Jackal of All Trades (The Wild Operatives: MacArthur Security Book 1)

by Vivienne Savage

  Meanwhile, Nadir showed up to babysit me in Prada.

  Whatever. My guards were hot and it made sense for fans to fixate on them. I couldn’t blame anyone.

  When I finished skimming through the tweets, I popped over to my e-mail account. My thumbprint should have unlocked the inbox, but a message appeared telling me it was the wrong e-mail and password combination. I put my thumb over the sensor again.

  I tried a third time after that. When that failed, I tediously tapped in each letter, symbol, and number.

  Password was recently changed, the automated message told me.

  “What the fuck?”

  No one had access to my personal e-mail. I didn’t even give that to Harper or Shantal.

  Someone had changed the password to my e-mail.

  Someone had been in my personal e-mail account. And that was all the reason I needed to begin freaking out and losing my shit at the breach of privacy.

  Recovering the personal account took me less than five minutes from start to finish of verifying my personal data and getting a special key from my cellphone to log in and change my password.

  What I saw doused my cheerful mood with ice water.

  Every single e-mail of the day had been marked read, and I had no way to determine whether the culprit had dived into my sent folder as well. I had to assume they had seen everything private and personal.

  I stumbled off the bed, but the room spun around me in an alarming rush of vertigo. I bumped my thigh into the nightstand and dropped my phone. It bounced against carpet and skittered under the bed, not that I gave a fuck where it went.

  Someone had been in my inbox, rifling through my personal e-mail messages with friends and family.

  Hyperventilating, I staggered toward the door and pushed it open without thinking, without knocking, stumbling into the adjoining room the guys left unlocked.

  It took my lizard brain several seconds to realize Suraj wasn’t tucked into bed and that Nadir wasn’t standing watch in the hallway as he sometimes did in the later hours of the night.

  They weren’t in their usual places because they were both a tangle of naked limbs in bed, their gloriously muscled bodies gliding together. My brain initially failed to telegraph the appropriate signal to my legs that would send me fleeing the room, just as it failed to lower my gaze.

  Holy shit, they are both hung.

  Holy shit. Suraj was built, sprawled beneath Nadir in the bed while the smaller man leaned over him, their dicks trapped in his hand while he jacked them both.

  And fuck, there was no slinking from the room as if I hadn’t interrupted what had to be the start of a wild fuckfest.

  I’d walked in on the worst moment of all—or the best—because Suraj’s face was contorted with pleasure, his head tilted back and powerful body taut, rippling muscles all flexed at the peak of his orgasm. Rope after rope of thick cum shot from his cock, as Nadir joined him.

  Yes, there was no slinking from the room because both of them turned their painfully handsome faces toward me. I knew without a doubt I could never look either of them in the eye again after this.

  I fled from the room and shut the door behind me, aware of the startled cries, the bedsprings creaking, a low murmur of what sounded like “fuck, fuck, fuck” in whatever the hell language Suraj spoke. At least, I imagined that was the word. Nothing else fit the situation.

  I locked the fucking door behind me and then I crawled into bed to sob.

  Why rush to change my passwords?

  My tormentor had hours to invade my privacy anyway.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Nadir

  Suraj grabbed me by the arm before I could cross the room to the adjoining door. “You are going to talk to her like this?”

  Right. Storming after her with fresh cum on my stomach and on my goddamned hands wasn’t the best idea in the world, but neither was joining Suraj in bed. I felt like a world-class idiot. Even as I swept my gaze over the room in search of the sweats I’d planned to wear, I knew going after her to talk right now would only compound the awkward situation.

  “Why didn’t you lock the door?” I demanded.

  “Why didn’t you?”

  A second of hesitation followed before I grumbled, “Good question.”

  We both shared the blame for the lapse in judgment, and maybe I was even more at fault because I knew better and had been living this life a hell of a lot longer than Suraj, who was new to guarding Penny.

  Except she had never walked in before without knocking.

  And I was the one who had told her only a day ago she didn’t need to.

  Fate or karma or, hell, just life, was having a big ol’ laugh at my expense. Still, I should have known better. Professionalism was key, and mine should have been unwavering despite the temptation.

  Groaning, I sat on the edge of the bed and cradled my brow against both palms, elbows propped on the top of my thighs.

  Suraj sank down next to me. “It isn’t that bad.”

  “Not that bad?” I glanced up from beneath one hand. “It doesn’t get much worse than a client catching you in a sexual frenzy with your coworker.”

  Something changed in Suraj’s expression. He wiped himself off briskly with a towel and tossed it aside without looking at me again. “There is nothing we can do about it tonight. She is safe in her room for now. I will take the overnight watch.”

  “That probably isn’t necessary…”

  “Given what we discussed prior to your shower, there should be no risks taken. I will sit for the first watch.”

  He dressed and headed into the hotel corridor, leaving me and my stupid mouth behind.

  By morning I didn’t feel any better about the situation. It wasn’t uncommon for one of us to assume the watch position all night outside of a hallway until our relief arrived, and Suraj liked to do it in shifts that required me to pop outside at the crack of dawn to find him pacing the corridor like a caged tiger.

  “Morning.”

