“Thank you for noticing.” I give her a wink.

  She blushes, turning her face away from me. “I may have something that fits you to wear to bed tonight.”

  “I don’t normally sleep with clothes on.”

  She snaps her face back to me, and her eyebrows are up. “Um,” she mumbles. “Well…”

  “I can just wear this,” I reassure her, not trying to be too forward, but wishing I could lie with her naked.

  She sniffs and wrinkles her nose. “You smell like a campfire.”

  “I hope you like the smell because it’s all I got, babe. It’s this or nothing.”

  She runs her fingers down my T-shirt, slowly moving them lower, but stopping over my abdomen. “Shirt off, then,” she orders, sending a tingle down my spine and straight to my dick.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I smirk, reaching behind my back and slipping the soft material over my head.

  She inhales as her eyes wander down my chest. “I almost forgot how pretty you are.”

  She almost forgot? Lies. But I won’t call her out. Whatever makes her feel comfortable, including a small white lie, I am down with because it means more time with Arlo and maybe, hopefully, skin.

  “Pretty?” I ask, holding my T-shirt in my hand, enjoying her slow study of my body. “I don’t think anyone’s called me pretty in a long time.”

  “You’re like a work of art, Carmello.”

  “I’m sure you’ve been around guys a hell of a lot prettier than me. And you’re the beautiful one, babe, not me.”

  It’s my turn to lie. I know I’m good-looking. I’d even go as far as to call myself hot. I’ve never had trouble landing pussy, no matter how beautiful the girl is who is attached to it.

  But Arlo is more than beautiful. I’m not even sure that’s a good enough word to describe her features. She is simply stunning.

  She peers up with hungry eyes, her fingers still lingering on my skin. “They were boys, but you’re a man.”

  “Arlo, you’re walking into dangerous territory. You better stop or…” I swallow, trying to keep myself under control.

  I’ve seen that look before. Not on her face, but on a hundred other women, all wanting a piece of me. When Arlo gives me the same look, though…it’s the ultimate temptation. I know once I get started, I won’t want to stop.

  “Or what?” she says, challenging me with an undeniable, burning desire in her gaze.

  I slide my hand up her back to her neck and cradle her head. “The way you’re looking at me, sugar…it’s full of sin.”

  “I’m not an angel, Carmello,” she whispers as she moves her gaze from my eyes to my lips and she drops her hands to the button on my jeans. “But if you don’t want to…” she says, her voice trailing off on a whisper.

  I pull her forward, taking her mouth with mine, shutting down any doubt she has about what I want or how I feel.

  I’ve burned for her all day, wanting nothing more than to put my lips on her skin and taste the softness of her flesh. But I kept it together, behaving, when all I wanted was to do bad things to her.

  She slides her hands to my back, her nails biting into the flesh just above my jeans as she kisses me back.

  A moan comes from her mouth into mine, sending a jolt through my system. I walk forward, holding her in my arms and bringing her with me toward the couch we’ve spent two nights curled up on already.

  “Bed,” she murmurs against my lips and moves toward the hallway, our mouths still connected.

  As soon as we get to the bedroom, she falls back onto the bed, pulling me down with her. I settle between her legs, wishing I could bury myself inside her, but I know I’ll never have the chance. But I don’t dwell on that fact, trailing my lips down her cheek to her jaw and then to her neck.

  “Wait,” she says, pushing against my chest.

  Fuck. I knew she’d come to her senses, but I’d hoped I’d get a little further before she pulled back.

  I lift up, giving her my eyes. “What’s wrong?”

  “I want the lights on.”

  Hell yes! Thank God she’s comfortable in her skin. If we are going to do anything, I don’t want the lights off. I want to revel in her beauty and watch her come apart because of the way I touch her.

  I smile, looking at her beautiful face in the soft glow of the moonlight. “I like the way you think,” I tell her, pushing myself up.

  She crawls back, reaching for the nightstand, and switches on the lamp. Her eyes are on me, roaming over my bare chest, drinking me in. “Better,” she rasps.

