15. June #2
“Wait.” Dom steps away from where I had left him and focuses on me. “Magnus will accompany you now. Hayes will join you this evening. But I request that you come home in between shifts.”
I cross my arms over my chest and study the gorgeous man in front of me. Nearly every ounce of me wants to say no, because he’s not the boss of me, but on the other hand, he did ask nicely. And if I want him to keep fucking me like he did last night, I should probably comply with him occasionally.
Still, though, it’s not an option to obey him. I need to find another job. “I can’t.”
“You can, and you will.” His demeanor hardens.
“No.” I stare at him, matching his intensity.
Magnus jumps between us, his hands out. “Okay, as much as I’d love to see you two go at it, you’re both wearing way too many clothes.” When neither of us budges, he continues toward me. “I’ll go with her, Dom, it’ll be fine.”
Dominic slowly shifts his stone-cold gaze to Magnus. “It won’t, and you know it. You’re being na?ve and reckless.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s my middle name.” Magnus reaches my side and stops, his hand resting on my back.
Dominic steps closer, his voice deepening. “I said no touching.”
“Actually, you said no swapping fluids, and unless I have a medical condition, I’m unaware of, this is not off-limits.” Magnus drags me to his chest and throws his arms around me, smothering me in a hug.
One I didn’t realize I needed until I was wrapped in it. It’s suffocating, but I relax into it anyway, enjoying it while it lasts.
He releases me a second later, my body itching to be near him again.
I blame those damn pre-period hormones. I’m horny, filled with rage, and desperate for cuddles. All three things are a complete contradiction of one another.
“Don’t test me.” Dominic tightens his fist and I’m not entirely sure if he realizes he’s doing it. “You two will come back here when you’re done. End of discussion.”
I step around Magnus to stand in front of him. “No, not end of discussion. You might be the boss of him, but you’re not the boss of me. This living arrangement, it’s temporary, and I won’t put my life on hold because of it. If I don’t pick up another job, it will completely fuck up my entire plan.”
Although, not having rent to pay, that makes saving for my own place a bit easier. I shouldn’t be this harsh on Dom, but if I don’t stand up to him, no one will, and I seem to be the only one he’ll back down from.
“How much?” Dominic shoves his hand into his pocket, pulling out a money clip similar to the one I’ve seen Coen and Magnus have. Engraved, fancy, and stuffed full of cash. “Name your price and you can quit working right now.”
“Not going to work, I already tried.” Magnus grips my shoulders and rests his chin on the top of my head. “You’re wasting your time, Dom.”
I glance over at Coen, watching him watch us in silence while he sips his coffee.
“Maybe you didn’t offer enough.” Dominic takes the entire wad of bills out from under the clip while walking over to us. “Here.”
I don’t even bother looking at it. “No. You can’t buy me.” I sense his frustration, my guilt following suit. “But, because my uterus feels like it’s about to fall out, I will grant you the afternoon.”
The idea of wandering aimlessly scouring windows for help-wanted signs sounds hella unappealing given the current state of my female reproductive system. Instead, maybe I’ll use the time between gigs to take a freaking nap or do something I don’t do often, relax.
“Are you not at all concerned about the danger you’re in?” Dom remains with his hand outstretched like I might actually take his offering.
I reach for it, the clip, too, shoving them back together and into his pocket. “Not really.”
“This is serious, June. These men, these people, they’ll kill you and not think twice.”
Maybe I should be more scared, threatened by the life I’ve stumbled upon, but honestly, I embrace it for what it is, because what other choice do I have?
I refuse to let them think they’ve rattled me, that I can’t handle whatever comes my way.
I’ve never been one to show weakness, and I won’t start now.
“Then let them, they’d probably be doing us all a favor.” I don’t mean for this to come out as melodramatic as it does, but it’s the truth.
If the evil they keep trying to warn me about finds me, then it would eliminate the burden of them having to watch over me, the obligation they feel to maintain my safety.
They would be free to go on with their lives the way they were prior to my arrival, and focus on winning the war they’re battling.
It’s not like I’d be leaving much behind either, given I barely have two nickels to rub together.
Cora would be bummed, that’s for sure, but she’d get over it in time.
Magnus shakes my shoulders and turns me around to face him. “That’s not true.”
I catch a glimpse of Dom, his brows bunched.
“Do you think we do this for fun?” Dom says from behind me. “We don’t invite people into our home. We don’t worry about anyone. And we don’t go to the lengths we have to keep someone safe. Whether you want it or not, we are going to protect you, respect you, and provide for you.”
Magnus nods his head with each of Dom’s words. “What he said.”
“Yep,” Coen adds.
My heart aches at the rawness surrounding us. It feels so…unfamiliar.
“I understand you want this situation to be temporary, June, but it’s not.
” Dominic exhales. “So, I encourage you to embrace it for what it is. There is no reason for you to want to put yourself in any unnecessary peril to make a few bucks. Whatever you wish for, we can give it to you, without question.”
I meet Magnus’s gaze, an idea coming to me, something they would never be willing to do in a million years. Something money could not buy.
He seems to read my mind, a grin forming on his beautiful face. “Oh, you little vixen.”
I chuckle and shake my head, turning to the rest of the guys. “Fine. I won’t get a third job. But I’m keeping the other two. I won’t be reliant on a man…or three.”
Dominic’s shoulders relax in the slightest. “That’s acceptable, for now. Although, I do hope you reconsider.”
“I’ll think about it.” I stare at him, my gaze lingering on his hands, his mouth, his strong arms. I recall the private moments we’ve shared together.
The tenderness and consideration he paid my body, despite his polished and serious exterior.
I should fear him, I know this, but instead, it only makes me want him more.
“That’s all I ask.” He pulls his vibrating phone out once again. “I have to go. We can discuss this in detail later.”
I should be afraid of each of these men. They’re all criminals, dangerous ones who do God knows what during their work hours. And yet here I am, more intrigued than ever, defying them at every chance and growing more attracted to them with each passing moment.
That alone concerns me the most. The attachment I have to them. The fact that despite everything I say and do, I want to be here. It’s not the potential hazard to my life that freaks me out, it’s that the feelings I have for them are developing into something out of my control.
My shift at Bram’s goes exactly how I expect—a bit awkward with Magnus lurking around, but overall, it’s a relatively easy one. I enjoy working at the diner the most out of all my employment ventures, mostly because of Bram.
There’s something about him that my other bosses don’t share.
Kindness? Compassion? A genuine consideration for his employees?
Maybe I’m not used to basic human decency out of a superior, given that most of my managers have been selfish assholes.
Which, I totally get, because it’s not their place to be more concerned with their workers than the bottom line, but there’s a point you’d think fundamental social skills come into play.
Like the douche at the pizza place firing me because of my face.
He didn’t care at all that I was hurt, only that it might hurt business.
Bram on the other hand has tried to offer me paid time off and goes out of his way to do my job so I don’t have to. Which literally defeats the purpose of me being here.
I settle my gaze across the diner at Magnus, Bram hovering above him with a steaming pot of coffee. The two of them are chatting and I can’t help but wonder what the heck about. I untie my apron and hang it on the hook with the others and exit from behind the counter.
Their murmurs die down when I approach—never a good sign.
I lean against the booth and cross my arms. “What did I miss?”
“Oh, nothing you don’t already know.” Magnus reaches over and rubs my shoulder with his tattooed hand. “Like how stubborn you are.”
I side-eye him. “I like to call it strong-willed.”
Bram smiles. “That’s it alright.” He nudges the pot toward me. “Now that you’re officially off duty, would you like a cup?”