Chapter Nine
This wasn’t a dream. There really was someone kissing her neck. Rai opened her eyes and smiled up into Tannin’s handsome face. “What a nice way to wake up. How long did we sleep?”
“Who cares?” He switched from feathery kisses to tiny bites along her collarbone.
She hadn’t only been dreaming of Tannin and his magical mouth. Images of Tiffany and her family flashed inside Rai’s mind, followed by those of her other staff. People who had no hand in this mess, but would be affected by it, nonetheless. Would the FBI make sure the staff was all right? What would happen to everyone once Vito’s men realized she’d fled?
“What’s wrong?” Tannin’s voice and eyes were filled with concern.
“Nothing.” She forced a smile to her face. “Where were we?”
“You’re a terrible liar. Did anyone ever tell you that?”
Only since grade school. “A few times.”
He sat up, pulling her with him. “What’s on your mind?”
“I don’t want to ruin this night for you.”
“You won’t. Talk to me.”
“I have a large staff. Most of them have been with me since the beginning. They have families. They…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Understanding dawned on his face. “Who else did you call this morning?”
“No one. Only the FBI.”
“What about your attorneys? The ones Vito told you to fire?”
“I never fired the firm. I’ve been stalling all this time.”
“Do the FBI have the names of your staff and those attorneys?”
“Yes. They have everything.”
“Then let them take care of it.”
Tears spilled over her lashes. She had no idea what had come over her earlier, but as the reality of what she’d done tonight sank in, she seriously questioned her sanity. Who does that? Who hops into bed with the first cute guy they meet, while running from the Mob?
“Oh, God.” Rai scooted off the bed and began to pace the room. “What the fuck am I going to do? I can’t use my phone. I don’t dare open my email. What’s going to happen to my company? What’s going to happen to my staff and their families? Tannin, will they be killed? Have I put everyone I know and care about in danger by running?”
This tall, muscled biker dude crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair, sending shivers down her spine. It was such a sweet, protective gesture, and it floored her.
“We don’t have enough answers yet for you to make a plan.”
“A plan? Running was my plan.”
“You’re not in this alone.”
“I know. That’s what I’ve been telling you.”
“I mean you’re not alone anymore.”
“Only because I’ve involved your club as well.”
“Give us time to get more information.”
“What information? From whom?”
“We know people.”
“You mean you know Mob people.”
He hesitated too long for there to be any other answer than the one he finally gave her.
“Yes.”
She pulled out of his embrace to look into his eyes. “Vito’s people? Tell me the truth, Tannin. I gave you my trust. I gave you a lot of personal information. I gave you my body. I deserve the truth in return.”
“Relax! I agree with you.”
“Don’t tell me to relax. Answer my question.”
“Don’t boss me around, lady!”
Rai took a couple of deep breaths. Getting into an argument with this guy would not help. “Please answer my question. Are you talking about Vito’s people?”
For a few seconds, she was certain he would refuse to answer, but his expression finally softened. “No. Not Vito. A man named Donny Messina.”
“I never heard that name.”
“Well he knows Vito, and they aren’t friends. We also know Vito. We’ve had run-ins before with some of his people and an MC called Outlaw Dogs. That’s the reason we now have Donny’s protection.”
“Oh, fuck me. Are you serious? I’m hiding out in a strip club run by bikers, who are under the protection of Vito’s rival Mob boss? Is this a fucking Netflix pilot?”
“The average citizen might be very surprised to learn how infiltrated the corporate world is by the Mob. It’s been going on in this country for nearly a century, after all.”
She ran a hand through her hair. It was sticky. The entire room reeked of sex, reminding her of the wanton behavior she’d exhibited earlier. She should regret it, but she didn’t. What the hell had been in that sandwich? “And this information that someone is finding out … who and what exactly are we talking about?”
“Let us worry about that, okay?”
“And who’s going to worry about my staff? Who is taking care of them?”
He didn’t answer, and she knew why. There was nothing any of them could do right now. If she hadn’t run, she’d likely be dead already. At least while she was alive she could try to help the others. And if this Donny Messina had information the FBI could use…
“Thank you, Tannin.”
His expression grew wary. “For what?”
“For everything. For taking me in, for trying to help me, and for tonight.”
Emotions crossed his face so quickly she couldn’t process any of them. They gazed into each other’s eyes for long moments before he kissed her again. This time, it was tender, but it was still hot as hell and her body responded in an instant.
“Haven’t you had enough yet?” she asked when he released her mouth and trailed his tongue down her neck.
He moaned softly. “You’re kidding, right? I told you we’re going to fuck often. Get used to it.”
Rai brushed her hands over his back and grabbed his ass. Even the man’s butt had muscles. How did he stay in such great shape? “You mean I have no say-so in this at all?”
The grin he gave her nearly made her come. “You want me to stop?”
“No, smart-ass, I do not. I was teasing.”
“You’re getting quite mouthy. Not sure if I like that.”
Delicious shivers ran down her spine. “What are you going to do about it?”
His brows shot up. “Tan your ass red and then fuck you into next week.”
She swallowed hard as erotic images danced through her head. “I have a question about that. About the spanking.”
“What is it?”
“What if it’s too much? I mean, seriously? What if I can’t handle it?”
“There’s only one way to find out, Rai.” He brushed a hand down her back and over her ass cheeks. “Wait here a second.”
