Page 25 of Bad Enough

He shook the thought away. It went against all the etiquette of a Dom/sub relationship to have ulterior motives, but in this case, it couldn’t be helped. Besides that, it was too dangerous to get her involved. He needed to think of it as a project with her as a mark and him as the facilitator. Tribe had been hired to find Tilly Moll and the other missing women. The job always came first, and everything else was second. As his team leader was fond of saying, “Tribe always wins.”

You’re an idiot. Whether she knows she’s involved or not, it’s still dangerous to her. That part doesn’t change.

Yeah, but if she doesn’t know, then she’ll just be curious instead of nosey.

Now you’re really being an idiot. You think a kidnapper’s going to stop and consider the difference?

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

You’re not just an idiot, you’re delusional.

Shut up.

You’re going to lose her! Then you’ll be just like your boss and his crabby ass.

He’s in love. I’m not. I’m just… intrigued.

I’m not talking to you anymore.

TB snorted. He waited. The voices appeared to have stopped.

Thank fuck his situation wasn’t life-altering like Waters’ situation was. That man was being forced to choose between love and death. Love, meaning a real shot at happiness. Death, meaning… Well, being without her would suck the life right out of him as sure as if their boss enforced his final edict and terminated him. Literally. Choosing to walk away would just make it a slow, painful death versus whatever method God chose to retire an employee.

Either way, TB promised himself his assignment wasn’t going to be the shitshow that Waters’ assignment had been. TB would go undercover, using Flame to gather intel and find the missing women. The bonus was that he’d be required to hang out at the kink club and engage in some activities to make it look good, which in turn helped Flame with her research, and he’d be able to work this woman out of his system. A woman who was far too sweet and innocent for the likes of him. When the assignment was over, they’d go their separate ways. Easy enough.

What’s that saying Waters used to use? “The only easy day was yesterday.” You’re going to get burned, buddy.

He closed his eyes and sighed. Apparently, the voices weren’t done.

Was his subconscious trying to tell him that he wanted more with Flame? He certainly looked forward to talking to her. Some days, it took every ounce of his control to refrain from taking their conversations past texts and chats.

Was he just feeling pangs because of watching Waters become the happiest he’d ever known him? It was probably natural to see happiness like that and be jealous of not having it himself.

Was he balking at pushing forward because his co-worker was currently drowning in his own misery? It certainly didn’t appear that those few weeks of being happy were worth what the man was going through now. His team leader was worse now than he’d been for the previous two years after his capture and subsequent rescue.

More importantly, TB wondered if he was capable of maintaining a relationship, given his proclivities in the bedroom. Relationships meant compromise. Compromise meant giving up control.

Just the thought of that gave him the chills.

He wasn’t so ignorant to think that a committed relationship couldn’t utilize elements of BDSM to make it function better. But in his experience, there had never been anything romantic about tying someone up, spanking them, or any of the other aspects of the lifestyle. He had to admit, there were probably Dominants out there who believed that a submissive surrendering control to them brought some elevated level to the relationship.

TB had never wanted a relationship before. Never even gave it a thought based on his disaster of a past. His damage wasn’t the same as Waters’ had been. Similar, maybe. People left. Even when they didn’t want to.

The slithering snake of unease he’d been feeling before burst into an explosion of baby snakes going every which way. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After holding it for a few seconds, he let it out in a controlled exhale.

Time enough to worry about this later. Stick to the plan. Enjoy tonight. Proceed with the job tomorrow. Maybe tonight will give you a better perspective.

He opened his eyes and looked closer at the room. It looked like a French salon out of Louis XVI’s era. A chaise lounge in cream upholstery and gilded wood. A pink and cream striped matching chair, wider than a typical armchair. A pink velvet loveseat. All three pieces were in a semi-circle around the edge of a square, cream-colored floor rug that lay in front of a three-paneled standing mirror.

He knew Flame was nervous about tonight based on their conversation the previous night. An all-over romantic atmosphere would probably help turn her nerves into arousal on the sharp point of a knife. Themed rooms were too close to roleplay for him. He was very clear on what he needed, and he didn’t need to be someone else to achieve it. However, he did recognize that it might be easier for her in this environment. She needed permission to let go, and while he’d managed to create that online for her, in person would be more challenging. If the themed room helped, who was he to argue?

A knock came at the door.

He rolled his neck from one side to the other, allowing some of the tightness to leave his shoulders. He crossed to the door. Before opening it, he took in another deep breath, then exhaled.

When the door opened, Tabitha was one step behind and a half step to the left of her charge. His eyes met Flame’s, and he heard the swift intake of breath. It was stunning to watch her emerald eyes widen in shock and her pupils fog in desire as she recognized him from the shared glance on the main floor.

“Lobo, I bring you Flame,” Tabitha said.

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