The Bad Ass Brigade (12 page)

~~~

Sam tried the door and smiled when it opened without resistance. As a cop he was annoyed that she hadn’t locked the door. As a man, he was gratified. He moved silently through the darkened apartment to the open patio door. It took an effort to quiet his breath at the glorious sight before him. The shimmering light from the moon lit the hills and valleys of her lithe frame. Like the voyeur that he was, hidden by the shadows, he reveled in her unconsciously provocative striptease. Her back to him, she slowly pulled her t-shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. Tugging at the buttons on her skimpy shorts, she unbuttoned them one button at a time and slid them down over her slender mile-long legs. Bending over she daintily stepped out of the pants and kicked them over next to her abandoned top.

Sam sucked in a quiet breath gratified that his aroused dick couldn’t speak. If it could, it would be crowing with excitement. She stood in the moonlight, her back to him. The lacy straps of her bra and the slender thread of her thong riding between her ass cheeks were her only clothing. She stood for a moment then took a hearty swallow, emptying her wine glass. He held his breath when she reached back to unsnap the closure on her bra and slipped it off. Hidden from his eyes, she reached up and lifted her breasts in her hands, an offering to the cool night. He took an unconscious step forward, his fists clenched at his sides. Only the need to see her naked kept him from revealing his presence. He was glad he waited. With a delicate tug, she eased the lacy thong over her hips. Rather than tossing it to the floor, she stepped out of it and laid it on the table.

She stood for a moment gloriously naked, a silvery moonlit Aphrodite. Stretching her arms high above her head, she swayed from side to side, then folded over to touch her toes. The movements were feline, graceful, dancer-like. They reminded him of his first imaginary image of her flitting across a snow covered stage, a beautiful Ice Princess. Tonight as she stepped into the frothing bubbles in the hot tub, she was anything but icy cold.

He leaned against the doorframe watching her sink slowly into the churning water. Her heartfelt sigh and slight curve of her lips spoke to the warm water capturing her body. She settled against the edge of the tub, her eyes closed, a fringe of dark lashes fanning her rosy cheeks.

After a moment he regained enough breath to speak.

“You’re beautiful.”

She startled and squeezed her eyes shut more tightly. Her surprised gasp was her only sound.

Answering her unasked question, he said, “Your door was unlocked.”

When she didn’t reply, he walked over to the table and smiled when he saw two glasses by the wine bottle.

“Were you expecting someone?”

She shrugged and didn’t answer.

“That’s dangerous, Annika. You never know who might come in.”

Annika eased lower in the water, submerging her chest in the frothy bubbles.

She quirked a saucy brow and looked up at him.

“Not to worry. The person I’m waiting for probably has a few more outcalls to do before he makes his way over here.”

Sam laughed. “Oh baby, you’re asking for it, aren’t you?”

Striving to match his panache, she smiled and murmured, “Maybe, I am.”

He poured them each a glass of wine and handed one to her. Raising his glass to her, his tone was serious.

“To the only woman I intend to be with tonight—or any night.”

She looked as surprised as he felt at the challenging words. He nodded to her, encouraging her to drink, and then took a large swallow from his glass. He picked up her lacy thong and held it to his nose, breathing in the heady fragrance. He smiled at her as he tucked the panties in his pocket.

“You smell as enticing as I imagined. I’m dying to make love to you, Annika. I need you. And, dammit, I want you. Not to put too fine a point on it, if I don’t have you soon, I may never recover from this.” He gestured to his formidable arousal bulging against his trousers.

Later, Annika wasn’t sure how she got from the hot tub to the bedroom. It was an erotic blur. She remembered he took her wine from her and held up the fluffy towel lying on the chair, urging her out of the tub. Wrapping the towel around her he scooped her up in his arms. He strode into the bedroom and deposited her on the edge of the huge four poster bed. The table lamp cast a soft glow across the room and lit his face. His obsidian eyes gleamed with passion, sending shards of energy through her body. She scrambled back across the bed, leaning up against the headboard, clutching the protective towel to cover her nakedness.

