Chapter 3

The driver was a bad idea.

But I'd been outvoted. They said it would be better to talk to her if we could all sit around her. Where we could all see her. I knew what they were doing though.

You can"t lie to a liar.

They had fear of missing out and they wanted a front row seat to how she reacted when we invited her to live with us. Even if they didn"t want to be the ones to actually deliver the question.

I had zero room to talk. Not only did public speaking scare me but I was pretty sure I had something between my teeth right now.

Still, Beasty had said yes!

The butterflies taking root inside my heart were new. They flapped their joyful wings so hard, I felt like I was going to pass out. Especially when Beasty sent me sneaky looks every little bit.

The changes in my body were downright embarrassing.

Day after day, I was stripped, prodded, and groomed. Tens of people, maybe even hundreds had seen my body, touched me, stood close to me and eyed me like a prime steak...Or surveyed me like a useful piece of land.

But each time Beasty"s wild hazel eyes landed on me, I flushed so hot, I had to discreetly wipe my brow.

Like now.

She flicked her gaze to me, a mixture of disbelief and happiness radiating from her expression and I had to turn away. The weight of her stare was too powerful.

The driver turned down the road to our apartment building and I let out a sigh of relief.

I"d feel better inside once we weren"t stuck in such a confined area. Right?

I just hoped today wasn"t the day for a zombie apocalypse. That would add a whole new layer of problems.

Lake leaned forward, readying for the car to stop while shooting a look at us. I shrunk back in the seat.

Joaquin cleared his throat. "The apartment is nice. Real nice. But it"s only four bedrooms. Atlas and I are going to bunk together so you can have your own room."

A sniffle came from Beasty, but otherwise, she"d dried up the tears.

I wanted to get another look at her, but I was too damn scared. It was strange this control she had over me just by existing.

The car jolted and Lake moved through the vehicle at a crouch and hopped out. He was always the first to get out of the car. After he decided he would be our bodyguard, he took the job very seriously. Now that Beasty was with us, I could only imagine how that was going to change him.

Atlas was next. When I peered through my lashes, Beasty cast an unsure glance our way, her mouth set in a frown.

She wasn"t unhappy. I knew that. I might not have watched her as much as Atlas, but I recognized that frown. It was her default expression when she was nervous. The shellshock must have worn off.

"Go on," Joaquin nodded toward the door right before Lake ducked his head down to see what was taking so long.

As if he lit a fire under her ass, she scrambled down the seat and kicked her duffle to the opening. Lake easily picked it up and then she was gone.

"You okay?" Joaquin muttered.

"Yeah," I breathed, then went next.

I gulped down a gallon of fresh air. Yes, this helped. Each drag of exhaust scented air cleansed the thick smell of Beasty from my nose. She was sweet, like she'd used some kind of floral soap and I hadn't realized how it had permeated the car until I stepped out.

Now maybe my racing heart would calm down.

The nice thing about having an apartment in the city was that people pretty much left us alone. We weren"t really big names, but on some of the tours and shows, people got a little outrageous. Here, they gave us privacy as long as we returned the favor.

I was glad for that.

Otherwise, who knew what I would have done with people stalking us through the lobby.

The graduation at our old school had been bad enough. I hadn't hated school the way Joaquin and Atlas had, but I didn't really have any good memories there either.

Seeing kids crowd us who hadn't given us the time of day before, messed with my head. It was like standing in the Twilight Zone without knowing where the exits were.

Lake moved us through the lobby and into the elevator like nice little ducks. Still, no one spoke. We were silent, and not the good kind.

The lack of conversation was awkward, and uncomfortable. At least for me.

I peeked at Beasty, and she must have felt it too, because she fidgeted with the waist of her dress that was too big.

Finally, I let myself study her. With her facing the elevator doors, she couldn"t see me. It was safe, but I didn"t dwell on that.

The dress was shoddy. Second hand for sure. The shoes were old and didn"t match. I could help Beasty with that. It was the blessing that came from being discovered. I found I had a knack for fashion and I leaned into it.

She"d never again scream backwoods West Virginia.

