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  “You’re cute when you pout,” he informed me. His thumb brushed across my lips. “But your pretty mouth won’t tempt me this time. I have other plans for you.”

  I shivered with erotic anticipation, forgetting my desire to continue kissing him. He was in control, and whatever he wanted to do to me would bring me pleasure.

  Keeping his forefinger looped through the ring at the front of my collar, he led me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. My gaze riveted on him, and I became very aware of the power he could so easily exert over me. His utter dominance flowed from his body into mine where we were connected by the collar.

  When we reached the dining table, he seated me in one of the straight-backed chairs. The wood was hard beneath me, and its coolness kissed my arms as Javier drew them around the back of the chair and clipped my cuffs together.

  “Spread your legs,” he commanded, his voice calm and clear.

  He stepped back and studied me as I obeyed, his eyes focusing on my bare pussy. He was silent for a long while, and my insides warmed under the heat of his gaze.

  “What are you going to do to me?” I asked when I could no longer bear the intensity of his scrutiny.

  He reached out and tweaked one of my nipples. I gasped at the little bite of pain.

  “Nothing, for the moment,” he informed me. “I want something pretty to look at while I cook. All you have to do is sit here and stay quiet. Can you do that for me?”

  I nodded, complying with his desire for silence. All I wanted was to make him happy.

  He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Good girl.”

  He turned away from me and started gathering items from the fridge. I found myself becoming completely absorbed in him, admiring the fluid lines of his body as he moved, the deftness of his long fingers as he prepared our meal. The knowledge that he had done this for me countless times since taking me in made affection swell within me. He had looked after my needs from the very beginning, even when I had been cruel to him. Now, it felt right to sit here, my body open for his admiration. It seemed very small repayment for everything he did for me.

  My mind stepped out of time as I watched him, and all too soon he was finished cooking. I noticed with detached puzzlement that he only served one plate, placing it at the opposite end of the table from me. But there was no reason for me to be concerned. Javier would never neglect me. Instead, he lavished more attention on me than I ever could have dreamed.

  He freed my arms from behind my back and scooped me up before settling down in the chair that had been across from me. He positioned me so I was seated in his lap, my head tucked against his chest. I stiffened for a moment, a hint of self-consciousness over my weight on his legs making me uncomfortable. He soothed away my worries without a word, tracing the line of the collar with one calloused finger. I shivered at the contact and the reminder of his control. If he wanted me to sit in his lap, then I would do so.

  He had already cut the steak, and I watched intently as he took a small piece between his thumb and forefinger and lifted it to my mouth. I opened automatically, and the rich, salty flavor exploded across my tongue. My lips closed around his fingertips, sucking at them as he pulled away.

  He kissed the top of my head and caressed my neck with his free hand, toying with the collar. He was just as fixated on the feel of it around my throat as I was. I fell into that relaxed, contented place brought on by my submission to him, and I nuzzled into his chest to show my pleasure and devotion.

  He ate in silence, feeding me more often than himself. He seemed fascinated with the process, ceaselessly stroking and petting me as I sank deeper into his arms with every passing minute.

  Before I knew it, dinner was over. A pang of loss struck me when he lifted me from his lap and placed me back on the chair by myself so that he could put the empty plate in the sink. A little whine of protest slipped through my teeth, and he let out an amused chuckle.

  “Don’t worry, muñequita, there’s still dessert.”

  “What’s for dessert?” I asked, forgetting to keep quiet.

  His eyes became hooded with lust, and his lips curled up at the corners. “You are.”

  He retreated to the bedroom and quickly returned with a coiled length of rope. His wicked grin knocked the air from my chest. He was always gorgeous, but something about his cocky demeanor made me quiver in the face of his cruel perfection.

  He lifted me easily and laid me out on the table, pulling my arms over my head. He looped the rope through the metal rings on my cuffs, pulling it taut before tying it off on one of the table legs. Then he gripped my thighs and tugged my body down so that I was fully stretched out before him, my legs spread wide and dangling over the edge of the table. My breath came in sharp little pants as I stared up at him, waiting for him to touch me. The warm contentment that had filled me as he fed me now blazed hotter, searing my insides as it flared to lust.

