Ink Read online

  “What do you mean, hopefully?” My eyes narrow at the pretty, love-struck blonde.

  “Well…uh…she’s on a date right now, with this guy she went to school with.”

  “A date, huh?” I try to suppress the protective instinct that’s rising up inside me. “Well, unfortunately…what did you say your name was?”

  “Violet,” says the blonde, pushing her body into the air between us.

  “Well, unfortunately, Violet, I’ve got important family business with Haley, and I don’t think I can wait a couple of hours. Do you know where they went?”

  “Some restaurant bar. I think it’s called Leslie’s…”

  “Thanks,” I say, “Have a good night.”

  Violet can’t hide her disappointment as I walk back to my car. I grin as I imagine her walking back to her bedroom, closing the door, and touching herself to me. On any other night, I would have taken her up on her silent offer, made her bend over right there in the doorway, and fucked her until she screamed. Unfortunately, I have business to attend to: I’m going to find Haley, and take her back to New York with me. Tonight.

  ***

  Haley left for San Diego four years ago, and started attending SDSU a few months later. She didn’t tell me that she was leaving. Hell, she didn’t even tell her dad. She just left, and ever since, I’ve heard story after story about her working horrible waitressing jobs and living in tiny apartments with terrible landlords. When I found out that she’d gotten fired last week, I knew enough was enough. It’s time for her to come back home.

  I walk into Leslie’s and take a seat at the end of the bar, ordering a whiskey while I scan the place looking for my stepsister. Eventually, I find her, sitting in a dark booth in the opposite corner and looking over the menu.

  It’s surreal, seeing my stepsister again for the first time in years. As she flips the pages of her menu back and forth, she has the same adorable expression on her face that she always had when she couldn’t decide what she wanted. I can’t help but feel a twinge of protectiveness as I notice that she’s wearing a shirt that’s so low-cut, her tits are practically hanging out of it. Interesting. The Haley I knew would have never been caught dead in something like that.

  Then, my eyes pass over to Haley’s date, and I snort into my whiskey. He looks exactly like a less muscular, less fashionable version of me. Same blue eyes, same high cheekbones…if he worked out a little more and got a better haircut and some more self-confidence, he might actually be able to get his dates to look at him instead of staring straight down at the menu.

  I order another whiskey and watch the two of them talk. I’m not going to interrupt things just yet, but if this guy thinks he’s getting lucky with my stepsister tonight, he’s in for a rough surprise. He may look a lot like me, but Haley deserves the real thing.

  Interesting thought. That didn’t come out quite right…

  Chapter 3: Haley

  Going on a date with this guy seemed like a good idea at the time: he’s cute, if kind of awkward, and it was a good way to get Violet off my back. She’s been trying to set me up with her meathead male acquaintances for years. Over time, she realized that low IQ assholes weren’t really my type, so she started setting me up with the nerdiest guys she could find, and since she was a computer science major...let’s just say I’m glad this guy isn’t wearing a fedora and a Star Trek t-shirt like the last one.

  It’s pretty easy to figure out why Violet thought this guy might be a good match for me, even though it doesn’t seem like we have anything in common: he looks exactly like Jace. His name is Paul, and the first time I saw him, I did a double take, thinking that Jace was here in San Diego.

  Now that I’m actually sitting down to eat with him, though, the differences are pretty obvious. Jace is confident, charming, and comfortable in his own skin, while this guy has some serious awkwardness issues. For starters, he can’t keep his eyes off my chest. Silently, I curse Violet, who insisted that I wear an insanely low-cut top that she keeps for dry spell emergencies. Of course, for Violet, a dry spell lasts about ten days.

  “So, where do you work?” Paul asks after our conversation goes dead. Great. The one thing I don’t want to talk about.

  “Well…” I say, “I had a job at a bar like this one…until last week, when I spilled a Bloody Mary on my boss’ sister.”

  “Ah, yeah, that’ll do it.”

  Thanks for the support, asshole.

  “I work at Bank Of America,” he says, “It’s pretty boring, but I can’t complain about the pay.”

  A waitress comes up to our table with a bottle of wine and starts pouring us each a glass.

  “We didn’t order a bottle of wine,” I say.

  “Someone else bought it,” she says, “They said you two looked like a perfect couple and they wanted to make your date special.”

  “That’s so nice,” says Paul.

  I look around the room suspiciously. Paul may not realize it, but there’s no way anyone would confuse us for a perfect couple. Something weird is going on.

  “To the perfect couple,” Paul says, holding his glass up for a toast. I clink my glass against his, taking a polite sip of our free wine.

  “I think that’s a good sign,” says Paul, smiling as he puts his hand on my knee. Really? 20 minutes into the first date?

