Page 70 of Pretty Ruthless Monsters: Complete Series

QUINN

I frown as I look at the snake I’ve been doodling, tilting my head to the side to try to see it from another angle. It doesn’t look quite right, but I can’t put my finger on what exactly I don’t like about it.

I’ve been in the zone with tattoo ideas lately, which is good because it’s been a while since I’ve put out a new flash sheet for clients to choose from. Gang business has been taking precedence lately, as it has to sometimes, but I do miss having the time to work on the tattoo side of things.

Atlas comes walking into the living room, and he stops at the coffee table, glancing down at the piece of scratch paper I started drawing on before I went and found my sketch book.

He picks it up, and a little smile crosses his face as he studies the sketch of a moth I did earlier.

“I don’t know if I’m keeping that one,” I say, cutting a glance at him.

“It’s nice.” He shrugs, slipping the piece of paper into his pocket. “Nico called.”

That gets my attention immediately, and I put down my pencil, giving him my full focus.

I know Nico went out to question other weapons smugglers to see if he could get a lead on Silas.

Ever since I had the idea for it, we haven’t come up with anything useful so far, and it’s been irritating all of us that we’re no closer to figuring out who exactly this Silas guy is.

“And?” I ask impatiently when he doesn’t speak right away. “What did he say?”

“He’s got something. It was his first stop of the day, actually, and the pawn shop owner had seen Silas in there before. So we have a physical description of him, a list of the weapons he’s already bought, and a plan to keep a lookout at the shop in case Silas goes back.”

“ Yes .” I tip my head back against the couch cushion, letting out a breath. “Fucking finally.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, that’s what I said too.”

My brain immediately switches back into planning mode, focusing on that instead of my drawings.

After Atlas tells me the details of the shop’s location, I nod.

“Okay, I can definitely put some Enigma members on staking it out. It’s near our territory, so it won’t look suspicious if they’re spotted. ”

“That’s not necessary.” He shakes his head. “You’ve already lost more of your people than we have to this guy, and they might be in danger if they do this.”

“Yes, it is necessary,” I fire back. “My crew will want to be involved in taking Silas down. Besides, Nico did the work of finding out the lead. It’s the least I can do to try to follow up on it. We’re partners in this, right?”

A grin breaks out across Atlas’s face, and I try to ignore what the sight of it does to my heart.

“Yeah, vicious. We are.” He considers something for a moment, then adds, “If you’re putting people out there, we can at least give you some equipment. We’ve got night vision goggles and some other surveillance equipment.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “You do? Not that I’m not grateful for it, but I didn’t think that was standard equipment for most biker gangs.”

He chuckles. “Well, we aren’t most gangs. We do some ‘freelance’ work from time to time—mostly of the illegal variety, for people who can pay us enough. We got that equipment for a job we did a while back, and we hung on to it in case we ever needed it again.”

“Good thing you did.”

“Guess so.” His grin widens, and he jerks his head toward the door. “If you’re free now, we can head over to the clubhouse to get the stuff.”

“Yeah. All of this can wait.” I nod, grabbing my stuff and setting it aside.

The two of us ride over, and once we reach the wooded area where their clubhouse sits, Atlas heads inside with me, leading the way through the large space.

The last time I was here, this place was full of people and loud music, but it seems much chiller when there’s not a party going on—and when Atlas and I are on better terms.

It’s easier to be around him with that awkward, loaded tension finally gone.

There’s a big open area in the middle of the clubhouse, with smaller rooms and hallways leading off from it.

Atlas leads me into what looks like a supply room and rummages inside a sturdy looking metal cabinet for a while before pulling out a black case.

When he pops it open, there are night vision goggles and little button cameras nestled inside in specially crafted recesses.

“This should do it,” he says. “If they put the cameras near the shop, they can monitor the feed even if they have to step away for whatever reason. They don’t have too far of a range, but it should be enough for your people to duck out of sight if they have to.”

“That sounds perfect,” I tell him, nodding as he closes the case back up. “I almost can’t believe this might be over soon. Once we figure out who Silas is, we can eliminate him and make sure he wasn’t working with anyone else.”

