Page 7 of Cupid's Arrow

But so long as we’re here, with so many people around, including my brother, there is no way to touch him the way I need to. I can’t get close to him, especially while I’m pretty much chained to the desk and tasked with answering the phone to take appointments. I could scream from the frustration coursing through my veins.

It was bad enough wanting him before I knew what he feels and tastes like. What it sounds like when he’s on the brink of explosive pleasure.

Now I want it again.

More than that, I need him to understand how much I want it. He didn’t use me or force me into anything I didn’t want to do. I’m the one who started it, aren’t I? He has nothing to blame himself for, yet the way his gaze keeps darting away whenever our eyes meet tells me he feels guilty.

I hate to imagine him carrying that thought around in his head while he’s accepting handshakes and pats on the back from friends who’ve missed him. There are a few girls in the mix, too, and the sight of them touching his arms or playfully running a hand over his bald head leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

The sooner everybody’s gone, and we’re alone again, the better. I might need to start ripping their hair out otherwise. Let’s see how they like running their hands over their own bald heads.

He’s mine. Everybody’s going to know that before long. I don’t care what it takes.

My body trembles with relief when Ben claps his hands over his head to signal for attention. “Come on, everybody. We need to lock up. We can take the party down the street.”

A chorus of cheers rises up, and my heart sinks. It was bad enough waiting for the shop to close, but the bar will be open for hours. Is this day ever going to end? It’s like there’s a beast inside me wanting to explode from my skin. A hungry beast that finally got a taste of what it’s been craving.

I look past the dozen or so people still hanging around, mentally crossing my fingers. These people only think they know Arrow, and maybe that’s true—but they don’t know him like I do. Over the years, I have memorized his every look, glance, and smirk. I know his reactions, and I recognize what’s on his face now. He’s grateful and glad for the warm welcome, but he’s also overwhelmed.

I can’t imagine the mixed emotions he must be going through. It has to be such a happy relief to be free, to be home where he belongs—but he was never somebody who liked a lot of attention before this, so being the center of it now has to make his skin crawl. After all those months surrounded by people all the time, what I’d want more than anything is peace and quiet. Deep down inside, we’re not that different.

He draws a breath, and I hold mine.Please, please, say no. Come up with an excuse.I want to take him home. I have to be with him. I need to make him understand how much I’ve wanted him. How much I still want him.

“You know what?” He scrubs a hand over his cheek and gives them a rueful smile that sparks hope in my chest. “I don’t want to disappoint anybody, but I’m fucking beat. You go celebrate for me, and I’m going to go catch up on some sleep.”

I have to bite my lip to hold back my joy. Everybody grumbles but seems understanding, and Ben ushers them out with a promise to join them as soon as we finish closing up.

“Why don’t you go join them now?” I suggest while I’m ringing out the register. “There’s not much to be done, anyway.” I catch Arrow giving me a strange look but pretend not to notice. I guess I’m being pretty obvious about wanting to be alone with him, but he’s kind and smart enough not to say anything about it. Ben would lose his mind if he had the first idea of what happened earlier.

Instead, my brother makes it easier than I hoped. “I have a better idea. We’ll lock up, and anything that needs to be taken care of can wait until morning. I want you to get this one home,” he says, jerking a thumb toward Arrow while his eyes twinkle with our shared secret. “Show him his new room.”

“My new what?” Arrow glances toward the room Ben set up for him here at the shop, confused.

“That’s not the only surprise we have for you.” For Ben’s sake, I leave it there, only smiling at Arrow when he narrows his eyes a little. Like he knows there’s a double meaning to what I said. Ben is oblivious, only clapping Arrow on the back and making him promise to come out next time before the three of us step out onto the sidewalk so Ben can lower the grate over the front of the shop and close the padlock.

He heads off toward the bar while I follow Arrow to the car at the curb. Now that it’s just the two of us, electricity crackles in the air, and I can hardly take a breath for the sudden heat all around me. Arrow won’t look my way, not even when he opens the passenger door. Of course, he wants to drive. Always in control.

“Where are we going?” I ask, biting my lip to hide a grin as I look up at him.

“Home, I guess?” He lets out a sigh, rubbing his face like he did inside. “I’m too tired for games, Corinne. It’s been a hell of a day.”

“Why don’t you get in the passenger seat and let me drive since you don’t know where home is. One last surprise to end your day.”

“I don’t know how many more surprises I can take today.” But he doesn’t argue, simply lowers himself into the car while I trot around to the driver’s side. I know he’s torn, and he might even be angry at me for testing his willpower, but I’m too happy to care. Knowing he wants me means everything.

All that’s left now is making him let go of whatever’s holding him back.

As soon as I pull away from the stop, he grunts, “About what happened earlier.”

“If you tell me it was wrong, I will scream.” Especially now, with his body so close to mine again. Six months apart, and all it takes is his presence beside me to make me tingle from head to toe.

“Don’t do that. I have a headache as it is.” The back of his head touches the vinyl behind it, and he sighs. It’s a deep, exhausted sort of sigh that makes my heart go out to him. “Having all those people around me all night and having to put on a happy face… I wasn’t kidding when I said I was tired.”

“Then why are you bothering to fight what happened between us? We both wanted it. I’ve wanted it for as long as I can remember.”

“You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“Newsflash: I’m a grown woman and know exactly what I’m saying. Don’t dismiss me like that. You’ve always treated me like a child.”

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