Sam stepped up to the side of the bed. Unconsciously, she drew back. But the headboard stopped her retreat. He smiled as though her nervousness amused him. But it wasn’t funny. She needed him to slow down. Give her time to… to do what? Freeze up? Before she could warn him, he began unbuttoning his shirt.

“What are you doing?” She shut her eyes, wishing she could take back her inane question.

Sam chuckled.

“You put on a provocative striptease for me. The least I can do is return the favor.”

He finished unbuttoning his shirt one button at a time, then pulled it out of his pants and shrugged it off. In the dim light he towered over her, a lean powerful man, his arms and chest rippling with muscle. But what drew her attention tonight was the dusting of curly black hair on his chest that arrowed down across his eight pack belly to the top of his pants. The sight of that intimate crop of hair sent shockwaves to her stomach and below. He grinned at her, then unbuttoned the top two buttons on his jeans and left them open, revealing yet more of the springy curls. Bending over he toed off one boot, then the other. The sight of his bare feet and his jeans riding low on his hips was astonishingly erotic. Without seeing more, Annika knew he was naked under his jeans. Of course he would go commando. She tried to swallow, but a mix of desire and fear dried up her spit, making it impossible.

Sam headed to the closet. He rummaged around the top shelves and gave a triumphant guffaw. He returned carrying a large box.

“I knew I could count on Nate to leave some toys behind.”

When she gasped, he laughed as he strode toward her.

“Don’t worry, Annika. None of these have been used.”

She sat up straight, horrified. “What are you talking about, Sam?”

He stopped at edge of bed and set the box on the bedside stand. His eyes were dark, intense. They frightened her and God help her, excited her.

“What… what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to give you a little lesson in sensory overload. But it can only happen if you allow yourself to feel. We have to turn off that brain of yours, Annika. That pesky voice that is so sure that
this
isn’t something you can do. That you don’t want to do. But we both know that isn’t true, don’t we?”

Annika struggled to speak. On one level she knew he was right. She did want him— desperately. But just the thought of actually making love scared her. She didn’t want to disappoint him.

He put his fingers to his lips.

“Shshh, Annika. Tell that trouble-making brain of yours to be quiet. I want you Annika, worse than I’ve
ever
wanted
any
woman. Let me show you how much I want you.”

He unbuttoned his jeans and stripped them off. Annika couldn’t contain her shocked gasp. He stood before her, a proud male animal, his arousal jutting out powerfully in front of him. He was stunning. And frightening. Admittedly she didn’t have much experience with men—but she’d never seen a man who looked like Sam. It was some small condolence that neither had the people who invented the dildo that she’d used to bring herself to orgasm. Compared to Sam, her favorite dildo was a number two pencil.

She pressed her hand against her mouth, and bit down hard on her bottom lip, not sure how to respond. Of course what she came up with was as absurd as she’d feared, but the words were out before she could stop them.

“I… umm. You’re bigger than my dildo. A
lot
bigger.”

Sam barked out a harsh laugh then smothered it, but couldn’t hide the twinkle in his eyes.

“No offense to your choice of ‘partners’, Annika. But without even seeing it, I can tell that the size of that plastic prick isn’t its only problem. We can discuss the differences after I make love to you.”

A frantic giggle bubbled up in her throat and Annika started to laugh but then realized it wasn’t funny. She’d never be able to accommodate him. No matter how hard she struggled against it she couldn’t stop the dread crawling over her.

Sam bent over, showing her his magnificent backside, and picked up the box and began searching inside. With a satisfied murmur, he pulled out a long silky scarf.

“Ah. Here’s what we need, Princess.”

Annika debated whether to stop him, but a tiny quiver of excitement kept the words at bay.

“What is that?” she asked, knowing full well that it was a blindfold.

He closed in on her, holding her gaze, not allowing her to look away. He nodded, motioning her to come closer. She swallowed and then did. His soft smile was her reward.

“We’ve got to put your brain to sleep, Princess. All you need to do is feel.”

He slipped the blindfold over her eyes and tied it securely.

“This will help, Annika. When you can’t see, it helps you feel.”

