She nodded. Out of all her ex-lovers, Mal was the only one who understood. The only one who knew exactly what made her tick. Until Rome.
“Have you told him about the writing?”
She shook her head. “I’ve barely known him five days.”
“Five days and you slept with him already?”
She could feel her face turning red again.
“Lord, you are hooked. I guess I can see you when I come to visit Chris, Cynthia, and Jocelyn.”
She shook her head. “I still can’t believe I didn’t make the connection.”
“We didn’t talk much then, if I remember. Other than your writing and the job.”
“And your job.” She studied him for a moment. The summer they had met she had been green, so green she didn’t even know how to hide the fact that she found him attractive. With his mocha-colored skin, hazel eyes, and that winning smile—not to mention the body of a warrior—she had been surprised when he’d been interested in her. But soon, even with a little mutual attraction, their friendship became more important than the sex. And she knew she couldn’t deal with loving a man who was usually halfway around the world. “How long you have?”
“Just a couple of days. I have a gut feeling we’re going back out and soon, so I’m heading back to San Diego.”
She frowned. Mal’s gut was always right. And she hated that, hated that her friend was going to be in danger. Rationally, she knew it was stupid because that is what she trained for, as did Malachai. It was in his blood to serve and protect.
“Okay, well give me a call if you have a moment free.”
He looked back over his shoulder. “You sure I should do that?”
She rolled her eyes and leaned forward to give him a kiss on the cheek. The front door opened and that had Mal chuckling again.
“Talk to you later, Maria.”
She watched him drive away. Just a few moments later, she felt the brush of Rome’s fingers on her bare shoulder.
“You were acting like an ass.”
He slipped his hand down to her waist and pulled her closer. She felt the brush of his mouth against her temple, and she sighed.
“I know I was. I promise to be good from now on.”
“Really,” she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. “And I was planning on having fun tonight.”
He gave her rear a pat. “Now that I can promise.”
She heard the deepening of his voice, felt the stirring within her. “Don’t you want to talk about the case tonight?”
He held the door open for her. “No, Maria, I think we need to have a little chat about discipline.”
Chapter Thirteen
Rome held the silky red blindfold in his hand as looked down at Maria and smiled. He had been thinking of this moment since their first night together.
She was tied up to his bed, her hands cuffed to his headboard. Her legs were stretched, cuffed to a strap that was attached to the bed. She was trying her best not to let him know how much this act unnerved her. For him, it was easy to see. Oh, she was aroused, there was no doubting that. Her breathing was hitched and there was a flush to her cheeks that had more to do with being turned on than frightened. The scent of her musky arousal filled the room.
The fear was there, though. She wasn’t afraid of him, not really. His training had taught him how to discern the difference. She was frightened of the feelings rolling through her now. It was something to play at being tied up, of choosing to be someone’s sub. In the act of tying her to the bed, he had taken a lot of the choice away from her. She had her own safe word, and she could have said no at any point, still could, and he would honor it. He might die from lack of blood to the brain, but he would definitely honor it.
Her gaze rested on the blindfold in his hands. He knew this was one big step for her, for them. He kept telling himself that this was just for a short time, but somewhere deep inside him he knew it was something else, something bigger.
He leaned over the bed and tied the blindfold on her. She didn’t pull away or show any worries about it, but he knew she had them. For someone so much in control of everything, this was the ultimate submission. He usually didn’t push his subs so far so fast, but after tonight, he felt he needed to show some kind of power, to let her know who was in control. And dammit, he had wanted to claim her.
“You have your safe word.”
She nodded but said nothing. He skimmed his hand down her chest, teasing her nipples. They were tight, easily showing him how aroused she was. As he slipped his hand down her body—enjoying the way her stomach muscles quivered in reaction—he leaned forward and took a nipple into his mouth. She was so sweet, so what he needed. Women were a delight, but something about the taste of her skin, the scent of her arousal, spoke to Rome.