Page 18 of Kind of a Bad Idea

As real as the heat in Binx’s tone as she drags me into the shade by the fence and hisses, “What was that about, Seven?” I pull in a breath, but she cuts me off before I can speak. “If you say anything about contamination, I swear, I’m going to lose it.”

I exhale, knowing better than to try to come up with a lie.

I don’t lie to Binx. At least, I try not to. I withhold sometimes, I evade, but I don’t lie.

“I’m sorry,” I say instead, keeping my voice low. “But I know Pierce. He’s an asshole with zero respect for women.”

Her scowl doesn’t waiver. “Yeah, I know.”

My brows lift. “You know? And you’re still interested?”

“No, I’m not interested.” She rolls her eyes with a huff. “He’s a client, Seven. A client who wants a very large, very pricey tattoo that will keep me in work for months.”

I grunt. “And keep you in close quarters with a man who’s said raunchy, demeaning shit about you behind your back.”

“So?” She folds her arms over her chest. “It wouldn’t be the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. At least this way I’ll be getting paid while he stares at my boobs.”

I prop my hands on my hips, shaking my head. “You don’t understand. Pierce isn’t just your average creep. He’s fucking gross. After you shaved your head, he kept talking about how he wouldn’t have anything to hold onto while he…you know.”

She sighs, still looking spectacularly unimpressed. “While he what? Gave it to me good?”

I shrug uncomfortably. “In a grosser turn of phrase, but yeah. And he said it in the middle of the locker room at the gym, surrounded by people he knows are your friends. He has zero respect for you.”

“I don’t care if he respects me,” she says. “I’m never going to date him. I’m just going to tattoo his skin with permanent ink so he’ll bear the giant mark of the woman who refused to fuck him for the rest of his life.” Her eyes glitter and her lips hook up on one side. “So, who gets the last laugh, Seven? You tell me.”

My shoulders slump. I know when I’ve been defeated, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. “I’m still going to be worried.”

“I’ll be fine. I can handle Pierce.”

“But what if you can’t?” I press. “You’re tough but he’s got half a foot and at least seventy pounds on you.”

“I can take him.”

“No, you can’t,” I insist. “He’s almost as big as I am, and I could pick you up and throw you across the room with one hand.”

She rolls her eyes and mutters something I can’t make out beneath her breath.

“What was that?” I ask.

“Nothing,” she says. “I should go. I’ve already missed too much of the karaoke. Someone’s going to get offended if I don’t go join in the ‘fun.’ See you inside.”

“Tell me what you said. Please,” I say, curling my fingers around her elbow when she tries to leave.

Instantly, electricity shivers up my arm. My stomach tightens, warmth floods through my core, and all I want to do is pull her closer. I want to tuck her under my chin, wrap my arms tight around her, and growl at anyone who dares to get close to what’s mine.

But she’s not mine, and she never will be.

I have to let her go. I have to leave her alone so she can find someone capable of giving her the love, support, and protection I can’t. But not Pierce. I can’t leave her alone with him, not even as a client.

I’m about to volunteer to be her bodyguard during her appointments with the jerk, when Binx bursts out, “I said, ‘but you wouldn’t.’ You wouldn’t pick me up with one hand because you don’t ever put your hands on me. Even at the wedding, as soon as you gave me a boost into the tree, you couldn’t let go fast enough. I almost fell because I didn’t have a good grip on the branch yet.”

I shake my head. “I’m sorry, I?—”

“I don’t want you to be sorry, I want you to tell me why you really said what you said back there.” She steps closer, until her sweet, sexy smell fills my head. “Why did you tell Pierce to get his hands off me? Why were you glaring at him like you wanted to smash his face in with a rusty tire iron?”

I swallow and curl my hands into fists.

I won’t touch her.

---