Defensive Zone (The Dartmouth Cobras #2) (43 page)

"No. I came to see if you were all right."
Richter had the grace to look away as Landon composed himself. "I
love Silver and she cares about you very much. It would destroy her
if something happened to you after she pushed you away."

It should bother him that Richter had come
because of Silver, but strangely enough, it didn't. He got it. He
would have done the same in Richter's position. Besides the game,
Silver was the one thing they had in common.

"How is she?" His forehead creased as he
thought back on the rag magazine his sister had shown him this
morning. 'The Delgado princess, torn between two lovers'. "Are you
sharing her with that asshole? I saw the pictures of you guys in
LA. He was standing over her and she looked pretty freaked out. And
you were just sitting there—"

"I wouldn't share her with just anyone,
Bower." Richter began to walk, then paused. "Do you need more time?
I can meet you at your place later so we can discuss this."

"Just give me a minute." Landon turned away
and took a knee beside his son's plaque. He bent down and kissed
the cool marble. "Bye, LJ. I'll come back as soon as I can. I hope
you know Daddy loves you so so much."

He joined Richter and they made their way
down the long path to the parking lot. Halfway there, he gave
Richter a sideways glance.

"Whatever you wanted to discuss must be
pretty important to take you away from preparing for the season,"
Landon said. "So have at it."

"I came for the reasons I said, Bower."
Richter jaw tensed. "Silver needs to know you're okay. She needs
you."

"She has you."

"So you're just going to let her go? Does she
mean so little to you?"

Landon really wanted to knock the man down a
fucking peg or two. Who the hell did he think he was? "I'll never
let her go. I'm giving her the space she needs—that you asked me to
give her. But after that, I'm sticking around. So you better get
used to it."

Richter chuckled. "I wouldn't have it any
other way. As I said, I won't share her with just anyone. But I
will share her with someone who's got half of her heart, who cares
enough about her to show her how special she is. Someone willing to
fight for her. Someone willing to stick around."

The man had to be bat shit fucking crazy.
Landon stopped at the edge of the parking lot. "You want to share
her with me? How do you know I won't take her away from you?"

"Because you love her as much as I do, you
stupid asshole." Richter grabbed the lapel of Landon's jacket and
let out a low, feral sound. "You wouldn't do that to her. At least
you better not."

"I gave her to you." Landon wrenched free and
his lips curled away from his teeth. "What is it, you're not enough
for her?"

"Coming from the man who decided, without
even asking, that he couldn't be enough, that's pretty fucking
rich," Richter said. "Me and Silver could be happy together, but I
can't bear looking at her and seeing the regret. Who knows how long
it will last, she's not the type to be tied down, but while she's
mine, I will see her truly whole and cherished as she deserves to
be. If I'm only a memory, it will be a good one."

Landon shook his head, confused. "So you're
asking me to stick around, but you're ready to let her go in the
end."

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not." He inhaled as some weight
inside him lightened a bit. Then he groaned and rubbed his hand
over his face. "Why are we even discussing this? She's not even
speaking to me."

"She will." Richter slapped his shoulder.
"You're doing a scene with her Saturday night. You promised to
teach me how to use the wand."

"She won't submit to me. Not after—"

"She doesn't need to." Richter smiled.
"She'll submit to me. Besides, I agreed to teach you too."

Pulling out his keys, Landon stared down at
his shoes. "I won't use the whip on her. I've hurt her enough."

"Yes. You have," Richter said. "But I have
other things to teach you."

"Like what?"

"Lesson one. A good Dom never stops learning.
Keep that in mind. I won't let you touch her if you think you're
above improving yourself."

"You're telling me things I already know."
Landon ground his teeth together, hating the feeling that this man
could give him the opportunity to get close to Silver, and take it
away on a whim. "I'm not above learning."

"Good." Richter smiled. "I'll see you
Saturday."

I'll see her Saturday.
Landon watched
Richter walk away, then turned to his own car. As the engine
purred, he held on to the steering wheel. Why or how didn't matter.
He'd see her.

