Page 91 of Pin-up Girl

I tried to stomp to the bathroom, but he yanked me around by my arm and slammed his mouth on mine. It was quick, brutal, and delicious.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would matter once you knew the truth. I’m so fucking sorry it hurt you. Every day since, I’ve woken up with a sour taste in my mouth. The look on your face when you walked in haunts my dreams every night.” He wrapped his arms around my body, trapping my arms between us.

He sucked my lower lip into his mouth and goosebumps spread over my arms. “You’re always so badass. Sometimes I forget you’re human. That you feel like everyone else. I was so focused on the endgame, I fucked up big time. You don’t have to forget, hell, you don’t even have to forgive me, I just need a chance. Let me show you I can be the man you need me to be. Look at it this way, Milo and Jules will kick my ass if I ever break your heart again. I’m pretty sure they’d kick me out altogether. Will you please give me a chance?”

With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against mine. “Cherries…you always smell like fucking cherries.”

My damn heart melted. Traitor heart.

“I’m not even really mad at you. But I’ve come too far and learned too much about how the world really works. Hurt me once, shame on you, hurt me twice, that would make me a very stupid girl.” I lowered my voice. “Everything in me screams not to give you the power to do it again.”

He stared into my eyes like he was going to change my mind from sheer will alone. Eventually, he dipped his head in acknowledgement, not that I believed he’d actually give up.

“Then come with me. Give me this one shot. Let me show you what I’m willing to do for you.”

I pushed my upper body away from him. What did that even mean?

“What are you willing to do?” Suspicion clung to my words.

One sharp shake of the head. “No answers here. You have to come with me. Milo and Jules are waiting in the Caddy.”

Shit, was this something I wanted to see? Were they going to take me on another job to carve someone up again?

“No thinking. Two stops. Then if you don’t want to be with me anymore, I’ll step back from our relationship. Be a friend only.”

Sharp pain bit into my heart. I glanced away in the hopes he wouldn’t see it. It hurt when he made his mistake, and now it killed to think he’d step aside if that was what I wanted.

“Please,” he whispered.

“Fine,” I muttered sourly. Because I was not giving in easily.

He perked up immediately, bouncing around in place. “Perfect, perfect. Go get something warm on. The temperature is dropping fast outside.” It tended to do that in October in Colorado. There should have already been snow on the ground, but it was a mild year.

I rushed through getting ready, part anxious and part curious. After taking a blow dryer to my toes, I grabbed what I considered a necessary outfit. For whatever he had planned, I needed armor, so I grabbed a pair of tight leather pants, a red silk top with a matching leather jacket, then paired it with high-heeled boots. Nothing made a girl feel dangerous like a kickass outfit.

He stayed in the room, watching me with a small grin, like he was about to blow my mind. Did I even want him to?

I wasn’t sure. But I knew I wanted him to try.

We ran down to the car, the brothers giving us weird looks and scowls.

Derek was gone.

Marsten had taken care of it so well, the brothers thought he and his dad disappeared because they were butt hurt over some random internal politicking. His absence brought a kind of somber mood over the Shack, like they were surprised one of their own wasn’t happy.

When I made it to the Caddy, I stopped short. Jules was upfront again. Before Jules’ house, either I got the front seat, or they rotated sitting with me in the back. The past week? Emmett was my riding buddy. Always.

Milo and Jules couldn’t have made their desire any clearer if they’d locked Emmett and me in a small room.

Fine, I’d sit in the back with the manwhore, I laughed to myself. They were rubbing off on me with their incessant nicknames for everyone.

Milo had the music up loud, something upbeat but gritty. Even if I wanted to say something, no one would have heard me over the premium sound system. That was cool, I had nothing to say anyway.

All week, Emmett had been trying to subtly make skin contact. A touch here, a jostle there. Now, there was a mile of seat between us, and he seemed perfectly content to let me have my space. I didn’t like it one fucking bit, and I was the biggest hypocrite in the world.

It didn’t take long to realize we were heading toward the city. Then it was even less time to figure out we were going to a place I’d already been before. The last time I was there, I’d gotten a real hard on for the damage I’d doled out to Clownface. No one would ever know how much it helped me to fuck up one of the men who directly had a hand in my so called initiation into the world of evil.

Rubbing my hands along the seat on either side of me, I bit my tongue. I would not ask questions. Although I had one hell of a high hope I knew what this was about.

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