Barely Undercover (25 page)

“You’re about to lose the one thing in the world that means something to you and you don’t even realize it,” Tony replied coolly.

“My life.”

“Roxie.”

Tony’s mild, unthreatening tone belied the danger inherent in the fact he knew Lana’s real name, a name she had said she’d never used since moving to Vancouver. James’s teeth gritted together and his skin prickled. Maybe Tony wasn’t the friend James had thought he was.

“That’s not her name.”

“It’s the name she was given at birth.”

Heart pounding, James leaned over Tony’s desk, dropping his palms to the cool surface. “I don’t see how that was information you needed to collect for the club.”

Although James had breached Tony’s personal space, Tony didn’t move.

“I collect information on everyone who comes into the club, and especially on anyone who manages to sneak in not once but twice. She’s intelligent and resourceful, as well as beautiful. And I’m guessing her kink—and yes, I know she has a kink—is a result of some past trauma, a way of finding control in a situation where once she had none.”

James’s vision sheeted red. If Tony had been any other man, he would have grabbed him by the shirt, hauled him over the desk and tossed him into the wall before wiping that damn knowing smile off his lips. But something held him back. Whether it was Tony’s utterly calm demeanor in the face of James’s anger, or the sense Tony was more than he appeared, he didn’t know.

Still, his overwhelming urge to protect Lana in the face of a threat needed an outlet. With a low growl, he swiped everything off Tony’s desk, taking what satisfaction he could in the sound of pens and books hitting the floor.

Tony snorted a laugh and leaned back in his chair, folding his hands behind his head. “And there, my friend, is the answer to your relationship problem. It’s not casual at all. Not in the least. You’re in so deep you’re drowning.”

In response to James’s quizzical look, he continued. “I highly doubt you would have reacted like that if the object of my inquiries had been Katy, or Trixie…” he tilted his head to the side and said quietly, “…or even Christine.”

Hands trembling, blood still pounding through his veins, James could only stand and stare. Tony was right. He’d never felt this way about Christine. Affection, yes. Respect, definitely. They’d shared similar values and interests. They’d agreed on most things and rarely fought. Being with Christine had been easy, comfortable. He had thought it was enough to sustain a marriage. But in the end, it wasn’t enough for her. And if he was honest with himself, it hadn’t been enough for him. He needed more. Fire. Challenge. Sass.

“You played me,” he said as he collapsed into the chair across from Tony’s desk.

Tony smiled. “I helped you. No thanks necessary. Now that we’ve sorted out that problem, you mentioned an issue with the DEU refusing to release a cache of weapons?”

James scrubbed his hands over his face. Although Tony had been cleared to know about James’s assignment, he couldn’t give him too many details, certainly nothing regarding Bones’s suspicions about his identity or the possible DEU mole. But after overhearing Rex at the beach, he was damned sure Rex had purchased some new weapons and was looking to offload the existing cache on his buyer. Which meant he would be asking James for his weapons in the next few days and the DEU wouldn’t give them up. No way could he involve Ryder again.

He gave Tony the basic info and twisted his lips as Tony steepled his fingers.

“I can see both sides.” Tony sighed and shook his head. “Despite my formidable powers of persuasion, I don’t think even I could get past the bureaucracy. Still, something doesn’t sit right with me. With your distinguished career, one would think they would bend over backwards to keep you safe. Why hang you out to dry? And why now?”

“So I’m screwed.”

“You could pull out.”

James shook his head. “I can’t quit before the raid, otherwise two years of my life was for nothing. Problem is, I’ve given them at least four good raid opportunities and each time something went wrong. I’m running out of time.”

A frown creased Tony’s brow. “Something else is definitely going on. They aren’t that incompetent. They have two years of wiretap evidence—more than enough to get the convictions they need. The raid would just be the icing on the cake. They should’ve pulled you out a long time ago.”

