A Little Bit Wicked (The Wickeds

by Melissa Foster

  Starr looked up from securing Gracie in her car seat and said, “Whatever he is, I’d like a man who knows how to be that way.”

  “Wouldn’t we all?” Daphne added.

  Madigan shook her head. “You girls have at it. I’m perfectly happy with my puppets, where I hold all the power.”

  “I hold all the power in my life,” Chloe said.

  “She means the power to break her heart.” Marly hugged Chloe and said, “Thanks again. I’m so glad I got to meet all of you. I can’t wait until next month so we can all get together again.”

  Gabe waved and said, “Hello. I own a coffeehouse. A girls’ night at my place is welcome any night of the week.”

  “Let’s do that. Can we do that?” Madigan asked excitedly.

  They agreed to meet a week from Wednesday night at Common Grounds for dinner and said their goodbyes, hugging like they were all old friends. Chloe waited until they’d driven away before heading up the walk. She went around to the back of the house and stood in the grass gazing into the screened porch. The colorful tiki lights lit up the makeshift beach. Tropical music played softly from the living room, and the fire still had a few small flames. She took some pictures for scrapbooks and memory boards, then stood in front of the porch and took a selfie with the lights behind her.

  She went onto the porch and sat on a blanket. As she sank her toes into the sand, she thought about Justin. I figured my girl would want to put her toes in the sand at her luau, so I brought the beach to you. She took a picture of her toes in the sand and debated sending it to him with a sexy message. Or an invitation. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard, her pulse quickening at the thought of seeing him again.

  Chapter Ten

  JUSTIN LAY ON his stomach in Wicked Ink tattoo shop. The buzz of Tank’s tattoo gun competed with the rock music blaring through the speakers. Tank had just started working on Justin’s new tattoo because they had gone out for a beer with the guys after leaving Chloe’s house and had stayed for a while. The shop was closed, but two other tattoo artists, Gia and Aria, were talking in the workstation across from Tank’s while Aria cleaned up from her last client.

  Tank was a talented tattooist, but he wasn’t the best conversationalist, and once he got into the zone, he tended to stay there. Justin didn’t mind. It gave him a chance to think about Chloe and their date tomorrow night. He’d been waiting for a chance to take her out for so long, he should have a list of a dozen out-of-this-world dates at the ready. But out-of-this-world didn’t feel right, despite the fact that Chloe was the classiest woman he knew. After their talk on the beach, he knew there was a lot more down-home girl to her than anyone thought. Maybe even more than she realized. He wanted to impress her, of course, but not by going all out. He’d rather plan something that would show her he saw who she really was. He’d love to get her on the back of his bike, but he planned to take his truck tomorrow night in case she freaked out about riding on the back of a motorcycle. Baby steps…

  Tank turned off the tattoo gun and said, “You riding Sunday?” as he wiped Justin’s back.

  Summer traffic could be a nightmare on the Cape, so they tried to get together with their brothers and friends on Sundays for long rides off the Cape.

  “Absolutely. You?” As he said it, he had visions of Chloe joining them on one of their rides.

  Tank nodded and began tattooing again. His cousin looked tired but fierce. He’d looked that way ever since Ashley had died. Between the tattoo shop and the firehouse, Tank worked long hours. Justin had a feeling he was trying to outrun the memories of the night he’d found Ashley. But Tank was locked down tighter than Alcatraz. Justin could never be sure what was going on in his cousin’s mind.

  “How are things at the firehouse?”

  Tank lifted the needle from Justin’s back and shrugged. He wiped the area he was tattooing and went back to work.

  “Ask him if he’s getting any sleep these days,” Gia said as she and Aria walked across the aisle.

  Gia had worked for Tank for several years. She was all legs, with skin the color of cocoa, colorful tattoos on her arms and legs, and enough sass for an army of women. She towered over petite and shy Aria, who had worked there for about two years and who was also a billboard for body art. Like Tank, she had her nostril pierced.

  “You giving Aria a lift home?” Tank asked.

