Rogue (20 page)

“Fuck.”  His guttural groan made heat flare low in my belly.

His fingers twined in my hair on either side of my head, and he took full control. 
He held me where he wanted me as he moved in and out of my mouth.  Fear struck me
for a moment at the sense of utter powerlessness, and I whined around him in distress.

“Take it,” he growled.  “Take all of me.  I know you can.”

The raw pleasure in his voice calmed me.  I relaxed into my bonds, into his power,
and swallowed him down.

He gave a low curse and withdrew fully.  “I want to come in my pussy.”

Suddenly, he was behind me again.  His hand pressed between my shoulder blades, pushing
me down until my torso was parallel to the floor.  He held me in place with a strong
grip on my upper arms, keeping me hovering just above the carpet, with my ass offered
up to him.

“I’m clean.  Are you on birth control?”  His voice was strained with the effort of
holding himself back, but he wanted to make sure I consented to sex without a condom. 
I craved the sensation of him moving inside me, nothing between us.

“I’m on the pill.  And I’m clean, too.”

I had barely gotten the words out before he drove into my wet heat in one rough thrust. 
My cry at the sudden intrusion wasn’t one of pain.  He took me harshly, grunting each
time he slammed into me.  His fingers gripped my arms so tightly that I was sure to
have bruises, but I didn’t care.  I reveled in the little spots of pain, in his complete
control as he fucked me mercilessly.

His hips shifted, altering the angle of his thrusts.  The head of his cock found that
sweet spot at the front of my inner walls, and I screamed out my orgasm.  He followed
me immediately, the throbbing of my core sending him over the edge.  His bellow mingled
with my ecstatic cry, and his heat lashed into me, branding me as his.

His hands trembled when he gently lowered me down and turned me over.  His body settled
over mine, enveloping me in his strength and heat.  His fingers played along the line
of the collar, and he stared at it in fascination.

“Mine,” he murmured again.  I thrilled at the word.

Chapter 17

“I’m glad we’re on the same side,” Clara murmured to me as she helped me tighten my
corset.

“Me too.”  I meant it.  I had come to like the Dominatrix, so it was a relief when
I found out she was NYPD.  She was taking point with Reed and me tonight in calling
in the cavalry when the time came.

She grimaced.  “I wasn’t thrilled when the guys on the force found out I had been
investigating this place on my own.  They didn’t know about my lifestyle.  I honestly
don’t know how I’m going to face them after this.”

I met her eyes in the mirror.  “It’s probably not as bad as you imagine.  I felt the
same way.  Derek helped me to see that the guys respect me and care about me.”

Clara nodded shortly, but her eyes were closed, unaccepting.  She didn’t believe me. 
I silently hoped that – through domination or submission – she could find the peace
Derek had shown me.  She must have embraced the lifestyle for a reason.  Maybe her
asshole ex had made her forget why.

I shook it off.  As much as I hoped Clara found happiness, I couldn’t focus on her
private life right now.  We had a job to do.

“Not too tight, please,” I requested as Clara gave a particularly sharp tug on my
laces.  “I’d like to be able to breathe tonight.”

She gave me a little smirk in the mirror.  “Okay, I’ll be merciful.  But only because
of extenuating circumstances.”  She finished her work with a flourish.  “You good?”

I took a deep breath, relieved to realize that I could actually fill my lungs.  I
was further reassured by the weight of the Glock 22 that was strapped to my thigh,
hidden by my relatively modest knee-length skirt.

“All good,” I confirmed.  “You?”

“Yep.  Let’s do this.”  The fervent light in her grey eyes let me know that she was
just as keen to run the Kings out of the BDSM club as I was.  She didn’t want to save
Derek as desperately as I did, but she wanted to put an end to drug use in a place
that was supposed to be a safe haven for people in her lifestyle.

It’s my lifestyle, too,
I realized.  I wanted to be with Derek, and that meant being part of his kinky life. 
All my initial derisive assumptions about BDSM had been wrong.  I no longer scorned
those who practiced it, and the resentment and fear I had felt at my own submissive
tendencies was gone.  Derek had helped me find peace with myself, lifting the heavy
burden of guilt and self-consciousness that had weighed me down for so many years.

Now, it was time to restore peace to his life as well.  I followed Clara out of the
locker room, preparing myself to play my part, to extend my deception for a few hours
longer.

When I entered the bar, I headed straight for Derek’s arms, ignoring Ortiz’s glare
of loathing.  His bruises had turned a sick greenish-yellow, making his wide face
even uglier.

Derek hugged me to him tightly, and he bent down to take my lips with possessive hunger. 
His teeth nipped at my lower lip.  The little bite of pain let me know something was
wrong.  His need to give me pain meant he needed control.  I could almost taste the
desperation on his tongue when he took my mouth.

