Topping the Domme (Crime and Punishment) (5 page)

Karina set the grocery bags on the small table and sighed at all the crap she’d bought. They had no idea how long they would be here, so she’d bought plenty. She wasn’t much for eating out, although she and Brayden had stopped to get hamburgers before shopping. Now all that was left was to unpack and put away.

Karina began putting stuff in cabinets and the fridge. Once the final bag had been unloaded, she glanced around for the ice cream. She could’ve sworn she’d gotten some. After all, she couldn’t grieve for her friend without a healthy dose of chocolate chip cookie dough.

“Looking for this?”

She spun and saw Brayden standing in the doorway that separated their two suites. With a sexy grin, he held up the container of ice cream.

“Yes, thanks.”

She took it from him and set it in the freezer.

“Planning on wallowing all alone, or can I join in?”

Karina smiled sadly at him over her shoulder as she shut the freezer door. “All wallowers are welcome.”

Brayden snickered and leaned casually against the doorjamb with his hands in his slacks pocket. “Are you ready to discuss what it was you wanted to tell me?”

Karina sighed and leaned her hips against the counter. She needed to tell him this stuff, despite how uncomfortable it made her thinking about talking about it. Even with Brayden. She gripped the edge of the counter and drew in a deep breath for courage.

“We’re going to be playing at the club together, so I need to know if you have any issues,” Brayden said softly.

“I know.”

“Is it the submissive thing that’s bothering you?”

“Partly.”

With a look of understanding, he walked over and took her hand in his. He pulled her over to the couch and tugged her down so she sat next to him. Their thighs touched, and her whole leg tingled. She shifted slightly, trying to put some space between them. She leaned forward just a bit and buried her hands under her thighs to keep them from trembling.

“Do we need to get the ice cream?” he asked.

Karina looked up at him and smiled slightly. She knew he was trying to ease the tension that had made her entire body go taut.

“Might not be a bad idea,” she drawled.

Brayden snickered and rubbed his palm up and down her spine in a soothing motion she’d seen him use often with nervous subs. Brayden had a way about him that put women at ease. Even her.

“Can’t say as I’ve ever seen you so uptight about something,” Brayden murmured. “What happened to you?”

Karina kept her gaze on her knees, not wanting to look up and see the pity she knew would be in his eyes. “When I was seventeen, I was raped and tortured.”

The movement of his hand slowed, but didn’t entirely stop. Karina could swear she felt his body stiffen, and definitely heard the soft curse that escaped his lips.

“Was he caught?” he asked.

Karina shook her head. “I was… Let’s just say I wasn’t a model teenager. The DA wouldn’t touch it even if they had found the guy because of my history and police record.”

“You were a minor, Kay.”

“Yes,” she said as she frowned up at him. “But that’s how it works. I know it and so do you. I was considered an unreliable witness. No one would’ve prosecuted based on just my testimony, and we didn’t know of any other victims.”

She shrugged and stared back across the room as unwanted and uncomfortable memories flooded through her mind. “My parents thought I’d brought it on myself. I had always been a major disappointment to them, and this was no different. My uncle took me in after it happened and moved me with him to Virginia Beach. He’d been through a battle with his own demons related to being a Navy SEAL, so I think he saw a little of himself in me. He understood and got me into counseling. If it wasn’t for him, I’m not sure I would’ve survived that nightmare.”

“Is that why you ended up a Domme?” Brayden asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t have sex for a long time after the attack, probably close to four years. It was while I was in college that I met Miranda. She was a Domme and introduced me to the lifestyle. It was the only way I felt safe enough to have sex.” She looked up at him and gave him a look of disgust. “Pretty sad, huh?”

“No, not sad,” he replied firmly. “Understandable. But have you never had sex outside a BDSM club?”

She sucked on her lower lip and shook her head.

“There’s more,” she whispered.

Brayden narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean more?”

