Power Desired (D.C. Power Games Book 1) Read online

  First, she asked Michael if he would talk to the group about general safety practices. Even though he was a known Dominant at Exposure, he wasn’t fond of the idea. It was important for him to distance himself from the club while the investigation was in progress. When she reminded him that there were several people he wanted to talk to, and that a restaurant was a more friendly setting than a police station, he decided she was right and agreed to give the talk. Gary, and Edith, two of Exposure’s founding members would also be speaking. They were also having a small memorial for Peggy and Marlie.

  Sitting in her office planning the event, her mind kept drifting to Bradley. She hadn’t spoken to him since Saturday afternoon after she left his apartment. That was five days ago. They had exchanged a few texts, but that was it. She wondered if he might like to attend the memorial in honor of Peggy. Staring at her phone, she clicked out of the screen with his name on it for the fifth time in the last ten minutes. Stop being a chicken, Darci, she told herself as a finger hovered over the call button. Squeezing her eyes shut she pressed her thumb down and brought the phone to her ear.

  They made awkward small talk for the first couple of minutes before she finally got around to the point of her phone call.

  “I know you don't want to go to too many public events, but it would mean a lot if you showed up,” she said when she finished telling him about the munch.

  “I'll think about it, Darci. I have to be careful, but thank you for thinking of me.”

  “If you want to come at the end, for the memorial, and slip in the back I'm sure nobody would notice.” Why was she pushing so hard for him to come? The question kept nagging at her as she spoke, but she tamped it down. She was just being a good friend.

  “That might be a good idea.” Bradley paused. “I'll make you a deal. I'll come if you'll have drinks with me after. Just you and me.” She grinned at her phone. She should have expected something like this.

  “You drive a hard bargain, but it's a deal.”

  “Great. Thank you, Darci. I've missed you.” Her pulse quickened at the thought of him missing her, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to admit that she missed him too.

  After a moment of awkward silence, she said, “I've been avoiding you. I’m sorry.”

  “I know, but it's OK. I knew you would come around,” he said. She laughed at his confidence.

  “I'll see you on Saturday afternoon.” As soon as she ended the call, her phone rang again. “Hi Carrie.”

  “You sound happy. What’s going on in your world?” the woman on the other end asked. Darci giggled.

  “Lots. You should come see me, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  “That’s why I’m calling. Master says we can sneak away for a few days. He’s coming with me.”

  Darci squealed. “It will be so good to see you!”

  The girls compared schedules and agreed on dates in a couple of weeks. She couldn't wait to see her friends again. After they said goodbye, Darci’s mind drifted back to the upcoming munch and the prospect of seeing Bradley. She had to admit that she was more than a little excited about seeing him again.

  The last two days had dragged by as Darci prepared for the munch but now it was here, and she was nervous. A talkative crowd filled the private dining room on Saturday afternoon. Darci waited until a half hour into the event to present the first speaker, so people had time to chat and order food. Michael spoke for twenty minutes on basic safety for everyone, but he took extra time to speak to the women.

  “Ladies, don't be afraid to call the police station and request an escort home. If you live alone check for signs of tampering before you enter your house at night. If anything seems out of place, do not go inside. Call the police at once. Nobody will get in trouble for false alarms. I would rather come out for a false alarm than respond to someone discovering your body.”

  Next, Gary led a discussion on discretion and the importance of not sharing details with those not in our lifestyle.

  Someone asked about blogs like Darci's. He reminded them that while she was open, she never revealed event locations, real names of those she interviewed, or any other personal information.

  The time came for the memorial. Darci had asked two people close to each woman to speak in honor of their memory. Someone lit a candle for both victims and led the group in a moment of silence. Darci noticed Bradley slip into the back of the room as the first candle was lit. By the time the memorial was over, there was not a dry eye in the dining room. When the service was over, Darci made sure to point out the donation boxes in the back of the room. Both women were involved in charity work and Darci encouraged guests to donate in their honor.

  Bradley picked up his phone and caught her eye. He sent a text telling her he was slipping out to the bar area. She nodded in acknowledgment and went back to chatting with guests leaving. After pointing out the people Michael might be interested in talking to, she sat at a table near the door and waited for the last person to leave.

  As she was saying goodbye to guests stopping by her table, she caught Bradley's eye through the window. He held a glass of whiskey in his hand. With a wink, he raised his glass to her and cocked his head in the direction of the drink he had already ordered for her. She smiled and returned the wink as Michael approached.

  “Thanks for giving your safety talk, Michael.”

  “No problem. You were right. It was easier to talk to people here than it would have been at the station or the club. Thanks for the invitation. The memorial was beautiful.”

  He gave her a long hug. Through the window Darci noticed Bradley frowning at her. Jealous, is he? She squeezed Michael a little tighter, and when he released her, she leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

  • • •

  Bradley watched as Detective Michael Silas hugged Darci. He wondered if they had ever been more than friends. The thought made him frown. He took a sip of his drink and kept his eyes on her as she made her way toward him. When she reached him, he gave her a broad smile.

