Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 68920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68920 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Her hair has been twisted into a messy bun and tendrils frame her face. She took the time to put on some mascara and lipstick, but the red on her cheeks is natural from the sun. It strikes me that she’s really pretty. Too pretty.
Jerking my head around, I wonder if others see it too. A guy close to her age standing with another guy keeps flickering his eyes over to her. A surge of annoyance rises up inside of me.
“Let’s take a walk. She’s going to be here for a while,” I say to Rylie.
She lifts her gaze and regards me with a warm smile. “I’d like to get out of here.”
Side by side, we walk past the boy with the wandering eyes and I glower at him until he looks away. Once outside in the warm evening air, I sling my arm over Rylie’s shoulder and walk her along the sidewalk. She leans into me as we walk, her arm hugging me at my waist.
“Chocolate?” I ask, pointing at the chocolatier store.
“How about Dizzy Dunlap’s?”
The store sticks out like a sore thumb. A strobe light flickers from inside the window. The scent of incense is strong as we walk through the doorway. The place is crowded and dark and loud. A Jimi Hendrix song plays on the speakers.
“This place is insane,” I say, leaning into her ear.
She looks at me and grins, the black light making her teeth look whiter and her skin darker. Her hand wraps around mine and she drags me deeper into the store. I let her guide me until we’re in a room that has people sitting on couches and mismatched chairs. Just as a couple vacates an oversized chair, we steal it. I fall into the chair and she sits on the arm. In the dark corner of the room, I let my gaze roam up her tanned-looking thigh. She props her ankles up on the other arm so her legs are stretched across me.
“What do you want for your birthday next month?” I ask, having to yell over the loud music.
“A tattoo.”
I raise my brows. “A tattoo? Where?”
“Here,” she says and runs her finger along her ribs.
“Mom would shit.”
She shrugs. “Mom isn’t here.”
We’re both quiet for a moment.
“I’ll take you. It can be my present to you,” I tell her, my voice gruff.
She leans forward and hugs my neck. “Thanks, bro.”
When she pulls away, my eyes once again travel to her slender legs. I slide my knuckle along the underside of her calf. The hairs on her leg are prickly.
“You forgot to shave,” I tease.
Her smile falls and she stares at me as though I’ve struck her. “You don’t have to be an asshole.” She starts to get up, but I grip her wrist just as she’s standing.
“What’s wrong?”
Her bright white eyes under the black light shimmer with tears. “I can’t shave.”
“Why not?”
“Because Aunt Becky won’t let me!”
She tries to jerk away from me, but I’m stronger. I tug her into my lap and hug her to me. At first she’s stiff, but then she relaxes. Her body curls into mine and her tears soak my shirt.
“Shhh,” I murmur as I stroke her back over her denim jacket.
“She’s afraid I’ll cut myself.”
Rylie
His fingers rubbing up and down my spine stop their ministrations. “She’s just trying to protect you,” he says, his voice gruff.
“I don’t need protecting.” I start to get up again, but his palm grips my bare thigh, stopping me. Heat floods through me. I should move his hand, but I find my body turning to jello at his touch.
“Yes, you do.” His fingers rub along my skin in a comforting way.
I shiver. “I don’t. I’m not going to cut my wrists with a shaving razor. Do you know how embarrassing it is being told you can’t shave your own body when you’re almost eighteen years old?”
His brows furl together. “I’ll do it for you.”
I blink at him. “You’ll shave my legs?”
“And under your arms.”
Images of him in the shower with me, shaving my legs while I hold the removable showerhead between my thighs flood through my mind, causing my flesh to heat.
“You’re blushing,” he teases, his palm never leaving my thigh.
Because I’m sick.
Because I want you in ways I shouldn’t.
“I am not.”
Under the black light, his eyes seem wild and untamed. Dangerous even. I like seeing him like this. Daring and carefree.
“There you are!”
Amy’s voice has me jerking out of Hudson’s lap and straightening my dress. He jumps to his feet and shoots me an intense look before accepting her hug. She looks past him at me, jealousy flaring in her eyes. The jealousy is much brighter and obvious in this place.
I want to remind her he’s my brother.
That she can’t be jealous of our relationship because we’re family.
“Come on, guys. The band I wanted you to see is about to start,” Amy chirps. She tugs at Hudson’s hand and pulls him away from me.