Page 134 of The ARC Unit: Breach

“No.”

I turned toward him so quickly the seat belt tightened across my shoulder. “Absolutely fucking not.”

“You volunteered all of that.”

“You repeatedly told me to keep going.”

“And you did.”

“Wolf.” His name came out strained and breathless, almost embarrassingly so.

He glanced briefly in my direction as I took a slow breath and settled farther into the seat, trying to let some of the tension leave my shoulders.

“What are you into?” I asked, keeping my voice even.

He still did not answer immediately. Traffic thickened near an interchange, and he waited until we were clear of it before speaking.

“Control.”

I turned my head toward him. “That’s your whole answer?”

“You asked what I’m into.”

“I gave you significantly more than one word.”

Some of the calm I had worked myself into started slipping away as I watched the side of his mask, irritation warming underneath the curiosity that had gotten me into this conversation in the first place.

“That was your decision.”

“I am starting to understand why nobody invites you to normal social situations.”

“I get invited.”

“Do you go?”

“No.”

“Exactly.”

He ignored that, which I took as permission to keep pushing.

“What does control mean?”

“You know what it means.”

“I know what it means when you’re running an operation. I’m asking what it means when you’re sleeping with someone.”

Wolf’s jaw moved once beneath the mask before he answered. “If she gives it to me, I use it.”

“That is still vague.”

“It’s supposed to be.”

I waited him out this time. Cars moved steadily around us, and Wolf seemed perfectly willing to let the question sit there until I either dropped it or asked something better.

“Why control?”

He was quiet for a few seconds before answering. “Because I want her to choose it.”