Make Me (The Club #17) Read online

  Cari leaned forward. "Why? Was she found there?"

  "No. They found her body in a dumpster. Jet has narrowed down the videos of the men Kerry played with but none of their DNA matches the blood they found on Kerry's body. There's a video of one guy in a mask we can't identify."

  "But doesn't The Club have membership to make identification easier?"

  "Yeah but quite a few people wear masks and it becomes hard to tell who is who on the surveillance clips. I've memorized his height, the color of his hair and his walk. You can change the color of your hair but not height or walk. His hands tightened into fists.

  "Let it go, Ryan. It's up to the police to find out who killed Kerry."

  "I can't. If I hadn't left Kerry to go into the army, she'd still be alive. Her death is my fault."

  Cari studied the despair on Ryan's face. One thing had become clear - Ryan wasn't over Kerry. She might be dead but she was the ghost in their budding relationship.

  Ryan tried to scoop Cari into his arms but she pushed away from him.

  "It's Sunday night. I need to go to sleep. I have to teach school tomorrow."

  "Talk to me, Cari. I know something's wrong." Damn, he knew it was not a good idea to discuss an ex on the first date. He hadn't wanted to. The mood had totally changed from the moment the drunk had confronted him. He liked Cari. She was sexy and gorgeous. Not as biddable as he'd previously thought yet that added to her attraction.

  "I'm trying to get my head around everything. It's a lot to take in. Your girlfriend has just been murdered. The Club doesn't sound safe and my twin goes there."

  "Kerry and I broke up two years ago." He could feel the temperature drop as she shut him out. Her eyes had a wary look. Who could blame her? It had been a shock for her to hear about The Club. He had to find some way to turn her around before it was too late. He didn't want to lose Cari. It was early days, but he really liked her.

  "I need to go to bed, Ryan. It's time for you to go home."

  Ryan stood. "Don't shut me out, Cari. You're the best thing that's happened to me since I came home."

  Cari rose too. "We've just met and I'm very attracted to you but you're not over your ex, even though she's dead." It was the first time she realized that she could move on but she had to get this right.

  "Let's get this straight. I fell out of love with Kerry when she cheated on me two years ago and we broke up. I didn't want her back because I couldn't forgive her but I want her murder solved because I feel so damned guilty. There is no way I would have let anything happen to her in that place. She would still be alive if I hadn't decided to enlist. I'll do everything I can to find that bastard who hurt her."

  Cari frowned, her large blue eyes troubled. "I don't think this can work between us. You're not ready. You're consumed by Kerry's murder."

  Ryan gripped her by the shoulders and pulled her close. "Give us a chance. You were happy tonight until you found out about The Club. You relaxed. You laughed. I think we could have something together even though it's early days. I want to make you mine but I need you to believe in me. I have to get to the bottom of what happened to my ex, or I won't be able to go forward with us."

  Cari put her hands on his chest as if trying to stop the connection. "I know what's it's like to be trapped in no man's land, still caught up in memories. I've been like that with Rob grieving him for two years. Just making the decision to go out with you tonight shifted something. Come back when you're done with Kerry. I'm here in Karim for a year."

  "Hell, Cari, the last thing I expect or want is a woman waiting for me. I was arrogant enough to think that would work with Kerry. It didn't. I was too stupid to see it when I was young, but I'm twenty-six now. I want to make a future with the right woman."

  "Then let the police do their job and let Kerry go. If you are going to The Club every night trying to find Kerry's murderer, you can't possibly be present for me."

  "I don't want to lose you. I know it's way too early to be saying stuff like this, but I like you."

  "Tonight was the first time I haven't been nervous in a long time but if I fall for you and I know that you're at that club night after night, it isn't going to work for me. I don't like the sound of that place. It creeps me out."

  "I don't like it either after I saw how my ex changed. We were happy together and then when we went to The Club, nothing I did satisfied her anymore. It destroyed my relationship. I want it out of my life." Ryan pressed her to him, wrapping his arms around her in a big bear hug. He leaned down and kissed her, needing to keep their intense attraction alive. The Club was dragging him down. He could see that now.

  Cari broke the kiss for a moment. "Then let Kerry go. I mean it Ryan. Let the police do their job and you stay out of it. I want you to be there for me."

  "I thought you were meant to be the passive twin and Annabel the dominant twin."

  "And you believe Annabel?" she laughed. "She exaggerates just about everything. You should know that. I can be just as demanding." As if unable to stop herself, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and kissed him back molding her body to his. Her mouth moved in a rhythmic motion, her tongue played with his, teasing and promising things to come.