  “Good morning,” he replied.

  “You haven’t been here all night, have you?”

  He shook his head. “Nah.”

  I straightened my tie and glanced up and down the hall. “Anything from Penny yet?”

  Nadir shook his head again. “I went inside when room service arrived with her breakfast, but she was in the bathroom and never emerged. Said to leave it all by her bed.”

  “Fuck.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Not even a complaint? Did she know you were there?”

  “Yes. I announced my presence and said good morning to her.”

  If I’d known that in addition to putting my job in jeopardy, the easygoing vibe between us all would have been shattered by an evening of hot sex, I would have kept my clothes on.

  Or not.

  Suraj was pretty fucking persuasive when he was half dressed and staring me down with his come-fuck-me eyes. I’d have crumpled like tinfoil and we’d be in the very same precarious position, tiptoeing around each other because I couldn’t do a walk of shame home while on assignment.

  I dragged in a deep breath and raised my chin to seek his gaze. He met mine without reservation or hesitation. This tiger had no shame in his game.

  “Suraj, I owe you an apology.”

  Interest flickered in amber-orange depths. “Yes?”

  “I overslept. For some reason, my alarm didn’t activate. It is long past when I should have come to relieve you.” I could have sworn I’d set it to wake me up precisely four hours after he’d left our room, so we could hand off responsibility for Penny’s surveillance as discussed during the drive on the bus. Honestly, my assholery lacked an apparent limit when it came to consideration for him. Even in my subconscious.

  Exhaustion crept into features that had, until that moment, appeared fresher than mine in their freshly awakened state. Suraj scrubbed his face with one hand. “You didn’t oversleep. I disabled the alarm last night.”

  “What? But protocol—”


  “Has already flown out the window. You know as well as I do that four-hour shift hand-offs are unnecessary overnight, and I appreciated the quiet time to think.”

  “Oh.” Standing there like the world’s largest douchebag, I searched for an adequate response to finding out my teammate preferred to forego his break because of me. “Well. I’m here now. We can—”

  “According to my watch, it is now the rightful start of my shift. I will remain. But first, I will fetch coffee from downstairs. Listen in case she needs something.”

  Gut instinct was to meet the challenge in his tone with one of my own. My feral shifter half demanded that I remind Suraj I was the one in charge, the manager of operations, and the one who gave the orders.

  But my human self, Nadir, a man who had fucked up twice in one night, didn’t feel as if he ought to be in charge of anyone.

  “Yeah, fetch me one too, please. I have calls to make anyway.” To tell my boss and one of my best, closest friends that I may have fucked up an enormous contract for his firm because I didn’t how to keep my dick in my pants.

  Never mind that I’d worked for him faithfully for years now at this business and had never faced this issue before. I’d kept my professional cool through hot actresses flirting and a wine-drunk Manhattan businesswoman grabbing my dick through my pants.

  “Mm.”

  The monosyllabic answer really drove that shit home. “Right.”

  Waiting for a reprimanding call didn’t exactly lead to a good night’s sleep, so while Suraj went down to get coffee, I made the call myself to the big man. Ian answered after two rings.

  “I had a feeling you’d be calling,” he said in a voice I recognized well. He had his dad voice on.

  “Sir, I take full responsibility.”

  “For…?”

  “For the severe lack of judgment I displayed. I understand fully if Penny requested a new team and am prepared to hand over the assignment to whomever you choose.”

  Silence filled the line for several long, tense moments.

  “What the hell are you talking about, Nadir? Ms. Wallace hasn’t called me about anything. Should I be expecting a call? If this is some sort of April Fool’s joke, you’re a couple weeks early.”

  Well, fuck me.

  “No one called you about last night?”

  “No.”

  “But you said you’d been expecting my call.”

  “I was. You’ve been due for a check-in. Overdue, actually. Now what the hell is going on?”

  I ran my fingers through my damp hair, cursing my own honesty. If I’d kept my mouth shut, Ian would be none the wiser. Penny was probably too horrified to utter a word.

  “Talk to me, Nadir. What happened?”

  A heavy sigh slumped my shoulders and I dropped to a seat on the sofa. “Penny walked in on a…compromising situation.”

  “You had an overnight visitor?” I could picture his cocked brow and thin smile.

  “Of a sort.”

  “Huh. Was Suraj on watch at the time?”

  “Not exactly. He was with me. In bed.”

  “Oh.”

  Another long silence stretched between us. Ian already knew I had no sexual preferences. I had used that to my advantage in the past during our time together as undercover operatives for the U.S. government.

  “It just sort of happened,” I added lamely.

  “You wouldn’t be the first to find their mate on assignment. You’re right about it being a lack of judgment—”

  “I know, and I’m so—”

  Ian cut in, “But I’m not pulling you from the assignment. I know you’re the best man for the job.”

  “How can I be when I dropped the ball?”

  “Because Penny Wallace is also your fated mate, which means no one is more dedicated to her protection.”

  My fated mate? I sucked in a sharp breath. “How did you… God, why am I even asking? You know everything.”

