‘Those fights keep me off the streets.’
‘Thosefightsarethe streets. And they’re dangerous, not to mention illegal.’
‘You’d rather I went back to fencing stolen gear?’
‘No, I’d rather you stoppedflirting with prison time,’ she fires back. ‘I’d like you on the right side of the law for a change.’
‘Because escorting’s so much better.’
‘It’s legal, for a start.’
‘Barely.’
‘At least we’d all get to keep our faces in one piece…’
She tips her bottle at the shiner under my eye, my bust lip too, nose wrinkling.
I take a long pull from my beer, sting be damned – like I give a toss.
It ain’t the bruise that gets to me, or the split lip. It’s the punch Ilet land. But I’d been distracted: by this insane idea of hers I fully intend to bury tonight.
‘Most girls don’t have a problem with what I do.’ I meet her gaze, a smirk edging my mouth as I bait her. ‘In fact, most girls say it gives me a reckless edge they can’t wait to ride.’
Her throat works, her eyes flare – just not with the fire I want.
‘I’m not most girls.’
‘No shit.’
And she does. Have a problem with it, that is.
‘At least my way, no one gets hurt.’
She’s still staring at my mouth; I can’t tell if it’s disgust, worry, or something else. Whatever it is, it’s got me locked solid.
Even breathing’s overrated when a woman like Tay’s got you in her sights. And fuck, she doesn’t even know she’s pulling the trigger.
‘You can’t know that,’ Theo says, breaking the silence that’s charged the air.
‘I do know,’ she says softly, a slow smile building as she holds my gaze. ‘Because you’ll be there to protect me.’
I snap upright. ‘Me?’
‘Yeah. You’ll be my protection: making sure nothing gets out of hand.’
Her smile deepens. And I’m gone. That trust. That faith. That certainty that I’ll keep her safe. Just like I have since the day we met.
Only now she’s not the kid I used to guard.
She’s twenty, cunning and clever, and sexy as all hell.
Trust and temptation.
My kryptonite.
‘And I’ll bring in the punters,’ she purrs, lips glistening with beer, her knees brushing mine where the sofa dips. ‘I’m telling you, I can do this. Men will pay good money for what I can give them. Enough for us all to do well out of this.’
Hell, I don’t doubt it.
