Green Broke Woman (39 page)

“Trauma.
Fear.
Adrenaline.
Too many intense emotions
pumping through you at once.
It's easy to get mixed up during something
like that, or not remember things quite right.”

“Miranda.”
Keith pointed up, shaking his
finger like he had something to say.

Virgil folded his arms. “What did
she tell you when she got that Donahue fella fired?”

“She told me he pinned her up
against the wall and stuck his hand down her top before she kneed him in the
groin. She said his hand was rough.”

“Well, I bet if he was fighting
to keep her still, but what does this have to do with—”

“Rough as in callused, but she
didn't use that word. Why would one of a professor's hands be rough and the
other smooth? Guy was masculine, but well-groomed, and his hand was soft when I
shook it. He didn't know why I was there when I confronted him. That was before
Miranda got accosted by him.”

“Was it wintertime?”

“It was December. His hands
didn't smell like lotion. I think they were just soft, but I remember seeing
some kind of scab on his thumb. A scab or a really new scar that hadn't fully
healed would feel rough on a tit.”

Virgil cleared his throat.
“Right, moving on then.
Can you honestly, truly see the face
of the familiar man who attacked you? He had a scar or a scab in the same
place, but that doesn't mean it was him.”

Keith heaved a long sigh and
closed his eyes. “The clothes are wrong. Donahue normally wore a suit. Let me
see if I can picture the attacker in a suit. He said something to me.”

“Who did?”

“The familiar fucker I fought
with. I'm trying to remember. He said 'Not so tough now, are you?'”

“So he definitely knew you.”
Virgil felt his skin crawl.

“He said he'd take care of my
sister for me. Then one of the men—the other guy—hit me over the back of the
head, and I blacked out. When I came to, it was just before dawn, and I was
alone, bleeding. Someone happened across me and got me to a hospital. I'm
really surprised I survived.”

“Somebody must have been watching
out for you.”

“Must have been.”
Keith's eyes closed for a good
while. “The attacker knew Miranda was my sister. Most people would assume a man
and a woman walking down the street together were dating. He knew we were
related.”

“Then it had to be someone you
knew.”

“Definitely.”
Keith paused.
“The
smell.”

“The attacker stank?”

“No, he smelled good, familiar.
Crap, I can't remember what cologne Miranda said Donahue wore. I need to go
shopping.”

“Whoa, no you don't. You're not
driving drunk.” Virgil held his hands firmly on Keith's arms when he stood.

“You can drive me. I need to go
sniffing the colognes at a department store. Then I'll know if it's him. I can
remember the scent of the attacker, but not Donahue. I just remember Miranda
saying what cologne he wore, because she thought it smelled good.”

“Fine, I'll drive, but do me a
favor and try to keep a low profile while we're at the store.”

“Trust me. No one will know I'm
drunk.”

“Right.”

****

Virgil shook his head as he
watched Keith fumble frantically through the expensive colognes. He wrinkled
his nose upon smelling one. “Crap. Who would wear that?”

“Focus, partner.”

“It started with a vowel.
A
I think.”

“Axe maybe?”

Keith practically lunged at the
bottles of Axe cologne. He sniffed deeply before shaking his head and putting
the cologne back. “Smells good, but no, it was something else. Something
designer I think.”

“Armani?”

Keith looked like a light came
on. “I think it was Armani. Shit, why are there so many of them? None of these
smell familiar. Is this all of them?”

Virgil tried not to laugh at
Keith plastering the bottles to his nose and inhaling deeply before coughing
and putting each one back. “Any luck?”

“No. It was Armani, though. That
sounds really familiar, because it made me think of Armani suits, which Donahue
wore. He made it a point to tell Miranda to impress her. Now, if I could just
find the right one.”

“They say smell is the most
powerful memory. Is that what you're hoping for?”

“What?
Yeah,
pepperoni.
Get a Hawaiian and a cheese pizza while you're at it.”

Virgil chuckled. “And you're the
key to cracking this case, awesome. Oh, look. Here's one that's in the wrong
place. Have you smelled Armani Code yet?”

Keith snatched the bottle from
him and sprayed it on Virgil, smelling the air around him with his eyes closed.
“That's the name of the cologne she said he wore. I'm almost positive.”

“Okay.” Virgil coughed and waved
his hand around to disperse the strong musk. It smelled good, but Keith had
pretty much doused him with the stuff. “I don't know which is worse, marinating
in cologne I don't normally wear or those men over there watching us, who
probably have it in their heads now that we're a couple.”

“Jesus Christ!” Keith yelled,
drawing everyone's attention.

Virgil let out a long whistle,
cringing. “Watch your language, you gutter-dweller, and quit being so loud.
You're making a big old scene.”

Keith grabbed him by the arms.
“It's him! The scent smells the same as the man who pummeled my ass, and I just
had memories of smelling the same cologne on the professor. Powerful smell
memories of men, Virgil!”

Virgil blushed, feeling the
stares. “You really should have thought about how that sounded before you
spoke. Can we go now?”

“I'm
gonna
find that motherfucker and pound his ass!” Keith yelled.
“Thank
you, partner.”

“No, no. We're not partners.”
Virgil cringed when Keith kissed his forehead, too overjoyed to think about how
others interpreted it.

“Let's go!” Keith ran toward the
door.

Virgil flushed with embarrassment
when he saw the stares. He let out an uneasy chuckle. “I don't know that man.
Keith, you can't leave without buying that or putting it down!”

