Waiting for Him (21 page)

No words were spoken for a few moments as all three regained their breath. Kat let out a groan as Boomer eased from her body and turned her onto her back. He quickly disposed of his condom in a nearby garbage pail. Carter stood on shaky legs and went to the bathroom to retrieve damp and dry towels. He handed both to Boomer, who began cleaning her, and then leaned down to kiss Kat’s forehead. “Thank you, Kitty-Kat. You were amazing. I’m going to leave you in your Dom’s care. Sleep well.”

“You, too,” she murmured, fading fast into slumber.

Carter chuckled as he grabbed his sweatpants and pulled them on. “Thanks, man. Like I said before, she’s a keeper.”

Finishing with Kat’s torso, Boomer found a clean section of the damp towel and started wiping between her legs. “I know. You going to be around in the morning?”

Opening the door, Carter looked back at his friend. “Unless I get called away on something, I figured I’d stick around, just in case you need me for anything until she’s safe. You guys…” He jutted his chin toward Kat. “and your ladies, are the closest thing I have to family, and I’ll do anything I can to keep you all around. Later.”

Boomer’s hand slowed to a stop as he stared at the now closed door. The black-ops spy had been there many times when they’d needed him, but he wasn’t known for sticking around long. And saying the team and their women were family to the loner was something Boomer had never expected to hear. They knew very little about their friend’s life, even less about his past, and he was sure they knew him better than most. Hell, Carter had always been a nice guy, patient with the submissives, and certainly loyal, but how could a man with hands so deadly hide such a loving heart?

Turning his attention back to Kat, who was almost asleep, Boomer picked her up and put her head on the pillow. He tossed the towels on the floor and reached over to shut off the light. Lying down next to her, he drew the sheet over their bodies and soon fell victim to gratified exhaustion.

Kat woke up wrapped in Benny’s arms and hotter than a pig on a spit. She wasn’t used to sleeping with someone, and while she loved being near him all night, at times she wished his body temperature was twenty degrees lower. Easing away from him, she threw the sheet off and sat up. According to the bedside clock it was a little after ten, and she didn’t know why she was surprised she’d slept so late. After all, she’d been up half the night having incredibly naughty sex and loving every minute of it. Stretching, she stood and headed toward the bathroom. A humming reached her ears and she realized it was coming from the pile of clothes they’d practically ripped off each other the night before. Searching through the shirts, skirt, and pants, she found his cell phone, still on vibrate from being in the club. Noting the name and number, she decided to let him know he had a call.

“Benny?” No answer. Kat walked back to the bed and shook his shoulder. “Benny? Wake up. Your mom’s calling.”

“Mmmm,” he mumbled into his pillow. “Ooo’s ih?”

“Your mom.”

“-All -ack -ater.”

Kat grinned as he went right back to sleep like a little kid. Placing his phone on the nightstand, she once again headed for the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later, after a nice relaxing shower, she ambled out to common area of the second floor where the kitchenette and living area were. Her wet hair, combed back, dampened her clean T-shirt. She’d been staring down, past her baggy sweatpants to her bare toes, noticing they were in desperate need of a pedicure when she realized someone else was in the room. Blushing at Carter’s presence, she made her way over to the coffee machine.

He grinned as she brushed past him, then took a seat at the table. Never taking his amused eyes off her, he took a sip of his coffee. “Good morning, Kitty-Kat.”

“Um, good morning.” Concentrating on the Keurig as if it was the most complicated piece of machinery she’d ever used, Kat busied herself. She wasn’t sure what to say to the man who’d been a third in her and Benny’s sexual escapades. Was she supposed to thank him? That might be weird. Maybe she should just act like nothing happened. While she was embarrassed seeing him this morning, she didn’t regret what they had done. She may have only recently lost her virginity, but like most women, she’d had her fantasies—although she’d never dreamed that particular fantasy would happen to her. And, oh boy, had the reality been a hundred times better than anything she’d ever thought up. Running out of things to do at the counter, she hoped he would leave the room, saving her from making a fool of herself. However, after her coffee was ready, she had no choice but to turn around and face him.

Using his foot, he pushed out the chair across from him and indicated with his chiseled chin for her to sit. It would be more awkward if she refused, so she sat with her coffee in hand, her eyes downcast. She startled after a moment when he let out an exaggerated sigh and stood. Kat watched as he began to pull out a Cheerios’ box, a bowl, and milk from the cabinets and refrigerator and then set them down in front of her. He grabbed a knife and spoon from a drawer, and a banana from the counter, adding them to the other items. A napkin was the last thing he placed in from of her. Sitting back down, he pointed to her and then the food. “Eat, little one. Your clothes are hanging off you. It’s obvious you’ve lost weight recently and I doubt it was intentional.”

