“Carly did this,” Kat said, still laughing.
“You beat her up?”
“Is this Josh?” Sofia asked. Carly nodded. “Hi, Josh!” Sofia stood and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. “It’s so good to meet you!”
I frowned and looked at Kat. “What did you give her?”
She bit her lip and laughed. “Just a little something I had in my stash.”
I rolled my eyes toward the ceiling and sighed. “Jesus Christ.” I ran my hand over my jaw and turned to Corduroy. “What about the owners of the store?”
“I think we can work something out.” He glanced at the women and shook his head. “As long as they don’t fuck the place up again.”
“I think we should all toast to our new found friendship with champagne!” Sofia shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. “To all my new friends and may there be many more fights in our future!”
I walked over to her and pulled her against me, trapping her arms at her side. “First, no champagne when you’re on pain killers.”
“Spoil sport,” she pouted, stepping back from me. “Nobody ever wants me to have champagne. You screw up one time when you have the flu and nobody ever trusts you again.”
She swayed slightly on her feet, but her grin stayed in place.
“We’ll come back to that one at another time. Second, there will be no more fighting.”
“Awe, come on, Joe,” she said, slugging me in the arm. “I just had my first fight! You should be proud of me. I’m one of you now.”
“Sofia, you lost that fight. Pretty badly too. That’s not something to be proud of.”
Her eyes twinkled and she pointed her finger at me. “But I got a few hits in too. I’m pretty deadly with a stiletto.”
I sighed, realizing that no matter what I said, she was not going to concede on this point until she was sober. “You’re right. You fought valiantly. I’m sure Carly would be proud to have you by her side in a scuffle.”
“See,” she grinned broadly. “I finally found something I’m good at.” She spun with wide eyes and ran over to Carly, grabbing both her hands. “Ooh! We should start our own mafia group. We could be the Stiletto Chicks!”
Carly eyed me warily and I gave her a pleading look. She sighed and nodded. “That sounds amazing. You can be the face and I’ll be the muscle.”
“Ooh, will I get to wear tall, black leather boots? I’ve always wanted to wear those! Oh! And a leather jacket. I’ll be the most badassist chick anyone’s ever met!”
“Alright,” I nodded, taking her by the arm. “I think it’s time to go home.”
“But I’m having so much fun! I’ve never had real girlfriends before. All my friends are mean. Except for Lanie. She’s my only real friend, but I doubt she would try to smother me with a shirt.”
“Right, well, I have to get back to work, and I’m sure everyone else is hoping this all ends too.”
“Ooh! To the tattoo place? Can I come too? Can I hold your gun?”
Corduroy started chuckling and I shot him an evil glare. The last thing I needed was anyone encouraging this behavior, even if she was drugged and had no control over what she was saying.
“You can come with me, but you can’t play with my gun.”
She pouted and slid her hand up my chest. “I promise it’ll be good for you.”
My cock swelled, as much as I shouldn’t be turned on right now, I was hard as hell. I snatched her hand in mine and pulled her to the door without a backward glance. “Ooh! Are we going on your bike?”
“Yes, I’m taking you home and putting you to bed.”
“Will you be joining me?”
I ignored her and kept walking, trying my hardest to remember that this was just the drugs talking.
“I have a secret to tell you,” she whispered as we stopped by the bike. I swallowed hard and turned to her, not sure I wanted to know this. “I’ve never had a man before. Completely untouched,” she giggled. “Not even a graze over my panties. My mother said I had to be pure for my husband, but at night, when I was all alone in my room, I would slide my fingers down my panties, just to know what it felt like.”
I bit back a groan and climbed on the bike. This was so bad. I pulled her on, tugging her firmly against me. “Don’t move, do you understand me?”
She nodded and rested her head against my back. “You know, you’re not so bad. I think I’m even beginning to like your tattoos.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. This woman was going to be the death of me. “Just hold on tight.”
I took it slow on the roads into town. Even though she seemed to be lucid enough, she was still drugged up and that could be dangerous. When I pulled up in front of the shop, I helped her off the bike, but she didn’t make it far before her legs collapsed from under her.
I caught her in my arms, frowning when she started laughing and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Are you always going to catch me when I fall?”
Fuck, I didn’t know what to say. This woman was so vulnerable. I thought she was this raging bitch, and maybe she was, but it was clear that she never had anyone there for her. Now it made a little more sense. Her acting like a bitch was partly because of the way she was raised, but it was also a self-defense mechanism. People in general behaved in a way that was expected of them. She was raised to be above others, so she put on that entitled face and let the world see her how they were supposed to.
I hoisted her up in my arms and carried her up the stairs. The drugs were really kicking in now and her eyes were drooping heavily. I got her inside and considered putting her on the couch, but I just didn’t have it in me to leave her there when I knew she was going to wake up in pain. I took her into my room and pulled back the covers, then gently set her on the bed.
She smiled up at me and patted me on the cheek. “Thank you for letting me stay here, Joe.”
“It’s not a problem.”
