OnLocation (12 page)

“You don’t want to be around for the movie shooting?”

“If you’d rather go somewhere else and take me with you,
that would be lovely. I’ve never been to most of Australia. Just Darwin and out
toward Uluru, and Brisbane on the way in. But I’ve never been to the cities.”

He looked thoughtful.

Roger came back downstairs. “He’s fine,” he said.

“Good to hear,” said Kyle absently.

“How are you?” asked Terry. “It sounded like a fight, not a
fall.”

“I’m fine, pet. Take off your top. I want to look at you.”

She wasn’t sure how she felt about being called pet, but
what he asked her to do stopped her from dwelling on it. The moment had
suddenly turned sexual and she ought to be used to how he could do that. She
looked at Roger. She didn’t want him to see her naked but she had a bra on. And
yet the idea that his presence wouldn’t stop Kyle from doing whatever he wanted
made her tingle. “Here? In front of him?”

“Yes. And I want you to remember how to address me properly
too.”

“Yes Sir.” She took a deep breath and unbuttoned the sleeves
on her shirt. When she was finished with those, she took her time with the
others. Maybe he’d change his mind. Or Roger would take the hint and leave. But
the two men exchanged glances and Roger not only didn’t leave, he moved to the
left of Kyle, where his view was unobstructed and she couldn’t pretend he
wasn’t there.

She expected Kyle to tell her to take the bra off next. He
crouched down instead, and took her left hand in his right, then lifted her arm
and examined it in a way that reminded her of a nurse looking for a vein to
stab. Then he did the same with the other arm, examining it intently. Only when
he was done did he trace a finger along the plunge of her bra. He looked as if
his mind was far away. She couldn’t imagine what he had in mind that made her arms
that much more interesting than her boobs. She pushed her chest out, hoping to
get his attention. He noticed and smiled, but nothing more.

Something rattled upstairs. “What’s that?” Terry asked.
Gallagher, trying to open a locked door? What the hell was going on?

“I’ll go check,” Roger said and headed up.

Kyle gazed at her for a long time. “You’re perfect for me,”
Kyle said at last with a hint of sadness in his voice.

“You could keep me,” she said, her heart clenching up.
Begging him to let her stay would be more embarrassing than stripping in front
of Roger or kneeling. It would be humiliating. She wasn’t going to do it.

“Can I? I wonder. Do you have work to do today?”

She felt, in one sense, that taking more pictures wasn’t
going to help the movie one bit, but that was largely because she thought the
movie was hopeless. More and more she wondered if she was simply cover—Stegner
ignored her suggestions because he’d already decided he was going to shoot
where he was going to shoot come hell or high water. He had a location scout
because that’s what a big movie producer did. But still, he was paying her. She
sighed and nodded. “I should take some more pictures in the jungle, probably,
and see if that’s usable for anything.”

He handed her shirt to her. “Get dressed for it, then, and
I’ll see you back here for dinner. Do try to be done by then. I have plans for
us for the evening.”

Again she thought there was sadness in his smile. “Sir,
would you like to come with me?”

He shook his head. “No. I have a few things I have to take
care of. The jungle is safe enough—the spiders can give a bad bite, but it
won’t kill you. Don’t let them get at you though. I prefer to deliver your pain
myself.”

She blushed.
Why does that sound like love? I’m probably
fooling myself.
Kyle was cold, distant. Something significant had changed
and she was hoping it was for the better. Maybe this was just his way of
processing.

“Do a good job, Terry.” He bent down and kissed her, then
took her hands in his.

“Yes Sir.” As he helped her up, she realized that he’d never
called her Terry before. Something was definitely amiss. She wished she knew
what it was. Clearly, however, she’d been dismissed. She put her shirt back on
and headed out, her cell phone already in her pocket. When she glanced over her
shoulder, she saw him watching her from behind the glass door.