“She’s supposed to be mine for the night.”  The voice that was so like Derek’s and
yet so horribly wrong floated over my shoulder.  Dread pooled in my stomach as I recognized
the speaker: Jonas Carter.

Derek’s arms tightened around me, and his teeth sank into my lip again.  All I wanted
was to give him my submission, to soothe him, but that wasn’t an option.  If Jonas
demanded that I go with him, then that’s what I would have to do.  I wasn’t about
to blow everything now.  Not when we were only hours, maybe minutes, away from taking
down the Kings.

It took all my strength – mental and physical – to break from Derek’s kiss.

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered across his lips.  “It won’t be for long.  Trust me.”

His jaw clenched. “If you let anything happen to yourself, I’ll tan your hide,” he
warned.  His eyes were almost maddened with his hatred for his father and his fear
for me, but he let me go.

The hand that gripped my waist wasn’t Derek’s.  I was jerked back out of his arms,
and I fell against solid muscle.  Jonas’ fingers curled around my hip, pressing me
against him.

“I can see why you like this one.  She has a nice ass.”

He began to harden against me, and I tried to pull away.  His arm was an iron band
around my stomach, holding me in place.  Nausea rolled through me, and it took considerable
effort to stop myself from slamming my elbow into his solar plexus.

“I’m fine,” I told Derek quickly, before he could tear his father to pieces.  “I’ll
see you soon.”

You’ll see Jonas in handcuffs soon. 
My eyes willed him to understand.

Derek’s stance remained tense, and he said nothing.  It was taking everything he had
to stop himself from ripping me out of his father’s arms.

Jonas leered at him and turned, pulling me with him.  He shifted me so that I walked
at his side, but he still held me close with his grip on my waist.

“There’s someone I want you to meet.”  His voice was silky at my ear.  His hot breath
washed across my neck in a sick parody of intimacy.

We were heading towards the private rooms.  Reed was stationed just at the edge of
the dungeon, watching.  But rather than being a voyeur, he was keeping an eye Reyes. 
His eyes casually scanned the area, but they always made sure to sweep over the King.

When his gaze fell on me, he stiffened.  The furious twist of his lips let me know
that he didn’t like seeing Jonas’ hands on me any more than Derek did.  He shifted
his weight as though to take a step toward me, but I warned him off with a sharp glare. 
He gave a short nod and backed off, but he still radiated tension, and his casual
observation now included Jonas as well as Reyes.

I’ll be fine. 
I told myself the same words I had offered to Derek.  I was wearing a wire under my
corset.  If I truly needed help, Clayton and Smith would hear.  I had no doubt they
would come running.

Jonas forced me to walk beside him down the long corridor, and two members of the
Kings I didn’t recognize appeared out of nowhere to flank us.  Instead of going into
one of the private rooms, we headed for Derek’s office.  When we entered, we found
a man seated beside Derek’s desk.  He was surrounded by three burly men, all of whom
had distinctive tattoos on the right side of their necks.

I didn’t have a chance to study them.  All of my attention honed on the seated man. 
He was undeniably gorgeous.  Long lashed, dark brown eyes matched the shade of his
silken hair that fell to his shoulders.  It curled slightly at the ends, framing his
square jaw.

But his beauty was ruined by the cruel twist of his smirking lips and his cold gaze. 
I pitied the petite golden blonde who knelt at his feet.  What must it be like to
have this man as her Dom?

“Jonas.”  He inclined his head in recognition and gestured to the chair across from
him.  “Please have a seat.”  His voice was deep, his accent so thick that it took
me a moment to register that he had in fact spoken in English.

“Dimitri,” Jonas greeted.  “So good to see you again.”  His fingers wrapped around
my hair and pulled down sharply as he sat.  “On your knees,” he ordered.

Gritting my teeth, I sank into the slave pose Derek had taught me.  It took effort
to lower my gaze to the floor.  It went against all my instincts to take my eyes off
a threat.

“Your slave is very pretty,” the Russian remarked.  “Is she part of our deal?”

I couldn’t stop myself from glaring up at him.  “No.  And I’m not a slave.  I’m a
sub.”

Jonas’ hand suddenly braced against the left side of my head, holding me in place.
The thumb of his free hand dug into the pressure point just under my jaw.  I couldn’t
stifle my small cry of pain.

“I do like the spirited ones,” Dimitri remarked.  He stroked the hair of the blonde
beside him.  “It took a long time to get Alicia to the point where she willingly gave
up her safe words.  You Americans are so soft with your slaves.”  His hand caressed
her cheek almost lovingly.  “But I do get bored of her obedience sometimes.  I would
be very grateful if I could train this one.”  He nodded towards me.  I caught a flash
of cornflower blue as the blonde’s eyes flared with anger.

