OnLocation (13 page)

He didn’t stop until she was sated, but then she started to
worry. It was all fine and well to say she’d face the music. She
was
innocent of any wrongdoing. But it could all get very messy and there was no
guarantee what would happen. Not with the police and not with Kyle. She wanted
to talk to him about it and she didn’t. If she let him know she was worried,
would he think she had something to hide?

He seemed to sense her anxiety, because he pulled her to him
and held her close. “It’s going to be all right,” he said.

She looked up at him. “How can you know?”

“Because I won’t let anything happen to the woman I love.”

Did he mean what she wanted him to mean by that? She wanted
to say “I love you too”. But she wasn’t sure she should. He had said
the
woman. Not
a
woman. The. Her heart sped up.

He spoke before she did. “How long can you stay here, before
you have to go on another job, Teresa?”

“Um. A week or two. I have another job. I’ve been working
nonstop for a while… but then, I rarely take vacations as such. My job sends me
to exotic locations all over. Although sometimes I think I’d like to just spend
some time at home.”

“Would you be willing to take one in my home?”

This time he sounded as though he really wanted it. “Yes
Sir.”

“Good girl,” he said. “Now let’s get some sleep.” He closed
his eyes.

“Yes Sir.” She’d thought she might have to help him the way
she had before with a little sex, but soon his chest was rising and falling
rhythmically. She didn’t know whether to be disappointed or pleased, although
she was certainly satisfied. He trusted her, or he wouldn’t be willing or able
to fall asleep. She squirmed to get into the right position, her body pressed
against his side, her head on his broad chest.

There was a knock on the door that roused her as she was on
the edge of sleep. “It’s me, Roger.”

Kyle fluttered his eyes open. “You answer it.”

“But I’m naked,” she protested.

“Get used to it,” he said, “since you’re staying. I’m not
going to let Roger’s presence interfere with me having a good view.”

Oh.
She got up and opened the door a crack, peering
around. Limiting Roger’s view didn’t interfere with Kyle’s.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Roger said, “but I have some news that
might help both of you sleep. Gallagher did some more talking.”

Kyle chuckled. “Let the man in, Teresa.”

Damn. She opened the door and returned to the bed, conscious
of her nakedness but pleased to take direction. The very fact that it made her
uncomfortable was part of the attraction, perversely. If he’d asked her to put
on a robe she would have been grateful, but this reassured her that Kyle was
still in charge, even if his lovemaking had been uncharacteristically gentle.

“That wasn’t necessary,” said Roger.

“I know,” said Kyle. “I’m training her.”

Training. She ought to rebel at the word but she didn’t. It
implied a long-term outlook. And she wanted to learn to please him as well as
she could. She wasn’t worried whether he’d please her—he seemed to know more
about how to do that than she had to teach him. And he was naked too. That made
it a tiny bit easier.

“Gallagher admitted he was lying about you, Teresa. All I
had to do is cheerfully suggest we’d go downstairs to the dungeon for
questioning and he couldn’t stop talking. You did a good job making him afraid
of me, Kyle.”

“Heh,” said Kyle. “We already knew he was lying. But that
will make it easier.”

“You knew, perhaps,” said Roger. “Anyway, that’s all. You
two have fun.” He backed up and shut the door.

Roger was right. That
would
help her sleep. She
looked at Kyle, who had closed his eyes again. He looked way too peaceful.
“Training?” she asked.

“Try again.”

It took her a moment to figure out what he meant. “Training,
Sir?”

He smiled at her. “Yes. You have a problem with that?”

She scrunched up her nose at him. “Is there something wrong
with me?”

“Nope. Nothing at all. But I like pushing you. So I will.
Now go to sleep.” He pulled her back into a cuddle and closed his eyes.

I like being pushed. I like the way you tried to protect
me, even when you weren’t sure what I’d done. I love you. And I want to tell
you.
“Sir?”

“Go to sleep. That’s an order.”

She supposed it could wait.

