He grabbed the toast and buttered it, then placed the eggs on top. He put one plate in front of her, before pouring some apple juice for her and orange juice for him.
“I can’t guarantee that there won’t be some things that will bring back some old memories, but they have nothing to do with you. Can you handle my nightmares?”
He couldn’t stand not touching her. So he lifted her, sat, and placed her on his lap.
“I’ll do better than that; I’ll help you fight them. I keep fucking this up, don’t I? You’ve been trying to tell me what you wanted and I keep going with what I think is best.”
“Well, you are a man. You’re supposed to be a bit dense.” She giggled as he tickled her in retribution.
“You have a lot of courage,” he praised her.
She shook her head, blushing. “No, I don’t. But I am damn horny. Don’t hold back anymore, Duncan.”
“No more holding back.”
“Thank you.”
“Keep your thanks for later, sugar. You’ll need it.” He sent her a cheeky wink and she laughed.
***
Duncan drove to Laken’s place, expectation running through his veins. Funny how quickly he’d grown accustomed to going home to her. How much he looked forward to it.
Pulling up outside her store, he climbed out, his gaze roaming. Haven was a safe little town, but Duncan still didn’t like that she lived over her shop. Neither her shop nor her apartment had a security alarm. Anyone could force their way inside.
If she lived with me I could surround her in safety.
He had failed her before, failed her terribly, and he was determined that nothing would happen to her again. Nothing would touch her.
He grabbed his bag out of the back seat then climbed the stairs to her place to knock on the door. When she opened it, his breath caught at the sight of her. A sexy dark-blue nightgown clung to her curves, cut low with a long slit up her right thigh.
“I hope you checked who it was first,” he said, his voice a low growl.
Laken giggled, the noise sweet to his ears as he stepped in and shut the door behind him.
He snatched her up in his arms. Leaning down he kissed her forehead.
“Damn, you look gorgeous. I think I should make it a rule that you greet me dressed like this every night.”
He walked over to the couch and placed the bag down before sitting, settling her on his lap. He traced a finger over her breast. Her breath caught, then released slowly.
“Your skin is like silk.” Running his finger up her neck, he traced a line around her lips. She parted them and he slipped the digit inside.
“Suck, baby.”
He groaned as she licked his finger, and then sucked it in deep. His cock stirred, thickening. He drew his finger out then slowly pushed her nightie down off one breast. His breath caught at the sight of her puckered nipple, so dark against her creamy skin. He flicked it back and forth, playing with the nub before cupping her breast.
“I want you so badly.”
He bared her other breast. She moaned, nuzzling his chest with her face. She shifted against him and he gritted his teeth as she brushed against his erection.
Calm down.
“Into the bedroom.”
Laken nodded, her beautiful eyes glazed with lust. Duncan stood, holding her close against his chest, safe in his arms. Laken let out a little sigh and he knew she felt it too. Felt how right it was to be in his arms. Perfect. Just perfect.
Striding into the bedroom, he laid her on the bed, just staring down at her for a moment, her breasts bare to his gaze, the nipples perfectly formed peaks. Leaning down, he took one in his mouth, needing a taste.
God, he needed her so bad.
Lifting his shirt off, he kept his gaze firm on hers.
She sat up, hands reaching for him.
“Lie down,” he ordered.
Laken sprawled back eagerly.
He emptied his pockets onto the nightstand but kept his pants on as he lay alongside her. He toyed with her nipple as he placed a couple of fingers under her chin and turned her face towards him. He sipped from her lips, kissing her gently, wooing her until she relaxed completely against him.
He placed his hand over her thigh, slowly drawing her nightgown up as he moved his hand up her leg.
“Spread your legs for me, baby. Open up.” Her breath caught, then released, and she moved one leg over a few inches.
“Farther, sugar.”
Her breathing came faster. She pushed her legs open wide. Duncan cupped her mound, feeling how damp her panties were. He pushed his finger beneath the thin, wet cloth, running his fingers up and down her slit.
