Seth sighed angrily but didn’t refute him. “Fine.”
“There are tons of well-paying positions at the hospital,” Beck improvised. If there wasn’t, he’d create one. “You don’t even need to be licensed.”
“Really?” Hope flashed across her face.
“Yes. I’ll make some calls in the morning, but you’re done strutting around this place, wearing that”—Beck plucked at the strap of her paltry uniform—“getup while every man in the room eye-fucks your goddamn brains out.”
“That’s fucking final!” Seth barked.
Heavenly pinched her lips together. “I’d be happy to have a job where I could keep my clothes on, but when you two helped Dad and me last night, you didn’t say it came with strings.”
“It doesn’t,” Seth insisted.
Beck scowled. “What are you talking about?”
“You don’t have the right to run my life. You’re not my daddy.”
Beck bristled. “No, I’m not. But you need one, little girl. And I’m the closest thing you’ve got. Starting right now.”
First order of business? Get her out of that ball-churning outfit, away from all these drooling pervs, and lay down some fucking ground rules.
When Beck locked eyes with the PI, Seth nodded. They were on the same page. “Get your things. We’re taking you home.”
Heavenly gaped as if they were speaking a foreign language. “I can’t just walk out. I have to finish my shift.”
“Your shift here—and your future as a Bazooka-Babe—are over.” The PI hovered and let his displeasure show as he stood and extended his hand to her. “You hear me?”
She nibbled her lip pensively, then placed her fingers in his palm and stood. “Why are you both doing this?”
“Because we goddamn care, angel.” Seth pulled her against his chest and held her tight, like he was afraid she was seconds from slipping away.
As he slid from the booth, Beck had the same fear. He moved in behind her and pressed himself tightly against her back. “We’re going to prove that.”
A man wearing a dirty apron, an angry scowl, and a name tag that read PETE – ASSISTANT MANAGER rushed their way. “What the hell do you two think you’re doing? Get your hands off her!”
“Back off. This doesn’t concern you,” Seth warned.
“Heavenly is my best Bazooka-Babe. You’re damn right this concerns me.” Pete puffed out his chest in challenge.
“Was one of your best,” Beck corrected. “Our girlfriend no longer works here.”
“She’s with both of you?” He looked skeptical. “Since when?”
“Pete…” She stepped out of their embrace and approached the man, apology softening her face. “I’m sorry to leave you in a lurch, but I never intended to stay this long. I’m quitting, effective now.”
Beck heard both the guilt and the triumph in her voice. She felt empowered to be leaving this degrading job. And he loved giving her that ability.
“Heavenly, don’t do this.” Pete sighed in exasperation. “At least finish out this week.”
“I can’t. I’ve got school, my dad is in the hospital, and I want to spend time with my…boyfriends.”
Pete’s mouth curled in a snarl. “Then don’t expect to get your job back.”
“Fine. Don’t expect to ever exploit her for a buck again,” Seth gritted out through clenched teeth.
“Then leave. Clock out and get your shit! I’ll hire someone who puts out,” Pete growled, then stormed away.
Beck shoved down his anger and brushed a kiss onto Heavenly’s temple. “I’m proud of you. Get your purse and change. We’ll wait here.”
“That felt good. Thanks,” she murmured as Seth kissed her forehead. Then she scurried off.
“So I hope my apology has been adequate.” River hopped out of the booth and slapped their backs with a grin. “I’m going to hit the head. Be right back.”
As he jogged away, Seth sighed. “Our little hellion needs boundaries. She’s been setting her own for too long.”
“And she’s in over her head.” Beck scrubbed a hand through his hair. “We definitely need to put her on a short leash. And find a way to keep her from fucking lying to us all the time.”
“Couldn’t agree more. But first, you were right earlier. We have to be honest with her about who and what we are.”
They had to out themselves.
That was fine by Beck. He’d known it was coming, and he was sick of stifling his Dominant nature behind his good-doctor façade. “Yeah. Until we do that, we can’t lay out any rules or expectations. And we certainly can’t spank her for this crap. That’s got to change.”
Time to find out just how submissive she was, and if she’d be willing to let them teach and guide her. At the thought, a whole new level of uncertainty began uncoiling inside him.
“I’m over pretending I don’t need to exert control,” Seth admitted. “I can’t imagine the struggle you’re going through. But you’ll have to cage your dark side because she’s nowhere near ready for that, man.”
“She’s not. And she might never be.” He’d once told Gloria that making the sadist in him stop wielding a paddle or whip would be like the surgeon in him cutting off his hand. He’d been wrong. To his shock, the need to protect, nurture, and provide Heavenly respite had superseded his desire to inflict sweet pain.
Seth commiserated with a bob of his head. “So, we’re going to tell her everything?”
“We have to.”
“It’s risky, especially for you.”
“We’ll stress the importance of anonymity.”
“Yeah. And open, honest communication.”
Beck chuckled. “That’s the first damn thing we start with.”
“If we’d been ourselves from the start, I wonder if we’d be in this clusterfuck.”
“You mean if we’d spent our time helping her down her path, instead of trying to win her by peeing on her like a fire hydrant? Probably not.”
“We could have saved ourselves a shitload of stress.” Seth exhaled, then sent a narrow-eyed glare over Beck’s shoulder. “Is he trying to piss me off?”
“Who?” Beck turned to see River, one arm slung over Heavenly’s shoulders, as they approached. Thankfully, she’d donned the T-shirt and yoga pants she’d been wearing when they’d dropped her off
