The Sweet Under His Skin Read Online Free PDF

a wary eye to his neighbor, and it made her slink back from him further. "How'd you do that?" It was a surprise to him that he said it out loud.
    She frowned. "What?"
    "Quentin, you ready to go or should we leave you two alone for a while to talk more shit?"
    Quentin felt his lip curl as Joel shouted but he was right. He had to get out of there; this woman was making him antsy. Without another word he crossed the lawn to Joel.
    "Wanna go beat up some Nazi shitheads?" Joel asked with a big grin.
    Quentin nodded, heading for his bike. "Let's do it."
    "You sure? She's got a nice rack. And that whole purity thing is fucking hot."
    "Forget it man, just…leave her alone."
    The request was strange enough that Joel knew enough to not say another word; just climbed on his bike. As Quentin turned the engine over he looked back at the neighbor's house.
    But she was already gone.

Chapter Five
    "Thank you so much for helping with this," Gwen Davidson said amiably, pulling out her wallet. "Last minute house guests, you know how it is."
    In an effort to put more cash in the bank before treatments Arielle had started cleaning houses. It was exhausting work, but she could pick the hours and be home by the time Calvin was done with school. Plus the extra money was needed for house reasons: the main bathroom of her rental was constantly growing mold on the ceiling. There had to be an air leak in the wall somewhere, carrying humidity to the back of the drywall. There was no bathroom fan, either. When she confronted her landlord he'd told her—in a rant laced with plenty of four-letter words—that he'd only pay for the materials. She'd have to hire the labor.
    In other words, the more expensive part. She wasn't in a position to argue. Other properties for rent were even worse, and anything‘in between’this rent and the kind of rent she couldn't keep up with, without a full-time job, just didn't exist. She was stuck in that damn house, stuck cleaning other people's houses, and that damn bathroom was going to cut into her savings no matter what.
    Which brought her to this point. The Davidsons were the first to take her on, and their gorgeous home in Portus Felix Heights was super-easy to clean. Minimalist, no knick-knacks, and Gwen Davidson tipped handsomely because it was always an on-call basis. This particular day Arielle had just finished cleaning a small one-bedroom wartime house inhabited by an elderly lady who couldn't see all that well when she got the call. The Davidsons were expecting company on the weekend, so she'd appreciate it if Arielle could stop by that afternoon.
    Of course she took it, but now she kept checking her wristwatch. Calvin was likely home ten minutes ago. She knew he'd just wait in the backyard and read, but that biker next-door still made her plenty nervous.
    Being in the Davidson's house made her nervous, too. It wasn't because of Gwen; the woman was wonderful, she just didn't like cleaning and had married a rich guy. It was her husband that gave Arielle the creeps. He had the kind of eyes that made you feel dirty. And not in the good way. The one time he'd been there while she worked she felt the need to take a shower. She preferred to be gone before he came home.
    Gwen tipped her fifty dollars this time. Arielle was glad for it, smiled her sincere thanks for the unexpected hundred-fifty dollars that came her way that day, and then hurried to her car.
    She pulled into the driveway about half an hour late. The neighbor's bike was in his driveway, and she swallowed the lump in her throat at the sight of it. His garage door was open too, but she kept her eyes adverted.
    She and Calvin had avoided him the past five weeks, and he'd kept to his side of the fence since the day Jolene flew the coop. Just as well; Arielle still didn't believe him that he meant them no harm. Now, knowing he was home, it sent her into a tailspin of panic and she rushed into the backyard, calling Calvin's name.
    He didn't answer.
    Arielle