by Anya Summers
“Fuck,” he said, furious with himself and the whole damn case.
“That about sums it up, Jack. Level with me. Honestly, can you still do the job without putting her at risk?” Mitch asked.
Jack glanced at his partner. They’d been through some tough cases together and had been partners for years. They’d both been promoted to detective together, and Chief Sheffield had gone against protocol and let them remain partners.
Could he still do the job? Was he in over his head because of the feelings that had developed for Rayna?
Yes and no. “I can still do the job barring my feelings for the witness.”
“You sure?” Mitch asked.
If it had been anyone else but Mitch asking him that question, Jack would have clocked them. Since it was Mitch, he replied, “Yeah, I am. Trust me on this.”
“You know I do. And I think you’re right. I think she should be told that Travino has found her again… for what good it does.”
“No. That means a lot. I need to head over by the diner and take over for Connors.”
“Can I make a suggestion?” Mitch peered at him.
“Shoot.”
“I don’t care about your proclivity for BDSM. I know you’re not going to stop seeing her—or sleeping with her, for that matter. But I would suggest keeping the bedroom activities out of areas where there are cameras present.”
Jack frowned and adjusted his ball cap. “Yeah. That wasn’t my most brilliant idea.”
“Hey, you were thinking with your dick. We’ve all done it a time or two. There was one time with my wife, when we had her parents and mine staying with us, that we snuck out and did it in the kids’ treehouse,” Mitch admitted with a shrug.
Jack tried to picture his partner sneaking out of his own house to get it on with his wife, and grinned. “No, you didn’t.”
Mitch nodded with a self-deprecating smile. “I had splinters in my ass for a week.”
“You’re lucky that was all you had splinters in.”
Mitch cackled. “Right you are. I’m gonna head home, get some shuteye, and will be there by ten tonight, in the vacant townhome driveway.”
Jack shook his hand. “Good deal. And thanks, Mitch.”
“What are partners for?” He clapped him on the shoulder, gave him a shit-eating grin and walked off.
After Mitch left, Jack headed over to his desk and spent the next hour checking a few items on his computer, including the traffic cam footage collected by the Bureau that they were sharing with his department. He wanted an up-close shot of this bastard and to see if there was any pattern that perhaps he could discern that the others did not find.
What he discovered left him cold. The bastard was watching the club—or rather, the Teton Cowboy, and the Grand Teton Diner. His sole focus was Rayna.
And the entire time he searched through photos and made notations on a map of where Travino had been spotted, Jack wondered if he was emotionally compromised.
Over the next few days, they developed a routine of sorts. Jack watched Rayna at both of her places of employment, unbeknownst to her—at least at the diner. He headed to the club with her each night. Afterward, they convened at his place. He used the excuse that it was where all his toys and equipment were located, which was true. And Rayna didn’t argue over that fact. She was becoming quite the submissive, anticipating his needs on an instinctual level. He heartily enjoyed every minute of her instruction.
There were a few times that he had checked the video feed while she was asleep or it had appeared she was asleep when she almost caught him, whereupon he had ended up enticing her back into bed for a second round of erotic play. Not that he minded. In truth, he would like nothing more than to be stranded with her on a remote island, undisturbed by the outside world so he could spend days, weeks even, loving her.
It had never been this way with anyone.
Since the revelation of being caught on tape with Rayna—deep down, he had realized what was happening while they had done it, but he hadn’t cared at the time, he had been far too caught up in her—he had ensured they were at his place the majority of the time. On the two nights they had stayed at her place, he’d taken her into the bathroom and fucked her in the shower.
Now it was Friday night, and he sat at one of the bar top tables in her section, watching her wind through the tables. A few of the subs—Tibby, Paige, and others, whom Rayna liked to call his groupies—pouted whenever they spied him. They were all beautiful in their way, but none of them held a candle to Rayna.
There were other Doms for them to play with, so he didn’t feel bad.
Rayna came back by his table with her tray in hand. “Need a refill on anything, Sir?” She gave him a secretive smile he had come to know well. It was her take me if you dare smile, and had gotten her into some sticky predicaments, mainly being tossed down on the nearest surface or up against the nearest wall so he could fuck her.
Jack teased, “Want to scene with me tonight, babe?”
“Okay. I should be done at midnight.”
His eyes widened and shock riddled him. “What?”
“Did you lose your hearing? I said yes. I know it’s your thing, so yeah.” And there it was again, that little smile.
He was as hard as fucking stone in seconds. The only reason he maintained control at all was because he didn’t want to spook her with the voracity of his desire. She wanted to do a scene with him, at the club, in front of everyone.
He was claiming her fucking ass tonight. Staking his claim for all the other Masters to see she belonged to him. Rayna wouldn’t understand the significance of it unless he explained it. He didn’t want to scare her away. When it came to commitment, she was more wily than he had ever been before her advent into his life.
But he would know, as would every other Dom and sub present. For now, that would be enough.