I'm getting a chance to set things
right
. He glanced back at the graveyard and steeled his
resolve. Sometimes, people didn't get a second chance. But now he
was getting one.

And damn it, he'd make it count.

The chair creaked as Silver slumped forward
on her desk. Finally home, but there had been so much to do she
hadn't even unpacked. A Post-it note stuck to her cheek as she
lifted her head just enough to see the clock hanging over the door
in her office. Quarter after six. Her meetings were done for the
day. She could leave.

Uck, I don't want to move.

Maybe she should just sleep here.

A soft rap at the door and Dean appeared. He
took one look at her and practically growled. "That's quite enough.
You're taking tomorrow off."

She plucked the Post-it off her cheek and
crumpled it into a tiny ball. Tossed it. It landed on the edge of
her desk. "First of all, Mr. Richter, we're still at work. So stuff
your orders up your shit hole. Second—" A yawn cut of her words. "I
was just about to leave. But I'm not taking tomorrow off. Friday,
then the weekend. I can manage one more day."

"Stubborn." Dean shook his head. "Fine. Can I
walk you to your car,
Miss Delgado?
"

"Certainly." She gave him a tight smile and
stood, holding onto the edge of the desk when the weight of her
head threatened to tip her over. "Oh, stop looking at me like that.
I'm younger than you are." She stuck out her tongue. "I can take
it."

His lips curved into a spine-chilling smile.
"Can you? We'll see."

The tiny bite of fear woke her up enough to
get down the hall and into the elevator. Trapped in there with him,
she kept close to the wall and eyed him warily. But the smile was
gone and he hadn't made a move. When the elevator doors opened to
the garage, she stepped off and let out the breath she'd been
holding.

Then screamed as he hefted her up and threw
her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!"

"Work hours are over, pet." He smacked her
ass twice, hard, on the way to her car, then sat her on the hood.
"Be good and stay there."

She hopped of her car. "Like hell I
will!"

"Silver." His sharp tone locked her in place.
"Strip. Then kneel."

Here?
She glanced around nervously,
but didn't even consider disobeying. Her mind had gone to
that
place, the one where she didn't really need to think,
where she could just do. Good things happened when she went to that
place.

Naked. On her knees. She waited.

He went to his car, parked beside hers, and
opened the trunk. Her pulse quickened, but she kept waiting. And
was rewarded with a smile when he returned.

She almost melted into a puddle right there
on the pavement. Moisture slicked the insides of her clenched
thighs.

"You get one choice, then not another word."
He continued as she nodded. "My place or yours."

Her big cushy bed or his firm one in the
house he shared with his daughter? Easy enough. "Mine."

"All right." He held up what he'd gotten from
his car. Duct tape. He shook his head as she sputtered. "No. It's
time for quiet now, little dragonfly." He ripped off a piece and
covered her mouth with it. "Stand up."

The tape went around her wrists. Another
length bound her ankles.

He observed her with a satisfied smile. "You
do realize I can do
anything
I want to you now, don't
you?"

A muffled whimper escaped. She nodded.

"Do you trust me?"

Another nod.

"Good. Very good, Silver." He picked her up
and put her in the backseat of his car. After climbing in behind
the wheel, he leaned over the seat and studied her. "You know,
you're beautiful like that, but I don't think we'll be using gags
often. You'd be begging me to take you now if you could. I miss
hearing that."

Need reached a boiling point in her veins as
he drove and she glared at the back of his head. It was good that
he'd restrained her. She really wanted to hurt him right now.

Shortly after, he carried her into her condo,
unlocked the door with the key she'd given him the day before. He
brought her right to her bed and then set her down gently. Before
ripping the duct tape off her lips.

"Ow! Damn you!" She wiggled into a sitting
position. "What happened to the nice guy I met on the trip?"

"You won't listen to 'the nice guy'."

"But I'll listen to the fucking sadistic
bastard?"

"Maybe." He grinned and patted her cheek.
"Sleep in. Go hang out with your sister tomorrow. Take it easy." He
chuckled when she scowled. "Stop that, pet. I'm too tired to punish
you. And I want us both well rested for the club on Saturday."

