Chapter One
“Nice Necklace.”
Emma’s head whipped around and a blush heated her cheeks. Oh god, that really had been the voice of her boss’s husband. She raised her eyes to his slowly, hope flaring that he was just being polite. One look at his sharp-eyed gaze killed that hope. How had she never pegged the man as a Dom? Alpha, sure, but it had never occurred to her that the tall, dark and scrumptious ex-military man would recognize the BDSM symbol she’d talked herself into wearing. Clearly she was an idiot. Her blush went supernova.
His grin softened into a more gentle smile. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m sure most people here won’t know what it means.”
Gamely she cleared her throat. “Yeah, well, that’s sort of what I figured. But here you are, only a few hours after I put it on.”
He laughed and reached out to take the coffee she’d been making for him, adding the lid to the to-go cup himself. “I’m sure anyone around here who knows what it means will be respectful of it.” He frowned. “And if they’re not, you let me know.”
She fiddled with the silver pendant and took a deep breath, forcing the remainder of her embarrassment away. Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? To be free to be herself? Soon she’d be starting her senior year in college, her last year of freedom. Once she went back home… Well, she didn’t want to think about that too much right now. Not when she had a full year left to live the life she wanted to live. “Thanks, Caleb.”
Another cocky wink and he turned to find his wife, interrupting the chat she was having with one of their usual customers to kiss her soundly before walking out of the coffee shop. Emma sighed as she started working on another coffee order. That was what she wanted. Not Caleb himself, exactly, though the man was pure sin. But what her friend and boss, Taryn, had found with the hottie. Love.
She’d been surprised when Taryn had hooked up with Caleb, who was so unlike her previous boyfriends. But that surprise had been nothing compared to the shock of discovering that Taryn and Caleb weren’t a couple. They were a threesome with Taryn’s best friend Richard. Emma had known the handsome and sweet doctor was gay. She hadn’t known that when Richard and Taryn weren’t involved with other people, they kept each other company in bed. All that had changed when the three had come together.
They were exclusive and though Taryn refused to do a civil or religious ceremony, Emma knew they’d done something private and they all wore rings. She thought their relationship was the healthiest one she knew of, outside of her parents. And now Emma had to wonder if the fact the three shared a bed was the most interesting thing going on in their bedroom. No! She would not imagine her boss in bed with all those hands gliding over her… No! Absolutely not going there.
She forced her mind back to her work, handing off the drinks she’d made and starting another round. Her shift wouldn’t be over for another hour. She’d been filling in for a coworker between her vacations. Junior year had come to an end and she’d immediately headed home to California to spend time with her parents. She’d loved seeing them, being there, working the family store, but she’d also been excited to come back to take a private vacation. One that would keep her mind on her own sexual needs, not those of her friends.
Being with her parents had shown her how different her life would be once she graduated college and returned full time. Not that she didn’t love it there, she did, but she just couldn’t be the free-spirited person there that she’d started to become here. Especially when it came to sex. Which was why she’d put the necklace on that morning. If this was the last year she’d be able to express her sexuality in the way that felt so natural to her, then she was going to live it to the limit.
A not-too-sharp slap on her butt startled her. “Hey, that’s sexual harassment,” she complained.
“Yeah, yeah, take it up with human resources.” Taryn grinned at her, unrepentant.
“You are human resources. And payroll, corporate and whatever else you want to be.”
“I know. I love being boss. Which reminds me.” She pulled a key ring from her back pocket and handed it to Emma. “This is your birthday present and bonus combined. It’s rented for the week, all paid up. As long as you don’t get in any accidents or anything,” she added with a grin.
Emma frowned. “I have a car. It’s not the greatest or anything, but it gets me around.”
“It’s not the greatest, and you know I hate when you take it into the city. I know you plan on going out there while you’re off, and I thought you might like to do it with your top down.”
It took a second for the meaning of that to work its way through Emma’s brain. Finally she got it and squealed. “A convertible? You got me a convertible?” She launched herself at Taryn, wrapping her up in a bear hug.
Taryn laughed. “Rented. Not got, rented. For one week, that baby’s yours.”
