There are a million things I probably should be doing, but instead I’m leaning against the doorframe of Dorian’s bedroom watching Cambria with the world’s most painful hard on. She went full stereotype, decked out in a French maid outfit that does nothing to hide the white lace hugging her ass when she bends over. So what does the girl do? She crawls on the bed to finish changing the sheets, giving me a prime fucking view on purpose.
She tosses her vibrant hair over her shoulder with a smile that finally reaches her eyes. “Yeah, a little bit. Sue me; it’s fun to see you guys get worked up. Besides, Atlas, no one ismakingyou follow me around while I clean. I’m just a fae doing her job.”
Motherfuckin’ spank bank is stocked for a year.
“Be honest, it’s punishment for the waitress thing, isn’t it?” I tease. “No need to be jealous.”
She rolls onto her stomach on the freshly made bed, resting her head on her hands and shifting her legs in the air. “No, I just didn’t want to have to deal with strange women getting all territorial over a one night stand.”
I just smile. “You were jealous.”
She flips me off as she gets to her feet. “Was not. If anything, I have more of a claim to you three than anyone else; I don’t need to be insecure. But you guys were nice enough to agree not to bone anyone in my apartment so I figured I could return the same courtesy. If I’m not going to get laid, I might as well at least havesomefun.”
She brushes past me on her way out of the room, moving on to finish the dishes. As she washes, I come over with a rag to dry and we fall into a comfortable routine.
“I’m not sharing my pay,” she warns. “If you want to clean, that’s on you.”
I take the next plate with a snort and towel it off. “Noted. But can I ask you something?”
She uses a soapy hand to gesture for me to continue, but I still hesitate, worried about probing into things that aren’t any of my business. She just started acting like herself again and I don’t want to undo that, but we also need to not have secrets between all of us. Not only if we want to pursue some type of relationship, but even if we don’t. We’ll be living together in some fashion for the rest of our lives no matter what dynamic that turns out to be in, and there’s nothing that destroys a relationship of any fashion faster than secrets.
“Where does all your money go?” Her hand stills, but she doesn’t look at me. “I know you probably weren’t making much at the club, but even after all of your bills, you should have been able to at least afford a box of crackers, yet you had no food at home. Are you just saving it for a rainy day and would rather go without for a while or something?”
She sighs, going back to scrubbing. “You’re going to make it a thing.”
I turn and lean my hip against the counter, crossing my arms and instantly defensive. Nobody starts a conversation like that unless it’s about to piss someone off.
“Sometimes it’s just easier to pay off Rickon to get him to leave me alone,” she mumbles, refusing to look at me.
Well that fuckin’ explains why he didn’t turn her in. He’d not only have to find someone new to torture, but lose the extra payout.
I try to temper my reaction, grinding my teeth and noting how nervous she is already. Dorian was the same way when I met him, waiting for the strike to come when he thought we were upset. It took years before he trusted us on a deeper level and quit flinching, and even then he still can’t handle people catching him off guard. So I stuff down all of the rage and innate need to beat the shit out of that guard for her sake.
Snatching up my rag, I go back to drying with jerky motions I can’t fully suppress despite my attempts. “That’s done now, alright? Squirrel it away for something else. Luce can help you invest if you want.”
She worries her bottom lip. “You know you can’t just go kicking a guard’s ass and expect there to be no fallout, right? What you guys do over there, I have to deal with. So if he says anything, then I get to accept your punishment.”
I set the glass down too harshly and it gets a hairline crack down the side. My fingers curl around the base, digging in and turning white as I try to rein in my temper so that I don’t scare her.
“And what would the punishment be for beating the shit out of a guard?”
She pulls the drain plug and moves to wipe down the stove. “Depends on the queen’s mood, like always. We aren’t human, Atlas, and things don’t work the same way. There is no justice, no clear set of rules. Everything’s driven by selfish, cruel people and the most cunning rise to the top. If the queen is feeling benevolent or distracted, you could walk away without even a slap on the wrist because she doesn’t feel like dealing with petty problems that day. Or, the man that stole a loaf of bread could lose his head because she has an itch she can’t scratch.”
Gently, I grab her elbow so that she faces me and can’t keep hiding. “I’m not mad at you, Cambria, I’m pissed at the situation. It’s not fair and you’re telling me there isn’t anything I can do about it?”
Her lips curl in a wry, humorless smile. “Who ever said life was fair, Atlas?”
Tugging her against me, I kiss her, hard. I have too much pent up energy with no outlet, want to lash out and can’t. I want to pummel the jackass making her life more difficult than it has to be, and she’s telling me we have to sit around and accept being victims for fear of making waves?
Well fuck that.
Her palms slide up my chest as I wrap a hand under her thigh, and she jumps up willingly. Wrapping her legs around my waist, one of my hands palms her lace covered ass and the other threads into her hair to keep her from pulling away. I only make it as far as the hallway before she rolls her hips and I groan, pinning her against the wall.
I tear my mouth away from her lips just to run a line down her jaw and neck, sucking on the flesh above her pulse. She arches into me as I brace a hand beside her head, flexing my hips to keep her in place. Her fingers trail down my chest until slipping beneath her skirt, toying with herself. I nip at her earlobe, grabbing her free hand and pin it to the wall with mine while running my other palm over her ass.
She huffs in frustration as she squirms, nipping at my lip and my cock jerks. “Going to make me do all the work?” she teases.
My chest rumbles as I set her on her feet, twining our fingers together against the wall to keep her in place while my other slides beneath her skirt. I cover the fingers circling her clit with my palm as I plunge two fingers inside of her without warning.