  I expect her to slide back down under me, but she doesn’t. She reaches for the hem of her shirt, lifting it over her head, exposing the same black lace bra she wore to Inked, before she tosses her shirt to the floor next to the bed.

  I kneel on the mattress, my eyes roaming her body the same way hers are moving across mine. “Come here,” I tell her.

  She crawls across the mattress, looking like a sexual goddess instead of the nerdy girl bookworm she portrays herself as.

  Once in front of me, she rises to her knees, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Here?” she asks, her voice deep and needy as she leans forward, her lips near mine.

  “Closer,” I whisper.

  She inches closer, our knees touching, eyes locked on each other. “Here?” she asks again, and my dick’s already hard in anticipation of whatever is going to happen next.

  I wrap one arm around her back, flattening my palm on her spine, and pull her forward. Her eyes drop to my mouth, waiting for the kiss she knows I’m going to give her. “Closer,” I tell her again, lifting my hand to her chin, holding her gaze.

  As I move my face forward, she tilts her head, waiting for my lips to touch hers. But just as I’m about to plant them on her, I bend my neck, trailing a line of kisses down her jaw.

  She tips her head back, welcoming the caress of my lips against her skin. I move my mouth from her jaw to her neck, sucking and nipping the tender flesh below her jaw near her ear.

  She shivers in my embrace, her body relaxing in my arms. Arlo’s giving herself to me to explore with my mouth, and I take it unapologetically.

  I lean her back, hovering over her, kissing her neck. I make my way to her collarbone. She arches her back, welcoming and wanting more. I smile against her skin and take my time with my exploration of her body.

  Her arms fall to her sides as my lips glide lower, finding the edge of her lace bra. Instead of moving the cloth away, I nip at the material, capturing some of her skin. She moans when I make contact with her nipple. Her knees fall to the side, resting on the bed as she curls her fingers into the comforter.

  “Don’t stop,” she breathes.

  I moan with her nipple in my mouth, separated by the thin piece of lace. Using my teeth, I move the material to the side, exposing her naked flesh, and begin worshiping her body the only way I know how.

  My hand drifts down her side, to the waistband of her pants. She lifts, giving me permission, and I take it, yanking her pants down far enough to have full access.

  My fingers drift lower, caressing her through her matching black lace panties. She moans, pressing her clit against my hand, wanting more.

  I lift up, staring down at her, waiting for her to tell me no as I hook my fingers into the sides of her underwear. But she says nothing as she stares up at me. I’m slow in pulling down her panties, exposing her most intimate parts to me. She blushes but doesn’t cover her face. She isn’t hiding or embarrassed by the way my eyes drift across her skin, soaking in every visible inch.

  “You sure about this?”

  “Yes,” she whispers before I pull off her panties and pants, leaving her completely bare except for her bra.

  I want this. Have wanted her since the moment she walked into my room at Inked, giving me those big green eyes and showing off her sexy bra.

  Being here now, kissing her, touching her…it’s surreal.

  I slide my body down the bed, settling between her legs, my mouth ready to deliver the most delicious pleasure. She stares down the length of her body, her face soft but her eyes blazing with need and desire.

  I move in, placing my lips on her pussy, taking my time not to devour her all at once. The moans fall easily from her lips as her hand finds my hair, holding me to her.

  She’s perfect like this.

  Vulnerable and trusting.

  Something neither of us is good at being, but somehow, with each other, it’s different.

  The significance of the moment and the connection isn’t lost on me either.

  Arlo is willing to give me pieces of herself she has rarely shared with anyone.

  The specialness of it all hits me hard.

  This is more than sex. This is the fusing of our connection.

  Without much effort from me, she twists her fingers in my hair, pulling at my scalp as her body convulses, a moan falling from her lips.

  Nothing in my life has ever tasted so sweet.

  18

  Almost a week has gone by in a complete blur. Every night after work, I’ve ended up on Arlo’s doorstep, needing my fix after a long, grueling day.

