Defy You: A Brother's Best Friend/Age Gap Romance (Rebel Ink Book 3)

by Tracy Lorraine

  “Sure I can’t convince you to join me?” I ask, stopping in the doorway to Kas’ room where she’s rummaging through her drawers to find something to wear.

  “At the gym? No fucking chance. You’re all the workout I need.” She wiggles her thong-clad arse at me, and I groan.

  “Is your friend coming?”

  “Jodie? Yeah. She’s on her way now.”

  “Okay, well, have fun.”

  “Spike,” she calls, running after me as I head for the door. “Don’t you dare leave like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Without this.” She launches herself at me, forcing me to drop my bag so I can catch her instead.

  Her lips slam down on mine and she kisses me until I almost forget about my trip to the gym and just take her back to my bed instead.

  “Okay, you can go now,” she says with a wink as I let her slide down my body.

  Her eyes drop to where my cock is now tenting my sweats. “It’s an all-male gym, right?”

  “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Tiny.”

  “Good, because that’s mine, and I’d appreciate every other hussy who wants a taste to know that.”

  “Jesus, Kas. I may as well just hand my balls over now.”

  “I think I’d prefer them exactly where they are.”

  Chuckling at her, I pull the front door open and head out.

  25

  Kas

  “What happened?” I ask the second I open the door to find my best friend standing on the other side with a black eye and cut lip.

  “Ugh,” she says with a roll of her eyes as she pushes past me and into the room. “Some arsehole decided to jump me last night. It’s nothing, it barely hurts.”

  “It looks sore as fuck. Have you iced it?”

  “It’ll be fine. It’s not my first, and I doubt it’ll be my last.”

  “Sit your arse down. I’m sure Spike’s got peas or something we can use.”

  I rummage around his freezer and I do find the standard bag of peas crushed at the back. I bash them against the counter to loosen them up a little, making Jodie complain before I wrap a towel around them and pass them to her.

  “Thanks,” she mutters sarcastically, taking them and placing them to her eyes nonetheless, although she looks anything but happy about it.

  “I brought pastry. And coffee, obviously,” she says, nodding at the tray she walked in with.

  “Ooooh,” I say, reaching for the paper bag. I might have just had a stack of pancakes with Spike, but I’m not one to turn down a sweet treat.

  I pull out a chocolate twist and settle back on the sofa.

  “So who was it? Anyone you recognised?”

  “Nope. Just some guy in a hoodie. Fucking arsehole. He didn’t even steal anything, it was weird.”

  A ball of dread forms in my belly as she says those last few words.

  “He didn’t want your phone or purse or anything?” I ask, sitting forward once again.

  “Not that he said.”

  “D-did he say anything?”

  “No. He was probably wasted or high or something. It’s not like it’s unusual where we come from.”

  “I know, there’s just usually some kind of motive.” The ball continues to grow in my belly.

  “Why do you look so concerned?”

  “Um…” It’s a good question. They’re all dead. D’s brother took care of them. Didn’t he? “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

  “You think it might have been Jet, don’t you?”

  “Jet? No, probably not. The last time I saw him he wasn’t exactly… breathing.”

  “What?” She blanches, her eyes as wide as saucers.

  “If I tell you this, you have to keep it zipped.”

  “You got it.”

  I explain the details of Friday night, although I leave out any names or anything that might lead back to people other than Jet and his gang of arseholes.

  “Holy shit, Kas. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, just a little scratch on my hip.”

  “So why do you look so concerned? If they’re all gone, if it’s over, then you’ve no reason to think that has anything to do with it.”

  “I know. I’m just being cautious. It’s kind of ingrained at this point. You’re probably right, just some guy who’d had it out with his girl and needed a punching bag.”

  “Exactly, there are more than a few of them around our parts.”

  “Ain’t that the fucking truth. So… this place is nice. Where’s your new housemate?”

  “At the gym.”

  “Damn, I was hoping I’d get to meet your hero.”

  I open my mouth to argue and tell her that he’s hardly that, but I can’t because it’s kind of true. Spike might be aware that he took me away from my previous life, but I don’t think he can ever appreciate just how much he really did save me. I’d wanted out for years, but men like Jet would always have kept me down, ensuring that I owed them for whatever reason. People don’t leave that place usually, unless it’s in a body bag.

  I got lucky, and I owe it all to him.

  “You’ve got that look on your face.”

  “What look?”

  “The one of a girl in love.”

  “Fuck off, I’m not in love with him.”

  “You’ve fucked him again though?”

  “Uh, yeah. Once or twice.”

  “Girl, you are in trouble here,” she laughs.

  “How so? I’m pretty sure this place is the opposite of trouble.”

  “Zach know you’re banging his mate yet?”

  “Er… not exactly.”

  “What’s that meant to mean?”

  “He hit him for thinking that he had. I have no idea what’s going to happen when he finds out he really has been.”

  “You need to talk to him.”

  “I know,” I mutter.

  “He’s your brother. You need to take control of this situation.”

  “Ugh, why do you have to be the sensible one?”

  “One of us has to be.”

