House of Ink, 3
He’s her brother’s best friend. She’s the girl he swore he could never touch.
One destination wedding. One proposition. One week that could change everything.
Alistair thought he could keep his distance ... until Skye Baxter walked back into his life with curves, confidence, and a plan to ruin his self-control. She’s off-limits in every possible way, but when she makes him an offer he can’t refuse, the lines between right and wrong blur faster than the ink beneath his skin.
Skye’s tired of waiting for her happily-ever-after. She wants her first time to be with someone she trusts ... and there’s no one she trusts more than Alistair. But one week of stolen kisses and forbidden nights might not be enough, especially when hearts get involved and secrets come to light.
They agreed to keep emotions out of it.
But rules were made to be broken.
Excerpt:
I walk out of her bungalow with my heart in my shoes. My head hurts and I want to lose my damn mind. Did she really have a date? When the fuck did someone ask her out? But most importantly, is she really leaving Franklinton?
I can’t imagine not seeing her every day. The two years she was in New York almost drove me insane and now she wants to leave forever. To build a life and a future somewhere else with someone else. I want to put my fucking fist through a wall.
“Fucking coward!” I hear her yell, right before something smashes against the door.
I walk away without turning back. She is pissed off like a copperhead that had its tail stepped on, and I am not going to try to wrangle that crazy. I will give her some space but tomorrow she will have to deal with me.
Hailey is sitting on my porch in a rattan chair with a beer when I walk up. “Did you fix that?”
“What?” I ask with a frown.
“I may not have been around you guys since you were kids, but I’m not dumb or blind.”
“Meaning?” I watch her carefully, trying to assess where her head is at.
“That girl’s in love with you, big man. And you’re in love with her.” She states it as matter of fact.
“I’m not…”
“I know the difference between shit and mud, my friend. Even if they’re both brown,” she cuts in. “I know you’re afraid of what the fall out will look like with Luke, and he isn’t the easiest person to deal with, but he wants her to be happy and safe. And from my point of view, she couldn’t be happier or safer than she is with you.” She gets up from her spot and kisses my cheek before giving me her half-finished beer. “Time to man the fuck up.”
And then she walks away. Leaving me with her wise words to spin through my head on repeat. I sit on the porch and sip the remains of her beer. I have no idea what the fuck to do next, but I do know I don’t want to let Skye walk out of my life.
I stare at the star filled sky and listen to the waves crash against the shoreline as I try to work through the options I don’t have. There is only one way to make sure that she stays. I need to talk to Luke.
The moment I think of him, he appears from between the bungalows, frowning as he steps onto my porch. He falls into the seat beside me with a sigh and we sit in silence.
“What the fuck am I going to do?” he asks after long minutes of silence.
“Luke…”
“She’s my sister, man. I know I’m overprotective but I’m just looking out for her. How the hell am I supposed to do that when she moves out of town?”
“Have you thought of backing off?” I ask when he stops talking.
He looks at me with disbelief. “You’re just as bad as I am. And so is Lain, Adam, even fucking Damien.”
“Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “We all just want to protect her.”
“And now it’s driving her away.”
I sit there, gathering my courage to tell him the truth when I spot Skye walking out of her bungalow and to the beach. “I’ll talk to her.”
- Series:
- /series-house-of-ink/