  I say nothing, opening my menu up again and pretending to reread the entrée section.

  “I like your shirt,” he says, as his fingers begin to massage my lower thigh.

  “Thanks,” I say, rolling my eyes, “It’s my roommate’s, though.”

  “Really?” says Paul, “It fits you so well. Are you two the same size?”

  “Want her number?” I ask, shooting him a glare that I hope will convince him to remove his hand from my leg. It doesn’t work.

  “No,” says Paul, “I’m more interested in you.”

  Paul closes his menu.

  “You know what I think? I think we should take this bottle of wine, skip the meal, and head back to my place.”

  “You know what I think?” I almost spit out my wine as Jace appears out of nowhere, sitting down next to Paul and clamping a threatening hand down on his shoulder. “I think you should take your hand off of my stepsister’s leg, go home, and learn how to tell when somebody’s not interested in you.”

  “Who the fuck are you?”

  “Jace Fisher. Haley’s stepbrother.”

  Holy crap, he looks different. The Jace I remember from back in Connecticut had a little bit of a boyish face that made him seem almost like he was younger than me. Not anymore. The guy sitting across from me at the table is a grown man, with thick, muscular arms and a much stronger jaw, enhanced by a field of dark stubble stretching from ear to ear. I didn’t think it was possible for Jace to get any more attractive than he already was, but apparently, nothing’s impossible for Jace Fisher.

  The biggest change in Jace, though, is the ink. He looks like he spent four years in the tattoo parlor, getting the most intricate tattoos money can buy. Wild, twisting designs snake all the way up both arms, and, judging by the sharp little points of black poking up out of the neck of his t-shirt, they’re probably all over his body.

  Under Jace’s intense, threatening glare, Paul takes his hand off of my leg.

  “Sorry,” Paul says, looking at me like a child who just got his favorite toy taken away, “I didn’t realize you were taken.”

  I take my glass of wine and throw it in his face. Jace smiles.

  “Let’s go,” Jace says, taking my arm and guiding me out of the restaurant. Paul calls me a couple bad names on our way out, but he’s too scared of Jace to try and pick a fight.

  “I’m taking you out of here,” Jace says.

  “Okay…I live about 20 minutes from here.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” says Jace, “I’m taking you back to New York.”

  Chapter 4: Haley

  “You know,” I say, as Jace drives us through downtown San Diego, “
It’s really not polite to just interrupt people’s dates like that.”

  Jace’s eyes flick over to meet mine. “Were you having fun?”

  “Of course not, that guy sucked, but that’s not the point.”

  “So that’s your type, huh?” Jace turns to me, grinning. “Tall, dark hair, blue eyes?”

  I roll my eyes, deciding not to dignify that with a response.

  “If you want,” says Jace, “We can pull over to a nicer restaurant and I can pretend to be that guy. I mean, I’m basically a direct upgrade.”

  “You’re ridiculous. He might not have even tried anything if you didn’t send that wine to the table.”

  “With you showing off your tits like that? He was probably expecting you to jerk him off under the table.”

  I look down at my shirt, blushing as I realize that Jace is staring right at my chest.

  “Just so you know, I don’t normally dress like this on dates. Or ever. I didn’t turn into a total ho in college or anything. This is my roommate’s shirt.”

  “Oh, I met her. She’s the one who told me where I could find you. She’s…really something.”

  “You didn’t…”

  “Jealous?” Jace asks, raising his eyebrows.

  “Ew, of course not. Go back and fuck her if you want, I’ll wait.”

  “Nice try, but we’re definitely not going back to your apartment.”

  Jace is driving through parts of San Diego that I’ve never seen before. It looks like we’re headed out of town.

  “Wait…you’re seriously taking me back to New York? Is there something wrong?”

  “Yeah. You’re not there. I got tired of hearing about you getting fired from all these restaurant jobs and being miserable out here in San Diego, when we both know the only reason you’re out here is that you’re avoiding me.”

  “That’s not the only…” I start to object, but Jace puts his finger over my lips.

  “Say whatever makes you feel better,” says Jace, “But I know you deserve better than this, so I came to get you. You know what I did last year, right?”

  “Yeah,” I say, rolling my eyes, “Everyone around here keeps reminding me. You developed a real estate app and got sooooo rich.”

  “I fixed New York City’s rent problem with some of your dad’s money, and now we’re set.”

  “My dad was already rich, though. A couple million dollars isn’t going to change the fact that I want to work for myself.”

  “What about a couple billion dollars?”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “You changed your major to business, right? You’d think you would have read about this in Forbes, GQ…”

  “Why would I read a bunch of articles that suck you off for 5,000 words?”

