Sin parks the car in a spot by the door and I pluck a couple of twenties out of my wallet.

“Thank you,” Laurel says, flashing me a smile. “Do you need anything while I’m in there?”

“Nope, I’m good,” I assure her.

Instead of climbing out her own side, she exits through my door so she has to climb over my lap to get out. I shift, narrowing my eyes at the little brat as she purposely drags her ass across my crotch. She flashes me a little smirk that tells me how proud she is of herself, so I swat her on the ass.

Her cheeks pinken and she bites back an even bigger smile, ducking her head back inside the car like she forgot something. Her eyes aren’t on me though; she’s looking up at the driver’s seat. “What about you, Sin? Need me to grab you anything?”

Sin ignores her completely.

After a few seconds, Laurel shrugs and gives up, heading for the sidewalk. I pull the door shut and watch out the windshield. Her long chocolate waves bounce behind her as she heads inside the pharmacy to grab whatever odds and ends she needs, since she didn’t take time to pack.

“Is there a reason you’re being such a huge dick tonight?” I ask Sin, now that Laurel isn’t in the car.

Absently running a thumb over his busted knuckles, he murmurs, “Oh, come on, don’t tell me your little girlfriend doesn’t like huge dicks.”

“She’s being nothing but nice to you and you’re treating her like the plague,” I state.

“Who cares?” he offers back, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “You know I don’t like to get caught up in your stampede of skanks. This one’s in town for one night; I can’t think of a single reason to exert energy on her.”

Shaking my head, I draw out my phone and offer, “The reason is because it wouldn’t fucking hurt you to be nice to her, that’s all. She’s a good kid; I don’t like you making her uncomfortable for no fucking reason.”

“Do you find it remotely alarming that this girl who claims to be on a student’s budget is flying clear across the country to spend one night fucking you? I know you think a lot of yourself, but no one is that horny.”

“She might be,” I offer back. “Laurel isn’t a skank, as you so nobly put it. She’s a 19-year-old science nerd that Mateo threw in my path because he was playing mind games with her sister. She’s not in our league. Be nice to her. She’s here for one night, for fuck’s sake. It won’t kill you to socialize a little bit.”

“It might,” he disagrees. “Why do I have to be nice to her if she’s just some pawn in a game you’re playing with Mateo?”

“We’re not playing a game anymore. The game’s over. Has been for a couple months. Last I heard, Laurel was living with Vince and Carly for the summer.”

That grabs his attention. “You think he sent her to see how you’re doing?”

I shake my head, opening my email and dragging a finger down the screen to refresh. “Nah, I don’t think so. I think Laurel has a little crush.”

“Then instead of fucking her, you should probably let her down easy, give her money for a plane ticket home, and send her on her way.”

“What fun would that be?” I ask, rhetorically.

“It wouldn’t be fun, it would be decent,” he states.

“It’s just as decent to give her a few orgasms first so she doesn’t feel like she’s wasted the trip. This girl has almost no experience. I’m the first man she’s ever been with.”

His eyes widen at me in the rearview mirror. “You fucked a virgin? Have you lost your goddamn mind?”

“Not a virgin, she just fucked around with boys before. Selfish little assholes who couldn’t even be bothered to get her off. Of course she came back to me for more of the good stuff. Why not?”

“And I’m the dick,” Sin mutters.

“It’s fine,” I assure him. “Don’t worry so much. Not about Laurel. She’s a good kid.”

“She’s gonna get attached,” he tells me. “You have to be careful with girls like that. If she’s really not used to how casual you are, she’s gonna get hurt when you don’t fall in love with her.”

Two minutes ago he can’t be bothered to talk to her, now he wants to lecture me about hurting her. I shake my head, closing out the app and sliding my phone back into my pocket. “I can handle Laurel. Don’t you worry about it.”

“When she calls crying from some frat party back east, drunkenly professing her love for you, I’m gonna laugh my ass off.”

I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen Sin legitimately laugh at something in the six years I’ve known him, so I call bullshit on that. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if Laurel did have a little crush on me, but I don’t say that to him, naturally.

I do have to tread carefully around her age and inexperience, but in another regard, I enjoy playing with her. Laurel has emitted some definite sub-vibes in the time I’ve spent alone with her; she doesn’t think she is one, but I think she just hasn’t discovered that side of herself yet. Being the generous soul that I am, I wouldn’t say no to exploring Laurel’s sexuality with her, helping her find her way. It’s a minor inconvenience that she lives on the other side of the country. Since it is summer and she has no job, she can fly here as often as I want her to. By the end of summer, she can go back to school with a different kind of education under her belt.

Frankly, if Cassandra wants to pop back up in my life, I wouldn’t mind the distraction. Easier to remember what a snake Cassandra is if I have Laurel sweetly resting her head on my shoulder, snuggled up against me like I’m something good and reliable. I’m neither of those things, but hell, if that’s what she needs, we can pretend I am while she’s here.

Laurel walks back out swinging two white bags as she walks. This time, instead of coming around to my side of the car, she gets in on her own side. Upon shutting the door, she immediately leans forward and reaches an arm up toward Sin.

Reacting on pure instinct, he grabs her wrist and yanks her forward. Laurel gasps, dropping the bag and clutching onto the back of his seat, fear flashing across her face.

“Hey,” I snap, sitting forward to put a stop to it, but he’s already easing up, scowling at the shiny, golden wrapper she’s holding out to him.

“I—I brought you a Twix,” she says, her voice a little shaky.

“Jesus Christ. You can’t reach around my neck like that,” he snaps, instead of apologizing.

Laurel is still holding out the candy bar. I don’t think she’s fully recovered her senses from him grabbing her—she was just trying to be nice and extend an olive branch, and here he was probably thinking Vince sent in his sister-in-law to do his dirty work. He’s so fucking paranoid.

Sin grabs the Twix bar and tosses it into the passenger seat like it’s trash. Laurel eases back, flashing me an almost apologetic look. God, she looks so embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think… Well, I don’t hang out with people who…”

I don’t make her finish explaining herself. Instead, I nod my understanding. “I know you don’t. You’re fine.” She still looks so uncomfortable, I can’t stand it. Instead of letting her sit there feeling like an asshole because she tried to bring my grumpy fucking enforcer a candy bar, I reach over and grab her around the waist, dragging her against my side. She leans her head on my shoulder like it belongs there, and I brush my lips across the crown of her head. “It was a nice thought,” I assure her.