Hidden Heat (13 page)

Authors: Amy Valenti

Now she knew I had those tendencies inside me, it would be harder to resist the urge to act on them. Things had just got a hundred times more complicated than I’d ever wanted.

I couldn’t look her in the eye…until her slightly amused response shocked me into it. “That you’re a Dominant? Zach, I’ve known that since the first day I met you. What I can’t figure out is how I’ve never seen you around at Rack and Ruin in all the time I’ve been going there.”

As she named the bi-monthly fetish night at Club Alterna, I could only stare at her slightly lifted brows and the smile that played about her lips. Right then, I was so far out of my comfort zone I had no idea how to react. “You go there regularly?”

Faye shrugged casually. “On and off. Sometimes I’ll be there every time for a few months, then I stop for a while. It was my first night there in nearly three months when I ran into Laura.”

“You met her
there
? Faye, are you topping my ex-submissive?” The question fell from my lips before I could stop it, the slow smoulder of jealousy at the back of my mind roaring into an inferno.

“I didn’t play with her that first night—she was way too over-emotional!” Faye said defensively.

“Not the point, Faye.”

“Then what
is
the point?” she demanded, frustrated. “I mean, how can you act so crazy when Laura says it was only casual between the two of you?”

I didn’t know how to answer her. The fact she was topping Laura made me a little jealous, but Faye was right—we had only been seeing each other casually, and it didn’t affect me as much as the other side of the coin did. Telling her my jealousy was double-edged would only complicate matters, but the thought whispered through my mind nevertheless.

You should have been mine.

It was ridiculous—I had no way of knowing if she was as sexually submissive as I sometimes imagined she was, and it wasn’t my place to ask, but the confirmation that she was on the local BDSM scene was enough to make me possessive. Sometimes I had trouble remembering I could only control her as part of our working relationship, and even then, only to a point.

Instead of answering her question, I asked, “Did you manage to call her in?”

“Yeah. We were meeting for lunch anyway, at the bistro down the street. I just moved the time forward a little. We should go if we’re gonna make it.”

Is it serious between you?

I couldn’t ask—as much as I hated to admit it, I didn’t want to hear the answer. Instead, I nodded curtly. “The rest of the team don’t need to know this, understand? I used to date Laura, and you’re dating her now. That’s all the background they need.”

“Got it,” Faye said with an ironic mini-salute.

The opening was just too tempting to pass up. “No ‘Sir’, Faye?”

Grinning, she started down the stairs. “I don’t submit easily.”

Faye

During the short walk to the bistro, Pierce got around to asking the question that mattered. “Did you know Laura was a pickpocket?”

I shook my head, thinking back over the past couple of months. “She never acted suspiciously around me…even when she had Leigh’s wallet in her purse. She lifts his wallet, and now he’s dead? It could be a coincidence…”

“No such thing.” I’d been pretty sure he was gonna say that. “You go on ahead and meet with her. I’ll wait a couple of minutes, then join you.”

“You think she’ll run if she gets spooked?” I kinda doubted it, but I was the scientist, not the cop.

“She can try,” he said, almost to himself.

I watched him thoughtfully. There was a tension in him I’d rarely seen before—it was as if he was carefully holding back what he really wanted to say.

I wanted him to question me about the things I’d revealed to him that day. I wanted him to ask if I submitted as well as topped, and how often that happened. I wanted him to tell me about his involvement in the local scene, about his kinks and desires, about what he looked for in a submissive. Okay, I probably didn’t fit the bill, but I could dream, at least…

But instead he was shutting me out. He hadn’t acted this reserved around me since the first month I’d worked at the precinct. I didn’t know what he was afraid of, and until this was over and done with, it wasn’t a good time to ask. So I focussed on the plan instead, lengthening my stride to put distance between us.

Within a minute, the bistro came into view, and a familiar figure was waiting by the door. The dark-haired, curvaceous woman smiled as I approached, stepping forward to hug me. “Ready for peach pie and ice cream?”

Returning Laura’s embrace, I forced myself to act normally, though the thought of food turned my stomach. “Definitely.”

While Laura headed for the door, I glanced back down the street, relieved to see Pierce approaching slowly. He nodded encouragement and I shot him a brief, anxious smile before following my submissive inside.

I took a seat across a small table from Laura, who was watching me with concern. “Are you okay? You look a little worried.”

“That’s one way of putting it, I guess. Work’s a little confusing right now.”

One of the things I really liked about Laura was that she didn’t act overly submissive unless we were in a scene. She was mostly talkative and laid-back, though her wit occasionally had bite. Picking up her menu, she rolled her eyes. “Let me guess.
Zach
’s running you into the ground again.”

Frowning a little at her obvious disdain, I shook my head. “Actually, no. I haven’t even started the forensics yet.”

“But you have time for an early lunch? Must be an interesting case.” Laura’s expression was curious.

“Yeah… I can’t tell you much, but a businessman turned up dead, and it wasn’t pretty.” I didn’t mention the vicious beating the guy had received before he died—it wasn’t the kind of detail I was authorised to repeat during an open investigation. Especially not
this
open investigation.

“Maybe you’d know him, Laura?” Pierce’s voice made me jump—I’d known he was coming, but I hadn’t even heard him approach. “Name’s Samuel Leigh.”

Laura’s eyes widened, then her expression became guarded as she looked from him to me, and back again. “What is this?”

“Need to talk to you about his death. Let’s go over to the precinct, where it’s a little more private.” Pierce’s eyes were hard as he watched his ex, and that was more intriguing than I liked to admit. Something was going on in his head, but I couldn’t fathom exactly what. Yet.

“I’ve never even heard of him. You can’t force me to go anywhere.”

Pierce held his badge out towards her, his face impassive. “I can legally detain you for questioning.”

“On what grounds?” she snapped. “I know my rights.”

Wow, she’s defensive.
I’d never seen her like this. “Laura…”

She sighed, speaking for our ears only. “Faye, don’t Mistress me outside the bedroom. That’s not what we negotiated.”

Taken aback, I stared at her. That had been the furthest thing from my mind, and, if she didn’t know that, we had a serious problem.

Before I could speak, Pierce intervened. “On the grounds that we have surveillance footage of you stealing his wallet the night before his death.”

She was beaten, and she knew it. With a sigh, Laura glared at me and got to her feet. “This better not take long. I have a meeting at two.”

While she gathered her jacket and purse, Pierce touched my shoulder, leaning in close to murmur, “Careful. She’s playing you.”

Before I could process that, he followed Laura outside. A million questions flitting through my mind, I brought up the rear, shooting an apologetic look at the confused waitress hovering nearby.

Exactly who
was
the girl I’d been seeing for the past few weeks? And what side of her had Pierce seen that I hadn’t?

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About the Author

Amy Valenti is a tarnished tease, and her mind has lived in the gutter since the day she realised what sex was. She hails from England, which she doesn’t find quite as exotic and sexy as the average US citizen seems to, but if people want to compliment her on her accent, that’s all fine with her! Her muses are many, fickle and very demanding.

She has a degree in creative writing and currently works as a proofreader/copy editor. In her free time, she reads, writes and plays videogames. On the rare occasions she doesn’t have a laptop on her knee, she loves to curl up with friends and pets – and chocolate – for TV show and movie marathons.

Email:
[email protected]

Amy loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.total-e-bound.com
.

Also by Amy Valenti

Dominance and Deception

Shocked

Always the Quiet Ones

Battle of Thrills

Total-E-Bound Publishing