Page 16 of Xtasy

“Where have you been, boss? We missed that ugly mug of yours around here. Between not having you and Levi’s team here, it’s been quiet as a nunnery.”

Atlas watched Hawk arch a perfectly shaped brown. “Very doubtful, Egypt. You guys never shut the fuck up.”

The man who’d jumped up to greet Hawk first zeroed his gaze on Atlas, making him feel like he’d just been placed under a huge microscope. Following the guy’s lead, the rest of the men looked at Atlas…and silence fell over the crowd. Atlas wanted to turn and run for his life.

The man moved closer to Atlas, a huge grin on his face. “Fellas, would you look at this? Our boy is finally growing up! He’s brought a suitor home to meet the family!”

The group of muscled men surrounded Atlas and Hawk. “Go on, little bird. Tell us who you’ve brought with you.”

Hawk laughed. “Listen guys, try not to be assholes. I know you all think it’s cute, but not everybody agrees. Give Atlas some time to get to know you before you reveal the true depth of your assholery.” Hawk moved to where he was standing next to Atlas. He did the possessive move of putting his arm around his waist again. Atlas felt better instantly. “Babe, I hate to tell you that these bunch of testosterone-laden idiots are my family.” Hawk leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Atlas’ lips. “I’ll drop em in a heartbeat if you ask me too.”

The one Hawk had called Egypt stepped forward. “Hell on fire, Hawk, you wouldn’t drop any of us any faster than you’d drop Ambrose. I can say that with all confidence because you know we’re gonna love your little dark angel. He’s gorgeous and has the cutest shy smile. On top of that, he’s tamed the beast! He’s a hero in our eyes.” Egypt shoved his hand toward Atlas for him to shake. “I’d hug you, but Hawk mighttryto rip my head off. Jealous, this one.”

Hawk merely chuckled. “This mouthy one is Egypt—best sniper the military has ever had or will have. Don’t dare tease him about his dimples because it makes him blush.” Hawk grinned, leaned down and whispered, “Wait for it.” Sure enough, a mere second passed before a blush crept up Egypt’s gorgeous face, covering his cheeks with a color so red that it had to burn.

“Asshole,” Egypt grumbled good-naturedly. “Anyway, Atlas, it’s great to meet you. Take care of our man.”

Another man stepped forward. “This is Roan, our computer expert. If it’s on the worldwide web, our man can find it and destroy it.”

The rotation continued until Atlas had met every man except one. He’d never be able to remember all their names or what their job was. Hell, he didn’t even know what kind of business this was. There was a Journey, Jalen, Solomon, Maxwell, Titus, Wallace, and…and…shit, he’d already forgotten one. Before he had time to worry about it, the final guy moved forward, getting way too close before Hawk backed him further away. Hawk introduced him as Braxton, the team’s demolitions expert. Atlas disliked him immediately but squashed the feelings away because the man was part of Hawk’s family. He’d find a way to like him, regardless of the squeamish feelings he gave Atlas.

“You sure this one is yours, Hawk?” Braxton crossed his massive arms over his chest. “He’s more like Ambrose’s type.”

Oh, hell, no! That fucker did not just say that in front of him. Atlas looked up at Hawk, saw the anger on his face, and just went for it. “I would have thought demolitions people would be smart.” Atlas shrugged. “I guess I was wrong.”

Since all the other guys high-fived him and Hawk kissed him good and hard in front of everybody, Atlas guessed it had been an okay move. Braxton didn’t look like he could take a joke but that was too damn bad. Because of the stupid gifts, Ambrose was Atlas’ hot spot and Braxton had pushed it.

“Well, now that Atlas has put Braxton in his place, let’s head down to the war room…where we can really show off for your man!” Wallace, the team leader, said.

The war room was obviously a fun place, though it didn’t sound like it, because all the guys got excited. Hawk led Atlas, guiding him with a soft touch to the top of his ass, to a set of elevators. The rest of the guys went toward a stairwell. “What? You think I can’t handle the stairs?” Atlas teased Hawk as the elevator doors slid shut. “I may not be as muscular as they are but stairs…those I can handle.”

“Babe, you can handle anything,” Hawk said as he pulled him into a hug, both of his hands cupping Atlas’ firm ass cheeks. “I think you proved that by standing up to Braxton. I loved it.”

“I’m not sure I like him as much as the others,” Atlas remarked quietly.

“I’m not sure I do either. He’s new to the team, only been with us for a couple of years. He served with Journey on a couple of tours. Does good work but there’s something…off about his personality. Don’t worry, though. Wallace will ditch his ass if he’s a problem. He runs a tight ship.”

The elevator doors slid open, revealing another level Atlas hadn’t realized existed when he’d first entered the warehouse. As soon as they exited, Hawk started pointing things out to Atlas. “The far end has a state-of-the-art firing range—sound-proof so they don’t irritate the non-existent neighbors or the rest of the group while training. That’s the gym area and the mats and cage next to it is where they’ll spar and work on improving their fighting techniques.” Hawk pointed toward the other end of the warehouse. “That big room is where they plan and work on targets. The weapons safe is down here somewhere but if I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Hawk teased.

At least Atlas hoped he was teasing.Yeah, he was teasing.

“What is it exactly that these guys do? Gonna be honest here, it doesn’t look really legal…unless you are the US Military, of course.” Atlas looked up at Hawk. “Are you the military?”

“Nope,” Hawk answered as he ushered Atlas toward the war room. “Sometimes we work with the military, but mostly it’s the stuff the military can’t handle because of restrictions. We deal with overseas abductions of American citizens, punching holes in the drug cartel when we can, protection for wealthy travelers, and on and on. Our boots on the ground men were all special ops or special ops rejects.”

Atlas frowned. “Rejects? Why the rejects?”

“Good question,” Hawk answered as he pulled out a chair at the conference table and indicated for Atlas to sit with him. “Have you ever heard the saying “mine is not to reason why, but to do or die”? Some guys can’t do that—blow up a village because some bureaucratic sitting behind a desk decided it to be so and doesn’t care that these men have blood on their hands if things go wrong. Some men need to know the reason why, I’d be one of those men.”

Atlas banged his head against the table three times before looking back up at Hawk. “Are you telling me that you are not only an obnoxiously popular artist, but you know special ops shit, too? I’m so far out of my league,” Atlas grumbled. “I’m a graphic designer, for fuck’s sake. What in the world do you see in me?”

Without hesitation, Hawk answered, “Everything.”

Atlas felt his cheeks begin to glow, the way they always did when Hawk’s penetrating gaze, accompanied by seductive words, wove their magic around his heart. With his very limited dating history, he worried about the possible stupidity of falling madly in love with the first man to really pay him any attention. Atlas wanted it…oh, how badly he wanted it. The words, theI love you, were right on the tip of his tongue, ready to fall right out and make a fool of him, but a knock on the door gave him enough time to haul the words back in and tuck them safely away.

Wallace peaked his head inside the room. “Am I good to come in or do you love birds need some more nesting time?”

Hawk flipped him off. “Get in here. Trust me, Atlas and I are enjoying morenestingthan all you idiots put together.” He teased. “Now, update me on where we stand with Indigo and Clay. This entire operation is beginning to feel like a total clusterfuck, Wallace. I hope I’ve made it clear to you how I feel about the misconceptions and blatant lies that we’ve used to try and get what we want. I know you think that Clay isn’t in over his head, but I beg to disagree with you. Again.”

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