“I got something fresh about an hour ago.”
That perked the Brit up. “Really? Enlighten me.”
Axel set his pervertables down on the counter and whipped out his phone again, then brought up the picture Joaquin had sent him. “Julia Mullins at the place of her death, less than an hour prior. She wasn’t alone.”
Powell peered at the picture. “Who is the man with her?”
“No idea.”
“He doesn’t look familiar to me, either.”
That wasn’t great news. It also wasn’t unexpected. “I definitely plan to ask Aunt Gail in the morning if she knows who her sister might have been close to back then. But . . .” Axel grimaced. “I’m torn about showing it to Mystery. She might have information.”
“She also might start a one-woman crusade to catch her mother’s killer.”
“Exactly.”
Heath shrugged. “Well, I think we show her. Then we’ll have to contain Mystery and do our best to solve this murder before the killer comes looking for her.”
And she deserved the truth. Axel agreed. “I don’t see any other plan.”
“I don’t, either. Damn it all.” He rubbed at his dark eyes with his thumb and forefinger. “I’m fucking exhausted.”
“We all are. Go to bed. We’ll tackle this after we’ve all slept.” Axel reached for his makeshift sex toys.
“You’re not going to leave her be tonight?”
Axel shook his head. “If I thought that was best for her, I would. She needs reassurance that I want her above all else. It’s the truth, so it shouldn’t be hard to persuade her. Then I’ll make sure she gets a good night’s sleep. I have a feeling it’s going to be a rough day tomorrow. You taking the parlor down here or the guest room upstairs, across the hall?”
Powell raised a dark brow. “Where will you be?”
“Right beside her.” At least he would be if all went according to plan.
The bodyguard dragged in a breath. “I’ll stay downstairs and keep watch. God knows the last thing I want to hear again is her screaming for you.”
“Does that bother you because you’re in love with her?”
“We’ll talk later.” Heath headed for the exit without answering, then turned to glance at the implements in Axel’s hands. “Be careful of the wooden spoon. It can leave nasty welts.”
“You know that from personal experience?” Somehow, that didn’t surprise Axel much.
The other man didn’t answer, just left in near silence, despite the fact that the hardwood floor creaked with nearly every step.
Once he’d gone and shut the double doors down the hall, Axel headed out of the kitchen, all but tiptoeing up the narrow stairs. Despite its dubious “character,” the old house was homey. He liked it here. When he’d been a kid growing up in a run-down double-wide with three brothers and an alcoholic father, he’d imagined that home looked a lot like this. He loved his place now, and was damn proud of it. But it had never felt like a place to stay forever. It had never felt like a place to share love. And now he was getting sappy as fuck.
With a stupid smile, he reached the top of the stairs, passing a big, decorative cross on the wall flanked by pictures of well-known televangelists Oral Roberts, Jerry Falwell, Peter Grace, and a few others Axel couldn’t identify. Mystery’s aunt clearly believed in her preachers.
Turning away with a shrug, he cracked open the first door on the right. Mystery knelt there, waiting, head bowed, naked and pale in the moonlight.
As he set the cutting board and other goodies on the nearby dresser, his breath caught. “Princess . . .”
“Axel.”
He crouched down to her and lifted her chin. She blinked, her eyes opening, focusing on him. They stared at each other in silence. Mystery reached into his chest and tugged on his heart. The uncertainty in her hazel eyes got to him, the yearning for love, the crash of desire all struck resonating notes inside him.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“I’m not.” She tried to drop her gaze.
He gripped her chin, refusing to let her. “You are, and I won’t hear arguments otherwise. Understand?”
A little smile tipped the corners of her lips. “Yes, Axel.”
“Hmm, when you go submissive that sweet voice of yours wraps around my cock.” He held out a hand to her. “Stand.”
Mystery allowed him to help her to her feet and looked around the room, a bit lost, like she wasn’t sure what to do next.
“Relax,” he instructed. “I’ll let you know what I want. You tell me if you can’t handle something. Easy breezy. Just us being us together in whatever way feels good, yeah?”
She nodded and released a breath, along with visible stress. “Yeah.”
“Good. Bend over the side of the bed for me. Stretch your arms up, head to one side. Plant your feet apart.”
She moved slowly, as if she tried to picture the pose in her head. After a long moment, she arranged herself exactly as he’d instructed, then looked to him for reassurance.
Axel gave it readily. “That’s it. What’s your safe word?”
