Page 99 of Lies Like Love

She laughs, knowing me too well.

I should probably leave, but there’s no blade sharp enough to cut me from her.

Fel is propped against the headboard, while I’m stretched out upside down on the bed, so I can rub her bare legs. With every movement, the thin fabric of her tank top tightens over her tits and shows off her pierced nipples.

It’s fucking hot.

Everything about Fel is perfect, polished. Except for the metal I marked her with.

“How many more of those do you have to make?”

She sets aside one bracelet, reaching for another. This one has a thick gold band with rivets for the pink gemstones she’s gathering.

“Too many.” She frowns. “The shop might be covering my bills, but it’s not enough to grow yet. These are for online orders.”

I’m tempted to throw money at her problems to make them go away.

Just because I live above a tattoo shop with my buddy doesn’t mean I’m actually broke. I’ve pierced and tatted some of the biggest names in the business, and with my twenty-five percent ownership in the shop, money isn’t something I’ve thought about in a few years.

But I don’t push the subject because Fel stepped away from her grandparents’ wallets for a reason. She wants to prove herself and make it on her own. So even if I’d never actually let her sink, I’ll sit back unless it becomes absolutely necessary.

“What’s that one?”

She scoops up a collection of beads that look like eyes, fixing them to a large bangle.

“Creepy right?” Her smile brightens the room. The city. The fucking planet.

“I kind of like ‘em.”

She shakes her head. “Well you would. They remind me of that wall in the shop with all the eyes on it.”

“That was Crew’s idea. He said people should walk in feeling eyes on them. That no one should ever feel too comfortable.”

“Interesting business plan.” Fel bites her lip as she focuses on stringing an especially tiny bead.

“Crew doesn’t care about business plans. Or comfort. Or people for that matter.”

He’s fun to get shitty with and entertaining to watch in the ring. But every quality that makes him a blast at a party is also what gets him into trouble.

“What about you?” she asks. “I know you try to play it cool when it comes to the shop. But you put in a lot of work there. And yes, before you tease me about it,I’ve noticed.”

The cutest blush stains her chest.

“Is me being nonchalant about the shopplaying it cool?”

“Something like that.”

I dig my thumb into the arch of her foot and her eyes flutter. The way this girl reacts to everything I do sends me into overdrive.

“It wasn’t something I planned on.” Her body rocks with every roll of my thumbs over her skin, and she has to set down her jewelry, so she doesn’t drop it. “When Dad was locked up, the feds seized his assets, and anything left was hidden offshore, so there weren’t a lot of options.”

“So there is money left?”

“Plenty.”

While legally speaking, the court took it all, they’re wrong. Dad’s wealth was never maintained in his United States bank accounts. So even if he’s in prison, he’s as rich now as he ever was.

“Didn’t matter though. I didn’t want it. I’d rather be broke than touch his money.”

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