Duncan moved so he was lying between her legs. He kissed her smooth thigh, and then nudged her panties out of his way, licking her sweet slit.
She shuddered, her legs rising slightly then dropping as he tapped her clit. He drew her panties off, then threw them aside.
“Hold very still, sugar.”
He stared up at her until she nodded. Her submissiveness was there, her need to please him, to give him what he wanted was present in her eyes.
He returned his mouth to her pussy, sucking on her clit as he drove
two fingers deep inside her. She groaned but didn’t move.
“Very good,” he told her. Holding her open with his fingers, he drove his tongue deep inside her. She raised her hips, her thighs moving together slightly.
He made a low noise of satisfaction as he thrust his tongue inside her and squeezed her clit. She screamed as she came, shuddering slightly.
“Again,” he ordered and proceeded to drive her up and up until she shattered; low, incomprehensible moans came from her lips. He pushed himself away from her delectable pussy, placing a small kiss on the top of her slit.
Pleasure raced through him as she stared at him, completely relaxed and satiated. He rolled to her side to reach over for a condom when the song, I fought the Law, filled the room. He groaned and looked over at his phone. Her gaze widened, lips curving up into a smile.
“I fought the law?”
“It’s work,” he said with a sigh. Which meant he couldn’t ignore it. Fuck.
Her gaze dimmed as he reached over and opened his phone.
“What?” he growled.
“I need you to come in,” Jake said. “It’s important.”
Duncan didn’t even reply, just closed off the call. Jake would know that he was on his way.
“You really have to go in?” Laken asked, already sitting up and pulling her nightgown on. Duncan nearly groaned at the loss of all that lush skin. He clenched his fists. Laken watched him, slightly wary.
“Sorry, sugar,” he told her, deliberately relaxing his stance. “Jake just has really bad timing.”
She snorted. “That’s one way of putting it.”
He stood and drew on his shirt before grabbing his phone and wallet. Then he sat beside her, cupping her face.
“I don’t know how late I’ll be,” he told her. “I’m so sorry about this. I want you to have some dinner, then go to bed. If I’m not back don’t wait up for me, okay?”
She wrinkled her nose at his bossy tone. “You know I am an adult.”
Duncan ran his hand along her prominent collarbone. “You’re too thin, missy. I want you to eat.”
“And if I don’t?” she challenged, surprising him.
Taking charge was like breathing to him—it came naturally. He couldn’t let a challenge like that go unanswered, especially when it involved her health.
“You’ll eat, baby girl, or when I get home you’ll be eating with a very warm bottom.”
Before she could answer, he leaned down and kissed her.
***
Duncan slammed his way into Jake’s office.
“This had better be fucking important,” he snarled, before noticing the others in the room. He didn’t care.
“Uh-oh. That looks like a man who was about to get some,” Saxon drawled. He sna
Eli winced. “Shit. Sorry about that. Bad timing, huh?”
Duncan scowled at his brother, turning to include his boss and his other brother, Kellan, in his glare.
“You could say that.”
“Well, it’s about time,” Kellan told him. “You’ve been like a bull with a thorn in his paw lately.”
“Sexual frustration will do that,” Saxon said. “I’m glad Laken will now be getting some use out of her membership. I can’t wait to see her ass turn red under the paddle.”
“You won’t see anything,” Duncan growled. “We won’t be playing in the club.” Laken was far too fragile for that right now.
Saxon raised his brows. “Are you sure that’s the right move?”
“She had a panic attack.”
“But she went there, prepared to try. She was trying to get what she needed. She turned down a lot of offers before you stormed in. If you can’t give her what she needs…”
Duncan stepped towards the other man, his temper firing, his control shattering. He was frustrated and worried about doing what was right for Laken. Having her panic the other night had nearly torn him apart, and when she told him about being attacked… well, the guilt had nearly had him on his knees.