  "I can see that." He put his hand on her breast noticing her nipple was tight under the flimsy silk of her dress. Perhaps Cari was right. Maybe he should leave Kerry's murder to the police to solve and move on. God knows he didn't want to lose Cari. The supposedly shy twin was totally clear about what she wanted and he was enjoying every minute of it.

  Ryan swept her up and strode into her bedroom. "I can't go home. I won't sleep all night thinking you want to end things before they've even started. You are going to give us a chance."

  "Make me," she laughed.

  "With pleasure." He sat on the edge of her bed and put her over his knee. He pulled up the silky fabric of her dress and rubbed her bottom. He flicked her gee-string. "What kind of sexy underwear is this?"

  "Never you mind," Cari teased.

  "I do mind. I love it." He gave her bottom a smack.

  Cari's whole body quivered under his touch. "Oh." she sighed. "Do that again."

  "With pleasure." He skimmed his fingers over the lace between her legs, stopping to tease over her clit. She was wet. God, Cari was sexy. He barely had to stroke her and she responded.

  "And that too," she begged.

  "You love everything." He smiled, sliding his fingers between her legs and under the lace, rubbing along her slippery seam, focusing on her clit.

  "You've only just discovered that?" Cari asked. "I want you to play with me all day and night."

  "Cari, I can't believe how sexy you are. You are everything I've dreamed about." He spanked her again and she squirmed. She had the most beautiful bottom, round and creamy. She looked so stunning lying across his knee, her red hair mussed on the comforter. Ryan didn't believe in love at first sight. That was ridiculous, but he certainly believed in lust and yet it was more than that too. He enjoyed her company, her humor and her incredible sexiness. Having Cari across his lap, moaning, wiggling and rubbing her mons on his thigh was unbelievably erotic.

  He spanked her again, rhythmically this time, his touch heavy enough to leave a stinging red mark until her bottom blushed a rosy pink. Whatever game he played with Cari, she seemed to enjoy it. After Kerry, he'd been leery of getting involved with anyone else but it had been two years. That seemed to him to be a long time to be alone.

  Cari's whole body shuddered. She shifted and ground herself into his knee, panting and gasping. Her back arched as she frenetically rubbed herself against his hard knee bone, crying out as she came.

  Ryan shifted, his jeans unbearably tight. He rose and placed her on the bed, not taking his gaze off her as she lay there gasping. He pulled his tee-shirt over his head, unzipped his jeans and yanked them down, struggling out of his boots until the whole lot was a scrambled pile on the floor. The thought of burying himself inside her consumed him.

  Cari spread
her legs wide. "Hurry, Ryan."

  "Condom." He could barely get the word out. He yanked his wallet out of his jean's pocked, extracted a condom, bit the packet open and rolled it on.

  "I need you."

  Ryan flew over to the bed, lay between her legs, looking staring into her wide blue eyes and slid himself home. Lust be damned. He was falling for this woman in a scarily short space of time. He rotated his hips, again and again, thrusting into her until his movements became jerky.

  Cari wrapped her arms and legs around him, her fingernails digging into his back. He was aware of her clenching and grinding herself into him and she threw her head back crying out as another orgasm took her. Ryan shot into her as she milked every ounce of him. Finally spent, he rolled onto his side and held her close.

  Cari reached over, grabbed a few tissues and handed them to him.

  "Thanks." He took them and cleaned himself up, throwing the tissue-wrapped condom into the waste paper basket in the corner.

  When he turned back around, Cari had pulled the comforter down and snuggled close to him.

  "Cari?"

  "Hmm?" she said, her voice sleepy.

  "I don't believe in love at first sight."

  "You're keeping me awake to tell me that?"

  "No." He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the back of her neck. "I think we really suit."

  "You make me happy, Ryan. I'm glad you made me talk out my reservations tonight. I was so mad with you, I could have easily closed that door on you."

  His hand trailed down her front as he spooned her. "You're good for me too. I was completely obsessed with what happened to my ex, but I can see I need to take a step back. So long as you understand, it's the guilt that's driving me. I fell out of love with Kerry."

  Cari turned to face him. "Survivor guilt is hard to live with." She took in a deep breath. "Rob died in front of me. I've relived it everyday for two years, thinking and rethinking about what I could have done differently." She stroked Ryan's face. "I totally understand what you've been going through."

  Ryan leaned forward and kissed her. "Maybe we can help each other move on."

  A knock on the door and flashing lights slammed Cari out of her sleep. "What's going on?" She reached over and turned on the bedside table light.

  Ryan did the same. "I don't know. There's someone in the frontyard."

  Cari quickly slid her dressing gown on while Ryan slid on his jeans. She went to the lounge room and peered through the front windows. "It's Annabel and a policeman."

