Dirty Little Mistake (Dirty #2) by Amber Rides Page B

had years of practice,” I pointed out, still smiling. “And as weird as it sounds, I owe that jerk my life. When things were at their absolute lowest point for me, Ian and his mom took me in. I had no one. And then I had them.”
    “Your own parents are both gone?” she asked softly.
    “ A long time now,” I confirmed.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Me too. And I spent a long time making everyone around me suffer because of it.” I went quiet for a full minute, marvelling over the fact that it was so easy to tell her these things I didn’t normally share with anyone. And then I let some more tumble out too. “The other thing about Ian is this…When I moved in with them, I was a fucking disaster. My cousin’s only a year younger than I am, but he seemed even younger than that back then. Still playing with toys trucks in the sand while I was out committing grand theft auto with the real thing. But Ian worshipped me. He tried to do everything I did. All his shitty behavior toward girls and his inability to see past his own overinflated ego…Those things are on me. On my bad example. Two years trying to live up to my juvenile-detention-center self…That’s what brought him down. So if he wants to bring me a girl, and if he wants me to be nice to her for an evening, I’ll do it just to show him how it should be done.”
    When I finished, Brenna’s face betrayed a wave of emotions.  Understanding.  Sadness.  Appreciation.   Concern mixed with something that looked like horror.
    “You still all right, PC?” I asked.
    “Shay’s an escort,” she blurted in response.
    One of my eyebrows went up.
    Well. That explains her expression.
    “Are you telling me this as a concerned friend?” I teased.
    She ignored my question. “Ian told me he paid her to be your date tonight.”
    “ Well, thanks, Pancake. But I already knew.”
    “You kne w?”
    I shrugged. “She told me Ian only paid her enough for the date and if I wanted the girlfriend experience, she’d need double. Apparently cooking together is outside her job description.”
    “On what planet are you okay with this?”
    I took her hand and squeezed it tightly as I said the first thing that came to mind. “On the planet that makes you happy because it gets you your date with Ian.”
    She floundered. “Oh. Um. Uh. Oh. ”
    I grinned. “Plus, I really think he meant well.”
    “By getting you a hooker?”
    I winked. “By guaranteeing me a good time.”
    Her face went a little pink, but it wasn’t the blush I was used to seeing in her cheeks.  She looked almost angry.
    Why would she be angry? 
    Because she’s jealous.
    The answer popped up immediately, but I didn’t get a chance to confirm whether or not it was true.
    “Are you going to do it?” she asked in a rush.
    I stiffened and pulled my hand away. “You mean am I going to do her? ”
    Her reply was a whisper. “Yes.”
    “What do you think, Pancake? Should I? Would I?”
    “Ian told me you used to sleep with any girl who came your way.”
    “ Did he now?” I replied darkly. “What else did my dearest cousin say?”
    Brenna squirmed at my tone and she eyed the hall like she was looking for an escape route.
    No way in hell was she getting away that easily.
    Without warning, my arms shot up to the wall, blocking her in.
    Her gaze moved to the space between my shoulders and the wall.
    Nope.
    I dragged my palms down so they were at level with her waist.  She had no way out.
    “I’m waiting,” I stated , my voice low and dangerous.
    Brenna swallowed nervously. “He said it’s been years since you’ve even kissed a girl.”
    “I guess you and I both know that’s not true.”
    My hands were no longer just at her waist.  They were so close that my wrists brushed up against it.
    Brenna stifled a gasp.
    I smiled. 
    “I happen to have become very…Very. Selective,” I said slowly.
    I leaned in, every hard plane of my body pressed almost – but not quite – into the curves of