Page 31 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Wolf

She was hot. Hotter than anything I'd ever put my hands on. She was like a volcano just waiting to erupt. I hadn't seen it at first, but she really would make a good submissive. If she could learn to let go of her reservations.

Scarlett hadn't flinched at what she'd seen at Incatenato. She hadn't turned away in disgust or shown any amount of judgment. That's how I knew she'd be able to handle what I wanted. Something had happened, however, to put her back into a dark place. I recalled my hands on her body, my breath in her ear, the shivers I'd felt against my chest. It had been right there—her desire to submit, to find a little space in her mind where it was okay to give in to someone else, to give in to me. And then it was gone. Burst like a fucking bubble the second we got back to Hadrian.

I hadn't trusted him at first. Hell, I wasn't even sure I liked the sarcastic son of a bitch, but after realizing what he was—a Dom just like me—I was less inclined to hate him. Of course, not all those who called themselves Doms were good people. Those in our lifestyle could be just as fucked up and corrupt as the rest of the world. Some men, and even some women, got into it on the philosophy that it was the place for them to openly abuse others and relieve their sexual frustrations without giving anything at all.

My hand clenched into a fist at that thought. Hadrian's head lifted from across the table, arching a brow at me. I shook my head, and with a shrug, he went back to typing at his computer. Then, he stopped.

"You're thinking about her, aren't you?"

I considered lying. For a moment, I considered ignoring his question completely. If he was anything like me, however, he might be able to shed some light on our infamous partner's well-hidden desires. I wondered if she even recognized what she was.

"I am," I admitted. I leaned forward, steepling my fingers as I let my elbows rest on the edge of the table. "And I'm curious—what's your take on her?"

"Sexually?" Hadrian inquired, his brows arching upward.

"Yes."

His brows lowered as he considered my question, turning to the screen of his computer for several moments. The glow the screen threw across his features put other parts of him into shadows. Outside, the sounds of the tourists, and vendors screaming in Italian and broken English filtered in through the thin glass windows. I wasn't worried that Scarlett would overhear our conversation. She'd taken to staying away from the two of us since we'd left the club the night before. For all we knew, she was out grabbing gelato or meeting up with one of her many contacts—I knew she had them all around the world. Powerful figures, though none nearly so useful as Ian had been.

I found myself truly wanting to know what Hadrian’s thoughts were about the woman whose hands we were placing the fates of our lives in.

"I'm attracted to her," he said. "I'd have to be blind and fucking dead not to be. There's a reason she uses her beauty the way she does."

As a weapon, he meant. Yes, I knew that. "But what else?" I pushed.

"She's an interesting woman," he replied, lifting his eyes again to meet mine once more. "I noticed the way she reacted when we told her about the club and what it was."

"She was interested." I nodded.

"Yes, but also scared," he said.

I tilted my head to the side, thinking back.Scared?I thought silently. "Why do you say that?"

Hadrian blew out a breath, his eyes moving to the door, but both of us knew she wouldn't return any time soon. I doubted she would come back until it was time to start planning. We'd told her five pm. It wasn't quite four.

"How many subs have you worked with?" Hadrian asked.

I paused. "None that were permanent," I answered honestly. "But enough to know what I'm doing; enough to know that certain ones need to be handled with care."

"How many have you worked with that didn't know what they needed?" he tried again.

I smiled. "All of them."

Every single woman I'd ever laid hands on had been strong in their own rights, but they'd come to me for specific reasons, and the same was true vice versa. Ian had been my friend for many years—ever since our days in the army. He was the one who'd introduced me to the lifestyle. I'd heard of BDSM—sexual domination, bondage, and submission—before him, but I'd never had the courage to try on my own. He'd taken me to my first club and the next thing I knew, I was taking classes on how to properly use whips and perform shibari without injury. I'd sunk into it and then I'd fallen out of it when Ian had left the military—taking Jensen and Archer with him—and we’d lost contact. Without him, I'd been lost and unsure if I should continue.

I'd met Brianna, Miranda’s mother, and my whole world had turned upside down. I still held all of my certifications—I'd kept that up. I'd still paid for my memberships, but I hadn't been back in over a year. Not since Brianna had left—not just me, but Mirry as well. Stepping into Incatenato the night before had brought it all back, along with the burning need to take up the flogger again and use it on a pretty sub's backside—a specific sub named Scarlett.

"She has absolutely no clue what she needs," Hadrian was saying. "I think she recognizes that she's attracted to the lifestyle, but I doubt she even realizes that she needs it."

"Some don't," I said. "Some just like to play."

"If she goes into it," Hadrian said, "it won't be to play. It'll be real to her. If it's not real, it'll be like living a half life."

"You don't know that," I argued. He couldn't ... and yet, I couldn't help but find my thoughts circling that idea.

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