Chapter 14
ATLAS
The ride back to our place was long and fortunately, uneventful.
After we left the city limits, we weren't completely out of the clear, but we'd relaxed enough that we'd opened some sparkling water and had a good time chatting and joking about what we'd done at the museum.
Within reason of course since this wasn't our vehicle.
Kim had the most stories as he talked about the ridiculous outfits people wore, the gossip he'd overheard, and how he was going to be happy to place these kinds of events all behind him.
I doubted he meant it. He was glowing as he said all this. Beasty too, surprisingly.
Back at the house, Lake ushered us all into the office after a quick goodbye to Jorge. He’d just sat down behind his desk when his phone rang.
"Fuck. Can't we have a debrief in peace?” Lake hit the answer button. Yes?" he barked.
"My, my. I'm beginning to think your quintet isn't working out. You should really think about getting laid more." Parker.
Lake was so outraged, his face burned bright red as he bared his teeth at the phone laying face up on his desk. "I will hang up on your right now, you fucking bastard."
"Fine, fine. I just wanted to let you know, Jorge alerted me that you made it back to the safety of your home. My team has the item in their possession and they're currently on their way back. Good job."
Lake pulled a face. I smirked. If it was possible, Parker was a bigger pain in his ass that I was in Joaquin's.
Joaquin and Kim didn't seem so amused, and neither did Beasty.
"Thanks for the update," Lake gritted out. After a few pleasantries—on Parker's side—they hung up.
Lake melted back into his chair as he rocked and studied us. "I'm glad that shit is over."
Beasty laughed and we all joined in.
Kim leaned forward. "That was the most fun I've had in a while. I can't say I didn't enjoy showing Beasty off." She gave him a sweet smile and he looked at her from beneath his lashes. She blushed.
This was everything Kim wanted, and it was still wild that this was where we were at. A month ago, I would have been seething in jealousy at the exchange, but now that Beasty let me close whenever I wanted, I was settled in a way I’d never experienced.
I shook my head, remembering the one dark stain on the night. "We have another problem."
Kim immediately sobered like he couldn't believe he'd forgotten about our new friend.
"What?" Lake burst forward in his seat.
"More like a who,” I said. “A man watched us for a while before having some old lady introduce him. Then he asked to work together."
Joaquin made a face as he pulled out his cards, stress shuffling them.
"What kind of work?" Lake asked at the same time Beasty opened her phone.
"Here, I have a picture of him." She turned her phone around so Lake and Joaquin could see. The pride on her face hit me in the chest, at the same time my dick twitched. I loved this look on her.
It made me want to strip her bare and fuck her right here.
A giddiness coursed through me at the thought of making the others watch without being able to touch her.
I didn’t know what was better, making them watch on the security cameras or in person where they’d have to fist their hands to stop from reaching out, no matter how much her luscious pleasure called to them. One side of my lips tipped up.
The second idea was far superior…
Then Kim burst it by bringing me back to the present. "We didn't let him get that far, but he was going to ask about something illegal. He was being too cagey."
"Agreed." I sighed.
All the blood drained from Joaquin's face. "What are the chances he saw Lake and I leave the ballroom?"
It had to be exhausting how he constantly let his worry get to him.
"I think we're safe there." I loosened my tie and pulled it out of my dress shirt. "He didn't arrive until you two were back by the bar."
Joaquin slumped as the cards arced in his hands. "Good."
"Can you text that to me, Beasty?" Lake nodded to her phone. "I don't recognize him, but I'll see if he's ever been to Snatched, and have some of my contacts check him out." He mashed his lips together.
"What's wrong?" Beasty canted her head.
"I was debating if I wanted to have Parker check with his contacts." He grumbled as he spun back to his computer. "Not yet," he answered a question he didn't even ask.
After a second’s hesitation, Beasty stood up. "I need to go check on Quilliam and feed him."
Perfect timing.
"I'll come with. It's my turn.” I bit my bottom lip as I approached Beasty.
She purred in contentment when I smacked her ass and followed her out. I stopped in the door to the office, glancing back at Joaquin. I loved him, but he was slow on the uptake sometimes. He was lucky he had me here to give him a helping hand.
"What are you waiting for?" I gave him a look that told him this would be his only chance to follow.
He blinked. "I'm invited?”
