Topping the Domme (Crime and Punishment) (13 page)

“That’s good,” Brayden said as he pushed Karina past the reception desk and back into the playroom. “Thank you…”

“John,” he replied, then dipped his head in a slight bow.

Brayden smiled at John as he pushed Karina through the door. He felt a slight hesitation to her step and looked down to study her face. She looked tense.

“Let’s get a drink, Kay,” he whispered and headed them both in the direction of the bar.

Karina nodded and headed toward the closest one. She slid onto the stool and sighed tiredly.

“What can I get you, my dear?” Trey asked.

“Rum and coke?” she asked.

Trey nodded, then turned to Brayden, as he took the stool next to Karina. “I’ll take the same,” Brayden murmured.

He spun on the stool so he could face Karina, but her attention was elsewhere across the room. He followed her stare to a couple doing wax play on the other side of the bar. The Dom had the submissive tied down across the top of the bar, occasionally dripping wax over her breasts and torso. Every time the hot wax hit her skin, the submissive would hiss and moan, her body jerking against the restraints.

Brayden turned his gaze back to Karina and ran the back of his fingers over her cheek. She turned to face him and gave him a small smile that, unfortunately, didn’t reach her eyes. He gripped her chin and lifted her face up.

“Do you know what you need?” he asked softly.

“A vacation?” she teased.

He grinned. “If you went on vacation, where would you go?”

“Fiji.”

His eyebrow quirked in amusement. “That was fast. Didn’t need to think about it?”

“Nope,” she replied.

He feathered the back of his fingers down her arm, watching the goose bumps that raised along her skin follow his touch. “And what would you do while in Fiji?” he murmured.

“Enjoy the sunshine and the water.”

He heard the breathy quality to her voice and raised his gaze to meet hers. There was a slight hint of longing in her eyes. “If you could do anything in Fiji, anything you wanted, what would it be?” he asked softly.

“To be with a man with no one else around. To not feel afraid anymore.”

Trey set their drinks before them, which broke the sudden tension that had developed. It was a different kind of tension than what usually hung there. Karina was fighting something deep inside her, a need that Brayden believed was mirrored in his own soul. What was it about her that had him so tied in knots? That made him wish for things he’d never allowed himself to wish for?

He would take Karina to Fiji. He would spend the entire vacation making love to her. He could and would make her see that she could trust him. Somehow. By the time this assignment was over, Karina would not only be submitting, but sleeping in his arms. Alone. He’d see to it.

Karina felt Brayden’s gaze burning into her and tried so hard not to let his heated stare get to her. Being in his arms earlier had felt so good. She wanted nothing more than to crawl onto his lap again. The couple doing wax play caught her attention, and she tried to focus more on that.

Taking a sip of her drink, she sighed as the warmth of the rum spread through her body. The young submissive was close to orgasm. Every drop of wax on her flesh brought out a squeal of pain and then delight as the Dom moved ever closer to the sub’s clit.

Karina watched and wished she could be that free, to be able to let go and trust someone enough. She trusted Brayden. But enough for that?

She just wasn’t sure.

Karina stepped out of the car and sighed up at the beautiful blue sky. It was a gorgeous morning, despite the chill in the air. They’d arrived back at Club Fetish for their breakfast meeting with Delacroix a little early, but that had been mostly her fault. She’d been stir crazy this morning and wanted out of her suite as soon as possible.

Although, riding with Brayden in the car hadn’t been all that much better. Just his nearness was enough to make her whole body burn to feel his touch.

He’d kept his distance this morning, a fact that had both frustrated and relieved Karina. If she wasn’t screwed up mentally once this assignment was over, it would be a miracle.

“Did he say what he wanted to talk with us about?” she asked as Brayden came around to her side of the car.

“No. Ready?”

She nodded and followed Brayden to the side entrance, where one of Nathan’s many tuxedoed guards greeted them. He led the way down a long hallway, then into a well-lit sunroom. Delacroix was seated at the head of the long glass table. Two other men occupied the room, one of whom was the FBI agent they’d been informed about during their briefing for the case.

“You made it,” Delacroix said with a smile. “Karina and Brayden, this is Agent Frank Mills, and the man by the buffet is Agent Josh Barns. Gentlemen, these are the NCIS agents you’re
supposed
to be working with.”

Josh made a face as he sat down at the table, his plate loaded with food. “Funny.”

Delacroix stood and walked to the buffet, motioning Brayden and Karina to join him. “Come on, guys, and get some breakfast. Then we’ll talk.”

As Karina strolled up to the table, she couldn’t help but admire how nice both Nathan and Brayden looked this morning in jeans. Sunlight highlighted the gray in Brayden’s hair, while it also brought out a slight reddish hue to Nathan’s. In the light, his hair wasn’t quite as black as she’d initially thought.

“Are you feeling better?” Delacroix asked as he handed Karina a plate.

She frowned. “That reminds me. How did you know to send a jacket?”

“Hasn’t Delacroix told you?” Josh asked from the table. “He’s psychic.”

Karina and Brayden both looked at him in shock. “I beg your pardon?” Karina mumbled.

Delacroix rolled his eyes. “Get some breakfast. We’ll talk in a minute.”

She shared a stunned look with Brayden before stepping forward and filling her plate with eggs, fruit, bacon, and toast.

As she took her seat at the table, she said, “Nice spread. I’m assuming you didn’t cook this.”

Delacroix chuckled. “Are you kidding? I can’t boil water. The club has a chef.”