  “You were looking rather stern,” she teased as she settled onto the barstool next to him.

  “Hmmm.” He nodded. “Sorry, I was watching you say your goodbyes. People like you, Darci.” She shrugged and took a sip of her drink. They had the entire bar area to themselves, and Bradley was grateful.

  She reached over and lifted his tie. “I’m surprised you wore this on a Saturday.”

  “Had a breakfast meeting,” he said with a shrug.

  “Lucky me. I’m a sucker for a man in a suit.”

  He grinned. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

  “So, here we are having drinks. Just you and me. What shall we discuss?” Her eyes were sparkling as she asked the question.

  “I want to know everything about you, Darci. I don't want to scare you away, but I'm dying to get to know you.” He took another sip of his own drink and hoped she didn’t notice his hands shaking.

  She smiled. “I want to get to know you too. I'm just nervous. I still think dating is a bad idea right now.” He watched her intently as he contemplated where to start.

  “What’s your favorite touristy thing to do in D.C.?” she asked before he could come up with something. The question surprised him and was not what he wanted to discuss but he humored her.

  “I’ll be honest, I’ve only really done one touristy thing, and that’s catching the sunrise at the Iwo Jima Memorial.” Her expression told him she was horrified.

  “I love that memorial, but sunrise is way too early.”

  “It’s breathtaking. I’ll take you sometime.”

  She crinkled her nose in disgust.

  “You’ve never done any of the museums?” He shook his head. “The Washington Monument?” Another head shake.

  “Bradley! I’m not sure if we can be friends.”

  He held up his hands. “I can’t help it. I hit the ground running as soon as I moved to town. I’ve been working ever since.”

  “I s
uppose I can forgive that, but if we’re going to be friends, you have a lot of catching up to do.”

  He nodded solemnly. “I have no doubt you will make an excellent tour guide.”

  “So, how did a guy like you end up in my world, anyway?” she asked.

  “Kink or D.C.?” he asked.

  “Kink.” She was done with small talk, apparently.

  “Honestly, I've kind of always been here.” He told her about discovering it on the Internet at an early age and his bad habit of forgetting to clear his browser history and it made her laugh. God, he loved that laugh.

  “My parents would ground me for looking at porn, but honestly, I rarely looked at the stuff. I read forums, and stories about domination and submission. It was fascinating, and it just clicked for me. As a teenager and younger adult, I never felt like I had a lot of control in my life. I think it had to do with the fact that my parents made a lot of decisions for me with their choice to be in politics. What I read about D/s relationships sounded like something that would make me very happy and give me that sense of control I craved.” Was he rambling? Bradley did not want to embarrass himself in front of her, so he paused, searching for signs that he was boring her or talking too much. But she appeared to be listening intently and nodded solemnly as he told her about feeling out of control.

  “That makes sense. I felt out of control too for very different reasons, but I turned to submission.” That tidbit of information was useful, and he wondered what she felt out of control about, but he didn’t push, just continued answering her question.

  “When I got to college, I found like-minded people who taught me a lot of the basics and I just went from there. When I got involved with Senator Atleigh, I had to pull back from the public scene, but I still have needs and urges.”

  They exchanged stories of their first adult experiences in the lifestyle. She told him about Peter and Carrie being her mentors. “Is that the couple you talked about on your blog a while back?” She nodded. “My favorite picture of you is in that post. You look so happy.”

  She blushed as surprise flitted across her face. She said, “They are my dearest friends. They moved out west because Peter wanted to expand his security company, but I miss them so much. They’ll be in town in a couple weeks. You can meet them.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  They spent the next hour discussing the lifestyle. Bradley discovered enough about her that by the end of the night he was dying to play with her. Now more than ever he wanted this woman in his life. The only problem was, she wasn’t sure what she wanted.

  “After Damion, I questioned whether I was really a submissive. I spent over a year of my life making him happy with little thought for myself. I thought I was in love with him. I get a lot of joy out of submitting to someone, especially in a sexual context, but when I pushed him for something beyond D/s he shut me out. Part of me misses being in that role, but if I ever submit again, it won’t be so easily. Whoever it is will have to work for it.” She rolled her glass in her hands as she spoke and stared at the amber liquid, not meeting his gaze.

  “Darci.” She looked up from her drink, and he took it from her. He set the glass aside and picked up her hand. “I want to do the work.” His voice was quiet, but commanding. “I want you to be mine.” Her eyes grew wide, and her cheeks flushed.

  “I... Bradley... I don't know what to say.” She put her hands on his shoulders. “I want to play the game with you, but it's not a good idea.”

  “I've told you before, you need to let me be the judge of that,” he said with a stern expression. For a moment, it looked like she might argue with him, but he continued to stare at her with a steady gaze that he hoped impressed upon her just how serious he was.

  Finally, she said, “I can't stop you from trying, but I won't make it easy. I refuse to be the reason your career goes south.”

  “Darci, please stop talking about that. You're not going to ruin my career. If you have some other reason for me not to pursue you, I’ll listen, but if my career is your only excuse, it’s weak.”

