tears from falling while she prepared the bed for his arrival.
The men were only a few minutes behind her with the captain grumbling his displeasure over being carried by Jorges and the steward. “I can walk.”
Jorges chuckled. “Not this time, Rookie. Trust me.”
“Please, Marco. Relax. Lie on your belly,” she pleaded in a soft voice.
His lashes fluttered and he stared at her for several seconds before nodding and following the directive without a sound. Jorges fell just as silent as they both sensed trouble on the horizon yet didn’t know from where the danger lay.
“Call me, if you need anything,” Jorges said and motioned for the steward to follow.
She grabbed the steward’s wrist as he turned to leave them and whispered, “Wait outside by the door please.”
His eyes flicked back at the captain before he nodded.
“Thank you,” she said and climbed onto the bed to kneel by Marco’s side.
After he settled, she placed her hand on the small of his back and reached for a cool compress. Creating a secure environment was crucial at this stage and the constant physical contact helped establish that security.
“Rest. Don’t move, don’t speak,” she said and layered rows of damp cloth over his red back. “Your body needs time to readjust.”
At the top of his shoulder was the spot her whip struck the hardest and the bitter tang of regret filled her mouth. Fortunately the welt was going down but forevermore he’d carry the mark of her carelessness.
“I’m sorry,” she said in a voice thick with shame and applied antibiotic ointment on the cut. “I know better than to strike out in such a way. I didn’t mean for it to go that far.”
He chuckled into the pillow. “I kind of liked it. Showed me you didn’t like the thought of Mistress Madeline touching me. I knew you cared.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course I care about your well-being,” she said, deliberately avoiding the meaning of his statement. “Now rest.”
“I’m not sleepy. Besides, I love your sponge baths.”
“Really. Then why are your eyes closed?”
“The better to feel you with, my dear.”
“Uh-huh.” She pushed her fingers into his thick hair and rubbed his scalp.
“Damn, woman,” he sighed while she mentally began counting. By the time she reached twenty-two, the sound of his soft snores reached her ears.
Aside from the welt, any other marks on his body were superficial and already started to fade. Relief that she hadn’t done any other permanent damage was short-lived. Deeper issues had raised their hands for attention and to not acknowledge them was only going to make things worse.
Just like anyone else, she hated confrontations, but she never ran from them either. The best course of action was to be as mentally and physically prepared as possible, and being dressed in a silk robe appearing as if ready for a dirty fuck wasn’t going to cut it.
Marco settled deeper into the mattress as she covered him with a blanket and brushed the hair off his forehead one last time. She crept to the door and eased out into the hall.
“I’m going to change clothes and be back in a minute,” she informed the steward. “He’s sleeping now, but let me know if he tries to leave. I should be back before he wakes.”
“Yes, Mistress. Do you want me to make him stay if he tries to leave?”
“Ask him to stay, but he may leave if he wishes. I’ll make it quick so it doesn’t become an issue.”
The steward nodded and she all but ran back to the dressing area. In her experience, he should be out for a while after the scene they just experienced, but Marco had proven time and again he wasn’t a normal man.
To her dismay the dressing room was occupied when she arrived, and by none other than Madeline and two other Mistresses.
“That was quite the show, Jaz,” Madeline said as she leaned forward toward the mirror and adjusted her breasts in her corset. “I love to watch you bend them to your will.”
Jasmine accepted the praise with a polite smile as she changed into a rather sedate, black knee-length skirt and emerald-green blouse. The only concession to the club scene was the thigh-high boots she tugged over her knees. Nothing about her behavior of the evening felt praise-worthy, but she didn’t have time to banter with the other women, or contradict them. All of her energy was needed for the near future.
She wished the women a hasty goodnight then raced back to her dungeon.
The steward stepped away from the door as she neared. “All’s quiet.”
“Thank you.” She opened the door and peeked inside. Marco was awake and sitting up with the white sheet draped across his lap.
He looked so sexy and tousled as he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands and his hair stuck up in all directions. So warm and manly. She wanted to crawl beside him, tug him back down and sleep the rest of the night away.
For a heartbeat, one long solitary heartbeat, she considered doing just that. Then she drew in a breath and her gaze landed on the neatly stacked pile of his clothes on the stool to her right. The outline of his handcuffs was visible through the pocket of his pants. A reminder of their outside lives that cut off the irrational train of thought before it split and divided into a cancer that grew out of control.
“Hey,” he said and scratched at his chest with a yawn. “I didn’t mean to crash like that.”
“I’m surprised you’re not still asleep.” She crossed to the mini-refrigerator and withdrew a bottle. “Here, drink this.”
“Thanks.” He took the bottle of water and chugged half of it down in three large gulps. “I didn’t realize how much energy is expended when being whipped.”
His wink didn’t make her feel any better. “Captain—”
“I love those boots on you,” he interrupted. “But I don’t like the frown on your face.”