I"d already started filling her closet with pieces that would make her feel most comfortable. Now that she was here, I could do more.

If only the thought of talking to her didn't threaten to make me shit my pants. I smiled at her back. If I didn't get there on my own, I'd let her cut up Lake's Playboy collection. That would be one heck of a conversation starter.

Once the elevator doors opened, Lake pressed his fingertips to Beasty"s stomach and she stiffened.

Did she not like touch either? Something ugly twisted in my stomach. What had happened since we left?

I searched every inch of exposed skin but there were no blemishes, no bruises. Nothing to indicate she was abused. My heart didn't care. Most people were smart enough not to leave physical evidence where the world could see it.

I told them we shouldn"t have stayed away for so long.

Lake squeezed his large bulk around her and she relaxed. Oh, she didn"t know he always wanted to be the first out of absolutely everything. She"d learn.

Even though my own shoulders dropped, the thoughts that she could have been mistreated while we were making a name for ourselves didn"t leave. I should have been thankful. Every kernel of anger took up so much room inside my brain that the...

I didn"t know what to call it.

Crush?

So that my crush on Beasty didn"t reign supreme.

Lake unlocked the door and went in, checking all the rooms while we stopped in the tiny foyer.

We didn"t normally do this. It was because Beasty was with us and she needed protecting. Why she might need protecting stuck like nasty glue in my mind.

I turned my head and clenched my jaw. No, I wouldn't start out this new chapter with Beasty with wild accusations of what did or could have happened. Forcing myself to let it go, I released a long breath, trying to calm my inner thoughts.

What would she think? Would she like it? Was this a place she"d want to stay?

I hoped so. I didn"t think we"d be able to let her go now that we were finally letting ourselves have her.

As soon as the door shut behind me, all the anger evaporated. Gone. Completely.

I glanced at Atlas and Joaquin, unable to look at Beasty once again.

Atlas was calm and reserved, like always. That guy, when he was focused, nothing else derailed him. To Joaquin"s dismay since we left West Virginia, he was usually focused on riling Joaquin up.

It was a small blessing that Atlas wasn"t staring at Beasty outright, but we all knew he was watching. He just wasn"t obvious about it.

Then there was Joaquin, scratching the back of his head in a rare show of confusion. Whenever he dealt in cards or numbers, you couldn"t knock his confidence, and that had only grown since he started managing our money.

It tripled when he wrestled management away from the agency. He, more than any of us, bucked against authority and he was two steps away from becoming our keeper.

"Okay," Lake said as he came back into the living room. "Kim, why don"t you show Beasty around?"

Then like hounds were on their heels, all three of those assholes disappeared without a word or a backward glance at Beasty.

Assholes.It deserved saying twice.

Beasty cleared her throat and I glanced at her, locking my eyes on her cheek.

"If you don"t want to–"

"No." I shook my head. "I want to." Except it came out in a whisper. Who would believe that?

Come on, Kim. You"re better than that.

I'd charmed the grumpiest designers and most entitled old ladies with stories of my time abroad and my useless study of foxes. This should be nothing.

I shoved my hands in my pockets and faced the open living room and kitchen. It was nice. Modest, but for a city apartment, I"d heard this was luxurious. We didn"t have any art or anything on the walls yet. I"d spent all my time on our closets and not the decorating.

It hadn"t bothered me before, but with Beasty taking it all in for the first time, I wish I had.

"There"s not really anything to it. We have the living room." I motioned to the sectional couch to seat a good seven adults, then to the flat screen TV across from it. "The kitchen, which conveniently has a dinette." The kitchen had a small island and table in the corner. It wasn"t big enough–the kitchen–to be considered a dining room, but it was big enough for us. Just the fact that it was ours made it a little slice of paradise. Who cared what we had to do to get it? "It doesn"t seat all of us, not with you here, but we"re on different schedules a lot of the time anyway. And if we wanted to eat together, I guess there"s the living room..." I trailed off and stuck my hand back in my pocket.

Strolling forward, I stopped by the fridge. "Eat anything you want. We pay one of the agency's assistants to order food for us. We"re on strict diets since we make money off of our bodies..." Shit, I was bad at this.

