Page 100 of Possessive Ink

“Wait,” I call out. “You can’t just agree to expensive building work on a whim because of me.”

“Why not?” Felix asks, shocking me that it’s him and not his brother saying it. “Atticus loves you. You’re getting married, and this is your home now too. We had this place built when it was just Att and me. Now that you’re going to be living here too, it makes complete sense that we’d make it bigger so that you have enough room for all your things. I’m not really sure, but I’m assuming we can afford it, so the cost is basically irrelevant if we’re going to live here forever.”

It’s the most I’ve ever heard Felix speak about something other than his work or the light, and it makes me sit back in my chair. Before now, I’d have described Felix as eccentrically distracted, but I’m starting to see that he’s not. He’s actually just laser-focused on his art. His work is his passion, and it makes sense that’s where all his focus would be pointed. But now that his full focus is on me, I can see the similarities between the brothers. Felix is apparently just as capable of being an intense alpha male as his twin is.

“Cody is sending us over a ballpark price, but unless it’s significantly more expensive than it cost to build the whole loft, then yes, we can afford it,” Atticus tells Felix.

“I don’t have any money. I can’t contribute to any building work, but I can pay what I was paying for my apartment each month,” I tell them.

The brothers look at me, then at each other. “No,” they both say in perfect unison.

“No?” I question.

“No,” they say again in perfect synchronicity.

“No, what?”

“Okay, so to start, we bought this place outright. There’s no rent or mortgage to pay on it. Second, Felix and I share a bank account. We pool our money and buy whatever we need, when we need it. I’m going to add you to the account too, so you can buy anything that you need. But your money is yours.”

I start shaking my head before he’s even finished speaking. “I’m not going to live here and not contribute.”

“I’m not going to take money off you, Princess, so you can get that idea straight out of your head,” Atticus growls angrily, like my suggestion to pay my way is somehow offensive.

“Well, if you’re not going to take money off me, then I’ll just have all of my wages paid into your shared account,” I tell them.

“Your money is yours,” Atticus snarls.

“Then I’ll pay a percentage of the utilities.”

“Absolutely not,” my fiancé says.

“Family account, family money,” Felix says, biting the end off his last chicken finger.

“Thank you, Felix,” I say.

“She’s your wife and my sister. It makes sense. Family account, family money,” Felix says again.

Atticus scowls at his brother, then at me before he reluctantly concedes. “Fine, but if you decide you don’t like it, or you’d prefer to keep your own account, just tell me.”

After we’ve finished eating, Felix disappears back downstairs to keep working, leaving Atticus and me alone in the loft. “We both have work tomorrow,” Atticus says with a hint of disappointment in his voice.

“Aren’t you looking forward to starting at the new studio?”

He shrugs. “Yes and no. I love my job, and working in Betty’s studio should be fine. But I’ve had you all to myself since we met, and I’m not looking forward to not seeing you for hours at a time.”

“If you’re anything like Felix, once you start tattooing, you’ll forget my name until you’re done,” I say on a laugh.

“Bullshit,” he growls, his expression angry.

“I was teasing,” I say quickly.

“I know. But I don’t find that funny. Since the moment I saw you, you’re all I think about, and even at my most distracted, you’d still be the most important thing on my mind,” he snarls, his usually expressive eyes dark and bubbling with intensity.

“I was teasing,” I say again, reaching out a tentative hand to touch his cheek.

“It’s not funny,” he reiterates, slowly rolling us so I’m lying on my back on the couch and he’s on top of me.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him, lifting my head and searching for a kiss.