Before she could answer, he left the room. She peeked into the hallway and was surprised when he went into the room across from hers. When he returned, he carried a leather flogger.
“You weren’t kidding.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Did you put me here on purpose? Across the hall from you?”
“It was empty.”
“Okay. We’ll go with that.” She brushed her hand across the leather tails. “It’s soft.”
“It’s a beginner one. How about this? I’ll give you three swats with it, as hard as I can, and then we’ll be able to tell how many you can handle in a row this first time.”
That sounded reasonable. “I imagine spanking someone bare-handed hurts your hand.”
He held up his right hand, palm facing her. “Does this look like the hand of a man who isn’t used to hard work or injuries?”
She traced the tats on his forearm with one finger, moving to the calluses and healed bruises across his palm and fingers. “No. It looks like a road map.”
A soft chuckle led to goosebumps breaking out over her arms. “Yeah. Exactly. I think I can handle spanking you bare-handed, but since you have no experience with this, I thought you’d enjoy this, too. I also have straps and paddles, if you’d prefer something different.”
Jesus. Those words sent a gush of wetness to her pussy. “Let’s start with this and your hand first.” Though, it would still hurt. And that realization made her nipples tingle. How did this man have the ability to arouse her like this, and under such dire circumstances? Why are you analyzing it?
Tannin kissed her again, and this time it was rough and hard. She moaned loudly and wrapped her arms around his strong body, while he grasped the backs of her thighs and lifted her up as if she weighed nothing. How fucking strong was he? She hugged his hips with her thighs.
Dear God in heaven. This man had a power over her she neither understood nor believed, but his dick pressing into her clit was real. The fact that he carried her to the bed like this was real. And the intense desire flooding her senses was real.
When he released her legs, she wasn’t standing for very long because he took a seat and bent her over his left knee so quickly she became dizzy for a second. “Oh, Rai. This is so fucking sexy.” Tannin caressed her ass cheeks. “Spread your legs a bit.”
She did as he asked, and was treated to him pushing two fingers into her wetness. “That’s what I thought I’d find. Are you always this horny?”
“Only around you.”
He chuckled softly as he finger-fucked her, slow and deep. “Is that so? Let’s see if we can’t get you even wetter.”
No sooner had he removed his fingers than the most delicious burn covered her ass cheeks as he delivered three stinging blows with an open palm to both cheeks, one after the other.
“Holy shit!” Rai tried to squirm away, but he held her down tightly with his right leg and left arm.
“That’s what they will feel like with my hand.” He returned to teasing her pussy with those fingers, and now he also thumbed her clit at the same time. She moaned again as a climax began to build, but he removed his hand before she had a chance to come.
“Stand up and bend over the bed.”
She did as he asked, and gasped as he struck her ass cheeks with the leather. “Oh my…
“What do you think?”
“It’s much different than your hand, but it still stings. No, that’s not quite right. It’s more like getting hit with something heavy.”
“A thudding sensation.”
“Yes. That’s it.”
He brushed the falls over her back and ass, lulling her into a false sense of security, because when he struck her with the flogger again, she cried out in pleasure.
“How many swats with this would you like, Rai?”
No clue. “Ten?”
“You have to take them all.”
“All right.”
“I mean it. Don’t move. I don’t want to accidentally hurt you.”
“I won’t move.”
This was so damn sexy! Even though she wasn’t bound, she stayed still because she loved the sensation of the leather on her skin. When he stopped, her ass cheeks burned, but the pain was more pleasurable than hurtful.
“Ready to be spanked for real?”
That voice! “Yes.”
He had her back over his knee in seconds. “Your ass is nice and pink. It’s so fucking beautiful.”
“I had no idea it would be like this.”
She moaned softly as he brushed his hand over her soaking wet labia, his thumb teasing her swollen clit. “How many shall I give you on each side, Rai?”
“I don’t know.” Just let me come … please!
“Not an acceptable answer. I need a number.”
His fingers drove her to distraction as he slid them inside her pussy again. She writhed against the touch, begging for release. “What if I can’t handle the number I choose?”
“Tough shit. You get them. All of them. So choose wisely.”
“You’re a sadist.”
“No shit.” He slid a finger into her asshole, and Rai gasped as tiny contractions fluttered inside her pussy. The most incredible fullness settled in her groin. She was floating. “Give me a number, Rai.”
His voice was so coaxing and sexy. She had to hear it. She had to have his fingers and his cock inside her. Three swats had burned like crazy, and her ass still glowed with warmth from the flogger, but surely she could handle more than three. Ten? Was that enough? Would he laugh at such a low number? He hadn’t laughed at the ten swats with the flogger. She had no frame of reference here.
The only certainties were the way Tannin played her body like a violin, and the fact that he was so far under her skin already, Rai had no clue how she’d deal with the loss once this was over. So why not enjoy all she could while it lasted?
“Twenty.”
“Really?” Oh fuck. He was surprised. She’d chosen too high a number. “Are you sure?”
He’d given her an out. She should take it. The two intelligent brain cells that still synapsed told her to lower it, but those fingers sliding in and out of her pussy and ass, plus massaging her swollen clit, won out. She wanted everything Tannin could give her.
“Yes. I’m positive. I want a good, hard spanking, Tannin.”