down all his shields. “I’m a criminal, remember? This is what I do.”
“I remember.” Brianna kept staring at the ID as if she hadn’t heard him at all.
His stomach knotted with so many overlapping emotions he wasn’t sure how to sort it all out. So he pulled off his jacket and reached for the bag of supplies his sister bought. He grabbed the University of Kentucky shirt and made quick work of taking off his old shirt.
Then he made the mistake of looking at Brianna before he pulled on the new one. She had tucked a strand of long auburn hair behind her ear in a nervous habit she obviously hadn’t grown out of. Her green eyes were startling in the dim light of the car as the two of them sat there in a dark corner of the hotel parking lot. The way she was looking at him made his stomach muscles tighten against his will and his cock jerk in his jeans.
He tugged on the blue University of Kentucky shirt, pretending not to notice. Then he reached into her bag and pulled out the tank top. “Put it on.”
To Brianna’s credit, she didn’t argue as she took it from him.
He would’ve liked to call himself a gentleman and say he turned away, but who was he kidding? Tino had never been able to call himself a gentleman.
He watched as she pulled off her jacket and tugged her turtleneck over her head. Brianna had great tits, not too big, not too small, but tight and high in a way that had always made him hot and hard whenever he thought about them.
But this time the marks on her neck sort of distracted from them.
He reached out and touched the injury as anger surged through him. He was getting seriously sick of motherfuckers who got off on bruising and hurting women somehow managing to stick their fucked-up shit on Tino’s conscience. His month hadn’t exactly been stellar before Brianna was nearly murdered.
Now, seeing the marks on her, knowing that his grandfather had it done in retaliation for what happened in Miami, Tino was almost light-headed with the need to kill someone for it.
His stomach lurched as he caressed the bruises standing out starkly against her pale skin, because as surely as he sat there staring at them, he knew he was the one who had caused them.
For touching her.
Needing her.
Loving her.
“Are they that bad?” Brianna asked as she broke his hold by tugging the tank top on. Then she pulled down the visor and used the light to look at them. Just as quickly, she shut it with a huff. “Whatever. It’s just skin. It heals.”
Tino looked away and stared out the windshield to the hotel.
He still felt physically ill with the image of those marks on Brianna, and he was fighting down the urge to lash out again. He knew he needed to stop using her as an outlet because she was the only one who had been able to see through his bullshit well enough that he didn’t bother trying to fake it.
It wasn’t her fault he felt like someone had just stabbed him.
He was mad at himself.
He was mad at his grandfather.
In some ways he was mad at Carina for being friends with Brianna.
And he was mad at Nova for being too smart for his own good.
Tino would never admit it to his brother, but he was tired of being Nova’s whipping boy. It was one thing when the lashes were just ripping into his skin and marring his soul, but now this power play was hurting Brianna too.
And since he was at it, he was also mad at Romeo, for going to prison and setting all this into action to begin with.
Tino had suffered for a long time.
He had covered up a lot of pain and spent a lot of years laughing and joking around to make it a little less obvious.
Right then, Tino realized he was officially tired of being a good brother.
He loved them all.
But he was done bleeding for them.
He’d had to kill a lot of motherfuckers this week thanks to his grandfather. He nearly watched Alaine get raped and murdered in front of his eyes. In front of Chuito’s eyes. Chuito, who loved Alaine every bit as much as Tino loved
“I remember.” Brianna kept staring at the ID as if she hadn’t heard him at all.
His stomach knotted with so many overlapping emotions he wasn’t sure how to sort it all out. So he pulled off his jacket and reached for the bag of supplies his sister bought. He grabbed the University of Kentucky shirt and made quick work of taking off his old shirt.
Then he made the mistake of looking at Brianna before he pulled on the new one. She had tucked a strand of long auburn hair behind her ear in a nervous habit she obviously hadn’t grown out of. Her green eyes were startling in the dim light of the car as the two of them sat there in a dark corner of the hotel parking lot. The way she was looking at him made his stomach muscles tighten against his will and his cock jerk in his jeans.
He tugged on the blue University of Kentucky shirt, pretending not to notice. Then he reached into her bag and pulled out the tank top. “Put it on.”
To Brianna’s credit, she didn’t argue as she took it from him.
He would’ve liked to call himself a gentleman and say he turned away, but who was he kidding? Tino had never been able to call himself a gentleman.
He watched as she pulled off her jacket and tugged her turtleneck over her head. Brianna had great tits, not too big, not too small, but tight and high in a way that had always made him hot and hard whenever he thought about them.
But this time the marks on her neck sort of distracted from them.
He reached out and touched the injury as anger surged through him. He was getting seriously sick of motherfuckers who got off on bruising and hurting women somehow managing to stick their fucked-up shit on Tino’s conscience. His month hadn’t exactly been stellar before Brianna was nearly murdered.
Now, seeing the marks on her, knowing that his grandfather had it done in retaliation for what happened in Miami, Tino was almost light-headed with the need to kill someone for it.
His stomach lurched as he caressed the bruises standing out starkly against her pale skin, because as surely as he sat there staring at them, he knew he was the one who had caused them.
For touching her.
Needing her.
Loving her.
“Are they that bad?” Brianna asked as she broke his hold by tugging the tank top on. Then she pulled down the visor and used the light to look at them. Just as quickly, she shut it with a huff. “Whatever. It’s just skin. It heals.”
Tino looked away and stared out the windshield to the hotel.
He still felt physically ill with the image of those marks on Brianna, and he was fighting down the urge to lash out again. He knew he needed to stop using her as an outlet because she was the only one who had been able to see through his bullshit well enough that he didn’t bother trying to fake it.
It wasn’t her fault he felt like someone had just stabbed him.
He was mad at himself.
He was mad at his grandfather.
In some ways he was mad at Carina for being friends with Brianna.
And he was mad at Nova for being too smart for his own good.
Tino would never admit it to his brother, but he was tired of being Nova’s whipping boy. It was one thing when the lashes were just ripping into his skin and marring his soul, but now this power play was hurting Brianna too.
And since he was at it, he was also mad at Romeo, for going to prison and setting all this into action to begin with.
Tino had suffered for a long time.
He had covered up a lot of pain and spent a lot of years laughing and joking around to make it a little less obvious.
Right then, Tino realized he was officially tired of being a good brother.
He loved them all.
But he was done bleeding for them.
He’d had to kill a lot of motherfuckers this week thanks to his grandfather. He nearly watched Alaine get raped and murdered in front of his eyes. In front of Chuito’s eyes. Chuito, who loved Alaine every bit as much as Tino loved
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