"You should have just said so." She pouted,
not really giving a damn about looking childish. The whole
kidnapping scenario had almost been fun. But he'd ruined it by
pulling her back into independent woman versus head case mode.
"What if someone had seen us?"

"Someone did." He smirked. "Callahan and your
sister were in the parking lot."

"Asshole! You had me strip in front of them?
I swear you've got mouse turds for brains."

His hand latched on to her chin. "Next time
you speak to me like that I'll stick something nasty in your
mouth."

"Promises, promises."

He snorted. "You're going to keep pushing me
until I punish you, aren't you."

Suddenly exhausted, she shook her head.
"No."

"Good. Then let me ask you something." He
moved away from the bed and crossed his arms over his chest. "How
far do you want to go with this? Are you willing to truly submit to
me? Fully?"

"All the time?"

"Not all the time. But when we're alone, or
at the club. Do you trust me enough to explore that side of
yourself with me?"

There was that intensity again. But it didn't
scare her anymore. She answered without hesitating. "Right now I
hate you almost as much as I love you. But I do trust you. So . . .
yes."

"All right." He climbed onto the bed behind
her and freed her wrists. "Between now and Saturday night, you are
going to do exactly as I say. Pamper yourself. Relax. But don't
forget, your pleasure is mine."

"What?"

"You don't come unless I allow it. And if I'm
not around, you can assume you do not have my permission."

"But . . . ." She pressed her thighs together
and groaned as her core throbbed. "Tonight . . . ?"

"Tonight I'm going to tuck you in and you are
going to go to sleep. If I stay you're going to tempt me to either
punish you, or make love to you. For the first time in my life, I
don't trust my own restraint. I'm actually relieved that you chose
your place." He put his hand flat between her breasts and pushed
her onto the bed. Then he tugged the blanket up to her chin.
"Tomorrow you will tell me about your day when I call you. Saturday
I will pick you up, bring you to my house, cook you the best meal
you've ever had, then prepare you for the club."

"Prepare me?"

"The only answer I need is . . . ?" He arched
a brow.

She sighed. "Yes, Sir."

"Sleep tight, my love." He kissed her
forehead and reached over to turn off the lamp by the bed. "I swear
to you, this will all be worth what I have planned."

Staring at the ceiling, she heard the door
close softly and the lock click. He fingers twitched as she brought
her hand to her belly, letting it inch lower and lower until the
tips of her fingers found moisture. But she couldn't go any
further.

Curled up on her side, she willed herself to
sleep and watched the minutes turn to hours on her digital clock.
By the time darkness took over, her lips were sore from
frowning.

Worth this?
She clenched her thighs
and pressed her erect nipples into the cool side of the sheets.
Mister, it better be.

* * * *

Heat and steam, scented with some delicate
flower, like baby's breath. Silver sighed and let herself slip a
little further into the bath as Dean massaged her scalp and
lathered her hair with the fragrant shampoo. His fingers pressed
and rubbed and she felt herself relax from where he touched, down
to the soles of her feet. The only tension that remained was
sexual, but he'd already made it clear she'd have to wait for that
relief.

Her eyes slitted open and she watched the tea
candles around the bath flicker, the only light in the darkness.
Dean had an old fashion iron tub on lion feet, so deep and wide she
could picture them both fitting in here quite comfortably. As he
moved down to mold the muscles at the base of her skull she moaned.
The pleasure was decadent, wonderful—but desire burned a constant
flame, almost painful, almost too much.

"Soon, my love." Dean used the extendable
showerhead to rinse her hair. "All right. All done. You can get out
now."

Shaking hard, even though the room wasn't
cold, she rose and closed her eyes as droplets dripped from her
hair and teased her sensitized skin. She stepped out of the bath
and gave Dean a grateful smile as he wrapped her up in a big fluffy
towel. He kept an arm around her as he led her to his bedroom. He
sat her on the bed and used another towel to dry her hair. Then he
sat behind her and used a wide bristle brush to smooth out her damp
tresses.