  “Close your eyes,” he commanded. A few beats of silence passed as I waited in blackness. Just as I began to squirm, his fingers traced the outline of my lips. “Open.”

  I did as he ordered, expecting him to penetrate my mouth with his fingers. Instead, a soft hissing sound registered just as something sweet and light coated my tongue. My eyes flew open in surprise, and he laughed at my show of shock.

  “Swallow.” This time, the order was playful, but it held an erotic edge. The thought of taking his hot cum in my mouth flashed across my mind as I swallowed the sweet whipped cream.

  My nipples tightened, and his grin sharpened in response to my obvious lustful reaction.

  “My turn,” he declared just before the cream squirted onto my breast. I let out a little shriek at the cold, and he laughed again. I had never seen him so relaxed. I couldn’t ever recall him having such fun. He took pleasure in our time together, and he certainly enjoyed fucking me, but I had never seen him so carefree. The sight touched something deep inside me, filling me with joy that eclipsed physical desire.

  Although that desire was still quite potent, as he reminded me when his hot tongue licked away the cool cream. He took my nipple into his mouth, sucking and nipping at it until long after he had lapped up all of the cream.

  I gasped and arched up into him as far as my bonds would allow. “Please, Master…” I moaned, needing more. I rotated my hips, demonstrating my need to have him inside me. Ever since he had placed the collar around my neck, my desire for him had been building, and now it reached a fever pitch. I was nothing short of desperate to join with him, to share that intimacy that brought us both such ecstasy.

  “So impatient,” he whispered across my breast. “I’m not finished.” He reached for the can of whipped cream again, and I pulled against my restraints with a frustrated whimper. I didn’t think I could take more of his carnal torment. Surely I would explode if he didn’t release the pressure inside me soon.

  A pounding on the door shattered the moment, and my lust was rapidly swallowed by fear as I suddenly remembered the dangers of the world outside our apartment. The tension that gripped me was no longer erotic, and my concern only increased at the sight of Javier’s furrowed brow. He obviously wasn’t expecting anyone.

  Whoever was outside knocked again, more insistently this time. Javier let out a low curse and quickly loosened the knot that held my wrists to the table. As I pushed myself up onto my elbows, he stripped off his shirt.

  “Put this on.” The order was clipped, lacking all the pleasure that had imbued his voice only moments before.

  Cold air closed around me when he stepped away, and I quickly pulled the t-shirt over my head, covering my nakedness. When I stood on shaky legs, it fell almost halfway down my thighs, but I still felt far too exposed, especially when Javier disappeared around the corner to the short hallway.

  I took a deep breath. Everything would be fine. Javier would protect me. He wouldn’t let anyone come near me.

  The apartment door creaked open.

  “Took you long enough. Let me in, before
someone sees me.” I didn’t recognize the deep, male voice, but I registered that he didn’t have a Spanish accent. Whoever it was wasn’t a member of Los Muertos.

  “What are you doing here, Vaughn?” Javier demanded, his voice tight with anger.

  The door closed, but I heard the stranger’s footsteps cross the threshold. Javi was letting him come in?

  “I need to see Charlotte Carter.”

  “Not a chance,” Javier growled. “You’re going to fuck up everything. Leave now, and don’t come back.”

  “I promised her brother I would make sure she was safe. You haven’t been answering my attempts to contact you. What the hell is going on with you, Santiago?”

  “Charlotte is fine. She’s safe with me. What’s going on with me is that I’m almost finished with this op, and you’re going to ruin it. Jonas trusts me, and-”

  “Jonas is dead.”

  My heart skipped a beat. My father was dead?

  “Derek Carter has done a lot for us, and I owe it to him to see that his sister is okay,” the man – Vaughn – continued over my shock. I registered that his voice was coming closer.

  “Don’t,” Javier barked out just as the stranger stepped out of the hallway.

