And if the growing bulge beneath his zipper was any indication, he wanted her too.
“Anyway.” Brett cleared her throat, trying to drag her mind out of the gutter. “I’m in the process of trying to convince my family that I’ve cleaned up my act, and right now it’s more important than ever to prove myself to them.”
“Why is that?” He led her to the bed and tugged her down beside him.
“My family owns a couple of tattoo parlors. Rob runs the one in Southie—I work there as an artist—and then there’s the west-side location that opened a couple years ago. Mike manages that one. But my dad is planning on opening a third location in the north end.” She let out a breath. “I want to run it.”
“Ah. I see. What about your other brother?”
“Jordan?” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Poor guy can’t even draw a straight line—seriously, he has no artistic talent whatsoever. He’s a mechanic.” She squared her shoulders. “And even if Jordan was in the business, I’d be a way better manager than him. Except…well, my track record isn’t really helping my cause.” Her posture drooped. “My dad thinks I can’t handle the responsibility.”
“What happens if you don’t manage the shop? Will your father do it?”
“No, he’s really keen on retiring. He’d have to hire an outsider.” Frustration jammed in her throat. “But I know he’d rather keep the business in the family, and I know I can manage that shop. I’d be really good at it.”
“Of course you would.”
The conviction in his tone startled her. AJ barely knew her, yet he sounded more confident of her abilities than all her brothers combined.
“Dad gave me six months to prove I’m mature enough to run the business, and my time is almost up. He’s supposed to give me an answer at the end of the month.” A stab of misery twisted her stomach. “I was finally starting to convince them I’m not the party girl I used to be. That’s why I told Rob we’re dating. If he knew I brought a stranger home for the night, he’d totally tell my dad.”
“Seriously? He’d do that?”
“Oh yeah,” she said grimly. “There are no secrets in my family. And they all hated the last guy I was seeing. Troy was the least reliable person on the planet, and the two of us brought out the worst in each other. My family already thinks I have terrible taste in men—the last thing I need is them finding out that I had a one-night stand.”
“I get it.” AJ’s tone grew oddly strained. “I know all about family expectations.”
“You do?”
He nodded, but rather than offer any details, he suddenly flashed that boyish smile she was growing accustomed to. “All right. Ask me.”
She knit her brows. “Ask you what?”
“To be your pretend boyfriend. Isn’t that what this heart-to-heart has been leading to?”
Brett faltered. “Actually, I was only going to invite you to the barbecue. I figured a few days after that, I can just tell them I dumped you.”
Those green eyes sparkled. “Bullshit. They’d never believe it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m fucking awesome, Brett. You’d never dump me.”
“Gee, it’s good to know you don’t suffer from any confidence deficiencies.”
“Seriously, it would look too suspicious if you announce out of the blue that we broke up. Besides…” The twinkle in his eye turned to smoky promise. “We have the perfect opportunity here, and I’m not about to pass it up.”
“What opportunity?” she said slowly.
“To turn this one-night stand into a several-nights stand.” AJ smiled again, and a dimple she hadn’t noticed before appeared in his chin. Sweet Lord, the guy was unbelievably cute.
No, he wasn’t cute. He was sexy. And she’d be lying through her teeth if she said the idea of sleeping with him again wasn’t incredibly appealing.
As if he’d read her mind, his voice grew low and husky. “You still want me as much as I want you.”
“Oh, do I?” she mocked.
“Don’t play games, angel. We both know it’s true.” He paused. “Your dad is giving you an answer at the end of the month, right?”
She nodded warily.
“That gives us three and a half weeks to keep doing what we’re doing.” There was no mistaking the reckless glint in his eyes.
“And what exactly are we doing?”
“Having fun. Making each other come.”
She ignored the hot shiver that traveled up her spine. “And then what?”
“Then your dad gives you the manager job, you tell your family we broke up, and we go our separate ways.”
Biting her lip, Brett mulled over what was beginning to sound like a solid plan—especially the sex part. Three more weeks of super-sexy naked time with this man? Sign her up.
But the idea held more than just sexual merit. If she said yes, then she’d be “dating” a guy that screamed wholesome and responsible, which was a surefire way to show her family she’d changed.
“It’s not a bad idea,” she admitted.
AJ looked smug. “Told ya.”
“As long as we’re both clear that this won’t be a real relationship,” she said quickly. “I’m not looking to get seriously involved with anyone right now, and once I have my own tattoo parlor to run, I won’t have time for a relationship at all.” She chewed on her lip, still deep in thought. “But I probably don’t have to worry about this being anything more than a fling, right? I mean, I know where I stand, and you…well, I’m pretty sure I’m not your type, anyway…so…”
“Trust me, I don’t have time for a relationship, either.” His face took on a shuttered expression. “It’ll be a pretend relationship.”
That he didn’t correct her assumption about not being his type kind of stung. It shouldn’t, though. Of course he wouldn’t view her as girlfriend material. She was scrawny and covered in tattoos and the furthest thing from meek. A man like AJ belonged with some sweet, docile thing who’d bake him cookies and rub his feet, not an ex-bad-girl tattoo artist with a chip on her shoulder.
“The sex, though…that won’t be pretend at all.” AJ’s voice became downright sensual. “Because there’s no way I can spend three weeks with you and not put my hands all over that sexy-ass body.”
The saliva in her mouth turned to sawdust. “I’d kill you if you didn’t put your hands on me.”
“Threatening me with murder, huh? And last night you threatened to lock me in your closet.” He arched a brow. “For such a teeny little thing, you’ve got some pretty violent tendencies.”
“Like I said, I’m tougher than I look.” She pursed her lips. “So it’s official then? You’ll be my pretend boyfriend?”
“Yup.” He grinned. “Provided I’m well compensated.”
“I already said I’d sleep with you again,” she grumbled. “And you didn’t even have to twist my arm.”
“That’s not all I want.”