Tempting (Inked Hearts 1)

I stop at a red light. Bend over to stretch my hamstrings. I'm not going there. I'm not thinking about her sitting on my bed, naked, desperate, waiting for my command.

The light turns green. I take off. Run as fast as I fucking can. Until all my thoughts are dedicated to dodging pedestrians and turning cars.

By the time I get home, I'm back to clarity. And I'm sticking with that.

Emma is at the kitchen table with a bowl of cereal and an oversized mug of coffee.

I nod hello as I toss my keys on the table. Move into the kitchen. Fuck, that coffee smells good. Nutty. Rich. Strong.

I force myself to grab a glass and fill it with water.

"Why did I spend half of yesterday interrogating Kaylee about you having the opportunity to buy Inked Hearts?" Emma's voice is as curious as it's accusatory. It's mild, for her.

I down half my water in three gulps. "Ryan must have mentioned it."

Emma folds her arms. "I called Dean."

My shoulders tense. I don't like Emma talking to Dean. He's my friend, yeah, but he's a pig. He wouldn't think anything of fucking her and throwing her away.

"He explained." She takes a long sip of her coffee. "The four of you are going to buy it together."

"Yeah." I finish the water and fill it again. The last thing I need today is a headache.

Emma's dark eyes get intense. She has something up her sleeve. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't want you to worry."

"Is that how it's going to be—you keep me out of all your decisions because you don't want me to worry?"

Pretty much, yeah. "This is my decision."

"No. I did some digging. With Kaylee's help. You don't have enough cash on hand to buy a quarter of the business. Not with the numbers Dean quoted."

"None of the guys do. We're getting a loan."

"With a shitty interest rate. If you refinance the mortgage—it would only add a few years to it."

"Kay put you up to this?"

"No." She taps the table with her purple nails—they match the violet tint to her hair. "But why did you tell her and not me? You trust her more?"

"I'm not sacrificing your future, Em."

"I thought we were a team. That it was 'our future.' It's our house, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Both our names are on the deed. Our parents left it to us.

"Refinance the loan. Get the cash that way. It's what I want."

"That's what you want, me buying Inked Hearts?"

"I think about things besides myself."

"I'm not—"

"Yeah, you are. You're annoying, Brendon, but I do love you. You're my only brother." She pushes herself to her feet. "If we're a team, I want to be part of your decisions. Like Kay staying here. Or you becoming a small business owner. I want that. You know how I dream about owning my own boutique."

She does. She'd be great at it. But not until she finishes school. "You need to focus on college."