“You sure you want to do this, Elena? It’s going to be risky and stressful. I don’t want you to push yourself too soon and relapse.”
“Yes, Sir, I want to do this. I have an old score to settle with Luis. I won’t go into it but he deserves to pay for his crimes.”
“Don’t call me Sir outside a scene. Dex is fine.” Dex couldn’t bear to hear her address him as Sir in that low, throaty voice. It brought back old feelings and longings. He was determined not to open his heart up to Elena Lopez again. “OK, let’s go back.”
“Wait. About that… about our agreement, the ROA thing isn’t going to work for me, Dex. I think it’s best we just keep this professional and when it’s done we can go our separate ways, yeah?”
Dex gave her a flippant, “You got it. Either of us had the choice to opt out at any time. I heard the message you left for Sean. No strings, remember?”
“Yeah.” She turned and headed back to the conference room. “No strings.”
Dex remained standing, but waited for Elena to take a seat. “OK, here are my conditions. First, I want frequent and random drug testing. She’s an addict and we can’t put her recovery or the mission in jeopardy if she relapses.” He watched her face redden as all eyes swung to her in surprise. Only Cap and Rick seemed unfazed. He had shared some of his Intel on her over the past few years. At least Cap knew who he was dealing with.
“Second, I want Lil T with her and full surveillance. We don’t want another kidnapping on our hands if they figure out she’s working for us.” Cap and Lil T nodded their agreement.
“Third, we put a man on her parents at all times. Hector Lopez had a stroke and is still recovering at home. I won’t have them placed at risk.”
“No problem there, Dex.” Cap was agreeing to all his demands, none of which were unreasonable.
“Fourth, I need a week to train her.” Elena gasped and reddened even further. Dex had trained her years ago when she had become his submissive. He knew all the Doms at the table had read her misperception of the training he wanted to do. He chuckled although without real humor, there wasn’t anything funny about this FUBAR situation. “The training is in self-defense and how to handle a weapon, Elena.”
Elena bowed her head in obvious embarrassment at her mistake. She nodded. Lil T sitting next to her put a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave a little squeeze. That didn’t sit right with Dex at all, but he tamped down his possessive feelings and remained silent. She wasn’t his to guide any longer, but he’d damn sure make certain she was protected.
“I have one condition as well, Dex.” Sean spoke for the first time. “Elena comes back to work at The Club.” He rushed to explain as he saw Dex’s face go tight with anger. “Hear me out first before you take my head off. The Club is the only place we can really protect her best while she works. Other clubs or venues are unknowns to us. We don’t have security and full access. Plus, she needs to work and our members have been complaining ever since she left. She’s good and has been great for business.” The other’s nodded in agreement and Dex felt outnumbered. He was the manager though, his decision was final.
“I also thought we could use The Club as bait. Eduardo and Luis like to party. Now that they are upscale I thought we could attract them to The Club where we can watch them. We don’t have to offer membership but a few well-placed invites to events open to the public might lure them into our world.”
“Can you live with that, Dex?” Cap watched as Dex ran the scenarios in his head. An expert strategist, he studied a situation from all angles before making a decision. Cap wondered if that applied when his heart and emotions were involved.
“She’s restricted to the lounge, bar and backstage. No exceptions.”
“Done.”
“OK.” His eyes zeroed in on Elena. “We start your training tomorrow at 11 am. Be here and be on time.” The implied ‘or else’ hung silently between them and made her butt tingle as she remembered the last time.
“I can start tonight, Dex. I don’t have a gig since its Thursday.”
“Nope, doesn’t work for me.” He turned and strode across the room. “I’ve got a date.”
He didn’t have to see the stricken look on Elena’s face to know he scored a direct hit when he flung that taunt in her face before leaving. He heard one of his friends, probably little T mutter behind him, “Culo!” Yep, he was an asshole and he planned to stay that way. It was the only way to protect his heart from the only woman he would ever love.