“I can’t just walk away,” James said. “Hades is totally corrupt. Drugs, weapons, executions… You name it, Rex is involved. A lot of lives would be saved if they go down.”

Tony pressed his lips together. “Can you give me a few days? I have a few friends in high places. I might be able to find something out.”

James gave him a puzzled look. What friends in high places? How could he possibly gain clearance for the information even James couldn’t get? He threw out a little bait. “Very few people have access to that information.”

“Not a problem,” Tony assured him. “Leave it with me.”

James hesitated and then pushed himself out of his chair. He didn’t have much time and if Tony thought he could help, who was he to question him? “Thanks. And…I’m sorry about…earlier.” He waved vaguely at the mess on the floor.

Tony held up a hand and grinned. “Nothing more than I expected. You’d be surprised how many times my desk has been swept clean.”

Halfway across the room, James stopped and turned. “If something happens to me…”

“Nothing will.” Tony’s smile faded. “But if it makes you feel better, you can rest assured I’ll look after her.”

“So, what do you want to do while you’re waiting for James?” Trixie settled herself on Katy’s vacant seat and waved goodbye to Katy and Mark as they left the club. “I would offer you a tour but you’ve been here twice already.” She winked and Lana’s cheeks heated. Her two illicit visits to the club clearly hadn’t been forgotten.

Biting her lip, she pointed to the ornate wooden doors leading to the private members’ area at the back of Carpe Noctem. “I’ve never been in there. Maybe I could…”

Trixie smiled and cut her off. “You have a dark side after all. Master Tony won’t mind if you have a little peek. Actually, he even suggested it.”

Moments later they were standing on a balcony overlooking a softly lit, circular, sunken room. Twice the size of the club proper the members-only area looked more like a private fitness club than Sex Central. Polished hardwood floors gleamed under the bright lights overhead. Thick area rugs in red and beige complemented the soft leather furniture and warm wooden tables in the seating areas. Except for the terrifying equipment scattered around the perimeter, it was almost inviting.

Sensing Lana’s trepidation, Trixie immediately launched into an explanation of the various pieces of equipment: slings, sawhorses, benches, a St. Andrew’s cross…The list went on and on. But before Lana could ask any questions, Trixie was called away, assuring Lana as she left that there would be no problem if she wanted to stay and watch the couples scening.

Sweat trickled down Lana’s back as she gazed out over the floor. She’d heard about places like this, but had never realized all her secret fantasies could be lived out in one room.

In one corner, a woman knelt on all fours on a padded bench, her arms and legs secured with cuffs. A man wearing black leather pants and a leather vest selected a wide paddle from a rack on the wall and then spanked her, gently at first and then with increasingly firm strokes. Lana’s blood heated. Although the woman’s body shuddered with each blow, her eyes were half-closed with desire. The man said something and she looked back over her shoulder and laughed.

Lana’s tension eased. She’d heard more laughter than screams since she stepped through the door. Maybe BDSM wasn’t all about power or pain. Maybe it was about having fun too.

She closed her eyes and imagined herself in the woman’s place. Hands and feet restrained. Ass in the air. The swish of the paddle before it made contact with flesh. And behind her, James. It had to be James. She couldn’t imagine anyone else with the force of will to even get her down the stairs.

“You like the idea of being restrained on the bench,” he whispered in her ear. A statement, not a question.

Lana startled at his sudden presence behind her and then blushed, embarrassed at her obvious reaction. “Where did you come from?”

“Hell. But now I’m back. I didn’t expect to see you in here.”

She gripped the railing in front of her. “I was…curious. Trixie said Master Tony wouldn’t mind if I watch for a few minutes as long as I don’t go down onto the floor.”

“First time for everything,” James muttered under his breath. “He’s causing all sorts of trouble today.”

Lana gave him a sideways glance. “So…you play here?”

“Sometimes.”

Her heart stuttered in her chest. “With someone…special?”

