Page 13 of Possessive Ink

My little sister’s head pokes around the doorway, looking annoyed until she spots me. “Att,” she squeals, almost falling over her own feet in her rush to get to me before she throws herself into my arms.

I catch her in midair and hug her tight. “Hey, Little Bit.”

“You’re here. When did you get here? Why didn’t you tell me?” she demands.

“We got here yesterday, and you know that there’s no point trying to speak to Felix until he’s settled. Come for dinner tonight. I’ll cook.”

“Thursday is chili and cornbread,” she says, remembering Felix’s daily meal choice with a smile.

“Or I can make something for the two of us while he has his Thursday food,” I offer.

“No, it’s good. I haven’t had your chili in forever, and I can’t wait to see the place. The pictures look amazing. The store closes at six p.m. today, but Nero is on shift so I can come round straight from here.”

“Perfect. Can I grab four coffees and a mix of pastries for Felix and Marcus?”

Nodding, she reluctantly releases me, smiling as she quickly boxes up a mix of things she knows Felix likes, and others that she thinks Marcus and I will enjoy.

“Here you go,” she says, handing me the box of cakes and the drink holder with four steaming coffees.

“How much⁠—”

“If you finish that sentence, I will be forced to give you a purple nurple,” she warns, speaking over me.

Laughing lightly, I shake my head. “Love you, Little Bit. See you tonight.”

“Love you, Att,” she calls as I push the door open with my elbow and step back onto the street. When I spot Lemon in my car, she’s not smiling, and a tug of annoyance surges to life in my stomach. I only just met this woman, but I already feel personally offended that something has made the infectious grin fall from her face.

Placing the cake box and coffees onto the floor in the back seat, I take out two coffees and the bag of sugar and creamer and bring them with me as I climb into the driver’s seat. “What happened?” I ask, handing her a coffee and the condiments.

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Bullshit. Tell me what’s wrong, Lemon. You were smiling when I got out to go into my sister’s store, and now you’re frowning. So what the fuck happened?”

“Your sister’s store?” she asks.

“Yes. My sister owns this place. She bought it last year. She used to work in the old bakery, but after she took it over, she turned it into this French-style patisserie.”

“Wait, Tori is your sister?” she questions.

“You know my sister?”

“I come here a lot,” she says, her cheeks turning a deep shade of pink as a smile curls her lips.

“So what the fuck happened while I was gone?” I ask again, sliding a hint of demand into my tone.

“Nothing. I was just thinking about everything I still have to get done,” she lies.

I don’t know why I’m sure she’s lying, but it could be the way her eyes are looking over my shoulder and not at me, or the heated embarrassment that’s spread down to her chest. Instead of demanding she explain, like I will once we know each other better, I let her keep her secret and instead put the car in drive, sipping my coffee as I drive home.

“Where are we going?” she asks, glancing around her as we leave the tourist-filled stores and restaurants.

“To drop the coffee to my brother,” I say as I turn onto our street, hitting the button to open the gate the moment we’re outside.

Any other woman would probably be freaking out if a stranger brought her to a warehouse with a security gate, but Lemon is so fucking trusting that I doubt it’s crossed her mind that I could be taking her anywhere, to do anything I wanted to her.

Her trusting nature calls to me like a fucking beacon, and my dick—that hasn’t gone down since I laid eyes on her—pulses with arousal. Slowing to a stop, I kill the engine, then climb out, grabbing the cake box and coffees before I open her door. “Come and meet my brother.”

“Okay,” she says easily, following me into the warehouse without even glancing behind her.