Rose
Chapter 1: Sweet torture

Book 6 of the Were Wars series

I wake up and try to roll over, only to replace my hands are cuffed to the headboard. I pull at them futilely, rattling them against the unyielding metal, and nothing changes. I look down in shock as I replace myself in a strange bed, clad only in my bra and panties, and alone.

I try to think back to last night and everything is fuzzy. I remember being at a bar, celebrating with Julie the end of an investigation. She had gone home and I started flirting with a businessman in a tailored suit from Kansas. After that, nothing.

It looks like a hotel room. I scream for help, hoping an adjoining room or cleaning person will hear me and help me get free. I scream for what seems like hours, and nothing changes except my throat is raw.

I’m about to scream again when a door opens. A man is there, a large man who oozes power. His face is silhouetted in the opening, and it isn’t until he walks in and closes the door that I see who he is. “YOU!”

“Yes, me. Good morning, Rose.”

“LET. ME. GO.” I was pissed as hell, I couldn’t believe a man I trusted would do this to me.

“Not until you listen to me for a minute.” He came over and sat on the bed next to me; grabbing the sheet, he pulled it up to my neck, saving me the embarrassment of being there in my lacy underwear. He looked good enough to eat; his muscles played under the custom-tailored dress shirt like bulldogs fighting under a rug. “Those men last night, they are the ones you should be mad at. They drugged and kidnapped you, not me.”

I looked at him, staring into his eyes. There were a lot of emotions there, fear, anger, lust, but deceit wasn’t among them. I had made my career out of interviewing criminals, I knew when I was being lied to. “How?”

“I was watching you at the bar last night.”

“You’ve been following me?”

“Yes. I told you before, I love you and I’ll do anything to keep you safe.” He cupped my face, tingles exploded wherever he touched me. It was weird, but I had a rule; he was connected to a case and I didn’t mix work and pleasure. I had rejected his advances for five days now, despite how attracted I was to him.

“I don’t remember what happened.” I relaxed into the pillow, trying to will myself to remember last night.

“I’m not surprised. Your drink was drugged, they slipped a roofie into it.” My jaw dropped, I knew what those drugs could do. My own daughter had been raped after an acquaintance drugged her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t figure it out right away. You were at the bar, that man in a suit was talking to you. I saw you get up, a little unsteady, and head towards the bathroom with him. When his friend left and you didn’t come back, I got suspicious. One sniff of your glass and I knew what happened.”

“But rohypnol is odorless,” I said.

“Not to me. Anyway, I followed them outside to see you being shoved into the back of a rental car. They left with you, and it took me a little time to track you down. I called Josh with the plate, then we used the GPS to locate the car here in the parking lot of the hotel. Luckily, I got here in time. When I got them to open the door, you were unconscious, your dress gone, and handcuffed to the bed just like you are now.”

“Why didn’t you let me go?”

He sighed. “I had to take out the trash first.” My eyes got wide. “You called the cops?”

“No, I took care of the problem. They’ll never touch what is mine again.” He pulled a key out of his pocket and took the cuffs off my wrists, rubbing them tenderly to get the circulation back. I closed my eyes, the tingles and the rubbing felt SO good.

“I have to pee.” He nodded and stood up, turning around to give me privacy. I slipped out of the bed, grabbing my dress from the floor, and ran into the bathroom. I took care of business and washed my face, taking my makeup off while I thought of what had happened.

I’d been an FBI agent for almost a decade, I’d faced hardened criminals and several life-or-death situations. I’d killed two men. I’d been scared before, but nothing like what this man could do for me.

He made me vulnerable in a way I’d never been before. The way he looked at me like I hung the moon. The tingles at his touch, his patience, and oh my GOD that body. I knew what it looked like, I had seen the video. Apparently, at sniper school he had lost a bet with a beautiful young woman, and had to walk naked back to the parking lot. I had watched that video repeatedly a few nights ago, while bringing myself to orgasm after orgasm with the vibrator I kept by my bed.

