Don't Judge Me Ch. 02

"I like it, but I got to say, this hurts and disappoints me. I thought you were going to think of me when you wore this," he sighed. "Guess I'm not that special after all."

"Now I'm going to ungag you but before you speak let me tell you the story and then you can ask me what you want," he said, undoing the gag and putting it to the side.

Before he spoke, I quickly said, "For the record I was thinking of you."

He looked dubious, "Really?"

It's not like I owed him an explanation but I wanted him to know it was special, that I was thinking of him, "Yes, it was your money that allowed me to pay off my school which allowed me more study time. That was why I did so well on my test and that's why I was thinking of you when I put these on this morning."

"Hmmm," he said nodding. "Go figure."

"Anyway," he continued. "To start, obviously I was undercover, you were a wrench thrown into the situation. If you haven't heard we collared most of the Bonano family including Nicky and his boys."

"Clearly you couldn't tell me because you didn't know what I would do," I said.

"That's correct."

"Why'd you call me back?"

"Misdirection, Nicky was watching you to see what you'd do, I knew if I used you again, he'd think he had leverage or whatever and he'd scrutinize me less. Nicky always looks for an advantage, if he thought he could hold you over me he'd do it."

"Great, so I was bait."

"Yes, but it worked and I made sure you were safe, I've had you under some surveillance for a while."

That made my eyes widen, there were definitely some things that would be embarrassing if found out about me.

He noticed my expression and smiled, "If you're wondering, do I know about your little skinny dipping at midnight in your apartment complex pool or the fact that you like to dance around your apartment in your underwear, the answer is yes."

"You're a bad girl," he said but his smile took the edge off.

I shrugged, "Don't judge me," I said in the exact same way he told me months ago.

He nodded, "And if you're also wondering, nobody knows about us."

I swallowed, I'd been questioning exactly how much trouble I was in and his statement eased my mind a little.

"Nicky had a heart attack in custody and the others turned evidence against their employers. Neither one even remembered to bring you up and it wouldn't matter if they did. I was under surveillance and I made sure any part that mentioned your name or who you are was lost."

Tears formed in my eyes.

"I wanted to make sure you had a clean start since the incident wasn't really your fault. I'm the only one who knows anything."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"Do?"

"I'm handcuffed in my panties again, is this going to become a thing for your continued silence?" I said anger edging into my voice, sexy and everything he was but no woman likes being forced into a situation feelings or not.

He shook his head and reached behind me to uncuff me, "No, I was only going to talk to you but when I saw the bra, I got a little mad, I'm sorry."

"And the gag?"

He chuckled, "You really do talk a lot when you're nervous, that was just to shut you up."

I glared daggers at him, "Why did you even have it?"

"I was going to give it back to you today, just kind of a teasing gift."

"So there isn't going to be a price?" I asked disbelieving.

"If you forget about the strip search right now, I promise I'll never bring up our past as a negative and I'll never ask you for anything with regards to that."

Rubbing my wrists, I swallowed, "Really?"

"Really really."

I nodded my head and pulled my clothes back into place, "I want to believe you but it seems like every time I turn around, I'm getting used somehow. Brent used me, you used me."

"True, I did, but believe me you should be happy I used you."

I frowned, "Why?"

"To be honest, you were a test for me, I found out later in an interview with his gorillas that if I'd refused to take you, neither one of us would have walked out of there."

My face drained of blood and my heart sped as I realized how close I'd come to death, "I swear I'll kill Brent if I ever see him again," I muttered.

Mark looked at me funny for a second before shaking his head, "Look Estrella, I've got bad news for you, Brent's dead. He tried to make some money and ran courier for Nicky, except he tried to skim a little and Nicky found out. After that Nicky made an example of him in ways you don't want to know about."

We sat in silence as I digested what he said. Tears fell from my eyes as I thought about Brent. I was mad as hell at him for what he'd done and the danger he'd put me in but I really didn't wish him dead despite what I'd just said. Mark squeezed then held my hand while I let my emotions run free, he reached into his glovebox and grabbed a napkin for my tears. After a few minutes I gained composure and nodded thank you to him, he let my hand go and patted it.

