Page 44 of Slick

“Only place I want to be is right here.”

Shadows dance in her eyes, but then she gives me a quick smile, setting the candles aside before stepping into my arms. Her warm skin slips against mine and I bury my face in her hair, breathing deep. Her heat clings to her, so alluring it makes my head spin, and I feel a stab of frustration at how much I’ve missed. “I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner, Diana.”

She squeezes me harder, then leans back in my arms., her fingers tangling in my hair. “I missed you, but Rowan and Dex took care of me.”

I raise a brow at a plastic knot sitting on the counter. “Yeah, it looks like you all had a good time.”

“The best,” she smirks, then peeks around me to where her beta is lurking in the doorway. “Can we all fit in the shower, do you think?”

The pornstar looks conflicted, but I hold the beta’s gaze. “What do you think, dimples? Want to come scrub my back?”

I expect him to tell me to go to hell, but he just pulls off his sweatpants, leaving his black boxers in place. He strides over to the shower, fiddling with the water until it’s pouring from the rainshower head. One thing I have to say about heat suites; they come with all the fancy fixtures. “You can scrub your own damn back,” he grumbles, “but I promised Diana I’d wash her hair.”

“What about you, pretty boy?” I ask the pornstar. “You ready to get wet with us, little berry?”

He doesn’t flinch at the use of his screen handle, but he makes a big deal of looking at the row of bath products lining the wall. “Shame. Looks like we’re out of ‘wash the asshole off’ gel.”

I laugh, because I can see Diana fighting a grin at our antics, and having her face light up is my number one job right now. “Yeah, that might be a permanent thing,” I admit, pinching the soft skin of her chin. “You know that, right? I’m never gonna be a ray of sunshine, okay? But I’m gonna do everything in my power to makeyouhappy.”

“I’m happy if you’re here,” she replies, leaning into me for a kiss. It’s softer and slower than I’d like, but damn if it doesn’t reach all the way to my chest. “All of you, just being here with me. That’s what makes me really happy.”

A reminder that’s like a blast of cold water, given my best friend and her scent match just ran away like a little bitch.

Stupid fucker.

My jeans are still hanging off my hips and I kick off my boots before dragging them the rest of the way down. Unlike my shower mates, I don’t have a fancy pair of boxers, so I go buck-naked under the spray, groaning in pleasure as the water pounds down on me. Diana giggles at the sound, but I catch the pornstar eyeing the brown water flowing down the drain with distaste. “What can I say? I’m a dirty fucker.”

It's mostly road grit, but I don’t tell him that as he waits for the water to run clear. The beta, meanwhile, has slipped in behind Diana and is lathering her hair with some kind of fruity shampoo. He works the suds like a pro, and it’s obvious he’s done this a lot. As a caretender at the slick factory, his job was to grease Diana’s wheels. To keep her in optimum working order, so there was never a kink in their slick production. No doubt that’s why he’s so good at pampering her, and I grit my teeth as she melts under his touch.

Not now,I remind myself. There will be plenty of time to go after the Carrillos and their operation, but right now…

“What the fuck is that?”

Diana jolts at my seething tone, but I can’t rip my gaze from her lower back. She’s turned under the spray to wash out the suds, and I’m suddenly staring at a tattoo on the base of her spine:Property of Carrillo Industries. Return to Owner if Misplaced.

“What?” She twists, trying to follow my gaze, and the confusion in her voice makes my skin crawl. One glance at the beta slumped back against the wall and I know she doesn’t have a clue what’s written on her back. “Do you mean the tattoo? I’m just waiting to add my mate’s name.” She casts me a shy glance from under her wet lashes. “I guess we can fill it in now, right?”

“It’s not blank, baby,” I tell her through gritted teeth. “It says you’re the property of the Carrillos.” I don’t add the bit about returning her, since she’s not a fucking misplaced package. “I’m sorry, Omega…”

I’m not really sure why I’m apologizing, but she steps out of the shower, staring at herself in the mirror like she’s a stranger. Slowly, she turns, peering over her shoulder to read it for herself. But of course those fuckers made sure that’s impossible for anyone other than a contortionist, and she stares at me helplessly. “Does it really say that?”

I squeeze my lips tight, but the pornstar follows her out of the shower, grabbing his phone from the vanity. He gently turns her until he can snap a picture of her lower back, then slips his arm around her shoulder as he shows her the screen. The look that passes over her face is enough to make my blood boil, but I hold my tongue as she tries to accept what’s right in front of her. “I don’t understand. They told me it was for my mate.”

I have to swallow the violent words rising in my throat, folding my arms over my chest so I don’t snatch the phone and smash it to pieces.

“Did you know?” Diana peers at her beta, and I watch the realization dawn in her gaze, her cheeks flushing a darker pink. “Of course you did. You know every inch of me.”

I shove the hot flare of jealousy down hard, because the devastated eyes they’re giving each other are doing something to my emotions. “Guess he just knew better than to believe it,” I say in a matter-of-fact tone. “Who would? You were obviously too fucking good for that place.”

She looks at me with troubled eyes, and I step out of the shower, nudging her closer to the vanity. It has a little white chair that would break under half of my weight, so I wave the pornstar onto it. As soon as he’s settled, I press her down onto his lap, then pick up a hairbrush and start working on her tangles. Her hair is like wet silk under my fingers, and I’m pretty sure I’m yanking on it too hard, but she gives a sigh and closes her eyes.

“I got my first ink when I was twelve,” I tell her, leaning down to breathe in the scent of her freshly washed hair. She squirms a little, only settling when I start dragging the brush through her hair again. “I did it myself with a paperclip, and not only did I throw up, I was sure I was gonna bleed to death.” I smirk at the memory. “Took me a while to get up the nerve for another, and then it was a gang thing.” Her eyes pop open, and I point to theswirl of ink on my neck. “It’s meant to be a flaming fist, but the asshole who did it couldn’t draw for shit.”

“And that meant you belonged to them?” Diana asks, her eyes still uncertain.

“For a bit. But only for protection. I grew up in a shitty neighborhood, and it was either join a gang or get rolled every week.”

“What happened?” The beta is standing behind us, but I catch his gaze in the mirror. He still looks shook up, but he’s a curious fucker, that’s for sure. “I just mean… The Flaming Fists aren’t exactly a gang you can just walk away from.”

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