I knew deep down he would never hurt me, he would always be there for me, and it made me want to take my daughter and run.

That was my mind. My body had a completely different, utterly embarrassing reaction. When I thought of him, my arousal was instant. My poor lace panties were completely soaked, just from the time he sat with me. I could swear he sniffed it out as I walked past him.

I looked in the mirror and asked myself what I wanted. “Gunny,” I replied. The investigation was over, all that was left was delivering his boss the settlement offer from the government. That’s when it hit me, the reason for pushing him away was gone, and I didn’t want to push him away anymore.

I left the dress on the vanity and opened the door. He was pacing back and forth by the window, but his eyes went straight to mine as I walked out. My eyes locked with his, my mouth parted slightly and my tongue wet my lips. “Don’t hurt me,” I whispered.

He was in front of me in an instant, his strong arms pulling me to his broad chest. “I could never hurt you, Rose, it would be like hurting myself.” I looked up at him, seeing the truth in his eyes made the rest of my objections melt away. I pulled his head down and pressed my lips to his.

The kiss blew away anything I had experienced before. The feeling, the tingles, I felt it all the way down to my toes. His hands moved down my side, then around as his strong fingers grabbed my ass and pulled me up. I jumped and wrapped my legs around his hips, desperate to get closer to him. I could feel my wet sex rubbing against him through his pants as he hardened under me. Our mouths never separated as he walked us over to the bed; he gently set me down, his arms holding him just above me as our tongues explored each other. Finally, he broke free. “May I?”

I nodded. “Take me… please.” I let out a loud moan as his lips moved down to my neck. He was kissing and sucking on the flesh where my neck and shoulder met as a hand snaked behind me, his fingers expertly unsnapping my bra. My hands were busy exploring his arms as his teeth pulled the lace clear, exposing my breasts to his gaze.

“Perfection,” he said as he moved down to them. I’d had lovers before, but no one worshiped my body like this man was doing. He was doing amazing things with his tongue and teeth, so much so that I didn’t even notice his hand had made its way under my panties until the finger split my folds, causing the first orgasm of the day to crash through me. “Come for me, baby,” he said as he hooked two fingers inside me, his thumb circling my clit. I lost all conscious thought as he forced spasm after spasm from me.

When I opened my eyes again, he was licking his fingers. “Delicious,” he said. “I could never tire of your flavor.” He kissed his way down my flat stomach as his hands went down to my waist, fingers hooking the lace. I lifted my butt up, allowing him to slide them off my body and toss them aside. I spread my legs, and he dove in.

I had my hands in his hair, pulling him tighter to me as his tongue plumbed my depths. He played me like a fine instrument, starting slow and bringing me close to a crescendo before backing off and starting to rise again. He did this a few times, he was so patient with me, smiling when he looked up and making me feel like the most important woman in the world. As I rose to another peak, he took mercy on me. I felt his tongue change, becoming rougher and longer, reaching so deep inside me I couldn’t take any more. I broke, squirting liquid into his mouth as he gulped it down like champagne.

He moved back up my body as I lay twitching below him, utterly spent. I opened my eyes to see him looking rather pleased with himself, like the cat that got the cream. I could feel his hard cock as it moved up between my legs, the tip parting my folds. “Mine?” He looked in my eyes.

“Yours,” I said. He pushed forward slowly as we both moaned in pleasure. “Oh god, you’re so big,” He was larger than any partner I had ever had, it felt like he was splitting me apart before my body adjusted.

“You’re perfect,” he said as he finally bottomed out, “made just for me.” He lowered himself onto me, kissing me deeply as my legs wrapped around him and forced him a little deeper. I could taste myself on him, it made me want him even more. My hands ran down his back, tracing the muscles until they reached his muscled ass. Grabbing it with both hands, I tilted my hips and moved him out an inch, then slowly back in as we moaned into each other’s mouths.