* * * * *

The next day she stood with Kyle, looking out the window of
an unused bedroom on the second floor of the mansion. They could see the
penteconter from there, its mighty oars slashing through the waves, trailed by
Stegner’s yacht, from where the cameramen were taking pictures. The oars were
for show, as the penteconter was being towed by another motorboat that was now
out of sight. Soon the penteconter would be too, as it headed for the cove on
the far end of the island.

Stegner was already at the cove, as were most of the movie
crew except for Gallagher. Stegner had landed a few hours earlier and had asked
Kyle and Roger to leave the set. She got the feeling Kyle would have stayed at
the cove to watch the police raid if it hadn’t been for his desire to protect
her and keep her out of the way. He could probably take care of himself, but in
a strange way she realized she was keeping her man safe by giving him a better
place to be, and that made her feel good. She didn’t want a life without risks,
or she wouldn’t have chosen location scouting as a career, and she couldn’t ask
that of Kyle either, but standing in the middle of a police raid if you didn’t
have a good reason struck her as foolish. She suspected a few of Stegner’s men
were armed. Hopefully they wouldn’t also be stupid.

The penteconter glided out of sight. She could imagine it
crashing into the cove for the critical scene where the ship ran aground. Film
crews would be working on the island as well as on the yacht, getting multiple
angles. Despite her reservations about the quality of the movie, it made her
sad to think that all that work, including hers, was going to be wasted. The
film was probably never going to be finished, not with Stegner arrested.

Kyle’s phone cheeped. He looked at it. “Landed.” Roger had a
satellite phone and was waiting at the landing site to give the signal to both
Kyle and the police.

The police boats came over the horizon a few minutes later.
They looked so obvious to her, a small flotilla of ships. And they seemed to
take forever. One could see a long way on the empty ocean, she supposed, but
that would also give Stegner plenty of warning. But the moment had been chosen
carefully—the movie crew would be busy with the penteconter and the scenes
relating to the crash, and once it landed it would be nearly impossible to move
and probably wasn’t even still seaworthy. Stegner would be off his yacht,
directing. The water was shallow and the tide was still coming in, so even if
they tried dumping the drugs they wouldn’t be swept out to sea for a while.
There would be plenty to recover.

For what seemed like a long time but was probably minutes,
nothing happened.

“You’re tense,” Kyle said.

“Yes.”

“We’re safe. I’ll keep you safe. Roger can take care of
himself.” He moved behind her and kissed the back of her neck. It made the
small hairs on it stand up. She leaned back into him.

His hands drifted upward to cup her breasts. “I can distract
you,” he said.

“I doubt it.”

But in seconds he had her nipples hard against the surface
of her bra and aching for his touch. He pinched them and her pussy moistened.
She pushed her bottom against him and found him hard.

“You know we aren’t going to be able to finish this, Sir.”

“I know. Sometimes I’ll leave you wanting on purpose.
Consider this practice.”

“Fuck.”

He sat back on the bed and pulled her over his lap, her ass
in the air.

“What’d I do?” she asked.

He swatted her, hard. The jeans she wore might have softened
some of the blow, but not much. She yelped.

“You don’t give the orders around here,” he told her.

She didn’t think she had. A second swat jolted her attempt
to think almost out of her mind, but somehow she managed to grasp what he
meant. “That wasn’t an order, you ass, that was a swear word.”

“I know.” Even though she was in no position to see his face
she knew he was smirking. “And another for not addressing me properly.” He
swatted her again, and it made her pussy tingle. She felt the tension flow out
of her body. It was impossible to concentrate on anything with him doing that.
She stuck out her butt for more.

Then suddenly there were footsteps in the house and shouted
orders. The police had arrived from the other side of the island a minute or
two before the flotilla got to the cove. Men climbed the stairs. Kyle pulled
her upright and put her on her feet. He kissed her. “Told you I could distract
you.”

“Always, Sir.” She smiled at him.

Someone knocked.

Kyle opened the door and a young blonde policewoman in a
nicely pressed uniform smiled at him. Her hat looked like a baseball cap, but
it was obviously part of the uniform. “Kyle Stewart?” she asked.

“Yes. And this is Teresa Barstow.”

“I’m Sergeant Kelly, Queensland Police. May we have the key
to the room where you have the suspect, please?”

