Steel 7 (Multiple Love)

I don't want to disturb them but getting up to check what the noise was that broke my sleep is a more difficult prospect than it used to be.

My prosthetic is propped against the bed for easy access, and I'm so used to strapping it on that I can do it in the dark, feeling for everything with my fingertips. I rush through the process, feeling certain that the noise came from Luna's room. I crane my ear for noise, wondering if Asher heard and has checked on Luna. He has a key card for her room to use in emergencies. The adjoining doors to our rooms are left open on the explicit understanding that no one will pass through them unless there's a risk of harm.

I'm steady on my feet as I pad to the door to the hallway. Turning the handle slowly, I pull it open quickly, confident that Connor and Mo sleep heavily enough not to be disturbed. When I find Luna's door unprotected, I turn my head to check the other hallway, finding Asher is nowhere to be seen.

Fuck.

What the hell is he playing at?

Maybe he needed to take a piss. He had a key card for our room, but when I check, the bathroom is empty. I tilt my ear up again, straining to catch any kind of sound. Disturbing Luna for no reason wouldn't go down well, particularly if Asher has taken a walk to get some snacks or a drink from the vending machine by the elevators. The thought doesn’t sit right with me at all. Asher is as diligent as the rest of us about his duties.

I catch a pained sound coming from Luna's room. A whimper.

Stepping closer to the door to her room, I press my ear against the cool wood.

A man's voice growls, and Luna whimpers again and fuck, my instincts go into overdrive.

Asher's left Luna unprotected, and the psycho stalker from Germany is carrying out his threat. I don't wait for another second, tugging the door open and stepping inside the room.

What I see is not what I expect to find.

The lamp on the nightstand illuminates some of the most frantic sex I've ever witnessed. Luna's legs are pinned high over the shoulders of the man who's pumping into her as though he's trying to bury himself between her thighs. Her fingers are pressed into his ass, tugging him harder and harder while she whimpers and begs for more.

But rather than clubbing the stalker over the head, I take a shocked step back because the man on top of Luna isn't a stranger. It's Asher, my buddy, who should be standing guard in the hallway.

It takes a second for them to register the sound of the door scraping against the plush cream carpet, then Asher's head spins to stare directly at me.

Everything goes still: my heart in my chest, Asher's hips, Luna's fingers.

But it's not just from embarrassment. It's with the realization that they've been caught doing something forbidden.

Fraternizing with clients isn't permitted for a good reason. Sexual connection increases the risk for both parties, and it's unprofessional. Something like this, if it got out, could ruin our reputations in the industry. It could even lose us the contract with Blueday Records.

I knew it was coming, though. There's something bubbling under the surface with all of us that I don't quite understand. Maybe we've all been single for too long. Maybe it's being around someone who shines as brightly as Luna. Maybe it's the knowledge that doing anything with her is forbidden.

Don't we all love the thrill that comes will breaking the rules just a little?

"Get the fuck out of here," Asher hisses, coming to his senses. He sounds different, like a man on the edge, poised to do something terrible.

I step out of the room, closing the door as quietly as I can. Connor and Mo are still sleeping soundly, an ability that they probably honed living under fire for so long. An ability that I'm grateful they have.

It takes me a minute to remove my leg, sliding back under the covers and turning onto my side.

But I can't sleep.

My mind is filled with the sounds that Luna was making. Her desperate pleas for Asher to push her over the edge.

I've thought about what it would be like to be with her more times than I can remember, but I'm not a rule-breaker by nature.

And anyway, she wouldn't want me – a broken man – when she could have anyone in the world.

But she chose Asher, my internal voice argues. He's no billionaire. He's not a famous musician or someone who can increase her profile. He's just an ordinary guy.

She's probably just using him for sex. Women have needs too, and if there's no one else around, why not grab hold of the nearest bodyguard? Aren't women's romance novels filled with stories like that?