beauty are fucking with me so bad, and she has no idea.
I want to protect her. I want to curl my arm around her, hold her against my body, and keep her safe from something as small as a goddamn bee sting. She’s so . . . small. She’s so delicate and fragile that if I flicked her, she’d crumble.
She’s nothing like what I like.
She’s not self-confident or flirty or extroverted. She doesn’t flaunt her tits with every shirt, and her skirts and shorts always cover some thigh. She doesn’t step in front of me and see dollar signs or how she can bag me.
She stands in front of me and tells me to go and fuck myself in the politest damn way I’ve ever heard.
She intrigues me. She astounds me. She winds me tighter than a fucking nun’s vagina.
And now she’s walking into the room, her head down. She tucks some hair behind her ear and slides into the seat next to Conner.
I stare at her. Like I’m begging her gorgeous ass to look at me. I am. I want her to look up at me and show me that damn sadness isn’t in her eyes anymore.
I want her to look at me so I can make sure her eyes aren’t ghosted with fear anymore.
But . . . she doesn’t. I can tell from her posture that her hands are in her lap, and the shifting of her shoulders tells me she’s fidgeting. Her hair falls on one side of her face, the side I’m looking at, like she’s leaving it there deliberately to obscure my view of her.
Obscured or not, I’m still fucking looking.
Kye nudges my side. “Y’all still fightin’?”
“Nope,” I reply, not taking my eyes from Ella. “Well, I ain’t. You’ll have to ask her if she’s still ignorin’ me.”
“Look like she is,” he chuckles. “The hair curtain, bro? Ouch.”
I cut my eyes to him. He raises his eyebrows and returns to his breakfast, and I take a long drink of juice.
The door slams. “Conner, take Mila upstairs. Now,” Sofie snaps.
“What—?” he says.
“Did I stutter, hon? Take Mila upstairs and call Ajax to watch her. Now!” she adds. “As in right the hell now, not in two minutes when you’re ready to.”
“All right, princess, keep your panties on.”
I turn in time to see her shoot him a death stare.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go find Uncle Ajax.” Conner lifts Mila out of her high chair.
“Yax! Yax! Yay, Yax!” She claps her hands together behind Conner’s head.
Sofie watches as they disappear and shut the door. Then she turns on me, a rolled-up stack of papers in her hand, and she steps forward and whacks me on the head with it.
“Fuck!” I scramble out of my chair and away from her. “The fuck was that for, you crazy bitch?”
“You!” she growls, advancing on me. She smacks the other side of my head with the paper roll, and I duck away from her. “You absolute fuckin’ dumbass, Tate Burke! You complete and utter fuckin’ idiot!”
“Shit! What did I do now?”
“Oh, it isn’t what you did. It’s what you allowed to happen because you can’t keep your snake in its cage!”
I hold my hands up. “Sof, I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about.”
She unrolls the paper sheets and shows me the printed side. It’s a memo from Marc about a tip-off he’s had. I step forward to take them from her.
“A fuckin’ sex tape, Tate! Sweet Jesus! After the hooker thing, you’d think you’d watch your damn back!”
“You what?” Kye and Aidan yell, standing at my sides.
I don’t even have the energy to be mad at them for their mind-reading shit.
She’s right.
Some girl I fucked in Charlotte apparently has it on tape, and she’s threatening to release it.
Adrenaline is pounding through my veins—and not the fucking good type. It’s burning, searing every part of me. Fuck. I’m no reality star. I don’t need some sex tape to make it big. I already did that. I need to keep it that way.
This won’t help.
“What’s goin’ on?” Conner comes back in, and Sofie shrieks the news. My baby brother stares at me from across
I want to protect her. I want to curl my arm around her, hold her against my body, and keep her safe from something as small as a goddamn bee sting. She’s so . . . small. She’s so delicate and fragile that if I flicked her, she’d crumble.
She’s nothing like what I like.
She’s not self-confident or flirty or extroverted. She doesn’t flaunt her tits with every shirt, and her skirts and shorts always cover some thigh. She doesn’t step in front of me and see dollar signs or how she can bag me.
She stands in front of me and tells me to go and fuck myself in the politest damn way I’ve ever heard.
She intrigues me. She astounds me. She winds me tighter than a fucking nun’s vagina.
And now she’s walking into the room, her head down. She tucks some hair behind her ear and slides into the seat next to Conner.
I stare at her. Like I’m begging her gorgeous ass to look at me. I am. I want her to look up at me and show me that damn sadness isn’t in her eyes anymore.
I want her to look at me so I can make sure her eyes aren’t ghosted with fear anymore.
But . . . she doesn’t. I can tell from her posture that her hands are in her lap, and the shifting of her shoulders tells me she’s fidgeting. Her hair falls on one side of her face, the side I’m looking at, like she’s leaving it there deliberately to obscure my view of her.
Obscured or not, I’m still fucking looking.
Kye nudges my side. “Y’all still fightin’?”
“Nope,” I reply, not taking my eyes from Ella. “Well, I ain’t. You’ll have to ask her if she’s still ignorin’ me.”
“Look like she is,” he chuckles. “The hair curtain, bro? Ouch.”
I cut my eyes to him. He raises his eyebrows and returns to his breakfast, and I take a long drink of juice.
The door slams. “Conner, take Mila upstairs. Now,” Sofie snaps.
“What—?” he says.
“Did I stutter, hon? Take Mila upstairs and call Ajax to watch her. Now!” she adds. “As in right the hell now, not in two minutes when you’re ready to.”
“All right, princess, keep your panties on.”
I turn in time to see her shoot him a death stare.
“Come on, baby. Let’s go find Uncle Ajax.” Conner lifts Mila out of her high chair.
“Yax! Yax! Yay, Yax!” She claps her hands together behind Conner’s head.
Sofie watches as they disappear and shut the door. Then she turns on me, a rolled-up stack of papers in her hand, and she steps forward and whacks me on the head with it.
“Fuck!” I scramble out of my chair and away from her. “The fuck was that for, you crazy bitch?”
“You!” she growls, advancing on me. She smacks the other side of my head with the paper roll, and I duck away from her. “You absolute fuckin’ dumbass, Tate Burke! You complete and utter fuckin’ idiot!”
“Shit! What did I do now?”
“Oh, it isn’t what you did. It’s what you allowed to happen because you can’t keep your snake in its cage!”
I hold my hands up. “Sof, I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about.”
She unrolls the paper sheets and shows me the printed side. It’s a memo from Marc about a tip-off he’s had. I step forward to take them from her.
“A fuckin’ sex tape, Tate! Sweet Jesus! After the hooker thing, you’d think you’d watch your damn back!”
“You what?” Kye and Aidan yell, standing at my sides.
I don’t even have the energy to be mad at them for their mind-reading shit.
She’s right.
Some girl I fucked in Charlotte apparently has it on tape, and she’s threatening to release it.
Adrenaline is pounding through my veins—and not the fucking good type. It’s burning, searing every part of me. Fuck. I’m no reality star. I don’t need some sex tape to make it big. I already did that. I need to keep it that way.
This won’t help.
“What’s goin’ on?” Conner comes back in, and Sofie shrieks the news. My baby brother stares at me from across
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