Page 53 of Truck Stop Tempest

I couldn’t let her talk her way out of us.

I dipped, capturing that worried gaze. “I don’t know what this is, or what the fuck we’re gonna call this thing between us. But we’re something, you and me. We’re something I can’t turn my back on. You know it. I know it. I’m not letting you disappear again.”

“But you said—” She dropped her face into her hands and groaned. Her shoulders rose and fell before she looked at me again. “We agreed to be friends. How is living under the same roof going to make things any easier for us?”

“Jesus Christ. Did you hear what I just said to you?” I backed away, fisting my hair. “I’m so fuckin’ over the friend stage. I’ve never so much as taken a woman on a date, let alone have one spend the night. Now, I’m begging you to shack up. Do I look like the kind of fucker who begs? I don’t know what to call this. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. All I know is that I’d never been so scared in my life as I was when you disappeared. I’ve never been so goddamned angry at someone for lying to me. I’ve never let a woman get under my skin the way you have, and Bunny…” I rubbed the ache in my chest. “You’re burrowed deep. Scratchy and uncomfortable as it is, I want to keep you there.”

“You want to be more than friends?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“More than friends…without sex?”

“Sounds ridiculous, I know. But yes. No sex until you’re ready.”

“You would do that…” Her eyes liquefied and she choked on her words. “For me?”

I swallowed the profanity that barreled up my throat. I didn’t understand the pull between us. Vulnerability was giving me indigestion. There was no doubt my right hand and I were about to set out on an epic getting-to-know-ya adventure because I wasn’t the kind of guy to push any woman into sex, especially Tuuli. I wouldn’t bring that issue to the ring.

Tuuli wasn’t a battle I wanted to win. She was the prize. I was only fighting myself.

“Only for you.”

She let out a sob, then reined in her emotions, swiping the moisture from her face. Drawing in a slow, steady breath, she hopped off the counter. “I have to show you something. After that. If you still want me, you can ask again. Okay?”

“Okay.” Tito nodded, watching me back away, worry pinching his brows.

Every nerve in my body exploded under rapid fire.

“You need to understand how crazy my family is.” I crossed my arms and grabbed the hem of the tee. “You think you want to be with me?” I pulled the shirt over my head. “You need to know what you’re getting into.” With a sigh, I turned my back to him, pulling my long hair over my shoulder, exposing my bare skin. I stood naked, shivering, hugging myself, allowing Tito time to study my tattoo. The hate symbol. A bold font number fourteen, black and ugly, permanently etched on my skin. Underneath the number, in a smaller font, a 100% symbol.

His breath caught. I didn’t look over my shoulder, certain I’d find disgust on his face.

“I was eleven when I started my period. In The Brotherhood’s eyes, the day a girl starts her period, she becomes a woman. She’s fair game. To celebrate, Jonas and Erik held me down, while my dad and Erik’s father branded me.”

I choked on the bile rising in my throat and pinched my eyes shut, trying to block out the memory.

“Fuckin’ purist breeders,” he mumbled. “You didn’t want this, and they gave it to you anyway.”

“You know what it means?” I asked, dropping my head in shame.

“I’ve seen it before. I know what the mark represents.” The heat of his breaths hit my neck. “The number fourteen symbolizes the fourteen words—We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. The 100% represents the purity of the white race.”

“I’m prime breeding stock. I’m expected to consider it an honor if any member of The Brotherhood wants to use my body for any purpose. Erik has been my saving grace. He laid his claim on me when we were children. Sick as his obsession is, he protected me.”

“But he didn’t protect you. He let other men touch you.” His voice sounded pained.

I looked over my shoulder and found nothing but compassion in his expression. He lifted a finger to my shoulder and traced an X over the image.

My skin exploded in goosebumps. “Erik disappeared for two years. Nobody knew where, how long he’d be gone, or if he was ever coming back. I believed I had no choice when those boys wanted to be with me.”

I reached over my shoulder and dug my nails into the blemished skin. “I’ve spent the past nine years hiding. I never made friends in school. I was afraid they would find out who my father was. Who I was.”

Tito growled his disapproval over my shoulder, then pressed a kiss on the ugly numbers. “This mark does not define you.”

My entire body vibrated under that simple gesture.

He stepped around to my front, wrapped one arm around my waist, and lifted the other hand to my chest, laying it over my heart. “This defines you.” He kissed my forehead and tapped my temple with two fingers. “And all the beautiful, brilliant things you have going on in here define you. This tattoo doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

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