Chapter Eleven
“Stop closing your eyes when you pull the trigger. You can’t hit your target if you can’t see it.”
“I can’t help it. I hate this thing.” Elena took off her electronic headgear and turned to blast Dex who was standing behind her.
“For the last time, you don’t have to take off your headgear to speak to me. These are high tech, I can still hear you so leave your damn safety gear on!”
“Whatever.” She put the 9mm automatic down in front of her then demanded, “I need something lighter.”
“You’ll get used to it with practice. Anything smaller isn’t going to stop a two-hundred pound man coming at you, especially if he’s jacked up on drugs.” He picked up the gun and handed it back to her. “Now reload and go again.”
“Bastardo,”She muttered under her breath after she replaced her headphones.
“You’re right, I am a bastard, babe. But remember I can still hear you and don’t appreciate the language. I will still paddle your ass when necessary, so watch who you’re talking to.” Dex paused, looking at her with a determined expression. “In fact, if I remember correctly a spanking always settled you down and helped you regain your focus. Let’s go.”
Dex grabbed her hand and pulled her off the range and into the observation bay. Pulling out a chair from against the wall he sat and patted his thigh. “Assume the position, Elena.”
She stared at him in shock. He wanted to spank her? Was that a good idea when he was still so angry? She knew she deserved it as she had deliberately provoked him with her attitude today. But she was confused by it all.
“I’m waiting. Pull down your jeans and get over my lap. The longer it takes the longer you will be ass up over my knee so I suggest you do as you’re told.”
“But I asked to be let out of the agreement.”
“This isn’t about an agreement. I heard you on that. This is about you doing dangerous undercover work while being distracted and quarrelsome. Both could get you dead. As your handler in this operation I am going to take action to correct that attitude, here and now.” He looked at her sternly and severely. “Now, I’m not going to repeat myself again. Get your pants down and over my knee.”
Elena squirmed under his scrutiny but did as she was told. She unbuttoned her jeans and slipped them down to her knees then awkwardly placed herself face down over his powerful thighs. Her face burned as she thought about the sight she presented in her skimpy blue thong.
“This is a familiar position for you. Who spanked you while you were gone?” Dex spoke in a neutral tone but he was feeling anything but. He repositioned her so that she wouldn’t feel his response to having her half naked across his lap. When she didn’t answer him he gave her two firm warning swats.
“This is what I’m talking about. You don’t follow orders and when you do, you hesitate. Not the makings of a good soldier.” He swatted her again and again, spreading the blows across both cheeks.
“No one spanked me, Sir.”
He paused, surprised. “You went two years without a spanking? That explains this attitude and a lot more.” What was going on? Regan had said she hadn’t been in a relationship since she left. But he had seen the pictures from the club in California. Something wasn’t adding up here and he planned to find out what.
“You have a lot of time to make up for then, don’t you?” He started laying into her with sharp, stinging swats, obviously done with the chitchat at that point. For Elena, it brought back old
bittersweet memories of how intimate the whole process was and also how hard Dex could spank.
“Ouch, Dex please, I promise to pay attention.”
Slap after burning slap rained down. She knew this would continue until he heard the remorse and apology he was expecting. His hand moved down past her burning butt and started smacking her tender thighs.
“I’m sorry… for my inattention… and my sass… and my bad attitude.” Her breathing hitched and her voice was ragged from the tears that rolled down her cheeks and onto the floor. He continued without pause.
“I’m sorry for disrespecting you, Dex.” Her bottom really stung and burned but he showed no sign of slowing. “And I’m sorry for taking off my safety gear.”
Finally, he stopped and rubbed her blazing ass. “Anything else you’re sorry for, Elena?”
“Yes…” her body shuddered as she lost control. “I’m sorry for what I did to you Dex, for hurting you, for leaving you, for that awful email.”
“Are you sorry enough to tell me why,Chiquita?”
Collapsing limply over him she wept her remorse, but she just couldn’t tell him. She felt she still had to protect both Dex and her papa.
