34. Oh Fuck
Chapter 34
Oh Fuck
CALLIE
I ’m nervous.
Foursome last night? No problem.
But a holiday dinner?
I may rip my cuticles off by the time it’s finished.
My car door was opened, and Cole reached in to unbuckle me. The same way he’d buckled me when we got in. According to him, he was aware I could do it but liked knowing for himself that it was secure.
According to me, I liked his sweet protectiveness, so he could’ve wrapped me in bubble wrap, and I probably wouldn’t have argued.
Once I was out of the car, Marco scanned me. “You okay? Did the meds kick in?”
For the most part, my side only gave me the occasional twinge. But after two nights of enthusiastic activities followed by sleeping sandwiched between two men—Marco had again left to sleep in his own bed—I’d woken up sorer than previously. I’d had to talk them down from trying to get Pierce to make a house call with the promise I would medicate and take things easy.
“Back to normal,” I answered honestly.
“Good. I brought your next dose, so if you need?—”
I cut off his panic before he decided to throw me back in the car and force me to bed—and not in the good way. “I’m okay, Daddy. Promise.”
He tucked me under one of his arms while his other held the container of cookies. Cole closed the door and slid his arm around my waist on the other side.
“So we’re just putting it all out there from the get-go, huh?” I muttered.
My steps were halted, and two angry Daddies stared down at me.
“We’re not gonna hide,” Marco bit out.
“And we don’t have to,” Cole added.
Marco’s handsome face went blank. Guarded. For a big badass mountain, he worked to hide a shocking amount of vulnerability. “Unless you’re embarrassed.”
Guilt hit my chest, and I reached for both of them. “No. Never. I just know Mr. Black and Ash are important to you as more than a boss and a coworker. I want them to like me. I also don’t want them to think I’m taking advantage of you.”
“Know I’m a lot older than you, baby girl,” Marco said, “but I’m not senile. No one’s gonna think I’m being manipulated.”
“Not like that. Because I’m staying at your house. I just don’t want them to think that all this is… odd .”
“I overheard what Freddy told you yesterday, and he’s right. They want us happy. That’s it.” Cole chuckled. “And even if they want to judge, they don’t have any room to.”
“It’d be the pot calling the kettle obsessed and kinky,” Marco said with his own chuckle.
Both chuckles were seriously good, but I dragged my head out of the gutter to ask, “How so?”
“Maximo brings his wife with him as often as possible, and when he can’t, he watches her on security cameras,” Cole shared.
That was…
I didn’t know what that was. On the one hand, I didn’t think I would personally like it. Having the men’s attention on me while we were in bed—where I was also distracted—was one thing. While I just went about my day? I was pretty sure I would feel the need to constantly do something interesting.
On the other hand, it was oddly sweet. I was betting Juliet felt the same since the one time I’d seen them together, her whole mood had improved at just his presence.
And I was even more thankful that all that adoration hadn’t been aimed at Freddy.
“See?” Marco asked with a raised brow. “Anyone who cyberstalks their woman has no room to judge. Because that’s a weird thing to do. I don’t even know what kind of man would— Oomph .”
“Why…” I started as I looked between them before focusing on Cole. “You wouldn’t. Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you would. You put some kind of tracker on my phone, didn’t you?”
“And computer,” he admitted without a hint of shame or remorse.
“When?”
“When I fixed them.”
“That was forever ago.”
“Yup.”
“So everything I’ve played and looked at and…”
“ Watched ?” His wicked smile said he knew exactly why I was panicking. “Yup.”
The sad thing was, I wasn’t upset or even that surprised. Maybe that he’d been doing it for so long, but not that it was happening.
“Anyway, and Ash has his ropes,” he continued like he hadn’t just confessed to using tech to stalk me.
“His ropes?” I asked, letting the rest of it go as oddly flattering.
I’m so messed up.
“You might not be able to see them, but a hundred bucks says that Mila has ropes wrapped somewhere on her body. A little reminder that she belongs to her Daddy.”
Oh.
Ohhhh.
Cole and Marco easily read the way my body heated. Not at Ash. Or even the ropes. That seemed like an overstimulating nightmare. Or something I would pick at and twist until I trapped myself in a not-so-fun way. But the reminder part was intriguing.
“You like that, baby girl?” Marco asked.
“But not ropes, and only if it was all three of you,” I said instantly.
It was the right thing to say, and I got two hard kisses that stole my anxiety.
And my brain cells.
Feeling better, we walked the rest of the way to the front door of the gorgeously massive home. It was thrown open before anyone had the chance to knock, and I suddenly felt better about the jeans and sweater Marco had left out for me after my shower. Both men were also wearing well-fitted jeans and tees—something I rarely saw but very much liked—but I wasn’t sure how dressy the dinner would be.
It wasn’t like we were going to a gathering at the porn-partment. Mr. Black and Juliet were glamorous and elegant, and I’d worried that I was going into a black-tie affair while dressed like I’d wandered in off the streets. Which was kind of true, but still.