“Gently,” I said. He was, withdrawing almost completely out before pushing slowly back in. It felt amazing, and after a few strokes I was shattering around him again. He stroked through it, moving faster as my hands and moans urged him on. He moved my legs around, his strong hands holding them up by my shoulders so he could pound deeply into me as I screamed in pleasure. I built up to the strongest orgasm yet, triggered by him driving impossibly deep and holding me there as he shot his load deep inside me.

When I came to, I was on my side, my head on his shoulder and a sheet covering us. I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. “I love you, Rose,” he said.

It should have scared the hell out of me. In the past, I would have jumped out of bed, gotten dressed and been out the door in a minute flat.

Yet all I did was snuggle closer to him, luxuriating in the feel of being utterly and completely sated. “Will you come visit my family with me?”

“What about Charlotte?”

“We bring her along, of course. I love you, Rose, and I’ll love your daughter as my own.”

“We’ll take it slow, though.”

“Of course. Nothing more than you are comfortable with.” I kissed him deeply, he tasted amazing, and felt like home.

It must be some kind of Were thing, I thought as he rolled over and started another round.

I shook my head no, my nose scraping the pillow as I moved it. The pillow was soaked with my sweat and tears. “No, please… just stop.”

He was doing anything BUT stopping.

I buried my face in the pillow to muffle my scream as my body spasmed uncontrollably. How many times already, I couldn’t count. My mind was clouded, and my throat was sore from the screaming I had done.

He stopped and moved back from me as I quivered in anticipation. “Just say the words, Rose, and I stop.”

“Never.” I tried to sound brave, but I didn’t know how long I could hold out against him.

“We’ll see.” He reached down and turned a knob, causing that infernal device to go to a higher speed. My body immediately responded, and I buried my face again. When he came back, I could hear the confidence in his voice. “I think it is time for, shall we say, more EXTREME measures. Unless you are willing to tell me what I want to hear, Rose.”

I shook my head no, once I figured out what he was doing I closed my eyes. I was helpless against him, bound spread eagle and naked, face down on the bed. My fingers fisted the tight sheets as he began, and when the pain hit I screamed. It felt like my ass was on fire, and he didn’t stop. Tears were going down my face when he paused. “Just say it, Rose.”

“NEVER!”

His long cock buried itself deep in my ass, only a thin bit of me separated it from the vibrator tormenting my sopping pussy. I relaxed into it, letting the burn of his entry tail off until I felt the pleasure of his fullness. When I had adjusted, I started to move my hips. He started up, slow strokes that teased my body and mind. I’d never tried anal until this week, but it turned out I loved it. Gunny took a long time preparing me for that baseball bat of his, and he was putting it to good use. The combination of his hard cock and the vibrator had me moaning almost continuously.

I couldn’t believe this man’s staying power. He’d already come a half-dozen times or so, but give him a short break and he was hard again. He started moving faster, the nine inches he was packing reaching deep into my stomach. It wasn’t the length that set me off, it was his girth. It felt like his whole arm was in me.

Five minutes, ten… my mind couldn’t keep track of time, it couldn’t focus on anything but the sensations coursing through me. I felt something building inside of me, something big. He could feel it too, he started to pound me fast and hard into the pillow under my hips. My body had failed me again, I was going to explode, and it was going to be a big one.

“RICOOOOOOOOOO!” The scream left my lips without conscious thought, I was incapable of such anymore. His hard cock buried itself deep in my ass as I clenched around it, holding it in place. He held my hips as he started pulsing his seed into me. The feeling of his wonderful cock swelling and his seed deep inside extended my orgasm further. The vibrator combined with his hard strokes had pushed me beyond my limits. My body moved without me, my arms and legs fighting the restraints as my muscles spasmed uncontrollably. He smacked my ass, hard, making me start another orgasm just as my last finished up, and I was screaming again.