She sighed. “If you knew my family, you wouldn’t have allowed me to stay here.” Her face turned solemn and she stared at me with a vulnerability I hadn’t yet seen. “I don’t ever want to go back there.”
“You don’t have to.”
“You promise?”
I didn’t have any right to make such promises to her. She was nothing to me but a woman I picked up on the side of the road. But the way she was looking at me now, with all the honesty in the world shining through her eyes, I just couldn’t say no to her. I didn’t want to say no to her. So, I said that only thing that would bring her comfort. Besides, she probably wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning.
“I promise.”
* * *
I stared at her way too long as she drifted off to sleep. Watching her now, I couldn’t see the woman that had been with me for the past two days. All I saw was a seriously misunderstood woman, with a black eye, who didn’t know how to make her way in the world. And when she woke up in the morning, she would go back to being that elitist brat that I knew. It wasn’t really her fault. She didn’t know how to be anyone other than who she was raised to be. But now I had a new mission, not just to take her down a peg, but to see if I could draw out the person I thought was hiding under all that glitz and glamor.
When I saw her laughing with Carly, after Carly had nearly beat the shit out of her, I saw a woman that was finally letting loose, and I liked it. And then she had to go admit to me that she was untouched, as pure as they come. I definitely wasn’t the man for her. I liked to have sex and with various women. She was waiting for the man she was going to marry, but that would never be me. Even if I was able to draw out this other side to her, she would never choose living with a guy like me. She would always be drawn to the finer things in life, and that wasn’t something I wanted or would ever be able to attain.
I brushed back the hair from her face and sighed, wishing things could be different. But that’s not who we were. I knew I was a good guy, and I would make some woman very happy one day. I wou
ld do everything to be just as good as my brothers, to cherish the woman I fell for. But that would never be enough for Sofia.
I stood and turned to get an ice pack for her face, only to stop when I saw Andrew leaning against the door frame. Ignoring his knowing stare, I pushed past him and headed for the freezer.
“Are you gonna tell me what that was all about?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, pulling out the ice pack.
“I mean the whole desperately in love staring thing going on in there.”
I frowned, not sure what he was talking about. Okay, I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I wasn’t going to let him know that. “I wasn’t staring at her like I love her. I was checking on her face.”
“Uh-huh. And brushing her hair back from her face?”
“She has a bruised eye. I was checking it. Hence, the ice pack,” I said, holding up the ice pack as evidence. “Carly beat her up.”
His jaw dropped. “She did not.”
“In a thrift store.”
He choked out a laugh and shook his head. “Only Carly.”
“Only Sofia,” I corrected. “Apparently, Carly shoved her face in a shirt and told her if she wanted it so much, she could choke on it.”
“Oh God,” he tilted back his head and laughed. “Only these women. Seriously, they’re more entertaining than any reality show.”
“That’s because we’ve all found completely different women.” His eyes lit with humor. “Not that I’ve found a woman, but you know what I mean.”
“Uh-huh. I know exactly what you mean.”
“Shut up. She’s just staying here, and there’s no chance of romance because she’s going back to her hoity toity lifestyle, and I’m going to stay here and work on my business.”
“Right, because you’re just helping her out.”
“Exactly.”
“So, you’re sending her home,” Andrew hedged.
I scratched my jaw, hating the thought of her returning to her parents, even though I knew we were incompatible. The things she had said…I couldn’t imagine her going back to that. But she didn’t exactly fit in here either.
“I don’t know that I can do that.”
“You just said that she was going back to her hoity toity lifestyle. Now you’re saying she’s not going?” Andrew asked in confusion.
“Not if you heard the way she was talking tonight when she was high on painkillers.”
“What was she saying?”
I thought back to what she said, and was pretty sure she wouldn’t want everyone to know her inner thoughts. “Nothing.”
I shoved past him and headed back in the bedroom, gently placing the ice pack on her face. I couldn’t just leave it there while she was sleeping, but I couldn’t stay either. I had to get back to work. And then there was the matter of her ribs. They were pretty busted up, and I should probably have someone take a look at them. Maybe I could get Charlie to come look at her in the morning, just to make sure she was okay.
I turned to Andrew and tried to figure out if I could trust him for the night with her. He sighed and shook his head. “What do you want?”
“Well, I can’t just leave her with an ice pack on her face. And if she wakes up, she might be in pain…”
“I’m not a babysitter.”
“No, but you are my brother.”
“I’m aware.”
“And you would do anything for me.”
“For you. I don’t like the way she talks to you.”
“Look, it’s just for tonight. Just make sure that she’s not in any pain.”
“I have work to do.”
“You work from your laptop. You can easily keep an eye on her.”
“She’s the devil!”
“She is not. She just…”
“Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. That woman is a bitch.”
“Andrew, come on, she’s not that bad.”
He shook his head, obviously irritated with me, but he finally relented. “I’m only doing this for you.”
“I know.”
“And if she gives me any shit, I’m walking out.”
“I would expect you to.”
“Fine.”
“Thank you.”
