by Julia Sykes
I fixed him with a significant stare. “Because Sharon left her alone, and Chloe decided to go hang out with the Bratva.”
“I didn’t know they were Russian Mafia,” she insisted hotly. “I just went in for character research. I needed information for my next novel.” She glowered at me. “And we were only talking. Everyone was smiling and laughing until you came in, guns blazing.”
Kennedy’s brows rose. “You pulled your gun on them? Were you trying to get her killed?”
“I didn’t go in with my gun drawn. I walked in, and one of them pulled a knife. I showed them my SIG to keep things from going further.” I jerked my chin in her direction. “She was taking notes, asking them questions. They thought she was a spy.”
“But I—”
“Dex is right,” Kennedy said sharply before she could get another indignant word out. “You put yourself in a dangerous situation, Miss Martin.”
She shifted under the weight of his stare. “I didn’t know they were Bratva,” she reiterated, but the heat left her tone. “I just wanted to get some character background for my book.”
“You are with my team to research the Latin Kings,” Ken said slowly, his drawl making the words a rebuke rather than a simple observation. “If you want to ride with my agents, you will stick to that story. You will not go off on your own. The FBI deals with dangerous people in dangerous places. Nowhere they will take you is entirely safe. My team will protect you, but they can’t do that if you don’t follow orders.”
Her chin tilted with the defiance I was coming to recognize as her default persona. “I didn’t have any orders. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Kennedy’s expression was deadly calm. “Did Sharon tell you to go into the café?”
She bit her lip. “No. I said I’d read my book in the car. But then I saw the café and started thinking about a new character and decided to take advantage of the opportunity. I didn’t know it wasn’t safe.”
“You know now,” Kennedy pointed out. “And I believe you’ve been rather rude to Dex when all he did was get you out of a dangerous situation.”
Her dark eyes cut to me. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “But honestly, things were fine before you showed up. They only got angry because they thought you were a cop.”
“You don’t know that things would have stayed fine,” I said sternly. “Anything could have happened to you.” I looked at Kennedy. “She’s not safe shadowing Sharon. You have to take her out of the field.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” he told me, still dangerously calm. “Miss Martin may continue her research. But if you’re so concerned about her, she can shadow you.”
“No!” Chloe’s outburst echoed my own sharp refusal.
“Yes,” Kennedy countered firmly. “You will escort Miss Martin around and answer her questions, Dexter.”
I flinched at the use of my full name. Ken knew I hated it, and he only pulled it on me when he wanted to put me in my place.
“I don’t want to ride with him,” Chloe insisted. “He said I needed to be on a leash.”
“Dex, you’re not authorized to put a leash on Miss Martin.” He fixed her with an expectant look. “There. That’s settled. You’re under Dex’s protection from now on.”
“I can protect myself,” she said, her tone tinged with desperation. “I have a knife and pepper spray, and I’ve taken self-defense classes.”
I snorted. “Do you really think a few self-defense classes would have saved you from three members of the Russian Mafia?”
“I would have been able to get out of there. You seem to think I’m a damsel in distress. I’m not.”
“Prove it,” I demanded.
“What?”
“You think you can fight? Show me.”
She frowned. “I’m not going to attack you in Kennedy’s office. You’re being ridiculous.”
“Go to the training room with Dex,” Kennedy ordered, jerking her attention back to him. “I’m tired of this squabbling. If you manage to take him down, you can shadow Sharon. If not, you will go in the field with him and obey his orders. Am I clear?”
She eyed me, her features twitching with uncertainty as her gaze roved over my much larger body. After a moment, she squared her shoulders.
“Okay,” she agreed. “Let’s do this.”
I shook my head. This was ridiculous. I was a trained FBI agent, for god’s sake. She was a civilian, and a tiny one at that.
“Dexter,” Kennedy said, his low tone warning me not to argue further. “You are dismissed. Both of you.”
Chloe tossed her hair over her shoulder in an irritated motion and turned on her heel, stalking out of the office. I allowed her to get a few steps ahead before she was forced to pause and look back at me. She wasn’t familiar with our building, and she didn’t know where to go.
I took back control. “Follow me.”
Her full lips pressed together in a pout. It might have been cute if I weren’t so frustrated with her. I couldn’t believe Kennedy was keeping her in the field, and that he’d forced me to take responsibility for her. The woman clearly had a problem with me. Why was Ken pushing us together when he should be sending her home?
Carina, I realized. This was all her doing. She’d evidently convinced Kennedy to keep Chloe with the FBI for her story, and I suspected his order for her to shadow me was part of Carina’s insane attempt to push Chloe and me together.
Well, it wouldn’t work. Carina couldn’t force her friend to like me, even if my boss could force me to spend time with her.
It only took a few minutes for us to make our way through the cubicles and back to the gym. We didn’t go to the locker room to get changed into more appropriate clothes; Chloe didn’t have anything stored here for working out.
Sighing, I shrugged out of my suit jacket and toed off my shoes before removing my tie and rolling up my sleeves. Sparring in my work clothes wasn’t ideal, but Chloe didn’t have any option but to remain in her jeans and blouse, so I’d keep things as fair as possible.
