Page 23 of Crave

“Maybe I’ve been punishing your boyfriends for not being nice to you?” His lean frame slides down the guardrail from the porch and he lands with a flourish.

“That would be nice, but I know that they don’t want to talk to me. Besides, you don’t even know most of them.” I roll my eyes and put my suitcase into my trunk.

“What if I told you, I got a pet flamingo?” He hops down the steps ahead of me to open my car door.

“That would be ridiculous. And highly irresponsible. You always try to give dessert to the girls when we babysit.” I wave my hand. “That’s a wild one. But if you don’t want to tell me, don’t tell me. No need to make stuff up, I’m not a child anymore.”

I’m just a woman with enough anxiety to shake start a cement truck.

And I need a break.

“Elena and Maeve love me. A little treat doesn’t hurt them.” He clicks his candy along his teeth. It sounds like when Jax drags his tongue piercing.

“It’s not the once or twice, Alexei.” I try to calm myself.

He’s right. What they get is okay.

I’m the one that is broken. My father always had cruel words about my body, and it ruined my perception of food.

That’s on me, not him.

“I have to go. If you won’t tell me, I at least want to get to the cabin before dark.” I slide into the seat of my Audi, wincing against the hot leather.

It turns into an oven in no time in Las Vegas.

His inked fingers curl over the top of my window. “I’ll tell. I really do have a flamingo. That’s why I went swimming in your car.”

My jaw drops open.

I have no words.

He grins, and pushes the door shut. “Have a safe trip!” Waving, he steps away into the shade of the garage.

A freaking bird?

CHAPTER 10

ALEXEI

“I dunno,Jax. I don’t know why you’re all worried. They can’t hurt that bad.” I flip through a flash catalog on the counter of the tattoo shop.

“I still can’t believe you don’t have any piercings. How can you have that much art on your body, but no metal?” Jax clicks his tongue bar against his teeth.

I’ve found myself rattling my candy in my mouth the same way. It always gets a response from Nikolai when I do.

Sometimes it’s a smack to the back of the head, but it’s a reaction.

“Why are you getting one? You already have that one.” I gesture at my lips. Every now and then the English words slip away from me.

“I have more than just that one.” Jax winks one of his dark eyes at me, then sits in the chair next to the artist.

“Oh, I guess your ears count?” I never paid attention, but see the studs in his lobes beneath his curly hair.

“More than them, too.” Jax grins at the ceiling as he leans back, closing his eyes as the man wipes his eyebrow with a square cloth.

Glancing at the pictures on the wall of various jewelry, one with nipple rings stands out.

Great big breasts with heavy bars through the tips. They’re hard not to look at now.

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