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.GingerGraham, St.Louis County District Attorney's office.She would know better than anyone theconsequences of lying me an alibi.I will make sure when you speak to her that she relinquishesher cell phone records as proof of the call and have her give you explicit detail as to what wenton after I arrived home last night."***The house was dark and silent when I slipped in the front door, leaving my shoes in thefoyer.I let my eyes adjust before walking down the hallway to our bedroom.There was a narrowstrip of light from under the closed en suite bathroom door, the only light Victoria could stand toleave on for me when I worked late.Quietly entering to brush my teeth and remove my contacts,I listened to the rhythm of her breathing, trying to determine how soundly she was asleep.I stripped out of all but my boxer briefs and climbed between the cool sheets on my sideof the bed.Victoria automatically rolled into me and I moved to wrap her in my arms."Ugh, you smell like smoke." She rolled away with a wrinkle of her nose, mumbling."Where've you been?"Working.New case and the victim was last seen at a leather bar near midtown.Went toquestion the regulars.""I just changed the sheets and you're going to stink them up," she complained, awarenesschasing away the hold sleep had over her."Go shower, please."Grateful for the dark room so she couldn't see me roll my eyes, I threw back the coversand did as I was asked.The hot spray relaxed a tension in my shoulders I hadn't realized I wascarrying, but I made it quick, the brutality of the day catching up to me and sapping my energy.Every time I closed my eyes, George Kaiser's face swam up in my mind.A fierce sense ofpurpose welled in my chest."I'll find who did this to you," I promised him, thinking of the people at Collared who hadbeen shocked to find out about the killing.None of them seemed a likely candidate, not even Master Lacey.There was no crime in being the last person a murder victim spoke with, and I wasquite certain her alibi would be airtight.I did want to talk to Matt Kinney again, given that he'dbeen close to the victim and the timing of our questioning of him had been poor.Maybe differentcircumstances and setting would turn up more information.An image of Matt Kinney swam up in my mind, the powerful arc of his arm as hewhipped his sub on the cross in front of an audience, how blissed out Lance had looked fromreceiving the whipping, and how intimate the moments backstage were immediately followingthe flogging.For what felt like the fifteenth time that night, I got hard.Another image, awhispering Dom leaning over his pliant but restrained sub, giving him a two hour long hand job,solidified my erection.It wasn't only the fact of two men so open about their sexuality that theyallowed others to witness it, though that would have been more than enough.It was what MasterLacey had said: exquisite torture, absolute trust, and the knowledge that new heights could bereached by letting oneself go that far, trust in another that deeply.I turned off the water and toweled dry, foregoing underwear before sliding back betweenthe sheets and gathering a sleepy Victoria close.She immediately noticed my nudity and mycaressing hand on her hip, feeling her smooth skin slide beneath my fingers.Sighing heavily, shemumbled something I didn't catch.I kept stroking her until she slapped my hand away."I said I'm too tired," she groused.After a moment, she rolled onto her back and peered atme with one sleepy eye."That club full of perverts didn't put you in the mood, did it?" Her tonewas clear that if that were the case, she was wholly disturbed by it."No," I lied."I just miss my wife.""S'not my fault you don't have enough ambition to go for a higher rank so you wouldn'thave to work so many hours."My arms went slack, letting her go.She rolled onto her stomach with her face turnedaway."I'm happy where I am.I feel like I make a difference, even if it's a small one.""You could make more of a difference if you were a sergeant, or even a lieutenant.You'dhave people in the trenches for you, more power over fighting the criminal element.""Yeah, and I'd be doing paperwork all day.And press conferences.No thanks." I rolled tomy side, away from her, tired of the same discussion that went in circles and was never resolved.She scooted into my back, her breasts pressing into me through the thin fabric of her T-shirt. After the night I d had and how I'd felt only moments before, I should have regained my interest.Instead, tiredness and her lack of understanding leeched any energy I might have had."You know, you swear you won't like being a higher rank, but you've never done it.Howdo you know?"Because the paperwork part of my job always sucked my soul from my eyeballs?Because the idea of standing on the sidelines while other people brought down the bad guysmade me twitchy and restless? Because I knew it was her ambition and not mine?"Just like you know you'd be uncomfortable in a biker bar.It's late.We have to be at myparents' tomorrow by ten." Sunday brunch.Never missed a week without a damned good reason.As I closed my eyes, I found myself thinking of acceptable reasons to beg off and wondered if itwas possible to will myself a stomach bug or an earthquake only beneath our house.It was thelast thing I remembered before dreams of being spanked in front of a crowd swallowed mewhole.Chapter 4"Hey, Gav, Victoria." Cole greeted us from the living room floor, where he lay sprawledwith Annalise and Marcie, our nieces, playing Candyland."You gotta get in on this game, bro.Did you know that if you get the Ice Cream Princess, it means you really get ice cream? I thinkMom and Dad held out on the proper rules when we were little."I grinned, passing the pie I was holding to Victoria, who walked stiffly to Ma's kitchen.She'd been pleasant but distant this morning, and I knew she was still thinking about the previousnight, about my reticence with climbing the rank ladder.I knew it would blow over if I gave hersome space.It always did.Cole watched her with curious eyes before turning his baby blues back to me.I shruggedat his raised eyebrows.He sat up, announcing he'd pulled the Gum Drop Mountain card and thatmeant he was stuck there for the rest of the game.New rule.Annalise looked at him with hershrewd four-year-old face."Uncle Cole, that's not a rule."He grinned at her."Did the instructions say it wasn't?" She grabbed the box and looked for the directions, pretending to read."Where are the'structions?" Marcie grabbed them from Annalise, who started to splutter in indignation."You can't read yet, Leesey," she said with six-year-old superiority.She looked at thedirections with narrowed eyes while Annalise crowded her to grab the box back.Cole reacheddown to pluck Annalise off the floor before an all-out slap fight could ensue."C'mon Leesey.Maybe Nana or Aunt Victoria has a frosting spoon you can lick.""Frosting!" Annalise crowed, shooting a glare at her sister over Cole's shoulder as hecarried her through the dining room to the kitchen.A few minutes later, he returned, kid-free andgrinning."Glad she's not my kid.She's gonna leave here so hopped up on sugar she could probablyrun alongside the car and beat them home.""I'm sure Mason loves you for that," I laughed.Mason was our oldest brother, and theonly one of us with kids.We loved spoiling his girls rotten and then leaving him to deal with theaftermath.It was the only way to get under his skin and rattle his perfect composure
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