She lifts her book to her chest, cradling it against her shirt. “Whatever you want.”
She smiles, and my belly flutters like I’m some pansy-ass chick.
I don’t really want her reading. I want her on her knees, sucking my cock, but I don’t dare tell her. At least, not in front of everyone. I’d save that for a later time once I peeled away a few layers and we are better acquainted. I have no doubt she’d drop and suck me dry, and I’d let her even if it was the end of me.
“You two kids have fun,” Lily calls out as I stalk toward the back, my cousins and brothers parting like the Red Sea as we walk through the public work area.
“Nice,” Trace mutters, and I know he’s checking her out. But I ignore him and keep on walking.
If this chick wants to try to fix me, I will let her do whatever she wants and happily play along with the charade. If she is going to pretend to be my girlfriend, I am going to have as much fun as possible.
8
“Dude,” Trace says as I stalk by him, double-checking my design while Arlo waits for me in the other room. “She’s fucking mint.”
“Shut up, man.” I collapse into a chair, knowing I’m about to get an earful of shit from my family.
“If you feel too much pressure doing her tattoo or anything else, I’ll happily step in and take control of the situation,” is Trace’s reply.
I snap my head to the side and glare at him. “You better keep your ass in that chair. And get the words doing her out of your mouth when talking about Arlo.”
He lifts his hands, throwing himself back in his chair. “Someone’s touchy,” he teases. “She already got your dick all twisted, and it’s been what—” he looks at his wrist, then smiles when he looks back at me “—ten minutes.”
“This isn’t your game to play, li’l man,” I announce, setting the ground rules before my little brother tries to make a move. “You need to let the adults handle the situation.”
“This is going to be extremely delicious,” Gigi adds as she readies her station for her first client. “Super tasty to watch.”
“Don’t you start,” Pike tells her, getting a glare from his wife, but that doesn’t stop him. “Leave the man alone. He’s going through something, and he doesn’t need you guys adding to it.”
Gigi turns around, hand on her hip, leveling her gaze at him. “What the fuck is he going through? I mean, besides pussy like it’s in limited supply and he’s trying to have a monopoly.”
“I’m not that bad,” I say, earning a laugh from everyone, including my know-it-all cousin Gigi.
“You’re clearly out of touch with what you’ve been doing.”
“I’m a man with an appetite, and I’m single. I’m not going to make excuses or apologize for my behavior.”
She slides her chair over to me, leaning into my space, eyeing my design like she gives a fuck. “So, what’s your endgame with Arlo? Steal her virginity and run? She’s too nice of a girl for you to dirty her.”
“Nah, Gigi. I know Arlo’s sweet. I’ve met her before—twice, in fact—and she’s Lily’s friend, so I plan to play by the rules and be a complete gentleman.”
She stares at me, studying my face, but I don’t dare look at her. I’m not being entirely truthful, and Gigi is a human lie detector. “We’ll see,” she whispers. “And by the way, she’s all of our friend.”
“Why didn’t you guys tell me you were hanging out with her?” I ask, glaring at my cousin.
She crosses her arms. “Why would we?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I’m the one who found her and introduced her to Tamara and all of you, in fact.”
“We didn’t see a reason to tell you. She’s a good girl, Mello, and while we love you, we didn’t want to see her get hurt.”
“But now, it’s okay?”
“Now, it’s different. It’s fake, but so help me God, if you…”
“I’ll behave, Gigi. I can take a month out of my life to placate my cousin and her whims. Plus, I really do want to move toward something more stable.”
Gigi steps closer until I can feel her breath hitting the back of my neck. “So, you’re not attracted to Arlo?”
“I didn’t say that,” I mutter, tweaking the claws of the dragon to make sure they’re absolutely perfect.
“Don’t use her and then discard her, breaking her heart into a million little pieces like you’ve done to every other woman you’ve tempted into your bed.”
Her words hit me, cutting a little too close to the quick. “You make me sound horrible.”
“You’re an unapologetic player, Mello. You never make promises, but the girls go stupid around you. And while Arlo is one of the smartest and savviest women I’ve ever met in my life, I also know you have the ability to destroy her.”
I finally turn my face, looking straight at my cousin. “Maybe she’ll destroy me. Ever think of that?”
Gigi studies me for a second, and then she rolls her eyes. “You’d need to have a heart for that to happen.”
“I’m out,” I announce, pushing back and out of my chair. “I got shit to do. You guys can stay out here, talking about me and my shitty behavior the rest of the day, but let’s not forget, you all were every bit like me before you found your other half.”
“I don’t count,” Trace adds. “You’re my pussy hero, and I’m still single.”
“Fuck you,” I tell him, pointing my finger at him as I stalk by. “You’ll never be as great as me.”
He laughs, throwing a pen at me and hitting me in the middle of the back. “Go get her, bro,” he says.
“He’ll lock it down within two weeks,” Pike says, getting my middle finger high in the air with my back to him and the rest of the jerk-offs I call family.
I knock lightly. “Arlo, you ready?”
“Yeah, Mello. Come on in,” she says, her voice soft and sweet.
I turn the knob, not one bit prepared for what I see when the door opens. I stop dead with one foot inside and everything else still in the hallway.
Arlo’s sitting on top of my table, perched with her back against the wall, holding her book, and wearing only a lacy black bra, leaving very little to the imagination.
She looks like a Greek goddess with her dark hair, olive skin, piercing green eyes, and long legs stretched out across my table.
Any other time, any other girl, and I’d totally be putting the moves on her, probably taking her back to my place for a one-and-done.
She peers up, pushing her black-rimmed glasses up her nose, and smiles at me.
Swear to Christ, my heart stopped along with the entire world. I’ve never seen a girl wearing glasses look so sexy before, and it’s doing all kinds of wicked shit to my body and is totally fucking with my mind.
“Hey,” she says, her eyes raking over me and not just my face.
“Ready?” I walk in, trying not to stare at her tits, which is super hard because they’re fucking fantastic. “You can totally change your mind, and I won’t think any differently of you. This is a big commitment. There’s no turning back on a piece like this.”