Kat snorted, but started pouring the cereal into the bowl. “Are all Doms this bossy? You all keep ordering me to eat.”

“Yes, when it comes to a submissive’s health and safety, we’re very bossy.” He regarded her for a moment as she prepared her breakfast, adding milk and sliced banana, until he seemed satisfied with how much food she’d filled the bowl with. “Now, while you’re eating, there are a few other things we need to talk about.” When her hand stopped the loaded spoon halfway to her mouth as she gaped at him, he reached over with his fingers and got it started again. “I said ‘while you’re eating’.” She put the spoon into her mouth then pulled it out empty. “Good girl. Now, what happened last night, or early this morning as it was, is between you, Boomer, and me. No one else. If you choose to have some girl talk with the others, that’s one thing, but I will not be letting anyone know what happened between us. I don’t kiss and tell about things which happen behind closed doors. Understood?”

Kat nodded and swallowed. “I mean, yes, Sir.”

“You can drop the ‘Sir’ this morning, Kat. Only when we’re playing or in the club is the formality necessary. Now, I don’t want you reading too much into what happened and being all embarrassed around me. There’s no need for it. Boomer is a good friend and, as I said before, it was an honor to play with you. If it was a one-time thing, that’s fine.” He shrugged. “If it happens again, that’s fine too. But think of it as…I don’t know…as we all went out bowling and had a fun time. Nothing embarrassing about bowling, right?”

Surprised he’d used the same activity she’d been talking to Benny about on the plane, Kat laughed, the tension she’d felt disappearing. “Um, no I guess not. Unless it’s naked bowling.”

“Now there’s a sport that won’t be on TV anytime soon.” He sat forward and took another sip of his coffee. “You’re a beautiful, sensual woman, Kat. Never be embarrassed about that. Just because you enjoyed something outside the norms of society, doesn’t mean it was wrong. You were just brave enough to try something millions of woman want, but don’t have the courage to experience for themselves.”

“I never thought of it that way.”

“And that’s what’s wrong with society nowadays.” Evidently having overheard some of their conversation, Benny walked into the room, fresh from his own shower. He stopped next to the table, eyeing her breakfast, apparently satisfied with what he saw. “Everyone is too scared to try something they’ve only dreamed about. And it’s nice to see you eating. You two okay?”

The question was addressed to them both, but it was apparent the only person he was worried about was Kat. She glanced at Carter, who nodded at her, then grinned back at Benny. “Yup. We’re good.” After tossing his cell phone on the table, Benny kissed the top of her head then made a beeline to the coffee machine. “Did you call your mom back?”

“Not yet. Need caffeine first. She’s probably already planning for us to go visit for a few days. But before we do that, we have to figure out how to get the target off your back.”

Kat looked down at the phone which had landed next to her. For some reason the screen had lit up and what she saw had her brow furrowing. “Um, Benny. It says you have twenty-seven missed calls.”

* * *

Spinning around, Boomer snatched it from the table and stared at the screen. “What the fuck? Shit, they’re all from my mom. Fuck, something must have happened to Pop.” He hit the speed dial for his mother’s phone, pacing impatiently until she picked up. An evil chill ran down his spine. When it connected, his words rushed out. “Mom? It’s me. What’s wrong? My phone was off.”

“B-Ben? Y-you have to come h-home quickly, and bring K-Katerina. T-they’re going to k-kill your father if you don’t.”

He froze at the terror he heard in his mother’s voice. “What? Who? Mom, are you there? Who’s going to kill Pop?”

An astute Carter immediately pulled out his phone and called Ian. “If you’re not already in the office, get there. They’ve got Boom’s parents.” He hung up on the other man’s loud curses.

“Mom! Fuck! Hello?” At first Boomer thought they’d been disconnected, but then he heard his mother cry out in the background as someone else took the phone. “Who the fuck is this?”

“This is man who vill kill parents if you don’t bring vhat ve vant. You have two hours or I start playing vith knife. I vill kill if see police. Bring girl and money.”

“You son of a fucking bitch! I’m going to kill you if you hurt one hair on them! You hear me you piece of shit! Hello? Hello? Fuck!” He threw the phone across the room and didn’t even care it broke into a million pieces. They had plenty of back up phones downstairs and Brody could switch Boomer’s phone number over to one.

“The team’s alerted. Ian will be downstairs in a minute.” Carter was almost to the hallway when he turned around. “I’m grabbing my stuff. We’ll get them, Boom. We’ll get your folks out of this, and Kat, too.”