Yet, he couldn’t deny that Saxon had a good point. She had triggers for sure, but it was up to him to work through them with her, not avoid them out of fear that he would frighten her off, which was what he had been doing. Up until tonight when he’d been so rudely interrupted.
However, having Saxon goad him by acting like he knew more about his woman than he did… Yeah, he wanted to thump the bastard.
Kellan stepped in front of him. “Duncan, stop. This isn’t the time. Take a swing at him later. But right now we need him.”
Saxon snorted. “How nice to be needed.”
“Saxon, shut up,” Jake said roughly. “We’re not here to talk about Duncan’s sex life.”
“What am I here for?” Duncan snarled, stepping back. Although it would have been damn satisfying to punch Saxon, it wasn’t going to help things any.
His boss leaned back in his chair, looking tired. The scar on his cheek stood out, pale against his olive skin. “We need to bring you in on something, Duncan,” Jake told him. “Your brothers told me that you know why they are here.”
Duncan nodded, pacing. “Yeah, and it’s madness. There is no way we’re setting ourselves up as bait for some serial murderer, right?” He looked over at Jake, expecting instant agreement. His stomach clenched as he saw the look on his boss’s face.
“You have got to be kidding me, Jake,” he said with frustration. “You want to invite this asshole here to attack one of our women? How can you even think of putting any woman in danger?”
“It’s because I’m thinking of their safety, Duncan. If we do this right then we can protect them. If we ignore it then there is the possibility that we will have another victim on our hands.”
“There is no reason to think he will ever come here.” Texas was a huge place—what were the odds he’d end up in Haven?
“So you’re happy to let this maniac kidnap other subs and murder them?” Kellan asked him.
Duncan ran his hand through his hair. “Of course I don’t want that. I will do all that I can to stop him, except let our women be placed in danger.”
“We need to be proactive about this, brother. It’s the only way we have of keeping everyone safe.”
Duncan stared at him. “What are you talking about?”
“If he isn’t here already, then we have good reason to suspect he’s on his way,” Eli told him slowly.
“And what ‘good reason’ would that be?”
Kellan sighed and looked at his brother.
“You know what?” Duncan screamed. “Fuck you two. Fuck you and this stupid secretive shit. I’m not agreeing to anything unless you tell me everything.” He turned to look at Saxon. “I can’t believe you are going along with any plan of theirs that brings some maniac down on our heads.”
Saxon frowned slightly. “Believe me, I don’t want to. I still haven’t fully agreed.” He sent a sharp look at Jake, who sighed and shook his head.
“You know it has to be this way, Joel,” Jake said tiredly.
“Duncan, I wouldn’t do it this way if I had another choice,” Kellan said.
“Bullshit,” Duncan said, turning to leave. “You hate this place; you don’t give a shit about anyone in this town. But I do. I don’t know why you need my agreement, but you won’t be getting it until I know everything.”
“Tell him,” Jake ordered. “He deserves to know.”
Kellan sighed and nodded. “We know this sociopath will be coming here because he’s following the one that got away.”
Duncan stopped and turned, looking at his oldest brother. “What? Someone got away from this bastard?”
Damn, that poor woman had to be a mess, and if what his brothers were saying was true, then she could be in a hell of a lot of danger.
“Yes.”
“Who?” God, who was it?
“Laken,” Kellan told him. “It was Laken who got away.”
Chapter Nine
Duncan threw the photos on the table before pacing back and forth across the room. He could scarcely believe that Laken had been at the mercy of the sick bastard who had done the things in those photos.
Turning suddenly, he slammed his hand into the wall. It gave way beneath his knuckles, leaving a large hole. He drew his hand back, barely feeling any pain.
“Feel better?” Jake asked calmly.
