“I’m being serious.”
“I’d like four. I come from a big family, and I know how much I count on my brothers.”
“I feel for Tamsin. I know what it was like with three older brothers. I couldn’t imagine having six. Your mother is a champion. Seven kids.”
“My parents started really early in life. Tamsin was a problem pregnancy for Mom, so she was always going to be the last one. We’ll always take care of her.”
“I know. Why do you think I’m a twenty-year-old virgin? My brothers were always taking care of me. Any guy who came by the house got an inquisition. I’m sure the only thing missing was the torture devices.”
“It’s a brother’s job to make sure their sister is taken care of.”
“I know, but sometimes it can be a little … daunting. I just wanted to go out, have some fun, maybe kiss. You know my brother chaperoned me to prom. I didn’t even get felt up. In fact, I just ended up dancing with Lara and Betty. When their dates were tired of being left alone, I went home to let them have the traditional prom.”
Abel stroked her stomach as he listened. He always did listen to her.
“No guy is ever going to feel my sister up. She’s becoming a nun.”
“Your sister has a mind of her own, and I doubt anyone is going to ever stop her from doing what she wants to do.” Harper snuggled down. The scent of him surrounded her. “Abel?”
“Yeah, baby.”
“What do you do?”
There was a pause, a moment’s silence. “I work for my dad.”
“Doing what?”
“Helping out at the casino.”
“You never answer, not truthfully. It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me.” Her eyes started to feel heavy.
“Harper, what I do isn’t important. Nothing will ever harm you, I promise.”
She hummed her agreement. She was so tired that it didn’t even register that his response was kind of strange.
Chapter Eight
One week later
“You cheat!” Harper gave Abel a shove, and he fell over the game, laughing. Since the start of the game, he’d been in control of the spinner, and he’d manipulated the truth so that Harper always ended up in some kind of sexual position. His cock was rock hard, and he laughed as she fell against him.
Wrapping his arms around her, he spun her so that she was on the ground, and he was between her spread thighs.
“You calling me a cheat?”
“It’s what you are.”
“And you love it, babe.” He took possession of her lips, amazed at how far they had come. Just a week ago, when she had entered his room, and he’d almost killed her, which she didn’t know about, their relationship had changed. Harper was open with him. She didn’t cut him out, and now she embraced him.
The time they had together alone in Italy was drawing to a close, and for the first time ever, Abel didn’t want to go home. He didn’t want to go back to his family, or to his way of life. Not only had he enjoyed being away, he liked the story he told Harper. The one where he worked for his father, and nothing bad happened.
He wasn’t the same guy who fucked a whore, or tortured a man before fucking the guy’s wife. Abel the torturer was gone.
“I love it when you kiss me,” she said.
“Is that all you love?”
“No. I love a lot more things, but if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.”