Page 55 of Hale
“No, I didn’t chicken out, asshole.” I give him a playful shove. “I’m getting our last name in a pretty script along my ribs.” I run my finger along the spot.
His gaze darkens as he rakes his gaze over my nipples that are hard and poking through my shirt. “What should I get?”
“You’re really going to get one?”
“Yep. Does it make me stupid if I want the same one?”
Tears prickle at my eyes. “We’re the only Hales left. It’s not stupid, Huds.”
He reaches up and runs a knuckle along my cheekbone, swiping away the rogue tear. “Well, good. Because I was going to get it anyway.” He motions at his shorts. “I need to shower. Give me a half hour and I’ll be ready to go.”
I grab a fistful of his T-shirt and pull him to me. “I could shower with you.”
His nostrils flare and his eyes flicker with desire. It makes me shiver. “I think that’s a very bad idea.”
Frowning, I look away, embarrassed. “Oh.”
He grips my jaw and tilts my head up. His lips press to mine gently. “Not because I don’t want to. I really fucking want to. It’s a bad idea because I’d do that very thing that will get us sent to prison. I’d fuck you, Rylie. I’d fuck you and there would be no turning back.”
I swallow and try to look away, but his gaze is locked with mine. “No one would ever know,” I remind him. “I’d deny it until the day I died. Don’t you trust me?”
“Of course I trust you. I don’t trust me.”
“You’d tell on us?”
He releases my jaw and kisses me again. So sweet. “No, I’d just not be able to stop touching you and kissing you and loving you for all to see. There would be no hiding it and that would be very bad for us.”
I infected him, but now he’s sicker than me.
Hudson
The entire drive from Arkansas to Missouri, I promised myself I’d keep my distance. I’d see her but not touch her. All that flew out the damn window the moment I caught her looking so fucking sad on the bed. Alone. On her birthday. Before she flew into my arms, half naked, I knew my pep talk was pointless.
I want Rylie so much it’s making me fucking crazy.
It’s more than wanting what I’m not supposed to have.
It’s just her.
Her scent. Her rare smiles. Her wide pale brown eyes. Her luscious lips. Her sweet voice. Her fucking everything.
For years I was with Amy and most of those I swore I was in love with her. But the buzzing in my veins when I’m with Rylie is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. She’s all I can think about. All I care about. What I have for her is more than love. Not only do we have the love and attraction and chemistry between a man and a woman, but we also have the same history and familial experiences added on top. Maybe that’s why incest is frowned upon. A double dose of love. A lethal amount of love. But too much love seems like a good problem to have.
Dinner was nice. I took her to the same Italian restaurant my parents had been headed to when they were killed in the accident. Because of Rylie’s new fake ID, we were both able to drink wine in their honor. We reminisced and celebrated like our parents would have wanted us to.
“You’re quiet. Are you nervous?” Rylie asks from the passenger seat of my truck.
I squeeze her hand that’s tight in my grasp, resting on my lap. “I’m not nervous. Are you sure you want to do this?”
She nods. “I’m ready.”
I flash her a grin as I pull into a spot in front of the tattoo parlor. As soon as I shut off the car, I bring her hand up and kiss her knuckles before releasing her. “You look nice. Too nice,” I grumble.
Her laugh is musical and so fucking sweet. “Thanks, I think.”
My eyes rake over her navy-blue dress that hugs her thin body. It’s strapless and the small swell of her breasts gets my cock hard. It’ll be difficult to not want to punch fuckers in the face who check her out.
“Before we go in, I wanted to give you your present.”