Taking a deep breath, Karina stood and turned to face him. As she unbuttoned her shirt, she gave him a firm look. “If you say anything about this, I’ll shoot you.”

Brayden frowned, but nodded as he sat back and waited. Karina finished with the buttons, then opened her shirt so he could see her stomach. His eyes widened at the scars that covered her flesh.

He leaned forward and touched one with the tip of his finger. “What the hell?”

“Some of it is from a single tail. Some is from a box cutter.”

His gaze lifted to hers. “Where else are they?”

She turned and lifted her shirt so he could see her back. Brayden feathered his fingers over the scars that crisscrossed her skin. “Son of a bitch,” he murmured.

“They cover the upper part of my butt, as well,” she said softly as she turned and showed him her hand and the curved and jagged scar that ran between her thumb and forefinger. “I did this sliding my hand through the handcuff. The skin was just barely hanging by the time I got to the ER. Once I had one hand free, I was able to use a hairpin to pick the lock and free my other one. I suppose that’s the one good thing my jaded past gave me…the ability to escape.”

Brayden gently touched the scar, and Karina had the oddest desire to cuddle within his embrace again, just like she’d done on the plane.

“Did you see his face?” he asked.

“No. He wore a leather face mask. It even covered his hair. About the only things I can tell you are the size of his dick and his body type, but that could’ve changed over the last ten years. He could be heavier, thinner.”

Taking a deep breath, Karina unzipped her jeans and opened them so he could see the side of her hip. “Look familiar?” she whispered.

Brayden’s eyes zeroed in on the bite mark scar, and his eyes narrowed in anger. “It’s the same as… Damn it, Karina!”

“I didn’t realize it until you talked about the bite marks on the other bodies.”

He stood and glared down at her. “Why the hell didn’t you say something?”

She scowled and snapped sarcastically, “And have you act like you are now?”

He sighed in aggravation as he dragged his hand down his face. “Do you think this is the same guy?”

She took a step back, surprised at the anger emanating from his eyes. “If it is, he’s gotten a whole lot more brutal.”

“Or maybe he would’ve done all that to you if you hadn’t gotten away,” Brayden snapped. “You shouldn’t be doing this case, Karina.”

“I meant what I said. If you say anything, I’ll shoot you,” she snarled softly her own anger rising at the tone of his voice. “We don’t know it’s the same guy. The bite mark could be a coincidence—”

“Or a signature!”

“You’re not having me thrown off this case, damn it! Shandra was my best friend. And on top of that, it’s doubtful the agency would be able to find someone else willing to do this, and you know it.”

Brayden shoved his hand through his short hair as he paced around the table. “This goes against my better judgment, and if the director finds out about it, it will be both our heads.” He stopped and frowned at her. Karina adjusted her jeans and top to cover herself back up. “What if it is the same guy? What if he recognizes you?”

“Why would he? When I was seventeen, I had jet black hair and Goth make-up. I wouldn’t even recognize me back then.”

Brayden’s lips twitched. “Goth, huh?”

She pointed a finger at him. “Don’t make fun.”

He snorted and began to once more pace around the table, but this time in the other direction. “I wasn’t gonna.”

“You’re making me nervous with all that pacing. Would you stop?” she snapped.

He stared at her wide-eyed. “
I’m
making
you
nervous? You’re making
me
nervous. I don’t like this, Kay. Not at all.”

“Like I do?” she cried. “I could be hunting down the man who destroyed me ten years ago. I may have to come face to face with a man who still gives me nightmares.”

She covered her mouth and drew in a deep breath through her nose. She needed to calm down before she started crying, and that was something she refused to do again. She’d done that enough on the plane. She wasn’t one to resort to tears, but it seemed like today, that was all she could do.

Brayden walked over and tried to pull her into his arms, but she backed away from him. “I worked so hard to bury this, to forget. And now I’m right back in the middle of it again.”

She dropped onto the couch and stared up at Brayden.

Brayden watched fear cloud Karina’s eyes. He wanted to force her to let him hold her. She was so damned stubborn.

