“Ohh, you’re using my real name. Serious.”
He sighs and I feel a pang, but I push away the guilt. I’m used to that, to lying to them.
“Don’t be an ass.”
I laugh, but he just sighs again and climbs to his feet. “Be careful, man.”
I force a nod and keep my smile light as he shoves his feet into his shoes. When he hugs me, I go stiff and startled as his hand finds my hair, brushing through it affectionately.
“Don’t let them break you, brother. You’re better than that.”
I swallow and nod against his shoulder, then he lets me go.
He always read me too easily.
“Get some sleep.”
“Night, Beastie,” I say, and he ducks out into the night.
Chapter 7.
I throw myself into work. With Mal gone still—the complete radio silence has me itchy in my skin—I've got more than enough to keep me busy at the Kingdom and with Wolf Security.
I work. I spend days at the club, going through the books and working on the schedule, even setting up a few classes and a lunch at Angel’s house in Athens. My nights are spent at Wolf Security, going over client files, assigning my people to them, reading over the cases we have on the table.
I opened the private security company after a brief stint in the Army, where I figured out that I was damn good at protecting people—better at it than Hunter ever hoped to be.
Surprisingly, it flourished. Charm and Mal discreetly sent business my way and I hired a few buddies from the Army that I trusted, until that wasn't enough and we took on more. Now I've got a staff of twenty, with four who are in the office on a daily basis and coordinate the security at some of the larger companies around the city.
We do good work, have a track record that speaks well for us, and we're discreet, which is always a plus in this field.
The problem is my staff is good and as a result, I'm more of a figurehead founder than an actual part of daily operations. It doesn't bother me much, allows me be where I want to be—at the Kingdom and available to my partners—more often than not.
All this means that when I do need distractions, they're hard to find. After three days at the Kingdom and four nights with the files from Wolf Security, I’m staring at the same information I’ve already read, and I’m pretty sure if I touch the schedule again, Beast will come down from Beauty’s ivory tower to beat the hell outta me, which—that’s an option.
But I don’t really want to fuck around. If I did, I would have done that days ago and sorted out my angst that way. Every time I even think about it, I remember Hunter pressing me against the wall in a janitor closet, kissing me like the world was gonna end, and I just can’t handle that.
I’m pretty sure if I tried fucking anyone, I’d either fail to get it up or I’d be moaning his name in the middle of sex, and God knows that’s not how I want to out a decade long secret.
So I keep it in my pants and throw myself into work, and try to avoid my phone that’s ringing a little too often.
It works, sorta. I keep myself busy, for almost a week.
And then it goes to hell.
~
The problem with being in love with Scarlet is that I can’t tell her no.
I’ve tried. It never works.
~
I’m in the yard, fucking around with my busted lawn mower, when Hunter pulls up in his sleek black Mustang. I don’t turn to look at him, don’t even acknowledge he’s climbing out of his expensive fucking car and sauntering across the yard to where I’m crouched like an idiot.
I just keep my attention trained on my greasy hands and the mower and I definitely don’t think about the fact that I could dirty him up right with them.
Not mine. He’s not mine, he’ll never be mine—stealing a kiss and fucking him for Scarlet’s pleasure isn’t the same as getting to keep him.
“You really that into lawn work, or you still dodging me?” Hunter asks, when the silence between us stretches into something that isn’t comfortable.
I shrug and tinker a little more.
“You’ve got no fucking clue what you’re doing, do you?”
I laugh at that because I really really don’t. I’m not sure if we’re talking about a lawn mower or life in general, but both are pretty accurate.
“Never stopped me from trying my hand at something, Hunt,” I say, tossing him a flirty smirk.
He answers it with patient exasperation. “You’re an idiot, cachorro.”
I shrug and nod. “Yep.”
“She wants to see you.”
“She should get used to life’s little disappointments,” I say, dropping the wrench that I’ve done exactly nothing with, and pushing to my feet.
Hunter is there, a breath too close, smelling like spice and sunshine, and watching me with that infinite patience. “It’s important.”
“She’s got a fiancé for important shit, Hunter,” I say. He simply watches me, quiet and calm, and I sigh. “She can’t keep doing this. You can’t.”
His expression doesn’t change. “All she wants is for you to listen.”
“That is never all she wants.” I turn away and when he moves to follow, I shake my head. “I’m going to shower.”
“And then?”
I stare at him and he waits, patient and calm, and I shake my head.
When I emerge from my shower, I’m only a little startled to hear the sound of my lawn mower in the front yard, and not at all surprised to see Hunter, stripped out of his t-shirt, mowing with a precise skill that makes my mouth water.
It’s such a fucking Hunter thing to do.
I sigh and get dressed.
~
Hunter walks through Robins Tech with the quiet air of someone who knows he belongs here, which, I suppose that’s fair—he’s been engaged to the CEO’s granddaughter for seven years. If anyone belongs here, it’s him.