  Arlo always greets me in her dark-rimmed glasses, a messy bun, and the yoga pants I’ve grown so fond of in a very short time.

  Her tattoo has healed nicely, no longer tender to the touch, giving me more of her skin to explore. We’ve moved slowly, and I am oddly okay with the pace, relishing her like a fine wine instead of chugging her in one sitting.

  “What are you over there grinning about?” Lily asks, walking by me as I sit at my workstation, prepping for my next client.

  “Nothing,” I mutter, shaking my head and trying to get the vision of Arlo in those damn pants out of my mind.

  Lily stops in front of me, crossing her arms and peering down with a shit-eating grin. “You’re a shit liar, Mello. You were thinking about Arlo, weren’t you?”

  I shrug, leaning back in my chair. “I can’t stop thinking about her, Lily. It’s your fault. You knew exactly what you were doing when you set us up, but I can’t be mad about it either.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lies, her smile widening.

  “You knew I’d fall for her.”

  Lily shrugs one shoulder. “Maybe.”

  “Slick fucker,” I mutter.

  Jo lifts up her head from the appointment book, where she’s been filling in for Rebel this morning. “There’s a sucker born every day,” she says with a hint of laughter.

  I sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. “I don’t even know what I’m doing with this chick. She’s way too good for me. She deserves someone…”

  “Don’t you dare say it,” Lily hisses, glaring at me, with her finger aimed in my direction. “Don’t even think about walking away from her unless you have a really damn good reason. And, Mello, thinking she’s too good for you is not a damn good reason.”

  “Oh.” I jerk my head back. “Are you the relationship police now?”

  Gigi comes to stand behind Lily, narrowing her eyes at me. “What the hell did you just say?”

  I scrub my hand down my face, knowing I’m about to catch the wrath of not one cousin, but multiple if I fuck this up. “For fuck’s sake,” I whisper against the palm of my hand.

  “Arlo’s crazy about your dumb ass, and now you’re ready to break things off with her?” Gigi asks, hands on her hips, ready to do battle.

  “That’s not what I said,” I snap. “I was over here, smiling and minding my own damn business, until Lily had to get all up in my shit.”

  “Not smart, brother,” Pike mutters from my side. “Shit’s about to go down, and I’m not helping.”

  “Pussy,” I shoot over my shoulder to Pike before returning my eyes to the two women in front of me, ignoring Jo as she shoots daggers my way from the front counter. “I’m not breaking Arlo’s heart. I don’t know how me having a fantasy about her—and enjoying it, mind you—turns into me ending things.”

  “You said you thought she was too good for you,” Lily tells me like I wasn’t here for the entire conversation.

  “She is too good for me, but you were too good for Jett, and look how that ended up,” I reply.

  She lifts her hand, pointing to her wedding ring. “I’m happily married and regret nothing.”

  “I know, Lily. I know. Can’t I voice what I’m feeling to you without you two jumping in my shit?”

  Lily and Gigi look at each other, passing some secret crazy-chick psychic-voodoo message back and forth before they turn back to me.

  Gigi stalks over to me, climbing up on my table. “Listen, I need you to hear me when I say this.”

  “I’m listening,” I growl.

  “Eyes,” she demands, being her usual bossy self.

  I lift my eyes to her, trying to keep the snarl from my lips. “What?”

  She shakes her head and takes a deep breath before she starts talking. “You deserve love.”

  “I am loved. I have all you fuckers so far up my ass, I can’t help but feel the love all around me.”

  Gigi shakes her head. “No, dumbass. You deserve the love of a good woman. You’ve spent the last ten-plus years whoring yourself all around the county, burying your dick in anything that opened. It’s time for that shit to stop. You are more than a fuckstick.”

  I blink, hating my cousins sometimes and their clever use of words. “I know I’m more than a fuckstick.”

  “Nothing about love makes sense, Mello. Nothing. It doesn’t matter what either of you did before you met, but it sure as fuck matters what happens from that day forward. Are you treating her right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Are you cheating on her?”

