Taken in Hand (3 page)

belonged to? Do you know anything about it?”

“I’m a member.”

“Have you noticed anyone there paying particular

attention to you lately?”

“No, but of course I’ve participated in activities there,

where the whole idea is to get people to notice you.”

“I see.”

The professor laughed shortly. “I doubt it, but I

suppose if you’re to become my partner, you’ll be getting a

quick education in the lifestyle.”

Chad felt the blush all the way to his toes. “If you’re

talking about the fact that you’re gay, I have no problem with

pretending I am.”

Morrison leaned back in the booth and regarded him

closely. “I wonder if you have any real idea of what you’re

getting yourself into. My partners in the past have all been

required to live the lifestyle twenty-four-seven, both at home

and in the club. All my close friends know this. There would

be no question of hiding it or deviating from my usual

habits.”

“Hiding what?” Chad leaned across, lowering his voice

instinctively in puzzlement. “What do you mean by the

lifestyle? What exactly do you live twenty-four-seven?”

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The professor smiled, looking just a bit like a large cat

with canary feathers caught between its teeth. “The BDSM

lifestyle. Aren’t you familiar with it? I would have thought

that since you’re working this case, you’d know more about

me.”

Chad’s insides tied in a knot. No, he didn’t know about

living that kinky all the time. That little piece of information

hadn’t been in the file. “I’m a Dom, and if you want to

pretend to be my partner, that makes you the sub.” The

professor continued, leaning forward slightly, holding Chad’s

gaze, and not releasing it. “Bondage and Discipline,

Domination and Submission, Sado-Masochism—that’s what

BDSM stands for, Detective. Have you heard of it?”

Morrison’s lips were turned up in a little smile, no

doubt to annoy Chad. At the same time a spicy, woodsy

scent floated across the table, making Chad’s crotch tighten

unaccountably.

Morrison laughed out loud at Chad’s expression.

“What’s the matter? Rethinking staying at my house and

posing as my lover?”

“Very funny,” Chad said, his voice tight and irritated.

“Of course, I’ve
heard
the term.”

Morrison raised one eyebrow and leaned back, his gaze

almost predatory, giving Chad the feeling he was playing

with him.

“As I said, all of my friends, anybody who would be

invited to my home, knows of my interests. If you want to

make people think this is a real relationship, you’d have to

act the part.”

Chad knew the man was enjoying his discomfiture.

Maybe to shock him, maybe to wipe the smirk off his face, he

glared at him and clipped out one word, “Fine.”

The eyebrow rose again. “Fine? You realize that means

whenever someone comes to my home or we go to the club,

you might have to be naked except for your collar?” He gaze

moved up and down, over what there was visible of Chad

above the table. “I suppose we could get by with a jock strap

for you.”

A hot blush traveled up Chad’s neck, and he almost

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choked over a sip of his tea. Even as he sputtered and tried

to catch his breath under the amused gaze of the professor,

he refused to back down from the son of a bitch. “You just

won’t invite people over while I’m there then, will you?”

“But Detective, wouldn’t that just negate the entire

idea? I mean, you’d be there to be seen, surely. It’s a shame

to hide a beautiful body like yours anyway.”

Those damn brown eyes fucking
glittered
at him. How

was it possible for someone so good looking to be such an

ass? “Why don’t you let me worry about that, Professor? I

realize you’re having a good time at my expense right now,

but this isn’t my idea of a laughing matter. People have died,

and I want to help put a stop to it.”

For the first time since he’d sat down at the table,

Chad thought he scored a direct hit. Morrison’s expression

sobered instantly, and he nodded. “You’re right, of course.

Nothing about this is amusing, is it? It’s tragic and horrible

and disgusting. I apologize, Detective Williams.”

“Let’s back this up a little, okay? So you are agreeing

to do this thing? To let me act as your partner? Move in with

you?”

Morrison sighed. “Yes, I suppose, though as I said, I

value my privacy, making this is a major concession for me. I

also want the bastard caught. So, yes, I guess I’ll
do this

thing.”

Chad suffered some conflicting emotions. If Morrison

had said no that would have been a way out his chief

couldn’t argue with. Still, as irritating as the guy was, it was

Chad’s job to see it through. “Okay.” He huffed out a breath.

“So I guess I have a few questions about all this to help me

understand.”

“Fire away, Detective.” The glitter was definitely back

in those eyes. He really did seem to be enjoying Chad’s

embarrassment.

“Okay, so this BDSM—it’s a lifestyle for you.”

“Yes, for the past few years. The lifestyle does appeal to

me. As I said, I lived it with my last two subs.”

“I understand you aren’t involved right now, with a

boyfriend or whatever.” Chad had to admit to feeling almost

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relieved, though he didn’t want to examine
that
too closely,

telling himself it just made things simpler.

Morrison looked up at him and held his gaze just a

fraction too long. “No, Detective, I’m not involved with

anyone. And I wouldn’t exactly call my subs boyfriends,

either. It’s a whole other dynamic for me. I had boyfriends

when I was younger, but those relationships tend to get

complicated. D/s relationships are simpler, in a way, though

they tend to get serious fast. Sharing that much intimacy

with another person is different from any other kind of

relationship. I care for my subs, of course, but love…” He

shrugged and fiddled with his napkin. Finally raising his

head, he pinned Chad with a look. “Are you currently

involved?”

