Tempting (Inked Hearts 1)

No.

He is not sorry he missed shit with Piper.

No fucking way.

Piper's hand comes down hard on the counter. She grabs her phone and slides it into her pajama pants pocket—her Hello Kitty pajama pants pocket.

She's a kid.

He's twenty-six.

She stares at me with accusation.

I stare back with the same accusation.

Neither one of us blinks until the microwave beeps. Piper turns back to her breakfast.

"Don't fucking tell me that's Kit Lockhart," I say.

"I'm not planning on telling you anything." Piper taps cinnamon into her oatmeal with a serene fuck you smile.

"He's twenty-six."

"I'm aware."

"You're nineteen."

"I'm aware of that as well."

"You have any idea how many women he's s

lept with?"

Piper rolls her eyes. "Less than you."

That's debatable.

Kit's fucked and thrown away enough women for me to be sure he's no good for Piper.

Kit is not getting within thirty feet of my little sister. Not unless me or Mal is around to keep them apart.

"You know, a lot of the women you slept with had older brothers."

My eyes narrow. "You're not dating Kit."

She shrugs, playing cool. "Who said anything about dating? Maybe it's just a hookup. Maybe it's just one night of crazy sex."

I fold my arms. "That's not funny."

"Your eyes are about to bug out of your head."

"No fucking way, Piper."

She glares at me. "I'm an adult, and I'll do whatever I want." Piper presses her lips together. Frustration flares in her blue eyes. "But you're right. Kit and I are just friends. Every time I see him, he mentions how I'm like a sister to him. I get that he'll never see me that way."

I'm not sure about that, but it's best if Piper believes it. It's best if she gets over this crush right away so she can move on to a guy who won't break her heart.

If Kit does break her heart, I'll have to kill him, and that will be a fucking mess for all of us.