“You are a little intimidating,” Chase said. “You’re kind of worse than the law around these parts. It’s not so surprising that they don’t want you around. The question is just how secret is this club?”
“No one will talk about it. If it’s anything like other clubs, it’s likely easier to get in if you bring a submissive female with you,” Jack said.
Nat went cold. She knew where this was going. She’d been around long enough to know that submissive females were prized in the BDSM world. Ben or Chase would have to go into that club and they would need a female with them. They would need an experienced submissive.
Ben stood, pacing. “I’ll call Julian. He can send someone down.”
Chase’s hand stroked the back of her neck, a soothing sensation. She could feel him trying to settle her down because she just knew he’d already accepted what Ben had not. “And who will he send, brother? Tara? Darin won’t let her go. Marcy has a new Dom. She won’t leave him. Those are the only two I would even dare to take undercover with me.”
Ben’s face fell. “Kitten?”
That wasn’t going to happen. “Kitten would just as likely walk off with the drug dealer if he promised her spankings. That would be a disaster. Someone at the spa likely killed Stan. With all the locks and protocols, I would be very surprised if someone just happened to walk in off the street and managed to find the right room and killed Stan with no one seeing him or her. If there’s a connection between the underground club and the spa, then you need someone from the spa to go in with you, but she would have to be in disguise. And you have to keep it perfectly quiet or you’ll tip someone off.”
“But Ben and Chase have been seen around the resort,” Jack pointed out.
“I barely put in an appearance last night before my little sweetness here sent me straight to the back of the bar. I only talked to Logan, Kitten, and the brat, besides the waitress,” Chase said.
“How did I send you to the bar?” Nat asked.
His hand slid down her spine, causing her to shiver. “You drove me to drink because you’re all damaged and shit, and I couldn’t just do what I wanted with you.”
He never prevaricated. She knew she shouldn’t ask, but it just came out. She was so much more impulsive around him. “What did you want to do?”
“I wanted to put you on your back and fuck you so hard everyone in that damn dungeon would know that you’re my little bit of sugar.” He frowned. “It wouldn’t have helped me. Ben wasn’t in the dungeon at the time. He would still have tried to take my treat.”
He was back on that again? God, she couldn’t take another fight. She needed to talk to them, to tell them she wasn’t going to choose.
Ben winked her way. “I didn’t try, brother. I got that treat. I’ll get it again.”
“Not until I’ve had a taste. I demand equal time.”
“Done.”
Nat felt her mouth drop open. That didn’t sound like fighting. It sounded like negotiations.
“Can you two figure out who gets fun time with your girlfriend later? Has anyone thought about the fact that Nat hasn’t bottomed in years?” Jack asked. “She might not be able to.”
“I can do it.” The words came out on a whisper. Yeah, that wasn’t going to make anyone believe her. But someone had tried to frame her, and she wasn’t going to sit idly by. Gretchen was too weak. She would never send Gretchen or Kitten in. The other subs were either from the area or knew a lot of people. She didn’t get to town often, and she doubted if anyone would recognize her the minute she put on a wig and covered up her hair. She was perfect.
And she wouldn’t let Ben and Chase go in without her. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t going to stay with them, that she couldn’t stay with them long term. She couldn’t stand the thought of them being in danger.
“I can do it.” She sounded stronger this time. “But we might need to practice a little.”
Chapter Eleven
Three days later, Chase opened the door, impatience in his every move. Three long days of taking it slowly was making him utterly insane.
Damn it. What was that woman doing to him? He was never impatient. Bored. He was bored almost all the time, but never impatient. Now he was anxious and definitely not bored.
He’d spent his days behind a two-way glass watching as Chris Linwood and Callum Reed interviewed employees. He would have preferred doing it himself, but he had a cover to try to maintain, so he’d given the job over. He’d checked the IDs on every car that had been allowed in the gates of the resort. He’d run checks on everyone who’d had an appointment at the spa for the last two weeks.
Nothing. Just a hysterical Gretchen, who couldn’t seem to get through a simple interview, and two other therapists who had perfectly good alibis.
And that fucker Tate, who was starting to annoy him. Tate had answered every question with a question of his own, all of them about Natalie.
The only fun he’d had was watching Cal scare the holy hell out of Juliet Kirkman. And even that had ended in misery when he’d discovered she’d been at the funeral home and surrounded by relatives the night that Natalie’s apartment had been ransacked. She was a bitch, but she hadn’t broken in.
And then there was Natalie.
For three days, he’d been a gentleman. He’d followed Ben’s lead and gotten Nat comfortable with them. He’d talked about his expectations of a sub. Ben had asked her about her former D/s play that hadn’t involved hardened criminals. Even her therapist had come down and had a long talk with Nat while Ben and Chase spent their days at the resort getting their cover down. As far anyone knew, they were businessmen looking to make some investments and have a little fun in the dungeon.
Jack Barnes had been busy, too, allowing Natalie to watch him and his submissives while he studied her reactions. Jack wasn’t sure about taking her in, and Chase was worried, too.
And he was so horny he just might die. Three days of getting Natalie used to his touch while keeping his dick out of her was making him crazy, but today they were moving into the playroom. Today, they were going to play.
Logan frowned as he walked in, carrying the bag Chase had requested he retrieve from Dallas. Logan had been fine having Kitten along for the drive, but he’d promised revenge for forcing him to spend time in a small enclosed space with Georgia. Chase rather thought the dude protested way too much. And he’d also kind of hoped that Georgia would stay behind in Dallas, but no, she sulked into the ranch house following Kitten. Kitten smiled brightly.
“Chase, if you don’t tell that backwoods idiot that he isn’t the boss of me, then I’m going to scream. He’s horrible. He’s constantly in my business.” Georgia rounded on the deputy, barely coming to the middle of his chest, but that didn’t slow her down. “You’re an asshole. Capital A. Little s. Another little s.”
Logan growled a little, causing Georgia to back up. She nearly tripped on her ridiculously high heels. “I’m getting a little tired of the bratty attitude, little girl. I think you might need a time-out. You won’t like it. I promise you.”
Fucking hell, the sexual tension between those two was heavy. Logan wanted his bratastic sister? Chase stared for a moment, trying to come up with what he felt. Nausea. That was what he felt because he was fucking thinking about his feelings. Nat had done this to him.