  “Actually, I convinced her to go to Undercover with me,” Gia said. “It is Friday night, you know. You should head over and hang out with us later.”

  Tank lifted his needle, eyeing Aria. He was protective of all of the people who worked with him, male and female, but Aria had issues with anxiety and social situations, which made him even more protective of her. Zeke had tutored Aria when she was in high school, and when she’d started working with Tank, Zeke had schooled him and their brothers and cousins on ways to help her feel more comfortable.

  “You good with that, Aria?” Tank asked.

  Aria tucked her long blond hair behind her ear and nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Is Cait going to be there?” Tank asked.

  Cait was another employee of his. She was a sharp, guarded tattooist and body piercer who, though quiet, was acutely aware of everything going on around her. Justin knew exactly what Tank was thinking. If Cait was going to meet them there, she would keep an eye on the girls and make sure nothing bad went down.

  “No. She had something going on tonight.” Gia put her arm around Aria and said, “I’ve got her, Tank. I’d never let anything happen to our girl.”

  “I’ll be there as soon as I’m done,” Tank said.

  “How about you, Maverick? You game for a few drinks?” Gia asked.

  The only woman Justin wanted to hang with tonight was Chloe, and since she was busy with the girls, he planned on heading to his studio to try to nail down a design for the piece he promised to make for the suicide-awareness rally. “Not tonight, thanks.”

  “Okay. Well, you boys have fun.” Gia peered at Justin’s back and said, “You should let me tattoo you one day. Add some color to that sexy back of yours.”

  “Thanks, but this guy has had dibs on my tats since I was an obnoxious little shit. I think he’d crush my skull if I strayed.”

  “Whatevs. Come on, A,” Gia said. “Let’s go get our groove on.”

  As the girls walked out, Tank said, “Do me a favor so I don’t have to take my gloves off. Dwayne and Baz are tied up at the rescue. Text Blaine and Zeke. Tell them to get up to Undercover to keep an eye on the girls.”

  “You’ve got it.” Justin texted his brothers, and then he set his phone on the table. As Tank began tattooing again, Justin said, “You getting any sleep these days?”

  “No less than usual.”

  “Then why is Gia worried about you?”

  The twitch in Tank’s jaw told Justin he was not in the mood to be scrutinized. But that only made Justin worry more, so he said, “Dude, you know you can talk to me.”

  “I know I can do a lot of shit, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to.”

  Justin’s phone vibrated with a text. “That might be Blaine or Zeke.” Tank lifted his needle, and Justin reached for his phone. Seeing Chloe’s name on the screen made him way too fucking happy. He opened the message, smiling at the picture of Chloe’s feet in the sand. Her toenails were painted pink, and a pretty silver chain circled her ankle, a dragonfly charm lying on the top of her foot, reflecting the colored tiki lights. Beneath the picture was the message Want to come dip your toes in my sand?

  He wanted to dip a hell of a lot more than just his toes in her sand.

  “Dude, it’s my girl. I’ve got to go. Would you mind if we cut it short and finish up another time?”

  “Everything okay?” Tank asked as he set down his tattoo gun.

  “Hell yes. She just wants to see me.”

  “Give me five minutes to get you cleaned up.” He wiped the area clean. As he put clear plastic over it and secured it in place with tape, he said, “I’m
happy for you, man. You’ve waited a long time to go out with Chloe. Don’t fuck it up.”

  Justin climbed off the table and pulled on his shirt. “I’m doing my best. Thanks.”

  Fifteen minutes later he pulled into Chloe’s driveway. As he headed up the walk, Chloe appeared at the edge of the backyard. His body awakened at the sight of his luau goddess basking in the moonlight. She beckoned him toward her with her index finger, reeling him in.

  “Good evening, Mr. Wicked,” she said huskily.

  God, this woman…

  “Hello, gorgeous,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

  Her finely manicured brows lifted, and her eyes sparked with heat. She pressed her hands to his chest and said, “I have a bone to pick with you.”