When I finally allowed myself to meet Beasty"s gaze, she wasn"t even looking at me. Her wide stare roamed over every corner of the kitchen. The awe on her face puffed up my chest and I had to admit, it felt good.

"You want to see your room?" Rocking back on my heels, I dropped my gaze to her feet.

"Um. Yeah. I guess that"s where Lake dropped my bag."

Oh. Yeah. I forgot about that.

"Yeah," I croaked as I walked around her. She came with me and I slowed my steps so she could stay right next to me.

Soft heat from her body warmed my arm. I was dying to lean over and breathe her in, but I refrained. She"d slap me or think I was some kind of pervert. I"d been around enough of them, for too many reasons that I didn"t want her to think the same thing about me.

Still, this was nice. If I could figure out how to talk to her, then this would be as close to heaven as I"d ever get on Earth.

The hallway was short, and we had two bathrooms. One for the suite and one in the hall. I was glad we"d decided to put her in the suite.

All of us sharing a bathroom with Beasty would be more embarrassing than the flush I got every time her gaze heated my back.

Beasty came with us. It was simply wild. I'd never expected it and now it was like a fever dream as I escorted her to her room.

"This is our bathroom. You"re going to have your own."

"What?" She stopped and faced me. My heart, that had just started to beat at regular intervals sped up again. "Why would you do that?" Her voice whipped around the enclosed space. Her tone was almost hostile.

"What do you mean?" I scrunched up my brows, let out a slow breath, and locked stares.

Her eyes flicked back and forth between my own and I lost the ability to think.

She was so gorgeous.

No one back in West Virginia had thought so. But all the things that made her different were all the things I loved.

The minor scar across her cheek. The strong brows that the girls had hated because they weren"t to trend. Her ears that stuck out just a little too far. And those were only a few.

The best thing about Beasty though? She was a hero. My hero.

I"d worship her until the day I died.

"Why would you all give me the suite? I should be in the smallest bedroom. Using the communal bathroom. I–" Her brows pushed together then up in that puppy-like expression I loved. I wanted to kiss away the wrinkle between them. "I just don"t understand, Kim. Why did you all bring me here? I know what Joaquin said in the car but you never even talked to me growing up."

I choked on fear. I couldn"t help it. How do you tell the shining light in the darkness of your childhood that you wanted to–ached to–speak to her but you"d been too anxious? That still, after all this time apart, she had the ability to steal my soul from my body with a look, and she didn"t even have to try.

I"d hand it over willingly.

Instead of telling her the truth, I did what I was so good at.

"We had our reasons, Beasty, but let"s not get into that today." I leaned around her to twist the handle on her door, giving her a sweet smile, and praying she didn't see the sweat on my forehead.

This close to her, I finally got another whiff of her floral scent. Outside of that, she was just Beasty, and it was the best smell I"d ever encountered.

"This is your room. We want to do this. You shouldn"t have to share a bathroom with four guys. Don"t argue with us, okay, Beasty?" The pleading in my voice must have gotten to her because she collected herself and nodded.

"Okay."

"We"re going to order takeout from this fancy French place down the road. It"s Lake"s favorite. Mine too, really. I"ll come get you when it"s here?"

She shook her head as she passed me, not stopping until she was fully in the room. I was too much of a coward to follow her. She could figure it out anyway. It was pretty much just a bed, dresser, and standard bathroom. It wasn"t anything like a luxury suite.

Although when we first moved in, it had been the ultimate sign we had made it. We"d all drawn straws to see who got it, and Joaquin won in the end.

Shocker.

"I just. I"m so excited to be here. Confused. But excited. I–I need a little bit of time to myself. I"m used to that, you know. Being alone. And today..."

"Today was a lot." I understood. It was like our drive out of West Virginia. Our first flight. When everything changed and you could only hold on and see where the bus took you.

"I"m not one for fancy food either. I like easy stuff. Simple."

Only because you"ve never had anything else.

But I didn"t say that.

"I"ll come out in a little while. Thank you…For everything." Then she shut the door.

I stared at the plain white wood for way too long.

We had everything we wanted, but she was still so far away.