Arriving at the Wolfe’s Den the second time around was a much different experience than the first. Brayden had just dropped me off with a warning to “play safe,” and I was now trying to muster up the courage to open the front door. Tor had told me to just head inside and he would find me, but I remembered what it was like once you stepped behind those doors. You were strip-searched and had to hand over a wad of cash—currently I had ten dollars in my wallet.

Telling myself to stop being a coward, I took a deep breath and opened the front door. As I stepped inside, the dimly lit area immediately felt familiar, as did the purple accents around the small space. The man behind the counter was the same one I remembered Brayden paying an exorbitant fee to in order to get us to the first floor of the Wolfe’s Den, and off to the left of me was the giant guy who had tossed me out on my ass that night.

It was funny, because while I remembered them with stunning clarity, they showed no sign of recognition, which was what I’d been afraid of. How in the world was I going to be able to convince them that I was here to see the Wolfe? Me? Even I didn’t believe it for the most part.

I shoved back my nerves, reminding myself that if worse came to worse, I could get out my phone and show it to them—or better yet, call Tor—but first I would try it the way he’d suggested and give them my name.

I walked up to the desk and tried not to fidget as the man behind it raised an eyebrow. I cleared my throat. “Uh, hi. Umm. I’m here to see Tor.”

When the man stared blankly at me, I replayed my words in my head and tried again.

“I’m sorry,” I said, and gave a nervous laugh when his stoic expression didn’t change. “I mean I’m here to see the Wolfe.”

Finally, his lips twitched, and I got the feeling he was trying to hold back a laugh. Yeah, he was probably thinking I was insane. As if the Wolfe would look at me twice. But…he had, and I was determined to see him.

“Wait here,” the man said, and then turned on his heel to disappear through a door that blended so well with the walls that I hadn’t even realized it was there. As I stood in the silent space, I glanced over my shoulder to look at the guy behind me, and had the insane urge to wave at him or beg him not to throw me out again. But before I could do either, I heard the door reopen, and the man from behind the desk reentered the foyer, followed by a woman with short hair as dark as night. She was dressed in a leather cat suit that looked as though it had been painted on her tall, lithe frame, and as she came around the counter and stopped next to me, I had to angle my face up to look into her eyes. She was wicked tall in her boots, but I had a feeling that even without them she’d be taller than me.

“You must be Jesse,” she said, looking over my work attire, and I wondered what she was thinking. Clearly, I looked completely out of place in my button-down shirt and khakis, but I hadn’t had time to go home and get changed and then catch an Uber or taxi here. Not to mention I didn’t have the money. Plus, the last time I’d been at the den, I’d worn Brayden’s designer suit. I didn’t have anything like that in my own closet.

“Yes. That’s right. I was told to meet—”

“Wolfe. I know. He had to take care of a few things, so he sent me up here to collect you. I’m Trinity.”

Trinity? That was Tor’s right-hand woman, he’d said, so that made sense. I smiled at her, and when she didn’t return it, I wondered what she was thinking. Probably something like what did her boss see in me, but oh well. Tor saw something, and I wasn’t about to let her make me feel inadequate. He wanted me here. So here I was.

“It’s, uh, nice to meet you.”

A sly smile stretched across her glossy lips. “That’s something I don’t hear often,” she said, and then turned on one of those razor-sharp heels. “Come along, then, Jesse. Let me give you a tour of the Wolfe’s Den. I believe your last one was cut short.”

As she pushed open the doors to the main floor, I said, “Does everyone know I was thrown out of here?”

“Only those who matter. Which is Wolfe and me. Now, how far did you get the last time you were here?”

As I stepped through the doors, the space that greeted me was exactly as I remembered it. The massive chandelier that hung from the center of the room was aglow, and the bar, which ran down one side of the room, was jam-packed with men and women dressed in their finest. It was no different from the first night, but the way I felt as the doors shut behind me, locking me inside this den of iniquity, was completely different. Instead of feeling scared and out of my element, I suddenly felt alive.

This was Wolfe’s domain. This was where the man who’d hunted me through a forest and taken me on the ground in the rain played. This was his world, and he’d drawn me into it, made me a part of it, and tonight the air of expectation from everyone surrounding me bolstered my own sense of excitement.