He slowly removed his cock from my abused backside as I struggled to catch my breath, and I sighed in relief as he removed the dildo vibrator that was pushed into my sore pussy. The combination of the two was intense.

I felt him get up and go to the bathroom. I did a quick inventory of my body, making sure everything was still there and functioning. Looking at the clock on the bedside table, I could only shake my head. 2:03 AM. This had been going on for three plus hours, and I didn’t know if I could hold out any longer. I pretended to be asleep as Gunny emerged from the bathroom with a warm washcloth and tenderly cleaned me up down there. “I know you’re awake, Rose.” He bent down and licked my inner thighs, tasting our combined juices, as I moaned again. “Just tell me what I want to hear, baby, and I’ll let you sleep.”

I shook my head again. “Never!”

“Well, all right then.” I looked back, as he stood up, I could hardly believe he could get it up yet again. He chuckled to himself as he reached for the lube. “Your mouth is making challenges your body can’t handle, Rose. You should have done your research. Panthers mate for days on end, over and over. Just say the words I want to hear, and I’ll let you go.” I buried my face in the pillow as the slippery tip of the dildo was pushed against my sore back door. I tried to keep it out, I clenched down tight, but he was ready for me. I felt two fingers move between my swollen pussy lips, their tips against my G-spot as his thumb rubbed my sore clit. I gasped, and that was enough of a distraction for him to push it inside.

“Please, no,” I begged as he turned it on and kept pushing it until it was fully seated.

“You never should have let me replace your secret toy stash,” he responded. “It gives a Marine like me WAAAAY too many ideas.” It was true, I had spent a lot of time alone and bondage fantasies were common. My work was stressful, I had to have bigger balls than my male coworkers just to be even, and be dominant just to be accepted. Deep down, though, I wanted someone to just take me and make me theirs.

Until now, I never trusted someone enough to let them tie me up. It had worked, giving up control allowed me to relax into all the dirty fantasies I had used to get off with, and I had come harder than ever. “Now, tell me what I want to hear.”

“NO!” He drove his hard length into my greedy pussy, which was ready and willing for more even if I wasn’t. I screamed in ecstasy as my body betrayed me yet again, and I started to buck back into him. The pulsing of the vibrator in my ass had me tingling, and this time he wasn’t being gentle with me. He pounded me from the start, each stroke filling me and then leaving me empty. Every time he bottomed out, his muscled stomach would push the base of the vibrator up. It was an amazing feeling of being completely full and at his mercy.

I was almost there when he demanded I tell him again. I shook my head no, then there was a pounding at the door.

“JESUS, MOM, JUST TELL HIM HE’S THE BEST LOVER IN THE WORLD! MAYBE THEN I CAN GET SOME SLEEP BEFORE MY ALARM GOES OFF FOR SCHOOL!”

Gunny started to laugh as I buried my face in the pillow. He turned the vibrator to high and started with short, fast strokes as I climbed the ladder again. I heard Charlotte stomp back to her room as I screamed my pleasure into my pillow. He came inside me again, then collapsed onto my back, the vibrator still going full speed in my ass. I couldn’t even move, not even when he turned it off and pulled it out. “Maybe we should continue this argument later?”

“Probably.” He unbuckled the cuffs from my legs, massaging my feet and calves to get the circulation going again. My wrists came next, and he rubbed them for a minute before getting up and starting the bath. When it was ready, he rolled me onto my back before picking me up and carrying me into the shower with him. My luxury condo had been picked in part because of the size of the master bathroom, and he and I fit easily. I was barely able to stand as he washed the sweat and stickiness from my body before gently lowering me into the hot bath. I leaned back against the edge, a folded towel already there for me, and sighed in pleasure.

He went back to the shower as my body relaxed and recovered. When he was done, he disappeared for a while. I was almost asleep when he came back, pulling the plug and lifting me out. He toweled me dry and carried me back to bed, pulling the fresh sheets over me. He kissed my forehead as I closed my eyes, then walked around and got in behind me. I rolled towards him, my head resting on his muscled chest as my leg moved over his. “Gunny?”

