Cuff Master (19 page)

She grinned softly. “Chinese is good, but how about we do
stir-fry ourselves? There’s bound to be vegetarian food in Cassie’s pantry and
plenty of veggies in the fridge because you went out yesterday to get some
groceries.”

“Sounds good to me. I’m going to wash up in the bathroom and
go downstairs. That okay or do you need me to help with anything?”

“Go on,” she said. “There are things a lady needs to take
care of without her guy watching.”

“Gotcha, meet you in a few.” He kissed her and moved off the
bed to walk over to his suitcase and grab a pair of jeans and a tee shirt
before heading for the bathroom.

He hung his clothes from a hook on the back of the door,
relieved himself and washed up at the sink, marveling at having to clean cum
off his dick and groin. He’d done it plenty of times after tossing a condom.
But this time most of his seed was still inside Morgan.

Unsuccessfully ignoring the fact that his dick was
elongating, he turned the water to cold and doused himself. Afterward, he
washed his hands and face, brushed his teeth, flossed and rinsed with
mouthwash.

It never hurt to have fresh breath. He might not fuck Morgan
until later tonight. But he sure as hell wanted to kiss her a lot.

Wiping up all around the sink, he tossed the hand towel in a
nearby laundry basket and set a clean washcloth and towel on the counter for
Morgan to use when she came in. Cleaned up and ready to leave, he jerked his
jeans off the hook and pulled them on.

He kept his black tee shirt in hand as he opened the door.

Morgan had switched on a bedside lamp and was perched on the
side of the bed. They looked at each other. She smiled sweetly. Ethan’s heart
sped up.

If Taran knew how easily she’d managed to wrap him around
her little finger, he’d laugh. Phalen wouldn’t. Not anymore. He got it. He knew
how it felt to find the one person who was his equal and his biggest challenge.

Frankly, Ethan couldn’t wait until his sweet submissive
tested his mettle. She would. It was part of her nature. The result would keep
her flying for hours afterward.

“Everything all right, Ethan?” she asked, still waiting.

“Yeah,” he answered. “You’re beautiful, do you know that?”

“Thank you. But you’re biased. My hair’s got to be a mess,
my makeup has to be long gone and I really need to pee.”

“Then by all means, get to the bathroom.” Ethan stepped to
the side to let her rush toward the bathroom door.

Just before she got there, he put his arm out. “By the way,
you’re beautiful no matter how tangled your hair is or what you have to do in
the bathroom.”

She bowed her head submissively, her flushing as genuine as
she was. “You really mean that.”

“Don’t ever doubt it, honey.” He dropped his arm to let her
pass. She darted inside.

Ethan closed the door for her privacy. Pulling his tee shirt
on, he headed to the kitchen. Two very impatient cats awaited him when he
turned on the lights.

Their food dispenser wasn’t empty, but it was low enough
that he decided to refill it. He washed out the automatic water dispenser and
put fresh water into the canister.

Samson and Delilah were happier campers after that, each
coming over to nibble at their food. As pretty as she was, Delilah was the sloppier
eater. Samson was more deliberate in his choice of kibble flavors.

With the cats taken care of, he went over to the kitchen
counter to grab his cellphone and check in with his partner. Sam had left a
couple of voicemails and an email updating him on her search for Erica White.

It turned out that Erica had been declared missing a little
over a year ago. After the fallout with the Bailey family, she’d left New
England, going into hiding for a couple months until she turned up in the
Bronx, New York with her boyfriend.

Instead of resuming her psychic path, she’d gotten a job as
a server in a dive of a bar in the Hell’s Kitchen area of Manhattan, took the
subway to work one night and never came home.

Her boyfriend reported her missing the following morning.
The cops investigated him initially, but quickly eliminated him as a suspect
after his alibi checked out.

Sam was currently working with NYPD’s missing persons unit
to look into a case that was so cold that icebergs had formed around it. There
was simply nothing but a security camera video of Erica stepping onto the
subway car. There was no evidence she’d ever gotten off at her stop.

Ethan had put his laptop on the kitchen table and sat down
on a booth. He fired it up, tapped his PIN number into the system and began
searching files Sam had sent along with the email.

