Chapter 133: Caught Looking
The villa felt different with four extra people in it.Not louder. Just denser. Footsteps moved through the east wing at regular intervals.
Doors opened and closed with professional quiet. The security feeds now showed more than empty hallways and silent gates.
Bodies moved across the screens in clean patterns checking corners, walking the tree line, pausing at the service path behind the garage.
Liam spent most of the morning in the study with the monitors open. Rowena’s updated rotation sat on the desk beside him. Mara had taken the night shift without complaint.
Jessica preferred the grounds and the rear approaches. The other two covered the main entrance and internal corridors in overlapping loops that left very few gaps.
All of them moved well.
All of them were built like women who had spent years staying ready instead of staying delicate.
Liam’s attention drifted to the feed showing the rear courtyard.
Jessica was walking the tree line, checking sight lines with the slow, methodical pace of someone who had done the same walk a hundred times before.
The fitted dark pants she wore did nothing to hide the heavy, rounded shape of her ass.
Each step sent a slow, thick shift through both cheeks that held his eyes in place. The fabric pulled tight, released, then pulled tight again. It was the kind of movement that made concentration difficult.
A moment later Mara crossed the same frame. Taller. Broader through the hips. The same solid weight moving under her trousers with every stride.
She stopped to adjust something near the fence line, turned slightly, and gave him a clear profile of the same heavy curve.
Liam’s mouth had fallen slightly open before he realized it.He was still staring when a low voice came from the doorway.
"You planning to close it or just leave it open?"
Liam closed his mouth and turned.Jack stood there with a protein shake in one hand and an expression that sat somewhere between amused and deeply entertained.
He looked from Liam to the monitor and back again. The bruises on his face had faded enough that the grin came through clearly.
"I was checking the rear coverage," Liam said.
Jack walked farther into the room, eyes on the screen. Elena had stopped near the edge of the trees, one hand resting on her hip while she spoke into an earpiece.
The motion pulled the fabric even tighter across her ass. She shifted her weight, and the heavy shape moved with her.
Jack stared for a second, then looked at Liam again."Uh-huh."
"The west approach has a blind spot near the old service path," Liam continued, keeping his voice even. "I was evaluating whether we need another camera."
Jack took a long, slow drink from the shake, throat working. He lowered the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"You’re evaluating something," he said. "Pretty sure it ain’t cameras."
Liam turned the monitor slightly away from the direct line of sight.
Jack grinned, wide and shameless, and dropped into the chair across from the desk like he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.
"You’ve got four of them walking around here looking like that," he said, "and you’re trying to tell me you’re thinking about sight lines?" He shook his head.
"I’ve seen you fight. I’ve seen you unshakable when most men would fold. I’ve seen you take a hit that would put other people down and keep moving.
But this?" He pointed at the darkened monitor with the shake bottle. "This is the first time I’ve seen you look properly stupid."
Liam leaned back in the chair and rested one arm on the desk."Are you finished?"
"Not even close." Jack took another drink, clearly enjoying himself. "Which one you staring at harder the tall one or the quiet one with the heavy back end?"
"I was working."
"You were working your eyes real hard." Jack settled deeper into the chair. "I’m just saying, if you’re gonna hire women who look like that and then act like you’re only interested in their work history, at least close your mouth when you stare. You looked like a fish. A real dumb one."
Outside, the heavy bag hung untouched. Jack had clearly decided this conversation was better entertainment than training.
Liam rubbed a hand over his face and turned the monitor fully dark.
"They’re here to work," he said.
"Sure." Jack’s grin didn’t fade. "And I’m here for the quiet life and clean living." He gestured vaguely toward the east wing.
"You paid a lot of money for ’work.’ Funny how all the work comes with an ass like that."
Liam didn’t answer.Jack watched him for another few seconds, then let out a short laugh and shook his head.
"For what it’s worth," he said, pushing himself up from the chair, "the quiet one has the better ass. Just in case your camera evaluation needs a second opinion."
He headed for the door, then paused at the threshold and looked back.
"Next time you want to do a detailed inspection, close the study door. Some of us are trying to live here without walking in on you eye-fucking the security team."
He left before Liam could reply. His footsteps faded down the hall, followed a moment later by the heavy, familiar sound of the bag work starting up again harder than usual, clearly laughing between punches.
The study fell silent.Liam sat still for a long moment, then exhaled through his nose. The corner of his mouth threatened to lift before he forced it flat again.
Jack was many things. Subtle was not one of them.He turned the monitors back on.
Elena had moved farther along the tree line. The rear feed caught her in profile as she crouched briefly to check something near the base of the fence.
The position only made the heavy curve of her ass more obvious. Mara appeared a few seconds later near the side entrance, speaking with one of the other women.
She stood with her weight on one hip, arms folded, the solid shape of her lower body clear even in the slightly grainy image.
Liam watched them both for a while longer, this time with his mouth firmly closed.
Multi Claim remained ready in the back of his mind.He still wasn’t in a hurry.
But Jack was right about one thing.
He had been staring.And the quiet one did have the better ass.