  His bright blue eyes widened in surprise at my state of undress. Then they flicked to the cuffs around my wrists and the collar at my neck, and his lips thinned.

  “Tell me this isn’t what it looks like,” he ground out.

  Javier stepped around him, putting his large body between Vaughn and me, taking on a defensive stance.

  Grim understanding settled across the man’s chiseled face, and his square jaw hardened to granite. “God damn it, Santiago. I swore to Derek Carter that you were taking care of his sister. Fuck, Sharon is going to kill me when she finds out.”

  “This isn’t any of their business. And it’s not yours, either. Charlotte is mine, and-”

  “Yours?” He snapped “Are you even listening to yourself? Do you not see how completely out of line this is? You’re a federal agent, Santiago. Or have you forgotten that sometime in the last year?”

  Federal agent?

  “Javi,” I said his name shakily. “What is he talking about?”

  The stranger’s gaze fixed on me, and the angry lines of his face softened. “Charlotte, my name is Clayton Vaughn. I’m with the FBI. Your brother has been very worried about you. I need you to come with me.”

  Javier snarled. “If you want to take her, you’ll have to go through me.”

  Chapter 21

  I stared at the blue-eyed man. He said he was FBI. But he wasn’t arresting Javier. He called Javi a federal agent. None of this made sense.

  I placed a hand on Javier’s forearm, calling him back from his burgeoning violence. He tore his gaze from Vaughn’s to find mine.

  “I’m not going anywhere, Javi,” I reassured him. Most of the rage drained from his features, but the fierce possessiveness remained. “Please explain what’s happening.”

  “I think it’s best if you come with me, Charlotte,” Vaughn pressed. “Your brother wants to see you, and then I can debrief you at the field office.”

  “She’s not leaving!” Javier almost roared. His eyes had taken on a feverish glow, and sweat beaded on his brow.

  Vaughn’s eyes narrowed. “You need to calm down, Santiago. She can’t stay here. How long have you been keeping her like this? It’s wrong, man.” He considered my collar again, and I shrank back a step, feeling suddenly exposed.

  “I wouldn’t expect you to understand,” Javier hissed.

  “I understand better than you think.” Vaughn softened slightly. “You’re in the lifestyle. I get that. What I don’t get is why you’ve pulled her into it when you were supposed to be protecting her from things like this.”

  Javier tensed further. “Like what?” He challenged. “What exactly are you accusing me of, Vaughn?”

  I understood all too well. “Javier isn’t taking advantage of me,” I asserted. “He has protected me. This relationship is my choice.”

  Vaughn shook his head. “I know you didn’t choose to be here, Charlotte. And I know you haven’t been seen at school for quite some time,” he said gently. “How long has it been since you left this apartment?”

  My hand tightened on Javier’s arm as anxiety stirred. How long had it been since I last went outside? I wasn’t sure. Javier had become my whole world, and I had lost track of the days.

  “It wasn’t safe for me to leave,” the words came out like a protest.

  Vaughn’s jaw ticked, but his eyes remained softly understanding. “If it was so dangerous, Santiago should have brought you to us. We could have taken you to a safe house.”

  “Javi keeps me safe,” I said, turning defensive. “And I still don’t understand what’s going on. If you’re with the FBI, what are you doing here? What does Javi have to do with this?”

  “Javier is one of us,” he explained calmly. “He’s been in deep cover with the Latin Kings for over a year. We thought you would be safe with him while we worked with your brother to take down Los Muertos.” He shot an accusatory look at Javier. “We had to find out from Derek that Jonas was working to unite the Kings. Where the fuck have you been, Santiago? Why didn’t you call this in? Sharon almost died last night to keep Jonas from getting away. If you had told us about the alliance with the Russians, we might have been able to take a different approach that didn’t end up with a knife in her gut. But we worked with what we had, and now the Russians are in the wind and Jonas is dead.”

  My mind struggled to process everything Vaughn was throwing at me. The Russian Mafia had eluded the Feds; a woman named Sharon had been stabbed; Derek had been working with the FBI to take down my father; Jonas really was dead. It took longest for me to assimilate the most shocking information: Javier was with the FBI. He wasn’t a Latin King.

