Topping the Domme (Crime and Punishment) (10 page)

“Do you still think our unsub is submissive?” Brayden asked.

Delacroix nodded. “It’s a gut instinct. I have a PhD in Psychology with a heavy focus on criminal and abnormal behavior. My mother used to tell me I had the mind of a killer. I could often see things others at the FBI missed. I think that’s why they included me on this case. The FBI also doesn’t really understand BDSM. They don’t think to look for connections that you and I would see very quickly, because they don’t understand our world.”

Brayden nodded. “What about the girls that were taken from the other club?”

Delacroix shook his head. “Since neither one of us can release names without alerting our members, I haven’t talked to anyone from there, but I did send a couple of subs over to try to dig for some information, and they came back with the same conclusions. The two subs that were taken from the other club were also a little on the rebellious side.” Delacroix grinned. “Gossip can be a wonderful thing.”

“Who are these subs you’re sending over, Delacroix, and can you trust them?”

“I can trust these two. One of them is who I sent to work with the agent. The other is a police officer who has been here since we opened. Both understand the secrecy involved.”

Brayden gave a nod, but still frowned. Use Karina as bait? No way. But if Delacroix was right and their unsub went after sassy subs, then Karina could be a target just being herself.

“If what you said is true, that would mean our unsub is a member at both clubs,” Brayden said. “He would have to be to know which sub was sassy.”

Delacroix nodded. “Already ahead of you. The subs are looking for familiar faces.”

Brayden gave a nod. “Good. Have you told any of this to the FBI?”

“Yes, and since you haven’t heard from them, I see the FBI still isn’t the greatest at sharing information with other agencies, so I’m inviting them to join us at our lunch next week. We’re going to force them to be a little more open with NCIS.”

Brayden grinned. “Good luck with that. If you don’t mind my asking, why did you really leave the agency?”

A shadow passed over Delacroix’s eyes. “I missed something on a case. Something very important, and my submissive was caught in the crossfire.”

Brayden’s grin faded. “I’m sorry, Delacroix.”

Delacroix inclined his head in acknowledgement. “You have to move on, right?”

Brayden’s lips twitched slightly. “Yes. That you do.”

Delacroix waved his hand at a tall, blond man standing between two subs. “Jamison,” Delacroix called. “Come over and meet Master Brayden.”

Karina relaxed against the sofa cushions, only half listening to the conversation around her. Was Delacroix right in thinking the man they were looking for was actually a submissive? Did it really make sense?

In some ways, it did—in some, it didn’t. If a submissive had been hurt by a Dom, it would make more sense for that sub to go after Doms, not submissives. But the mind didn’t always work the way you would think. Sometimes, a person did things completely backward.

Karina turned her gaze toward Brayden. He laughed at something the man near him said, and the deep baritone made her skin tingle. For the last several minutes, as scenes played out around her, she began to imagine herself in those scenes with Brayden. But this time, she pictured herself as the sub. Damned if that didn’t make her hotter.

Maybe she should do what Brayden suggested. Maybe she should use this time to experiment. She was supposed to play the role of a sub; perhaps she should just jump in with both feet and let herself get carried away.

She frowned. But there was still that bondage issue she needed to deal with.

The young sub sitting next to her grabbed her knee, giving it an excited squeeze. Karina looked at her to see what the problem was and found the sub’s gaze glued to Master Delacroix as he strolled toward them. Karina smiled slightly. It seems there wasn’t a sub in the place that didn’t do a little flip whenever Nathan Delacroix got close. And who could blame them?

With that long hair, those warm eyes, and that thick stubble, he looked like quite the dangerous and seductive bad boy. Tonight he looked absolutely scrumptious in black slacks and blood red shirt.

Karina stuck with her original assessment. Vampire.

She giggled softly as he approached. He stopped and grinned down at her. “Something funny, Karina?” he asked.

“I was just wondering when your fangs were going to appear.”

The girl sitting next to her gasped, but Delacroix actually laughed. “I would love to know how that rumor started, because I’ve never once broken the skin of a submissive with my teeth.”

Karina’s smile widened and the sub next to her actually relaxed. “I’m sure it’s nothing more than the image you portray. And most likely the hair.”

