Sweet and Vicious(Margarelli Brothers 1)

“I am,” she said earnestly. It was almost as if she were answering the twisted thoughts in my head. The thoughts about my being the one to initiate her. My being the one to make her a little less pristine.

Who was I kidding? I wanted to make her a lot less pristine.

I wanted to do filthy things to her. Some knight in shining armor I was. Definitely not the hero of this story, no matter what she thought.

“That’s got to be hard. Most college kids want to party.”

She looked at me with those big brown eyes of hers.

“I’m not a kid,” she said with a subtle lift of that adorably stubborn chin. “I’ve never been one to, um, do that stuff.”

“Stuff?”

“Partying.”

Now I was grinning.

“So, what do you do for fun?”

“Fun?” Those huge eyes blinked at me, and I could have sworn those lashes made an actual breeze. “I . . . like to read.”

I leaned back and waited.

“That’s it?”

“Well, no, I mean, I like going for walks. Especially in the fall. Or in the snow.”

I smiled a little at that. I bet she looked like an angel in the snow.

“What books do you like?”

Just like that, I was in. The girl opened up like a flower when she started talking about her books. She liked the classics, not surprisingly, but also books about art and the world. Fantasy books about epic adventures. I started to understand her as she went on. She was such a little mouse, but she wanted to be a lion. I kept asking questions, kept her talking, until another hour had passed. I was carefully and methodically breaking down her defenses when there was a knock on the door. “Enter,” I called out. Tiny was the one to open it.

“You got a visitor. One of the Raisers.”

I knew who he meant. Doc was a member of the Hell Raisers MC, though he helped out with clubs all over the state. He helped us out on occasion too.

“Send him up.”

“Who is it?”

“Remember I said my friend was a doctor? He’s here to take a look at you.” I smiled reassuringly at the worried look on her face. “Don’t worry, he’s good people.”

She nodded as if she believed me. That was not her first mistake, and I knew it wouldn’t be her last. I had decided almost instantly that she was going to be mine, even if she didn’t know it yet. Even though the honorable thing would be to let her go and never see her again.

She was way out of her league and in over her head.

But I realized it didn’t matter. Nothing did. I wasn’t going to play fair or nice. I couldn’t. I didn’t know how.

A knock sounded at the door while I was mentally preparing my line of attack. I was going to win. Little Miss Thing had no chance of escape.

I stood and put my unused napkin on the table.

Doc was here.

Chapter 8

Evangeline

I stared at the enormous man in leather standing across the room. He was deep in conversation with another enormous man, but this one was in dark gray wool slacks and a shirt that had to be made for him. My host’s clothes looked insanely expensive, hugging his broad shoulders, thick arms, and trim waist in a way that screamed custom-tailored.

The crazy thing about the two guys standing there was how well they matched each other. Both tall, fit, and good-looking. The other man, who Antonio had introduced as ‘Doc,’ was fair-skinned with gray eyes and brown hair. Antonio was darker. But it was the intensity that was most striking.

They were arguing. About me, I was pretty sure. Two powerful men I didn’t know who could have been planning anything. I should have been scared out of my mind, but for some weird reason, I wasn’t.

I was pretty sure that guy wasn’t a doctor, though.

He turned as if he heard what I was thinking, giving me a tight smile.

“All right, Miss. Let’s take a look at you.”

He ignored Antonio completely and set an old-school leather bag on the table. I watched as he pulled off his worn-in leather jacket and draped it over a chair. Then he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt and opened the bag, pulling on some gloves.

“Are you really a doctor?” I blurted as he pressed a stethoscope to the outside of my shirt, then immediately regretted it.

“I am,” he said with a wince. “Went to med school on the GI bill. Served overseas and now I’m in . . . private practice.”

He glared over his shoulder at Antonio, who was staring at me with an unnerving intensity. Again.

“I can’t hear shit through this.”

Antonio shook his head.

“No fucking way,” he growled. “Excuse my language, Evangeline.”

“It’s fine,” I said, confused by what was happening. “What’s the problem?”