She liked anal play. A lot. Some of their hottest nights had been when he was balls deep inside her back channel. She was ready. It took every sliver of control he possessed not to toss her over his shoulder, caveman style, and carry her to the nearest scene station.
“If you’re certain, I will reserve one of the scene areas and schedule it for when you get off.”
“I am. So do it.”
Removing the tray from her hands, he tugged her killer body against him, tilted her head up with his palm, and slanted his mouth over hers. She whimpered under his assault and clung to him. He ate at her mouth, infusing it with his raging desire.
Jack ended the kiss only because if he didn’t, he would end up fucking her right then and there. Rayna looked at him, her lips swollen, her gaze hazy with desire, and satisfaction flowed through him. She would end up thinking of this kiss the rest of the evening, until it was time for their scene.
“Go on back to work and I will take care of everything.” He handed her back her tray and sent her off with a swat on her ass. She glared at him for that, looking like she wanted to bean him with her serving tray. They’d get to that later.
Chapter 20
What the hell was I thinking?
Rayna had spent the last two hours—since telling Jack she wanted to scene with him—watching the clock. Her anxiety rose as each minute ticked by. She spilled a drink on Matt, apologizing profusely. She was equal parts filled with heady anticipation and mind-numbing fear.
Jack was an exasperating, authoritative, demanding lover. He didn’t give her quarter to hide from what she felt, but demanded she give of herself fully. It was unnerving and addicting. She had never known such ultimate pleasure in her life. Not even her first love, Nicolas, had gotten such a response out of her body. In his defense, he had been her first in everything, given how sheltered her life had been before college.
She’d lost her virginity and her heart to Nic on the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance her sorority had put on for Valentine’s Day. It had been sweet. He had been sweet. And it had been everything a first time should be. The love she had held for him
had been innocent and rather naïve.
Before Jack, Rayna never considered herself submissive in the slightest. She had thought her friends were a tad overzealous, wearing rose-colored glasses regarding their beaus and fiancés because they were in love. Jack had proven her assumptions wrong, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit that.
She had never known such passion existed, or that she could climax so hard that she passed out from the sheer force of it. It thrilled her when he went all dominant on her. She loved challenging him, since it usually ended with him spanking her. That was a new one for her: being disciplined. She loved it. It made her so aroused, and their lovemaking that much hotter.
After she’d finished her prep work and cashed out with Matt, she headed into the employee break room and clocked out. She used the employee bathroom and tried to calm her nerves. Try being the operative word.
Her anxiety snapped back to life on her trek from the breakroom to where Jack sat, waiting for her at his table. The man was simply breathtaking. While she had been in the back, he had removed his shirt and gun belt. He must have stowed them in one of the lockers in the guys’ locker room.
It should freak her out that he was always armed. It didn’t, though. In fact, it made her feel that much safer. She realized it was likely an oxymoron that she felt safer around a deadly weapon. But after everything she had experienced in her life, the pain and horror, having a man who was a talented marksman made her feel safe. She had a nine-millimeter in her nightstand so that she was never caught defenseless ever again. With Jack, she never worried about the boogeyman from her past. It was freeing, and it made her want to cling that much more—and never let go.
“Ready?” Jack asked.
“Yes, Sir.”
He flashed a sexy grin that melted her panties. She didn’t know how he did it. With just a single, sexy smirk from him, Rayna was primed and ready for anything Jack thought up. The man was singularly gifted in the creativity department.
She slid her hand into his larger one. He towed her over to the scene area with the St. Andrew’s Cross.
Her hand trembled in his.
“Relax. Since this is your first time, I’m going to use the flogger to get you into subspace. Then I plan to fuck your sweet ass. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.” They were all things he had done before. It was just the location that had changed. And there was the tiny little fact that there was an audience.
“Good. Disrobe for me, babe,” Jack commanded, his hazel gaze steady and strong.
With trembling fingers, she absorbed as much of his strength as possible to follow his command. It wasn’t that she was scared of the flogger, or even anal sex, because she wasn’t. They had discovered she had a proclivity for spanking, the flogger, and anal sex. She was just reluctant to let every one of her friends in attendance see her naked and get the shaft from Jack.
She ignored the crowded club as much as possible and focused on the memories of each time he’d screwed her in the ass. Those orgasms had been potent, and had even made her pass out from the intensity of them. Her blood hummed at the memories.
After removing her shoes, Rayna stripped off her shirt, bra, and shorts, until she stood in nothing but her underwear. Thank god she had decided to wear a cute pair: a fire engine red string bikini which barely covered her mound.
“Leave the panties on so I can take them off you,” Jack said, his gravelly voice thick with lust.
She stood in the waiting pose, her legs spread, arms behind her back, and responded, “Yes, Sir.”
“Very nice. You’re learning. And I’m proud of you. I know that the first time doing a scene in public can be frightening. I don’t want you to think about the audience. Focus on me and the sensations in your body. Use your safeword if you need it, all right?” He tipped her face up so that their gazes met.
God, she loved him.
The realization struck like a bolt of lightning, slashed through her system and left her shattered. She couldn’t love him. But oh, she did. Totally, irrevocably, loved him.
