Page 12 of Take the Sub and Run

And his instincts said she was telling the truth when she claimed she wasn’t a thief. Maybe she was a driver. The image of the pretty, soft blonde gunning a car through the streets of Amsterdam made him smile as he jogged down the stairs.

Andrei pushed through the door into the first floor, slowing to a walk so she wouldn’t see how eager he was to get back to her.

If she had been watching him, however, she would have seen him stumble when he caught sight of her.

Sofie looked like the angel he’d named her. An angel held captive in hell. She sat on the small stage, her skirts covering her legs and spilling over the side to drape the black floor. Behind her, the glossy red St. Andrew’s cross seemed to loom over her pale form.

She looked vulnerable and soft, and fucked-up bastard that he was, he wanted to both abuse her and rescue her.

He wanted to deepen the imagery of her in hell by stripping her and binding her in ropes and chains, taking a whip to that pretty flesh.

He wanted to scoop her into his arms and take her away from here, then kneel at her feet to pledge himself to her.

Andrei shook himself to get rid of the fanciful ideas, abruptly irritated with himself. He was a fucking fool if he was still capable of imagining such ridiculous things, given what he’d seen and done in his life.

Sofie didn’t look up until he pushed the door open, her pretty eyes going wide a second before she frowned in confusion.

“You’re back.”

“I am.” He crouched in front of her, hands dangling between his knees. “Colette’s getting her punishment.”

Again, her eyes widened even as she wetted her lower lip with her tongue. “How?”

“Not going to ask why?”

“I assume she's being punished for attempting to rob the museum."

"That's not how we punish thieves."

"Interpol? I would hope it’s not. I would assume it’s prison."

"Correct," he said with a chuckle. "We don't punish thieves with spankings and whippings."

Sofie perked up. "Spanking?"

"That's what it sounded like. Possibly a nice heavy panel paddle." Andrei raised one brow at her.

Sofie tipped her head to the side considering. "I think I'd take paddle spanking over a whipping."

"Prefer thud over a sting."

She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes."

Andrei pushed to his feet, and he could feel Sofie watching him as he grabbed the heavy leather armchair and brought it over to face the stage.

Taking a seat, he crossed one ankle over the other, propped his elbow on the arm of the chair.

"The point I was making is that she isn't being punished for the theft." Andrei smirked. "Hypothetical theft."

Sofie frowned. "Why, then?"

Was she playing dumb? Or maybe while she, like Colette, was a sub, Colette hadn't told her much about the D/s relationship she had with Landon.

“You know that Colette and Landon…” He trailed off, brows raised.

“I know she loves him, but she thought staying with him would hurt him, so she left him and broke her own heart. Oh, and that she was his sexual submissive because she was hiding out in a BDSM club.”

“Then you do know what’s going on.” He shifted to lean forward, elbows on his knees. “Yet you think she’s being punished for attempting to steal some necklace only rich people care about?”

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