He didn’t like this at all. She shouldn’t be working this case, but they were already here, already in place.

Brayden squatted in front of Karina and put his hands on her knees. Karina was a strong woman, but right now she seemed so vulnerable and scared. It was a Karina he wasn’t used to seeing, but at the same time, was so unbelievably attracted. He wanted to hold her, protect her, make the sadness in her eyes disappear.

“Are you going to be able to do this, Kay?” he asked. “Be tied up? Dominated?”

Her dark, almost frightened gaze met his. “I know you. I trust you. I can do this. You just have to go slow. Treat me like you do every other scared sub.”

“Yeah, but those subs are afraid of the unknown and sometimes even themselves. You’re fighting a demon from your past. It’s a little different.”

She nodded. “I know, but I trust you.”

“Do you?”

He gripped her wrists in both his hands. When she tried to pull away, he tightened his hold. He watched her closely—the flush darkening her cheeks, the hitch in her breathing, the dilating of her pupils.

“Just this little bit makes you react,” he whispered. “Am I scaring you?”

She swiped her pink tongue over her bottom lip, making his heart skip a beat. Karina was one of those women who sometimes intimidated men without even trying. Gorgeous, strong, and independent, she drew looks of admiration wherever she went. The male subs at the club adored her, especially the masochists, because one thing Mistress Kay could do better than most was mingle pleasure and pain in a way that had them begging for release.

But now she would be on the receiving end. How did that make her feel…really?

“No,” she whispered. “You’re not scaring me.”

He glanced down at the ring on her finger. It looked good against her skin, the stone just the right size for her hand. In the back of his mind he wondered what it would be like for her to wear that ring for real.

“We’re supposed to be engaged.” He raised his gaze back to hers. “Are you going to be okay with me touching, kissing, and even fucking you?”

She drew in a slow breath and nodded. Brayden smiled slightly. She didn’t appear quite as sure of herself as she did a second ago.

“What are your hard limits, Kay?” he asked softly.

She shrugged. “All of it?”

Brayden’s lips twitched just a little at the tiny spark of humor in her eyes. Now there was the Karina he knew.

He shook his head. “Sorry, kitten, but you don’t get to deny me everything.”

“I really don’t know, Brayden. Let’s just take it one day at a time. Start light, then work your way up. If it bothers me, I have a safe word. Deal?”

Brayden nodded once. “Deal.”

“Can I have my hands back?”

He bit softly at her palm, then kissed the scar covering her hand. “I think I would prefer to nibble a little,” he teased as he moved up the inside of her arm.

The purely evil smile that tugged at Karina’s lips should’ve been a warning, but Brayden ignored it until her fingers grabbed his earlobe and twisted, catching him by surprise.

“Ow,” he snapped, letting go of her wrists and fighting the chuckle that threatened to take the anger out of his voice. “Damn sadist.”

Karina giggled. “I did ask nicely.”

He pointed a finger at her. “You can’t pull that shit at the club.”

Her confident smile was back as she rested against the couch and crossed her legs. “Who says? I am supposed to be a sassy sub, remember?”

“Too sassy, and you’ll get your ass busted,” Brayden drawled. He stood and then leaned down so his face was close to hers. “And you know how much I like to spank tight little asses.”

Brayden dropped back onto the sofa next to her. She crossed her arms and eyed him out of the corner of her eyes. “My ass isn’t all that little.”

“No, but it’s tight.”

He grinned and nudged her with his elbow. His ease faded at the thought of her being in danger. He knew Karina could take care of herself. She was a well-trained officer who could fight, probably better than he could, but he still worried. He was a Dom. He would always worry.

“One last time, Kay,” he murmured. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Would you stop asking me that already?”

He narrowed his eyes. “Yes or no, Karina.”

She sighed, then said firmly. “Yes. Now get out of my room so I can go to bed.”

“Fine,” he drawled as he pushed off the couch and headed to his own room.