Realizing I had yet to answer Trinity’s question, I stepped up beside her and said, “Level two. I got as far as level two and then—”

“Wolfe kicked you out.”

My mouth fell open, and she smirked.

“Not to worry; I doubt he’ll kick you out tonight. He’s rather looking forward to your visit, from what I can tell.”

I should’ve asked how she knew that, but I couldn’t seem to get the words out as she turned away from me and headed toward the dark staircase I knew led downstairs.

The second level was just as I remembered it. Scantily clad men and women hung from poles and others were engaged in a getting-to-know-you tangle of tongues.

“This is the Hunting Ground, which you’ve seen briefly,” Trinity said as we passed through and headed toward the next set of stairs without stopping. The same stairs I should’ve gone down with Brayden before I’d been manhandled out of the place.

The Hunting Ground. An appropriate name for what was happening on this floor. “What do you call the floor we just came from?”

“The Rendezvous Site.” As we came to the bottom of the third set of stairs, a security guard nodded and moved out of the way to let us pass.

Wow… The third level was lit up in shades of scarlet, and mirrors lined all the walls and even the ceiling. There were no couches down here, only king- and queen-size beds, and all but one were occupied. Over the pulsing beat, I could hear buzzing, and as my eyes landed on a foursome sprawled out across the white sheets, the lone woman in the group arched up off the bed in response to a toy one of the men was using on her.

Holy shit. They’re all out in the open for everyone here to see.

I didn’t have time to look at anything else, because Trinity was ushering me down the stairs again, and if my eyes had gone wide from what I’d seen above, then they were bugging out now.

Crawling around the room on his hands and knees was a guy a couple of decades older than me, at least, and around his neck was a spiked collar attached to a leash. He was being led across the room by a woman young enough to be his daughter, and when they passed another couple, I had to do a double take, because one of the guys had…a tail?

I hadn’t even realized I’d stopped and was staring with my mouth agape until Trinity walked back over and followed my gaze.

“What? Wolfe hasn’t leashed you yet?” she asked. “Or are you not fond of butt plugs?”

“What plugs?”

“Ohh.” Trinity’s shrewd gaze traveled over me once again, and this time, her lips tipped up. “Well, I can see what the Wolfe wants with you.”

“And what’s that?”

She merely raised a pointed eyebrow, and when she turned to leave, I put my hand on her arm.

“Wait, uh…” I looked back over my shoulder at the wildly different scenes taking place around the room. “What’s all”—I waved my hand—“this?”

“Welcome to Alpha, or as many of our regulars call it, the fetish floor.”

“Fetish,” I repeated, still not fully understanding, but not really wanting to at this point.

“Mhmm. Wanna stay?” When my eyes went wide, she laughed. “Come along, then. I’ll take you down to the final stop on our little tour.”

“I’m almost scared to ask what that entails.”

Trinity smiled as she turned and we walked down the lighted steps. I had a feeling she was enjoying my reactions a little too much, and I told myself that whatever was on this level, I wouldn’t show my surprise.

When we were halfway down the stairs, a loud crack sounded, and I jumped and reached out for the handrail. Seconds later, another crack, but Trinity seemed oblivious as she continued. I quickly followed, the sound getting louder with every step, and as I emerged from the stairwell, nothing could’ve prepared me for what I saw then.

The fifth and final level of the Wolfe’s Den reminded me of a dungeon, complete with stone walls. It was darker there than any of the previous floors, with only wrought-iron wall sconces with torches mounted on them to light up the space, which cast an eerie, flickering glow over the men and women gathered. Various instruments of what looked like torture were scattered around: a wall of whips, benches, a big X that had a woman mounted to it, and… Is that a pillory? A wooden plank with arm and neck holes that would’ve been used for criminals to be subjected to humiliation, a form of cruel and unusual punishment. What the hell do you need that for in a sex club? And in the middle of the room, up on a dais, was a throne of iron, which currently sat empty.

I could barely comprehend what I was seeing.

Another crack echoed from across the room, making me jump again, and when I looked over to see what it was, I stopped breathing.

Many of the participants in the room were assembled around a huge man wearing only leather pants, giving him a wide berth due to the long whip he held by his side. Lying over a bench was a man, completely naked and with stripes of red marking the cheeks of his ass and thighs. The man wielding the whip circled it over his head before flicking it toward the man on the bench, and it cracked so loudly that I flinched.

