Switch Master: 6 (Ink and Kink) Read online

  Switch Master

  Frances Stockton

  Book Six in the Ink and Kink series.

  Samantha has been dodging her attraction to Taran since they met. But when she turns to him for help, the kinky fantasies she’s had about him can no longer be denied.

  Master Taran is floored when Samantha comes to him of her own volition. Sensing his chance to end the cat-and-mouse game they’ve been playing for months, he tests her, convincing her to join him on a dark, sensual journey into bondage and sex. But to collar his switch, he must be willing to submit, something he’s never done for a lover.

  As their relationship heats up, Samantha’s heartbreaking past returns, threatening their chance at happiness. To save her, Taran will need to be more than her Master. He’ll need to become her soft place to fall while giving her wings to fly.

  Inside Scoop: Sam’s BDSM awakening includes watching a scorching male/male encounter.

  A Romantica® BDSM erotic romance from Ellora’s Cave

  Switch Master

  Frances Stockton

  Dedication

  For my cousin Carol, who has been waiting for Taran and Samantha’s story for a long time. Your support has meant the world to me.

  Acknowledgement

  I couldn’t forget to say thank you to my friend Tara Holt. The two of us write very different genres, yet her support and friendship have been unwavering.

  Also my sincere gratitude goes out to the police officers, detectives, soldiers and firefighters who routinely put themselves in harm’s way for the safety of others.

  While the Missing Persons and Cold Case Homicide Division of the Boston Police is entirely fictitious, research was required to understand warrants, background checks and investigations. Any mistakes made are entirely my own.

  Chapter One

  Maddox Ink and Body Art—South Boston—Late February

  Hand trembling nervously, Detective Samantha Riley inserted her borrowed key into the lock of Maddox Ink and Body Art, intending to venture into the lair of the lion, so to speak.

  Okay, that wasn’t fair. Taran Maddox, the attorney who managed the South Boston tattoo shop on behalf of his older brothers, Phalen, and Detective Ethan Maddox, her partner in the Missing Persons and Cold Case Homicide Division of the Boston Police, had turned the second floor of the building into his newly renovated law office. Nothing within this building should intimidate her.

  Nothing should make her hesitate to approach him and ask for help. However, after meeting Taran shortly after she and Ethan had become partners, she’d harbored a secret crush on him.

  At first, it’d been easy to maintain her secret. For the most part, Taran really hadn’t noticed her. He’d been tied up in too many things, law school, working for a Boston law firm and preparing for the bar exam. That was enough for any mortal human being to handle, not to mention the string of women who always seemed to cling to him.

  But that had all changed last April when she’d helped Phalen rescue his girlfriend Cassie from the clutches of a psychopathic state senator. Her actions irrevocably earning her partner Ethan’s unconditional respect and gratitude, and Taran Maddox’s awareness of her as a woman.

  Since then, she and Taran had been circling each other, their attraction very real, very intense, but a little frightening. For one thing, if her colleagues on the force were to learn of her crush on her partner Ethan’s younger brother, she’d become the target of good-natured jests.

  For another, no one needed to know she became all girly and gooey and tongue-tied around Taran. No one needed to know how many times she’d fantasized about him or how many times she’d wanted to call him to see if he’d be interested in going to the movies or to dinner, but each time she’d chicken out.

  Now here she was, months later, ready to approach Taran because she needed his legal advice, and she knew that regardless of how long she’d danced just out of his reach, this could be the turning point in their relationship.

  Thinking she should pull out her phone to simply ask if he could meet her later rather than use the spare set of keys she’d borrowed from Ethan Maddox, Sam found the courage to turn the key in the lock, entering the building.

  Ahead of her were the hallowed grounds of the tattoo shop that tended to serve members of the BPD, fire department and local athletes. Turning away from the shop, she headed up a set of stairs, using another key to open the office door and enter.

  Lights were on inside, set to low but paving the way for her to see that it was well appointed. A heavy oak desk resided close to a picture window, the view of South Boston prominent with the aid of a street lamp outside. Along the wall to the right and left of the window were Taran’s degrees, all displayed prominently.

  Bookshelves took up much of the side walls. On each, massive law books resided. It was definitely the office of a lawyer who specialized in civil and family cases. But it wasn’t the office or the books that kept her from turning tail and fleeing, it was the lure of water falling and the scent of manly soap that drew her attention toward the bathroom.

  In her heart, she knew that no one else but Taran would be taking a shower. Part of her wondered if perhaps he had someone in there with him. It was possible. After all, they’d never gone on a date and it’d been a few weeks since they’d last spoken to each other.

  Coming into his world could be the greatest risk she’d ever taken. Walking away now might prove the biggest mistake. For as much as she feared discovering him with another woman, a woman who’d submit to his every whim and fancy, she simply could not leave without knowing what he looked like without his clothes on.

  Tossing the keys to the spotless oak desk, she tugged on her black motorcycle jacket, prepared to use it as a shield if she needed it and walked straight to the bathroom.