“I would consider making her part of the deal.  As a gesture to show how much I value
our friendship.”  I jerked beneath Jonas, but his thumb dug into me again.  My pained
shout was louder, more ragged this time.

I blinked back tears when his grip eased, and I prayed that Clayton and Smith wouldn’t
blow this just yet.  If they came running to my rescue, everything would be ruined. 
They had to wait just a few more minutes.  As soon as Dimitri gave verbal confirmation
of the deal to trade the coke for an alliance, we would have what we needed.

The door burst open, and everyone’s gazes snapped to Reyes as he stormed in.  He strode
to his boss and bent to whisper in his ear.

“The cops are here.  She’s a fucking Fed.”

I was close enough to catch his words, but the wire wouldn’t pick it up.  Before I
had a second to strike out to defend myself, Jonas’ thumb sank into me again.  Agony
flared, and my vision went white.  My body was immobilized by the shock of pain, and
I fell helplessly to the floor when Jonas broke contact.

“We have to get out of here,” he hissed.  “Deal with her.”

Through my wavering vision, I saw Dimitri lift the blonde and carry her out of the
office, his men in tow.  Jonas followed hard on their heels.

That left me alone with Jonas’ two guards and Reyes.  I struggled to force my arms
to work, to push my body upright.

“I’m going to need some help in here, guys,” I managed to say, knowing it was time
for the NYPD to move in.  Clayton and Smith would hear me.  “Jonas and the Russians
know-”

Pain exploded in my side.  I curled in on myself, gasping.  Reyes’ savage face wavered
above me, and his boot drew back again to catch me in the stomach.  I managed to tighten
my abs just in time to reduce the damage the blow would cause, but that didn’t lessen
the pain.  It felt as though my insides were being ripped apart.  My body tried to
scream out its pain, but I couldn’t find air.

“Sharon!”  Reed’s voice boomed through the room.  The sound of flesh hitting flesh
reached my ears, but the blow didn’t land on me.  Reed was dealing with Reyes.

I blinked hard, willing the world to appear around me.  My stomach was still writhing,
but I managed to force air into my lungs.  When my vision cleared, I saw Clara dealing
with the other Kings.

Clutching at my abdomen, I managed to make it to my feet.

A shrill ringing sound blared to life.  Someone had used the emergency exit.

Jonas. 
I had to get to Jonas, or Derek would never be free.  Charlotte would suffer.  Knowing
that Reed and Clara could handle themselves, I stumbled out of the office.  I started
up an uneven jog, making my way down the long corridor.

Shrieks and sobs filtered in from the bar and dungeon.  The NYPD were making their
move.  Would they make it to Jonas through the chaos?  I wasn’t prepared to take the
chance.

My footfalls became more even as adrenaline helped numb my pain.  By the time I burst
into the dungeon, I was in a full sprint.  My heart sank when I saw Derek slam through
the emergency exit and out into the night.

“Derek!”  I yelled out for him.  He couldn’t go out on his own.  He wasn’t armed. 
He couldn’t defend himself.

I increased my pace, shoving through the panicked bodies of the intoxicated patrons. 
I had to get to Derek.

I threw myself full-force against the door, and I half-fell out into the dimly lit
alley.  Rain poured down in hard, fat drops.  It immediately fell into my eyes, and
it pounded against the asphalt, impairing my senses of sight and hearing.

I squinted through the curtains of water and saw the Russians flinging themselves
into a black sedan.  It tore away before Jonas could get in.  He ran after it, cursing. 
And Derek ran after him.

I reached under my skirt, and my water-slicked hand found my gun.

Something sharp ripped into my side, slicing through my skin and sliding up through
my flesh with cold precision.  The knife didn’t stop until it scraped against my rib. 
It took a moment for agony to slam through shock.  When it registered, it was so visceral
that robbed me of breath.  I couldn’t even scream.

“You deserved so much worse, cunt.”  I recognized Ortiz’s cruelly satisfied voice
just before he ripped the blade out.  My pain magnified, and a strangled sound managed
to work its way up from my deflated lungs.

Ortiz’s malevolent presence at my back disappeared, and I fell to my knees.  I watched
in horror as he stepped around me, moving towards Derek.  Blood dripped from the knife
clutched in his hand.  My blood.

No. 
I couldn’t let him hurt Derek.

My pain faded to nothing.  Everything went quiet.  There were no shouts, no pounding
rain.  Just a faint, high ringing in my ears.  The world seemed to slow.  I watched
as Jonas turned to Derek.  He held a gun, and he lifted it.  Any moment now, it would
send a bullet ripping through Derek’s heart.