The Hustle (Irreparable 4)

“Shh . . .” I giggle, stretching my hands above my head.

He braces himself above me. My gaze works over the corded muscle of his abs, moving lower. I exhale a moan, watching his cock move slowly in and out of me. The intensity becomes too much. My back arches as I cry out, but Aidan’s grip on the side of my hips pushes me back to the mattress.

Our combined sounds of satisfaction fill the air as he gains speed. The slow and familiar buildup starts low in my belly. I shift my hips so he hits the spot I know will send me out of control. Just as I reach the peak, light fills the room and a shadow comes into view.

“Daddy.”

I laugh, but only because the door is cracked open so Javier shouldn’t be too traumatized. Aidan groans as he rolls off of me. The heat we created feels like an inferno when he covers us with the comforter.

“Yeah, kid?” Aidan says to the door.

“Can I come in?” Javier asks, inching the door open.

“Of course, come here,” I say, patting the bed in between me and Aidan. Javier climbs up on the bed. I’m relieved to see his groggy expression doesn’t show fear. He’s only had the one nightmare, but I know there will be more. “Did you have a bad dream?”

“No, I heard weird noises. I think Mrs. Shaw has cats.”

I lock eyes with Aidan and notice he’s exerting as much effort as I am to stay composed. We both know Aidan’s neighbor doesn’t have cats. “Well . . . You can lie in here with us if you’d like.”

In minutes, he’s asleep, nestled into my side where I continue to comb my fingers through his soft brown hair.

“Reowwww . . . Reowwwww . . .” Trying not to laugh, I move my hand from Javier’s hair to Aidan’s mouth to cover up his humorous cat noises. He pushes it away and that devilish grin is so contagious all I can do is shake my head. I narrow my eyes when he does it again. “Reow.” This time the noise sounds more like a whimper as he looks up at me with his bottom lip out and droopy eyes.

I smother a laugh as he slides out of bed naked and holds his hand out. I stare at it like he’s crazy, which he i

s if he thinks I’m parading around the loft naked with my parents in the house. “I’m not going out there.”

“Yes . . . you are.” His sexual confidence is limitless and the cocky grin on his face doesn’t exactly help in denying him. It’s a sexy grin that makes women weak in the knees and he works it to his advantage every time. It’s always worked on me, and he knows it will again. “Just across the hall.”

It takes two seconds for me to cave. I hold his hand, sneaking across the hall like some silly teenager who snuck a boy into her house. But in another five seconds, I don’t even care as Aidan holds me against the wall and makes me forget my name, or where I am or who’s in the next room.

“Where are you taking me?” I ask Peyton as we walk from the loft to the Gas Lamp Quarters.

“You’ll see.” I feel like a five-year-old when I ask again at the next block. She flashes me a look that silences me.

When she woke me up this morning with news she was taking me somewhere and had a surprise that would allow me to truly heal and devote myself to her, it freaked me out. Her not telling me where we’re going makes it worse. I thought I was already truly devoted to her.

After four more blocks, she finally yells, “Surprise!”

We stop in front of a tattoo parlor I’ve passed a hundred times on my way to the office. I glance across the street to see if there’s some sort of wedding shop, but unless the Burger King or Subway is catering our big-day, there’s nothing.

When she pulls on the door to the tattoo parlor, I make my confusion known again. “You want me to get your name tatted on my dick to prove my devotion?” I’m rewarded for my humor with a hard slap on the arm, which doesn’t deter me. “No wait, you want me to get a naughty piecing. I’ll do it if you do it.” I waggle my eyebrows, challenging her.

Her jaw drops but her shock doesn’t prevent her from smacking me on the arm again. “Would you just go inside?”

“After you,” I say, holding the door above her head.

It’s my turn to be shocked when I spot Davey leaned over the counter, talking to a small brunette. He and Brady own a restaurant a few blocks from here. Last I heard, the place was supporting itself enough that Davey was looking to open up something else. I just assumed it was another restaurant.

“Hey, Tug. Be with you in one sec,” he calls over.

I turn to face the sneaky, albeit gorgeous blonde I walked in with. “He’ll be with me?”

She holds her hands up. “Just hear me out.”

“You seriously want me to get a tattoo? I think you’re confusing me for Brady.”

“No, I want you to get a permanent reminder of Maria.”