“I didn’t think so.” He sighed heavily and patted her sore butt. “Take five to compose yourself then come back and let’s finish up target practice.” He helped her to stand, making sure she was steady on her feet before releasing her. “I’ll wait for you in the gallery.”
As she watched him leave she realized that he had left off her favorite parts - the forgiveness and the aftercare. She growled in frustration, at least during their scene he had finished and let her come. Maybe she should just tell him the truth. She thought she heard a softening in his voice. Would he forgive her or was she deluding herself?
Frustrated, she pulled up her jeans, hissing as the rough material abraded her tenderized backside. She was ditching her thongs if he was going to be spanking her. As she wiped her cheeks on her T-shirt and finger combed her hair, she walked back into the gallery trying to compose herself. She also made a decision. She would stay the course and work with the Rossi team to take down Luis Lopez. Once he was sent away for a long, long time, then she would make a full confession. No matter the outcome, she couldn’t bear for Dex to have such a low opinion of her.
As she approached she watched him replace the target and send the paper outline flying back on its track ready for her to begin shooting again. “I’m ready now, Sir.” His cool gaze swept over her. He looked totally unfazed by the spanking. That hurt and made her want to cry again, but she compartmentalized. She had a job to do.
They spent the next hour on the firing range before Elena was finally able to successfully make three head shots and three chest shots from the last nineteen round clip in the Springfield XDM 9mm semi-automatic pistol Dex had selected for her. He wasted no time pointing out that with only six kill shots she was unsuccessful less than a third of the time and would need more practice.
They were in the basement of Rossi Security, which not only housed a state of the art firing range but was also equipped with a large full service gym. They headed to the gym after Dex supervised her in the cleaning and storage of her weapon. He led her to the mat in the center of the room and began her first lesson in self-defense. Lil T was waiting for them.
“How’d the shooting go?”
“She needs a lot of work.” Dex grumbled as he went to the fridge along the far wall and pulled out two bottles of water and grabbed a couple of towels. He handed a bottle to Elena and turned to Lil T to discuss her training. “She’s too small to go for a takedown so we’ll need to focus on incapacitating.”
“My favorite sport,” Lil T rubbed his hands together and then crouched in a ready position on the mat. “Let’s see what you got, baby. Come and get me.”
“Uh, T? I have no idea what to do.”
“Stand down T. Let’s show her some moves first. Elena, step back and pay attention.” Dex and Lil T squared off. “Now, I’m you Elena. I’m smaller and weaker than my attacker.”
“You got that right,” T chuckled. He weighed in twenty-five pounds heavier than Dex and was about two inches taller.
“Quit screwing around T,” Dex barked. Lil T was used to taking orders from Dex who outranked him in the service, so he didn’t take offense to it now.
“Yes, Master Sargent!” T winked at Elena over Dex’s shoulder but straightened up just in time to defend himself when Dex came at him.
“You first go for the vulnerable places with whatever you’ve got. Eyes - gouge, poke, scratch, use those long nails and he’ll back off. Next is the nose; strike with the heel of your hand upward like you’re trying to shove his nose up into his brain.”
Dex demonstrated these moves on Lil T who reacted appropriately. “Neck - it’s a bigger target and you can get your thumbs in there and squeeze. This will cut off the blood flow to the brain and may stun him temporarily. The knees and elbows are vulnerable places which if you hit head on will incapacitate your attacker. The groin is also vulnerable but if you miss it places you too close to your attacker and off balance, so don’t risk it.”
“Yeah babe, save that kick to the nads until he’s lying on the floor groaning and bleeding.” This image made Elena smile; how she would love to have Luis in that position and deliver a hard kick to his cock and balls. Revenge, however small, would be sweet.
“Man, I don’t like that look on her face. Think she’s picturing anyone we know?”
Dex didn’t respond but raised an eyebrow as if to question his sanity. He felt sure that he was her imaginary victim. “Focus, T. OK Elena, let’s have you try.”
