AllFreeNovel
Share Us
While it was over his head, Imighthave taken a good long look at his abs. They looked rock hard. Every centimetre was covered in ink. A black dragon surrounded by skulls lazed across his stomach, distorted here and there with the lines of his muscles. An eagle with wings outspread soared over the dragon. A mountain rose behind it, grand like something out of a fantasy movie. I knew how many hours went into the work, but it was the body behind the art that made my breath catch.
I averted my gaze. He and I— that was a line I couldn’t cross. I knew he wanted to leap over it given the chance, but it would fuck up our working relationship. How could it not? Sex changes too much. He knew that as well as I did. It didn't stop him from flirting every chance he got. And it didn’t stop me from admiring him.
I watched Ben’s tight, hard ass as he stepped toward the garage's small kitchen to wash his face. I immediately felt like a hypocrite for keeping Jake at arm’s length. Sleeping with my bodyguard once in a while was a whole other story from sleeping with my work partner, right?
I sighed. Jake and I were different. So much more was at stake if we ruined things between us. Ben was just a smoking hot, protective distraction, that was all. Chalk and cheese. So I told myself.
I noticed neither Ben or Kyle had blood on their clothes either. Just as well. Jake got away with looking scruffy because that's who he was. As for everyone else who worked for me, I expected them to look the part. Black trousers and white shirts. Many of them toed the line by wearing a T-shirt like Jake. I let it slide because most of them were all muscle and tattoos and a girl liked to look, even if she didn't touch. Usually.
"What if this nephew isn't interested in running the place?" Jake asked. He tugged his hem into place and checked his face in the closest reflective surface. That happened to be a rear view mirror which sat on the work table. "From what Silas said, he didn't seem too keen. Want me to be persuasive?" He cocked his head and looked hopeful.
I drummed my fingernails on my thigh. "Hunt him down first. See what he has to say. We won’t have too much trouble finding someone to run the place." I had a list running through my head already.
"Okay. As long as it's not me." Jake scrubbed the tip of his finger on his cheek.
I took the mirror from him and looked at my own reflection. I looked like I just killed someone, instead ofhavingthem killed. "I hadn't thought of that. There is no one I trust more to take care of my assets." I gave him a deadpan look.
He didn't buy it for even half a second. Fucking man knew me too well. All the more reason I should keep him close and not piss him off.
"You'd miss me too much if you relegated me to this dump," he said.
"Now I know how you feel about the place, I'll keep that in mind for the next time you give me the shits," I said.
"I'm safe then." He had a cocky look on his face. "Because thatneverhappens."
I barked a laugh. "Not in the last two minutes, no."
He smirked because he knew that was total bullshit. I let him get away with way too much.
"I know you love me," he said. His blue eyes lingered on mine for a moment, until I looked away.
How I felt, or didn't feel, didn't matter. I had to stick to that hard line, no matter what the cost.
I didn't need to look to know he was frustrated. I sensed it. It had been a bone of contention between us for so many years. We should bury it and be done with it. Only, I knew he wanted to bury his bone deep in my pussy, not the ground somewhere.
"I'm heading back to Crimson," I said, my voice cool and businesslike. "Get on to the cleanup here. Do whatever you have to do to his head to let people know what happens to them if they fuck with me."
"You should invest in a display cabinet," Jake said lightly.
His tone didn't fool me. I knew if I let him put me up on the work table and fuck me silly, he would. Part of me wanted him to. The gods knew I was horny enough. It would be safer to fuck Ben, or even Kyle. It wouldn't change anything, including Jake's feelings for me. But the workbench was dirty and so was I. The smell of fear was gone. The smell of blood faded as it dried. The excitement of having a man killed in front of me had worn off. I filed the memory in the back of my mind for another day.
"A cabinet full of heads," I mused. "That would get full pretty quickly. Cocks would take up less space."
"That depends on the cock." Jake grinned, back to his usual sardonic self.
I laughed softly. "Who do you know who has a cock the size of a head?"
His grin widened. "Well, I don't want to brag."
I rolled my eyes. I walked right into that one. But I could go one better. "Does that make you a dickhead?"
He chuckled. "Probably. I've been called worse. By you. This week."
"I don't know why you put up with me," I said honestly.
Before he could respond with another declaration of love, Ben appeared out of the shop office, a box in his hands. "Boss, I thought you should see this." The slight frown lines around his eyes were the only sign he was concerned. Considering he was usually a stony statue of absolute calm, that meant a lot. His expression softened when he looked at me.
Ugh, him too?I appreciated the admiration. It was the added complications I was worried about.
