“You lied to me, Dr. Androghetti.”

I blinked at the angry man standing in the hallway outside my condominium. He was dressed in dark jeans, a white button down dress shirt with his badge hooked on his waistband. I could see the outline of his shoulder holster under his dark jacket, the color matching his current mood.

I peered over his shoulder. “How did you get up here?”

“I flashed my badge to your doorman.” He shifted forward into the open space of the doorway, his body language aggressive and confrontational. I fought the urge to take a step towards him and close the distance. He was compelling when he was in my orbit but add on the energy created by his anger and everything in my body responded. Damn it. “Can I come in? We need to talk about your loose understanding of the truth.”

I stood to the side, extending my arm in the universal gesture of welcome and closed the door behind him. My condominium was spacious, two bedrooms and baths, large living spaces and an enormous balcony overlooking the glittering DC skyline but Aiden Cross made it feel small. He dominated my space, his granite hardness contrasting with the comfortable lush setting I’d paid a decorator a lot of money to create.

He scanned my home, his eyes taking in all the details and lingering over the personal photographs and details which made this space uniquely mine. It didn’t take long but I knew in my gut that he hadn’t missed much. Aiden was smart and I knew that he was as good at parsing out what made people tick as I was. Different jobs, different education but we were both experts on piecing together the human puzzle.

He turned to face me and his gaze was full of comprehension, anger, and fear. A shudder ran through me at my own recognition of that emotion. I was also afraid, not of him, but of how he could splay me open and take me apart if I let him. I think I wanted it but I was unconvinced that it was a good idea.

“We found Davina Marsden,” Detective Cross said, taking me off-guard with the unexpected turn in our conversation.

Relief hit me and I felt it spread over my skin in a wave of goosebumps. I rubbed my hands over my arms, feeling the silk of my blouse warm with the friction. “I’m so glad. Is she okay?”

“She has minor injuries and was in shock but I think she’ll be okay.” He watched me closely, clearing weighing what he was going to share with me. “We found her with a woman named Evie Staller in a hotel in the suburbs of Maryland.”

“She was with Evie?” I remembered the young woman, a lobbyist in the energy sector. Tall and blonde, she was sharp-eyed and calculating in the best way possible to make it in DC.

“You know her?”

I nodded. “She’s a lobbyist and works with Nathan.” I hesitated to confess what else I knew about her but his expression told me that he probably already knew it. I scoured my brain for any reason to continue to keep any secrets for Nathan. If Evie was in the middle of this, the gig was up. “She applied for membership at Club D but was turned down because a member objected.”

“Let me guess, Senator Marsden?”

“No. Mrs. Marsden. She said that Evie was having an affair with Nathan. She stated that her interactions with her husband had violated their prior agreements and that Evie didn’t respect the parameters of their lifestyle. We all voted to reject Evie’s application for membership.”

“A husband fucking around on his wife with a younger woman? That sounds like a personal problem, not a problem voted on by a board,” he said, hands on his hips, displaying his badge and gun in a blatant power play. It was intimidating and sexy and I was distracted by the hardness of his body underneath the material of his shirt and the mouth-watering bulge in his jeans. Detective Cross was all kinds of my catnip and I’d forgotten just how powerful the pull of desire was between us until he’d walked in and invaded my space.

“It is personal until the Club Board recognizes that the proposed member could disrupt the rest of the membership. Our lifestyle is personal choice and involves a commitment between the couple or polyamorous group but the Club is an entity that has to recognize that our entire lifestyle is built on respect and trust. Not all lifestyle clubs function like Club D but it works for us.”

“I’m trying to understand where all this respect and trust is when your entire organization is about jumping in and out of people’s beds. Doesn’t sound like much of a commitment to me,” he observed, the edge to his voice reminding me that his anger was just bubbling under the surface.

“It takes a lot of trust and respect to share your body with other people and keep what’s sacred protected. Couples who live the lifestyle have to create boundaries and open lines of communication, otherwise jealousy can destroy it all in a minute. That’s takes commitment, Detective.”

“I need you to finally come clean with me Dr. Androghetti. My death toll on this case is now doubled.”

I gaped at him, not really understanding what he meant. “But you said that Davina was fine.”

“Evie Staller is dead. Shot by Davina with the gun we think she used to kill Nathan Marsden. Davina kidnapped Evie and killed her early this morning.” He reached in his back pocket and pulled out his handcuffs. I took a step back and he advanced on me. “So why don't you stop lying to me or keeping whatever secret you’re keeping before I arrest you for interfering with a police investigation.”