“Red.”
“Good.” He bent over the bed, getting down to eye level with her. “This punishment is as much for you as it is for me. I need to know that you understand that running from me without communicating isn’t acceptable. If something bothers you, we talk. Vice versa. I also need to make it crystal clear that as long as you’re in danger, you don’t leave half your protection to lick your wounds.”
“I know it was stupid,” she admitted. “I was upset. I jumped to conclusions—”
“Understandable, given what your mom went through. I’m not punishing you for thinking it or wondering or worrying. I need to be clear about that. This is all about you leaving without talking to me. We could have cleared this up with a conversation. Now it’s going to take a whole lot more.”
Mystery nodded. “I’m sorry. By the time Heath cut the lights and we left out the back, I was having second thoughts. Once we got outside and the door locked behind us, it was too late.”
Axel stroked her soft curls. “I’m glad to know you were already reconsidering before you’d even gone. Want to tell me why you didn’t call me or answer your phone during the drive? Even your dad tried to call.”
She winced. “Shit. Oh, he’s going to be worried. And mad.”
“He wasn’t the only one. You’d better get used to having another overprotective male in your life.”
“Yeah . . . I think I left my phone back at Dominion. Damn it.”
And Axel doubted Heath would have been in a hurry to lend her his phone so she could call the competition. Shithead. “I’ll find out in a few hours.”
“Thanks.” She obviously sensed the end of the conversation and stiffened.
He petted her back, fingers gliding down her spine. “Deep breath. In.” He waited until she complied. “Out. Good . . . Close your eyes.”
Mystery did exactly as he bid, her lashes fluttering shut. “Now?”
“Clear your head and focus on me. Don’t open your eyes. Latch onto my voice. I’m here.”
She nodded, but before he could correct her, she murmured, “Yes, Axel.”
Blowing out a breath, he centered himself and retrieved the wooden spoon from the dresser. He rested his palm on the small of her back as he leaned over her beautiful supine curves and bent to press his lips to her ear. “You’re going to be very quiet. No matter what, don’t make a sound. I don’t think you want your aunt to know that I’m punishing you.”
“No,” she muttered, sounding so regretful.
Axel understood the submissive need to please and the inherent sadness when she knew she hadn’t. “And then we’ll put this behind us, right?”
“I hope so.” Her voice nearly broke.
“Shh, we will. Count with me.”
Before she could question what he meant, Axel stood tall and flipped on the little lamp on the nightstand. With a glance back, he ensured th
e door to the bedroom was closed. He noticed that Mystery had already shut the curtains. They were completely, blessedly alone.
He raised his arm over her ass, hovering a moment to judge her posture, take in her tender, unblemished skin. He wasn’t much of a sadist, but he did love the idea of leaving his marks on her—something she could remember him by every time she sat, something he’d recall when she stripped for him again. But he also refused to lose sight of the fact that she was a novice and he couldn’t frighten her away.
With one last brush of his fingers across the sweet curve of her ass, he lowered the spoon with the other hand—a quick sting before he jerked up again.
“One,” she breathed out.
He struck the fleshy part of her butt again, this time a bit harder, gratified to see the first blush of red spreading across her skin.
“Two.” She squeezed her eyes shut more tightly.
She looked beautiful spread across the bed, at his mercy, but the slow pace drove him fucking mad. He had to change this up.
“Mystery, you’ve done well so far. You don’t have to count anymore.”
At his words, she utterly relaxed, the tension draining from her face, her body, as she let out a long breath.
So she thought they were done? Not even close.
Axel pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled to his playlist. Immediately, the sounds of Nirvana filled the room. Though he kept the volume low, the beat remained steady, something he could zone in to. Perfect.
Matching the pace of the music, he took the spoon in hand again and began whacking her butt in a soft, stinging rhythm. Under his tempered torment, Mystery tensed, grabbed the quilt in her fist, and gasped.
He leaned over her again, taking her long tresses in his grip and urging her up until his lips brushed her ear. “Not a single noise or I add more.”
She nodded frantically, at least as much as his hold allowed. He tested her immediately, standing tall again and whacking her with the spoon. More red bloomed across her ass. He’d nearly covered the width of her backside. The lovely shade of her freshly spanked skin made his cock jerk, and he desperately wanted to cast the spoon aside and lay siege to her bare ass with his palm, but that would make too much noise and wake her aunt. Damn it. The moment he got her alone and naked . . . Axel smiled. Such a beautiful backside needed attention, and he’d give her plenty.
