love
your baking, so please don’t send me away.”
That last part made her chuckle and roll her eyes as he had
probably intended. “Fine. You can stay. At least until I’m done here.”
“Good. Then I’ll follow you home.” He took another bite of
the tart, ignoring her startled look.
“ Um , you don’t have to do that.”
He licked the fork, and her eyes followed his tongue
involuntarily. “ Um. Yes, I do. And before you ask why, I’ll tell you.
Because I’m a gentleman in the security business, who would hate to see anything
happen to you before I had a chance to take you on a date. And because my momma
would slap me upside the head if I didn’t.” He placed a hand over his heart.
“Please don’t make my momma do that.”
Her laughter spilled forth. What was it about this man that
made her feel lighter than she had in years? His brown eyes danced with
amusement as his grin made his dimples appear. Oh, Lord, that smile was
devastatingly handsome—actually, the whole man was devastatingly handsome. And
for the first time since her husband died, she wanted a man to kiss her.
Pushing the thought from her head, she finished covering the
cupcakes and put away the foil and wrap. “Okay. God forbid I get you in trouble
with your momma . You can follow me home.” She pointed a finger at him.
“But don’t expect me to invite you in. It’s late, I need sleep, and I don’t
invite men into my home until at least the third or fourth date.” Well, at
least she wouldn’t if she ever went out on a date.
His eyes shot up. “So, does this mean you’re willing to go on
a date with me?”
She shrugged coyly. “Maybe. You’re starting to grow on me.
One of these days I might say yes.”
“Then I look forward to that day, sweetness.”
Chapter 5
The Dom sat in his car, staring at the entrance to the club.
The submissive bitch should be coming out any time now. Her dominant boyfriend
was working at the hospital, and, instead of being a good sub and staying home
on a Monday night where she belonged, she’d sneaked out and come to the BDSM
club, The Devil’s Dungeon. It wasn’t one of the high-scale, private ones
because she had been banned from The Covenant and was only allowed in Heat with
her Dom. Well, tonight she was going to get what she deserved for being such a
naughty slut.
He thought back to all the gossip he’d been hearing the past
week and a half. Word of the missing Christie Lawrence, aka Clementine, had
spread among the members of several BDSM clubs, including The Covenant, and the
few people who’d met her before were worried about what had happened to her. He
was the only one on this earth who knew what did happen to her. She’d
screamed, cried, begged to be let go, and, in the end, she’d begged to die. And
he had been all too happy to oblige her.
Clementine had stayed alive longer than the first sub he’d
brought to his lair. That bitch had been new to the lifestyle, and while he had
seen a blurb in the newspaper about her disappearance, it seemed as if no one
had connected her to the munch she’d gone to. That’s where the Dom had met her.
There were munches at least once a month in various places in and around Tampa.
They were events where newbies interested in BDSM could meet and talk to those
experienced in the lifestyle without play. Introducing her to his world had
been fun at first, but she hadn’t lasted long. It was then he’d decided to seek
out more experienced subs.
If he were honest with himself, he desperately wanted to tell
everyone what had happened to Clementine and the other bitch, and where their
destroyed bodies were located—in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. But that
would be the end of his fun and games. This time, however, he planned on
leaving Heather Davis where she would be eventually found. If he couldn’t let
people know who was putting these whores in their place, at least he could let
them admire his work.
The unmarked door to The Devil’s
Curtis Richards
Linda Byler
Deborah Fletcher Mello
Nicolette Jinks
Jamie Begley
Laura Lippman
Eugenio Fuentes
Fiona McIntosh
Amy Herrick
Kate Baxter