  “No.”

  “Are you kind to her?”

  “When am I not?”

  “You’ve been known to be an asshole.”

  “Some women dig an asshole,” I tell her. “And based on who you married, I’d say you’re one of them.”

  “What the fuck did I ever do to you?” Pike asks, glaring at me as he wipes off his table, sterilizing it for his next client. “I’m minding my own damn business, and you have to drag me into shit?”

  “You opened your mouth, brother,” I repeat the same name he called me earlier when he entered into the conversation. “You became fair game.”

  “Pike is never an asshole to me,” Gigi states, kicking her legs back and forth as she sits on my table, barely missing my knees with every swing. “If he were an asshole, he’d be gone in a flash.”

  Pike laughs. “Darlin’, you like my dick too much to get rid of me.”

  She turns, deadpanning, “Ain’t no dick worth staying with a miserable son of a bitch, darlin’, not even yours.”

  His head jerks back, and he lifts his hands. “Noted.”

  “As I was saying, you’re worthy of love…even Arlo’s love. Don’t you dare make a decision for her based on what you think she wants, needs, or deserves.”

  “Got it,” I tell her, over the conversation. “But I was actually thinking good shit about her…about us. So, really, this conversation is useless.”

  “You get something in your head and you’re liable to run with it and not look back. I want to make sure you’re running toward something and not away from possibly the best damn thing in your life.”

  “I’m not running anywhere, Gigi. It’s been a week, and we’re still feeling each other out.”

  “You steal her virginity yet?” Gigi asks me point-blank.

  “No,” I grunt. “And when and if she gives it, I won’t be stealing it either.”

  “Don’t you dare—” Gigi pokes me in the shoulder “—take it from her unless you’re in this for the long haul. Don’t be that guy.”

  I raise my hands again. “I never planned on it.”

  Lily exhales, clutching her chest. “I can’t believe you haven’t tried to have sex with her yet.”

  “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation in the middle of our business during business hours.”

  Lily swipes her hand in the air. “No one is here but us, and what’s said between these walls stays between these walls.”

  “So, you’re not going to tell Tamara, then?” I raise an eyebrow. “Because the last time I checked, she isn’t within these walls.”

  She glances upward and squeezes her eyes shut. “She’s the exception,” she whispers.

  “Figures,” I mumble.

  Rebel walks in and glances around, coming to a dead stop. “What happened? Who died?”

  “No one,” Lily tells her. “Just talking about Arlo and Mello.”

  “Did you fuck it up already?” Rebel asks me.

  I cover my face with my hands and let my head fall forward. “Why do I work here again?”

  “Because you love us,” Rebel says.

  Rocco’s a few seconds behind her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Jesus Christ,” I groan. “Why does there always have to be something wrong?”

  “You fuck it up already?” Those words from his mouth are pointed at me.

  “No. Fuck,” I hiss, pushing off my chair and heading toward the back door, needing some fresh air.

  As soon as my boots touch the cement, I tip my head back, feeling the warmth of the sunshine on my face. I stand perfectly still, enjoying the peacefulness after the clusterfuck inside, but it doesn’t last long before the door swings open behind me.

  “Don’t listen to them,” Rocco says, walking to my side. “They’re nosy.”

  “Yeah.” I let out a bitter laugh. “That’s one word for them.”

  He nudges me in the ribs with his bony elbow. “Everything okay with you?”

  “I’m fine. Everything’s great.” I look over at him, finding him standing the same way I had been, with his face upward, soaking in the sun.

  He opens one eye, turning his head slightly to look at me. “You sure?”

  “Yeah, Roc.”

  “And things with Arlo?”

  I kick at the few random stones near my boots, smiling. “Better than I could’ve imagined.”

  He punches my arm. “You don’t know how fucking happy I am to hear that. I know you’re probably scared shitless right now, but you need to let yourself be happy and find peace in joy.”