Craving HIM (Serving HIM Vol. 7) (21 page)

The effect Aleena had had on me was present even if she wasn’t. She’d be angry if she heard what I’d just been told, but she’d feel sympathy too. For Erika and the little girl.

“I’ll talk to her,” I said finally.

“I would advise you to wait until after the cops have had a chance to speak with both of you.” He paused and then asked, “You are going to the police, right?”

I hesitated and then nodded. I would've loved to take things into my own hands, but I knew it would be better if I let the authorities handle it.

“I’m sorry this happened,” Kowalski said as he stood. “It’s a terrible thing, having somebody invade your privacy in such a way.”

He came to shake my hand, but I held mine up instead. “If you have a few minutes, let me get a refill on your coffee. I have another job in mind.”

It was time to put this aside for now and focus on the other problem that had been nagging at me for a couple of days now.

Kowalski declined the coffee, but I needed more. My stomach was burning, but it was either get the damn coffee or risk falling asleep at my desk. Leaning against the counter that held the coffee service, I explained what I needed. Kowalski nodded thoughtfully when I finished.

His first statement was blunt. “It’s possible he just doesn’t want you in his life, Mr. Snow.”

“No.” I shook my head, thinking back to the nerves I’d seen in Woodrow’s eyes. “It’s more than that. A lot more.”

“Why?”

I shot the investigator a look. “Gut instinct.”

He took that at face value and we spoke for a few more minutes before he headed for the door. Just before he left, he held out a card.

“It’s a detective I know at the local precinct. Contact him. It’s out of his jurisdiction, but he can make some calls. Just tell him I sent you.”

I took it with a nod.

After he left, I looked over at Amber. She was settled into work for the day and didn’t bat an eyelash when I told her to clear my schedule. “Unless Aleena calls, I don’t want to talk to anybody.”

“Of course, Mr. Snow.”

It was time to go to the police.

Chapter 18

Dominic

I had a business card tucked into my pocket as I rode the elevator up to the penthouse. It was burning a hole there, just like the restless energy that all but choked me.

I’d spoken to the cops. The detective Kowalski had suggested I call had hooked me up with a Detective Alvarez. Alvarez had taken the information I’d given him with a skeptical look, but after he’d flipped through the first pages, he’d stopped.

“Kowalski?” he’d asked.

I’d just nodded and the intensity that began to gleam in the cop’s eyes had me believing we’d able to take care of this. He’d told me he’d have to talk to Erika and make some other inquiries, but that the file I'd given him would be a great place to start.

Then I’d told him about what had happened with Aleena, how Pence had assaulted her, but he wouldn’t take the information from me. It was useless. Only Aleena could file the assault charges, thus the business card burning a hole in my pocket. She was going to have to talk to Alvarez herself.

I didn’t want to have to tell her that, because I could remember talking to the cops after I'd escaped. Reliving every moment of it. Confessing the horrible brutalities that had been inflicted. Spilling such ugliness to anybody, much less a cop, could be almost as traumatic as being attacked.

And I couldn’t save her from that either.

As I stepped out into the hall that led to my penthouse, I felt a thousand years-old. The weight of this was doing a number on my head and I wished to hell and back that I could somehow undo it.

When I opened the door, Aleena was sitting on the couch, her laptop open and balanced on her crisscrossed legs. When she saw me, she pushed the computer aside and got to her feet.

“I’m sorry,” she said, blurting the words out before I could tell her I didn't want to hear it. “I was just...”

Her voice was raw, her eyes swollen. As she stood there, mouth open as she fumbled for words, I told myself I was an ass. She’d deserved better than for me to walk out on her.

She just plain deserved better than me.

She deserved the kind of man who wouldn't have put her in this position to begin with.

“Dominic,” she said, her voice pleading.

“Please, stop,” I said quietly. I couldn't hear her apologies right now.

Walking past her, I headed to the far wall so I could stare outside. The rain had stopped sometime that morning and now the world was almost vividly bright, the puffs of clouds pristine against the blue of the sky. It was a beautiful day, but I couldn't enjoy it.

“Why are you sorry?” I asked suddenly as I turned back towards her. My tone was harsh.

She blinked. “You’re mad at me. I’m mad at myself. I did something stupid and look...” The words trailed off and she looked down. “Dominic, what do you want me to say?”

“How about the truth?” Taking a step closer, I asked, “Why do I get the feeling there's something you’re not telling me?”

Aleena looked up at me and then away, the elegant line of her jaw bruised from where Pence had backhanded her. “Because there is. But first, I have to say that I'm sorry for how things happened and for not talking to you about it first. I knew you'd have stopped me.”

“Damn right I would've,” I snapped.

She met my gaze, the look in her eyes apologetic but firm. “I handled it badly, but I’d do it again.”

I sucked in a breath through my teeth, glaring at her. “You will never do something like this again, Aleena. Do you hear me?”

“Oh, I hear you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin.

All contrition was gone, replaced by that stubbornness that had kept her with me, kept her working when a lesser person would've quit.

“Now hear me. I submit to you in the bedroom. Outside of that, you can’t control me, so don’t try. I’m my own person, Dominic. I think for myself and sometimes, I do stupid things, and I have to live with the consequences. But they're my consequences.”

“They're mine too!” My hands curled into fists so she couldn't see how they were shaking. “I have to see those bruises on your skin and know that if you would've just trusted me for a damn minute instead of running off and doing something on your own, none of this would've happened. If you would've just let me handle it like...”

Abruptly, I stopped as I realized what I'd intended to say next. If she'd just let me handle it like
a good Sub would have
. Like Koren or Maya or any of the other women who'd Subbed for me over the years.