  “Hold that thought.”

  He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her slow and deep. But as had happened every other time, sparks ignited, turning slow to urgent, unstoppable passion. She clung to him as their tongues tangled. His hands moved up and down her bare back until he couldn’t take another second of not touching her. He lowered his hands, pushing through her grass skirt and palming her ass. The taste of her hot, willing mouth and the feel of her silk panties made him hard as stone. He fucking loved silk. He crushed her to him so she could feel his desire. The hard coconut bra between them should have lessened their arousal, but they were too far gone. She moaned into his mouth, and he lifted her into his arms. Her legs wound around him. They kissed as he carried her onto the porch and sank down to a blanket with her on his lap. He wanted to strip her naked and love every inch of her the way she deserved to be cherished. But somewhere in the back of his mind was a nagging reminder that she had wanted to talk to him.

  But her mouth…

  He couldn’t break away, needed one more glorious minute of kissing her, of her straddling his lap. One more minute of her hands in his hair, holding him like he was hers. She made another greedy sound, and his cock twitched, anxious to get into the game. If he didn’t stop now, he knew he wouldn’t stop at all. He forced himself to break their connection. A rush of air fell from Chloe’s lips as her eyes fluttered open.

  He was captivated by the raw emotions staring back at him. “Talk to me, baby.”

  Her cheeks were flushed, her lips pink from their kisses. She held up her index finger as she said, “I need a second to catch my breath.”

  He touched his lips to hers, loving that she was just as lost in them as he was.

  “Wow,” she said just above a whisper. “My feet are usually planted firmly on the ground, and this is the third or fourth time your kisses have sent me up to the clouds.”

  “Is that the bone you have to pick with me?”

  “Uh-huh,” she said softly.

  “Well, babe, that sounds like a compliment to me. So feel free to pick at my bone all night long.”

  A nearly silent laugh bubbled out of her lips. “You make it hard to be serious.”

  “You make me hard, and to me that is serious.”

  “Justin,” she said with a hint of embarrassment. Her brows slanted, and she said, “I have to get something off my chest.”

  “I can help with that. Is there a tie in the back of this coconut bra?”

  “God. What have I done?” she teased.

  “Opened a door that you have no chance of closing. Go ahead, sweet cheeks. Tell me what’s got that pretty brow of yours furrowed.” He pressed a kiss to the tension lines between her brows, and she sighed dreamily.

  “This might sound weird,” she said softly but confidently. “So please remember that my background is a little weird. When you kissed me at the door tonight in front of all of my friends, I got so swept up in us, everything else disappeared. And when we’re close, my heart races and I get butterflies in my stomach. I’ve never felt this way before, and it’s incredible to finally allow myself to feel all the things with you that I’ve been trying to ignore. But it’s like a drug. I want more of us. And that makes me wonder if all these feelings are what my mother is always chasing. That fleeting rush of adrenaline and desire. I’ve lived my whole life doing everything I can to keep from turning into her, and it’s a little scary to suddenly hoist my lust-for-Justin flag up the flagpole and let it fly free for everyone to see.”

  “God, baby, you’re so fucking real. I dig that about you. But if you’re asking me not to kiss you in public—”

  “No, that’s not it. I just don’t want to be her, you know? I got completely caught up in our kiss earlier, and I had a house full of friends. And I wanted that kiss, Justin. I wanted that kiss more than anything else, which is why I got so lost in it. But I don’t want to be someone who puts a man ahead of her friends.”

  “It was one kiss, Chloe. And yeah, it was a damn good one, but, babe, you’re not your mother. From what you told me, she chases men and leaves everyone else behind. You could never be that type of woman, and I’m not just spouting shit to make you feel better.” He moved a lock of hair from her cheek and said, “What did you say to me after our kiss?”

  She rolled her eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. “I can’t remember. My head was in the clouds.”