A man stepped into the sunroom and bowed slightly. “Master Delacroix, you have a phone call. I told him you were busy, but he insisted.”

Nathan nodded. “I’ll be right there.” He stood and sighed. “Josh, since you decided to open your big mouth, while I’m on the phone call, why don’t you explain?”

Josh wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Will do.”

Delacroix left the room, and Karina took a bite of fruit as she waited for Josh to start.

“Nathan has been a registered psychic with the FBI for several years.”

“I thought he was an agent,” Brayden said.

“He was. I think that’s what made him such a great investigator. He knew things.”

“What kind of psychic is he?” Karina asked.

“I’m not really sure.” Josh took a sip of coffee, then set his cup back down. “He doesn’t connect with everyone, and sometimes he might connect with them just once, then the connection is gone. Sometimes it remains.”

“Does he see the future?” Karina asked.

“Not like you might think. He gets impressions. Sometimes, it’s just flickers of emotions. Sometimes, he’ll get a flash of an image. During his last case, he connected with the serial killer. It shook him up pretty bad, and he fought that connection. Because he did, he missed something and his girlfriend was killed by the unsub.”

Karina’s mouth dropped open. “Oh, God. No wonder he left.”

“He blamed himself for a long time. Still does, but after that case, he couldn’t bring himself to work another one. He still does missing person cases occasionally, but he stays away from homicide…until this case. In the beginning, he was only going to allow the use of his club, but…”

“What made him want to come in on this one?” Brayden asked.

“Karina,” Josh replied as he turned his gaze to Karina.

Her eyes widened. “Me?”

“He’s connected with you,” Josh explained. “And he doesn’t like what he’s getting.”

“Does he think Karina’s in danger?” Brayden asked.

Delacroix returned to the room and took his seat at the head of the table.

“Ask him yourself,” Josh replied, and all eyes turned to Delacroix.

“Ask me what?”

“Is Karina in danger?” Brayden demanded.

“I can’t tell yet, but I can tell that there’s a connection between you and the killer.”

Frank frowned. “What kind of connection?”

Karina began to squirm.

“Ten years ago, correct?” Delacroix asked.

Her mouth dropped open, before she turned to glare at Brayden.

“He saw the scars. I didn’t see a reason to lie to him,” Brayden said. “I did not, however, say who we thought might’ve done it.”

Delacroix shook his head. “I already knew that. I sensed it the first day I met her. When I saw the scars, I realized what it was.”

Frank leaned forward, his elbows on the table. “What are you saying, Delecroix? That she knows this guy?”

Delacroix shook his head. “No.”

“I was raped ten years ago. Apparently, Delacroix thinks it might be the same man. Correct?”

“Yes. I think the FBI should go back nine years, check every single rape case you can find for similarities. This man didn’t start out killing women. He stared out raping and torturing them.”

“Maybe one of those women saw something,” Josh added.

Karina shook her head. “I saw nothing. He covers himself well.”

“It’s worth a shot,” Josh said. “Even something insignificant to them might pan out and lead us down the right path.”

“Because she was a minor, Karina’s file will be sealed. Plus, I’m not sure it’s a good idea to bring her in on this anyway, at least not officially,” Delacroix said.

“We could use her as bait,” Frank said.

“No!” Brayden snapped.

Karina turned to look at him and was shocked at the protectiveness that shone in his eyes.

“Brayden, I’m already a target just being here,” she said softly.

Brayden jaw tightened, and he shook his head. “I don’t like where this is going. Not at all.”

“We’ll put extra detail on her,” Delacroix said.

Brayden turned to frown at Delacroix. “What do you see when you look at her?”

Delacroix turned his gaze back to Karina. “I see blood and pain, but I’m not sure if it’s old pain or new. I also see a mask, as though you’re hiding behind something.”

Karina swallowed at just how close he was. She did feel as though she was hiding—hiding behind her Domme persona—hiding who and what she was, from herself as well as everyone else.

“At times while you’re at the club I can pick up on other small things that you might be feeling at the moment, but so far I haven’t gotten any images, and I may not. It’s just a sense that you’re a key to all this. And this connection that I feel may be gone tomorrow, or it may strengthen. I have no idea what will happen from one day to the next.”

Karina now knew what Janie had meant last night about Delacroix, about his connection to the subs.

“How long have you had this ability?” she asked, curious. She’d never met anyone who had such a talent, although she’d heard of them.

“Since I was a kid.”

“Did you have a connection to Shandra?” she asked.

“Just sexually. When I played with her, I could sense her arousal and pleasure, but that’s a connection I feel with most all the subs. I think it’s because I watch them so carefully. It’s a gift I’ve honed over the years, but other than that, I felt nothing.”

Karina gave a nod, then frowned. “But if you can’t see my future, then how did you know Brayden would need the jacket?”

“I felt your tension, and if Brayden was the Dom I sensed he was, he would take you outside to let you get some air and help put yourself back to rights again.” He smiled, and Karina couldn’t get over how gorgeous he was. “I guessed correctly.”

“I have a feeling when you put your mind to it, you’re a very dangerous man, Delacroix,” she murmured.

Nathan chuckled. “You’re not the first to say that.”

“And I’m sure I won’t be the last.”

Karina strolled through the club, ever aware of Brayden’s eyes on her as she moved around the room. Brayden was even more worried about her now, after their talk with Delacroix this morning. But, at least he’d gotten the FBI to agree to be a little more open with any information they found.