But I didn't want that. I didn’t want her to be anybody but who she was. If she’d cared less or if she was less determined, she wouldn’t have gone to Pence alone, but if she'd been anything less than that, I wouldn’t love her. She wouldn’t have stayed with me and fought with me. Fought for me.

“Okay,” I said slowly. I had to take a couple of deep breaths before I could manage anything but that single, harsh word. “Okay. Look, we have to get past this.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “That’s why I was apologizing.”

“But you aren’t responsible for him putting his hands on you. Maybe you shouldn’t have done...” I shook my head. “No, you shouldn’t have. Period. But if Pence wasn’t an evil son of a bitch...”

Aleena took a slow step toward me. “Well, if it helps, should anything like this ever happen again and I think I need to do something stupid, I’ll keep Vincent with me the entire time. He was like the Incredible Hulk, beating the shit out of Pence.” She gave me a tentative smile.

“That’s my job.” I cradled her cheek and rubbed my finger over the bruise. My heart squeezed painfully and my voice softened. “Don’t do this to me again, Aleena. Don’t scare me like this. I can’t...I couldn't...”

She slid up next to me and pressed her lips to mine. “What do you need me to do to fix this?”

The willing, open honesty of the question ripped me open. I curled my hands around her waist and tugged her in close. I rested my forehead against hers.

“As much as I want to turn you over my knee and paddle your gorgeous ass, I can’t. You were right. You told me from the beginning that you'd submit to me when it came to sex, but not everywhere else. I won't punish you for not acting like a Sub when you'd already set those boundaries.”

“Maybe it would make us both feel better.” She nipped at my lower lip. “And I’d enjoy it, so it wouldn't really be a punishment...”

I was tempted. So tempted. But that card in my pocket, it might as well have been smoking.

“There’s something else I need you to do first.”

I tugged the card out and slid it into her hand. She looked down, puzzlement on her features.

“I want you to come with me to the police station. I want you to press charges against Pence. They won't let me do it for you.”

Her mouth parted and after a moment, she nodded. “Okay.” She kissed my cheek as she smiled, her eyes sparkling. “But just so you know, I was only waiting until you came back because I wanted you to go with me.”

I shook my head and smiled. Of course she'd already planned on going. There was no way in hell this amazing woman would let Pence get away with what he'd done. She might've been a Submissive, but she wasn't weak.

She picked up her phone. “Listen.”

She hit a button and I tensed as I heard Pence’s voice. Then, despite everything, I started to laugh.

“You caught the whole damn thing on the voice memo.”

Aleena shrugged. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

***

The rest of the day seemed to consist of cops, rage and frustration. I had to listen again while Aleena recounted what had been done. I had to watch as Alvarez took notes and asked polite but personal questions that made me want to hit him. He was just doing his job, I knew, but I saw in Aleena's eyes how much all of this hurt her. And all I could do was sit there and hold her hand.

By the time we got to the penthouse, that angry red haze had settled in my mind and my entire body was taut, ready to explode. Still, I was in control. I’d no sooner closed the door before I reached for Aleena, wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling me to her. She looked up at me and I studied her face, looking for signs of exhaustion, signs that I shouldn’t do this.

She reached up and touched my mouth.

I caught her wrist, keeping my touch gentle. I pressed my lips against the bruise there before drawing it behind her back. “I have to have you.”

She nodded, understanding my unspoken question. “I trust you. Let me show you.”

She did understand. My heart swelled, love replacing dark anger. I was still tense, still needed a release. Needed her. But this wasn't about punishing her for what she'd done. This was her showing me that she did trust me, that her actions hadn't been lack of faith in me.

I kept my kiss soft and easy, lashing down on the instincts that wanted more. I led her to the playroom and had her stand in the middle of the room while I stripped her down to the skin. Her breath shuddered out when I bent my head to kiss the bruise on her breast. I wasn't planning on being gentle, exactly, but I was going to avoid doing anything to those bruises except giving them light kisses.

She cupped the back of my head, running her fingers through my hair. I let myself enjoy her touch for a moment, then moved her hand away. I had things in my head that I wanted to do, but if she touched me, I was done.

I took out a soft rope made of velvet. I had her climb on the bed and lie on her stomach, putting her arms behind her back. Because of the bruises on her wrists, I bound her elbows, leaving her enough give so that her shoulders weren't in pain. This was about restraint, not putting pressure on her joints. Once I was finished with her arms, I twined another rope around her legs from her knees down.

Leaving her there for a moment, I stripped off my own clothes and tossed them to the floor. I was already half-hard and we hadn't even started. I retrieved my favorite crop from one of the chest drawers and set it on the bed next to her legs before I settled myself on the other side of her.

She whimpered as I traced my fingers along the curve of her ass. Soft, so soft.

I brought my palm down on the golden skin and watched as it went pink. She gasped, but it wasn't a sound of true pain. I did it again, again, again, again until she was shivering, her body vibrating with the need for more.

I switched to the other cheek and brought it to the same bright pink. It wouldn't bruise, but her skin would be sensitive for a while, even after I rubbed lotion in after we finished.

I picked up the crop. I didn’t use it to spank her though. Turning it around, I used the wide, blunt handle to penetrate her. It wasn't quite as big as me, but it was bigger than my finger which meant it was stretching her much faster. She cried out as I pumped the handle inside her, twisting it so she could feel every hard, unyielding inch. She struggled to move, to meet the slow, lazy glide.

Tangling her hair around my wrist, I turned her face towards me. “Did I say you could move?”

“No, Sir.” She looked at me with passion-drugged eyes.