He was typing when his cell vibrated from an incoming call.
Seeing it was from the officer in charge of Morgan’s case, he grabbed it up
answered. “Officer Barrett, Detective Maddox here,” he greeted.

“Evening, Detective. Quick update for you, we’ve a possible
witness coming in tomorrow morning to give a statement.”

“Excellent,” Ethan said. “Tell me more.”

“The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, stepped outside
for a smoke break and remembered seeing a man walking around the parking lot
and entering through the back entrance of Druid Creek Castle. He headed for the
restrooms, then disappeared upstairs seconds before the fire alarms went off.”

“Fantastic, maybe she’ll be the break needed to catch the
bastard,” Ethan said, grateful to the witness for coming forward.

“Let’s hope so. Alexander Grant also reported that one of
his staff members found a cracked flashlight hidden behind a dumpster. A CSI
unit’s been dispatched to collect and process it.”

“Thank you, Officer. Morgan and I appreciate the time and
effort Danvers Police are applying to this situation.”

“Is she doing all right? She was given a terrible fright.”

“She’s good. Thank you for asking. I’ve got some work to do
myself. Keep us updated.”

“Will do,” Officer Barrett agreed, ending the call.

Ethan knew that processing evidence took time. If they got a
fingerprint, that’d be great. But if the person wielding the flashlight had
never been fingerprinted and wasn’t in AFIS it wouldn’t help much.

Until they knew something, he was going to run a background
check on Erica White’s boyfriend and see what he could find out.

Morgan came into the kitchen fifteen minutes later. She wore
a long black skirt and matching blouse. Her feet were bare. Her hair was pulled
back in a braid and she’d applied a little makeup. She didn’t really need it.
She was beautiful no matter what.

But she was even more so right then, partially because she
had a post-sex glow and mainly because she was radiant with love. “Hi there,”
she said to him shyly, turning her eyes away when he stared too long.

“Hi,” he replied, closing the laptop and standing to move up
to her. “You don’t have to look away, you know.”

“I thought submissives were supposed to.”

“Some are required to. There will be times when I’ll
blindfold you or have you lower your eyes. But it’ll be in the spirit of a
scene and meant to increase your pleasure. Unless I say otherwise, look all you
want.”

“And if I want to play, what happens?”

Ethan reached out to stroke her pretty elven face so that
she knew he’d meant it when he said she could look at him. “You already know
what you must do when you want something from me.”

She inclined her chin slightly. “Yes, I do. Thank you,
Master.”

“You’re welcome. Want to make dinner now?”

“Sure. How about I crank up the iHome unit while you open a
couple of beers?”

Hot damn! A woman who liked beer as much as he did, Ethan
was a lucky sonofagun. He’d take it. Yeah, he would.

“Deal,” he said.

Morgan flipped on the stereo unit, started the iPod Touch
attached and got some alternative rock blasting. Ethan plucked two bottles of
ale out of the fridge, opened them both and handed one off to her.

He kept hold of the bottle on the chance that her
psychometry mojo would sound off by touching the bottle. As soon as she nodded,
he let go. It took her a second, but then she grinned and took a sip.

“Did you get something from the bottle when I dropped my
hand?”

“Briefly, nothing dramatic and easily processed, don’t
worry.”

“Excellent,” he replied, glad she was all right. “I was
wondering about something.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’m going to have to go back to work in a few days. I just
talked to the police officer handling your case. There could be a break
tomorrow from a witness and Alex reported the discovery of a broken flashlight
behind the dumpster outside.”

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“We can only hope there’s a fingerprint. Unfortunately,
processing fingerprints takes far more time than cop drama TV shows indicate.
Even if they get a hit, there’s no guarantee that the person’s prints are on
file to begin with.”

“If that’s the case, where are we going with this?”

“I’m not real comfortable leaving you alone during the day.”

“I wouldn’t be alone. I’m next door to your brother’s tattoo
shop and Cassie’s diner. I’ll have a clerk with me at work. Maybe Remy would
consider staying too.”