  She unlocked the front door and let her twin and the policeman in. "What's happened?"

  Ryan followed her in to the lounge, tugging his tee-shirt over his torso. "What's going on?"

  "I'm bringing Miss Todd home. She's had quite an ordeal," the policeman said.

  "I know you, don't I?" Ryan asked the policeman.

  "Sergeant Jones." The policeman shook Ryan's hand. He narrowed his eyes observing Ryan. "I don't recall."

  "You were introduced to me when I was at the station a couple of weeks ago asking about my ex girlfriend, Kerry Mahler's murder investigation," Ryan said.

  "Ah yes. I remember now," Sergeant Jones said. "We think we've had a breakthrough on that case." He looked at Annabel. "And others."

  "Con turned out to be a psycho." Annabel wrapped her long arms around her twin.

  "What happened?" Cari cried, seeing a wealth of bruises on her sister's neck. "How badly are you hurt?" She led her twin over to the lounge and they sat together. The police officer sat on an opposite recliner and Ryan the spare chair.

  "Don't worry Cari. The bruises aren't as bad as they look," Annabel said. "Con took me by surprise. I didn't let him get a jump on me a second time."

  "Care to explain?" Cari asked the policeman. Annabel was shaky and she needed a clear point of view.

  "It seems Miss Todd agreed to go to Mr Anastos' ranch. Once there, Miss Todd asserts he assaulted her." The policeman gave a small tight nod at Annabel. "It seems he got more than he bargained for."

  "He changed Cari. You know when he was here, he was a sweet guy. He did everything I asked him to. I would never had agreed to go to his ranch without getting to know him first."

  "He was like a puppy dog," Cari said, flashing Ryan a look.

  Ryan rolled his eyes.

  "He had a different personality on his ranch. He was ordering me around and his whole demeanor changed. He became nasty. I asked to go home and he started swearing at me, calling me vicious names. I tried to call you but you weren't picking up."

  "I'm so sorry, Annabel. I was on a date with Ryan. I have my cell switched off."

  "A date? Really?" She smiled with swollen lips. "Ouch." Tentatively, she put her hand to her mouth.

  "When he sent his house keeper home, there was no one at the ranch and then things got really strange."

  "How strange?" Ryan asked, sitting forward, his expression grim.

  Annabel raised her eyebrows at him. "Initially I did what he asked to please him but then he showed me into a room. It had every Dom machine and gadget, every torture device available. The guy wasn't who he pretended to be at..."

  "You can say it," Cari said. "Ryan told me about The Club. I know what goes on there."

  "I didn't give details about you, Annabel. I figure that's up to you," Ryan said.

  "I refused to enter the room and he started pushing me. The thing is, I don't think Con realized how strong I am, or how long my arms are. There was a metal bar lying against the door. The moment he shoved me in the room and went to lock the door, I hit him with the iron bar. Knocked him out cold and called the police."

  Ryan looked her over, his gaze appraising and he had a quirky smile on his face. "Amazing. What are you? A Domme?"

  "I'm not letting that little shit get the better of me," Annabel said indignantly.

  "You're lucky you survived," Cari said.

  "Wait, Cari. But there's more to the story," Annabel said. "There were pictures of other women in a file in the room." She glanced over at Ryan. "One of them was Kerry."

  "This isn't the first incidence that has happened at The Club," Sergeant Jones said. "I think once we've done our investigation, we're going to find more on Con Anastos."

  Three weeks later

  Ryan sat with a beer with the twins in their garden. He'd just come back from the police station and wanted to break the news to Cari. "The police have formally charged Con with Kerry's murder."

  "I didn't think it would take them too long to put two and two together. Annabel, you came so close," Cari said.

  Annabel took a long sip of her iced-tea. "It seems Con was playing a game at The Club. He pretended he was a sub to get female Dommes on board."

  "Wait a minute. I'm confused. I thought Kerry went for Doms," Cari said.

  "Kerry liked to experiment with whatever was going on. Some people might call her a switch. I think she was finding out what she enjoyed," Ryan said.

  "Poor woman," Cari muttered.

  "Con was good at being whatever the person wanted. I never suspected him but he was always on his hands and knees at The Club," Ryan said.

  "Yeah, well, I'm done with The Club. This isn't the first incident that's happened there," Annabel said.

  "I'm done too," Ryan said. "I have something new to occupy myself with."

  "What's that?" Cari said.

  Ryan raised his glass. "You. I still have your diary."

  The End

  Thank you so much for taking the time to read my novella from The Club!

  All reviews are appreciated.

  If you would like to read more from The Club series, please click on the link below:

  The Club Website

 

 

 
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