To Command and Collar [Masters of the Shadowlands 6] by Cherise Sinclair Read Free Book Online

deal with one of the pair. Raoul smiled. “Buchanan. Meet Gabi’s friend, Kimberly. She was up for sale last night.”
“And you just had to save her?” The agent sounded as if his teeth were grinding together. Then he frowned. “Really? This is Kimberly Moore?” He muttered something under his breath— probably as well that Raoul couldn’t hear it—and eased back. “Sorry, Sandoval. You were the one in the field. Hell, I’d probably have done the same thing.” He squatted in front of Kimberly. “I’m Special Agent Vance Buchanan with the FBI. Raoul is helping with our investigation. Last night, he was supposed to leave without any slaves, but”—he gave Gabi a smile—“he knew how long Gabi’s been trying to find you.”
Gabi smiled through her tears and rubbed her shoulder against Kimberly’s.
The little slave stared at Buchanan, Raoul, then Buchanan again. He could almost hear her brain kick into gear. “An FBI operation? What does that mean?”
“Good question.” Buchanan frowned at Raoul. “How badly is this operation blown? And how the hell did you get her out, let alone home?”
Raoul smiled. “Nothing is blown…very much. I bought her, and the hired help brought us back.”
“Sandoval, you don’t have that kind of money.”
“Z set up an offshore account in case I happened to run across her.”
Marcus snorted and dropped down in a chair, saying in his soft Southern voice, “That man is frightening.”
“So you bought her.” Buchanan rose to pace across the room. “This wasn’t remotely in any of our contingency plans.”
“No. But there’s time to decide what to do. I told the Overseer I planned to use my mountain cabin to…break her in.” Raoul looked down at Kimberly. Her blue eyes were like a rain-drenched sky. He used a finger to wipe the tears from her face, unaccountably relieved when she didn’t flinch away from his touch. “I have a bridge construction in Mexico needing my attention. Gabi can take Kimberly home with her.”
Buchanan nodded. “That’ll work. But we want a full report before you leave.”
“Of course.” Raoul frowned at Marcus. “Make sure she stays out of sight until we figure out how much danger she’ll be in.”
Marcus nodded. Considering the hell the lawyer had suffered when the slavers had kidnapped Gabi, Raoul knew his friend wouldn’t be careless with either woman’s safety.
Raoul turned back to Kimberly, his heart aching. In volunteering after an earthquake, he’d seen survivors with the same shocked expression that showed they’d discovered how unsafe the world could be. Every dominant gene in his body said she needed to be cared for, protected, helped—and that he should be the one to do it. But a master was the last thing she wanted. “Give me your wrist.”
She hesitated a long moment, then held one arm out. After taking his keys from his pocket, he unlocked and removed her ankle and wrist cuffs. Finally the collar.
When he pulled it away, the relief on her face almost broke his heart.
A second later, her expression changed to fury. She plucked it from his fingers and threw it across the room, then cringed. “I’m sorry.” Her shoulders stiffened as she braced for him to hit her.
“Relax. I understand.” He glanced at the collar, lying like a dead thing on the floor, remembering the first time he’d collared a woman. She’d had tears of joy, of gratitude in her eyes. She’d kissed the leather and then his hands as he’d buckled it around her neck. He’d been humbled by her trust, determined to never let her down, to love and cherish her. The collar he’d given his first slave had been padded on the inside, gentle on her skin.
He traced a finger over a scar and raw marks left on Kimberly’s neck from the rough leather, before realizing she was forcing herself to hold still. No, he wouldn’t go get his healing ointment. Not mine to care for . “Will you be all right, chiquita?”
She looked at him uncertainly, as if