Page 69 of Scarlett Thief (Criminal Underground 2)

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Scarlett

It was funny what sex could do to a person. Bad sex could bore. Angry sex could relieve. Good sex could bind. Some sex that went beyond all of that—it was magical. While I was aware that thinking of it in those terms made me sound naive, I didn't just think of it in terms of good magic, but bad magic as well.

I'd slept with Jaxson. I'd let him take me and hold me under his brand of control. I'd felt needed and wanted and useful. God, how I got high on the feeling of being useful. Somewhere inside of me, I recognized, was still the little girl I'd been when I'd traveled with my father. Tomás Medina had been a spectacular con artist, but it had consumed his life. The only times he'd paid any attention to me had been when he was teaching me. The only praise I'd ever received had been when I'd done well at my own cons. There was no denying it, that girl—Rose—was still in me. The one who wanted to be loved. Her desire to be lavished with attention and praise was why I'd found myself captivated by a narcissist. I'd been useful and he'd seen exactly how to control me.

Wolf and I separated at the hallway of private rooms that Hadrian had disappeared into over a half an hour before. He marched off and I took a breath, coming to terms that it all ended tonight. Not just this job, but the weight that I'd been carrying around for so long.

Fuck, I was tired. A smile curved my lips as I slipped along the corridor until I'd found the correct room. I knocked twice, waited a beat, and then knocked twice more before listening for Hadrian's voice.

"Green," he called out. I stifled a chuckle. Our red light system worked in many different ways.

The door opened and I quickly slid into the room before shutting it behind me. Hadrian turned and met my gaze for a brief moment before stepping to the side and revealing a trussed up Jaxson. As soon as Jaxson's eyes settled on me, a predatory gleam flared within their depths. My spine straightened.

"Are you good?" Hadrian asked.

I nodded, striding forward. I wasn't going to let myself react the way I had before. I sucked in a quick breath and reached for Jaxson's head, unbuckling the ball gag Hadrian had shoved into his mouth. As I pulled it free, giving him room to spit the saliva that had collected in his mouth to the side, I realized that he looked like hell.

His left eye was swollen and turning dark purple, there was a severe twist to his nose, and when he breathed, he wheezed. I turned back to Hadrian and arched a brow. "Was that necessary?" I deadpanned.

A grin curled his lips. "Abso-fucking-lutely, Princess." I rolled my eyes, but his lack of remorse didn't even surprise me.

Jaxson tilted his head up at me, lips parting to speak, but right before he did, I took his nose between my fingers and moved it back into position. He jerked his head to the side, letting out a deep growl as I was sure the pain of having it re-centered ricocheted through him.

"Why'd you do that?" Hadrian asked, peeking over my shoulder.

"It was going to bother me," I said with a shrug.

"You dumb fucking bitch." Jaxson's normal civilized tone was marred by agitation and pain. "Did you think I was going to let you get out of this?"

"Out of what?" I asked casually. "Do you even know why we're here?"

He smiled, the expression a cruel one—made even more so by the blood on his teeth. Hadrian crowded even closer to my back, grounding me.

"You're here for the Princess's diamond," Jaxson replied, sounding smug. "Heard about it through my channels—heard the Scarlett Thief would be looking for it."

"So, you had to come." I sighed.

"You haven't taken any jobs this big in years, Scarlett," Jaxson said. "Not since you were with me. I was curious." His eyes flickered to Hadrian before dismissing him and turning back to me. "But I suppose I'm not surprised. What I'm wondering, now, however, is what you plan to do with me before you grab that diamond of yours. You do realize I have a team with me, don't you?"

"I do," I said with a nod.

He scoffed. "That was always your problem—you couldn't be a team player … well, you could be my team girl, but never a real player."

I felt Hadrian's hands touch my hips and clench down as if he was fighting the urge to pummel him. I almost let him. Almost. It took me a very concentrated moment of deep breathing to not step to the side and let him have him, but I didn’t. We still needed Jaxson. That much I realized.

"I'm a team player now," I told him, leaning into Hadrian's hold with a smile on my face. "But not yours."

Jaxson scowled. "Whatever you think you can do to me, you're wrong," he snarled. "My team will be on the lookout for you,princess." He repeated Hadrian's nickname for me with a tone that dripped with venom. "They'll know exactly who to look out for."

"Oh, they will, will they?"Hold it in,I urged myself even as my smile grew wider. Hadrian shuddered against my back and this time, I knew it for what it was—barely restrained amusement. It felt so damn good to be in this position for a change. "Well, perhaps I know something you don't know."

Jaxson's brows drew down low over his eyes. He hadn't even figured it out yet, and I thought reminding him about my new team would give him a clue. Then again, he never was the brightest bulb in the box. I pulled away from Hadrian and leaned down over Jaxson's face as I placed a hand on the back of his chair and clenched my fingers around the wooden frame.

"Scar," Hadrian's voice was a clear reminder. Our time was ticking by, and Jaxson's time was nearing. But I had to say this. I had to get it in before we walked out that door.

"I'm not the thief tonight, Jaxson," I whispered, making his eyes widen in confusion. "You are."

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