  The closer she came, the stronger the scent of soap and shampoo became. It was a sexy combination of sandalwood and Irish Spring. It shouldn’t surprise her that Taran used that brand of soap, he was much like his brothers when it came to appreciating all things Irish or Celtic in origin.

  At last at the door, she nudged it open, peeking inside, captured at once, irrevocably. For across the small bathroom, incased in a see-thru shower stall was the man she’d come to see, Taran Maddox, naked, soaking wet and the most beautifully sculpted man Sam had ever had the good fortune to watch showering away the day’s grime.

  Even as she knew she should leave before he caught her watching him, Sam couldn’t make her feet beat a retreat. No, she was fascinated by the sight of him all wet and sleek with suds.

  Taking a chance, she inched closer, wanting to study the intricate Celtic scrollwork inked into Taran’s back from shoulder blade to shoulder blade. Similar designs covered his right shoulder down to his elbow. From what she could see, he had room to complete the tattoo sleeve on his forearm.

  He had classically defined muscle, a trim waistline and flat abs. Unfortunately he was facing the showerhead, permitting her to see only a side view as he rinsed his shoulder-length sable hair. Fortunately the side view was incredibly sexy.

  Better than his hair was his impressive erection jutting out from a soaked nest of dark hair. She absolutely wasn’t going to turn away when she noticed he was getting bigger. Stunned to know he was aroused, she simply couldn’t walk away, not again, maybe not ever.

  Taran’s masculinity was second to none, his perfection something to behold. Sam didn’t mind the prevalence of tattoos. She especially liked the tribal band circling his right thigh. The band made his thigh look as thick and strong as a tree trunk. And dare she admit that his ass was positively bite-worthy?

  She was well aware that he was physically fit due to years of trainin
g in taekwondo. Recently, he’d taken up jujitsu with Phalen and kung fu with their mutual friend Alex Grant, a businessman with more money than Donald Trump. Ethan told her Phalen enjoyed running early in the morning. She wasn’t much of a jogger, but enjoyed judo and working out to keep in shape.

  By all rights, Sam should give him privacy to shower without being ogled. Except he shifted, exposing his left leg so she could see the twin tribal band wrapped around his muscled thigh and she couldn’t leave.

  It wasn’t fair to behold Taran Maddox from afar and wonder if she was woman enough to handle him. The truth was he scared the hell out of her.

  Taran had power, strength, youth and an unshakable sense of dominance that warned her she’d never be able to intimidate or frighten him off as she’d done to men in the past.

  Few knew that Detective Samantha Riley was afraid of the dark and that she always kept a nightlight on in her bedroom. Or that she’d once been a nerd more comfortable playing with computers and collecting floppy disks in high school.

  She doubted anyone suspected she’d spent the last few months crying in the solitude of her small apartment because she’d taken a woman’s life in the line of duty. She’d done it because there was no other choice, her partner’s and another officer’s lives had been in danger.

  While she’d been cleared of any wrongdoing after a mandatory investigation into the shooting, she wished she could have talked Alisa Bailey out of choosing suicide-by-cop due to the loss of her beloved daughter.

  Sam knew how much it hurt to lose a child. She knew the ache and the nightmares never really went away. If she let Taran into her world would he expose her weaknesses or help her confront the horrible past that she was still running from?

  Instead of concentrating on the past, Sam found herself appreciating the way Taran rinsed his splendid body. He turned a little more toward her, revealing his massive cock.

  Sam was quite simply and irrevocably caught, riveted. Licking her lips, she moaned, fighting the sharp, insistent need to open the shower door and worship him.

  “Samantha, you’re killing me!” Taran roared, forcing her eyes to snap upward from his big cock to his gunmetal-gray eyes.

  Realizing she had no clue how long she’d been standing right there outside the shower, she tried for bravado. It would not do for him to discover her knees were weak and her legs turned to Jell-O, that the light flutter deep within her belly grew sharper, more intense the longer he stared back at her.

  Everything in her wanted to bow at his feet and apologize for avoiding this one single moment for way too long. They’d been through a lot, weird cases, multiple weddings, arguments and a brief truce and it seemed as if it’d all come together in this moment and time.

  “Hey, pretty boy, sorry for the intrusion. I was hoping to speak to you concerning a legal matter, I’ll wait for you out in your office,” she said, ready to turn and leave.

  “Stay. Strip down, climb on in. I don’t bite, at least not where someone would notice,” he stated, seeming to be undaunted by her proximity.

  “Bite me, I bite back,” she warned, incredulous to feel the melting sensation within her center pool deep in the heart of her pussy. Aware that she’d grown damp, she shifted, half fearing he’d know and half worried she’d never feel this way again.

  “You’d better leave marks if you do, doll.”

  Stunned, she couldn’t help giggling. “You’re crazy, Taran Maddox.”

  “For you, I am. What can I do to convince you that you’ve nothing to fear from me?”

  How did she answer that? Ever since Taran woke up and made it clear he wanted to claim Sam as his own, she’d been fending him off the best she could. She’d tried many things, namely using their nine-year age difference to head him off at the pass.

  “There’s everything to fear,” she finally said. “You’re too young and beautiful for me.”