Duncan glared at him. “What do you think? How would you like to hear that the woman you love was taken and brutalized by some asshole? I mean, she told me she’d been attacked, even hurt. But she never said that…”
That she’d been tortured, held against her will for three days. She’d downplayed it, probably to protect him, knowing the guilt he would feel. He glanced over at the report that Jake had shown him, the photos that depicted every injury she’d been subject to while he had been cursing her for acting like a child.
Why hadn’t he questioned her more? He’d seen her scars why hadn’t he pushed her for the full truth?
Because he hadn’t wanted to push her away.
Oh God. He couldn’t stand it.
“I need to go to her.”
“You need to get yourself under control first,” Saxon ordered him. “You’ll be doing her no good going to her like this.”
Duncan glared at him, but he knew the other man was right. If he went home to her like this then he risked terrifying her. He took a deep breath, then another.
“Duncan,” Kellan began once his brother had gotten himself under some control. “We have a reason for telling you this.”
His gaze shot up, narrowing as he stared at his brothers. Kellan looked as stoic as usual, but there was a touch of guilt on Eli’s face.
“What?” he asked. What more could they possibly have to add?
“We need you to talk to Laken,” Kellan told him. “We need her cooperation to catch this guy.”
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” he yelled. “You seriously want her to act as bait? Look what he did to her!”
“Don’t you think she’d want to know that he’s been caught? Don’t you think you’ll both sleep better at night knowing he’s no longer a risk to her?”
Duncan’s fists clenched. This guy was dead meat. He’d see to that. But he didn’t intend to involve Laken in this. He wanted her nowhere near anything dangerous.
“Laken is not going to be bait.”
“I know your instinct is to hide her away,” Eli spoke in a low voice. Jake and Saxon remained quiet. He looked over at Jake who watched him in concern. He knew then that Jake wasn’t so convinced about this plan his brothers had concocted.
“Damn straight.”
“But that will just send him into hiding. He’ll wait, Duncan, and you can’t hide her forever.”
Duncan snarled at Eli who just watched him calmly.
“How about you just listen to our plan first?” Eli asked. “We don’t want Laken at risk any more than you do. But we need her.”
“How do you even know that he’ll come after her? Why don’t you just place some subs in clubs over the state and use them as bait?”
“You know we don’t have those resources.” Eli ran his hand over his head. “And we know he’s obsessed with her because all the subs he’s taken since the night she was attacked have been thin strawberry-blondes.”
Shock jabbed him in the gut. Christ, he’d been hoping they were wrong. Hoping she was safe.
“It’s possible he sees her as his greatest transformation. After he attacked her, she steered clear of BDSM. Until now. He’ll be mad that she moved back here, away from him. If he’s already watching her, he’ll be infuriated by the fact that she’s back with you, that she’s been to Saxon’s. He’s been taking other subs to try and appease his anger, but there is a good possibility that he will take her again. And this time, she may not get away.”
Sheer terror washed through him.
“How long has this been going on? How long has he been taking subs?” And why has no one stopped him?
“Years. But only one sub a year, until now. He’s taken three women in just over four months.”
Duncan gaped at Eli. “And you want to make it easy for him to get to her, is that your plan? Let me guess, you want her to start playing at Saxon’s so he’ll come after her. And you want me to agree to that? Are you mad?”
“You’re her Dom. Your job is to protect her.” This time Jake spoke up. “But if we don’t get this guy, then he is always going to be a threat to her safety.”
Duncan clenched and unclenched his hands. Either way he looked at this she was at risk. Either they both lived in fear of this guy one day coming for her, or they set her up as bait, angering him and putting her in grave danger. Maybe he could whisk her away somewhere. He had plenty of money; surely this asshole wouldn’t find her on an island in the Pacific.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. He needed to think about this.
Kellan sighed. “Duncan, we need you to talk to Laken about this. We need her cooperation and yours. I know it may seem as though we’re being careless with Laken’s safety, but we’re not. We’ve had someone watching over her since we got here.”
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