Emma followed the pointed finger and looked out the window to a black Mustang, top down, gleaming in the parking lot. She turned back to Taryn as the woman pressed the car key into her hand.
“Go ahead, get going. Derek just got here, I’m sending you home early. Have a great vacation.”
“Thanks, Tare. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had.”
Laughing, Taryn pulled back and shoved her toward the door. “If we don’t count relatives, I’m the only boss you’ve ever had.”
* * * * *
Late the next morning, Emma was on her way. She’d tossed and turned all night, like a kid who couldn’t sleep before going to Disneyland. She laughed as she put her suitcase in the trunk. She wouldn’t mind a visit to that park, but she was much more excited to be going where she was. Not just to Boston, but to the club she’d found, filled with people like her. And sex.
Stupid sex. Wonderful, glorious sex. Damn annoying, complicated sex. Because she couldn’t be simple. No, not Emma Lee. She had to go and get herself caught up in something fringe. Something alternative. It had taken her a long time to figure out that there was a name for the thing she wanted. Submission. She swallowed hard just thinking the word. Claiming it for herself.
She’d stumbled around, finding some books, some sites on the internet. Finally, two years ago, she’d made it to a club she liked in Boston—Apex. And she’d found home. Well, not completely, but it had been so much closer to what she wanted, what she needed, than she’d ever found before, that it had taken her a while to realize it wasn’t quite everything she dreamed of.
The club scene was fun. It was entertaining and it was hot. It was empowering. But she found it nearly impossible to actually form a relationship with anyone. There were lots of reasons, but one of the biggest was distance. The three-hour drive didn’t work well with her busy school, homework and work schedule. Normally she stayed with her friend Stephanie, but this time she’d found an online hotel deal and had treated herself. In the last year, she’d made the trip only twice, which was why she was heading there as the first part of her vacation. She was horny as hell.
Laughing at herself, she turned up the radio. The sun was shining, but not terribly bright, and the wind from the open top kept things cool. She’d chosen to take a back road rather than the highway, and had hit a long, solitary stretch. There was no one else in sight, only the occasional small side streets and driveways shooting off to either side of the road. Her foot pressed down harder on the pedal and she yanked the ponytail holder out of her hair. The wind whipped the fine strands in a massaging caress, the sun warmed her cheeks and she sang along to the music at the top of her lungs.
At the bleep of a siren, her foot eased off the gas before her brain caught up to the situation. Shit. She looked down at the speedometer and groaned when she saw it was at fifty, despite the fact she’d already slowed down some. Easing off even more, she flipped the blinker on and looked in the rearview mirror. The cop car was exactly what she’d expected to see. Sighing, she eased onto the side of the road and came to a stop. Well, she wasn’t going to let this ruin her vacation. She’d been having fun, and if she had to pay a little bit more for the privilege, so be it.
When the officer approached her door, she smiled up at him. “Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.”
“Yes, ma’am. License, insurance and registration, please.”
She pulled the rental car paperwork from the center console and handed it to him, then grabbed her wallet out of her purse and gave him the insurance card and her driver’s license. He didn’t say anything else as he walked back to his car, so she just leaned her head against the headrest and watched his ass in the side mirror. It was a mighty fine ass.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly, spent daydreaming about men in uniforms. The cop returned, handing her back everything and giving her a ticket to sign. She did as he asked and returned it to him with a bright smile. “Thanks.”
His lips twitched a bit, but he didn’t say anything.
Returning her cards to her wallet, she was surprised when he didn’t leave. She zipped her purse closed and looked back at him. His expression, which had been casually stern before, was now hard. And…heated? Surely she was mistaken.
“Ma’am, I’d like you to step out of the car.”
She blinked as he pulled on the handle, opening her door wide. “Um. Okay.” She unbuckled the seat belt and eased out of the convertible, carefully ensuring the long skirt of her dress covered everything it should. He gestured for her to walk to the shoulder of the road. Nerves began to dance through her stomach as he led her to the back door of his cruiser. She noted the car read “Jackson”, so she’d only gone about forty miles from home before getting into trouble.
“Turn around.”
Her stomach was a hard knot as she obeyed, turning back to face him.
“Lace your fingers behind your neck.”
