Page 41 of Dirty Ruck
"Right," Chelsea said firmly. She nodded at Frost to sit back down, giving me my space.
He flopped back down immediately.
"See, everyone gets it," Atlas said. "We've got you, because we love you." He let my hands go and reached for his seatbelt.
I fastened my own and turned my gaze towards the window to watch the scenery roll by as we made our way toward our hotel.
Chapter Seventeen
Chelsea
"How are you doing?"I asked Jay gently.
He looked pretty shaken up after the run in with the press. I tried to step in, but the journalist had all but shoved me out of the way to push the microphone into Jay's face. For a moment, I honestly thought he was going to punch the man. Instead, he quickly removed himself from the situation and found a quiet spot on the bus to deal with the rush of emotions.
Storm would have just punched the man in the face and worn the consequences. Atlas too, given half the chance.
We all knew what my brother would have done.
At least no one shot at any of us. This time.
If they were going to, that would have been the perfect opportunity, while we were distracted. On the other hand, there was also a shit load of witnesses.
"Better," Jay said softly. "Thank you." He sat in the centre of the bed, stripped down to his underwear, squeezing a stress reliever toy that looked like an owl. From the look of it, it got lots of squeezing.
When we arrived at the hotel, we carefully arranged ourselves around him, forming a shield around Jay. Fortunately, only a few members of the press followed us from the airport, sothe questions weren't as intense or loud. Still, we hurried inside and up to the room Atlas and Jay were sharing.
In theory, I had a room to myself. Right now, I wouldn't be anywhere but here unless Jay and Atlas didn't want me in the room. If that was the case, I'd respect their wishes. The last thing in the world I wanted to do was crowd Jay when he was struggling to calm himself.
"You don't have to thank us." Atlas sat on the side of the bed. He'd also stripped down, wearing only track pants. "Like I said, that's what we're here for."
"Exactly," I agreed. "If people don't understand personal space, then we'll remind them. Politely."
"I feel like Frost would pout if he heard you say that," Atlas remarked. "He'd be disappointed he couldn't flay them or something."
I sighed. "Sometimes I feel like I created a monster. If he hadn't gotten involved with me?—"
"He would still have found a way to let his darkness out," Atlas said firmly. "Some people can't help themselves. If they didn't find violence, it would find them. Look at Jay and me. We were both sweet and innocent once. Okay, Jay was."
Jay choked back a laugh. "I don't think I was even born sweet and innocent. Why bother when being dirty is more fun?"
"I could have said those exact words about myself," I said with a smile.
Growing up in Dusk Bay, I was never going to be innocent. Was I ever sweet? Maybe, but it was so long ago I couldn't remember. I'd started stripping and selling my body shortly after I started my first degree. My first paid fuck seemed like a lifetime ago.
He was tall, with brown eyes. Slender, like a runner, but with a cock like a horse. He knew exactly what he wanted, taking me from behind while I was on my hands and knees. He made it allseem so easy, instructing me on exactly how to give him what he wanted. Apart from that, he barely said a word. He just fucked me, climbed off and dressed again before sliding a wedding ring back onto his finger and leaving.
He came back a bunch of times, always asking for me, always fucking me without his ring, as though somehow he could pretend what he was doing wasn't cheating. I never knew his name and, after a year or two, he stopped turning up. Sometimes I wondered what happened to him and his wife. Given it was Dusk Bay, she probably found out and poisoned his coffee.
Shame, he was a good customer.
"You're very sweet," Atlas told me. "And beautiful." As he spoke, he undid the buttons of my blouse, one by one. "Gorgeous. Cute. Smart." He pushed the fabric of my shoulders and put it aside while Jay unhooked my bra.
"You're both of those things too," I said. "Especially beautiful."
"I don't think anyone's called me beautiful before," Jay said.
"Fuck," Atlas swore. When we both turned to look at him, he grinned. "I knew I was forgetting something. Jay, you're beautiful."