Common sense told him that Morgan was right. It didn’t mean
he liked it. “Phalen and Cassie don’t come home for another week. Taran will be
around though, so I’m more comfortable with that. Remy’s going to have to go
back to filming his show when he can.”

“If you’re insinuating that I shouldn’t go back to work, I’m
not going to let what happened to me at the castle stop me from living my
life.”

“Not at all,” Ethan stated and set his ale on a counter.
“What I’d like you to consider is getting a dog.”

“A dog, really, Ethan?” she said, placing her bottle next to
his and dancing a little. “I love dogs! But I can’t have animals at my
apartment.”

“Well, you can have one at your shop, can’t you?”

“Yes. The place is mine. I don’t serve food. I would have to
keep him or her in the back while customers were in the building.”

“Then he’ll stay with you at the shop during the day. At
night, we’ll either take the dog to the brownstone or ask Phalen and Cassie if
they’ll let the dog stay here. The other possibility is Phalen’s studio
apartment over his tat shop. We could move in there whenever we stay in Salem
and it’s huge.”

“We’d have to ask them first.”

“It’s only fair. Maddox pets belong to the whole family.
Samson and Delilah are as much ours as they are Cassie and Phalen’s. But when
you’re ready, I’m hoping we’ll make a home together.”

“You, me and the dog,” Morgan said, seeming to like that
thought very much.

He smoothed his hand back to her ponytail, slowly wrapping
the long tail around his fingers. “We made a commitment to each other upstairs.
You’re a Maddox now, Morgan. Getting a dog will help keep you safe and we’ll
get a start on creating our own little family.”

“In that case, I’d love to get a dog.”

“Great. Alex and Ryan are friends with a veterinarian. I’m
sure the vet can help us find a good dog.”

“Promise me you’ll ask Phalen and Cassie if they’re okay
with babysitting the dog when necessary.”

“I will.”

“I should warn you. I like big dogs.”

“Good. Although no one should underestimate the
tenaciousness of a Terrier, I was thinking of finding a mixed breed.”

“Any dog would be fine. Shelters frequently have great dogs
that just need good homes. Thank you for wanting me to be safe.”

“I love you. I’ll always do my best to keep you safe.”

Morgan lifted up on her toes and kissed him. Ethan brought
her in close to deepen the kiss. Hunger was the only reason he let her go.

As soon as they got the matter of the dog settled, they worked
together to chop vegetables for stir-fry and found Asian noodles in the pantry.
While Ethan thawed and fried up a sliced chicken breast in a separate skillet
for some protein, Morgan worked on the veggies and noodles.

They made a great team. The music was awesome. They stopped
from time to time to drink beer and dance around the kitchen while dinner
sizzled on the stove.

Later, after dinner was done, the beer was empty and iPod
was turned off, they headed back upstairs for bed. They each took a turn in the
bathroom. The cats were off doing who-knew-what. Ethan closed the bedroom door
so he and Morgan could have the room to themselves.

Ethan checked to make sure the closet door was closed tight.
It was fine. When he turned back, he saw a naked Morgan make a dash to the
bathroom. She must have undressed while he was locking the bedroom door.

He heard her rummaging around in the vanity cabinet. A few
seconds later, she returned with a bottle of body lotion.

“My skin’s a little dry,” she explained, perching on the
edge of the bed to apply the lotion to her arms and legs.

Ethan drew his tee shirt up and off, tossing it to the
laundry basket in the corner of the room. The basket was getting full. They’d
have to do some wash tomorrow.

Walking right up to the bed, he plucked the lotion out of
her hand and sat beside her. “Move around so I can reach your back,” he
offered.

Morgan grinned and shifted as told. Squirting a big blob of
white lotion onto his palm, he first warmed it between his hands, then worked
it into her skin. The lotion smelled nice, fresh and faintly of something
spicy. She smelled better, aroused and enticing.

“You don’t have to do this,” she said.

“Yes I do.” He’d driven her hard today. Her ass still bore a
few red streaks from the spanking he’d given her in the clubroom.

She’d demanded anal sex without making an offering. He’d
warned her of what would happen if she did that. He made good on it. It had all
been surreal and heady, sending him into Dom-space as she went into orbit from
the naughty fucking and discipline.