He peeled her fingers off the railing one by one and brought her hand to his lips. “No.”

“Why not?” Her already heated body flamed as he kissed his way down her arm to the sensitive crease of her elbow.

“I never met anyone I wanted to bring here.” His lips travelled higher, over the strap of her sleeveless dress to nip the sensitive tendon between her neck and shoulder. A soft, breathy moan escaped her lips.

“Not even Christine?”

He hesitated for the briefest second, and then stepped closer, his fingers curving over her left hip, his lips brushing over her ear. “No, babe. Wasn’t her thing.”

She bit her lip, unexpectedly shy and embarrassed in front of the man who had stripped her naked on her desk only a few hours ago. “Were you…going to bring me in here?”

His hand slid over her hip to squeeze her ass while with the other he pulled her against him. Highly aroused, partly entranced, she was only vaguely aware of the fact they were on a balcony and clearly visible to everyone below.

“I hadn’t decided, but I should’ve guessed you would find your way here. You have a nose for trouble.”

Lana trailed her fingers down his arm, admiring the corded muscle, imagining how it would flex if he held a paddle in his hand. Or a flogger.
Oh God.

“James? Would you…” Her words caught in her throat as he smoothed his hand down her spine, making her arch toward him and sending a ripple of pleasure through her body.

“Anything.” His hands were everywhere now, as if the room had somehow inflamed his desire. He caressed her back, gently at first, and then he kneaded his way down to her ass with firmer strokes. A groan escaped her when he buried his lips in the sensitive juncture of her neck and shoulder, his breath hot and heavy on her skin. Their hips melded together and she could feel his erection hard against her stomach.

“I’m not into the lifestyle but I enjoy playing with the right person,” he murmured against her heated skin.

A thrill of fear jolted her body and a low moan escaped her lips.

“That excites you.” His voice dropped to a low, husky growl.

“I…don’t know. It’s only something I’ve read about. Imagined.” She looked up at him and her brow creased. “Maybe I like it in theory but not in practice.”

James laughed and kissed away her frown. “You won’t know until you try. Other than the bench, what else interests you?”

Her insides turned liquid, but her answer came without hesitation. “That…post.”

A shiver ran down her spine as she pointed to a tall polished wooden pole with black leather cuffs hanging from a chain clipped to an eyebolt at the top—so similar to the pole that Fang, the Wolverine leader, had chained her to after one of her more daring escape attempts. And yet, when she thought of James restraining her on the post, it wasn’t fear that made her shiver, but something else.

Therapy
, Jackie would say.

“Do you want to try it?” he asked quietly.

Her mouth went dry and she had barely squeaked out a “yes” before he was leading her down the stairs.

By the time they reached the post, she was trembling so hard she almost welcomed the support of the cuffs as James buckled them to her wrists. Grabbing the loose end of the chain, he pulled her hands up over her head, leaving her enough slack to just touch the ground with the balls of her feet.

“That will definitely keep you out of trouble.” The warmth in his eyes and his wicked smile drew some of Lana’s tension away.

“If that’s what you think, then you don’t know me very well.” She forced a grin. “I could cause trouble even if you tied my feet too.”

He cupped her jaw with his warm palm and brushed his lips over her cheek. “Maybe we’ll try that next.”

A couple stopped in front of them. The man dressed in leather pants and a vest gave her a wink; the woman wearing a green and gold corset dress smiled. They twined their arms around each other as if settling in to watch the show.

Lana’s stomach twisted in a knot and she squeezed her eyes shut. Waves of nausea roiled in her stomach. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. Letting James restrain her when they were alone together was one thing. But this public display, so like what she had endured at the Wolverine clubhouse…

Memories rose like bile in her throat. Hands touching, punching, pinching, squeezing, slapping, stroking. Restrained, alone, there was nothing she could do to stop them. Levi’s cold laughter. Fang’s angry growls. They kept her for the entertainment value as much as for doing the clubhouse chores.