  My heart swelling with emotion, I threw my arms around him with a soft sob. He pulled me against him instantly, holding me tight.

  “What’s wrong, muñequita?” He asked, his voice heavy with concern.

  I heaved in several deep breaths, struggling to speak over the joy that was clogging my throat. “You are good. I knew it. I knew it.” I beamed up at him. “You’re not a King. Not really.” All my feelings for him surged impossibly stronger. I had known I loved him even when I thought he was a criminal. Now that final barrier fell away, and my affection for him was so overwhelming that my entire body trembled with it. “I love you.”

  He stiffened in my hold, his eyes suddenly becoming distant. He was colder, closed off. The carefree Master who had played with me only minutes earlier was gone. I clutched him to me more tightly, unable to understand his reaction to my profession of love. He hadn’t said it before, but I knew he felt the same. He had offered me my collar as a symbol of his commitment to me. Now his eyes seemed to slip over the thin band of red leather, as though he couldn’t bring himself to look at it directly.

  Vaughn cleared his throat, pulling my attention away from Javier. I turned to face him, but I kept a firm hold on Javier’s arm.

  “You can tell Derek I’m fine,” I said evenly. “I’m staying with Javier.”

  “Charlotte-” Javier began, but I cut him off with a desperate plea in my eyes. His reluctant tone hinted that he might tell me Vaughn was right and I had to leave.

  “I’m staying.” It was a ragged promise. He couldn’t make me leave him. Especially not now that I knew the truth about him. Whatever the cause of his sudden distance, we would work through it.

  “I can’t force you to come with me,” Vaughn said gently. “But you can change your mind at any time. You don’t have to stay here anymore. Lost Muertos are all but finished. We arrested most of them tonight at your brother’s club.”

  “Who did you take in?” Javier demanded. “Tell me you didn’t arrest Miguel. Kennedy promised me he would cut him a deal.”

  Vaughn shook his head. “The boss isn’t going to arrest the kid. Besides, Mi
guel wasn’t there. As for the rest of them, the two who were running Decadence got it pretty bad. Ortiz is dead and Reyes is in a coma. We arrested three others, and then there’s Jonas. Thank god that fucker is no longer with us.” His gaze suddenly cut to me, and remorse eased the angry tension in his features. “I’m sorry. He was your father. I shouldn’t talk about him like that.”

  I lifted my chin. “He was an abusive bastard, and he would have hurt a lot of people if he succeeded in taking control of the Kings. I’m glad he’s dead.” I resolutely pushed back the ridiculous urge to cry. I wouldn’t shed a single tear over Jonas.

  “I can’t deny it’s a good thing. This gives you the opportunity to take his place, Santiago. Once you rule the tribes, we’ll have all the intel we need to round them up. Kennedy will go over your next moves with you.” He fixed Javi with a hard stare. “You will make contact with him. I brought you a burner phone. Use it.”

  To my surprise, Javier was almost meek as he accepted the cell phone from the other agent. “Of course,” he said hollowly.

  “Do you want to explain to me why you weren’t at Decadence tonight? I’m not going to lie, it makes our job easier. We won’t have to explain why the Feds cut you loose if we arrested you with the others. We need you to stay in the field for a little while longer.”

  “Decadence isn’t my territory,” Javier said, but his eyes slid to me. I realized he had skipped out on the meeting to spend time with me. Vaughn seemed to pick up on it as well.

  “I see.” He frowned. “Then can you at least tell me who tipped off Los Muertos that we were coming? They almost got away before we could move in, and the Russians managed to slip through our fingers.”

  Javier blinked. “I honestly have no idea. Maybe they made your operative – Sharon was on the case, right?”

  “Maybe,” Vaughn allowed. “We’ll question the Kings who survived the raid and see if they’ll talk.”

  Javier’s lips thinned. “They’ll talk soon. Once the Kings are destroyed, the tribes will turn on each other again.”