For the next few hours, she focused on her work. Kyle was
too confusing to think about and made her heart ache too much. She’d always
thought she was at ease with uncertainty, but this time she wanted very much to
know where she stood. Or knelt.

* * * * *

Kyle closed Terry’s suitcase and shook his head. There was
no trace of drugs anywhere in her belongings. There had been no needle tracks
on her arms. There was nothing to indicate that she used illegal drugs or that
she had them in her possession. But why would she? If she was involved as
Gallagher said in a drug smuggling operation, there was no reason to have small
amounts in her personal luggage. And there was no reason a pusher had to be a
user. Although at least he understood why users would sell drugs—maybe they at
least believed that a high was worth the consequences. The ones who just tried
to get others hooked were worse.

He didn’t know whether Gallagher was telling the truth or
not. On the one hand, he wasn’t sure why the man would lie. Just because Teresa
wouldn’t sleep with him? It seemed weak to Kyle, but Gallagher was a weak man.
Some men couldn’t take no for an answer. If Gallagher was one of those it was
probably a very good thing that he was now locked up in his room.

He had found nothing to back up Gallagher’s claims. But
still the doubt lingered. He was used to not knowing everything about the women
he played with. If he was
just
playing with Teresa, as he’d intended, he
wouldn’t be stressing quite so much. He still wouldn’t want her to be a drug
dealer. He cared for everyone he played with—if he didn’t, he couldn’t keep
their safety foremost, and that wasn’t optional as far as he was concerned. But
he felt something more for Teresa. He had to find out the truth, and he didn’t
have a way to do it. If she was guilty, maybe. If she was innocent though,
there’d never be any proof.

The police had asked them to keep both suspects there until
the rest of the movie people arrived. Then they intended a giant raid. Kyle
wanted to get Teresa off the island and out of the country. It wasn’t rational,
he knew. The police would question everyone and probably find out the answers
he wanted. But they weren’t infallible, and if sending Teresa away from him was
what he needed to do to keep her safe, he would. He couldn’t be sure she wasn’t
involved, but he wanted to believe she was innocent. He wanted to trust her,
and that meant acting as if he did.

Which meant, logically, having her sleep in his bed tonight.

Roger had argued for that. Act normal. Don’t let her suspect
you suspect, he’d said. And yet Roger had also told him that he wasn’t sure
Gallagher was telling the truth about Teresa. He’d known Roger for years, and
he usually knew where his friend was coming from. This time, he didn’t. Roger
probably thought of him sleeping with a woman as a “step” on his “recovery”.
Kyle wasn’t sure he needed to recover. He’d seen hell—having nightmares was a
perfectly sane response. It just wasn’t pleasant.

Teresa had done him a very big favor by not running from his
bed. He owed her the way he owed the men he’d known who’d risked their lives
with and for him in Afghanistan and Iraq. He’d never deserted any of them in a
time of need and he wasn’t going to desert Teresa. He’d get her out of this
scrape—but if she was involved the way Gallagher had said, they had no future.
Getting her safe would pay off his debt.

Now he had to figure out what to do with her tonight. He’d
been thinking of taking her to the dungeon. He was sure she’d enjoy it, but he
wasn’t sure he was in the best frame of mind for hard play. Being distracted
and using a cane did not go together. No, he’d try something softer, even if it
wasn’t exactly his style.

An hour before dinner there was a knock at Kyle’s door. He
opened it, expecting to find Roger. Instead, Teresa was on her knees naked in
the hallway. Her legs were spread uncomfortably wide and her back was arched.
He didn’t think she could maintain a position like that for more than a minute,
but she was beautiful.

“Sir,” she said, “I’m finished.”

His cock jumped in response to the sight of her. Her nipples
jutted out, looking squeezable. Her lips were soft and turned up for a kiss,
but that wasn’t what his cock wanted and it was already level with her mouth.
He wanted to stand over her, unzip his pants and slide his cock as far in as
she could take it without gagging. Maybe farther. Teresa seemed to like being
pushed. He swallowed.

