Page 48 of Weaponized

“Never. It has a tracker and an alarm in it,” she tells me. “If you press firmly down on the charm for more than three seconds, it sets off an alarm on Rowan’s phone. He can look up my location, so he can find me.”

I am speechless. Her brother really does love her.And, it’s a brilliant idea. I’ve never had a little sister to look out for before.

“I need to be on that app,” I tell her. There is no way I won’t be now that I know it exists. Hell, I wish I had thought of it myself. If she’s ever in trouble, I will be the one to find her. I expect an argument since this is obviously something between her and her brother.

Instead, she snuggles into me. “Thank you, baby.”

I hold her for a few minutes, and she starts giggling. I pull back and cock a brow.

“I just pictured what would happen if you set off my alarm. We might traumatize Rowan for life if he rushed in and found us like this.”

I shudder. “I do not want to think of your brother walking in on us.” That’s all I need. Facing off with Rowan with my dick out.

She snickers again. I’m just glad she’s not crying. I feel an immediate sense of relief until she makes her next request as she pushes up on one elbow to look at me.

“I’ve never seen the tattoos on your back. Roll over for me.” Her fingers run over my shoulder and I freeze.

“Uh…” I can’t think of a good reason to deny her. I would rather gargle glass than have her see my back.

“Luca?”

I sigh. “I don’t like people checking out my back,” I grumble, going for the truth. Despite all my tattoos, I rarely show them off.

“Oh.” Just one word spoken so softly. But, it holds so much hurt and disappointment. I’ve just told her she’s like all other people to me. My breathing picks up because I know the way to fix this and I hate it.

I begin to roll over.

“Oh, no,” she hurries to tell me. “You don’t have to.”

I lie on my stomach and turn my head to face her. “There is nothing in my life that’s off-limits to you.”

She hesitates, then climbs on my back to straddle my hips. She immediately leans down to nuzzle against me. Her tits press into me as she kisses my shoulder. “I love you.” Kisses the back of my neck. “I love you.” Kisses between my shoulder blades. “I love you.” Moves to my other shoulder. “I love you.” I have goose bumps all over my body, and I’m having difficulty lying still beneath her ministrations.

“Mmmmm, love you too, Angel,” I tell her gruffly.

She scoots back and is quiet. I know she’s looking at the ink that covers my back, and more. Her silence fills the room and I feel as though I might choke on it, waiting for her to speak. When she finally does, it’s to ask about one piece that overlays the others on my back, running down my spine and fanning out from there. I feel her fingers trace it and I tense.

“Is this a compass?” she asks. I hear the interest in her voice.

“Vegvisir,” I tell her. “Sort of like a compass, yes. It’s to ward off evil, help me find my way through any storm.”

“Not Italian, though,” she murmurs.

“Icelandic, I think.”

“Hmmmm.” She continues tracing it. “This—this is a warrior?”

“Mmmm hmmm,” I agree.

“Sad, but triumphant,” she comments. Her fingers continue to trace. “Such detail in the swords.” Her fingers move again. I almost think she won’t notice since she hasn’t commented yet.“The one that wraps around your side, it’s a phoenix?”

“It is,” I confirm.

“The numbers that are interwoven throughout?”

“My father and my brothers’ birthdays. My mother’s birth and death.”

“You always have your family with you. I love that.”

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