I eyed the cold silver object in his hand, the metallic clank of the cuffs reverberating in my body as a delicious shiver of anticipation. I licked my lips and his fingers clenched around them. He made a sound, something low and guttural, living somewhere between a growl and groan of pain. I snapped my gaze to his and the anger-laced need in them made me retreat. He advanced on me and I stumbled back, my legs bumping into the arm chair I’d placed next to the front entrance.

Detective Cross invaded my personal space, his body heat radiating his anger and frustration and lust. I leaned into him, my body ignoring the signals in my brain which tried to penetrate the desire-haze and get me away from this man. He was everything I wanted and nothing that would be good for me. Our bodies connected, my hardened nipples brushing against his chest with every one of my rapid exhales. Aiden leaned down, his face close to mine, our breaths mingling intimately.

He groaned, his eyes shutting for the briefest moment before they flashed open, the blue almost obliterated by their dilation. His brows furrowed for a split second betraying the last vestige of his indecision.

“Oh, fuck this,” he said, reaching out with one hand to spin me around. Before I knew it both of my arms were captured behind my back and the cold metal of the handcuffs tightened around my wrists. The final snap of the lock excited me and I whimpered, a visceral involuntary reaction to his power over me. “Maybe you need an incentive to stop jerking me around?” He pulled on the cuffs, bringing me back into contact with the hard length of his body. “Last chance before I take you down to the station.” Another tug on the cuffs and I pushed my ass back against him, causing his next question to stutter. “What didn’t you tell me?”

His breath was hot on my neck, his lips brushing against my earlobe and I had to force myself to concentrate on the question.

“Nathan approached me outside of the third agreement I had with him and Davina. He wanted to have an affair and I said no.” I swallowed hard, trying not to press back against him but I tugged on the cuffs enough to feel their confinement. I took a steadying breath but I couldn’t erase the gravel that scratched at every word. “I said no and then I terminated our third agreement.”

He cursed and spun me around, not letting go of my wrists. In this position, we were pressed together from chest to thigh and neither one of us struggled to increase the distance between us. I looked up at him, my heels closing the gap between us but he was still taller, a towering bulk of muscle and man taking up all the available space.

“So, Senator Marsden wanted to fuck you? He wanted you all to himself?” He examined my face, the wicked grin tugging at his mouth incongruous with the unleashed anger that made his muscles tremor. “I don’t blame him. I don’t like to share either.” He leaned in even closer and this time his words were spoken against my lips, each syllable laced with the sharp tang of forbidden lust. “I knew you were lying to me and I still wanted you.”

“And you don’t want me anymore?’ The words were sliding over my tongue before my brain could censor. Laced with honeyed seduction, they were calculated to make something happen here that I didn’t know if either of us was ready for.

“I shouldn’t.”

I recalled what he’d said the first time we’d met. “Because I’m a dangerous woman.”

“Fuck yeah, you are,” Aiden leaned down closer, his lips brushing over mine before he pulled back slightly. “I’m going to do something really stupid here. Speak now if you don’t want my hands all over you.”

I stared at him, taking a moment to weigh my options but there was really only one choice. I tugged at the cuffs. “Leave these on.”

“Goddam,” he huffed out on the last breath before his mouth covered mine.

His kiss was not gentle and he was in total control. Aiden kept a tight hold on the handcuffs, keeping my arms pulled taut behind me and my body wedged between his body and the chair. I leaned into the connection, trying to take my own turn at dominance but he was having none of it.

He tasted of coffee and mint and a musky maleness that made me chase his lips every time he pulled away to take a breath or adjust the angle. I couldn’t do much more than open to him, arching into his touch, urging him with my movements to fulfil his promise and put his hands on me. Aiden pulled back and laughed, dark and rough with his own power.

“You want something?” I glared up at him, a move that only made his lips twist in a smile that only be described as devilishly evil. I shivered with almost giddy anticipation. This guy was so bad for me and I loved it. “You want me to touch you, Doc? Here?” His rough fingers grazed the skin on my neck, tracing a path down to my collarbone, lingering over the “V” of my blouse. “Here? That feels good, right?”

“It could feel better, you bastard,” I gritted out.

“I think you need to tell me what you want, Doc. I don’t have special head-shrinking powers like you do.”

“Fuck you.” His attitude was pissing me off and making me hotter for him. That pissed me off even more.