Lifting her under her arms, he laid her on her back, scooted her to the top of the bed and eased a pillow under her head. He kneeled up beside her. While she couldn’t see him, she could feel the strength in his arms as he positioned her. She marveled at how his big hands dwarfed hers. His enticing smell, a musky male aroma mixed with expensive cologne, drifted over her. She breathed in deep, wanting more of the exotic odor, gasping at the sensations the sexy smell elicited. Prickly shockwaves surged between her legs, up the inside of her thighs. Some small part of her brain acknowledged that Sam was right; the blindfold heightened her sense of smell and made all of her senses more acute.

Before she could process the sensations flooding her, he slipped a furry cuff over her wrist and tightened it. He did the same to her other wrist, then raised her hands over her head. Tugging on the tether attached to the cuff, he fastened it to the bedpost. As he moved over her to secure her other arm above her head his hands were gentle, but firm. She struggled against the bindings but they were tight, secure, her outstretched arms tied in a victory vee over her head. His voice was low, encouraging. It soothed her rising fear.

“You know, honey, when you cuff a criminal, how they sort of melt, give in? Did you ever think about why they do that?”

She tried to focus on his question, but she was too overwhelmed by the sensation of being restrained, not knowing how she should respond. Not understanding the excitement that was coursing over her.

Sam continued talking. His husky tone betrayed his desire.

“It’s because they understand there’s no reason to fight it, nothing they can do except give into the reality of the moment.”

She couldn’t see him but she sensed Sam was next to her, gazing at her. She could feel his presence. It was overwhelming and strangely comforting. Annika could sense his excitement. It matched her own.

“Don’t worry, Princess. Unlike the gangbanger, you’re in charge. Your feet are free. You can kick me in the balls if you want. Or, better yet,
you
can tell
me
to stop and I will.”

He hesitated then moved closer to her. She could feel the strength of his powerful body next to hers. The thought of him straddling her, lying on top of her sent a tremor of excitement straight to her core. She cried out as her body shook in anticipation.

His chuckle was low, sexy.

“But, you’re not going to do that are you, Princess?”

Before she could answer, he tugged at the towel that was covering her. The rush of cool air against her naked body amplified the whisper of fabric as he pulled it away. She struggled for a moment knowing that she was bare, open to him.

His soft groan, thick with passion, chased away her fear.

“Damn, Annika. You are so beautiful. You take my breath, Princess.”

Annika laid back, stunned. It was as though she could see herself through his eyes. Her body was spread before him—ready, eager for the taking. And he was right. She was beautiful. The thought was so erotic, so overwhelming her body shook with anticipation. His sexy chuckle confirmed that he saw her excitement.

At some deep level, Annika understood the brilliance of what Sam was doing. Absorbed with the blindfold, the cuffs, the sensation of being restrained, she’d forgotten her fear of making love. Instead she was doing what he told her to do. To feel. All of her sensations raced madly through the various gears, and were now on overdrive.

Before she could ask him what he was going to do, he slipped his big hands around her waist his thumbs tugging at her belly button ring. His voice was husky, amused.

“I like this, Princess. It shows how you play with yourself. How you acknowledge and decorate your beautiful body. You love your body, don’t you? As you should. You just don’t want anyone to know. But now I do. It can be our secret. And Princess, we’re going to have so many secrets. So many things that we do and say that are ours alone.”

He tugged on the bauble attached to the pierced ring, sending fiery sensations to her groin.

“Mm hmm. I can think of some other places we could put pretty jewels.”

He gently pinched one nipple, causing her to cry out.

“Hmm. Yes. And here too.”

He leaned over and gently kissed the other hard-beaded nub.

Annika gasped for air. She couldn’t believe the sensations rolling over her. She felt his warm lips on her neck, his rough tongue on the excruciatingly sensitive divot of her throat. He’d crawled up beside her now. She couldn’t see him but she could feel him, sense where he might be going. But she wasn’t sure. The anticipation of where he would go, what he would do next, was as erotic as the actual touch. His hands, his mouth were all over her. On her breasts, her nipples—pinching, licking, sucking. But he never stopped talking to her. He anchored her with his murmuring, sexy, outrageous words. Telling her what the sight of her did to his body. How her smell drove him wild, and how she tasted like honey—like sweet candy.