  Ian chuckled. “Not everything. For example, I never suspected you and Suraj would be attracted to one another, but you’ve been working with Penny long enough for me to recognize the signs. Honestly, I am not sure how you’ve resisted her so long. Lyle started up a betting pool, and I want you to know that you just won Juni about two grand. She said you’d cave during the tour.”

  A betting pool! I wanted to lose my shit, but I’d already crashed with exhaustion and lacked the energy to exhibit outrage. “Technically, I haven’t caved yet. Suraj wasn’t part of the bet.”

  Ian’s chuckle raised the hairs on my nape. “The cat’s outta the bag now. It’s only a matter of time before you’re drawn to complete the bond since you’ve had one of your fated mates. Suraj being there has helped ease that tension, but your beast won’t be satisfied.”

  I don’t know why it came as such a surprise to me that Ian would understand. Of course, he did. He’d found his mate under less than ideal circumstances, having to resist and take things slow with Leigh.

  “It’s a little too complicated to give in during her tour. I think…Suraj and I both feel the same way about Penny as we do each other.”

  A long, low whistle carried across the line. “Well, neither she nor her manager have called to complain. I recommend you stay focused and figure out how to handle the situation before she does end up calling me to ask for a new team. If she does, I’ll do whatever I can to smooth it over and stall—buy you two some time. If this all works out, we’ll have a permanent contract with her, and you’ll have both of your forever mates. No pressure or anything.”

  That asshole. I loved him anyway. “Copy that. Thanks, Ian.”

  His paternal warmth eased my nerves. “Anytime.”

  With one worry off my chest, I turned my mind to the current situation. Ian was right; something would have to be done. Yet talking to Penny about what she had seen didn’t seem like a great idea. Not now, at least, while the tour was in full swing.

  Suraj was another issue.

  What the hell had I done wrong?

  How the hell did I tell him he was meant for me, if he didn’t already know it? There was always a chance he didn’t feel the same inescapable tug, and that whatever drove him last night had been pure lust.

  And I wouldn’t know if I didn’t ask.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Penny

  Maybe it was childish, but when my breakfast arrived and Suraj entered for my safety, I hid in the bathroom until he left. I couldn’t look him in the face yet after seeing that body in all of its glory.

  Both of them.

  My face ran hot and flushed just thinking about what must have happened in that room preceding my stupid interruption.

  I should have knocked.

  I should have done a lot of things.

  Breakfast wasn’t as delicious as it should have been, not because the strawberry and cream cheese stuffed French toast wasn’t a culinary orgasm on my plate, but because I’d spent much of the night in bed furious I’d left my vibrator at home and everything I looked at reminded me of sex.

  Everyone but me was getting sex.

  Even Harper had her FWB arrangement with Gregoire, which meant she spent more time in his room than her own whenever we stopped overnight. I wanted to hate her, but our bassist was fine as hell.

  Not as fine as Suraj. Or Nadir. But definitely fine.

  I chugged down lukewarm coffee that had sat cooling for too long on the table then checked my inbox again. Password unchanged. So far, it didn’t appear as if the hacker had invaded any of my other personal accounts, but I had changed my security questions and retrieval e-mail address anyway just to be safe.

  Not long after I finished pushing breakfast around on my plate, someone knocked on the door. Since Harper mentioned being on the way once she’d brushed out her hair and tamed the summer frizz, I ran over and opened it. Instead of my bubbly, morning-person bestie, I encountered Nadir waiting in his usual slacks and tie without the suit jacket.

  Lady Fate pissed on
my morning after ruining my night. No one had luck as bad as mine when it came to interpersonal reactions with other human beings.

  A fleeting temptation to slam the door in his face came over me. I found the restraint, as well as the maturity, to make eye contact with him instead of retreating to my room like a coward.

  Dark circles beneath his golden-brown eyes told a story I hadn’t experienced on my own in years since becoming a musical sensation. Nadir looked as tired as someone should look if they spent all night riding a dick. I envied him for having the freedom to do what he wanted.

  Maybe that was why Suraj had been brought on board at the company.

  Maybe they had been lovers for a long time.

  In hindsight, it all made sense, down to the adorable photo of them on the bus passed out in each other’s arms.

  “Good morning, Ms. Wallace.”

  Ms. Wallace? My heart sank. “Good morning, Nadir.” I cleared my throat and stepped back from the door, anticipating he wanted entrance.

  Once he stepped inside, I locked and secured the door.

  “I want to begin by apologizing for last night’s unprofessional behavior. I also want to promise that it won’t ever happen again, and—”

  I blinked. “Apologize?”

  “Yes. That is not the way I ever wanted to represent MacArthur Security. I understand if you plan to report this to our CEO.” He dragged in a deep breath, the kind a man took when he realized he hadn’t been breathing, and continued, “I have already apprised Mr. McArthur of the situation and hope that you’ll remain with us as a client.”

  For a moment, I couldn’t speak. I didn’t know what to say to him. He thought I was going to fire them because I walked in on them having a very adult and private interaction in their own personal hotel room?

  No wonder he looked like he hadn’t slept. The poor guy had to have spent the entire night in knots.

  Impulse arose after all. I launched myself into arms that caught me without hesitation, my arms looped around his neck. “I adore you both. I’m never firing you.”