“Get in here,” he said, his voice harsher than he wanted it
to be.

She started to stand up but he touched her shoulder,
instinct taking over. “No. Crawl.”

She put her hands on the floor and crawled in. He took a
step around her to watch her ass sway as she moved. “God, Teresa. You’re
perfect.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

He wished he knew what to think of her. He remembered how
she’d watched the lights on what must have been the drug-running boat. She’d
thought he was asleep, of course. But she didn’t mention them to him, although
that didn’t prove anything. He hadn’t known what it meant at the time either.

“I don’t know what to do next, Sir,” she said, jolting him
back to the present.

Of course she didn’t. It was hard to remember that she
wasn’t an experienced submissive. Not that experienced subs were mind readers,
but they usually didn’t have the same vulnerability in their eyes.
She’s
afraid she’s doing it wrong.

“Get up on the bed and kneel there. It’s softer than the
floor.”

She scrambled up, turned to face him and knelt as directed.

“You’re here early. Why?”

“Because I wanted to be.”

“Did you not understand my instructions?”

She grinned at him. “Do you want to punish me for it?”

Oh, she knows me well.
He didn’t intend to be that
easy to manipulate, however. That wouldn’t satisfy either of them in the long
run.

Was there a long run? Showing up naked in front of his door
was quite an act of bravery, especially in the middle of the afternoon. Did she
know Gallagher had been locked in his room? That might make her braver, but if
she was involved in the drug running it might also make her figure out that the
game was up. And that might make her desperate. He hoped it was bravery.

Regardless of what the police wanted, he was going to have
to find out, and he was going to have to do it without giving Teresa any chance
to warn Stegner. He got out the rope he’d braided into her hair once. “Hands
behind your back, love.”

She smiled and did as directed. She didn’t look like a woman
who was afraid she’d been caught. She looked like a hot sub ready to play. But
then, sometimes the corrupt assumed everyone had a price, and maybe she thought
his was sex.

He tied her wrists tight behind her. He’d have to pretend he
thought she was guilty to have a chance to get the truth out of her. He hoped
she’d forgive him.

Hell, he hoped he was pretending. He wasn’t sure. He scooped
her up. He didn’t need to have her hands tied in order to subdue her, but there
was no sense in making her think she had any choice. She thought it was all a
sex game and he wished it was. “We’re going on a trip.”

She laughed.

He carried her out of the room and then went to her room. He
picked up her suitcase, which was awkward without putting her down, but he
managed it. She wasn’t struggling. “Why do we need that?”

“You’ll see,” he said. “Now not another word until I say
so.”

“Yes Sir.” She bit her lip. Obviously she didn’t like it.
Was she being a good sub or did he have her cornered?

He walked down the stairs. He’d been hoping to avoid Roger
but luck was not on his side. The other Dom was sitting on the sofa watching a
soccer game. Roger turned to look at them and raised his eyebrows.

“Where are you going?” asked Roger.

“Out.” He unlocked the glass door that led to the dock.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” asked Roger.

“Absolutely.”

Kyle carried her down the dock. “Do you always parade your
girlfriends naked in front of your pals?” she asked.

He thought about that. “Pretty much,” he admitted. Although
he’d never thought of the women he played with as his girlfriends. But they
were on Submission Island for the experience, and exposure made their pulses
race. He never got the tender flowers, anyway—that job went to Tom or Roger or
Carter. Maybe not Carter anymore. Natalie seemed to have her hooks in him for
good, and he seemed happy about it. “I told you to keep quiet.”

She nodded.

He put her in the boat, unhooked the line that held it to
the pylon at the end of the dock and hopped in himself. He started the engine,
got it going to full and then engaged the throttle for twenty seconds as they
sped away from the island. He didn’t turn the boat lights on and he killed the
engine as soon as they built up some speed. It wasn’t the safest way to go,
especially as dusk was approaching, but he didn’t want to attract the attention
of the police if they were watching. If the cops were smart they’d keep away
until Stegner arrived, and he was betting they were smart. Catching the big
fish was more important than making sure Gallagher and Teresa didn’t escape.