She smoothed her hands over her hips and straightened her spine. “Captain, this evening has proved to me that we are not looking for the same things from this relationship. I am letting you out of your contract. If you still wish to continue your exploration of your submissive side, I can,” God, she could barely speak the words, “arrange for you to be with another Mistress.”
“What the fuck?” He sprang from the bed in all of his naked glory. “Jasmine, what’s this about?”
“That. That right there. Your disrespect for protocol is what this is about. For your safety I must remain in control. I cannot have you deliberately provoking me. It’s too dangerous.”
He sighed and rubbed at his neck. “Okay. I’m sorry, I was being an ass. But that doesn’t mean that we have to stop.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Says who?”
“Says me.”
“Well, you’re wrong. Is this—is this because I asked you out?”
She shifted on her feet. “There are several factors that went into my decision.”
“Oh my God. It does.” He shook his head and stalked closer. “What is so wrong about wanting to spend more time with you?”
“I already told you, I don’t have the time to give. Look, I’m not going to rehash an old argument. It’s best to end things now.”
“Best for who? Damn it.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, his lips tightened over his
teeth as his body shuddered. “I don’t know what has you pushing me away, but let’s talk this out.”
“There is nothing else to talk about. I’m sure in the morning you will see that I’m not what you’re looking for and realize that there is someone else more suited for your needs.”
“Right now all I see is a woman who is running from an imaginary problem. This isn’t like you. You’re the great Mistress Jasmina.” He stalked closer and she inched away from the flames of anger and disbelief that burned in his eyes. “You make men like me fall on their knees begging to please you. You’re not afraid of anything, yet now you’re acting like a coward. Why?”
She didn’t know, she wanted to shout as panic seized her by the throat. It wasn’t that he was bigger or she feared for her safety as he loomed over her, but the urge to run burned down her legs. The crazy thing was she didn’t know if it was to run into his arms or bolt out of the room.
That indecision forced her closer to the door and away from Marco. His overwhelming presence muddled her thinking and tempted her to forget all of the rules that made the different parts of her life function as a cohesive unit. Was it a cowardly move to make a break for it? Maybe. But he’d see, in time, she was doing him a favor.
“Good luck, Captain. I wish you well.”
“Stop. Just stop.” He snagged her by the arm and settled his hands on her shoulder. “I’m not going to let you walk away without a fight. Just tell me what’s wrong, baby. I’ll fix it.”
“Baby?” She knocked his hands away. Was he insane? What made him think she’d tolerate being addressed as something so childish? Where had she gone wrong with him? “Did you just call me baby? What in our history together made you believe you can address me in such a manner? I am not your girlfriend or your child, and there is nothing for you to fix. We are but two people who might have been able to share a mutual desire, but it’s obvious we are not what each other needs. I don’t have the time for games and I’m not going to waste your time when it is obvious submission is not in your nature. Goodbye, Captain.”
“You’re misinterpreting my intentions and not making any sense. Jasmine. Jasmine,” he shouted as she turned to leave. “Don’t walk out that door.”
The rest of what he said was muffled behind two inches of wood as she closed the door in his face.
“Baby,” she muttered. “Of all the nerve.”
Admit it. You liked it. You liked his sweetness. The familiarity.
“It’s degrading.”
But you still liked it. And you are being a coward.
“He’s not ready and neither am I.”
The more you say it, the more you’ll believe it. But know this, you probably walked out on the best man you’ll ever have.
“Probably is the operative word.”
Sure, the captain was possibly the perfect man for her. But inside she knew the painful truth. She was not the best woman for him.
Chapter Eleven
“Captain. Come on, Cap, go home. You’re gonna drool all over the evidence.”
“Huh—what?” Marco jerked upright and swiped his palm down his face. “I’m up. I’m up.”
Coulter reached toward him and peeled away the notecard stuck to his hair, then took the seat across from the desk. “Sure you are. It’s six thirty. Have you been here all night?”
“Well, when you’ve been scooping up criminals at the rate we’ve been lately, a lot of paperwork accumulates.”
“I take it she’s still not returning your calls.”
Marco didn’t acknowledge the statement. He wrenched open the drawer by his side and rifled through the contents in search of a protein bar or anything to fill the hunger in his belly. The next time he stopped by his house he’d have to remember to throw some munchies into a bag to bring back to the station. Over the last two weeks he’d eaten his way through the buffet in the vending machine and his wallet was depleted of ones. Not to mention all of that junk food was giving him gas and the sodium was making his left arm tingle. An apple was more likely not to kill him.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Coulter offered.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“She hasn’t replaced you.”
He paused mid-bite and met Coulter’s gaze for a second before letting it fall and biting off a good-sized chunk of chocolate and nuts. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled with his mouth full.
“Bullshit. You’ve been sulking and going nonstop since after the night she whipped you. I know you two parted ways.”
The candy stuck in his throat as he sputtered. “How do you know she whipped me?”