What the fuck? Slowly, she did as he’d ordered. She waited, but he didn’t say anything else, just stared at her. It took her a minute to realize that he’d told her to put her hands behind her neck, rather than on her head, like the TV cops did. The position was so familiar to her she hadn’t given it any thought. She blinked and looked at him again. He’d taken his sunglasses off and his eyes were steady on hers. And they were hot. Ohhhh.
He must have seen the moment she began to get it, because he moved. Smoothly he put one hand on his gun holster, unclipped it from his belt, reached through his open window and put it into his glove box. She could hear the key turn, locking, then the clink of the keys as they dropped down onto the car seat. Other than a few quick glances at what he was doing, he kept his eyes on her. Once that was done, he released her gaze and made a visual inspection of her body. She watched his eyes lower to her neck, where they studied her necklace for a beat, then lower. Her nipples tightened under his scrutiny and she was glad she was wearing a bra. Or, maybe not.
Finally he returned his look to her face and took two steps closer. His body heat enveloped her and she had to fight not to lean forward the fraction it would take to touch his chest with her breasts. He was only a little taller than her, just enough that she was staring at his mouth until she lifted her chin a bit.
“Are your arms tired?” he asked, his voice soft but no less commanding than before.
“Yes, Sir.”
“But you’ll leave them there for me, won’t you? For a little while longer?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He stepped back again, three full paces, and she had to fight not to whimper.
“This is a bad idea.”
She blinked. Whatever she’d expected him to say or do next, that wasn’t it. But he was right.
“For both of us,” she agreed. The sexual tension didn’t go away, but her mind cleared a bit and she focused on the reality of the situation, rather than the fantasy-like haze she’d let herself fall into. This wasn’t the club, wasn’t a pre-established scene. She didn’t know this man, wasn’t in a safe place, surrounded by people she trusted. And surely it was the kind of thing he could get fired for. He was trusting her not to cry foul to the authorities.
“You’d be a fool to do this.”
“So would you.” She gave him the safe words from the club. “I know when to say red and yellow.” Forcing herself to meet his eyes, to show him she was sure, she begged him with a whisper. “Please.”
He cursed and stepped forward. His large hands came up to bracket her wrists and ease her arms down to the small of her back. One hand held her wrists steady while the other came up to her cheek. His thumb brushed along her jaw line, teased her lower lip, then he dropped his hand down to finger her necklace.
“And green?” he asked, his gaze intent.
She nodded and gave him the word that would let him know it was okay to proceed. “Yes. Green.”
“Follow me,” he snapped. Drew took her hand in his and practically towed the lovely siren to her car, gently pushed her into the driver’s seat and stalked back to his cruiser. He shouldn’t let her drive, but they were only going a mile down a back county road, and taking her away from her car wasn’t safe for her. He couldn’t seem to stop himself, couldn’t seem to let logic overcome his desires. And fuck, he desired. He’d just come home from a long shift and stopped at the end of his driveway to get the mail when a car had blown past him, going too fast. Reversing quickly he’d been shocked to find himself smiling at the sight of the black hair streaming in the wind, the face turned up to the sun, and the pouty lips he glimpsed in the rearview mirror, singing enthusiastically.
When he’d gotten to her door, he’d been expecting attitude. Or nerves. Those were the normal reactions to being pulled over. But no, not this one. She’d smiled up at him, bright with a touch of apology, and not a single hint of complaint. He’d thought maybe she was about to turn on the charm, try to flirt her way out of the ticket. The brief consideration he’d given the idea had pissed him off, but no. She hadn’t flirted, hadn’t teased. Hadn’t done anything but wait patiently for him to return. And the whole time he was running her on the car computer, he was seeing that necklace of hers in his mind. He knew what it meant. And his cock was telling him it had been far, far too long since he’d gone into the city to satisfy his needs. Needs he found too dark to attempt to meet in the small town he lived and worked in. Needs she would know all about.
Still, he hadn’t planned his next move. He’d meant only to caution her to drive more carefully and send her on her way. Her surprise at his words mirrored his own, but he didn’t let her see that. Didn’t let her see anything other than calm confidence and command. And she’d responded. A touch of fear tempered by the fact that she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong. He’d led her to the other side of the cars for a little bit of cover, though he didn’t think anyone would come along the road anytime soon. But better safe than sorry.
