Untitled Book 2 (8 page)

“It's not as simple as that,” he says, taking a crunchy bite out of his cone. “I don't know; I need to think about it, but things aren't going to be the same when I leave as they were before I got here.”

He says it like a promise, like a threat.

And when he says it—for some reason I believe him.

“W
ANT
me to drive down, brother?” is how Arrow answers the phone, making me smile.

“No, but as usual I appreciate the offer,” I say into the phone, looking down the driveway. “I do need a favor though. Talon's not answering his fuckin' phone and I have a few questions for him.”

More like an interrogation. I don't care how much he tells me this isn't my business, he made it my business when he dragged me into it.

“I'll try to get in contact with him for you,” he rasps, not sounding too happy about it, but he wouldn't complain. That's just Arrow through and through. “Everything okay over there?”

I didn't really know what the fuck to say. Everything was okay, but it wasn't. I know that Arrow will just tell me that this isn't my problem to deal with, that Shay isn't anything to me, that when I get back I need to forget all this shit.

But I couldn't.

“Everything's all right,” I say, shuffling my feet. “Talon's protection operation is just fuckin' bullshit, Arrow. Having one or
two people protect a woman by locking her up and moving her all the time isn't really the best plan I've ever heard.”

“I hear you. You've got only a few days left though, so just look after her until it's no longer your problem. Your marker will be paid, and you won't owe that bastard shit anymore.”

Just like I thought he'd say.

“Yeah,” I sigh. “Thanks, brother.”

“Anytime. You need me, I'm there.”

“I know,” I say, nodding even though he can't see me. “And right back at you.”

“Anna wants to tell you something.”

I can hear the sound of him kissing her before handing her the phone.

“Hey, Vinnie, how's everything?”

“Everything is fine. How're things at home?” I ask her. I actually miss the women and their crazy antics, even though my hands are full over here dealing with Shay. I think the women would like her a lot, but I don't even want to consider why that makes me happy.

“Things are great. We miss you! Guess what happened the other night?” She snickers, then starts laughing before even telling me the story. I have a feeling this story is going to be like the penis cake incident. I listen as she rambles on about their night at Rift and how a woman was hitting on Lana but she had no clue, missing every hint, until the girl asked her to go home with her.

“And now you're being the great friend you are and telling everyone?”

“Hell yeah I am,” she replies, laughing. “It's revenge for the pizza story she told everyone last time.”

“Well it's not anyone who would follow a random Italian
backpacker back to her car and eat pizza out of her trunk when you didn't know how long it had been sitting there.” I pause. “Or who the girl even was.”

“Ah, come on, live a little, Vinnie,” she says. “She was Italian. She knew great pizza. So is Talon's cousin hot? Are there any added benefits to the job, if you know what I mean?”

I pause, not wanting to tell her the truth, because then everyone would be on my case and assume I was being swayed by a pretty face.

“You're quiet, so I'm assuming she's not very attractive and you don't want to be mean, or she's a total fucking babe and you don't want us to give you shit over it when you get home.”

“Anna,” I warn, giving it away.

“Oh my god, she's a hottie,” she whispers. “And you're stuck in a house with her with nothing else to do. Have you slept with her yet?”

“Anna, not a word,” I growl, now pacing up and down. “And no, I haven't. And I won't be. So you can relax. And I didn't tell everyone your pizza story, so you can keep this to yourself.”

“Of course,” she says, sobering. “But that excludes Arrow. You know that, right? It's old-lady law.”

I scrub my hand down my face in frustration. “There's nothing to tell, Anna.”

“Talon—”

“Has made it clear I'm not to touch her in that way.”

She's quiet for a few moments. “Do you like her?”

“Anna, I barely know her.” Which is the truth, but the answer to her question would be yes. She's beautiful and has a fire in her that I love to play with. “I gotta go, all right? Talk soon. Take care of Arrow for me.”

“Always,” she replies.

We both hang up. I rub the back of my neck, knowing I have only one option to save Shay, but it's the one I'm most reluctant to take.

She's already getting under my skin—I can feel it.

*  *  *

When I hear her scream, I race inside and up the stairs, my heart pounding. How did someone get in without making any noise? I made sure everything was locked and bolted—the only way someone could have made it in would be to smash the thick glass. I hear the sheer terror in her voice and know I'm going to kill whoever I find in that room with her. I slam her door back against the wall. Scanning the empty room, I hear a banging coming from the bathroom. I'm there in a second, freezing in shock when I see the scene before me.

There's no one in the room except Shay.

A very naked Shay.

Every inch of her flawless skin all on display.

My gaze lowers. Fuck. She's shaved bare, and is beautiful everywhere.

My mouth waters.

“What the fuck, Vinnie? Don't just stand there perving on me— Kill it!” she yells. It's only then I notice she's standing on the bathroom counter, pointing at a giant spider in the corner of the room.

“Seriously?” I rumble, my shock turning into a mixture of anger and lust. “You screamed like someone is murdering you over that little thing?”