Atlas nods, and although I expected him to look happy about that, the easy smile that’s been on his face since we got here falls away.

“And then what happens?” he asks, his voice low.

I blink, caught off guard by the question.

“I… I don’t know,” I admit, realizing as I speak just how true my words are. “Our agreement, this arrangement, really only pertained to dealing with the Silas threat. Beyond that, I’m not sure.”

Atlas nods again. “I know what Nico would say if he were here. He’d say he wants to stay married to you.”

I furrow my brow, frowning at him. “Why? Why would he want that?”

Something flickers in Atlas’s eyes. “He thinks it’s advantageous for our gang.”

There’s a note in his voice that makes me pretty sure there’s more to it than that. Or at least that Atlas is choosing his words carefully here.

Could there be other reasons for Nico wanting to stay married to me?

I bite my lip, turning it over in my head. Although we started off as enemies, a lot has changed since the three Princes moved into my house with me. Things have been good lately, and it wouldn’t be too farfetched to think that maybe Nico has… feelings for me.

But he’s never said as much out loud, and I certainly haven’t admitted to the confusing feelings he and his friends bring out in me.

I hesitate, my gaze searching as I glance up at Atlas again. “And what do you want?”

He’s quiet for a long moment, and I wonder if he’s going to answer me. Then he reaches out and wraps a hand around my wrist, pulling me in closer until we’re chest to chest.

His eyes track over my face, and he releases my wrist only to wrap one arm around my waist.

“What I want is right here,” he murmurs.

My heart stutters. The way he’s looking at me makes it impossible to mistake his meaning, and I shiver lightly as the full weight of his words sinks in.

Instinctively, I lean up to kiss him.

Atlas is ready for me, his lips parting under mine as our tongues meet.

He groans softly, pulling me even closer.

My arms go around his neck, and he holds on to my waist, the tips of his fingers slipping under the hem of my shirt to touch the skin of my back.

There’s an electric tingle at his touch, and I make a soft noise, rising onto my toes to deepen the kiss.

Heat builds between us, everything else falling away for the moment. It seems to get easier and easier every time we do this—every time we kiss or fuck or share little moments—as if it was always meant to be this way and we’ve finally stopped fighting against it.

I lose myself in kissing him, inhaling his sandalwood and citrus scent, and Atlas bites down on my bottom lip. The sting of it makes me moan softly, rolling my hips against his as my clit throbs in response. He growls against my lips, his hands moving down to grab on to my ass and squeeze.

“Fuck,” I whimper, breaking the kiss for a moment to breathe. “Atlas?—”

He pulls me right back in like he can’t bear to stop, kissing me harder, and I go with it, riding the chemistry that always seems to crackle between us. Using his grip on my ass, he lifts me up, and I end up wrapping my legs around him, grinding against the bulge I can feel growing in his pants.

“You drive me crazy, vicious,” he mutters, nipping at my lip again. “Did you know that? You have since the very first day I showed up at your tattoo parlor.”

“The day you took me dress shopping.” I chuckle against his lips, remembering. “I thought you hated me back then.”

He breaks our kiss, his forehead resting against mine as we breathe raggedly. “I thought so too. But I was wrong. It wasn’t hate. It’s never been hate.”

I make a noise in my throat, tilting my face up to find his lips again.

Our kiss turns hotter, more desperate, and I grunt softly into his mouth as my back hits the wall.

He grinds against me, pinning me against the wall with his muscled body as he wrenches his lips from my mouth so that he can suck at the sensitive skin of my neck.

I tilt my head to one side to give him better access, staring up at the ceiling through hooded eyes as my fingers thread through his hair.

“You’re gonna mark me,” I groan.

He just sucks harder in response, as if spurred on by my words.

It makes me think of the time I ran into him in the hallway at my house and he made a comment about the hickeys Nico had left on my throat.

I brushed it off at the time as Atlas just being pissy about the alliance, but knowing what I know now makes me see it in a whole new light.

Was some part of him jealous of Nico, even back then?

Either way, now it’s Atlas’s turn to leave a mark on me, and he’s not wasting his opportunity. I can feel his teeth against my throat as he sucks hard enough to make me gasp with pain, and a gush of wetness slips from my pussy.

