The Sweet Under His Skin Read Online Free PDF Page A

the kid. She sputtered, hands fluttering around until they rested on his chest, pushing under his kutte. "Please. I can make it up to you. Just…leave them out of it. Please."
    Quentin grabbed her wrists and shoved her hands away while his brain processed through this fog of rage. That kid called his neighbor his aunt. And this bitch kinda looked like the neighbor; it was what made him take her to his room the night before.
    "That's your sister and your kid?" he guessed.
    She licked her lips, trying to step into him again. He shoved her off. Keeping his madness at bay, because he knew that was a hell of a lot scarier, he extended one finger, almost touching the end of her nose. "You're fucking lucky." She winced as he brought his face closer. "I see you in this town again, your sister here gets all the trouble intended for you."
    "Please—" she whispered on a sob, but he wasn't in the mood for listening.
    "Get the fuck out," he instructed, cold and calm again. She nodded, opened the cab door. He turned back to Joel, grabbed the bag off the lawn and tossed it in after her then slammed the door, just missing her fucking ankles. The cab sped away faster than he'd ever seen a cab move.
    Joel was holding out his wallet. Quentin yanked it away, opened it and thumbed through the bills.
    "Fuck," he muttered.
    "How much did she get?"
    "About four-hundred." He shoved the wallet back in his jeans pocket.
    "Should we go after her?" Joel offered.
    "Nah. Fuck it. My own fault, right?"
    "Not entirely," Joel quipped. He turned to a guilty-looking Nomad, still sitting on his bike next to Flynn. "No more traveling pussy, right Sonny?" The bastard had the sense to look just as embarrassed as Quentin was.
    Quentin had no idea how Sonny convinced Joel to let him bring the bitch along to Portus Felix. But it didn't matter. He was stupid for not listening to Mandy.
    "What about them?" Joel asked quietly, jerking his head the direction of the neighbor.
    Quentin sniffed. "She's terrified of me."
    "And?" Joel raised his eyebrows. "What if she calls the cops?"
    Quentin narrowed his eyes over the Nomad president's shoulder, catching sight of the neighbor pushing the kid back in the house. "I'll talk to her."
    He pushed passed the huge Nomad prez, stalking across the grass to the stoop. Somehow the neighbor heard him, and she shut the screen door, whirling back around and holding her arms to the sides like she was blocking the door, protecting the kid.
    The shame flared up again. Christ, he'd never hurt a kid, but clearly she didn't think so. "Your sister's a real fucking problem," he observed.
    She shook her head, her breathing making that chest rise and fall. It was nicer than her sister's, he could just tell. Less tainted. "She…She doesn't live here. She's, uh, a drifter."
    "She the kid's mom?"
    "Yeah. But I have custody."
    "He's pretty fucking lucky then, isn't he?"
    "She doesn't live here," the woman repeated, still scared. "She just shows up every year or two."
    Quentin felt his shoulders relax, just slightly. He was still pissed, but this woman with her big doll eyes had him keeping himself in check. "Relax, babe. I'm not gonna hurt you or the kid. But she can't show her face here again."
    "She just shows up. I never ask her to."
    He watched the way she calmed herself down, impressed with that self-control. Most women didn't have that. But he also couldn't stop looking at her tits; she had some thin-strapped shirt on with matching pajama bottoms, so he knew very damn well there was no bra underneath. His palms were itching to feel them.
    "What'd she give me? Do you know? Am I gonna start looking for a vein in an hour?"
    She took a deep breath. "She said it was Dramamine. It's an anti-nausea medication, makes people tired. Shouldn't be mixed with alcohol."
    "Well that explains why I'm not sick then," he muttered, rubbing his aching head. Then he stopped. The anger was gone. He felt calm again. His hands weren't even shaking anymore. Quentin cast