Continuing, "Look, I know it's a lot to take in but I really have looked out for you. I know you got into a bad situation and I made sure it didn't come back to haunt you. For the record, I'm the one who got you the letters of recommendation from the mayor and the rest, I also got you bumped to take the test six months early."

"And of course, you don't want anything in return," I said sarcastically.

"No, I don't."

"No sex or anything?"

"I know it's hard to believe but I meant what I said, you drop this and I'll forget about everything that's happened before this."

"It's not like I could complain, what am I going to say? If I brought it up, they'd dig into why my brand-new partner felt justified in handcuffing me in my panties on the first day. I can't imagine that'd go good for me."

"Clean slate," he said extending his hand.

"Clean slate," I agreed taking it.

After a second, he gave me a boyish grin, "So were you really thinking of me today?"

"I thought you weren't going to bring it up?"

"I said as a negative, teasing is not a negative, and admiring even less so, but don't worry, I won't do anything that will upset you. As of this moment if I do feel free to file a complaint."

"We'll see," I said.

He nodded and turned his car on and took us back out driving to his headquarters.

Halfway there I said, "Yes I was thinking about you."

He didn't turn to me or say anything but smiled the rest of the way.

*****

The next few months flew by, true to his word Mark never brought the incidents up again, he was professional and treated me as an equal in all ways. He never hit on me but every now and again I did catch him admiring me out of the corner of my eye. Occasionally I made sure to bend over for him when nobody was around and he was always facing my direction whenever I stood back up. We worked out together when we could and I wore light color skimpy spandex and made sure he the color of my thong panty showed through, usually by making sure I sweated a lot or because I bent over right in front of him. It was fun teasing him and watching him shift around to cover his arousal. We may not have ever hooked up again but more than one night I'd used my vibrator to climax with him as the star in my fantasy.

The cases I worked with him were incredible and his intelligence was amazing. At first, I was intimidated by his skill and figured I'd soon be a glorified sidekick but he taught me everything he could and what to look for. He was patient and would let me do interrogations and interactions first almost every time, he never let his ego show or tried to make me feel inferior to him. For a while I thought he was just humoring me or setting me up for failure but soon I realized that he just wasn't as narcissistic as all the other people we ran into. He had a quiet strength, he knew what he was capable of and it didn't bother him when other people tried to shine. He was also utterly without fear, a fact that I learned firsthand the hard way.

We were conducting an arrest on a known gang leader/ drug smuggler. Mark had found him at an abandoned warehouse and we'd called in backup but Viktor started to move out before help could arrive. Mark had moved forward with me behind him but Viktor was surrounded by armed criminals. Guns had been drawn but we were outnumbered at least three to one.

"Viktor, my name is Special Agent Steel, I have a warrant for your arrest."

"Yo dog, you must be crazy rolling up on me here like that."

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it would burst. I couldn't hear anything over the white noise from my brain, it took everything I had just to keep my breathing normal. I was sure we were going to die. Mark pointed his weapon straight at Viktor while I kept mine moving back and forth between the rest. Their guns never wavered and the tension could be cut with a knife.

Viktor raised his hand pointing at us, "Now why don't you get on outta here and take yo bitch before somthin bad happens to the both of y'all."

Mark's voice got quiet, "Let me explain something to you Viktor. I may die tonight, the bitch may die tonight. Some of your men may die tonight too, but you, you I guarantee will die right now if your men don't lower their weapons."

Viktor sneered and raised his arm, "If this fucking pork don't drop his gun on three end his life."

Mark slid forward with unexpected speed until he was less than six feet from Viktor, "I promise you won't reach two," he said, cocking his gun. "Now who wants a promotion?"

Viktor very clearly did not like what he saw in Mark's eyes because he never started counting. He swallowed then we all heard the sound of distant police sirens. Realizing even if they shot us, they'd be unlikely to leave before they were surrounded everybody relaxed their guns.

Our backup showed and things got under control but the rest of the night I had the shakes. Mark came over to me after we got everybody secured.

"How you doing?"

"I don't know why but my hands are freezing," I said. I kept rubbing them together to try and warm them.