She looked entirely too young and too perky to be a
sergeant, thought Terry. Kyle handed her a key and she handed it to a large man
who appeared behind her. There were at least three policemen in the hall beside
Sergeant Kelly.

“May I come in? While all this fuss is going on, I’d like to
take your statements.”

“Of course,” said Kyle with a sidelong look at Teresa. She
could imagine what he was thinking.
I know I wound you up. I like you that
way.
She shivered.

“We’ll wait for them to secure Mr. Gallagher, and then we’ll
have to talk to each of you individually, of course. Is this a good place?”
asked Sergeant Kelly.

“Wouldn’t the living room be better?” asked Kyle.

“Oh, we’ll be using that to question people too.”

Kyle nodded. “Then this place is as good as any, I guess.
I’ll go bring in another chair.”

“We can—” began the sergeant, but Kyle was already in
motion.

“Is he always that way?” the policewoman asked Teresa.

“Pretty much,” Teresa said. “He’s used to being in charge.”
If
only you knew how much.

“There are rumors of what goes on at this place,” said the
sergeant, still standing just inside the door. “Submission Island, they call
it. Owned by four handsome ex-military men who are supposed to be unbelievably
sexist.”

Sexist? She didn’t think so anymore. But Kyle had never
suggested that she submit because she was a woman and that was her place. He
simply knew what he wanted. And she wanted the other side of it. “I don’t think
they are sexist. Not Kyle, anyway. I’ve barely met Roger and haven’t met the
other two at all. But Kyle knows what he wants and he doesn’t settle for less.”

Kelly looked thoughtful for a moment before asking, “And do
you?”

“No, I don’t.”

Kelly smiled. “Well, that’s a good thing, then. You’re in a
relationship, I take it?”

“Yes. I think so. Yes.” He’d asked her to stay. That was a
relationship, of sorts. At least the start of one.

“And he’s the protective sort?”

“Yes.” She said it fervently, maybe too fervently. In fact,
maybe she shouldn’t have said it all. Kyle was her witness, his word against
Gallagher’s. The policewoman’s comments about sexism and relationships had made
her forget her situation. Then she remembered that Gallagher had already recanted.
She shouldn’t be a suspect anymore.

Sergeant Kelly smiled at her as naturally as if they were
two friends talking about the virtues of their boyfriends.

Kyle came back with two wooden chairs. She could see
Gallagher being taken down the hallway, peacefully, by a couple of the
policemen she’d seen earlier.

“Where will you be—” Sergeant Kelly started to ask, but
stopped because Kyle was already telling her.

“I’ll be down the hall in my room when you need me, for an
hour or so anyway. Two doors down. Knock.” He put a chair down and gestured
Teresa into it. She sat down. He backed away, but then paused at the door to
give Teresa a grin and a thumbs-up when Sergeant Kelly had her back to him.

Teresa smiled and blew him a kiss. It was all going to be
all right. At least with the police. After that, the real challenge would
begin—building a relationship with Kyle. But she was looking forward to trying.

“So, then,” said Sergeant Kelly, “why don’t you start at the
beginning and tell me everything you know.”

Teresa thought for a moment. She supposed the beginning was
the moment she first suspected Stegner was making decisions that weren’t in the
best interest of his movie. “I guess the best place to start is Colombia,” she
began, and Sergeant Kelly got out a pad of paper and a pen and started taking
down notes.

* * * * *

A knock on Kyle’s door made him look up from the Dorothy
Sayers mystery he was reading. The genteel surroundings of the English
countryside had been a good distraction from the fact that he had police
running all over his home. Hopefully they would be gone soon, and the best way
to accomplish that was to cooperate. A week ago he hadn’t wanted to share his
island with anyone but his friends. Now he’d found someone he very much enjoyed
sharing it with, so naturally the place was overrun.

He opened the door, expecting to find Sergeant Kelly, but
instead he saw his friends Tom and Carter and Carter’s girlfriend Natalie.
Natalie, Kyle noticed, was wearing a purple leather collar around her neck.
Carter wouldn’t have collared her lightly. Then he saw the diamond ring on her
finger.