“I’d love to fuck you, Doc. Bury my dick so deep in your pussy and keep you wet all night long.” He ran a fingertip along the edge of blouse, dipping in to tease the curve of my breast. I whimpered and pressed my body against his touch. “But you’ve got to use your words first.”

I gave in on a growl. “I want you to touch my breast, pinch my nipple. Suck on it. Bite it.” I licked my lips. “Do it now.”

“Next time I’ll make you ask nicely,” he said before he released the top two buttons on my blouse and roughly shoved my bra to the side.

The colder air of the room hit my flesh for the briefest second before his mouth was on my nipple and all there was was wet and heat and the rough velvet of his tongue.

“Jesus,” I moaned, thrusting myself deeper into his mouth as he sucked in a slow and steady rhythm. My breasts were sensitive, his attention increasing the wetness slicking my thighs under my skirt. I squeezed my legs together, trying to create some friction to get me off.

Because I really fucking needed to get off. Detective Cross had wound me up since the moment I’d met him and this was just the culmination of a week of foreplay.

He pulled off my tit with a pop and looked up at me from under the fringe of dark lashes. His cheeks were ruddy with arousal underneath his stubble, lips swollen with our kisses but it was his smile that took my already ragged breath.

“Get on your knees, Doc.”

* * *

I reached for my belt, unbuckling it as I watched her process my demand.

I undid the button and lowered the zipper, tracking her eyes as they dropped to my crotch. I stopped my progress, reaching out to put a finger under chin to make her look at me.

“If you want my cock, you need to get on your knees.”

She stared at me and I counted the seconds, hoping that I hadn’t pushed her too far. Carla Androghetti pushed every fucking button I had and this was not where I’d expected this go. I’d come to her apartment, half determined to arrest her and now all I could think about was having her mouth, or any part of her, on my dick.

I let out a long breath of relief when she eased down, astoundingly beautiful and graceful as she executed the move in the incredibly expensive fuck-me heels she was wearing. Her right breast was still bared to me, wet with my saliva and I rolled the taste of her over my tongue. She settled herself on the floor, pausing for a moment before she squared her shoulders and raised her head to look me in the eye.

Breathtaking. Mesmerizing. Way-out-of-my-league-fucking-beautiful. Dark eyes, golden skin, curves everywhere. Jesus, she made me hurt all over.

I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my jeans and my underwear, pulling them both down to expose my cock. Carla dropped her eyes again, licking her lips at the sight of my penis and I groaned, grabbing myself in a firm grip and pumping it slowly. I reached out with my free hand, tipping her face back up again to make her look at me.

“I want you to suck me. I’m gonna fuck your mouth so good.” I shifted forward, teasing her lips with the tip of my cock.

She opened, her tongue reaching out to swipe at the head. I needed no further invitation. I slid my length inside, gritting my teeth at the wet, slippery heat inside. I withdrew, easing back inside she dropped her jaw, opening wider for me and dropping her head back slightly to allow me easier entrance.

“Fuck. So sweet,” I groaned, mesmerized at the sight of my cock, slick with her spit and glistening in the light from the nearby lamp before it disappeared inside her heat. Carla moaned, my balls tightened at the sound that vibrated around my length. “Yes. Take it.”

I slid my hand around her neck, holding her in place as I thrust my hips forward, enjoying the feel of the suction as she drew me inside. My dick slid in deeper and she choked a little and I pulled out, running my fingertips across her hair in a soothing caress. Carla’s eyes opened to gaze up at me, dark eyes shimmering with the unshed tears of lust and surrender.

“Why did you lie to me? Were you afraid to tell tales on your lover?” She shook her head in denial and I ran a finger down her cheek, ending at the side of her mouth, stretched around me. I pulled out, grazing her swollen lips with the head, asking the question I needed to have answered more than anything. Beyond my own understanding of why I needed to know. “Did you love him? Nathan?”

Her answer was fast but not rushed, voice hoarse from our sex. “No. I just fucked him.”

“That’s cold.”

“It didn’t mean I didn’t care about him. I liked him enough to let him touch me. It’s not something I offer up to just anyone.” She tilted her head up in a gesture of pride and defiance. Even on her knees, she would not demean herself in ways that truly mattered. I liked that about her. I didn’t understand her or her lifestyle but I respected her unapologetic defense of it.

“So, lucky me,” I drawled, dragging my thumb along her bottom lip.

“You have no idea,” she said before she leaned forward and swallowed me down to the root.