Fair. Right. Chloe might be five foot eight, but she was slender. I appreciated that her arms were lightly toned, so she probably worked out. When she’d been chained up before me last night, half-naked, I’d appreciated her physique. I loved a woman with curves, but I also respected one who took care of her fitness. Chloe was healthy, strong.
But not nearly as strong as me.
The reminder of her body strung up for me, vulnerable and small in my shadow, made remembered lust coil in my gut.
But there was nothing vulnerable about her countenance now. The determined, defiant woman was back. Maybe her submission had been a fluke, something that went against her true nature. Hell, I’d gotten high off endorphins from being on the receiving end of impact play before. It had been a one-time thing, a mistake, but it had happened. I wasn’t a sub, but body chemistry was undeniable.
Had the same thing happened to Chloe? Had it been a primal response rather than true submission?
Something about the idea bothered me. Before I could contemplate if it was more than simply my damaged ego, she kicked off her shoes and stepped onto the mat.
“Let’s get this over with,” she grumbled.
I nodded. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.”
She tossed her glossy hair back off her face. “I’ll try not to hurt you, either, but I won’t make any promises. I don’t intend to lose.”
“I’m sorry to disappoint you, princess, but you’re stuck with me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “We’ll see.”
I sighed. She lunged.
Surprised at her sudden attack, I barely managed to dodge back in time. Her lips curved up in a self-satisfied smile when her knuckles grazed my jaw.
I reached for her arm, aiming to pull her body against mine so she didn’t have any leverage to swing a hit at me. For a moment, I thought I’d succeeded. My hand closed around her arm, but she used the momentum of me pulling her toward me. She body-checked me hard,
driving an elbow into my stomach.
Unfortunately for her, I was accustomed to keeping my core tight when fighting, so I barely felt the impact. However, her attack did cause me to take a step back, and she pushed past me, getting behind my back.
Shock slammed into me along with her slight body as she vaulted up and grabbed my shoulders, one arm coming up around my throat to put me in a chokehold. I brought my forearm up just in time to keep her from getting a good grip on me, then ducked and flipped her over my shoulder.
She hit the mat, and the air was knocked from her lungs. Not missing a beat, she sucked in a breath and pushed up on her elbows, gracefully rolling back up onto her feet.
We kept a few feet of distance between us for several seconds, sizing each other up with fresh respect.
Then she made the mistake of attacking again. She’d caught me off-balance the first time, but I wouldn’t underestimate her again. I was ready for her.
She moved in, lighting-fast, but I pivoted to the side and lightly kicked her ankles. She went down, and I didn’t give her a moment to recover. I dropped on top of her, straddling her hips to pin her and settling my forearm across her throat. She’d lost.
And she wasn’t happy about it. She scowled at me and tried to shove my arm away. I grasped her writs and pinned them above her head, preventing her from clawing at me. She twisted against my hold with a little frustrated growl.
“Calm down,” I ordered, my voice automatically dropping to my most dominant tone. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
“I want to hurt you,” she seethed.
“I’m afraid that’s not an option, princess.” My fingers tightened around her wrists, warning her. “Yield.”
“No,” she hissed.
I shifted both her wrists into one hand and curled the other around her throat. I didn’t squeeze. I didn’t need to. It was a primal show of dominance.
Her eyes flew wide, and she stilled beneath me.
“That’s better,” I rumbled.
She softened, all the fight draining out of her body. Her lips parted, and she drew in short, shallow breaths.
“Do you yield?” I suddenly craved to hear her say it.
She nodded.
“Tell me,” I commanded.
“I yield.” The words came out on a breathy whisper.
My palm left her throat so I could trail my fingertips down the column of her neck. Her pulse jumped beneath my touch. Her skin was soft, warm. She smelled like roses and something darker I couldn’t quite identify. Her pupils dilated, and she let out a long sigh.
“Good girl.” The praise left my lips without thought. She shuddered beneath me.
My cock stiffened in response. She tensed.
“Get off me,” her voice was still a whisper, but it was strained this time.
Reacting to her fright, I instantly rolled away and pushed up to my feet, putting distance between us. I watched her carefully. She was pale, and she didn’t move for several long seconds.
My hard-on had scared her off last night, and now the indication of my arousal had made her panic. I’d thought she simply didn’t want to submit to me, but now I recognized the truth: someone had hurt her.
I hated the fear that was etched into her gorgeous features. I’d put it there, because I couldn’t control myself around her. I kept Topping her without realizing what I was doing.
I took a few steps back.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, not wanting to spook her further. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
She sucked in a breath and shoved up onto her feet. “I’m not scared of you,” she declared, her defiance resurfacing. Rather than irritating me, it made me sad. I understood now.
“I don’t want you to be,” I said calmly, still soothing her. “I understand if you don’t want to shadow me. I’ll talk to Kennedy.”
“It’s fine,” she said quickly. “I’m fine. I don’t want you to talk to Kennedy. He might kick me out if I keep pestering him. I can shadow you. It’s not a big deal.”
Her hands trembled. She clenched them to fists.
