Page 6 of Pulled By the Tail
A grin tugged at Freema’s painted fuchsia lips. “God, I really want to find out. I can think of lots of things to do with four hands.”
“Gross!”
“For hugging.” She rolled her eyes dramatically. “Pervert. Okay, profile picture. I got this old one from last summer when we went to the beach.”
“Not the bikini.” The floral two-piece looked so pretty in the store and Georgia thought it flattered her curves, but Kevin didn’t like her showing so much skin. She spent the day covered up with a towel rather than enjoying the sun.
Freema never had those worries, being thinner than Georgia and infinitely cooler. She wore her blonde hair in twin buns, streaked in pastel-colored hair wax, and her friend totally pulled it off. Georgia? She had a hard enough time finding jeans that fit her hips without leaving a gap at the waist. She’d never tried trendy hairstyles, electing to play it safe with the same old haircut.
“Yes, the bikini. You looked super cute with those highlights,” Freema said.
Georgia absently touched the end of her hair. The golden blonde highlights had grown out long ago and hovered at the bottom of her mid-length chestnut hair. “You think I should get highlights again?”
“Yes. It’s not even a question.” Freema continued to fill in personal data in the app. “Tomorrow, let’s have a girl’s day and spoil ourselves. Facials. Manicures. Massages. The works.”
“Sounds brilliant.” She took a slice of barbeque chicken. As she chewed, she grew curious as to what Freema was writing on her behalf. “What does it want to know now?”
“No peeking! It’s a surprise.”
“But you’re talking about me.” She reached for the tablet with greasy fingers.
“Nope.” Freema sprang from the sofa, clutching the tablet. “We’re going to find you a perfectly disreputable bad boy and you’re going to bang your brains out. Doctor’s orders.”
“With tattoos?”
“At least three.”
She’d never dated a bad boy before. That wasn’t part of the plan, but the plan failed her. Going off-script terrified her but thrilled her to her core. “Let’s do it.”
Talen
Mr. T. Achaval,
Your presence is requested on the 30th level, in the private gaming rooms. We wish to discuss your brother. Please visit the concierge at your earliest convenience.
-Noxu Station Management Team
“You what?!”
“It’s a sure thing,” Quil said, tail curiously still.
Talen stared down at his elder brother. Quil’s tells were so obvious. How did everyone at the card table not know Quil lied? His body practically screamed that he played a poor hand and winning was far from guaranteed.
Take care of your brother, his mother commanded the last time he saw her. Never mind that Quil was the elder and by all rights, he should be caring for Talen, not the other way around, but their mother had been a practical female and didn’t expect miracles.
It had been twenty years since an assassin took Talen’s parents from him, but he tried his best to abide by his mother’s words. Talen tried to take care of Quil, but his older brother made it so hard.
“We only have each other in this universe,” Quil said, resting a hand on Talen’s forearm. Invoking the words of their nursemaid—the female who smuggled the young males off Talmar and raised them as her own—was a dirty trick.
“The ship is our home,” Talen said. His ears pressed flat against his head and his tail twitched in agitation. His claws itched just below the surface at his fingertips. “You’re gambling our home.”
“And Lerrence is gambling his family’s ancestral estate.” Quil’s greedy eyes flash as he took a sip of his drink. The dark amber liquor complimented his pale amber complexion. “Besides, the collateral had been certified by the casino already. It’s too late.”
With a growl, Talen knocked the glass from his irresponsible brother’s clutches. He knew how he appeared, a large brute about to lose what little control he had.
The liquor splashed a Corravian male seated at the table. “I say! Watch yourself.”
“Forgive my brother. He’s in a mood,” Quil said, laying on the charm thick and easy.