Coulter smiled. “I was there. You were too distracted to notice me in the room. I recognized Jasmina before I recognized you.”
“Do you think anyone else knew it was me?”
“I don’t think so. Unless they know what your dick looks like.” He smiled. “Your face was covered pretty well. So…what happened?”
If only he knew. One minute he was floating on a cloud of endorphins, then plunged into an icy pool of what-the-fuck when she broke their contract. In his gut he knew the fear he saw in her dark eyes was not caused by him but stemmed from something deep inside her. For days he tried to find out what had made her run but the damn woman was like a ghost. She wouldn’t answer her phone or return his calls. No one saw her at the club and she was never at work when he stopped by. He tracked down her address, but all of his drive-bys came up empty.
He had hoped all she needed was some time alone. But it had been over two weeks and his patience was wearing thin. He wasn’t going to wait forever. Didn’t she miss him at least a little bit?
Marco shook his head and rearranged the paperwork on his desk. The only good thing that had come from his break with Jasmine was that his team was putting the royal smack-down on Smithwick’s crew. Jenny’s intel was platinum, putting names with faces and their roles in the organization. Add that valuable intelligence to his frustration with Jasmine and he’d become the Elliot Ness of the drug world. Now all he wanted was to put Smithwick down so he’d have more time to work on whatever demons Jasmine carried that prevented her from at least trying to engage in a “normal” relationship.
God. Wasn’t that thought jacked up? His intentions should be to take a major criminal off the streets for the good of the people, not because he had woman issues. Perhaps he wasn’t ready for anything more than a weekly fuck.
“Jeez, Cap. I’ve never seen you look so sad.” Coulter laid his hand over his chest. “You’re breaking my heart.”
“Shut up, Coulter.” He crumpled up a piece of paper and pitched it at the younger man. “The truth is I don’t know what happened. I asked to spend more time with her and she spooked.”
“Ahhh.” Coulter leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of his nose. “It all becomes clear. She likes you.”
“She has a shitty way of showing it.”
“Hear me out. Mistress Jasmina is notorious for not dating anyone. You ask to get closer. She pushes you away and goes offline. She hasn’t been seen at the club in weeks. Scuttlebutt at the club has all of the Doms wondering where she went. She hasn’t spoken to anyone. Even Jorges is worried, and he’s usually a cool customer. You got to her. I think she likes you but doesn’t know how to handle it.”
He frowned at his lieutenant. “How do you know so much information? And how have I not noticed you in the club?”
“If I had tits like hers two inches from my nose, I wouldn’t notice anyone, even if they were on fire.”
“True that.”
Marco sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Having Coulter share the same theory he had was a comfort, but it didn’t make the situation easier to bear. Only the increased workload kept his hands off his phone and his mind occupied. Most of the time.
“I haven’t given up on her yet,” he said. “Once we wrap up this Smithwick case, I’ll be at her door, on the phone, hell, I’ll even t
hrow myself off another building until she speaks to me.”
Coulter chuckled. “I hope it doesn’t come to that. Good thing we’re close to shutting him down.”
“We’re damn close.” He leaned forward and lowered his voice. It might have appeared they were the only ones on the floor, but he didn’t doubt the cubicle walls had ears. “Peters is out getting all of our warrants in order. I think we’ll be ready launch sooner rather than later.” He tapped his finger on the calendar on his desk. Two more days and Smithwick’s ass was his.
“Awesome.” Coulter clapped his hands. “I need a vacation. But first, I need a cup of coffee. I don’t know how you’re even upright. Can I get you anything?”
“Where are you going?”
“Sit for a Spell. The stuff here will burn a hole in my stomach.”
“Get me a large and a blueberry muffin.” His stomach gurgled. “Two muffins.”
“Will do.”
Marco stood and lifted his hands over his head, stretching his neck to the left and right. The pop-pop-pop of his vertebrae aligning made him wince, but the resulting sensation was totally worth it. He needed to get Smithwick in a cage now, if only so he’d have the opportunity to sleep in his own bed for the entire night.
Or Jasmine’s bed. And he’d make damn sure he wasn’t the only one tied down.
“Hey, Cap.” Coulter’s shout preceded his reappearance at Marco’s cubicle.
“That was fast.”
“You have to see this.” Coulter handed him his cellphone. “This was on my Facebook feed.”
The worried look in the man’s eye made his jaw tighten with dread. He looked at the screen and groaned. “What the fuck is this?”
“It’s going viral.”
“Of course it is because no one has anything better to do. Damn it. Coulter—”
He was already waving him away. “Go. Find her. I’ll let you know when Peters is ready.”
“Thanks, man.” He gave Coulter back his phone and reached for his car keys.
As he ran to the elevator, he tried not to give in to the panic that made his stomach lurch. The photos lighting up the internet could be nothing more than a harmless prank. Unfortunately, he had a suspicion as to who was behind them and the message they were sending.
Only at The Cavern Page 17