"That's the side effect of adrenaline. It's normal, your body thinks that you need more blood to perform better when things go competitive or serious so your heart starts working faster and draws blood away from the extremities."

I nodded, he pulled me into his arms and hugged me. For minutes I clung to him without shame. A few other officers saw us and I was worried that rumors might start but surprisingly everyone understood what had happened and that we'd just held each other for support.

More time passed and we became closer.

One night we were drinking with a few fellow officers and one of them decided to set him up on a blind date.

"I'm telling you she'd be perfect for you."

"How do you even know what's perfect for me?" Mark asked.

"She's breathing, that's all that matters," another officer yelled making all of us laugh.

Mark rolled his eyes, but his friend kept pushing.

Looking at me he said, "You believe this guy."

Despite the small surge of jealousy I felt, I nodded my head, "I think you should do it."

Fast forward to three nights later and I was sitting next to him on a double date. I'd opened my big mouth to prod him into the blind date when another officer had talked about the perfect man for me. Of course, no matter what I said my partner justified my going as conditional to his and here I was. I really needed to quit letting my smartass mouth get me into these messes.

We both decided to have a shot of whiskey before they arrived and then we each nursed a Blue Moon beer. I'd dressed in a high waist tan leather mini skirt and black sweater with black boots and he'd dressed in black jeans with a black button up shirt that was completely unbuttoned with the sleeves rolled to his forearms and a white t-shirt underneath.

They finally arrived, Cody and Andrew. She was a cute waifish blonde and he was a decent looking Italian with thick black hair. We ordered drinks and some appetizers and chatted away, he was an accountant and she worked as a loan officer at a bank. Despite us both trying to keep each other talking our dates were soon talking to each other more than either of us. After a while Mark excused himself to go to the bathroom, I sat quietly as our dates talked about the new conditions for mortgage loans or something equally boring.

Looking over I saw Mark heading back to us. Feeling mischievous I checked to make sure nobody could see me. When he got close to the table, I shifted my legs and made sure he had a good peek up my skirt to my red satin panties. I saw his eyes widen for a second and a smile crossed his face before he dropped it to a neutral expression and sat back down.

"Anybody want fresh drinks?" he asked.

Andrew and I nodded.

I started to signal the waitress but Mark stopped me, he pointedly looked down at my skirt and back into my eyes, "No, I'll go get them.

I smirked as I realized he wanted another flash. He left to the bar and got our orders then took his time shifting around people when he returned. Once again, I checked to make sure it was discreet and when he was close enough, I shifted and spread my legs a few inches making sure he had time to look.

He kept his face blank as he handed me and Andrew our drinks but his finger stroked my hand as we touched. After a while Andrew and Mark suggested going to a nearby place to eat and we agreed so we all got up and went outside. Once on the sidewalk Andrew moved to get a cab when Mark stopped him.

"Change of plans, I've got a new idea," he said. "How about me and Estrella go hang out and you and Cody go get something to eat."

We all looked at him weirdly.

He held up his hands at our puzzled expressions, "Look, first dates are to see if there's chemistry and there definitely is, just not with us."

He pointed back and forth between the two of them.

"I mean come on, be honest, you two seem to be hitting it off, right?"

Andrew and Cody looked at each other guiltily and nodded.

"So why don't you two get to know each other and have a good time, I'll take my partner here out and we'll grab a bite on our own."

Andrew looked up, "No hard feelings?"

I shook my head, Cody looked happy too. She walked to Mark and hugged him, as she broke away, she brushed her lips against his.

"You're a good guy," she said.

A cab pulled up and Andrew nodded at us and they both hopped in and drove away.

I turned to look at him, "You know you're buying me dinner, right?"

"What? Why?"

"You just lost me my date, since he was buying my meal that's now your responsibility."

He laughed, "Fair enough."

"I'll buy us drinks to, there's a new one I want to try, it's called the red satin panty."

I blushed and lightly punched his arm.

"Steel," a voice cried out. "Is that you?"

We looked around for the source and I saw a tall blonde man walking toward us with his arms outstretched. He was lean, muscular and good looking in a preppy sort of way, he was wearing jeans and a blue striped Tommy Hilfiger shirt.

"David," Mark yelled.

