Page 3 of No Small Sin

“Come on, Tate. Like my parents have a fucking clue what goes on here. Give me a beer.”

She rolled her eyes and turned to grab a drink from the cooler. There was a bottle opener attached to the side. I watched intently as she cracked the top, and ever so slightly dragged a finger across the top of the cooler, dusting a nearly insignificant amount ofsomethinginto the mouth of the bottle.

She spun around and made to hand him the beer. “You know what? On second thought, I do want a drink,” I said, reaching for the bottle. I wrapped my hand around the neck and locked eyes with this woman who’d had my attention from the get-go, but now even more so and for an entirely different reason. Her grip tightened for a split second before she realized that there was simply no easy way around this.

Despite the visceral and unanticipated reaction my body had to her mere presence, I wasn’t about to risk handing over my prey today.

I had no idea what she’d just tried to slip him.

In broad daylight.

At her job.

In front of a fucking stranger.

There was the flicker of a thought in the back of my mind that screamed at me topunish herfor doing something so thoughtless, so fucking careless. I pushed it aside. I would come back tothatlater.

She relinquished her hold, a bit defeated, but seemingly entirely uncaring whether or not I drained it to the dregs.

“Well. Great. It’s my break time. You two have a good one then,” she rushed out, climbing onto her cart to make a quick exit before Alexander could find it in him to string two words together to form a sentence that was some semblance of an objection.

She turned the key in the ignition. I had no desire to keep her here in the presence of this absolute brickfucker, but I grabbed the steering wheel anyway.

She pressed the gas. When the cart didn’t move, she jerked her head to the side finally noticing the holdup.

I liked being in her space.

“I didn’t pay for my drinks.”

Her eyes flicked back and forth between my hand and my face. I quirked an eyebrow at her. She made no move to take the money. I leaned forward, giving her a knowing look. I placed the beer in the cup holder of the golf cart.

Her jacket had fallen from her shoulder again. I tucked the fifty behind the tight material of her tank top. “Keep the change.”

Before standing, I flipped the switch on the heater by her foot. Her mouth dropped open, but she said nothing before righting herself and leaving just as quickly as I stood.

Good girl.

“Weird bitch. I’ve tried for weeks to get her to talk to me like, at all. She fucking won’t.”

Shocker.“Why bother if you think she’s so weird?”

“Bro. Do you have eyes? She’s hot. I’m sure she thinks she’s too good for someone like me. Sometimes you just have to show them they’renot, you know what I mean?”

I should’ve let her give him the fucking beer. “Yeah. I think I know exactly what you mean.”

I climbed into the seat of my cart. “We’re neighbors, you know. She lives right next door,” he stated simply. “Maybe tonight I’ll show her.”

“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe you’ll find yourself all tied up with something else.” I didn’t stick around long enough to enjoy the look of confusion on his face. The mere thought of him trying to rub his last three brain cells together over the next few hours trying to figure out what I meant by that was enough.

CHAPTERTWO

Beck

It was mind-and-body-numbingly cold outside. But I didn’t need to feel. Not for anything, but especially not this.

Ijah would be pissed that I’d strayed outside my contracts again, but it was thenature of the beast,if you will. He'd known that from the moment we’d first crossed paths.

I was twelve years old the day I killed my brother.

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