Delacroix shook his head. “Can I speak with you for a second?”

“Of course.”

Delacroix smiled down at the young submissive sitting next to Karina. “Wait for me here, Janie?”

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, sir.”

“Good. I’ll be back shortly.”

With his hand at the small of her back, he led Karina to a small table close to the bar. “Is there a sub in this club that would say no to you?” she asked.

Delacroix smiled slightly. “Yes, and they have. I scare some of them.”

“Yeah, whips wouldn’t exactly turn me on, either.”

He chuckled. “Would you like something to drink?”

“No. I promised Brayden I wouldn’t tonight.”

Delacroix gave a nod and waved to the bartender. “Hey, Trey. Bring me a beer.”

Trey waved back, indicating he’d heard him, but continued with whatever drink he was making.

“Is something wrong?” Karina asked.

Delacroix let out a slow breath before answering. “I was looking through the files the FBI sent. I saw Shandra’s, and I wanted you to know that I played with her the night she was taken.”

Karina’s mouth dropped open, then quickly closed. There was sadness in his eyes that surprised her. “You must’ve been the Dom she told me about.”

He raised an eyebrow and Karina explained. “I talked to her right before she came to the club. She was very excited about the possibly of catching the eye of a specific Dom. I’m assuming she meant you.”

“Did you know her well?” he asked.

Karina swallowed. “She was my best friend, but that isn’t common knowledge, Nathan. Don’t—”

He held his hand up. “I won’t say a word. Believe me. I understand. Tell me about her.”

“She got to you, didn’t she?” Karina asked, smiling softly.

He took the beer Trey handed him and nodded his thanks before turning back to Karina. “She was adorable. Her laugh is what caught my attention. That and those hazel eyes of hers.” He spun the bottle, staring at it sadly. “I thought about taking her home with me. I wanted to. Maybe if I had…” He shrugged.

“Don’t do that,” Karina said.

Delacroix nodded in agreement. “I know. I shouldn’t blame myself, but I do. How did you meet her?”

“Through JAG. She was a paralegal; I work homicide. We often talked about cases and upcoming trials. Like you, her laugh drew me in. She was so much fun and so smart. She had two degrees, one in business and one in political science. She was going for her law degree, but ran out of money. That’s when she enlisted in the Navy. JAG snapped her up right away, and she continued her education. She was only a semester away from taking the bar.”

Karina drew in a slow breath to keep the tears from taking over. “I was the one who got her into BDSM. One night we were drunk.” Karina smiled. “She started asking me about being a Domme and what it was like to be a submissive. I tied her up, put in a vibrator, and flogged her.”

Delacroix choked on his beer, making Karina giggle.

“Neither one of us swung that way, but we were both so drunk that it didn’t matter. At first she laughed, then she…she started enjoying it. I actually got her to orgasm, and it was like she’d discovered chocolate for the first time. After that, she was hooked. She started going to the clubs, experimenting, pushing her limits.” Tears gathered in Karina’s eyes. “She loved it. She loved life.”

Delacroix leaned across the table and covered her hand with his.

“She probably really loved your whip,” Karina said dryly.

This time Delacroix smiled. “That she did.”

“Do I need to separate the two of you?” Brayden asked as he set his hands on Karina’s shoulders and gave them a soft squeeze.

Karina giggled. “Well, he is awfully handsome.”

Delacroix winked.

Brayden leaned down and murmured in her ear, “Careful, kitten. You’re already in trouble for that smart mouth. Don’t push it.”

“Karina was just telling me about Shandra.” He kissed Karina’s hand. “Thank you. I wish I could’ve known her better.”

“Me, too. I think the two of you would’ve been good together.”

Delacroix’s lips lifted on one side. “We were.”

He stood and inclined his head toward Brayden. “Don’t go too hard on her. You don’t want to beat all the sass out.”

Brayden snickered as Delacroix walked back to Janie. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. She nodded with a smile and allowed him to pull her up from the couch.

Brayden slowly slid his hands down Karina’s chest and into her top, cupping her breasts. She startled, but then settled down as she spotted several of the Doms watching them. She bit her lip as Brayden’s fingers gently massaged her breasts, then pinched her nipples. Heat moved down her body, pooling between her legs.