“Ahh!” I hiss out. “Oh my god, fuck…”

He finally draws back with a wet pop, dragging his tongue over the bruise on my throat to soothe the sting.

“I need to be inside you,” he growls, sounding breathless. “Right fucking now.”

“Yes. God, please.” I nod wildly, and he pulls me away from the wall.

I’m barely aware of where he’s carrying me until we reach a large, low crate that’s set against one wall.

It’s about the height of a chair, and Atlas sits down on it, settling me on his lap facing him.

His cock is rock hard under me, a solid line beneath his pants that grinds against my clit perfectly in this position.

One of his hands splays along the small of my back, holding me steady as I work my hips, grinding down against him. I can feel how wet I’m getting, arousal soaking into the crotch of my panties as I try to get more friction while he kisses me hot and hard.

“I want to take you apart,” he murmurs, his mouth moving against mine. “I want to see you bounce on my cock until you can’t stop coming for me.”

“I need you inside me,” I pant back. “Fuck, Atlas. Need you.”

“Then get my cock out. Ride me, vicious. Show me how much you want it.”

He doesn’t have to tell me twice. I get up enough to kick off my boots and shimmy my pants off, then undo his, pulling his cock free. It springs up, hard and flushed, and my pussy throbs again at the sight of his pierced tip and the vein running along his entire length.

When I crawl back onto his lap, Atlas pulls me in and then slides a hand between my legs. He works two fingers into me, thrusting them shallowly as he curls them against my inner walls.

“I thought you wanted me to ride your cock,” I gasp, my hips bucking forward.

“I do,” he says, his voice husky. “I just wanted to make sure you’re wet enough to take me.”

“It’s enough.” I clench around him, whimpering. “It’s going to have to be enough, because I can’t fucking wait.”

I pull his hand away from my pussy and then wrap my own hand around the base of his cock to steady it. Atlas groans at my touch, and I brace my knees on either side of him as I rise up and then sink back down onto his hard length.

We both moan at the way it feels, and I take him in as slowly as I can, letting each thick inch slide into me until I’m fully seated.

“You’re so fucking tight,” Atlas grits out, tugging off my shirt and unclasping my bra. “How the fuck do you always feel so good?”

My breath comes in harsh pants as he tosses them on the floor, and I can feel him keeping himself restrained under me. His body shudders, and I know he’s fighting back the need to buck upward, to thrust deeper into my pussy, so I don’t make him wait too long before I start moving.

I begin to ride him, rolling my hips slowly at first, working us both up even more as he slides in and out of me.

But it doesn’t take long before the need for more takes over, and my movements pick up speed as I bounce on his cock.

My tits sway each time I drop back down, and Atlas grabs on to them with his rough hands, rolling and pinching my nipples.

It adds another layer to how good this feels, and I moan his name as the burning flame of pleasure starts to spread in me.

“You’re so fucking stunning like this.” He tweaks both nipples at the same time, making me cry out. “Take it. Take my cock, vicious. Take everything you want.”

“Yes,” I moan back. “Fuck, yes. You feel so good. I want to feel you come inside me.”

He tugs at my nipples again. “Yeah? You want to be messy with it? Your pussy swollen and pink and stuffed full of my cum?”

I nod, my thigh muscles burning as I ride him harder.

“You’ll look even more stunning like that,” he murmurs. “Fucking perfect.”

“Then give it to me.”

My words are somewhere between a plea and a demand, and I rest my forearms on his shoulders to give myself better leverage as I slam my pussy down on his cock over and over.

“I will,” he promises. “Fuck, I’m getting close.”

I nod, heat spreading through my limbs. “Me too.”

He lets go of my chest to put his hands on my hips, pulling me down into each movement as I ride him. His hips buck into it, meeting me halfway as our bodies slap together. We’re both breathless, chasing the fire that consumes us both as we get closer and closer to falling apart.

I lean in, wanting to kiss Atlas, wanting to taste the grunts and groans falling from his lips?—

But before my mouth can meet his, a sharp, feminine voice cuts through the air.

“What the fuck? ”