I gasped, my hips thrusting forward involuntarily as I raced for the pleasure she promised with her lips and teeth and tongue. She kept her eyes on me, sucking me with a sweet, dirty enjoyment that had my orgasm sparking to life in the base of spine. Three more thrusts and it raced through me and I shot into her mouth, down her throat as I grasped her face with both my hands and used her.

Stars behind my eyes, lightning in my blood. Fucking heaven.

Carla moaned, struggling against the cuffs, the metallic clank of the restraints mixing with my groans and her gasps for breath. I pulled out of her, yanking her to her feet and taking her mouth in a kiss filled with more brutality than finesse. Tasting of her unique sweetness and my own come was pure sin and darkness.

She made me crazy, this entire scene feeding the insanity of desire I’d developed for her since the moment I’d laid eyes on her. Arrogant and self-possessed, it made no sense but I’d been determined to have her since I’d learned that she shared her body in a way that defied conventional commitment or relationship.

The thought that she had been and would be on her knees with anyone else made me irrationally possessive.

Releasing her from my kiss, I moved behind her, grasping the cuffs in my hand to maneuver her towards the back of her couch. I bent her at the waist over the back, spreading her legs apart as I dropped to my knees behind her. I lifted my hands, shaky as they were and dragged her skirt up and over her ass, removing her panties to expose her sex to me.

“Aiden, please,” she begged and I wasted no time in giving her what she craved and what I fucking thirsted for.

I spread her cheeks, burying my face in her pussy and eating her out with ruthless determination. I wanted her to come, I wanted to feel her come apart and know that I did that to her and I’d fool myself into thinking that it was the best orgasm she’d ever had. Why I felt the need to fight the shadows of her other bed partners was a thought I chased away by sucking her clit and sliding two fingers into her pussy.

Carla writhed against the couch and then back against my face and I groaned, slapping her ass with my free hand.

“Be still or I’ll stop,” I nipped at her rounded ass, liking the reddened mark that I knew would be there tomorrow. “Don’t move and I’ll get you off.”

“Make me come you bastard. Stop teasing,” she growled over her shoulder, her eyes flashing through the fall of hair partially obscuring her face.

“Like I said, next time you’ll ask nicely,” I said before I lowered my head and ate at her clit, licking and sucking her pussy as her thighs trembled with her effort to remain still and follow my directions.

I rewarded her by keeping up the tempo, wetting my thumb in the slickness of her slit and rubbing into the rim of her anus. Carla cried out and I pushed in, breaching her hole up to my knuckle and she came. She ground her pussy against my face, her breathing reduced to pants punctuated by a verbal torrent of filthy nonsense.

I rose to my feet, draping my body over hers where she rested against the couch. She pushed back against me and my half-hard cock rubbed against the wet softness of her sex. I leaned forward, burying my face in the sweet spot of her shoulder, inhaling the lemon scent of her hair while enjoying the silk of it against my face. Her breathing slowed along with mine and we floated in the silence of the room. Lust and anger disappeared with the softening of my penis and the cooling of the sweat on our skin. The impact of what I’d done hit me right between the eyes.

I was a cop. She was . . . I wasn’t sure what she was to the case anymore but this was not how I was supposed to use my badge.

“Fuck,” I whispered my regret against her skin and she stiffened underneath me. She tried to buck me off, trying to squirm out from underneath me. I pressed down to subdue her, to control her movements but she increased the strength powering her movements. I lifted up as she stood, glaring at me over her shoulder.

“Take these fucking cuffs off me.” Carla shoved her hands towards me.. “Now, dammit.”

I hefted my jeans up and reached inside my pocket for the keys. I unlocked the handcuffs barely having time to slide them off her wrists before she wrenched away and rubbed the red marks left on her skin and yanked down her skirt. I watched her warily, re-fastening my jeans and belt before taking a step towards her.

She stood her ground and one of her hands whipped out in front in the universal signal for “don’t even fucking think about it”.

“Carla . . . Doc . . . I’m”

“If you fucking say you’re sorry I will slap you,” she thrust her head towards the door. “Don’t ruin my post-come bliss by being a fucking coward. You wanted it and you took it. Get out.”

I stared at her, feeling like multiple levels of some kind of shithead. I couldn’t tell if she was pissed because she also regretted what had just gone down or she was pissed at my reaction. Either way, she wasn’t going to let me hang around to find out.

When she turned her back on me I had some kind of answer. I walked out the door, closing it firmly behind me.