“Whatever, Hunty. You’re really pissing me off right now.”
I grinned and headed for the door. I had to get back downstairs. I called Charlie on the way, hoping she could swing by in the morning.
“Joe, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
“I have a bit of a situation here and I need a doctor.”
“Okay, what did you do?”
“Not me. Carly beat up a woman that’s staying with me.”
“Of course she did,” she sighed. “What do you need?”
“Well, Kat gave her some pain killers, so she’s out of it right now. Can you swing by in the morning?”
“Sure, anything for the Cortell brothers.”
“Thanks, sweetheart.”
“You know, you already got me. You don’t need to suck up to me.”
“Of course I do. Will’s gonna propose soon. I have to keep you on our good side.”
“He what?” she shrieked as I grinned and hung up the phone. That should keep Will busy for a while.
Sofia
“Ugh,” I moaned, trying to roll over in bed. “I’m dying.”
My mouth was so dry and I desperately needed some water, but there was no way I was getting out of this bed. I felt like I was drifting in and out, barely conscious of anything around me. But then I felt my shirt being lifted and something brushing across my skin.
My eyes popped open and my brain barely registered the man sitting on top of me. I screamed, shoving the man off me, forgetting about all the pain. The man flopped to the floor, groaning as he hit his head on the nightstand. I had to make my move now. It was do or die. I snatched the pillow off the bed and pounced, ignoring the pain in my side. I slammed the pillow down over his face and screamed as I pressed the pillow down hard over the man’s face.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god,” I screamed, trying to hold down the man. He was bucking his hips and then his hands found me and shoved me off him. I screamed again and started using the pillow as a weapon, beating him as hard as I could with it. I wasn’t going down without a fight. It was clear I wasn’t going to win this fight with a pillow though. I snatched the lamp off the nightstand and smashed it over his head. He fell to the ground, going limp. I lost it. I had just been attacked!
I grabbed the pillow, tears streaming down my face, and started hitting him with it. “Do you think you’re a big man? Does that make you feel good about yourself? Who’s the bitch now?”
Then suddenly the pillow was gone and I was being hauled up around the waist from behind. “Whoa, calm down, tiger. What the hell is going on?”
It was Joe. I sagged against him, crying as I stared at my attacker on the floor. My body ached and my head was a mess. I couldn’t take any more on top of all the other things I had to worry about. Joe turned me in his arms and rubbed my back as I cried against his chest.
“What happened?”
“That man was in here, and he was trying to assault me!”
“Okay, just let me take a look.”
I nodded as he gently moved me to the side. I watched as he lifted the pillow and got a good look at the perpetrator. Then he tossed it on the bed and knelt beside the man. “Will, hey.” He slapped the man on the face, trying to rouse him.
“You know this man?”
“It’s my brother.”
“Your brother tried to assault me?” I screeched. “What’s wrong with your family?”
“He wasn’t assaulting you,” Joe said harshly.
“Oh, sure, because you were here and you saw him leaning over my body!”
The man groaned and rolled slightly holding his head. “What the hell happened?”
“You assaulted me, you pig!” I tried to kick him, but Joe grabbed my foot and shoved it a
way.
“Down tiger,” he growled at me, like I was the problem in this situation. “I need to have a serious talk with Carly about violence.”
Joe’s brother squinted at me and groaned again. “I’m gonna kill Charlie.”
“Who’s Charlie?” I snapped. “Your accomplice?”
“My fiancé.”
“Your…Oh, you’re gay?”
He sighed heavily, shaking his head. “I’m not fucking gay! Charlie’s a woman! Do I really need to explain that to everyone?”
I was losing my patience fast, and my side was killing me. “If you’re engaged, then why the hell were you touching me like that?”
“I’d like to know that too,” Joe said.
“Because Charlie couldn’t come over. She had emergency surgery this morning. She asked me to come over and look her over. I sent her some pictures and I didn’t feel any broken bones, but Charlie said I should wrap a bandage around her ribs to ease the pain.”
“Wait, you were…what?”
“I was trying to help you. I thought you were passed out. You didn’t move when I touched your ribs.”
I didn’t know what to say. It was a cross of wanting to feel indignant and wanting to tell him how sweet he was to come over here to help me out. But then I remembered one other thing, and I spun on Joe.
“Do you just let anyone in your apartment? I almost smothered him because I thought he was trying to make a move on me.”
“He’s my brother!”
“Yeah, you seem to have a lot of those,” I snapped.
“I do! My parents were very horny people!”
“Ew,” Will grimaced. “Don’t say shit like that.”
“It’s true and you know it.”
“Wait, so this is actually your brother. Not some biker guy or some weirdo you call your brother. He’s your actual blood relative.”
“Yes,” Joe sighed. “I called Charlie last night to see if she could come check on you. I ran out to get you some breakfast. I didn’t know Will was coming over here.”
“You…you got me breakfast?”
“Well, yeah. I knew you would need some more painkillers, and you have to eat.”
Priceless Ink: A Small Town Romance Page 11