  Silence falls between us as we both eat and drink, lost in our own thoughts.

  “I’m working at the studio. Zach wants to train me up.”

  “That’s awesome.”

  “Yeah, I think it could be. I watched Spike do this crazy design on a woman yesterday. I want that. I want to spend my days doing that.”

  She shakes her head.

  “What now?”

  “Nothing, it’s just… your voice changes when you talk about him.”

  “Ugh, enough.” I ball up the paper bag in my lap and launch it at her.

  As always, once we get into setting the world to rights, the time seems to go at lightning speed, and before I know it, there’s a key being pushed into the door and Jodie’s eyes widen in delight.

  I’ve no idea why, if it’s excitement to see him or anxiety about what Jodie thinks of him, but butterflies erupt in my belly.

  He pushes into the flat and throws his gym bag into the direction of his room before running his hand through his still wet hair to pull it back from his face.

  “Holy shit, girl,” Jodie breathes, her eyes locked on my man.

  A wide smile spreads across my face. My man, hell yeah!

  “Oh shit,” he says, his eyes flying to us. “Hey, J-Jodie, right?”

  “Sure, but I could be anything you like,” she says with a wink, making me bark out a laugh. Jodie has never been backward in coming forward when it comes to what she wants, although I can tell by her eyes that she’s joking right now. She’s too good a friend to even consider going after my man.

  Spike coughs, covering up his shock at her words. “Right, well. Are you… okay?” he asks, his eyes narrowing on her dark, swollen one.

  “You should see the state of him,” she jokes.

  “She got jumped last night,” I say, when the concern doesn’t leave Spike’s face.

  “Shit, are you okay?”

  “Seriously,
you two need to stop worrying. I’m fine, he didn’t steal anything. This’ll be gone in a few days and I’ll be as beautiful as ever.”

  “You want another coffee?” I ask, getting up and walking straight into Spike’s arms when he opens them for me.

  “You two are sickening, you know that, right?” I shrug while Spike stiffens in my arms slightly.

  “So, coffee?”

  “No, I’m good. I’m going to head off before you start panting like dogs.”

  “What? We will not–”

  “You fucking should, girl. Make the most of him.” I watch as she collects up her stuff and dumps her rubbish in the kitchen as if she lives here herself.

  “Call me in a few days with updates, yeah?”

  “Sure thing. Please try to be safe?”

  “Always.” She blows me a kiss and then she’s gone.

  “Whoa, she’s a bit of a whirlwind. I can see why you’re friends.”

  “You calling me a whirlwind too?”

  “Fucking right, Tiny. You blew in here and turned everything upside down in only a few minutes.”

  “Huh.” I look around at the tidy apartment. It wasn’t a total mess when I first arrived, but it was obvious that a single guy lived here. “I guess I did.”

  “Go get ready, we’re going out.”

  “Oh? Where?”

  “It’s a surprise.”

  I smile at him, loving the cheeky glint in his eye before rushing to my room to do as I’m told.

  “What are we doing here?” I ask when I climb off his bike outside of Rebel Ink.

  It’s in darkness, the usual bright pink light no longer illuminated like the other times I’ve been here.

  “Thought it was the perfect time to get some teaching in.”

  “You’ve got a client today?”

  “Nope. The studio is closed, and I just so happen to know that the flat above is also empty right now and for the next few hours.” He winks.

  “What are you suggesting exactly?”

  “Come on.” He laces his fingers through mine and we run across the road together so he can let us inside.

  I look around as he fumbles with his key. I’m still feeling a little uneasy after learning that Jodie was attacked. I know it’s crazy, I know I’m safe now, but I just can’t shift the fear.

  “Everything okay?” Spike asks when he glances at me.

  “Yeah, just being nosey.”

  I follow him through. He doesn’t turn any lights on until we get back to his room.

  Just like yesterday, my eyes land on all his artwork. I’m just as in awe now as I was the first time I saw it all.

  “You’re really talented, you know that?”

  He doesn’t respond. Instead he starts moving stuff around behind me.

  “Did you always want to do this?”

  “Pretty much, yeah. As a kid, all I used to do was draw. It used to drive my grandad crazy because I’d stick them to all the walls. Then I went to uni, got my art degree. I had a job all lined up before… all that happened,” he says, referencing what he told me earlier. “I screwed it up, though. I started drinking heavily. I fucked everything up, really.

  “Once I sorted myself out I managed to get a job, but I didn’t really love it. I was worried that everything I’d spent my life doing was for nothing. I moved around a bit, and tried to find my place in the industry. I knew I had the skills, it was just a reminder of everything I now wasn’t going to have. Tattooing was part of a dream that had been long shattered. I didn’t really know how I felt about it all.

  “But then I found this place, and everything in my life started to make sense once again. Zach, D and Titch pulled me into their little dysfunctional family, and as far as my career is concerned, I’ve never looked back.”

  “Do you still miss her?” I spin around so I can see the look in his eyes as he answers.

  “Yes and no. I don’t think I miss her as such. I miss the life, the security, safety and contentment of knowing she’d always be there. That makes me sound like a right pussy, doesn’t it?”