They hugged and patted each other on the back then Mark introduced us.

"His taste is exquisite as always," David said while kissing my hand.

Mark rolled his eyes, "David and I grew up together, we only see each other a few times a year."

"And I won't use this time to interrupt your date," he said.

Mark and I looked at each other and both started laughing, we spent a few minutes explaining what happened making David laugh.

"Well, that's perfect, we can hang out tonight, I'll even buy dinner and the three of us will have a blast."

We agreed and David took us to a nearby steakhouse. When we were seated Mark held out my chair for me, as he took his seat, I gave him another panty flash, this time though I was caught.

"I saw that," David said.

"Huh?" I said, trying to play dumb.

"No way, don't try and play that off with me, I saw that."

He looked over and Mark was laughing as I turned bright red.

"Wait," David looked back and forth between us, "Are you two..."

"No," Mark said. "We're really not, she was just bored at dinner and was teasing me."

David turned full faced to me, "Really?"

I sighed, he wasn't going to let this go. I nodded, "Yeah, I was just playing around."

"So flash me," he said.

Shocked I said, "No way."

"Why not?"

"Because I just met you."

"So?"

"So no, not happening."

He stared at me as I sat there, after a few seconds I got uncomfortable and squirmed a little. I looked at Mark, "You need to control your friend."

He laughed, "Actually, I agree with him."

My mouth dropped and they both stared at me as my face flushed with heat. Another few seconds went by quietly, swallowing I looked around, when I looked back at David I shifted and spread my legs a few inches, I held that pose for a few seconds as he glanced down with a smile.

"I do love red."

I shook my head and closed my legs as the waiter came to our table, the rest of the meal we laughed, talked and had a good time. I managed to flash each of them one more time throughout dinner and loved it. My nipples stayed hard throughout the meal and I was excited at my own daring. Afterward they took me for a walk and I linked my arms with one on either side of me.

"My dear, you are unique," David said. "And why has this fool not claimed you yet?"

"Too complicated, as partners a relationship could get awkward," Mark said.

"Yeah, I can't be having him all mopey at work when I put him in his place."

David roared with laughter and Mark chuckled as we teased each other. Soon our walk led us past a hot tub sauna house.

"I want to go soak," I said pointing inside.

Mark and David looked at me and shrugged.

"You sure?"

I nodded and we went inside and Mark paid for a hot tub, they gave us keys to the locker rooms and we each went away to meet back at our private hot tub. A few minutes later I walked into the room in a white robe the establishment provided to find both of them waiting for me.

"You guys not getting in?" I asked.

They looked at each other, "Well we weren't sure how to bring this up," David said. "Was this supposed to be in our underwear or was this au naturel?"

I gave them my best "Are you stupid look?" and undid my robe letting it drop to the floor. I put a hand on my hip and stood in front of them completely naked.

I let them look for a few seconds then walked to the hot tub, "Quit being a bunch of girls and get in the water."

David turned to Mark, "I like her."

David ordered us drinks and a minute later a girl came in and dropped off our order, we sat drinking and chatting about our jobs. David was interested in what me and Mark did together and listened to our stories intensely. I talked about little things and asked how they knew each other. They told me they'd grown up together and even went to the same college but David worked as an investment banker, I raised my eyebrows at him.

"So that means he's got all the money huh partner?"

I turned to put my empty bottle down or I would have seen the look and small shake of head that Mark gave David.

When I turned back, I realized I was dizzy from the heat and drinking too fast so I hopped up on the side and just kept my legs in the water. Both men were staring at me as I had everything on presentation.

"You truly are superb," David said holding his beer in salute.

I smiled, "Thank you."

"How has some guy not snatched you up?" David asked.

"My last relationship ended in disaster."

A small frown crossed Mark's face.

I knew he thought I was talking bad about our arrangement so I clarified, "I had a good affair with somebody right after but the relationship before kind of affected it."

"That sucks," David said.

I laughed, "Yeah, the second one was good, it all clicked and the sex was pretty awesome but my ex was kind of in the picture in a weird sort of way so I couldn't really make a go with the next guy. That was my last sexscapade and it was a more than six months ago. Since then I've just been throwing myself into work."