“Let’s begin again, detective. I’m here because you want me here.”
“I…”
“Don’t worry. I know what you want. I’ve known since the moment we met.”
This moment was surreal. He sat across from me, looking every inch the picture of a cat who got its cream. I couldn’t decide if I would enjoy being lapped up by him or not.
We were across from each other, only a table separating us. This time, I was the one strapped to the chair. Rope circled my body, holding me fast.
This was supposed to be my bust. I’d planned to catch a killer, but this very smart killer caught me.
Unfortunately, my miscalculation had placed me in a very precarious position.
“I will say, I was impressed with the steps you took to find me. I almost didn’t bother showing myself, but the effort couldn’t be wasted.”
I grimaced. I bit back my sarcastic thanks. He tsked then pouted as he leaned forward.
“But I have to punish you for trying to hurt me.”
The absolute relish on his face made my stomach ache. He wanted to punish me and I turned my mind away from the ways I longed for him to do it.
He lifted a small box and sat it on the table. It was a little bigger than a jewelry’s ring box.
“You see, I recognize your efforts and desires.” He opened the box and my mind froze. “I have the utmost admiration for you, detective. Please accept this… token.”
A finger, cut down to the second joint, was nestled in the black velvet.
“What did you do?”
I could barely speak around my suddenly raw throat. My words were barely above a whisper.
“Oh, nothing too damaging. Mick was quite resistant to me taking you so I had to take measures to remind you both of what I’m capable of.”
Oh god. My mind shorted out. What did he do to Mick? Fuck me, please tell me I didn’t get him killed with this stupid idea.
“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to kill him yet.” My throat threatened to seize up again. “That is a subject for another day. Today is for something else.”
He stood and circled the table to stand over me. My mind roiled as his scent hit me.
The knife appeared in his hand out of nowhere, slicing through the rope and forcing my heart rate into a gallop so fast I grew light headed.
When he’d freed me, leaving my hands bound, he lifted me from the chair and bent me over the table.
Fuck. Fuck me. I was wet and gasping, those desires burbling up with little effort. Death was a real possibility for me, my partner could already be dead, and I still couldn’t control my fantasies.
“I want to remind you that I’ll always have a place in your mind, detective.”
He cut away my jeans, sliced through my underwear, and cut a long line up the back of my shirt. I was bare from my shoulders down to my knees, and had to grit my teeth to keep from lifting my ass up for him.
“I can scent how much you long for me.” He leaned in, his nose brushing my low back, sending a rush of goosebumps along my skin. “But I want to give you something else.”
His thighs pressed into the back of mine, bringing his hips in line with my ass. I stifled a moan and kept my hips against the table.
“You were very bad, but this will make it all right. Won’t it?”
I felt the serrated edge of the knife between my shoulder blades. He started a line and the pain took my breath for a moment.
“Won’t it, detective?”
His pelvis pressed into my ass and I couldn’t hold back my tortured moan.
“Yes.” I bite my lip as he carved another line, tears forming in my eyes. “Yes.”