  I step up to him, taking his hands in mine. “Not at all. It makes you human.”

  “Have you forgiven her?”

  “Yeah, I think so. It’s been ten years. Over time, I’ve realised that if she wasn’t happy then she was right to do something about it. I would have hated for her to feel trapped. I’d lived my entire life with just my grandad. I think I was just desperate for a normal life.”

  “What happened to your parents?”

  “Okay,” he says with a laugh, pulling me into his arms and wrapping them around my waist. “I think question time is over for now.”

  He drops his lips to the top of my head before releasing me once more.

  “So what now?” I watch as he steps away from me and starts undoing his jeans. “Spike?” I ask curiously.

  “Lesson time.”

  “You’re not going to let me…” I trail off, because other than him demanding I get on my knees—not that I’d complain—I can’t think of another reason why he’d drop his trousers in here.

  “Ready to lay down your first ink, Tiny?”

  My chin drops as he hops up on the chair.

  “You’re joking, right?”

  “Nope. Deadly serious. Now, grab the stool. You’ll probably need to raise it up and get over here.”

  “Oh my God,” I breathe, my hands already starting to tremble with the thought of putting something permanent on his skin.

  “You look like you’re about to faint,” he says with a laugh.

  “I think I might.”

  “It’s fine. Just relax. Plus, if it’s shit, I’ll just get one of the guys to go over it with something better.”

  “Hey,” I argue, not happy with him covering up my art. “You’ll wear it with honour, even if it’s shit.”

  “We’ll see.” He winks.

  “So what do you want?”

  He reveals a folded piece of paper and hands it over for me to see. The second I open it, I gasp.

  “You stole this?” I ask, pretending to be offended that he ripped one of my designs from my notepad.

  “I prefer the term borrowed. You can glue it back in later if you like.”

  “I love this,” I say, running my fingertip over the ink staining the page.

  “Me too. It’s why you’re about to redraw it on me.”

  “Spike, I can’t...”

  “You won’t know unless you try. Anyway, you can start on my arse, that way if you fuck it up, I don’t have to look at it.”

  I splutter a laugh but when I look up at him, I see he’s serious.

  “I guess you’d better turn over then. You can talk me through it.”

  He smiles at me before turning the chair into a bed, flipping over and lowering his boxers so I get the fine sight of his arse in front of me.

  “Aww, your arse is a virgin. I get to be your first.” I don’t think about the words that fall from my lips until he barks out a laugh.

  “Now, now. I’m here for some ink, not any funny business.”

  “I didn’t mean it quite like that. Good to know how you feel about it, though.”

  Shaking his head, he rests it on his forearms and gets comfortable.

  “You look just a little too relaxed about this for my liking.”

  “I trust you.”

  His admission hits me like a truck. My breath catches and emotion immediately burns the back of my throat.

  I try to cover how his words affect me, but I think he sees it nonetheless. Thankfully he doesn’t ask. I’m not sure I want the look I know he’ll give me if I were to admit that I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before.

  “Okay so where do I start?” I ask, changing the subject before he decides he wants to start digging.

  He talks me through the first steps, and before long I have the first part of the design traced onto his skin.

  “You keep moving,” I complain as I work on one of the
snake’s tails that wraps around one of the many skulls in my design.

  “Yeah, that kinda comes with the territory of working on people. You’ll get used to it.”

  I put it off as long as I can, but eventually he realises what I’m doing because he turns to look at me.

  “You ready?”

  “No.”

  “Come on, I know you can do it. Remember everything I said yesterday. It’s just a pen, and I’m just paper.”

  “Okay,” I whisper, picking up his machine and holding it like he showed me yesterday. I might have some very limited experience with an old machine over the years when people realised that I could draw, but they were nothing like this.

  The moment I turn it on, I feel the vibrations right down to my toes.

  My hand trembles as I lower it to his skin, but the moment I make my first mark, I relax—which is crazy, but he’s right. It’s just a pen, and he’s just the paper.

  “Just focus on the outline. You’re more than capable of doing that. We can work on filling in and shading later.”

  I nod despite the fact he can’t see me. I’m too focused to reply.

  I have no idea how much time passes, but the muscles in my shoulders and neck ache from the unusual angle I’m sitting at.

  I turn the machine off and place it on Spike’s table before standing and stretching out my back.

  “You done?” he asks, watching me with heat in his eyes.

  “For now. It hurts.”

  “You’ll soon get used to it. How’s it look?”

  “Umm…” I look at his arse, focusing more on the roundness of it than my sketch.

  “I guess I’ll look myself then.” He pushes from the bed and walks over to the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. “Kas,” he says, looking over his shoulder.

  “You hate it?” I ask, hating the vulnerability in my tone.

  “Not at all. It’s incredible.”

  “Really? You’re not just saying that to make me feel better.”

  Leaving his arse exposed, he turns his stare on me. I close the distance between us, the pull I feel toward him too much to deny.

  His hands cup my face and he drops down so his nose is almost touching mine.

  “I’ll never lie to you, Tiny.”

  I smile, the satisfaction that he really does think I did okay washing through me.