Broken but Breathing (Jinx Tattoos 2)

“Fuck yes. Hand him his ass, Es.” The nickname rolled off Snake’s tongue easily.

“One-hundred bucks says I win.”

Her lips quirked upward, and she glanced down. He had a feeling she was going to slaughter Brawny. He took a long draw off his beer as they walked to the game room. They moved over to the dartboard set up and Brawny handed her three darts.

“Okay,” she murmured. She was an odd mixture of brash and shyness.

“Ladies first,” Brawny said.

“Hmm.” She took the darts from his hand, stood behind the lines, and narrowed her gaze. Thump, thump, thump. In the blink of an eye, she’d nailed the bull’s eyes in a rapid succession.

“Son of a bitch,” Brawny muttered.

“My mother’s a saint. It’s my rakish father who taught me everything he knew about darts.”

“You brought a damn dart shark in here?” Brawny said.

Snake shrugged. “Seems to me you were the one egging her on, not the other way around.”

“Don’t be a sore loser. This is a good thing. Imagine all the money we can make on the brothers who come in from out of town,” Hustle said.

“Oh, you would think of that,” Brawny grumbled.

Hustle shrugged. “What? We have an opportunity to make easy money.”

“I think she’d have to agree first. Come with me, trouble,” Snake said, crooking his finger.

They continued to bicker as she played a few more rounds and the food arrived. He plied her with wings and beer until she mellowed. Now it’s time to talk.

“You ready to talk?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Let’s head to my room then.” He guided her through the crowd to his dorm room. He kept his space clean and organized.

He removed his arm and closed the door behind him. “Sorry about that, the boys can be a bit incorrigible, especially Hustle. Had to get you out of there before he had you set up for tournaments.”

“They’re not what I expected,” she remarked.

“What did you expect?”

“I don’t know. Maybe not as playful?” She frowned. “I’ve been a long time without interacting with people. I’m rusty.”

“You been sitting in an ivory tower too long, Sprite?”

“I’m pretty sure those are for princesses only,” she said.

“Nice try to avoid the topic.”

“You want me to admit I’ve been pathetic, Xavier? That make you feel good?”

He liked the sound of his name on her lips. He hadn’t heard it in a long time.

“Are you angry with me, Es?”

“No,” she admitted. Her lower lip trembled. “We tried for five years to conceive, and then I lost her. I’m thirty-eight. I know my window is all but gone. It makes things so much more painful.” She hiccupped.

His heart went out to her. Jocelyn had been a one and done. They decided after three years of marriage and five years of togetherness it was time for kids and out went the birth control.