“Yes love?”

“You’re the best lover in my world.” And with that I fell asleep.

The alarm came WAY too early in the morning for me. I rolled over and turned it off, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I looked back, the other side of the bed was empty. I could hear the shower going.

I went in and did my business as he finished up. He opened the door, unconcerned with his nudity as I tried to focus- unsuccessfully- on brushing my teeth instead of his reflection in the mirror. We were even, he was trying to focus on drying himself instead of me. “That’s not fair,” he said. I shrugged my shoulders. “The way your butt wiggles as you brush your teeth. Keep that up and we’ll never get going.”

I reached over to the door and pulled on a robe. “We HAVE to get going, Gunny. I have to be to work early, I’ve got a ton of stuff to do before we leave.” I was still nervous about how fast things were moving, it was just last Saturday night that I had accepted his advances after he rescued me from two rapists. I knew he was a Werepanther, he explained to me how he was my mate and I was his, how we were fated to be together. I was still trying to get my head around it. It wasn’t long ago that we were at war with them, and my job included trying to hunt them down and kill them. My earlier postings had included investigations of werewolf attacks and cyberterrorism. Now, it was the political aspects of them coming out and being recognized.

He hugged me from behind as I finished up. “I’m so happy you’re coming home with me, Rose. You won’t regret it.” He walked out to get dressed while I finished my hair and makeup, and was already downstairs before I got back into the bedroom. I got my work clothes on, buckling the Glock on my back right hip and my badge on the belt on the front left.

He had made himself at home in my kitchen, and the smell of bacon and eggs filled the room. “Coffee’s ready,” he said as he turned the bacon in the pan.

“Thanks,” I said as I poured myself a cup. I could see the need for lots of coffee today. I smirked as I saw the ibuprofen tablets at my place at the table. I have figured out there is being in shape, and being in Gunny shape. I’m not there yet, and my aching muscles confirm it. I sink into the chair and take the pills as Charlotte comes in.

She’s just as sleep deprived as me, but without the good reason. “Morning, honey,” I said. “Sorry about last night.”

“And the night before that, and the night before that,” she mumbled. “I have to put earplugs in to get any sleep around here.”

“That’s my fault, I guess,” Gunny says as he brings over two plates for us. “I can’t apologize for loving your Mom, though. I’ve waited my whole life to replace her. I hope someday you replace a boy who feels the same way about you.”

She muttered a ‘thank you’ as she dug in, she was barely awake. Gunny brought her a Mountain Dew and an orange juice, since she didn’t drink coffee. He joined us a minute later with his plates. I couldn’t get over how much this guy could eat. “Hungry?”

“You could say that. I ate a lot before, but since my change my metabolism is even higher. This stuff isn’t near as good as what we made on the island. Nothing like fresh killed wild boar.” He started to dig in, he had an entire plate of bacon and the other had eight eggs and a dozen slices of toast. “Do you want me to drop her off at school?”

“Could you? It would save me some time.”

“If it’s all right with you, Charlotte.” She nodded, she was still a little shy around Gunny. I’m sure it was a shock, I’d never brought a lover home, never even had a serious boyfriend in her life and all of the sudden I’m bringing a man into the house and the next weekend we’re going to meet his family. “Are you excited about the trip?”

“I’m excited about getting some sleep,” she mumbled.

“Yeah, these buildings aren’t soundproofed very well. Werewolves and panthers have much sharper hearing, we have to build things just right or we can hear everybody too. At least in the Santa Fe house, you and the other unmated girls will have your own bunkhouse.”

“Unmated? That means no boys, right?”