He cupped her face between his palms and concern dotted his brow, likely from the sudden onset of terror in her eyes. “Deep breaths for me, babe. No need to panic.”
Oh hell yes, there is!
There was no five by fiving this. Love? How had this happened so fast? Surely it was only a slip of the tongue—or of the mind, in this case. She inhaled a deep breath and then another, like Jack had asked. The sudden revelation spun through her mind. How could she have let herself fall for him?
And it was there in his eyes, that calm, patient, authoritative manner, that did it. That left her a quivering mess, begging for more. She never even had a chance to protest. Rayna let the love—and holy hell, it was love with a capital L—flow through her until she could attempt to contain it. She snorted. Really, she ended up putting it in a corner of her mind to deal with later and restrained it with duct tape. Otherwise, she would hyperventilate and end up blowing her first scene with Jack. She didn’t want to disappoint him.
“That’s it, babe,” he replied when she visibly relaxed. Then he ushered her over to the cross, although it really wasn’t shaped like a cross but an X. Calling it a cross was misleading, but apparently it derived its origin from the Middle Ages and things they used to torture people upon.
Remind me to never set foot in a time machine.
He turned her body so that her backside faced the club. Some of her unease about the scene settled—as for everything else, she did her best to keep her mind off it. She was superb at burying things she didn’t want to deal with. At least she didn’t have to face the audience her first time. Jack clipped his leather cuffs about her wrists and connected them to the two upward spokes of the X. Her arms made an upward vee formation.
Then he knelt behind her. His fingers curled around her panties and drew them down her legs. Once he’d removed those, he fastened her ankles so that she was spread eagle on the cross. His fingers slid through her crease, stroked against her nub, and then he bit her right butt cheek. Not hard enough to break the skin, but it would leave a mark. Like he was branding her for their audience.
Tendrils of pleasure curled within her veins. He moved around behind her. He spread the globes of her ass and slathered lube against her back hole. She bit her bottom lip as she felt him press a plug against her channel. Her tissues resisted the invasion at first. But then she remembered to breathe and relax into it.
The plug belled from its tapered tip as he pressed it deep past the tight ring of muscle, which almost made a popping sound. It was the biggest plug he’d used on her thus far, and her rear burned a bit. Then it began to vibrate. Her mouth dropped open on a moan. Her head fell back at the rippling vibrations emanating from her rear into her pussy and beyond. Her nipples hardened. Her pussy throbbed, and moisture trickled from it.
Jack pressed his big body up against hers, angled her face to the right, and crushed his mouth against hers. She moaned at the passionate entreaty. By the time he finished the kiss and lifted his head, she was halfway to orgasm and quaking with her need for him. He did this to her every time he kissed her. His kisses were carnal, and carried with them a hint of naughty deeds he planned to do to her.
Jack retreated and left her body for the span of a minute. Without his body warming hers, she whimpered. Then, like a whispered caress, the smooth leather tips of the flogger caressed the lines of her back. She gasped as he caressed the length of her spine. Tingles erupted in the flogger’s wake. She wanted to lean into the caress, but the restraints held her back.
He drew the leather falls over her buttocks and the backs of her thighs.
“Come as often as you need to.” He murmured the command.
The first lash against her bottom made her jerk. The startling slash of pain sliced through her nerve endings. The second one was just as surprising. Jack was skilled with the flogger. He knew the right amount of force to tuck into each blow. He would strike one butt cheek, then the other, then a
combination of the two.
Added to the swirling sharp pain was the buzzing vibrations of the plug in her anus.
Rayna was slowly but surely going up in flames. Her pussy throbbed in time with the plug’s vibrations. The strokes of the flogger increased to a crescendo. One blow bled into the next until there was no separating one from the other. It packed a wallop, and drove her body over the ledge. She let go. And instead of free falling, her body floated in a sea of infinite pleasure. She had no worries, no cares.
At the next whack to her bottom, her back arched while she came.
“Oh god, Jack, Sir,” she moaned.
She trembled and quaked against the cross, then sagged as much as the restraints would allow.
Jack pressed against her back, rubbing her abused bum with his large hands. She moaned at the feel of his body. She loved his body; loved how it made her feel—protected and cherished.
He cut off the vibrations on the plug and removed it from her rear. Then he added more lube to her anus and she felt the bulbous head of his wide cock at her back door.
“Deep breaths for me, babe. You’ve done beautifully tonight,” he murmured with his low, sexy bedroom voice by her ear.
She inhaled a deep breath and released it as he penetrated her rear. His cock pushed past the tight ring of muscle. He was wider than the plug had been and his entrance burned. She whimpered. “Jack.”
One of his hands snaked around her waist to her pussy and strummed her clit between his fingers. Pleasure shot through her and she relaxed, allowing his cock to slide deeper into her bottom. Jack held her steady as he rolled his hips, withdrew, and pushed forward another inch. Again and again, Jack repeated the movement, all while teasing and circling her clit with his fingers, until finally, he thrust and was fully embedded in her anus.