When his lips softly kissed the side of her neck, she tilted her head and sighed. “I’ve been thinking about what you said last night,” she murmured.

“Have you?”

“Uh-huh. I um…” He rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, making her almost forget what she wanted to say.

“Spit it out, kitten,” he said with amusement.

Karina had a very strong desire to smack him. “I think I will give this submissive thing a try. It’s not like I have a lot of choice in the matter anyway, right?”

“True.”

He gently bit the soft spot behind her ear, making her shiver.

“So I should just relax and enjoy myself, right?”

“Right.”

The crack of a whip and the moan of a submissive made her and Brayden both freeze. They looked up and across the floor to where Delacroix had the young submissive tied to two poles in the middle of the room, arms over her head, feet spread apart, her body completely bare and at Delecroix’s mercy. People began to gather, blocking their view.

“Just so you know, Brayden—”

“Who?” He leaned down and softly kissed her neck, sending tingling pricks of sensation down her spine.

“Master,” she corrected, breathlessly. God, what was he doing to her? Her entire body felt like it was on fire. “The whip thing?”

She felt his lips shift into a smile against her neck. “Yes?”

“We’re not doing that.”

His chuckle was seductive and sent a tremor of awareness straight to her womb.

“I know something I am going to do, though.”

He put his hands at her waist and picked her up from the chair. Shifting her slightly, he sat down, then pulled her onto his lap. She straddled his thighs, her back to his chest.

“Bray—”

He slapped her thigh, catching her by surprise and making her gasp. “Who?”

She sighed angrily. “Master, you jackass—”

He put his knees between hers and spread her thighs wide, making her gasp again. The cool air of the room hit her wet pussy and made her shiver. With his hands at her waist, he shoved her down so the top of her head was even with his.

“Bray… Master,” she said on a sigh. “What are you doing?”

Taking her wrists in his hands, he held her arms out and whispered in her ear. “We’re going to have our first lesson in submitting.”

“I know how to—”

“You know how to be bossy. Now be quiet.”

“Excuse—”

“Karina,” he said with a growl in that deep Dom voice that sent tremors of wicked desire through her body.

She immediately grew quiet, warily waiting for what he had in mind. She’d said she wanted to try submission, but now that he had her in this position, fear made her heart race, and her breathing became erratic.

Brayden lifted her arms around his neck. “Breathe, Kay,” he whispered. “Slow and deep.”

Karina drew in a slow breath and then let it out just as slowly.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured. “Once more.”

She repeated the breaths as Brayden kept her hands hostage behind his neck. “It’s just me, kitten. Keep your hands clasped behind my neck. Don’t move them.”

He lightly trailed his fingertips down the inside of her arms. It tickled and she jerked, giggling softly. She had to admit, the move put her a little more at ease.

“I like your giggle, Kay,” he murmured as he moved the fringe from between her legs. He cupped her sex and swirled his fingers through the cream coating her labia. “It’s very sexy. I want to hear more of it.”

Karina sighed and bit her lip at the feel of his touch. The people watching didn’t bother her. She’d had sex in public numerous times. What bothered her about this time was the fact that she wasn’t in control.

Her hips shifted, and he slapped his fingers across her mound harshly. Karina eyes popped open at the sting that traveled straight from her pussy to her womb.

“What the hell?” she breathed.

“Quiet,” Brayden commanded.

Karina could’ve swallowed her tongue at the dominating tone to his voice. God, he sounded so sexy.

“Be still, Karina,” he ordered. “Don’t move.”

“What?”

“You can, however, moan as much as you like.”

The amusement lacing his voice made her frown.

“But what you will not do is move your hips, try to get my hand where you want it, or order me to do something. Is that clear?” he resumed slowly sliding the ball of his finger around her clit in a teasing motion that very nearly made her groan.

“Yes.”

“Yes what, Karina?”

She swallowed, so furious with him for making her do this. “Yes, evil bastard.”

Brayden slapped his hand down on her pussy again. Pain skimmed up her spine, making her stomach clench, but at the same time making her even wetter. Damn him.