  “That’s a crock of bull. Where’s the detective who commands respect from her coworkers, the woman who can knock my block-headed big brother to his ass and lead the charge in rescuing missing and exploited children?”

  “Right here, but she should be running for the hills before it’s too late.”

  “It’s safe to stop running, Samantha. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll discover I’m one of the good guys.”

  “That’s exactly why you’re better off without me. You’ve no idea what I’ve done…where I’ve been.”

  “There’s nothing in your past that would stop me from wanting you.”

  “Really, what if I’d spent the last three weeks of my vacation dating someone new? Would that change your view?” she tested.

  Taran turned off the shower, moving a little to the right to prop himself against the wall. Did he have to look so delectable and sexy right then? She’d seen him in many forms, wearing a tux for his big brother’s wedding, a suit for his middle brother’s, courtroom garb and jeans or leathers when tattooing. She’d never seen him naked.

  “Have you?” he asked calmly.

  “Have I what?”

  “Been dating someone else?”

  “Would you be jealous if I had?”

  “Until you came to me of your own volition, I had no right to be jealous.”

  “How do I know you’ve not been seeing someone? After I turned you down at Morgan and Ethan’s wedding in November you’ve been avoiding me, except for when you wanted to show off in front of our friends during that football-viewing party.”

  “I’m sorry about that stunt,” he apologized, taking credit for his error.

  Having taken place at Alex and his husband Dr. Ryan Hathaway’s bed-and-breakfast located in Danvers, Massachusetts, the party had been a means for Alex’s sister, Avery, to enjoy watching the new man in her life, linebacker Hazard Osbourne of the world-champion Alexandria Griffins, storm the field.

  The party had been fun, relaxing, with beer and buffalo wings and chili and typical football-watching snacks. All their friends had been there and Sam had slowly begun reconnecting with them after what happened with Alisa Bailey, the woman she’d shot to save Ethan Maddox’s life.

  Taran had been likable, charming even, until he’d declared that the two of them would someday have children. Instead of explaining how much it had hurt to know she’d never be able to provide him with the family he’d craved, Samantha panicked, inciting an argument and running away from him…again.

  As a general rule, Maddox men took pride in three things—family, friends and their insatiable need to dominate in the bedroom, emphasis on the D. As Sam had spent many months talking with Cassie and Morgan Maddox, knowing they were submissives and their husbands, Phalen and Ethan, were Dominants, she was certain beyond doubt Taran was possibly the most dominant of the three brothers.

  “Did you hear what I said, Samantha?” Taran asked, causing her chin to snap upward when she’d gotten lost watching a trickle of water drip down his perfect, ripped abs, heading toward his nest of sable hair at his groin.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” she replied.

  “I apologized for the stunt I pulled at the football party.”

  “You’re forgiven, though you really don’t have to apologize. I overreacted. At the time, I didn’t understand why you’ve kept your distance. I’d thought…maybe something had changed between us when Ethan had been in the hospital.”

  “Something changed between us the day you dropped Phalen on his ass and opened my eyes to what I should have seen long before that. Ever since, you’re the first thing I think of in the morning and the last image I see when I fall asleep.”

  “Am I supposed to trust what you say?”

  “Yes, same as I trust that you didn’t cheat on me, doll. If I’m wrong, I hope to God you got other men out of your system these last few weeks.”

  “What exactly are you saying?”

  “I do not share. For months now, we’ve been dancing and flirting with each other, taking one step forward, two steps back. Now that you’ve
come to me of your own volition, time’s up. You are mine. So fess up, where you with someone else?”

  “For the record, pretty boy, no one owns me. But there’s been no one for a very long time,” she admitted, fearful he’d leave her hanging yet intrigued by the possibility of being Taran’s woman.

  “You misunderstand, doll. I don’t want to own you. I want to love you.”

  And that was why she should run far, far away. Were her feelings for him only sexual, she could handle it, deny it or keep him at bay. But over the course of several months, her crush had altered, revealing how easily she could fall in love with Taran.

  “You should devote your time to someone who wants you,” she whispered.

  “You want me,” he said, proving he’d heard her. “The only thing stopping you from having me is the shower door, Samantha.”

  “I didn’t come here for sex. I need your advice.”

  “You’ve been MIA for three weeks. Even my brother, your partner, was worried about you, and here you are coming to me. That’s a big step. Take another. Open the door.”

  “Please understand, I needed to find a way to deal with having to take another’s life in the line of duty and decided to join a support group that meets at Cassie and her mom’s safe haven. The group has been invaluable to me, truly.”

  Sam was proud that she’d helped Cassie Maddox find the new location after environmental issues were discovered about the original facility. The funding, a result of a telethon for victims of domestic abuse, enabled several women and their children to reconnect with society, get good jobs and an education.

  “My sister-in-law Morgan used her psychic mojo to assure me that you weren’t in any danger. That’s the only reason Ethan stayed so calm and I didn’t ask Phalen to track you down and bring you home to me.”

  “I’m sorry for worrying you, Taran. Having someone’s blood on your hands is a terrible price to pay, but I’d pay it again to save Ethan’s life.”