Page 27 of Forever Your Touch

Jo shook her head. “I would have told him that if he hadn’t acted like such an asshole.”

“Brothers get carte blanche to act like assholes.”

“Bullshit.”

“All my brothers were assholes to me growing up, but when I need them, they’re always there. Keith would do just about anything to protect you, Josephine. Don’t discount that. Family is all you have in this world.” He heard Ronin burp and pulled him down to cuddle him close. “This right here is more important than all the bullshit piled up together.”

“You’re not who I thought you were at all.” Her serious blue eyes regarded him with a hint of curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

“You come off as this cocky, carefree guy who doesn’t have a serious bone in his body. But I think that’s a front.”

“You do, do you?”

She nodded. “Yeah, I do. You have this big heart, and you feel deeply. I think deep down, you are a very serious person with values and morals, and you’ll do what’s right, no matter the cost to you.”

Shit. How had she seen what he kept hidden from everyone, even his brothers? They’d only known each other a week, and she’d already seen into the very heart of him. It shook him.

So he did what he always did when things shook him.

“Don’t be telling anyone else these lies. Can’t have rumors ruining my rep.”

“Your rep?” She quirked a brow.

“I’m the fun guy, the ladies’ man. If you go spouting that, the women will think I’m a catch, and I don’t want that. I’m as big of a manwhore as the rest of my brothers. Can’t be letting the women on campus think otherwise.”

“Manwhore?”

He laughed softly so as not to disturb the twins, who looked to be going back to sleep. “We’re all whores when it comes to women. Except Viktor. He always looked for love, and Nik calls himself a connoisseur of women, but he’s a whore like the rest of us. We don’t do relationships. We never sleep with a woman more than once. The women know that going into it, though. It keeps things simple and uncomplicated.”

“So, you’re saying you’re a manwhore too?”

“Hells yeah, baby.” He tossed her his most charming grin.

“That’s awful, Mason.”

“Why?”

“Because…well, aren’t you looking for someone to love too?”

“Nah. I’m only twenty-two. I got years before I have to worry about that shit. I don’t want the responsibility of a girlfriend or a family right now. Freedom is the magic of all that is fun, and I’mallabout the fun, babe.”

She studied him, and he worked hard to keep the carefree look on his face. This girl. She saw him like no one else did. Best to not let her under his skin too deep. She was already taken, and he did not want the pain of that heartache.

“Somehow, I don’t believe you.”

He shrugged. “Believe it or not. It’s true, nonetheless.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.”

Silence reigned for the next few minutes. It wasn’t uncomfortable either. Girls could sometimes get weird when it came to silence. They felt the need to fill it up with useless chatter, which tended to irritate Mason. Jo, however, seemed content to sit there and watch the twins sleep.

“Thanks for earlier.” Mason slid down and propped the now sleeping baby on his chest. He wasn’t about to move him for fear of waking him. “It helped.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled, and his heart clenched up the tiniest bit. “I’ll keep your dad in my prayers.”

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