He put on one of my shirts, and it’s a little tights across the shoulders as he leads the way into the heart of the office building, to where Scarlet’s office is. I try not to be distracted by that because now is definitely not the time to think about the fact that I’ve seen the way those muscles move when he’s fucking Scarlet, and how I really want to lick the sweat off of them.
“Wolf?”
I blink and realize Hunter has stopped. He’s standing in front of a closed door and watching me with a half smile. I flush and nod. “Yeah. Um. Let’s go in.”
He breathes a low laugh that hits me just right, and then pushes the door open.
Scarlet Robins runs her company the same way she does everything in life—with a wicked grin and an air of innocence that is utterly disarming and distracting, until she smacks you upside the head with her tricky brilliance.
It’s what I fell in love with, when we were at Wilderwood, and it’s what I love about her now. Walking into a conversation with Scarlet is like walking into a forest full of traps, and she’s the only one who knows where they’re hidden.
“You took longer than I expected,” she says, frowning at the clock before turning her attention back to her computer.
“He didn’t want to come—and I helped him with some stuff at the house,” Hunter explains, sprawling bonelessly in a chair across from her.
She eyes him and then me. “Sit down, Wolf.”
I lean against Hunter’s chair and feel him laugh, just a little, before leaning into me subtly.
“He said it was important,” I state simply, getting straight to the point.
She smiles at me, tight and false. “Of course it’s important. You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t. You don’t come to me unless it’s important.”
I meet her hard gaze head on. “Don’t ask me to give what I can’t, Scar.”
Her lips tighten and Hunter speaks up. “Enough. Tell him why he’s here, roja.”
She glares at him briefly and then shrugs. “My cousins are moving to take Robins Tech from me.”
I stiffen. “Wh
at the fuck?”
“They’ve wanted it for years, and with Rosalie in the hospital after the accident—I’m not in a particularly strong position. My cousins know it. Our Board knows it.”
“What are you expecting?”
“Sabotage. Hunt’s watching my people and our projects, keeping our online security tight, but—“
“You think they’ll actually attack you?”
Scarlet bites her lip and shrugs. “I think I spent almost a week in the hospital for an accident that shouldn’t have happened. Maybe they wouldn’t move against me, but my cousins aren’t fond of me, and if I’m out of the picture, there’s a lot of money up for grabs.”
I nod. It’s true and while I’m not a fan of her logic, there’s a reason she had Hunter as a bodyguard in high school. It infuriates me that someone is trying to hurt her, that she has to take this precaution.
Of all things, I’m pissed that it’s her family that wants to hurt her.
She’s always had a rocky relationship with her cousins and uncles, ever since her father died and Rosalie took her in.
I shake the thought and focus on the current problem. “So you want, what? A bodyguard? For here, or—“
“You,” Hunter says, softly enough that I almost miss it. “We want you.”
Chapter 8.
I was seventeen. It was August, and I was happy.
Caesar, as we called Hunter back then, was on his knees, his entire body a curl over mine, his mouth working my cock and I couldn’t breathe through the want.
His fingers dug bruises into my skin, holding me still when I tried to thrust, just like he always did. A breathy sigh came from somewhere to my right, and I dragged my gaze away from Caesar to Scarlet.
Her hair was down, and it spread across my bed like a wave, brushing my skin, and I craned my head for her.
I would never get over this. Over her, pressed warm and naked next to me, and Hunter on his knees between my legs. I’m never gonna get over the taste of her in my mouth as I slide my hand in her hair and suck the taste of Hunter from her tongue. I’m never gonna get over the sugar sweet gasp she gives up when I roll her pale nipple between my thumb and finger, pinching just enough that she jerks against me.
I’m never going to get over the slow glide of Hunter’s tongue as he licks my cock, and breathes something profane and Spanish into my flesh before taking me back into that sinful fucking mouth of his. I groan and she leans into me, sets her teeth into my pec and bites down, hard enough that I cry out and come, Hunt’s fingers digging bruises into my hips while his throat works, swallowing around me.
Scarlet whines when he pulls her up and kisses her, filthy and deep, and I just came but fuck, I want them still.
His eyes are steady on mine when he drapes her over me, and I hold her still, one hand on her pretty pussy, the other braced across her chest, as he fills her up.
If I let myself pretend that I’m the one Hunter’s fucking, that the noises Scarlet’s making are because of my cock and not his—well, no one need to know but me.
I’m seventeen and it’s August and I’m stupidly, impossibly happy.
~
I never told Scarlet about my history with Hunter.
Maybe I should have. I felt guilty about it, over the years, but the truth is—I shared everything about Hunter with her, and I didn’t get to keep anything.
I needed to keep that.
What truly surprised me was that Hunter didn’t tell her either.
~
“You want me,” I say flatly.
Hunter still hasn’t moved, is reclining like he owns the goddamned world. Scarlet, at least, has the decency to look a little anxious about the whole thing, like she knows that what they’re proposing is fucking insane and—
“I haven’t done field work in almost five years,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “You know that I’m not the most qualified.”
“You are,” Hunter says, a perfectly illogical objection voiced in that ridiculously calm tone with a hint of a smile tipped toward me.
