Colton held her still with his hands on her hips. "In a minute." His hands slipped to her a.s.s, adjusting her until he notched her p.u.s.s.y against his c.o.c.k where thankfully, Vida noticed, he had on a pair of sweat bottoms.

She had a terrible feeling she didn't want to hear what he was about to say.

"Why are you still a virgin, Vida? No boyfriends in high school or college?" he questioned.

Vida was right; she didn't want to hear his questions, much less answer them. Her lips tightened.

"It's none of your business," she finally answered.

"Yes, it is, since I'm the one going to take it," he said casually.

"No, you're not," Vida snapped.

"Yes, baby, I am." He lifted his pelvis until she could feel his hard c.o.c.k against her folds. Desire threatened to rise again and Vida felt herself begin to want him.

Vida shook her head. He was everything she didn't want in a man, everything she had sworn never to become attached to. Yet, he was sitting there, thinking he was going to take from her a gift that she had planned on keeping for someone special for years.

"No, you won't. I have saved myself for the man I fall in love with, which is not you, nor will it ever be you. I won't be like my mother, falling in love with one man after another, losing a piece of herself after each one. Do you know how many dads she brought home? Introduced me to? Each one she was sure was going to put that ring on her finger and make all her dreams come true. They never did, each one slept with her and used her until they were satisfied then they left her crying. She would cry for days, until she met the next one and fell just as hard.

"I am going to save myself for one man. A man who I know is going to love me as much as I love him, and won't leave me for the next piece of p.u.s.s.y he sees. He will be as committed to me as I am to him. That will not be you, you're a horn dog, and you're married!" she yelled.

Colton rose up from his relaxed position, bringing his chest against hers.

"The only man that is going to be between your thighs is me. I am going to take that sweet little cherry of yours and make it mine. You made yourself so many promises when you were a little girl there's no way you can keep them all. You're not a little girl anymore, Vida. You're a woman and you're going to want my c.o.c.k in you. You're going to want it all the time." Leaning back against the headboard again, he gave her a tender smile. "If you're a good girl, I'll give it to you any time you want. If you're not, I'll make you beg for it." He gave her an arrogant smile that Vida had to restrain herself from knocking off him with the fist clenched at her side.

"You a.s.s!" Vida moved to jump off him, and this time he let her go with a laugh.

"You better hurry up; we're late." Colton's voice followed her into the bathroom. She made sure to slam the door loud enough for him to hear.

Chapter 12.

The tattoo shop managed to keep everyone busy, which made it easy for Vida to ignore Colton.

The door opening had Vida glancing up to see one of Colton's f.u.c.k buddies coming through the door.

"Does Colton have an opening?" she questioned.

"Yes, he does." Vida gave Tessa the client she had scheduled for Colton, penciling in Wanda for his next job.

"Have a seat; he'll call you when he's ready for you."

"Thanks." The girl smiled at her as she took a seat.

Tessa came out, ignoring Vida as she looked through the appointment book. Vida knew the exact moment Tessa noticed she had given her Colton's next client.

"Why did you give me Colton's client? I should have the client you gave him," Tessa questioned her sharply.

Vida pointed to Wanda. "She requested Colton. The client I gave you didn't. Colton said I should try to fill requests if it was possible."

"She requested Colton?" Her gaze sharpened on Wanda.

"Yes, she did." Tessa's face turned red as she snapped out the name of her client. She stood, talking to him about which tat he wanted for several minutes, her eyes never leaving the other woman who was becoming uncomfortable under Tessa's hateful glare.

Tessa gave the client directions to her room then walked over to Wanda. Vida sat, watching the oncoming confrontation, debating if she should get Colton to mediate.

"My husband will be with you in just a few minutes. He was almost done when I came out." Tessa's fake politeness didn't fool Vida, but it succeeded with Wanda.

"Your husband? Colton didn't tell me he was married."

Tessa smiled in satisfaction. "We've been married four years."

Wanda rose angrily to her feet, returning to the counter.