“You consider a spider the size of your hand a little thing?
Can you please kill it, Vinnie?” she asks, covering her breasts with her hands. A little late, since I've already seen everything, but it brings me back to reality. I grab a towel off the rack and hand it to her, then scoop the spider up in my hand, making her whimper.

“I said kill it, not pat it like a puppy!”

“I'm not fuckin' killing it,” I growl, even though if it were a human hurting her, I would have put him in the ground. An innocent spider though, I'm just going to release it outside. I leave her room and do just that, freeing it out the back, then return upstairs. This time, being the gentleman that I am, I knock on her door first. She opens it, the towel firmly wrapped around her delectable body.

“I thought someone broke in and was fuckin' hurting you,” I growl, letting my expression tell her just how unhappy I am.

She surprises me by not arguing or giving me attitude—but apologizing. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think something was wrong. But it ran on my foot! On my foot, Vinnie! And I freaked out.” She shivers like she's remembering it happening. “I hate spiders. And cockroaches. And moths.”

“Moths?” I ask, my eyebrows rising. “The fuck?”

“They're filthy,” she says, shuddering. “They attack you in the night like ninjas and jump on your face and shit. And they're all powdery, how disgusting is that?”

Ninja moths?

I look at her, sigh while shaking my head, and then head to my room.

Looks like I'll be protecting her from bugs
and
the Mafia.

Lucky for her she's cute.

I
FINISH
up with dinner, then put on the TV. Vinnie is outside punching his boxing bag and has been doing so for the last hour. He always likes to keep active; he hardly ever just relaxes and does nothing. I guess that explains his fit body though. By the time he comes in, I've already started eating without him.

“You should have told me dinner was ready,” he says, scowling at my half-finished bowl of spaghetti.

“I didn't want to disturb you,” I say, licking sauce from my lips. “I put yours in the microwave and the garlic bread is in the oven.”

“I'll take a quick shower first,” he says, still eyeing my food. “It smells good.”

“Tastes good too.”

A growl of impatience and then he's gone, leaving me to eat and watch TV in peace. He's back twenty minutes later, with his own bowl, much larger than mine. He sits right next to me, our thighs touching. “What are we watching? Where's the remote?”

“Why? You aren't changing it,” I say, slipping the remote into the side of the couch. “You can watch after this is over.”

“I don't want to watch men running around in kilts,” he grumbles, shoveling a mouthful of spaghetti. I grin to myself and keep watching. There is no way I'm going to change the channel just because of his aversion to kilts, especially when they are one of the many reasons I love this show.

“It's actually the best show,” I say, putting my bowl down on the coffee table. “Do you want to play some board games with me later tonight?”

“Not really.”

“Why?”

“Because I don't want to?”

“Why?”

“Because I said so.”

“Mature,” I grumble. “Not like you have anything better to do.”

“Maybe I'll watch some decent TV.”

I tighten my lips.

“Why are you so grumpy? Sexually frustrated?” I mock.

“Nope,” he replies, his tone staying the same. “Just made myself come in the shower, actually.”

That takes me back a little, but I recover quickly. “Not as good as the real thing.”

“Nope,” he repeats, looking straight head. “But comes with less complications.” He puts his now-empty bowl down on the table next to mine.

The man has an answer for every damn thing. “That's true. I was doing the same thing before that spider interrupted me.”

That gets his attention. “You were touching yourself when the spider ran over your foot?”

I nod, satisfaction filling me as his eyes widen.

“So you didn't get to come?”

I shake my head. “The spider was kind of a mood killer.”

“No spiders around here now,” he comments, raking his gaze over me. “And I'm here to assist.”

“I don't know why you bother,” I say, studying him. “You're trying not to fuck me as much as I'm trying not to fuck you. You think your sexual innuendos and blunt words will work as a barrier against me, pushing me back, but it won't. Why the need to try and put distance between us, Vinnie? Worried you'll give in to temptation?”

“Aren't you?” he asks, licking his lips. “Don't you wonder how good I can make you feel? How loud I can make you scream? How many times I can make you come with just my mouth?”

I had wondered all those things, as a matter of fact—that and more, but hearing the words on his lips has my teeth sinking into my bottom lip. We're both playing with fire right now, pushing each other, and no matter how much I try to deny it, I know it's only a matter of time before one of us breaks.

“Have you thought about what I taste like? Whether I'm loud or quiet?” I reply, avoiding answering his question.

“Shay—”

“I'm loud,” I tell him, being bold. “And my nipples are really fucking sensitive. If you play with them, I'll get wet just from that.”

He freezes and sucks in a sharp breath. I look down and notice that I can see his cock stretching the material of his gray
track pants. The rigid outline available for me to see, I groan as I see the size and width of him.

“Like what you see?” he asks in a deep, low voice.

I started this, but now I don't know what to do. One move, one word could end with both of us naked, him inside me. We can't take it back. No one has to know though, it's not like I'm going to tell anyone.