Boomer nodded his thanks and looked at Kat who was crying, her mouth opening and closing without any sound. Pulling her out of her seat and into his arms, he hugged her tight. “It’s all right, baby. He’s right…we’ll get my folks out of this.”

“H-how? You have to take me with you, and-and the money too. T-trade me for your parents.”

“No! Fucking! Way!” He grabbed her shoulders and gave her two short shakes until he was sure he had her attention. His angry eyes flared at her. “No fucking way am I doing that, Kitten. Not happening. This is what we do. We rescue people. These assholes have messed with the wrong team. And there is no fucking way I’m trading you for my parents, much less bringing you with us. You’re staying right here in the compound.”

“You can’t leave me here! What if…what if they see I’m not there and kill your parents, Benny? I can’t let that happen! You have to take me with you! We’ll give them the money! Please!”

She was becoming hysterical and there was no time for it. He shook her shoulders again, talking over her rambling, putting his best Dominant tone into his voice. “No, Kat. No! Listen to me, dammit! You’re not going anywhere near these fuckers. You’re staying right here and unless you don’t want to sit for the next year, you’ll do exactly what I say. Your safety is my number one priority, and I can’t do my job if I’m worrying about you
and
my folks. Now, we don’t have time to argue, so are you going to obey me, or am I going to have to tie you to a fucking chair?”

Carter jogged past them, heading for the stairs with his gear. “Time’s a-wasting, dude.”

“Kat? Answer me!”

She was shaking and sobbing, but somehow his words penetrated her scrambled brain. “Um, o-okay.”

“Good girl.” Snatching her hand, he led her toward the stairs. Now that he didn’t have to worry about her, his mind was free to worry about his folks.

* * *

Kat watched as the command van sped out of the compound followed by two black SUVs. Beside her, Jake put his arm around her shoulders. “Everything is going to be fine, Kat. Come on. Let’s go inside. It’ll be an hour or so before they get there, and we’ll hear everything when they do.”

She’d been adamant about listening in on the rescue along with Jake. It’d been decided he would stay behind to watch Kat, along with Murray, the compound’s daytime guard, and one of Chase Dixon’s men. The other two contract agents had gone with the rest of the Trident team and Carter. Since Jake’s dominant eye was still covered by the patch, the black-ops spy was taking his place as team sniper. Jake wasn’t too happy about missing the rescue, but he knew he might be a hindrance, and Kat needed guarding, too.

Thankfully, Kristen, Angie, and Jenn were on their way to a book promotion at a Barnes & Noble in Spring Hill, about an hour north of Tampa. Since Angie had designed the book cover for
Leather & Lace
, Kristen’s publisher had thought it would be great idea for her to appear with the author. They’d invited Jenn to be their paid gofer for the day, and she’d switched shifts at the pub so she could join them. The three women had left an hour before Boomer had gotten the call from his mother, so they had no idea what was going down. Ian and Devon preferred it that way. No point in worrying them if it wasn’t necessary. Hopefully the excitement would all be over before they returned later in the afternoon.

Beau trotted after Kat as she followed Jake into the offices. The team had opted to leave the trained canine behind as extra security for Kat. The only other person in the compound, besides the two guards, was Trident’s secretary, Colleen, who looked up as the other two approached her desk. “Don’t worry, Kat. These guys know their stuff and they’re the best.”

“I know.” She gave the younger woman a small smile. “I just won’t be able to relax until I hear from Benny that everyone’s okay.”

“Can I get you something? Tea, maybe?”

Kat shook her head. “No, thanks. My stomach’s a mess and that’ll just make it worse.”

“Why don’t you go upstairs and lay down for a bit,” Jake told her. “You’re pale and I don’t want you getting sick on me.” She was about to object, but he held up his hand, stopping her. “I promise, I’ll come get you when they get there. There’s nothing any of us can do until then. Please, Kat? Don’t make me get my bullwhip.”

While Kat gaped at him, Colleen snorted, which earned her a stern look from the Dom. She just grinned at him, knowing he’d been teasing the other woman. “He’s just messing with you, Kat. Just threaten to mother him until his patch is removed and he’ll run in the other direction. Women scare him.”

“Keep it up, little one, and I’ll be on the phone to your Dom. Reggie will be more than happy to tan your hide tonight.”

The secretary giggled. They both knew Colleen loved to get spanked by her Master. “Yes, Sir.”

Turning back to Kat, Jake pointed to the stairs. “All kidding aside, please go lay down for a bit, Kat. Take Beau with you. As soon as I hear them nearing the house, I’ll come get you.”

She grumbled, but headed for the staircase, her eyes feeling heavy from the stress. “Bossy Doms.
Heir
, Beau.”