Tattoo (Take It Off #7)(29)
Author: Cambria Hebert

What I needed was a soak in a warm bath. Reversing my path through the house, I walked toward the stairs and on my way through the entryway, someone knocked on the door. I froze, my foot on the bottom step, as I wondered who it could be.

Fear skittered up my spine as I imagined the worst. It was probably Snake, who somehow evaded the police and could be anywhere by now. Get real, I admonished myself. It wasn’t as if he would walk up to my door in broad daylight and knock.

Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

I’ve come to finish what I started.

I shook my head of the silly, far-fetched thought while I backtracked to the door. “Who is it?” I called out. I might be acting paranoid, but it was better safe than sorry.

“It’s Brody.” His voice was like a warm breeze on a cold day. Unexpected but entirely welcome.

I yanked open the door, sunshine climbing across the floor and warming my chilly toes. But I didn’t notice the heat or the sun. I didn’t notice the blue sky behind him or anything else that might be out there. He was all I saw. He commanded my attention like a bolt of lightning across a dark and stormy sky.

He was dressed in a pair of ratty, faded blue jeans. The tears in the fabric showed little glimpses of his skin and the worn-out fabric molded to his thighs like a lover. His hunter-green T-shirt looked like combed cotton, or perhaps it had just been washed over and over again. It wasn’t overly snug, but the sleeves clung to his defined biceps and tattoos stretched down his arms. Shielding his eyes was a pair of aviator glasses, and by the look of his jaw, I was sure he hadn’t shaved.

“Hey,” I said, my voice sounding slightly breathless. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

The corner of his mouth lifted and even though I couldn’t see his eyes, I knew he was staring at me. I could feel the heat of his gaze. “That mean I can’t come in?”

I pushed the door open wide. “Of course you can.”

“How’s the arm?” he asked, strolling inside with his hands casually tucked in his pockets.

“Not so bad.” In truth, it hurt less than the rest of me.

He chuckled. “You’re sore as hell, aren’t you?”

I groaned. “Yep.”

“It’ll fade,” he said softly, sliding the sunglasses up onto his head.

“So did you need something?” I blurted, not wanting to get caught practically drooling over his appearance.

“Nope. I thought maybe you might want to hang out today.”

“You wanna hang out?” I asked skeptically. Brody didn’t seem like the kind of guy who liked to “hang out.”

“Figured you might not want to be alone.”

“I’ve been alone for all of ten minutes.” I scoffed. “My father—” I stopped midsentence, getting a very bad feeling I knew what this was really about.

I moved to cross my arms over my chest, but I couldn’t because of the stupid sling. So I settled for a glare.

“What?” Brody asked warily.

“Is he paying you to be here?” I practically growled. It was totally something he would do. If he had his way, I’d have as many guards as the president, which was totally ridiculous.

He didn’t have to confirm it with words because the look on his face said it all.

Fury and embarrassment warred inside me. This was totally not going to happen. I yanked the door back open and gestured to it. “Leave.”

Brody stared at me levelly, a little bit of surprise flickering behind his eyes.

I blew out a breath, irritated he wasn’t listening. “I’m not trying to air-condition the front porch,” I snapped, hoping he would take the hint and get to walking.

Finally, he started moving, strolling oh so casually over to the door. I stiffened a little as he moved past me. I wished he hadn’t been paid to be here. I wished he came because he wanted to.

Brody grabbed the edge of the door and swung it closed. “No,” he said, turning to look at me, a challenge in his eyes.

“I don’t want you here,” I growled. I was so angry and so embarrassed that I felt a rush of tears behind my eyes.

Oh, hell no, I commanded myself. You will not let this jerk-wad see you cry. It was hard to hold off those tears. I was tired, I was hurt, and now I looked like a pathetic, helpless girl whose daddy paid people to be around her.

“Too bad.”

“I will not be a job to you!” I burst out and then ran for the stairs. “Get out!” I flung the words over my shoulder as I went.

He caught me as I placed my foot on the bottom step, pulling me around and pushing me up against the wall. “This isn’t a job to me,” he growled, his eyes hard.

Looked like he didn’t enjoy being bossed around either.

“How much did he offer you?” I spat.

“A hundred grand.”

I gasped. My father was completely insane. For years, I humored his overprotective tendencies. Hell, I even understood them. But enough was enough. This was absolutely humiliating.

“Let go of me.” I tried to pull away, but he moved in closer, pinning me with his rock-solid body.

“I turned it down.”

It took a moment for his words to break through the angry cloud swarming my head. I paused and glanced up. “You what?”

“I don’t want your father’s money. This isn’t a job to me.”

I snorted. Brody made it perfectly clear from the beginning this whole situation was a job. “Yeah? Then what is it?”

“An excuse.”

“An excuse…” I echoed.

“To spend time with you.”

I snorted again. “You expect me to believe that you turned down one hundred thousand dollars because you want to spend time with me?”

He grinned lazily and the bottom dropped out of my belly. “Yep.”

“I have a hole in my arm, not in my head.”

His voice dropped and his mouth drew near. “Did you like my kisses?”

My brain knew what he was doing and Brody clearly knew the effect he had on me. He knew his manly charm, sexy tattoos, and hushed voice controlled me far better than anything else ever could. But even as I recognized his methods of distraction, I couldn’t stop them from working.

His dark, bottomless eyes dropped to my lips. “Did you, Taylor?”

“You know I did.” I was going for exasperated… All I managed was breathless.

He leaned in even closer. I could feel the heat off his skin, the breath off his lips. His eyes drooped closed even as I watched him, mesmerized by every single thing about him.