Page 104 of End It All

Now he just likes saying it.I stared at the huge grin on his face, and yeah, that's exactly what it was. Oh well, it was kind of cute.

"Are you sure about this?" Benito asked me. "I'm barely just starting to like him."

I shrugged, a smile on my face. "It's not like I can get rid of him. At this point, I'm used to his shit."

My brother pinched the bridge of his nose. "You're both idiots. Go use the guest room bathroom."

"Awesome, thanks, Benito," Quincy called as he tugged me along. He stopped abruptly and I ran into him as he turned on his heels. "Harlow, gimme some lube."

"Oh trust me, there's definitely a bottle or two in there. Benito and I fuck all over this place."

Quincy and I pulled the same disgusted face as Benito stared at his husband with a horrified expression. Yeah, that was more than I needed to know about my brother. Ever.

"This family is way too close," I muttered.

"You're part of it now. And Quincy will be too. Soon," Harlow called.

Quincy picked up the pace, walked into the room, and shut the door behind us. He threw the lock, but I was still confused as to what Harlow was talking about. Before I could question it too much, Quincy had taken off his clothes, dropping them to the floor. All that glorious brown skin was put on display and any logical side left of my brain disappeared.

"What?" Quincy asked as he turned around.

"I forgot how good you look that fast."

Instead of the smart-ass reply I expected, Quincy smiled. "Yeah? Why don't you get naked and you can refresh my memory too?"

He didn't have to tell me twice. I quickly ripped off my clothes and tossed them in a pile along with his. Quincy grabbed my hand and led me into the bathroom. I stared down at the way our fingers entwined and sucked in a sharp breath. This should be freaking me out. I should be running for the hills, but I didn't want to. God, almost a week without Quincy had rewired my brain. Opening up was still terrifying, but I wasn't willing to pretend like he hadn't already gotten to me. And I wasn't willing to put my wall back up with him. It felt too good when it was down.

Quincy turned on the water and even gathered towels, but he refused to let go of me in the process. As we moved around the bathroom, I took in every inch of him. From his long muscular legs riddled with healed scars I found myself wanting to know about, to his back that was covered in a huge tiger tattoo. It looked like a Japanese style of art. It bled over onto his shoulders and stopped a little above his elbow. The tiger looked fierce, mouth wide open and eyes staring right back at me. Even the art had flakes of blood on it, making it almost look terrifying. There was blood splattered in the craziest places, but it didn't make him look any less amazing. This family really had corrupted me.

"You can't just call me your boyfriend, you know," I said.

"Why not?" Quincy asked as he turned to stare at me.

"Let's see, you just sprung it on me, for one. And for two, you haven't even asked me out on a date."

"You want to go on a date?" he asked, his smile growing. "Done."

"I'm a very picky date."

I wasn't. Honestly, I had only been on a handful of them and most were terrible. The one or two that was good never resulted in anything other than fumbling, fooling around, and no second date. But I wasn't about to let Quincy know that. A small part of me was still irked at him. We'd missed out on time together because of his bullshit. I deserved a good date, damn it!

"You can be as picky as you want." Quincy lifted my chin with the tips of his fingers. "I don't mind."

His lips crushed mine. I leaned against him, kissing him back. Until I pushed my hands into his chest.

"Enough," I muttered. "Take a shower. You're, like, flaking everywhere."

Quincy chuckled and dragged me into the glass stall. As much as I wanted to do more than clean up, we had to get the blood off him first. I grabbed a towel and washed him off, making sure I scrubbed the blood from every inch of his skin. He planted his hands on the shower wall and just let me.

"It feels good to be taken care of," he said. "I've never... had that. You know? Always had to take care of myself. Even when I was a kid."

Frowning, I stood up and started scrubbing his back. He moaned as I worked into his muscles, trying to ease the tension I felt. "Your mom didn’t?” I remembered seeing the letters. I knew Quincy was taking care of her, but I had no idea to what extent. “I’m guessing she’s still alive?”

He let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah, she's alive. Doesn't mean she wants anything to do with me. Apparently, like my father, Iruined her life." He turned around suddenly, the smile gone. "I screwed up your life too. Shit could have gone a lot worse?—"

"But it didn't," I cut in, anger bubbling in my chest. "If you start pushing me away again, I swear to God."

"I'm not!" he said quickly. "I mean, I'm trying not to. Her words just really got to me when you were gone. All I've ever done is to try and not be like my father. But I see some of the ways I have been." He frowned. "I don't want to hurt you."