“What was that for?” he asked when she pulled away.
“That was to thank you for not hating me, and for coming after me even after I was a complete ass and cuffed you to a bed.”
“I’ll buy that. And here.”
His kiss was almost rabid, and his cock began straining in his pants when he ravaged her mouth with his tongue. He pulled away and smiled at the glazed look in her eyes. “That was to remind you that as per our discussion on the way over, you will be subject to any sordid punishment I deem fit for leaving me naked, handcuffed and without a car.”
Her stare oozed of liquid sex, and Nate’s heart skipped. Before he could start her punishment, however, he spotted a pair of cops headed their way.
“They’ll want us to give our statements,” he said. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“You have no idea,” she said teasingly. “Where will this punishment of yours take place? Your dungeon or mine?”
“Mine. I forgot to mention that Andrew apparently had your place tossed hard after you left.”
“Looking for the evidence, no doubt.”
It was while they were headed to the police station later that Lydia turned to him abruptly. “Say, what kind of training do you need to get into this gig full-time?” She flashed him a wicked grin that prickled gooseflesh on his arms. “Seems I’m in the market for a new job.”
Chapter Six
Eleven months later
“Open your legs a little more,” Nate said to Lydia. “Now bend your right knee. Just a little higher. Oh yeah, baby. That’s perfect.”
“Do you have any idea how perverted you sound right now?” Lydia asked, glancing around the essentially deserted alley. “I feel like I’ve just dialed a porno hotline.”
“And you look like something I’d hop on in a hot minute.” The sound of his voice in her ear sent a shiver through her. “I have some damn fine memories of that bikini, you know.”
“You’re not the only one.”
“It occurs to me that while I’ve made you scream in the passenger seat, across the gear knob, and laid out in back, I’ve never bent you over the hood of a car before.”
She gave a private smile as she adjusted the Bluetooth headset and shifted the balloons in her hand. “And something tells me you’re already cooking up an evil plan to remedy that oversight.”
“About ten minutes after we’re through here.”
“Rule One, cowboy. Stand down.”
“Too late. I’m definitely standing up.”
She stopped talking and glanced around again. There was no sign of the skip yet, and she was beginning to feel beyond silly splayed out across the hood of the guy’s car. At least the hood was still warm. Even though it was early summer, the weather was a bit on the cool side for lounging around in a bikini. Then again, she wasn’t out here to work on her tan. They were on the job. They guy they were after was worth five grand. He’d skipped out on bail and had been kind enough to celebrate by stopping in at the local watering hole before getting out of town.
“I still can’t believe you’re making me wear that old stripper thong,” Nate said in her headset. “It went straight up my ass as soon as I crouched down in the carport.”
“Welcome to the club,” she replied. “But that was our deal. Whenever I have to wear one on the job, so do you. Just be grateful I’m not wearing nipple clamps.”
There was a pause. “Okay, Benny just radioed. He made the guy ducking out the back door. He’s on your six, headed your way.”
Her attention immediately shifted. “Copy that. Tits up and ready.”
Lydia refined her pose, thrusting out her breasts while she clutched the bouquet of blue and white balloons. A minute later, she saw him. Sagging jeans, a gray t-shirt and a mass of frizzy brown hair that hadn’t met a comb in a couple of days at least. He hadn’t shaved since the mug shot on his file, either. He did look less droopy-eyed, especially once he caught sight of the bikini babe laid out over his hood and smiling at him as though she’d just hit the jackpot.
He froze three feet from his car. “What the hell’s all this?”
Still smiling, she slid off the hood like a slithering cobra. “Chris Chacon?”
His eyes were everywhere on her at once. “Who wants to know?”
“I’m Candy from Fantasy Girls Exotic Dance.” She ran a hand over her breasts for effect, and he homed in on her cold-hardened nipples.
“You are one hot bitch. What can I do for you that involves taking my pants down?”
She kept her smile firmly in place. “A friend of yours sent me to help you celebrate your very special day.” She held out the bouquet. “Here. Why don’t you hang onto my balloons while I show you?”