He knew he shouldn’t let Teresa go either, if she was in on
the plan. But as her Dom he felt duty-bound to protect her. And selfishly he
needed to know, one way or the other.

“I thought at first— Sorry Sir.” She pursed her lips.

“That I was taking you off the island? Only if you want to
be taken.”

She didn’t say a thing but stared at him. Ah. “You may talk
now,” he added.

“I don’t want to be taken. Off, I mean. Not unless you’re
coming with.”

He nodded. “I really like you.”

She smiled. “I really like you too. You’re the best
kidnapper I’ve ever met, Sir.”

He chuckled. “Okay, I have been a bit heavy-handed.”

“I’ve discovered I like heavy-handed. When it’s from you.”

She couldn’t be acting. He was sure she wasn’t. Which didn’t
mean she was innocent, it just meant she was kinky. There had been no way she
was entirely faking that anyway. He weighed his words carefully, watching her
reaction. “Stegner is going to be here tomorrow.”

She nodded. “I know. I was going to talk to you about that.
If you walk me naked past the movie people, well, it might affect my career, so
I was hoping we could work out an—”

In other circumstances that would be an interesting chain of
thought, but this time he shook his head and interrupted. “It’s no use, Teresa.
I know what’s going on.”

“Huh?”

“Gallagher told us everything.”

She didn’t respond. He didn’t know what to make of that, so
he went on.

“Once Stegner is here with the penteconter full of drugs,
the police will swoop in. So I’m giving you a choice. I can take you away now.
I’ll drop you off onshore with your luggage and you can escape and never see me
again. Or you can turn yourself in, go straight, give evidence—and I’ll wait
for you to get out of jail. Then we can pick up where you left off.”

She jerked at the bonds tying her wrists, but they didn’t
budge, as he knew they wouldn’t. “You! I ought to slap you. What the hell do
you think I am?”

“Maybe you should tell me.”

“What drugs are you talking about?”

“The ones Stegner got from Colombia.” He couldn’t be
certain, but he thought it was a pretty good guess.

“Is that why he shot there?”

His heart surged. She seemed genuinely not to know, or she
was a very good actress. “Yes. Gallagher told you us were in on the whole
thing, Teresa.”

Her face turned red and contorted with rage. “Gallagher is
pissed because I didn’t sleep with him, and pissed more because I’ve been with
you. I can’t believe you believe him! You—you—” She shook her head, seemingly
unable to say more. Then she kicked him hard in the shins.

He wanted to believe her. He did believe her, but he
couldn’t be sure. Actions spoke louder than words. He waited, hating himself
for it. Hoping he wasn’t losing her in the midst of his need to know. From her
glare he thought he might be.

“I guess you barely know me, really,” she said at last.

“In some ways.”
I know some things about you that I would
guess no one else knows.

“It doesn’t feel like that. It feels as if I’ve known you
forever. It’s just been a few days.”

He nodded.

“I would never be part of a plot to smuggle drugs. I don’t
need the money, but even if I did I’d find another way to get it. Hell, I’d
sell my body before I got people hooked on ecstasy or LSD or whatever. Cocaine,
probably, if it comes from Colombia? Anyway. No.”

If she sold her body, he’d be buying. But there was no time
to get distracted by that thought.

“Take me back,” she said.

“Back to Submission Island?”

“Back to Submission Island. I’m not guilty. I don’t need to
run. Not that I couldn’t get swept up by Gallagher’s lies, but either way, I’m
not running. I need to prove to you that I’m innocent.” She gave him one last
glare, then twisted her back to hold up her hands. “Oh, and pineapple.”

If he’d thought she was guilty of running drugs, he wouldn’t
have let her go. As it was, he took out the utility knife from his pocket,
flicked it open and cut through the bonds.