“I’m doing work at my desk for the rest of the day,” I said. “It’ll be pretty boring for you. I’ll make sure I clear some time tomorrow to answer any questions you might have.”
She needed room to breathe. She didn’t want to admit that she was shaken, but I wouldn’t force her to stay near me when I’d upset her. This would give her time to think it over. Then she could decide whether or not she really wanted to shadow me.
“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Not looking at me, she stepped back into her ballet flats and walked away, head held high.
My chest squeezed. I hated that I’d reminded her of whatever trauma she’d suffered. Instinct told me to go after her and hold her close, to run my fingers through her silken hair and tell her she was safe.
But she’d made it clear she didn’t want me to treat her like a sub. So I resolutely remained where I was, letting her leave. However, I wasn’t willing to allow her to deal with her pain by herself.
I reached for my jacket and pulled my phone from the pocket, quickly finding the number I needed.
“Carina,” I greeted when she answered. “I think Chloe needs you right now.”
I might not be able to take care of her, but Chloe would lean on her friend. I hoped.
7
Chloe
I took a long sip of my pear cosmopolitan, savoring the sweet alcoholic drink. I wasn’t one to look for solace in a bottle, but this cocktail was hitting the spot. After my confusing afternoon with Dex, I was thrilled that Carina had called me to indulge in a girls’ night.
“How are you?” my friend asked, her features drawn with concern. “Kennedy told me you got into some trouble in Brighton Beach today.”
I let out an exasperated breath. “I didn’t get into trouble. Dex got me into trouble. Seriously, I was fine before he came in and pissed off the Bratva.”
She fixed me with a no-nonsense look. “I know research is important, and it’s easy to get carried away. But you don’t know the things Dex has seen in his line of work. If he says you were in danger, you probably were. I can’t believe Sharon left you alone. I’m glad you’re going to be with Dex. He’ll take care of you.”
My eyes narrowed. “You’re still trying to fix us up, aren’t you?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Uh-huh. Well, I’ll go ahead and tell you that I don’t think he likes me very much, so you can just forget about it.”
“If he doesn’t like you, why did he call me to ask me to make sure you’re okay?”
My jaw dropped. “He did that? Why?”
“He wouldn’t say. All he’d tell me is that you were upset when you left the field office, and he thought you could use a friend.”
“Oh. That was… nice of him, I guess. But if I’m upset, it’s his fault.”
“Are you really that mad at him for getting you out of Brighton Beach?” she pressed.
I sighed. “It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
I took another long draw of my cosmo. The alcohol tingled through my system, easing my nerves and loosening my tongue.
“He got a hard-on while we were sparring,” I told her. “It was… really unprofessional.” I couldn’t tell her why I’d panicked. Carina didn’t know about Neil. No one knew what had happened between us, not even my sister, Beth. I’d been too ashamed to share the details of that horrible night with anyone.
Carina cocked her head to the side, studying me. “I suppose it was,” she allowed. “But you did have a scene with him. He must find you attractive.”
I shrugged. Maybe there was physical chemistry between Dex and me. It didn’t mean anything. It was inconvenient, at best, and annoying, at worst. I didn’t want to be attracted to anyone, least of all the domineering FBI agent who had been thrust into my life by my meddling friend.
“I don’t understand,” she sa
id, still regarding me intently. “You’re interested in the BDSM lifestyle. Dex is a good Dom and a good man. If there’s an attraction there, why not see where it goes?”
“Because I’m not interested in a D/s relationship,” I said curtly. “You know that, Carina.”
“But you write about it so beautifully,” she countered. “Why would you be so invested if you’re not really interested?”
I pursed my lips. Reading BDSM romance novels had helped me through my depression after losing my life with Neil. The trust and devotion depicted in D/s relationships called to something deep within me. I’d started writing my own stories as a personal fantasy, but when I discovered self-publishing, I decided to take a risk and put my work out into the world. To my surprise, people liked my books, and over the last two years, I’d managed to establish a thriving second career, even more successful than my work in journalism.
“I do find it interesting,” I hedged. “But I’m not interested in a power exchange.”
She reached out and placed her hand over mine. “I know that level of trust can be scary. But I also know that you understand how wonderful it can be. I read your early articles on the Fifty Shades phenomenon, and I’ve followed your career as Alanna Granger. Even if you don’t want to explore things with Dex, don’t you want to go deeper into BDSM?”
“Listen, Carina, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, in my journalism and my fiction. But I’d rather leave the real BDSM to you. You don’t mind sharing your experiences with me, do you? I simply don’t want that for myself. It’s not the right fit for me.”
“Of course I don’t mind. You can ask me anything.” She squeezed my hand. “I’m always here if you want to talk,” she said significantly.
“Thanks.” I blew out a sigh, then arranged my features in a bright smile. “Now, let’s enjoy our cocktails while you tell me all about how Kennedy proposed. I’m sure it was very romantic.”
She smiled dreamily. “It was perfect.”
We passed the evening talking about her relationship and the deep love she’d found through D/s. I tried to pretend it didn’t make my heart ache with yearning.