Keith noticed the cologne bottle
in his hand and shelled out some cash at the register before staggering out of
the store.

Virgil shook his head and
followed out, certain his face was the color of beets.

They still didn't know who had
taken Gretchen or if she was even still alive. Neither did they know what
happened to Sadie, but one thing was for certain. Professor Donahue was
definitely one of the men responsible for kidnapping Miranda Langley.

Chapter
Fifteen: Surrounded

Kayla felt happy jitters rumble through her
stomach as her four men led her into a private room upstairs at the Black
Dragon
BDSM
club. The enormous king size four-poster
bed was a feast for hungry eyes. She'd been informed it was an antique and the
intricate designs were carved into chestnut wood. The dark brown looked black
from far enough away in dim lighting. The ivory satin bedspread was the perfect
contrast against the dark elegant wood, and the fancy decorative pillows were a
luxurious addition as well.

To her understanding, the beds in the club
normally only had sheets over the mattresses for sanitary reasons and easier
washing, but her cowboys had taken the time to adorn the eye-appealing bed with
a creamy satin comforter and ivory floral-printed pillows to enhance her
experience.

“Clothes off, cricket,” Travis ordered
sweetly once Keith closed the door.

She wasted no time getting naked, furrowing
her brow when she saw that they remained dressed and watched her in silence.
“Are you guys going to get naked, or am I fucking myself?”

Virgil let out an impressed whistle. “She's
got a mouth on her.”

Keith got a naughty little half smile. “We
didn't give her permission to cuss, did we, Jake?”

Jake wore a devilish grin. “No, we sure
didn't. You know what that means, don't you,
sub
?”

She batted her eyes at him, trying to appear
innocent as she massaged her own breasts. “I'm forgiven?”

The crotch of each man's jeans became more
prominent with the telltale signs of their sexual interest.

Travis winked at her before turning to the
others. “Boys, I do believe our little lady is trying to seduce us.”

“Maybe we should take turns spanking her to
teach her a lesson,” Virgil suggested.

Her mouth dropped. He was the sweet vanilla
one. It looked like the others were starting to rub off on him.

Keith looked pleased. “Now you're talking.”

Travis sat in an antique chestnut wood chair
lined with a black velvet cushioned seat and back. He patted his bulging lap
expectantly. “Right here, girl. I'm
gonna
be the
first.”

Her folds moistened with anticipation as she
made her way toward her first love and lay down across his lap. His hard thighs
supported her, and the denim felt smooth yet rough against her naked skin. The
restless erection straining against his jeans drove her crazy. She wanted that
bad boy inside of her.

“Ready, Kayla?”

She smiled, feeling soothed by the voice of
her beloved even as her butt clenched in apprehension of the inevitable. “I'm
ready, Sir.”

The flat of his hand came down hard and fast
on her bare ass, making her flinch in pain.

“You're clenching, bad girl. Ease up your hot
little ass,
darlin
'.”

She swallowed and reluctantly obeyed him. The
next spanking hurt worse.

“You know we never did decide on a number for
each of us. We really should, otherwise Jake will keep spanking her all night,”
Travis said with a chuckle.

She squeezed her
tush
muscles at the thought before remembering to relax them.

Jake grinned like a sexy bastard. “You know
me so well, brother.”

“How about five each?”
Virgil suggested.

“It sounds good to me,” Keith agreed. “Jake?”

Jake nodded. “I like it. Travis, you get
three more.”

“Ah hell, you mean the first two count even
though we hadn't started yet?” Travis teased.

“Heck yes, they count,” Kayla spoke up.

The men laughed.

“One more for speaking out of turn,” Travis
decided.

She tensed and winced at the next four
spankings. Stinging flares of pain ignited on her bottom, and she had a feeling
it would only get worse when Jake had a turn with her ass.

Travis got up, and Virgil sat down, pulling
her gently onto his lap.

“I'm going to spank you five times now, all
right, honey?”

Keith snickered.
“So
polite.”

Kayla smiled. “Yes, Sir, do as you will.”

Saying that to him didn't seem as scary as
saying it to Jake or to Master Hugh.

Virgil's spankings hurt, too, but he seemed
to be gentler as he dished them out. By the time he was done her ass felt hot
and stung quite a bit. He got up, and Keith supplanted his spot in the chair.

“Ass up, little bird.”

She stretched out over his hard lap, knowing
that his spankings would hurt worse than Travis's and Virgil's had. She was
right.

Slap.

“We have something out of the ordinary planned
for you tonight, baby,” Keith told her.

Whack.

Her curiosity piqued, but the sharp, hot slap
to her backside proved distracting. “What is it?”

He delivered three more punishing smacks to
her flaming butt.

“You'll see, but let's just say it involves
all four of us penetrating you at once.”

Her eyes bugged out. “Penetrating? I only
have three holes. How is that possible?”

Keith pushed her up and stood with a carnal
grin. “
Are you doubting
our capabilities?”

“No, Sir. I was just curious.”

“We've never done it before, but we'd really
like to try it with you,” he said, running his fingers through her hair. His
smoky blue eyes were full of affection.

“Come here, Kayla,” Jake commanded as he sat
on the edge of the large bed.
“My turn.”

She gulped and inched her way over like a
happy tortoise on a Sunday afternoon. “Should I be scared?”

He grinned and threw her a suggestive wink.
“Only if you keep crawling over to me.
I want you spread
over my lap now, sub.”