An appreciative murmur rose over the crowd, and as the man on the bench turned his head, I could see his expression wasn’t one of agony but one of ecstasy.

Shit…he likes that, I thought, as Trinity stepped in close.

“Welcome to the Lair,” she said, looking fondly at the man holding the whip. “He’s something, isn’t he? Anyone in this room would die for a chance to be the one under his domination, and it’s rare that he unleashes this side of him here anymore. He prefers to keep that behind closed doors now.” Trinity pursed her lips and regarded me curiously. “Aren’t you a lucky young man.”

“Me? What are you—” I jerked my head back to the man holding everyone’s attention, and when I realized what I was seeing, my jaw dropped.

That wasn’t just any man standing there commanding the whip like a God—it was Tor. My Tor. I should’ve recognized him instantly, but my brain couldn’t fathom what he was doing. With his muscles flexing with controlled power, he was a sight to behold, and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.

Another flick of his wrist, and the end of the whip cracked against the man’s thighs and he bowed up on the bench as a savage smile crossed Tor’s face. Wait…he wasn’t Tor in this space. No, in the Lair, he was definitely the Wolfe.

As if he felt my gaze on him, Wolfe looked over his shoulder, directly into my eyes, and without hesitation, he dropped the whip and headed straight for me. The crowd parted as he stalked across the room, hunger evident in his eyes. With the flickering light of the torches, he looked wild and untamed, and I couldn’t help the thrill that shot through me, especially when I lowered my eyes down his body, past the deep V of his hips, and saw the low-slung leather pants straining at the zipper from his arousal.

He didn’t stop as he drew closer, and as he took that final step toward me, his hands came up to hold my face, and his lips crushed against mine in a bruising kiss that would’ve had me stumbling back if not for the way he pulled me against him. For those moments, I forgot where we were, forgot that there were people watching us, and it was only me and Wolfe alone together. My hands traveled around to his backside, holding on to him like he was my anchor, and only with him could I breathe again. His kiss was possessive, marking me as his, and I felt it everywhere. It went on forever, until I was dizzy with lust and my cock was demanding release, and only then did he lift his head, though his hands stayed on me, moving down to my neck to keep me close.

As I opened my eyes, the reality of where we were hit me again, but it was so quiet, like a hush had fallen over the crowd or they’d disappeared. I looked to the side to see if somehow they’d slipped out in the last few minutes, but the stares that greeted me were full of shock and jealous curiosity.

No one had paid me any attention at all as I’d entered the Wolfe’s Den, but I got the feeling that from now on, I wouldn’t escape unnoticed.

* * *

My arousal clawed at me like a ferocious animal as Jesse peered up at me with uninhibited lust and an awareness that hadn’t been there until seconds ago. He was looking at me through eyes that had now bore witness to all of me.

I’d been feeling a little restless ever since my earlier conversation with Jesse regarding King, and when I’d been told my new nine-foot bullwhip had been delivered, I couldn’t resist the urge to go down to the Lair and test it out.

I knew I wouldn’t have any trouble finding a willing supplicant on the lowest level of the den, and within minutes I’d had a veteran sub stripped, bent over, and tied down, ready to take a lashing. It had been exactly what I needed before Jesse arrived, although judging by the rapt expression currently on his face, he would’ve gladly lain across that bench had I asked.

I nudged his chin up with the crook of my finger and aimed an immoral smile his way. “Welcome to my Lair, little lamb.”

The way Jesse grazed his teeth over his lower lip made me want to strip him naked and fuck him in front of everyone. But somehow, I didn’t think he was quite ready for that, so I merely held his gaze and waited for him to find his tongue.

“Hi,” he said in a breathy voice as he lowered his eyes over my naked chest. “That was… You were…” He raised a hand, about to touch me, but at the last second, he looked up and caught my eyes. “May I?”

Ooh, I like that. The way he immediately sought my permission, even though it should’ve been obvious that my claiming of him so publicly just now gave him leave to touch me. “You may.”

When Jesse’s fingers brushed over my pec, he watched the path he made through the sheen of sweat covering my skin, and I trailed my thumb back and forth over his chin.

“Did you have a good day today?” I asked when it was clear he’d lost his train of thought, and a shy grin curved his lips. “I’m sorry. Did I say something amusing?”