He snorted to himself as he eased the car back onto the road and moved ahead, waiting for her to fall in after him. Safe? None of this was safe. It was about the stupidest thing he could ever remember doing. Not only did he risk his job if she turned out to be crazy, but he never mixed his work life with his play life. Hell, he really didn’t mix his home life with it either. Playing was for the clubs, for the city. Not for home, where it would be too easy for his coworkers to discover his less than typical sexual proclivities.
But he held his breath until she moved in behind him and followed as he made a wide U-turn and headed back to his driveway. Within three minutes they were bumping along the dirt drive and he wished he’d thought to warn her to put the top up. She slowed down, letting him get farther ahead so the dust didn’t completely swamp her. But she kept moving forward.
Parking next to the old barn, he rolled up his windows and waited patiently for her to catch up. When she turned off the Mustang, he got out of the cruiser and hurried over to open her door. The surprised pleasure on her face almost made him grin, but he held it back, felt himself falling back into Dom mode. A quick glimpse of a tattoo on her ankle made him itch to get a closer look at her. All of her. He took her hand and led her into the barn.
It was a clean space that hadn’t been used for its intended purpose since long before he’d bought the house. He occasionally brought furniture in here to strip and refinish, stored some of his brother’s belongings in the hayloft, and had some gym equipment set up in one corner for when the weather was too nasty to jog. Flipping on the lights, he pointed to a spot in the center of a large, clear area. She walked to it and sank down to her knees gracefully, resting her butt on her heels, her hands on her thighs, legs parted. Then she betrayed herself by glancing up to check his reaction. Again, he had to hide a smile. She was freaking adorable.
Twenty-four, according to her license, which had told him her full name, as well as her address in North Fork, the college town a few miles away. It had listed her height at five foot nine and her weight at one hundred and twenty pounds, though he suspected she should add some to that now. Not that he was complaining. He was quite happy with every pound he’d seen, every inch, everything. Her black hair and brown skin spoke of some sort of heritage, though he couldn’t quite figure out what. Emma Lee was young and beautiful and his. At least for the next little while.
He wondered what she was thinking. He was thinking that if she were a friend of his he’d paddle her bottom black and blue for doing such a stupid thing with a complete stranger. It was totally irresponsible to be contemplating something like this without knowing who he was, let alone talking first and setting up parameters. He knew he wouldn’t do anything dangerous, wouldn’t skirt any lines that might be troublesome areas for her. But she couldn’t know that.
He took the handcuffs out of their case on his belt and watched her eyes narrow. She took in a breath and opened her mouth, then shut it as he tossed the cuffs off to the side. Good. It would have been idiotic to allow a perfect stranger to restrain her that way, and he was glad to know she would have objected. The rest of the items on his belt followed the cuffs, then he reached for the buckle. She nibbled on her lip as he slid the leather free and added it to the pile. He didn’t want all that creaking bulk for the next little while.
“What’s your name?” he asked, wanting to hear her say it.
Her pink tongue darted out to moisten her lips. “Emma.” She started to say more, stopped herself, clearly unsure whether she was allowed to talk or not.
He nodded. “It’s not so easy when you don’t know what protocol to follow. Not so smart, either.”
She didn’t deny it. “I thought we’d already established that.”
A snort escaped him. “So we did.”
“What’s your name?”
“Andrew Robinson. Drew.”
Her lips formed his name, testing it, but she didn’t give it any sound. He wanted that, to hear his name on her lips. Luckily, in these situations, what he wanted, he got.
“Say it.”
“Officer Robinson.”
He shook his head. No, despite the stupid situation he was currently pursuing, and despite the increasingly demanding desire to use his handcuffs on her, work was separate from play. “Drew.”
“Drew,” she repeated. “Sir.”
His heart gave an annoying little thud. He liked the way those words sounded on her lips.
“I’m going to need to search you.” He gestured to the wall behind her. “Hands against the wall, feet spread wide.”