Instead, the pretty redhead was wearing a cropped tee with fashionable rips and a pair of wide-leg yoga pants. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail that swung when she looked at me and grinned like we were long-lost besties. “Hi. How’re you feeling? How is your side?”
“Better unless we… Uh, better.”
If she picked up on what I’d been about to say or the flush of my cheeks, she didn’t say anything. She stepped away so we could come into the entryway before closing the door behind us. “Good. I asked Marco to bring you to Sunrise a few days ago, but he said no, so I was worried you weren’t feeling well.”
He said no?
I tried to swallow the rejection, but it was bitter and burned the whole way down. I should’ve been used to it, but I wasn’t. Not anymore. Not when it came to them.
At my silence, he read my hurt without me having to say a word and laid it out as bluntly as always, regardless of our audience. “Baby girl, I said no because when I’m on Juliet duty, I have to stay focused.”
“Why didn’t you just say that?” At his shrug, Juliet turned to me. “Is he always such a wealth of conversation?”
He wasn’t as chatty as Freddy or even Cole, but he gave more than the simple chin lifts he used to.
I didn’t share that as I put my hands on my hips and looked up at him. “You could stay focused. I’m not a distraction.”
That didn’t get a chuckle. That got a deep laugh that sounded good and felt even better as he curled me into him. “You sure as fuck are. If you were there, you’d be my priority, and that’s not the job.”
Juliet’s pretty green eyes went wide, likely at hearing him laugh. After a moment, she got over it enough to have my back. “It would be fine.”
She must not have realized her husband was approaching, but he let himself be known.
With a sharp smack to her ass.
“Ow, Daddy, why?” she hissed as she tried to rub the pain away.
He didn’t let her. “You don’t take chances with your safety, dove. You know better.”
He did the shoulder-thump-man-hug with Marco and Cole but didn’t attempt to hug me. Which was good because, boss or not, I wasn’t sure either of my men would be cool with it.
And Juliet was super nice, but I got the distinct feeling she was just as possessive of her husband as he was of her.
He did, however, stare me down in that intimidating way that made me feel like he could see everything. And since I’d added a few carnal sins to my tally sheet since the last time we’d met, I would prefer he didn’t. But all he did was ask, “You good?”
“Yes, thank you, Mr. Black.”
His angry gaze cut to Marco and Cole. “You didn’t tell your woman to call me Maximo?”
“We tried,” Cole said.
Juliet’s eye roll ended in another swat. “Hey, I was rolling my eyes at Callie, not you,” she told her husband before looking at me. “No offense, but his ego is already unreal and massive. You don’t have to feed into it anymore. Call him Maximo.”
“Got it.”
But are eye rolls a spankable offense? Because if so, my ass and I are in trouble.
I didn’t get the chance to ask before Freddy came into the entryway. He wasn’t at work, but he was dressed like it. His fitted black tee was tucked into his slacks, and a splattered apron was tied around his waist. His hair was a mess, and he hadn’t bothered to shave—leaving the most appealing stubble coating his chiseled jaw.
He’d never looked hotter.
Right up until he looked at the three of us standing close and grinned.
Then. Right then, at that moment, he’d never looked hotter.
Okay, and then he closed the distance and kissed me, and I quickly realized that all three would look progressively hotter, and future-me had some perks to go with all the problems I’d left for her.
“About time,” he said as he tried to step back.
Like the night before, Cole caught his wrist and pulled him in for a quick but fierce kiss. “We’re early.”
“Yeah, well I’ve been here for a hundred hours after leaving you both cuddled in a warm bed, so it feels longer.”
Like Marco, Maximo didn’t look the least bit shocked by the development.
Juliet, on the other hand, was shocked enough for both of them. Her brows shot up as she looked between them with wide eyes. She got control of it quickly and smoothed her surprise, but not the genuine smile.
“Back to the visit,” she continued, undeterred and stubborn. “How is Callie coming to one of the resorts any different from when Mila does? We could just add another guard to the party.”
“Because Mila isn’t ours. Callie is .” At the firm ownership in Marco’s words and tone—not to mention the instant nod of agreement from Cole and Freddy—my stomach melted and flipped, and my chest got full of moshing butterflies.
Like I was protected and wanted and treasured.
I was fine with that answer, even if it would’ve been fun to get to know Juliet. Which was why I impulsively said, “Maybe you can come hang out at Marco’s while I’m still there. Or I’ll see you when I go back to work.”
In an instant, the vibe in the foyer changed as my three men spoke over each other.
“What the fuck do you mean, while you’re still there?”
“Back to work?”
“Remember when Daddy Marco said you were allowed to leave?”
The front door opened, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the irate men to see who was there.
“Happ… What’d we miss?”
I was guessing it was Ash who asked, but it was Maximo who answered with something that could only be described as angry amusement. “Callie insinuated she would move out of Marco’s and outright said she’d be going back to work.”
“Oh fuck.”
That about summed it up.