She went through the moves and complained when she couldn’t reach high enough to get a good angle on T’s head. “What am I supposed to do if he is T’s size? Ask for a stepladder or a boost? Uh, excuse me Mr. Criminal would you be so kind as to bend over so I can gouge out your eyes and stick my thumb in your jugular?”
“Funny babe, but you’d be surprised at your access. They are going to have to come down to your level somewhat to get a hold of you. That will shift their center of gravity.” T demonstrated this as he bent to wrap his arms around her.
“What if they grab my arms and I can’t move?”
“Good question.” Dex broke up their embrace and gave an extra shove to T, backing him off so he could stand in front of Elena. He heard him chuckle, but ignored it. T was enjoying the awkwardness of the situation entirely too much. “We’ll demonstrate moves for getting out of common holds,“ Dex went on to explain.
Elena learned how to break a wrist hold, front and back choke holds, bear hugs and what they called the mount position. This last one made her particularly uncomfortable. Luis had used this and several other holds on her. If she had taken a self-defense course back in college as her friends had suggested, she might have been able to fight him off. She imagined what her life would be like now if that awful night had never happened. She and Dex would be married; they might even have their first child. How she hated Luis Lopez. She shuddered, thinking he had no right to that name anymore. Papa had raised him but had never adopted him and he wasn’t a blood relative.
“Elena!”
She turned, startled. “What?”
“Where did you go babe? I called you three times.” T looked at her curiously. “You ready to try the hold breaking techniques?”
“Yeah, sorry T. My mind wandered for a minute.”
“That happens during this mission or an attack and your dead. I thought we covered that a little while ago.” Dex subtly reminded her of her recent punishment for inattention. His voice was stern and unyielding. “Either pay attention or I tell Cap it’s a no go.”
“Dex! Quit freaking her out, will ya?”
Elena ignored T and focused on Dex, his concerns over the soundness of this operation clearly written on his handsome face. “He’s right. If I don’t pay attention, I’m toast I understand that. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.
”
He nodded his acceptance and they proceeded to practice for about an hour. A few times, she had landed on her freshly punished backside and had inadvertently let out a yelp or a moan. T had looked at her knowingly then shifted his gaze to Dex, a curious glint in his eye. They both ignored him and focused on her training.
Elena was proud of herself. She was never really athletic but she felt she held her own with the two ex-military men. She had even scored a takedown on Lil T, sort of. While he straddled her waist and had his hands on her neck holding her down, she was able to work one hand between his arms, grab his forearm and with her other hand, grab his elbow. Digging her nails into the softer flesh of his forearms, she was able to break the lock on his elbow and she rolled. T fell off balance and landed on his back. In a playful mood from her small victory, she carried through on her momentum and ended up on top of him, her legs straddling his wide chest.
She raised her hands over her head triumphantly. “Yes! Take that big boy.” She shouted and looked down at an amused Lil T. They shared a laugh, as they looked at each other, spending this extra time together had brought them closer.
“Excuse me. Am I interrupting?”
Elena blushed at the intimate position she was in, sprawled across T’s chest. “Sorry, just celebrating my small victory. You guys are really giving me a workout.” She moved to get off him and grab her towel and water bottle, but T’s big hands wrapped around her thighs just inches from her ass and held her tight, preventing her from getting up. His fingers squeezed the backs of her thighs and she hissed in discomfort. Surprised, Elena looked down at him questioningly but he just returned her gaze with a mischievous grin and quirked his brow as if to say “I’ve got you, now what’re you gonna do about it?”
“I think that’s good for the first day.” Dex turned and seemed to stalk to the door where he issued an order over his shoulder before leaving. “Tomorrow, same time and don’t be late.”
“What was that all about? I really don’t need your help pissing Dex off, you know. I’m doing a good job of that on my own.” She glared at her teacher; she really didn’t need more drama with Dex.
Little Light of Mine (Club Decadence) Page 10