The music segued into a mellower Evanescence tune, and he adjusted the rhythm. He’d lost count. He’d bet she had, too, especially as he watched her body slowly melt into the mattress. Her fists unclenched around the quilt. Her eyes slid shut. Her breathing evened out. Her cheeks began to glow with his ministrations.
Axel smiled. She’d fly off into subspace for him someday. This little torment had merely refocused and calmed her—exactly what she’d needed.
As the song shifted from verse to chorus, Axel set the spoon aside and crawled on the bed over her, rubbing one palm over her heated butt. “How are you feeling?”
“My skin is hot. I feel so alive. It might sound odd but I’m more relaxed. My head is . . .”
“Quieter?” he prompted.
“Yeah.” Her lashes fluttered open, her face glowing. “That’s it.”
Could he want her any more than he did now? Axel didn’t think so. But he wanted to give her an experience that would allow her to put herself entirely in his hands and prove she could trust him. But this was still punishment.
He grabbed the container of rice off the dresser, spread it over the cutting board, and hid the rest of the pervertables. “Stand and face me.”
He waited until she did, then glanced down at the floor. “Kneel on the cutting board.”
She frowned. “Why is it covered in rice?”
“So you’ll remember that running off without telling me what’s troubling you is unacceptable.”
Mystery shrugged, as if assuring herself that rice was plenty benign. Axel merely smiled. She’d find out otherwise quickly enough.
He held out a hand to help her down since he hadn’t found a wide cutting board and kneeling with grace was something completely new to her. On her way down, Mystery glanced up at him, those sultry hazel eyes wide open in thanks.
The second her knees hit the cutting board covered with the hard pellets, she sucked in a breath. Her eyes widened in shock. “What the hell?”
“It’s punishment.”
She nearly choked. “The cruel and unusual kind. The rice digs into your skin. Holy crap!”
“Quiet,” he reminded softly, striking his open palm with the wooden spoon to drive his point home.
“You sure you’re not a sadist?” she hissed.
“No.” But he definitely intended to give her an experience she wouldn’t soon forget. To do that, he needed a few more implements. After a glance around the room, he had an idea or two.
“Stand.”
Relief crossed her face, and when he held out his hand to help her up, she placed her fingers in his palm. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now come over here.” He pointed to the other side of the cutting board, facing away from the bedroom door. Once she’d complied, Axel brushed a hand from her nape to the base of her spine, petting her softly. “Kneel again.”
“Are you kidding me?”
He leaned in with his most intimidating glower and grabbed her chin until they stood nose to nose. “Do I look like I’m kidding?”
Mystery hesitated a long moment, and he wondered what thoughts spun around her head. “What happens if I use my safe word?”
“Then I know you’re unable or unwilling to submit. I’ll back off and leave you alone for the rest of the night.”
She bit her lip, and Axel wanted to take the plump red flesh between his own teeth and give her a playful nip. Hell, he wanted to fuck her into next week, but if all went well now, that would follow.
Finally, she held out her hand to him. As soon as he balanced her, she knelt on the cutting board again, hissing as her knees bore her weight on the little white hard granules.
“Wow, that’s uncomfortable.”
“That’s why it’s punishment.” Axel watched for a moment as she winced and tried to shift her weight, then he decided to throw her a bone. “You know . . . the more you move, the more uncomfortable it is.”
“Staying still is no picnic, either,” she complained. “It’s like kneeling on glass.”
Normally, Axel wouldn’t put up with backtalk and bitching. But she’d endured a lot today, and he had to admit he found her adorable, no matter what she did.
“It’s not supposed to feel like feathers,” he shot back, casting his gaze around in search of a few extras he needed. “Does anyone sleep in this room?”
“No. Aunt Gail lives alone. It used to be my mom’s room when she was a teenager, but it’s all been redone. I think my aunt uses it now as storage and an occasional craft room.”
Which explained the sewing machine, the bolts of fabric, and the shelves of plastic bins filled with stuff he couldn’t possibly explain.
“Anything in the closet?”
Mystery shook her head. “I think she uses it to store her off-season clothes. Why?”
Axel didn’t answer, just prowled to the closet—and found exactly what he needed. He grabbed everything that might prove useful, then curled them in his fist and wrapped them around his hand.