“Umm… Well, kind of,” he said, and I stopped the soft stroke of my thumb to grip his chin and make him look at me. I didn’t have to ask my question again. “It’s just, you’re standing there asking me how my day was when I just walked in on you wielding a whip on a naked guy as though it were an extension of your arm. I mean, holy shit, Wolfe, that was…”

“Yes?”

Jesse let out a rush of air. “Really hot.”

I bent my head down and brushed the barest of kisses across his lips. “So you liked it?”

Jesse blinked slowly and then nodded. “Yes.”

“Duly noted. But that’s something you have to work up to,” I said, and flicked my tongue along his top lip. “Tonight I have something else in mind for you. First, this is yours.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of the antique keys to the den. As Jesse took it from me, his jaw fell open. He knew exactly what it was and just how much it cost to acquire one. “That gives you access here whenever you like. It also means you belong to me.”

As Jesse nodded, he slipped the key into his pocket as though it were a national treasure. I then moved aside to let him look around the Lair, and when his eyes fell upon the St. Andrew’s Cross, I wondered what was running through his mind. I could see the speculation from those silently watching us and knew they were trying to gauge what I saw in the young man in the khakis and respectable button-down. But when Jesse turned his face back up to mine, the answer was as clear as day.

His lack of knowledge when it came to this world…it was more alluring than any of the nakedness down here tonight, and it made me want to introduce him to all the possibilities he had yet to discover.

“You look like someone who’s discovered a new species of human,” I said, and Jesse’s cheeks flushed.

“I feel like I have,” he whispered. “This is all so…so different from what I’m used to. I’m not sure I fit—”

I placed a finger to his lips. “You do. And even if you didn’t, tonight you’re with me. And in here I’m—”

“The alpha?” Jesse said.

“Yes.” His lips parted, and my dick reacted to his involuntary response as though it was buried deep inside his body. “You like that, do you?” When Jesse nodded, I lowered my head so my lips brushed his ear. “And what about it do you like? That I’m in charge? Or that you belong to the alpha?” When Jesse trembled, I nipped at his lobe.

“Shit.” He moaned and turned into me, his hand coming up to rest on my chest. I wrapped an arm around his waist and hauled his body in until he was flush against me, and when his erection rubbed over mine, I ground my hips against him—hard.

“Jesse?”

His fingers dug into my pec, his nails biting into the skin. “Everyone’s watching you.”

I chuckled and massaged two of my fingers down the back seam of his khakis, making Jesse’s hips buck against me. “They’re not watching me, lamb. They’re watching the man I can’t keep my fucking hands off.”

Jesse’s panting breath ghosted over my chin and neck as he nuzzled into me, and I thrust my leg between his thighs, applying pressure to his stiff cock and sensitive balls. Jesse rocked against me, and I put my lips to his temple.

“They’re all wondering if they’re going to get to see me fuck tonight. You see, I don’t play in public anymore, but with you, I might be convinced to change my mind. Maybe I should strip you bare and take you up there on the main stage?” Jesse gripped my shoulder as he thrust harder against my thigh. “Or maybe I could sit up there on my throne and have you ride me for all of them to watch?”

“Fuck,” he said against my neck. “I…don’t think… I can’t…”

“You will if I tell you to.”

Jesse raised his head, and his round eyes roved over my face. When he realized I was serious, he swallowed, and the apprehension I could see etched into every delicate feature of his face transformed under my inspection and morphed to compliance. Like a good little lamb, he nodded, and it was all over.

I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and, without a word, turned on my heel and headed down a narrow hall off to the left of the main floor, dragging him behind me.

Jesse didn’t say anything as I pushed open a door that blended into the walls, and then I led him up the hidden stairs. When we eventually got to my office, our final destination, I pulled him in front of me and moved in behind him to mold my stiff cock to his ass.

I wanted to tear into him. I wanted to rip his clothes off, use him, and leave him spent on my office floor so I could look at him for the rest of the night while I finished up the books. And I still might, depending on how I felt by the end of this.

I shoved him forward, walking him over to the see-through wall that looked out at the first floor of the den, and heard Jesse’s gasp when he saw where he was.