"Cancel my tattoo; I don't have the time to wait." Wanda left without waiting for a reply from Vida.

Tessa didn't try to hide the vindictive smile on her face as she left to finally get started on her waiting customer.

Colton and his client came out then, talking with Reverend.

"Did you take a picture of it? That one needs to go on the wall," Reverend said, taking a seat next to Vida.

"Took one in the room," Colton said absently, gazing down at the appointment book with a frown.

"Next time, Colton." The client waved as he left.

"Later, Kyle." Turning to Vida, he asked, "What happened to Wanda? I see her name marked out."

Vida shrugged innocently. "She waited for a while then said she couldn't wait any longer."

Reverend called his next client, looking at Vida and Colton quickly before escorting his client to his room.

Colton pulled out his cell, moving away from the counter as new clients came in the door. Vida fit them into the schedule, having to turn a few away for the moment and rescheduling those, while watching Colton as he talked on the phone. His expression becoming angry. He ended the call, striding furiously from the room.

Vida sat tensely behind the counter, becoming even more nervous when she heard raised voices from the back. A sudden loud noise sounded before Tessa came running out. Leaving the shop without a word.

The clients in the waiting area sat staring at one another until Colton returned.

"Who's my next client?" he asked grimly. Vida pointed to a heavyweight man sweating profusely. Colton called the man's name. She listened as the man described the tattoo he wanted that would take several visits. Colton led him away as Vida made future appointments to complete the desired tattoo.

Tessa reappeared with a cup of coffee, giving everyone the silent treatment for the rest of the day. Colton and Reverend worked without taking a break as Tessa got her revenge by taking huge amounts of time between clients. When the door closed at the end of the day, both men looked exhausted.

"You and Tessa need to get your s.h.i.t straight, and you need to hire another artist. Word is out that you're out of prison. We can't do our best work if we keep pushing it with customers."

"I'll look around for another artist. The divorce will be final next week. Once Tessa realizes it's a done deal, she'll settle down or I'll f.u.c.king fire her."

Reverend looked skeptical, but didn't argue. "I'm going home to call a b.i.t.c.h to come and ma.s.sage me down." Turning to Vida, he gave her a wink. "Unless you want to come home with me then I'll give you the ma.s.sage."

"No, thanks. I think I'll just go to the apartment and fix dinner," Vida laughingly declined. "See you tomorrow."

Colton turned out the lights as Vida grabbed her backpack. Holding the door open, his eyes lowered, watching her walk toward him. Vida felt self-conscious as she walked to the motorcycle with him following, his gaze on her back. Putting on the helmet, she waited for him to get on before climbing on behind him.

Vida was surprised they were headed in the opposite direction of the apartment, wondering where he was headed. The sky darkened as Colton drove through town, eventually pulling into the driveway of a small house. Several lights were on, and a woman came out when she heard the bike's motor.

"Colton!" The woman threw herself into his arms. Colton laughed, picking the woman up and twirling her around in a circle before placing her back on her feet.

They drew apart and Vida was struck by the woman's resemblance to Colton. He placed a casual arm across her shoulder as he introduced her to the smiling woman.

"Vida, this is my sister, Brenley. Brenley, this is Vida."

"h.e.l.lo, I can tell by your face that Colton didn't tell you he had a sister. He likes to surprise everyone that he actually has a family." Brenley made a face at her brother.

"I try to keep her hidden away. Everybody feels sorry for me that my sister's so ugly."

Brenley punched Colton in the stomach at his joke. Vida smiled as the two began to push and shove each other. She was amazed at this side of Colton.

"My big, ex-con brother is an embarra.s.sment to me, too." She could dish it right back to her brother.

"Ouch, that's no fair. That's. .h.i.tting below the belt."

"If I could have got to you before you made such a stupid move, I would have busted your b.a.l.l.s," Brenley replied grimly.

"Well, it's over now and I'm home. What's for dinner? I'm starved." Colton changed the subject.

