Page 134 of A Little Tempting

Curious, I push my bowl aside, drag the package closer, and lift the lid. Inside is an…honestly, I have no idea. It’s a Taser, I think? Only this one is more like a gun than a small, handheld rectangle with teeth on top. I pick it up to examine it further. It’s black and yellow and bulky and absolutely insane. With a laugh, I look up at Reeves again and shake my head. “Are you serious right now?”

“I thought about getting you and the rest of the girls one for a while now.”

“Why?”

“One too many horror stories,” he offers. “Supposedly, it hurts like a bitch, but I want you to try it on me to be certain.”

I shake my head, convinced I heard him wrong. “I’m sorry, what?”

“You should test it on me. Make sure it works.”

My eyes bulge at the ridiculousness of his suggestion, and I argue, “I’m not going to tase you.”

Rolling up his sleeve, he grips the edge of the table until his knuckles are white and grits his teeth. “Come on. I’m ready.”

“Oliver—”

“What are you guys doing?” Griffin asks as he strolls into the kitchen.

“Trying to convince your sister to tase me,” Reeves replies, barely casting him a glance as he fills him in.

Surprised, Griffin’s attention shifts from me to Reeves and back again. “No shit?”

“Dude, I heard some are nothing but a nasty beesting,” Reeves interjects. “I want to know if this one will actually drop a guy if she’s using it for protection.”

“Protection from what?” I demand.

“Look, do it for me, all right?” Reeves interrupts. “I got one for each of you girls. Figured it would help all of us sleep at night.”

“Uh, I sleep fine, thank you very much.”

“Humor me, Pickles,” he begs.

“Yeah, humor him, Pickles,” Griffin adds. He folds his arms across his chest like this is the funniest thing in the entire world. “Besides, Reeves is right. We’ll sleep better if we don’t have to stress about you guys, and there’s only one way to see if it works.”

“Come on, Dyl. Do it,” Reeves pushes.

“I won't tase you,” I all but yell.

“Yeah, you will,” Griffin interjects.

Glowering at my brother, I point out, “This has nothing to do with you.”

“You're my little sister. Honestly, I’m disappointed I didn’t think to buy you one myself. Come on. Let’s see what kind of power it has.” He lifts his chin at the massive Taser in my hand. It’s heavy and masculine and at least twice the size of any other Taser I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It’s probably twice as powerful.

“I refuse to shoot Reeves!”

Griff rolls his eyes. “Dylan, he’s a big boy.”

“Fuck yeah, I am,” Reeves adds. His eyebrows bounce up and down.

My brother’s nose wrinkles. “Gross.”

“Hey, you brought up size and shit.”

“What the fuck did I just walk in on?” Everett demands from the front door. He’s dressed in his gym clothes and holding a protein shake.

“They’re about to pull out their dicks and compare sizes,” Finley comments from the couch in the family room as she files her nails. I should’ve known she was eavesdropping instead of listening to whatever murder podcast is supposed to be blaring through her headphones.

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