  She closed her eyes and said nothing for a minute. Finally, she took a deep breath and said “Alright Bradley. I'll agree to let you chase me, but I'm not going to date you.” He sucked in a breath and blew it out again, at least it wasn’t a flat-out no. If it's a chase she was after, that he could do.

  “I’ll be honest. This is new to me, Darci. I rarely have to chase my submissives. I don't want to cross boundaries or push limits.” He paused for a moment to look her in the eye then added, “At least not until you're mine.” She blushed when he said the word mine again, but then she smiled. It was one of her shy smiles.

  “I have no doubt that you will be a perfect gentleman.”

  “Don't be so sure. Now finish your drink. I'm taking you home.”

  She gasped dramatically as she picked up her glass. “So bossy.”

  “Why yes, yes, I am.” He winked and she stuck her tongue out at him. He narrowed his eyes considering growling at her. Instead, he said, “Oh Darci, what am I going to do with you girl?”

  “Apparently, you're going to take me home,” she said as she raised her glass to her lips. They finished their drinks, and he paid the tab. Standing, he offered her his arm and together they walked out of the restaurant and climbed into a taxi. As they got closer to her apartment, he asked her about her plans for tomorrow.

  “I have some research to do, but otherwise I'm going to sleep in and be lazy.”

  “Sounds like a perfect Sunday. May I come up to your apartment with you? We could put on another movie.” He was not ready to say goodbye to her yet.

  “Not tonight, Bradley. Some other time.” She sounded tired, and he frowned.

  “I hope I'm not overwhelming you,” he murmured.

  “Maybe a little. I need to think. Can we have lunch tomorrow?” She offered him a smile, and he relaxed.

  He trailed a finger down her cheek. “Lunch sounds wonderful.”

  “I’m going to pick the most touristy lunch spot I can find.”

  He grinned, happy he hadn’t scared her away.

  They arrived at her building a few minutes later. He asked the driver to wait and jumped out of the car.

  “Stay there,” he ordered as he was leaving the vehicle. He rounded the car and opened her door, offering her his hand. “I'm going to walk you inside, and then I'm going to kiss you goodnight.” He gave her a look that said don't argue. She rolled her eyes but took his hand.

  At the door, he turned to face her and placed both hands on the sides of her face. “Do you know how beautiful you are?” he asked. She blushed again, and he leaned in and planted a light kiss on her lips. “Goodnight, Darci. I'll call you in the morning.”

  She said nothing for a moment, then whispered, “goodnight,” as she rushed past the doorman and disappeared into the building.

  He walked back to the waiting cab with a satisfied grin on his face.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Darci made her way to the elevator. Why did I let him kiss me? She asked herself the question for the dozenth time since watching him walk back to the waiting cab. He was not easy to resist. Her promise to make this a chase might prove difficult. Pressing the button for the fifth floor, she leaned against the elevator wall. The memory of his hands on her face and his lips brushing hers caused her to sigh. A repeat of that experience would be nice. She shook off the moment as the elevator doors slid open on her floor.

  At her apartment at the end of the long corridor, she pulled out her keys and unlocked the door. As she pushed it open, light filtered out of her home office into the living room. Odd, she was a stickler about shutting off the lights. Flipping the switch in the entry, she stepped farther into the apartment. She froze mid-step and her keys and purse crashed to the floor. Someone had ransacked the living room.

  Glass from broken picture frames was everywhere. They tore apart the couch, and a bookshelf lay on its side. Fear paralyzed her for a moment as she sur
veyed the damage. Was the intruder still here? The thought jerked her into motion. She picked up her keys and purse and backed out of the apartment. Not wanting to wait for the elevator she bolted toward the stairs. She pulled out her phone as she reached the stairwell door and dialed a number.

  “I told you I would call you in the morning.” Bradley’s voice was full of humor when he answered.

  “Someone has been in my apartment,” Darci blurted into the phone.

  “What? Are you still inside? Darci, get out of there!” he shouted. There was no humor in his voice now. She heard him tell the cab driver to turn around.

  “Bradley, no. You don’t have to come back. I'm heading downstairs now.”

  “Call the police.” His voice was clipped.

  “I will. I don't know why I dialed you first without thinking.”

  “I'm on my way. Darci, hang up and call the police now.” He ended the call without saying another word. She called 9-1-1 and reported the break-in. Next, she dialed Michael's number. It was nice to have a friend on the police force. She was treated to a string of expletives when she told him what happened.

  “Wait downstairs for the uniforms to arrive. I’ll be there as soon as I can, but I’m on the opposite side of town.” He ended their call with a warning not to go back into the apartment without an escort.

  By the time she finished her phone calls, she had reached the ground floor.

  “Miss Sanders are you alright?” the doorman asked. “You're as white as a ghost.”

  “Some... someone was in my apartment.” The adrenaline was wearing off, and her voice shook as it sank in what had happened.

  “Have you called the police?”

  “Yes, they are on their way.” Darci was pacing, and the doorman looked nervous, unsure of what he should do next. This wasn’t the sort of apartment complex that got broken into. He excused himself to call the property manager.