"I made your favorite; meatloaf." Vida saw Colton turn pale and Brenley snickered at him before leading the way into the house.

The aroma of fried chicken hit her nostrils as soon as she walked into the doorway.

"You witch. I'm not doing the dishes because you lied to me."

"You'll do the dishes or I won't cook for you anymore," Brenley threatened right back at her brother.

Colton made a face. "That's blackmail, but what can I do? I'm held hostage because you won't share mom's recipe book."

"If I gave you the recipes, I would never see you." Brenley's tone became more serious. "You two have a seat. Dinner's ready." The table was set for three people; Brenley had known that Colton was bringing her for dinner. Vida tried not to let warmth invade her at Colton introducing her to his sister.

"Can I help?" Vida offered.

"You and Colton can do clean up." Brenley smiled, setting down a platter of fried chicken before going into the kitchen and returning with potatoes and biscuits."

"I have died and gone to Heaven," Vida said, looking at the delicious food. Her mouth was watering from the aroma alone. Brenley laughed, placing a pitcher of tea on the table.

The talking stopped as they each filled their plates with the food that ended up tasting as good as it looked. Vida cleaned her plate, debating seconds, not wanting to make a pig of herself in front of Brenley. Colton demolished his food then had seconds. He seemed determined to eat everything on the table except the dishes.

"Slow down, Colton. I have plenty for you to take home for later," Brenley promised.

"It's been a long time since I ate food that tasted so good," Colton said when he finally finished.

Brenley smiled at her brother's compliment before getting up from the table and going into the kitchen with a wink in Vida's direction. She came back carrying a huge chocolate cake.

"Now, I have died and gone to Heaven," Colton sighed. Brenley cut each of them a big slice of the rich dessert. Even Colton couldn't manage a second slice.

After dinner, Vida and Colton both cleaned the table and did the dishes while Brenley stood nearby, chatting with Colton and occasionally asking Vida a question.

Vida liked the woman, and finding out that she owned a small local business doing graphic designs only increased her admiration. Vida liked She also enjoyed that her home was cozy and nicely decorated without being too girly. It was exactly what Vida dreamed one day of owning herself.

Deciding to watch a movie, they went into the living room. Brenley sat down in the only chair, leaving the couch for Vida and Colton.

Vida sat down on the end of the couch, however Colton eyed her before tugging her closer to his side. Embarra.s.sed, she tried to scoot away a few inches.

Vida noticed Brenley's amused gaze on the silent struggle. Deciding it wasn't worth embarra.s.sing herself, she stilled, relaxing into the sofa.

Colton leaned back, putting his boots onto the coffee table. Vida was about to take him to task when Brenley shook her head with a grin. Vida came to the conclusion that both brother and sister were used to getting their own way.

The movie was a comedy that had them all laughing. Vida wished it lasted longer when it went off and Colton pulled her to her feet.

"We'd better be going, Brenley. We have to work in the morning," Colton told his sister.

Brenley rose from the chair. "Let me get your leftovers." With a grin, she went into the kitchen.

"I like your sister," Vida remarked with envy in her voice.

Colton smiled. "She's pretty cool for a sister, but she can be a pain in the a.s.s sometimes."

"I heard that. If you're not careful, I'll take that half of a chocolate cake out of the bag," she threatened.

"You're the best sister ever," Colton said soulfully. Vida laughed at his little boy act while Brenley handed him a plastic zip up bag that would make it easier to handle on the bike ride back.

"That's more like it," Brenley said before turning to Vida and giving her a quick hug. "It was really nice meeting you. Stop by sometime for a visit and I'll tell you all of Colton's secrets."

Vida couldn't help herself. "If it involves women, I think I'm finding that out for myself."

"I think the right woman could get Colton under control."

Colton took Vida's hand, leading her to the door. "Bye, sis."

"Bye, Colton. See you next week."

Colton tugged Vida out the door, hastily leading her to the bike.

"What's the hurry?" Vida asked, watching him strap down the food bag on the back of the bike.