Page 60 of Inked Obsession

“You’re so mean to me. Beat him up, Marc. Tell him to stop being mean to me.”

“Maybe later. I need to make a good impression on your parents.”

Archer sighed. “You already have. They love you.”

Marc shook his head. “Eh, maybe not so much, but they do tolerate me.”

Archer started speaking again as if finishing a conversation the two had already had before. I looked at Lee, and he shrugged. Apparently, he didn’t know what was going on either.

It wasn’t my problem. If Archer needed me, he’d let me know. We all liked Marc. He treated Archer well and seemed to love my little brother. I figured that was all that mattered.

But maybe there was something I didn’t see. I didn’t know the man all that well yet.

But I’d have to get to know him. Now that I’d gotten my head out of my ass and was actually talking to someone about what I was thinking, I could focus on my brother and his issues. Colton was here, too, having arrived even before Paige. That reminded me, I should probably worry about that relationship, as well. Jacob had arrived without Annabelle, and I knew that relationship was going well, but I was still the big brother, and I could be overprotective if I needed to. Just to make sure everybody kept on their toes.

“You’ve got that look,” Benjamin said from my side as he came up to Lee and me.

“What look?”

“The one where you’re thinking about being all growly to our family about their relationships. You keep glaring at the men who dare to be with our baby siblings.”

“Well, if you’d brought a girlfriend or boyfriend here, I might feel the same way about them.”

“Does that mean I can do the same when your girlfriend shows up?” Benjamin asked softly, and I froze. “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“So, what is she?” Lee asked, leaning forward.

“I swear to God, you guys need lives. Stop butting into mine.”

“But it’s more fun to butt into yours.”

“Ah, here they are. This is going to be interesting,” Lee said as I turned to see my sisters, Brenna, and Eliza walk through the front door.

My parents greeted them and hugged them all tightly, and my mother fluttered around. My dad was a little gruff as usual since he wasn’t great at showing emotion. He also wasn’t very good at human contact, and it was a bit awkward. But he was getting better.

I guess having your family yell and threaten to walk away because of how you acted changed things.

“Ah, see, they already like Eliza. This is good,” Lee muttered.

“I will hurt you.”

“Threaten to castrate him,” Archer said, and I froze before we all turned slowly towards him.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

Archer had the grace to blush, and Marc closed his eyes, muttering something under his breath.

“It’s what the girls always used to joke about and threatened to do to us. Did I go too far?”

Marc sighed. “Please stop talking about castration.”

“What is it with this family and castration?” Annabelle asked as she walked forward, Jacob right behind her.

“Well, that’s something that will never leave my mind,” Jacob muttered. “What is with this family?”

“That should be our motto,” Paige said as she leaned into Colton’s side.

“No, I like our mottos,” Mom said as she walked over with my father.

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