“That’s the—”

“Bar,” I said in his ear as I directed him over to get an unfettered view of the unsuspecting patrons. “I like to keep an eye on the people entering my establishment.”

Jesse looked at me over his shoulder, completely scandalized. “Can they see me? Us?”

“You tell me,” I said, and lifted my chin in the bar’s direction. Jesse returned his attention to the people on the other side of the glass, and I bumped my erection against him and dug my hands into his hips. “This is where I saw you that first night.”

Jesse stretched out a hand and put his fingers on the window. “Wow, this is crazy. I thought there were mirrors behind the bar. I… Wait. This is where you first saw me?”

I smoothed my hands around his waist and undid the button of his pants. “Yes. You sat down with your friend and ordered a drink. For courage, would be my guess.”

I slowly unzipped his pants and rolled my hips against him.

“And you– Ahh.” Jesse put his hand over the top of mine, pressing my palm to his cock. “You watched me?”

I traced the tip of my tongue up the shell of his ear. “I did.”

A rush of air left Jesse’s lips. “That’s so hot.”

If only he knew how much I’d watched him. I wondered if he’d still have the same opinion. I released him and then walked around to stand between him and the glass, and once I was there, I looked down at him and said, “Strip.”

Jesse looked to his right, over to the main entrance of my office, and then back to me. “Strip? Is the door locked?”

“No.”

His eyebrows flew up to almost hit his hairline. “What if someone comes in?”

“Then they come in,” I told him, and then bent my head to say in his ear, “Strip, Jesse. I won’t tell you again.” And then I circled back around to stand behind him.

Jesse shifted, and just as he was about to turn, I said, “Stay exactly as you are and strip for the people out there sitting at my bar.”

Jesse straightened, and then his shoulder blades shifted and he was reaching for the buttons of his shirt. As he kicked out of his shoes, I let my eyes wander down the length of his frame, from his broad shoulders to the narrow waist I could almost span with my hands, and I watched in silent fascination as Jesse shrugged out of his shirt and let it fall down his arms.

The pale skin he exposed was still discolored with cuts that were only midway healed, and yellow and purplish bruises splattered over his skin like a painter had thrown the colors at a blank canvas. The results from the violence that had taken place in the forest last weekend was disturbing up close and personal, but it had me unfastening my leather pants and pulling my cock free of its confines.

It was beautiful. Like a work of art. I wanted to kiss each bruise, bite at each scrape on that perfect back until Jesse winced from the sting of it. I wanted to remind him who had put those marks there, but I would wait until he was finished before I approached.

He dropped the shirt on the floor and then removed his socks before slipping his thumbs in the sides of his khakis and briefs. As he drew them down his hips, I did the same with my leather. I wanted to be as naked as he was when I finally faced him again.

“Put your hands by your side,” I said as I took a step toward him, drawn like a sailor to a siren’s call—it was darkness drawn to light, and Jesse was close to being engulfed by it. “Your back is getting better, I see.”

Jesse nodded, and I took the remaining steps needed so I could trace my finger along a particularly vicious-looking cut that ran from just beneath his shoulder blade to mid-back. He flinched at the contact, and when I pushed my finger on the rawest part of it, I heard him suck in a hiss of air, and he bucked his hips back toward me.

“Maybe once it’s fully healed we can go back down to the Lair…”

When Jesse said nothing, I raised my hand and then came around to stand in front of him, and when he realized I was as naked as he was, his eyes lowered down my body to the thick shaft I was stroking for his enjoyment.

“You like that?” I asked as Jesse’s nostrils flared and he nodded. “You want it in you, stretching you. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Jesse said. Then he reached out to touch, but one look from me at his outstretched hands and he balled them and dropped them back to his sides.

“That’s too bad, because it’s not on the agenda tonight. However, open your mouth.”

Jesse’s dick jutted out in front of him, looking painful with how swollen it was, but like a good little lamb, he obeyed. He opened his mouth, and I swiped the pre-cum from the head of my cock and painted it over his lips before sliding my finger inside along his tongue.

“There’s a taste of what you’ll get later if you behave yourself.” When I removed my finger from his mouth, Jesse tried to chase it, but I was too quick, and then I dropped to my knees, and his eyes widened as he looked down at me. “But for now, I’m going to suck your dick and remind myself how good and sweet my little lamb is. And you…you’re going to watch my bar.”