Chad cleared his throat. “Look, if we’re going to be

working so closely together over the next few days or weeks,

you should call me by my first name. It’s Chad, and no, I’m

not seeing anyone.”

Taking a sip of water, Morrison gazed over the rim of

the glass at him. “All right, Chad. You may call me Adam,

though once we start this, it’ll be better for you to get in the

habit of calling me Sir.” Another twinkle in his eyes, and

Chad glared.

“You really do want to bust my chops over this, don’t

you?”

Adam laughed out loud, a surprisingly young, happy

sound that had Chad fighting not to smile along with him.

“I’m sorry, Chad, but you’re so damn vanilla.” He wiped a

tear from his eye and glanced up at him. “I’m wondering if

any of my friends will even believe you could possibly be my

sub.”

“You just tell me what to do, and I can do my job.”

Adam leaned back and gave him the predatory look

again. “Oh, I’m sure.”

Chad chose to ignore
that
remark and took out a small

notebook from his jacket pocket. “Mind if I take a few notes?”

Adam waved a languid hand at him.

“How deeply were your friends into this lifestyle? We

have information that at least one of the couples belonged to

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a sex club in Atlanta called Dungeons.”

“A BDSM club,” Adam corrected gently. “John was,

yes. He and Eddie, his partner, went to Dungeons frequently,

though we never played together. Bradley Stevens and his

partner, Tom, weren’t members of the club, though from

what I’ve heard, they practiced at least some kind of D/s

behavior in their home. Tom was an attorney here in town. I

saw them sometimes, but we weren’t what I’d call close

friends. I just knew them when I saw them.”

Chad was writing furiously, but he paused and shook

his head. “This club—
Dungeons?
Really?”

“I didn’t name the club.”

Shrugging at the curtness in his tone, Chad tried to

concentrate on business. “What do you mean by you didn’t

play together
?”

“Role play. That’s what happens in the clubs. Doms

take their subs to the clubs to watch scenes or to play out a

scene themselves, or they find someone there to play with.

Singles join in as well, but it’s the couples who seem

important in this instance. It’s not unusual to have multiple

partners or to play with each other’s subs, though some are

monogamous, of course.” Reacting to the look on Chad’s

face, Adam sat forward. “I realize this is all new to you, but

you have to realize this is totally consensual. Scenes are

negotiated well in advance. Doms display their partners

sometimes because they’re proud of them. Some subs like to

show off their submission. It’s exhibitionist, yes, voyeuristic,

but the sub and the Dom agree to this up front when they

make out their contract.”

“Contract?”

“Of course. It’s in place to protect both parties. It spells

out exactly what each of them expect and require from the

relationship. They negotiate, write it all down, and both sign

it.”

“Okay, sorry. I’m having a hard time understanding

what goes on in the…uh…sub’s head. Why would anybody

let someone hurt them?”

“Some subs like pain. There’s a difference between

being harmed and being hurt. Not all subs like pain, just as

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not all bondage and dominant relationships involve S & M.

Bondage can refer to Japanese shibari, handcuffs, cages,

and so forth.”

Chad nodded. “Shibari? That kind of rope work was

used on the victims.”

“It’s used frequently. Dominants like to control their

subs. As for the sado-masochism part of the equation, not

everyone is into that, though most do enjoy some mild S&M.

Others don’t like pain at all. Remember the domination and

submission part of the BDSM acronym. For some couples,

the control and submission is the key. Submissives like to

make their partners happy, and it’s not just in the bedroom.

You hear people talk about caretaker personalities, and

that’s part of it, of course. Submissives find satisfaction in

giving themselves to their Doms, but the Doms have to earn

that kind of trust. The Dom doesn’t have all the power, by

any means. The sub chooses to whom they give their trust

and devotion, and they can put a stop to all of it with one

word. Subs have safe words they can use if the play gets too

intense or more than they can handle. They allow it to

happen on their terms, because as I said, it’s all negotiated.

Some people who aren’t in committed relationships like the

safety net of the club scene. If the play gets too intense, or

the Dom is ignoring safe words, there are people around who

will pull them out of the scene. Dungeon masters perform

that function—like bouncers. They’re there to ensure

everything is safe and consensual.”

He caught Chad’s gaze and held it. His voice was low

and incredibly intimate, even though people were talking and

eating all around them. “Imagine giving yourself to someone

like that. Allowing them to take their pleasure with you and

take away all of your control, relieving you of the necessity to

make even the simplest of decisions. In return, they give you

more pleasure than you thought possible and give you the

satisfaction of knowing you’ve been taken in hand, taken

care of completely, with no worries except how to please your

master and give him everything he wants, everything he

needs, things only you can give him. In return for pleasing

him, he takes you to peaks of pleasure you never even knew

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existed.”

Mesmerized by what he was hearing, Chad leaned

closer. A meaningful silence hung thick in the air between

them when the professor finished. Chad could feel his heart

beat faster, louder in his ears, thinking how welcome it