Scars (The Triad 1)

TRISTAN

Scarlet looked at me and back to the bike and then back to me, her eyes wide and excited.

“We get to take that?” She was practically squealing. I figured the poor girl needed some excitement after she had been stuck in her bed for the past week. So I decided to bring out the Ducati and let her have some fun.

“We do,” I said and handed her a helmet. She looked sexy as hell holding that helmet under her arm, walking around the bike with stars in her eyes. She was dressed in heeled biker boots, ripped black jeans, and some sort of loose top that showed off all her beautiful tattoos when she didn’t have her leather jacket on.

“She’s beautiful,” she murmured as she ran her hands along the bike.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes!”

“Have you ridden on a bike like this before?” She rolled her eyes at my question and strapped the helmet on. “I’m just making sure you know how to ride bitch.” I smirked at her. She reared back and punched me hard on the arm.

“Shut up and get on the bike, Tristan,” she said and flicked her visor down. I put on my own helmet and swung my leg over, leaning forward so that she could climb on as well. Her small frame fit perfectly on the bike, and she hugged my body like a koala. I turned the key and revved the engine, feeling the bike purr beneath us. Scar’s thighs clenched tighter around me, and I smiled to myself.

Yeah, this is going to be a fun ride.

We took off towards the city, and I felt her grip my waist just a little harder until she got used to the feeling again. During a straight stretch, she leaned away from my body and threw her hands out to the sides and dropped her head back. I couldn’t hear her laughing, but I could feel it tumble through her as she brought herself back and held on tight again. I wished I could see what she looked like under the visor, smile stretched wide, her face pink with excitement.

It was a relatively long drive into the city, but I loved every moment of it. I took her on as many quiet roads as I could so that we could go as fast as I wanted. Not that I was worried about getting a ticket—we had the police in our pockets, but the stop would’ve been annoying.

When we pulled up to the Tower, I circled into the underground parking deck and into my private, locked area. She climbed off the bike and yanked off the helmet. Her hair had fallen out of the plait and stood up at all angles. Pure joy was written all over her face from her smile to her bright eyes. She was so beautiful. And all three of us were in such deep shit. I took off my own helmet and hung it from the handlebars before grabbing her waist and pulling her over to me. I needed to taste her, to taste that happiness.

She threw her good arm around my shoulders and kissed me. God, she smelled good. She always smelled like some sort of flower, but underneath that, there was that hint of petrol. It was just so Scarlet that it made my chest hurt. Her tongue brushed across mine, and I pulled her a bit tighter against me before she ended the kiss and pushed away.

“Let’s get to work, boss man.” She hung her helmet from the other handlebar, and we locked the garage as we left and entered the lift. “How many floors are there?”

“Seventy-three.”

“And what floor will I be on?”

“Seventy-three,” I answered again.

“The cybersecurity people are important enough to be on the top floor?” Her nose scrunched up. I reached out and booped it. Quick as lightning, she reached out and twisted my finger just enough for it to hurt.

“Don’t boop my nose, jackass.”

“But it’s so cute.” I gave her a wink before pulling out of her grip and twisting her arm behind her back to push her up against the wall of the lift. She grunted and yanked against my hold, but I was too strong for her, especially with her weakened shoulder. “Ready to apologize for that little outburst?”

“Fuck you.” I smiled and pressed my crotch against her ass where she would be able to feel just how much I was willing to fuck her. My cock twitched at the thought of taking her from behind right there in the lift. She pressed her ass back against me just enough to tell me she wanted it too.

“Another time, love,” I whispered into her ear. I smacked her ass with my other hand and then let her go.

“You never answered my question,” she said, rolling her eyes as she watched me adjust myself. I needed to get myself under control before the doors opened up and everyone saw my raging hard-on.

“No. The cybersecurity people are not on the top floor. But I am. So that’s where I expect you to be.”

“How am I supposed to work with them if I’m not even on the same floor?” Her nose scrunched up again, and I fought hard to not reach out and touch it again.

“Scarlet, they’re not going to be working with you. They’re going to be working for you.” Her eyes went wide for a moment before that news settled in. None of us ever expected her to just be another employee. Well, maybe Elliot did. But at some point he had to realize she was way more important to us, to all of us. We were giving her the entire department to run.

“You’re letting me run your entire cybersecurity department?”

“We are. So let’s hope you’re as good as you say you are. Time to prove yourself, love.”

The lift dinged and opened out onto the top floor of the building. We stepped out, and I guided her over to my office that had floor-to-ceiling windows with an amazing view of the city. I took off my jacket and threw it over the back of one of the sofas before making my way over to my desk. I sifted through the directory and dialed out to my top admin and watched as she gazed out across the city.

“Mr. Grange?” Melody’s voice sounded through the speaker.

“Melody, I’ve brought the new head of the cybersecurity department in with me today. Could you please come get Scarlet and show her around, introduce her, et cetera? I have some meetings to attend to this afternoon.” Scarlet looked back at me over her shoulder and then started circling the room, taking it all in. I’ll admit, the first time I saw my office, I was impressed too.

I hadn’t spared a single expense making it look as rich as possible. It had the most expensive-looking furniture we could find, a large electric fireplace on the opposite wall from my desk, and lush carpet. I wanted every client that came into this office to know who they were dealing with.