Chapter 11
DAX
Armed with a hammer, Reed stands at the downstairs back door.
“Nice tool, pretty boy. Do you know how to use that thing?” I taunt him. I’m keen to explore his reactions. Every micro expression is a treasure I savor. Toying with him outside the bedroom is as fun as it was inside.
For a moment, I think the call dropped. But through the binocular viewfinder, I see the phone is no longer to his ear.
This game of phone tag has been fun, but it is growing tiresome.
I’m losing precious time while he plays tough guy.
Good thing I know how to cut him down to size and make him compliant.
I call him back. “Bad boy, it’s not nice to hang up on people when they’ve asked you a question,” I say.
I thought scaring him would do the trick.
Beneath the All-American boy good looks, he’s feistier than I gave him credit for.
I also thought getting off would clear my head of horny imaginings starring Reed Thompson, but as soon as his voice came through the speaker of my burner phone, I was right back in my apartment bedroom, him wearing that tight Nova Ranger costume with the rips down the back.
His stronghold on me could screw up this whole heist.
My whole life, even.
If I trusted anyone enough, I might’ve enlisted an accomplice. Two brains are better than one when a job goes sideways. But I learned long ago that I misplace my trust too often, and how would I even explain this?
“I know how to use it,” Reed says, and I refocus.
“Are you prepared to use it?” I ask. As I wait for his answer, my pants tent again.
The battle in a Dom/sub scene between switches has always aroused me.
Reed might not identify as a switch, but he relates too much to Nova Ranger, and a hero never fully cedes his power, even in their darkest moments.
“Why don’t you come in here and find out?” he asks.
What I hear is come in me and fuck. I need to get my head on straight.
Or get head from Reed…
God, I’m like a teenager with these hormones tonight.
Reed’s quivering lips, his widened eyes, that defensive stance. He’s begging for me to tackle him to the ground and pin his hands over his head. Use my body weight to hold him where I want him while I kiss him senseless. Until he’s seeing stars.
I scrub back through my plan. To reset the security system and set the loops, I need to cut the household power from the outside electrical box. Trouble is, Reed’s watching the backyard like a hawk.
If I can convince Reed that I’m already inside, maybe he’ll go hunting for me. It would give me enough time to exit the brush, break across the lawn, and flip the switch for the house’s main disconnect.
“What makes you think I’m not already inside?” I ask, preparing myself to run. I pull my ski mask down over my head and switch out my ghillie suit gloves for rubber gloves in case the electrical panel needs more tinkering with than I expect.
An outdoor light flicks on.
Great. Now I’ve got to toe the line around the pool of light, making my run longer and trickier. Reed has earned himself several more lashings from my belt when I get him over my knee again. If I ever get him over my knee again.
“What makes you think I can’t smell the Peony and Blush body cream you applied after your shower earlier?
” I ask, teasing him some more, hoping he takes the bait.
From my vantage point in the trees, him in the bathroom, all I could do was imagine the heavenly scent.
I am keen to huff it from the crook of his neck before giving him a playful bite or two.
A couple of last marks to remember me by.
“What makes you think I can’t hear your precious heartbeat from where I’m hiding? ”
Third time’s the charm. Reed turns back inside, so I mute my microphone and sprint.
At the electrical panel, I whip out my bolt cutters and turn on my red-tinged headlamp. I undo the padlocks affixed to the breaker door.
“What do you want?” Reed asks.
I school my breathing before I respond. “I told you already…”
“What do you really want?” he asks.
“Everything,” I growl, struggling with the second lock, uncaring if he hears me this time.
“Everything?” Reed asks.
“It would be easier for me to tell you what I don’t really want,” I say.
“Fine. What don’t you want?” he asks.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” I say, drinking up the fear in his voice like it’s a shot of whiskey. It shouldn’t be loosening me up and turning me on as much as it is.
My trickery tickles a spot low in my gut. I’ve sent him on a wild goose chase with no way for him to win. And it damn near delights me. My dick jumps.
“I don’t believe you,” he says.
Fair. I disguise my huffing and puffing as a demeaning laugh. “I said I don’t want to hurt you. I will hurt you, but only if I have to or…” The second lock gives way, dropping to the grass. I pop the door open and grasp for the red lever.
“Or?” Reed asks, barely above a whisper.
“Or you want me to hurt you,” I say slyly before ending the call and pulling the switch.
The house before me is a euthanized beast—dark, quiet, and ready to be plundered.