Another new development—Shiloh was completely comfortable walking around naked in front of me. Not since that very first time had she shown any uneasiness. This fucking thrilled me.
“Are you sure you don’t want to just run out, grab some lunch, and stop by the store to pick up a box of condoms?”
I had condoms in my truck. I’d bought some yesterday, which was kind of like tempting Satan with your soul, but I hadn’t brought them into the house. So luckily, last night I’d managed to occupy my time dispensing orgasms until Shiloh passed out.
“That’s the plan.”
Shiloh eyed me suspiciously then asked, “Why do I feel like you’re not telling me something?”
Fuck.
“Because there’s a lot I’m not telling you. Which, just to say, if you’d move your sweet ass and get dressed I wouldn’t have to tell you anything—I could show you.”
“You think I have a sweet ass?”
The smirk accompanying her question told me she knew I did but I answered anyway.
“Your ass is definitely sweet but your pussy’s sweeter. And tonight I’d like to get better acquainted with it. So please, baby, I’m begging you to get dressed so we can get the hell out of your house before I forget we have plans today and I go out to my truck, get the box of condoms, and we start now seeing how many we can blow through before you gotta be at work tomorrow.”
“What? You bought condoms and didn’t tell me?”
“Yep.”
Shiloh’s eyes narrowed.
“Not cool, friend, not cool.”
Fuck, she was cute when she pouted.
“You gonna get dressed?”
“Are you planning on bringing in your condoms when we get back?”
“Yes.” I chuckled.
“Fine. I’ll get dressed.”
Shiloh stomped to her closet and once I lost sight of her sweet ass I busted out laughing.
“You mad?” I unnecessarily asked.
Anger had been rolling off Shiloh from the second she got out of my truck and realized what was going on.
“Furious.”
“Right, then since you’re already pissed—”
“Furious,” she corrected.
“Since you’re furious I should tell you now I invited your brothers.”
“You did what?”
Shiloh rocked to a halt and I stopped next to her, pleased as fuck she’d locked her sidearm in her safe before we’d left her house. She didn’t look furious. She looked like she was ready to cause bodily damage.
“Echo invited me to Sunday dinner at his place. I told him we couldn’t make it to dinner because of the picnic and invited him and the others to join us here.”
“Echo invited you to dinner?”
“Yep.”
“Yep?” she parroted.
“Are you planning on repeating everything I say?”
Wrong thing to say.
“I don’t know, Luke, are you gonna tell me when you had the occasion to speak to my brother? Or better yet tell me why the fuck you didn’t tell me you talked to him? No, wait, before you do that, explain to me why the hell you didn’t ask me if I wanted to come to your company picnic.”
“Echo was here to talk to Jason. When he was done he felt like having words with me. We had them, then he asked me to dinner. I didn’t tell you about the conversation because as much as it might piss you off—or infuriate you more—straight-up it’s not your business. Your brother had something to say and what he said is between him and me and will stay that way. And I didn’t ask you if you wanted to come to the picnic because I wasn’t going to risk you saying no.”
“You…you…you…” she sputtered and stopped. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Nothing to say. We’re here. There’re tables full of food. Good company all around. Most of the people here you already know. Your brothers will be here soon. We’ll hang with them awhile then go home.”
“I can’t believe you did this,” she whispered.
I stood and watched emotions chasing each other across her face. One after another. I’d seen them on her before. Uncertainty, hesitation, insecurity. None of them I’d seen since that first argument so I’d forgotten.
Fuck.
I hauled her close and wrapped one arm around her lower back and placed my other hand on her cheek. It took two beats for her to do what she always did when I cupped her cheek. When I felt her nuzzle my palm, I explained.
“I want you to have this, baby, and I was afraid you wouldn’t allow yourself to come. I also didn’t want you thinking on it and stressing out. If it’s too much for you we’ll leave and you can text Echo and tell him we’re not gonna be here though your brothers are still welcome.”
“You lied.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you we were coming to TC for lunch.”
Stubborn shifted into her features and her forehead wrinkled.
“Fine. Though for future reference you not telling me something is the same as lying. I don’t like shit hidden from me.”
Future.
At that, I let out a breath.
“Noted.”
“But we’re still talking about my brothers.”
“No, we’re not. I said all I’m gonna say about that.”
“They’re my family—all I have.” My body froze and my chest began to ache. “So they’re my business.”
Fuck me.
“Shiloh, baby, please trust me on this. Echo was doing what he needed to do. It’s all good.”
“I want to know.”
She didn’t want to know that her brother had come at me like a dick. Her head would likely pop off and spin around in a circle.
I dropped my forehead to hers and held her tighter.
“All you need to know is it ended well enough that he invited me to his house for dinner.”
“Likely to poison you. Which is what I’m gonna do tonight if you don’t tell me.”
It was then I realized she was being cute. She wasn’t pitching a shit-fit which she had every right to pitch. I had tricked her into coming to a picnic I knew she’d try to get out of. Further, she was right that her family was her business. It was just that I wasn’t going to snitch on her overprotective brother.
She was also being funny, cracking jokes.
It was all good even if she was going to hold on to her stubbornness.
“Are you smiling?”
I hadn’t realized I had been but since she asked I guess I was.
“Yep.”
“I’m not smiling,” she snapped.
“No, Shiloh, you’re not smiling.”
“Then why are you?”
I couldn’t stop it, though I tried really hard.
“Are you laughing?” she growled.
Fucking shit, she was cute.
“Yep.”
“Why are you laughing?”
Another growl.
Fuck, I couldn’t hold it back. I tilted my head back, crushed her to my chest, and burst out laughing until I felt her arms slide around me and squeeze.
“You owe me huge,” she mumbled against my chest. “Tonight we’re going three-to-one odds.”