“Usually those things don’t cut worth a damn,” remarked
Teresa with ice in her voice.

“Usually people don’t take good care of them.” He pulled her
into his arms, not too surprised she struggled. He was strong enough to hold
her anyway. “Listen to me. And don’t pull yourself out of the boat.”

She glared at him.

He was used to subs glaring, but this time it bothered him.
It didn’t stop him though. “If you had chosen to run, you’d be out of my life
for good. And maybe by the way I went about this I’m out of yours, anyway. But
I had to know and I had to keep you safe. We’ll go back and fight this together
and I’ll vouch for you. I can tell the police that you voluntarily stayed on
the island. They won’t be happy with me trying to help you escape, but since
you didn’t actually go, they can’t arrest me for anything.

“Even if Stegner and Gallagher and all the rest try to drag
you down—and I don’t see why they would, unless they all have some motive—I
will stick by you and stand up for you.”
And I wanted to be in a position to
do that.
She’d have to figure that part out herself, because it was way too
self-serving-sounding to tell her. But it was the truth.

The hard part would be resisting putting a fist through
Gallagher’s face before the police got there. It was probably a good thing
they’d locked him up in his room. Kyle had let Roger bring the jerk food,
because he wasn’t sure he trusted himself.

“I don’t blame you for needing to know,” she said.

“There’s a but there, isn’t there?”

“Yes. I’m still angry. Even if it doesn’t make rational
sense, I want you to trust me. And I thought we were out here having some fun,
so I feel let down.”

“I trust you.”

“Now.”

“Yes.” If she wanted a saint or a psychic, she had to know
she had the wrong guy. At least he wasn’t fool enough to take her comment about
being let down and make a pass at her. He was pissed at himself, even if he
wasn’t sure what he should have done differently. The last thing he wanted to
do was to make her angry or let her down. He’d known from the start that he’d
be doing both.

“I’m sleeping in your bed tonight,” she said.

He blinked.

“I trusted you even when I woke up with your hands on my
neck. You need to trust me too. I don’t know what else I’m willing to do with
you right now, but we’re sleeping together. Got it? Um, Sir.”

He laughed at the incongruity. She’d shown a flash of that
steel when he first met her, and it had nearly turned him off her entirely. Now
he was proud of her for it. “As long as you understand that’s the last order
you’re giving, yes. I got it.” He wasn’t sure it was safe to grin at her, but
he did anyway, because he wasn’t sure what his face would end up doing if he
didn’t.

“I don’t need to give orders. I just need my safe word.
Which I know you’ll honor.” Her face had the same war going on. Finally she
gave up and smiled at him.

“Always.” He gunned the engine on the boat and turned it
back toward this island.

* * * * *

Terry stayed dressed for the rest of the day in jeans and a
plaid shirt. He didn’t tell her she couldn’t. Only when bedtime finally came
did he tell her to take them off.

If she hadn’t wanted him to, she would have gone to her room
and changed into jammies. She’d been pretty sure that sleeping in jeans wasn’t
going to pass, but she was willing to do it if he didn’t say anything. He’d been
decent and respectful all day, but she missed his edge. Maybe he felt bad about
taking her out to sea, although she had to admit it had given her an
opportunity to demonstrate, if not prove, her innocence. Maybe he still didn’t
trust her entirely.

He didn’t ask if he could make love to her, but this time
lovemaking didn’t involve whips or ropes or even those nasty little nipple
clamps she’d been looking forward to feeling again. He laid her on her back,
spread her legs and licked her pussy with soft, slow strokes. Men always seemed
to want to go too fast, but not Kyle. He built her arousal up patiently before
speeding up, sending her over the edge with quick flicks of his tongue directly
on her clit.

A week ago a man with a tongue that skilled would have been
her idea of a keeper. She’d hold his head down and enjoy the ride. Now she
wanted her Master back. Not that there was anything wrong with Master going
down on his woman whenever he liked.
One of the many things I won’t say no
to.