“You keep saying shit like that and I’m going to fall in love with you,” she whispers and my heart stalls as a smile stretches across my face.
“Sound like a fucking plan to me.”
We just stare at each other for a moment before she drops her gaze and shakes her head.
“All right, let me go get ready and then we can go.”
Reluctantly, I release her and watch as she heads toward the stairs. “Where are we going?”
“I want a tattoo,” she calls down to me and I arch a brow as I slowly approach the dining room table where the piece of paper from the video still sits.
“What are you gonna get?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Laughing, I grab the note and read through it once before scowling. It looks like lines from a script or something but I’ve never heard of it. I flip the paper over and find Tate’s name written on the front with a piece of tape folded over the edge. The floorboard above me creaks and I pull my phone out of my pocket and snap a picture to send off to Streak. If anyone can figure out what this means, it’s our boy genius. By the time Tate walks back into the room, the note is back on the table and I’m inspecting some of the photos on the wall.
“You look just like your mom,” I say.
“Yeah, people used to call me her mini-me.”
I point to the guy in the photo. “Is this your brother?”
“Yep, that’s Theo.”
“He doesn’t look anything like y’all.”
She walks up behind me and slips her hand in my back pocket as she stares at the photo. “I know. I always wondered if he looks just like our dad.”
“Do you want to find him?” I ask, wondering if that’s something Streak could do for me. She shrugs.
“I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to know who he is but I don’t know if I’d want to meet him. I mean, he’s had twenty-five years to give a damn about Theo and me so should I really bother worrying about him?”
I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side, loving the feel of her next to me. “Maybe he doesn’t know about you.”
“That’s possible, too.” She pulls away and clears her throat. “You want some sweet tea or something?”
“Sure, baby.”
Turning, I watch her walk into the kitchen, the gentle sway of her hips conjuring up images of the two of us spending the whole day in bed. I respect her need to take things slow but damn, that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Especially not when I’ve been imagining what it will feel like to sink into her since the moment we first met.
She walks back out with two glasses of sweet tea and sets one down in front of me before trying to turn away but I grab her and deposit her in my lap. She scoffs.
“You know I have plenty of chairs, right?”
“But why waste one when you can just sit on my lap?” I ask and she laughs.
“They’re chairs. You can use them more than once.”
I shrug. “So? You’d still be all the way over there instead of right…here,” I whisper, trailing my hand up the bare skin of her thigh until I get to the hem of her shorts. Her eyes flutter closed and she releases a breath as she drops her head back, exposing the side of her neck. Leaning in, I press my lips against her skin and a soft moan slips past her lips and straight to my cock.
“Fuck, Tate,” I hiss and she wiggles her ass with a giggle.
“It’s your own damn fault.”
Growling, I wrap both arms around her and squeeze until she starts to squeal.
“Oh my God, let me go before you break me!”
Her words hit me straight in the chest and I turn away as I loosen my hold. “So, tattoo time, then?”
“Yes, please,” she says with a smile and I know it doesn’t matter how many times I have to lie to her because I’ll come back for that smile alone every single time.
* * * *
Streak:
It’s from the Merchant of Venice.
Me:
Shakespeare?
The buzz of the needle drowns out the other noise around us and I glance up, meeting Tate’s eyes as she smiles at me.
“Everything okay?”
I nod. “Yeah, sweetheart. Just club stuff.”
She nods and I get up from my seat to check out how her tattoo is coming along. When we first rolled up to From the Ashes Tattoos, the shop that Blaze’s son owns, she was insistent on getting one for her mom but she couldn’t decide what she wanted so she went with the letter “T” with a little two up in the corner for her and Theo. It’s actually pretty damn cute.
My phone buzzes again and I pull it out.
Streak:
Yep.
Me:
What the fuck does it mean?
The buzzing stops and I glance up as her artist, Kenny, grabs some paper towels and squirts it with soap before rubbing it over her ink.
“Hey, is Nix here today?” I ask and Kenny shakes his head.
“Naw, he took the day off to spend with his family.”
I nod and Tate turns to me as he pulls out the plastic wrap and covers her skin with it.
“Who is Nix?”
“Blaze’s son. This is his shop.”
“Follow me and I’ll get y’all checked out,” Kenny says and I help Tate off the table before slipping my arm around her waist and leading her up to the front.
“That will be one hundred.”
Releasing Tate, I grab my wallet but Tate snatches it out of my hand.
“I am perfectly capable of paying for my own tattoo,” she snaps and Kenny smirks as she hands him a wad of twenties.
“Thanks, guys,” Kenny says, laughing and I nod at him as we turn toward the door.
“Can I have my wallet back now?” I ask and she glares up at me.
“I don’t know. Are you going to try to pay for anything else?”
Chuckling, I open the door for her and guide her toward the car. “I feel like the correct answer here is no.”
“Then say it.”
“I can’t,” I answer with a laugh and she lets out a huff of annoyance.
“And to think Theo was worried you were going to use me to be your sugar mama.”
I bark out a laugh, stopping her on the sidewalk and turning her to face me. “What? Exactly how much money did your mom leave you?”
“Um,” she murmurs, biting her lip. “Almost half a million dollars.”
My eyes widen and I let out a low whistle as I start leading us to the car again. Well, there’s one more plot twist in this confusing story. When she said her mom left her money, I’d figured it was a few thousand not enough to buy a new house outright. My phone buzzes just as we reach the car and I pull it out as I open Tate’s door for her.
Streak:
Based on what it says and the fact that it was left for her…
I’d say someone is threatening her.
Me:
I’ll talk to you in twenty.
As soon as I drop Tate off at home, I’m going straight to the clubhouse to see what Streak knows and confront Blaze again. It’s time for all the secrets to end. I shut her door and jog around the hood before slipping behind the wheel and firing the engine to life.