Page 18 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

“I’ve already gotten something on that front. Enough that it should give us a solid lead for a plan,” Wolf said.

I turned back in surprise. “You?” I asked with an arched brow.

He arched a brow right back at me. On him it looked dangerous—it looked challenging, and I almost always rose to them. They were my weakness.

“Yes,” he replied. “I have a good friend in Europe on a second honeymoon. He’s got information and contacts here that I don’t, and he’s agreed to meet with us.”

“Us?” I repeated. “Who is this friend of yours and why do we have to go along?” I turned and leaned back against the window frame. My fingers dug into the lower ledge as I glared across the room at the big man who felt like he filled the place. Hadrian’s gaze was lingering on me as well. I could feel the heat of his stare, but I refused to look.

“Yes ‘us,’” Wolf replied, lowering his brow. “Weare going becausewehave information to gather. Or would you rather stay here?” Wolf’s arms crossed over his chest and his eyes met mine. Intense—that was the only word appropriate to describe his gaze and explain why I couldn’t help but look away. That stare made me want to look down; it made me want to stop the defensive words that kept popping out of my mouth.

I bit my tongue, hating that I had no response. I should’ve been happy that they were including me rather than leaving me out as I had expected them to.

“Where does he want to meet?” Hadrian inquired, interrupting the tense moment and saving me from having to respond. I gingerly lifted my head once more as Wolf shot him a look and Hadrian laughed.

As they locked eyes, Hadrian and Wolf looked like two wild beasts—one a raging ball of strength and the other cunning in his intelligence. I wondered what it would look like to have them fight for real. Two strong men, shirtless, battling it out right here in this room.

“He’s asked to meet at Incatenato,” Wolf conceded, though, by his tone, he didn’t sound all that upset by the concession. No, instead, he sounded smug and that was suspicious. “A members only club, I’m afraid—I’ll have to make some calls to my connections in the states, but I doubt they’ll let you in without getting some confirmation of your … character, Diablo.”

At first, there was no obvious shift in either of them and then Hadrian’s face split into a wide grin and he leaned forward. “I thought I told you to call me Hadrian,” he replied. “We are partners now after all and I think we’ll be more than that after this mission. You and I have more in common than you think,” he said. Wolf frowned as he continued. “Don’t you worry about it. I’ll have my personal ‘members only’ club back home send over some documents to Incatenato. I’m sure you’ll find that you’re not the only one with connections, Wolf.”

“Wait a minute,” I snapped, stepping away from the window toward the center of the room. “What the hell are you two talking about?”

Two sets of eyes rose and landed on me. Then, as if they had suddenly developed a sort of manly intuition, they shared a look. Wolf rose from his seat. “We’re talking about transferring our information from our home clubs to this one,” he stated. “Psych evals. Reports. Training certificates.”

“Training certificates?” I repeated. “What does that mean?”

“It’s a sex club, Scarlett,” Hadrian spoke up.

I blinked as I glanced toward him. “A what?”

“A BDSM club to be more precise,” Wolf said, moving slowly but steadily toward me.

“And you’re both … a part of it?” My mind reeled at this new information.These two are part of some underground sex club? A BDSM club?

Wolf moved until he towered over me. It took everything I had in me not to take a step back. He didn’t touch me, but his eyes locked me into place and then, slowly, he leaned down, his hand coming up to notch under my chin and tilt my face toward his.

“We’re more than a part of it, Scarlett.” The way Wolf said my name was a threat in and of itself. I didn’t know how, but I couldn’t help but feel a warning in his tone. “And since you’re going with us, you will be too. Civies aren’t allowed inside. We’re Doms. So, if you’re going, you’re going in as my submissive.”

My breath nearly stopped in my chest. My thighs tightened against my will.What the actual fuck is wrong with me?My lips parted. My brain at least had taken control of my mouth even if my body was rebelling against it.

“Submissive,” I heard myself say. It was an odd word. It evoked something in me that I couldn’t quite comprehend. My body perked up, a hint of curiosity threading itself through me, but my mind balked at such a thought. “What exactly does that entail?”

“Do you know what a submissive is?” he asked.

Do I?I wondered. I mean, sort of. I’d heard the term. No one got to my age doing the things that I did and knowing the people that I knew without hearing about the deviant lifestyles. The thought of being Wolf’s submissive, though, made me feel strange—tingly, almost as if I was both terrified and excited in the same breath.

When it became clear to Wolf that I wasn’t going to answer, he spoke again. “It means you come in on my leash, Scarlett,” he said. “You’ll follow my rules, do what I say—for the time being—and if you break any of those rules, I have the right to punish you.”

“Punish me?” I frowned.

His hand fell away. “Yes,” he said. “You’ll be given a contract to read over while I make a few calls to have my documents transferred.” He glanced to Hadrian. “Want me to do the same for you?”

Hadrian shook his head. “No worries, I’ve got myself covered.”

Wolf returned his attention to me. “I suggest you do some reading, sweetheart. You don’t need to be perfect—we’re just there for information. But if you want to go in with us to get this information, you do need to know the rules. We’ll go over it before we go in. I’ve got some cameras to put up tonight. The meeting’s tomorrow. Talk to Hadrian.” He turned to go, but I was still in a strange sort of shock, and as he moved away, I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, making him pause.

“Is he a submissive too?” I asked as Wolf looked back. Wolf’s eyes crinkled with amusement—something I hadn’t seen him do yet—and I realized that he was different. When he’d first walked in, he’d been in work mode, but as he’d talked about the club and contracts and submissives, his tone had gone deeper, more entrancing and his posture—though outwardly still as ginormous—wasn’t nearly as threatening. At least, not in the same way.

Hadrian barked a laugh as I released Wolf’s shirt. Wolf smiled and shook his head.

“Why don’t you ask me, sweetheart?” Hadrian suggested moving around so that I could see him.

Wolf didn’t say anything else, turning to grab the cameras that Hadrian had pulled out of his bag and set on the table when I hadn’t been looking. Walking out, he left me alone with Hadrian, feeling hot and irritated and … curious.

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