  He laughed softly. “You reminded me that you’d forbidden me from crashing the meeting. The man-chaser you told me about would never have done that.” He gazed deeply into her eyes, wanting her to hear every word he said. “Your mother obviously needs a man to fill some void inside her, to make her feel whole because she can’t seem to do that for herself. You are nothing like that. You said it yourself, Chloe. You’ve spent your life trying not to become her. You’re strong. You’ve created your own life, with your own friends, and you don’t need a damn thing from any man, including me. Everyone who knows you will tell you that you’re too caring to ever allow anyone to hurt someone you care about, especially yourself. Just look at Serena. Look at your friends. Drake told me how you gave him hell when Serena was a teenager and he broke her heart.”

  “He got my wrath that night. I can’t believe he told you about it.”

  “He also said that when they got together as adults, you made no bones about what you’d do to him if he hurt her again.”

  She whispered, “Also true.”

  “And Gavin told me about how you stood up to him when he started dating Harper. You might not realize this, but I am one hundred percent positive that the year and a half you kept your distance from me was your way of giving me the don’t-break-my-heart speech and making sure I heard you loud and clear.”

  Her cheeks flushed, and she lowered her gaze.

  He put his finger under her chin, lifting her face so her eyes met his. “What we have isn’t fleeting, sweetheart. It’s real because you and I are real.”

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said earlier about us having a strong foundation built on friendship. I know you’re right, but lust doesn’t last, Justin, and quite frankly, I’m bursting with it.”

  “You have a lot of worries in that gorgeous head of yours. I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me about them. You’re right about lust, Chloe,” he said honestly. “Lust alone doesn’t last, and relationships built on it eventually fall apart. But lust does have a place in the best relationships. Lust, love, communication, compromise. They go hand in hand. All those things are what make relationships stronger. It took me years to learn what a healthy relationship was, and then it took several more years before I trusted myself enough to know that I was capable of being in a meaningful relationship.” He felt her relaxing into him, into them, and said, “You and I have lived through perfect examples of what not to do. I’ve watched Preacher and Reba, and Con and Ginger, and you and I have both seen our friends fall in love and create happy lives together. We know it’s possible for two people to think of each other before thinking of themselves, and I want to explore those possibilities with you, Chloe.”

  Her fingers brushed the back of his neck, and she said, “How do you know just what to say to put my mind at ease?”

  “Easy
, babe. I just tell you the truth. If we weren’t meant to be, if you were a woman who was going to chase every dick in town, or if I was a guy who was out to break your heart, we wouldn’t be here right now. We’re both too smart for games like that.”

  Her eyes filled with desire, but her brow wrinkled, and she said, “Everything you say tells me who you are, and I really like who you are. I want to kiss you so badly right now I could scream. But I know if we kiss, I’m not going to want to stop, and there’s a fine line between when it’s appropriate to do more and when it’s not. I don’t want to screw us up or make you think I’m easy. I haven’t had to deal with anything like this in so long, my radar is probably off. But I really want to kiss you right now, and I know you want to kiss me. So where is that fine line for us, Justin?”

  He ran his hand up her back. Her skin was warm, and she was looking at him like she wanted to eat him alive, and man, he wanted that, too. But what he wanted even more was for her to feel safe and in control, so he said, “We’ve had a year and a half of not crossing lines, and I’ll wait however long you want. What matters most is where you want that line to be, Chloe.”

  “I don’t want that line at all,” she whispered, and reached behind her back. In the next breath her coconut top fell to his lap.

  He looked his fill at the woman who had tied him in knots for far too long. Her eyes held the confidence he adored and a secret, unexpected innocence that he knew he’d see in his dreams. “God, you’re beautiful, baby.” He skimmed his hands up from her waist, light as a feather, and brushed his thumbs over the sides of her breasts.

  She inhaled sharply, a small smile lifting her lips.

  “I’ve dreamed of seeing you”—he pressed a kiss to the center of her breastbone—“of touching you, for so long.” He ran his finger over a tiny white scar just above the swell of her left breast. “What happened here?”

  “I don’t remember,” she whispered. “Kiss me…”