Page 74 of Pretty Black

He laughed and smacked my ass. “Get dressed. I want some of that coffee.”

I pulled on house pants and a tee while Iris walked down bare chested. I put my hands over his nipples while he poured us cups from the fresh pot. “I can’t believe you have your tits out.”

“I can’t believe you’re worried about the guys seeing my chest when you’ve dressed me in see-through shirts.” He added a bunch of sugar to his cup.

“I’m not really. I’m just feeling like I want to be the only one to look at you for a while, which I know is impossible considering you’re one of the most looked at people on the planet.” I pinched both nipples, sending him into a groan. “Can I pierce your nipples?”

Iris turned on me, both brows lifted. “You mean go someplace, or do it yourself?”

“I want to do it.” I dragged my teeth over my lip.

“Okay.”

“That easily?”

“Can I demand we are naked when you do, and then you have to ride my dick?” He brought his mug to his lips.

“Deal. Look at us making compromises.” I glanced around. “Who made the coffee?”

Aspen raised his hand from the other side of the living room. “I don’t sleep much.”

“I feel your pain,” Iris said. “Did you get a cup yet?”

He pointed at the one balanced on the end of the piano. “Thank you.”

“Working on something new?” I asked, knowing he and his brother were a lot like Iris and me. Aspen wrote all the melody while his brother wrote the lyrics. Most of them were about Alister, which amused me.

“Tinkering. I like to do it when everything’s quiet and the rest of the world sleeps.”

“We won’t bug you then. We’ll be on the terrace if you want to join us at some point.” I sat in one of the lawn chairs, and Iris sat in front of me.

“What were you thinking about Alexander this morning?”

“CCB please.” I sipped my coffee, choosing my wording. “That he is a horrible person in general, and I don’t know what to do about him.”

“Short of killing him—in Minecraft for all the FBI agents listening to this—I don’t know either.”

“The FBI had a briefing on ‘in Minecraft.’ You can’t use that anymore.”

Iris snorted his coffee, then yelped in pain. “Now I have coffee in my sinuses. Is that true?”

“Yes, they held an entire briefing to explain to the dinosaurs who work there that people don’t actually mean ‘in Minecraft’ when they say it.”

“Wow.”

“I know. I laughed so hard when I read it.” We fell silent for a while. “You know how you said you wanted to run away?”

“Yes?”

“Was that what the guy in Seattle was?” I held my breath, my heart racing every time he came up, but if I didn’t ask, I’d always wonder.

“Yes. He was easy and offered freedom in disappearing.” Iris’ voice carried pain, and I hoped one day he’d tell me the full story.

“What do you mean disappearing?”

“He didn’t let me leave his loft.”

“He just didn’t let you leave his place? How does that work?”

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