I rolled my eyes. Now he was just being stupid. "Not if you don't come now."
Beasty was already halfway up the stairs. As much as I wanted Joaquin to watch me with Beasty and Beasty to watch me with Joaquin, I wouldn’t pass up this opportunity to steal her away from Kim and Lake.
He turned to Kim, questioningly. A flash of irritation hit me. If he wasn’t in the room by the time I shut the door, he was getting locked out.
I turned, not willing to wait any longer.
"It's fine, go,” Kim sounded amused, his voice trailing after me as I headed for the stairs. “I want to give Lake as much information on that man as possible. Bran Davies."
Lake grunted, the sound loud in the quiet house.
Hm, too bad Lake put extra insulation between our bedrooms. I wouldn’t mind having them listen to Beasty screaming my name.
I took the stairs three at a time, and when they creaked behind me, I grinned. Joaquin didn't need that much convincing now that they'd made up.
Though, if he’d taken much longer, I’d have tied him down for Beasty to torture just like that night in the living room…
My cock was well and truly ready, throbbing with need to be buried in at least one of my lovers.
I found Beasty sliding a finger down Quilliam's spiky back as he ate.
She was gorgeous like this. No sign of the sad, unsure girl from childhood. Beasty had grown into a confident woman under our care. Maybe not the first time, but we were young. We hadn’t known what we were doing then.
The stark difference from the day she stepped out of Lake’s car with Quilliam to now was so satisfying. We did this. We helped her become who she was always meant to be.
Quilliam let out a small grunt. He was a funny looking thing, but if Beasty loved him, so did I.
"I've never actually seen him alert.” I stepped closer.
"It's because they're nocturnal. He's pretty active when I let him out late at night."
I loved her so fucking much. Any peek inside her head was an addiction I wanted to feed. I wanted to listen to everything she wanted to tell me, except right now, I was more interested in getting her out of that dress and onto my cock.
Tonight at the museum had been torture. It was part of the reason I split up from her and Kim. He'd already claimed her to the public eye, and I knew myself. If I was close to her, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from letting the world know that she was mine too.
I'd gotten close anyway, and it was all I could do to keep my hands to myself. For about two seconds. Then I thought, fuck it.
She was ours and there wasn't any reason in the world good enough for me to hide it. We were proud to call her ours. The others needed to get their heads out of their asses and show it.
Growling, I pulled her hips against mine. She squeaked, bracing her hands on my shoulders.
Joaquin made a noise in the doorway and we both turned to him. He looked uncomfortable, like he didn't know if he should be here or not.
I was just about to tell him to get his ass in here when his phone beeped.
He pulled it out, forgetting his awkward mood. "Damn it, Atlas!" He raked a hand through his hair.
"What?" I grabbed a handful of Beasty's ass through her dress. The piece was beautiful. No one could say Kim didn’t know fashion, but it had to go.
"You and Kim each took turns kissing Beasty out in the open?" Joaquin asked, but he sounded like he already knew the answer. He turned his phone around, and sure enough, there were twin pictures side by side on a gossip site. One of me kissing Beasty, and one with Kim.
That was a fantastic picture of us. "Send me that link."
"This is serious!" His cheeks flushed. What did he care if the world knew Beasty was ours? It wasn’t like the media didn’t talk about us anyway, and everyone knew we were saved from Gates by a woman. Most knew it was Beasty.
I doubted anyone would bat an eye that our unbreakable bond had turned sexual. If they did, fuck ‘em.
"Why?" Beasty frowned at him.
That’s my girl. I loved that the idea of keeping our relationship a secret was just as ridiculous to her.
"What do you mean, why?" He lost some of his anger as he glanced at Beasty. I recognized that look. He was two seconds from rolling over and giving her anything she wanted. It took a hard fucking against a questionable surface for me to get that look.
So she was going to be his kryptonite. I’d remember that for later. I pressed my cheek against her head to hide my smile.
"Why can't people know about us? I'm not embarrassed by you all. I'm not ashamed." She was matter of fact in her tone and words, but there was an underlying current that this answer really mattered to Beasty.
I glared at him over her head. He better not screw this up when he'd just gotten in her good graces. I'd been wanting to fuck them both for years.
His mouth opened and closed in a poor imitation of a fish. He hadn't expected that to be what Beasty questioned, and he also didn't know how to answer it.