I want to punch him. “How the hell do you figure?”
“You’re in love with her,” he says casually, like it’s the fucking weather he’s commenting on.
“Hunter,” Scarlet snarls, and his gaze flicks to her for a moment, and then back to me, completely unapologetic.
“You’re in love with her. You would never let anything near her.”
I want to argue with him, want to tell him that she’s a friend—a good friend, but just a friend, that emotions don’t matter in this business, that it doesn’t matter because I’m not doing this.
Except—fucking hell.
“It doesn’t matter how I feel,” I say dully, “I’m not the best person to keep her safe.”
Hunter uncoils at that and stands, watching me with those patient brown-black eyes. There’s a small smile hidden in them that I know better than I know my own, because it’s the same smile I’ve seen in his eyes for years.
“You’re the only one I trust with her. Help me. Please, cachorro.”
“Puppies don’t keep anyone safe, Hunt,” I argue.
He waits, endlessly patient, and I shake my head. “This—this doesn’t work if we’re emotional. You get that? I do this and it’s not about my feelings or that I fuck you on occasion. It’s not about our history, it’s about her. That’s all it can be about. Business.”
“Then you’ll do it?”
I hesitate and look past him. Scarlet is waiting for my answer.
She’s dressed down, in jeans and a jade green button up, her bright red hair tied back and almost tame. There are shadows smudged under her eyes, making the green shine—hopeful and anxious.
“Yeah,” I say, nodding slowly. “Ok.”
~
Sometimes, we do stupid things, and we know it’s stupid the moment we make the decision to do it.
This is one of those moments, for me.
There’s also the unshakable sense that Charm and Beast are going to lose their freaking shit over this.
~
“Hunter, will you give me and Wolf a second, babe?”
He seems to expect it, brushing me with his arm as he slips by.
Scarlet’s gaze is sharp and assessing while she studies me. “Are you alright doing this, Wolf?”
I shrug. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because you’re in love with us, and living with me is going to be—if it’s too much, you need to tell me. I won’t make you do this.”
I smile lazily. “You don’t make me do anything, Scar.”
“Don’t be a dick,” she says, tart and affectionate. “Can you do this? Is it going to be too much?”
I lean forward and kiss her cheek gently. “Honey, I’ve watched Hunter and you for years, and let you watch me and him, and everything in between. If I can do that, I can do this.”
She leans into it, just a little, and her eyes close. “Ok, Wolfie. Send me your contract and we’ll work out the details.”
I nod and step away from her before I do something else idiotic, like take her in my arms or make some other equally ridiculous decision.
~
Christopher Carrington is a retired Marine, one of the few people I trust that doesn’t know about the club, and my right hand at Wolf Sec. I’m very aware that the place would have folded in the first year if he hadn’t shown up and taken control in that simple no-nonsense way of his.
So when I show up at headquarters the next morning without any prior warning, he greets me with raised eyebrows and a soft sigh. “What did you do?”
“I need a standard contract.”
He eyes me as he emails me the proper files. “Did you pick up a stray?”
“Why does everyone see me and think dog?” I ask absentmindedly as I scroll through the contract. “I need this printed.”
He passes it over, fresh out of the printer, and says, “You are named Wolf.”
I flip him off and glance over the contract.
<
br /> “You wanna tell me about it?” he asks.
“What do you know about Scarlet Robins?”
He leans back in his chair. “Daughter of Gregory Robins, who died in a car accident fifteen years ago. He was a tech genius, is responsible for a lot of the software we’re still using in cell phones today. She was raised by her grandmother, Rosalie Robins, the founder and CEO of Robins Tech. Girl is supposed to be a genius. She’s got some family that don’t seem too keen on her inheriting the company. And she’s engaged to Caesar Sanchez, the hacker.”
I blink at him, and he smiles thinly. “And she’s been one of your best friends since you attended Wilderwood Prep together.”
“You checking up on me?” I ask, quirking an eyebrow up.
Christopher shrugs and nods. “The girl matters to you, so she matters to the company.”
“Well, she just hired us,” I say, tossing him my phone. He glances at the file I’ve pulled up. “That pissy family that didn’t want her inheriting? She thinks they’re going to move to have her replaced while Rosalie is recovering from a car accident.”
His eyes narrow. “Seems like that doesn’t really apply to you—we do physical threats, not nebulous business coups.”
“I know what we do,” I say evenly.
Christopher sighs. “I’m not gonna talk you out of this, am I?”
I shake my head.
He nods. “Ok, so tell me what you’re gonna be doing then.”
“Hunt will take her security at night. I’ll be with her during business hours, travel, and keeping an eye on her security at home.”
Christopher frowns. “That’s a big commitment. What about Beast and Charming? You’ve got responsibilities to them as well.”
I nod and shrug. “I’ll take care of Charm and Beast. I need to know that you’ll take care of Wolf Sec, while I’m taking care of her.”
“I always take care of Wolf Sec,” he huffs, almost offended.
I nod again. “You do.”
Wicked Wolf (Wicked Ever After Book 3) Page 4