“Well, show me around this dump so we can get moving. I’m behind schedule as it is.” The boss reeked of cigarette smoke and liquor from the club and his tacky cheetah print bomber jacket and black shades were straight out of cliché central. Alex managed not to roll her eyes at his cheesy persona and shut the door behind them. “Where you gonna keep the girls?”
“Basement,” Alex said, walking toward the stairs, the lead on Hunter taut as she tugged the leash. “Slave, lead the way.”
“Yes, Mistress,” he murmured, brushing past her. His arm bumped hers, and even through the leather of her cat suit, Alex’s skin prickled with awareness. They made their way downstairs, the wood creaking under the weight of the boss and his thugs. Once there, they stared around the space like it was the Taj Mahal and not a tiny underground lair in the middle of suburbia.
“Fuck. Them gals are gonna think they died and gone to heaven in this place.” The boss cackled as he checked each of the bedrooms and the small but well-appointed bathroom. And yeah, maybe it was way nicer than they should have made it, but after the horrors those poor women had been through already, they deserved a clean, safe place to rest. “Looks like you’re running a goddamned hotel, not a sex slave ring.”
“Are you questioning my choices?” Alex asked, using her most commanding voice. She met the boss’s glare with a steely stare, not giving an inch. Perhaps all those nights of method acting in the club would pay off after all. “I don’t like it when people question me.”
She reached for her whip then halted as the guards revealed the guns holstered at their waists. Instead, Alex flipped the dark hair of her brunette wig over her shoulder and made for the stairs again, Hunter in tow. “I’ll show you the rest of the house quickly, so you can get on your way.”
Upstairs once more, they made a fast tour of the bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, and ended up back in the living room where they’d started. Unease still lingered inside Alex. This was all going so smoothly. Too smoothly. But she wasn’t about to argue at this point. Maybe the club boss was really as dumb as he looked.
“When can I expect my new slaves?” Alex asked, holding the door for their unwelcome guests. “And it better be soon.”
“Tomorrow night, Mistress.” The crime boss said as he passed her on his way out to the porch, his bodyguards flanking him once more. “There was a slight delay in the shipment. I’ll have them here by ten p.m. at the latest.”
Alex watched them walk away, not aware of how cold she was until she felt Hunter’s warm hands on her shoulders.
“Good job, Alex. We’ve got a time and date. That’s what we needed. I’ll contact Cam and Loki and let them know so we’re ready.”
She nodded, but didn’t turn away from the door, staring at the red tail lights of the boss’s car as they disappeared around the corner. All her senses were on high-alert—from adrenaline, or Hunter’s touch, she wasn’t sure. All she did know was that they were in too deep now to not see this through and she just prayed Bea was alive and well and would be among the slaves delivered here tomorrow night.
11
Hunter watched Alex at the door, feeling a nearly overwhelming urge to pull her into his arms. But the look on her beautiful face was so sad, so distant, that he remained where he was, frozen in place. When the silence became deafening, he finally said, “We’ll get her back. Don’t worry. If she’s there tomorrow night, we’ll get Bea back.”
She slammed the door shut then turned slowly to look at him, the leash still in her hand. Her movements caused it to pull taut, reminding them both of the roles they’d just played. As usual, Hunter’s cock pulsed at the loss of control, at the sheer submissiveness implied in that thin cord binding them together.
Damn, he wanted her. So bad he ached. But he didn’t want to screw up this mission. Not now. Not when there was so much at stake for both of them.
Heat, along with a shadow of fear, blazed in Alex’s pretty blue eyes. “What if she’s not?”
“What if she’s not what?” Hunter asked, his voice croaking out of his constricted throat, need riding him hard now. He stepped closer to her, as if in a daze. “I’ll find her, I swear.”
“Will you?” Alex whispered, tipping her head back to meet his gaze. “Slave?”
His cock went hard as steel at that word and Hunter moved forward, backing her up against the wall beside the door, an arm on either side of her head, caging her in while still keeping their bodies several inches apart. This close, he could see the pink flush in her cheeks, hear the catch in her breath at his nearness, smell the faint floral scent of her perfume. Slowly, he reached up and tugged off her wig, leaving her long blond hair to tumble down over her shoulders like a silky curtain. The glasses were next, tossed aside to land somew
here on the carpeted floor. Right now, Hunter didn’t care about them. All he cared about was the warm, wonderful woman in front of him and seeing how far she’d let him take this. All she had to do was say the word, and he’d stop. But holy fuck, he prayed she wouldn’t.
Her pupils were dilated and her soft pink lips were parted and she looked like she was every bit as turned on at the moment as he was. She swallowed hard and he became fixated with the tiny pulse point at the base of her slender throat, couldn’t stop staring at the way it hammered in time with his own.
Hunter was so hard now he hurt, but if Alex didn’t want this, he wasn’t going to force her. She reached up to remove his collar, but he stopped her, placing his hand atop hers. “No. Leave it. Tell me what you want.”
Recognition dawned slowly in her expression, and she twined the leash a tad tighter around her hand before tugging on it lightly. The pull caused him to press against her, only a mere breath between them now. His hardness nudged her belly and Hunter had to bite back a groan of frustration.
“Ask me nicely, slave,” Alex said, her tone husky with want. “And use my title.”
Knees tingling with desire, Hunter flexed his fingers against the wall, grateful for the support as he bowed his head and said, “Please tell me what you want, Mistress.”
“Better,” she purred, her small smile widening into a wicked sexy grin. “I want you to do whatever I tell you to do. I want you to pleasure me until I can’t take it anymore and I want you to allow me to do the same to you. I want to fall asleep in your arms tonight and not have to worry about anything because I know that you’ll be right there beside me, protecting me from anything that comes our way. And speaking of coming…”
Yeah, his knees might’ve buckled right about then. Good thing she’d already tugged on his leash again, signaling him to drop to the floor anyway.
Alex stood over him, her bright blue gaze filled with feminine power and infinite passion. “See anything you like down there, slave?”
Considering he was face level with her leather-covered thighs, hell yes. He saw heaven on earth right there between her legs. He started to reach for the zipper of her cat suit, then halted. “May I, Mistress?”