She rose slowly and swiveled around, putting a little extra sashay in her hips that the low sandals she wore didn’t account for. Little tease. No, that wasn’t right. She wasn’t teasing him because he was pretty sure she had every intention of following through. Only his damn honor would dictate how far he’d let it go. Leaning forward, she braced herself against the wall and spread her legs wide, tilting her hips so her pert ass pointed right at him.
Adjusting his cock behind his uniform pants, he moved forward, past the inviting ass, until he was next to her face. He speared his fingers through her silky hair, grazing her scalp with a little massage before fisting what hair he’d caught and using it to turn her head up to him.
“Do you have anything dangerous on your person? Any weapons or needles?”
Her breath came out in tiny little puffs that he felt against his arm. Her eyes were dilated and heavy with need.
“No, Sir.”
He let her hair go and slid his hand down the back of her neck, squeezing gently. He brought up his other hand and moved them along her bare arms to her wrists, gave another squeeze. Since she’d dropped her head back down, he didn’t hold back the little smile that her answering moan brought to his lips. Sliding his hands back down the insides of her arms, he gave a quick tickle at her armpits. She jerked slightly, but held her position.
He cupped her breasts. She sawed in a much deeper breath, pushing herself into his grip. A perfect handful, deliciously heavy. His quick swipe of her nipples brought a nearly soundless gasp. Spreading his hands wide, he moved lower, tracing along her ribs, molding the dress to her body as he stepped around and between her legs. It took more effort than it should to keep from pressing up against her ass. Continuing the journey, he brought his hands down her hips and the outsides of her legs until he reached her ankles.
He rubbed his thumb along the small clutch of flowers inked into her skin. Stretched out as she was, it forced him to crouch down, putting his face against the fabric of her dress, pulled tight between her legs. A quick squeeze of her ankles and he curled his hands in, beginning the return journey. Her calves flexed under his palms, his skin encountered fabric as he reached her knees, and from that point on, the dress rose with his arms.
When his hands came back together at her center, he gave only the barest brush against her underwear before letting go and standing up. He moved so that his legs where on either side of her right leg and placed his left hand on the back of her neck, feeling the slight shiver just as he moved his right hand to cup her pussy. She lifted to her toes for just a second before settling back down into his touch. Silky panties did little to keep him from the wet heat. He pressed in close, tucked his face into the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. Little goose bumps raced up her arms and the fabric under his fingers got wetter.
“Hmm,” he murmured into her neck. “Nothing in your clothes, no weapons strapped to your body.”
“No, Sir, nothing hidden, I swear. Please, Sir, let me go, I won’t trouble you any further.” She’d pitched her voice into that of a helpless maiden, and he had to smile at her role-playing. Somehow, though, he didn’t think the breathless quality of the words was feigned.
“I don’t know, missy. Seems there are still a few places you could be hiding things.”
She turned her face up to his, her eyes over-wide. “Sir! I don’t know what you mean!”
“Mmm, hmm.” He lowered his head the scant distance to mate his mouth with hers. She responded instantly, boldly, tangling her tongue with his until he nipped her, reminding her of her role. She obediently pulled back, letting him explore her mouth at his leisure. Her ass, however, began a slow movement, her hips swinging just a bit, just enough to brush her against his already achingly hard cock.
He pulled back from the kiss and swatted her pussy at the same time. She gave a startled squeak and stilled her movements.
“Nothing hidden in your mouth,” he commented.
She stuck her tongue out at him, but he chose to ignore it, moving behind her so she wouldn’t see his grin. He had a feeling role-playing wasn’t her usual game. It wasn’t his, either, but the situation fairly demanded it. The fingers he held against her panties slid carefully up to tease at the elastic edge.
“What about here?” he asked. “Are you sure you don’t want to admit to anything hidden here? Anything dangerous?” He punctuated the question with a sharp nibble on her neck.
She gasped but remained quiet.
“I guess I’ll just have to check for myself.”
KB Alan lives the single life in Southern California. She acknowledges that she should probably turn off the computer and leave the house once in a while in order to find her own happily ever after, but for now she’s content to delude herself with the theory that Mr. Right is bound to come knocking on her door through no real effort of her own. Please refrain from pointing out the many flaws in this system. Other comments, however, are happily received.
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