“Well, there isn’t promiscuity in the Packs- not much of a point in it. No one wants to meet their mate with someone else’s scent on their skin. The boys have been brought up to respect women and they won’t pressure you.” He leaned forward and looked into her blue eyes, moving a stray blonde hair back. “I think you’ll replace friends there quickly.”

“You have a pool, right?”

He smiled. “Oh yeah. A big one.”

I got up and put my dishes in the sink. “I have to go. I’m leaving at two, so I’ll pick you up at school, honey.” I kissed her as she kept eating and Gunny followed me to the door. We kissed deeply, and his kiss was full of want and promise. “Talk to her, all right? She’s scared.” I kissed him again and walked out the door.

My head was spinning as I drove to work. Today I was at FBI headquarters in Quantico; my Director wanted to see me. I guess my resignation letter came across his desk. My mind was like a tennis game lately, my heart wanting to chuck my career and follow Gunny to Santa Fe, my mind asking what the hell I was thinking since I’d only known him a short time.

The truth was that I didn’t like my life very much. I had become a driven career woman to prove to myself and my family that I wasn’t a failure just because I got pregnant at sixteen. I had missed way too much of her life, and my own life was unfulfilling. I felt more alive in the last week than I had in years.

I was thinking back to my first days as an agent when I pulled through the security check and into the underground garage. I thought it would all be action, busting criminals and kicking ass. The truth was office politics, paperwork, fending off advances from coworkers and long hours away from my daughter. I hung my headquarters ID badge around my neck and walked inside, stopping for another coffee in the lobby. I watched the people go by, chatting with a few acquaintances as I waited for my nine o’clock appointment.

I freshened up and took the elevator to the top floor, where I checked in with his secretary before taking a seat. I had barely adjusted my skirt when he called me. “Agent Conspiell, please, take a seat,” he gestured to the chair by his desk.

“Thank you, sir.” I sat down, my heart going a mile a minute.

“I have to say, Rose, I was shocked when I received this.” He picked up my resignation letter. “You’re barely halfway to retirement, you’re on a fast track to the highest levels. Why would you throw it all away?”

“I met my mate, Director. He’s a Beta of a pack in New Mexico.”

Director Jennings dropped the paper in shock. “A werewolf?”

“He’s actually a panther, sir.”

He looked at me closely. “You’re not Were…”

“It doesn’t matter, sir, I’m his mate. The bond is there, it’s strengthening, even though I’m human I feel the pull. We’re leaving this weekend for his home, to introduce my daughter and I to his Pack. He wants to change me, to make me like him, but he needs my permission and his Alpha’s first.”

He sat back in his chair, thinking. “So why resign? You could stay on. Now that the war is over, the FBI is struggling with some of the Packs. They still don’t trust us after the war, and the purges early on removed dozens of them from our ranks.” He looked down at the paper. “Can I make you a deal, instead?”

“What are you thinking, sir?”

“Take a six month leave of absence. Leave the door open until after you get settled and have made the change. If you still want out, your resignation can still happen then. If, though, you replace out you can have your career AND your panther, you’ll still have a job with us. The FBI needs your talents, Rose, your country still needs you.”

I sat back, it was a good deal. My mind was telling me to take it, just in case things didn’t work out. “How would this work?”

“I could transfer you to the Albuquerque field office, that would get your move taken care of. Check in with the Special Agent-In-Charge there and take your leave.” I nodded, taking back my letter of resignation as he handed it over. “And Rose? Now that Weres are out, we need them in the FBI. The skills and abilities you gain can only help the Bureau. Having someone like you that they can look at can only help with our recruiting.” He stood and shook my hand as I followed.

He walked me to the door. “So this werepanther you’re mated with, does he make you happy?”

“He makes me feel like the most important thing in the world, sir. Plus he’s hotter than a Quantico summer.”

“Good luck, Rose.” With that, I left his office and spent the rest of the day with admin work for my transfer and leave of absence. By the time I got done, I had time to grab lunch before leaving to pick up Charlotte. It was going to be a long weekend.