  “I get that,” says Jace, “You’d just be sitting there, wishing that you were the one sucking me off.”

  “Jace!” I squeak, “That’s disgusting!”

  Jace laughs. “We got a bunch of New York City renters to lease their places for below market value by promising them better places. We’re upgrading everyone’s housing, and letting the people who make it all the way up the chain move into this luxury condo building we built in the middle of Manhattan. We don’t make the same amount of profit per renter as price-gouging landlords do, but we offer a better deal, and we control the market, so we’ve been slowly taking over the city over the past year.”

  “Congratulations,” I say, “But what does that have to do with me?”

  “You’re going to be part of the company,” Jace says, “I’ll explain more once we get on the plane.”

  “Plane!? What about my stuff?”

  “We’ll get it shipped over.”

  “I haven’t even agreed to any of this yet, and you bought a plane tickets for me?”

  “Not exactly,” says Jace.

  We’re out on the interstate now, driving through the flat, open desert just outside the city. Coming up on the left is a small, lit-up runway, big enough for one massive airplane that towers over the empty highway like some kind of giant animal.

  “Oh,” I say.

  “Let’s just get up in the air. If you change your mind on the way to New York, we can turn around,” says Jace.

  This can’t be happening. Underneath all the extra muscles and tattoos, my stepbrother is just as immature, perverted, and stubborn as ever. Only now, he has a private jet.

  Chapter 5: Haley

  As we board Jace’s plane, a skinny blonde flight attendant in an outrageously short skirt smiles at me. “You must be Haley. Welcome aboard.”

  She leads us to a curtained-off booth near the front of the plane and asks if either of us would like anything to drink.

  “No thanks,” I say.

  “Scotch,” says Jace, making eyes at the flight attendant before I pull him into the booth and close the curtain behind us.

  “Tell me she’s not actually helping keep this plane up in the air.”

  “Amber’s a real flight attendant,” Jace says, “She works for Delta when she’s not flying me around. We’re going to have to do something about this whole jealousy thing.”

  “I’m not jealous. I’m just judging you.”

  Jace shrugs.

  “Whatever you have to tell yourself, Haley.”

  I watch the plane begins to move down the runway.

  “Want to stop being inappropriate long enough to explain to me what you meant by me joining the business?”

  “Alright,” says Jace, as the plane takes off into the air and San Diego begins to shrink beneath me, “It’s pretty simple,” he says, “You’re going to be an equal partner in RentNation…that’s the name of the app by the way, do you like it?”

  “It’s okay.”

  “Stop lying, you love it. Anyway, you’re going to be an equal partner, and the salary that goes to me right now is going to be split in half. Your dad put up the original money, so don’t worry about investors getting mad.”

  “And that’s it? I just become…co-CEO?”

  “We’ll make up something that sounds better, but basically, yeah.”

  “What’s the catch?”

  Uh oh. Jace’s poker face cracks wide open into a huge grin. There’s a major catch.

  “My mom and your dad don’t know why you left,” he says, “They thought you weren’t the business type, and you wanted to make it on your own. I’m the only one who knows the real story.”

  The memories come flooding back. The party, the blood on Jace’s neck, the polar bears on my pillow, the contract…

  “It’s too bad you packed up all your stuff and flew to California before you heard my side of the story.”

  “What could that possibly be? That contract was meant for your other stepsister?”

  Jace shrugs.

  “I had no intention of showing it to you. It started out as a joke…and then it kind of became this other thing…but regardless, I wasn’t going to have you sign it.”

  “Whatever. It’s ancient history, right?”

  Jace smirks.

  “You’re not getting off that easy. I wasn’t going to ask you to sign that contract, but then you found it and you freaked out. It’d be one thing if you were grossed out by the whole thing.”

  “I was,” I say, but I couldn’t say it with conviction.

  “I’m sure part of you thought it was weird,” Jace says, “But ultimately, I feel like you left for San Diego because you were scared of your own feelings. So, to help you get over that, I want you to actually sign the contract.”

  My jaw drops, and I stare open-mouthed at Jace, waiting for him to reveal that he’s joking.

  “Is that a yes?” Jace asks.

  “Are you insane? Of course not!”

  “You’re blushing.”

  “Maybe that’s because you’re trying to get me to sign a contract where I have to…sleep in your bed…and ask your permission whenever I…”

  “I just feel like it would be a therapeutic step
for you. Face your fear, and then realize it’s not so bad. Maybe you’ll even enjoy it.”

  “In your dreams,” I say, trying to ignore the persistent little ache developing between my legs, “I hope you didn’t call me out here just because you wanted me to sign that thing.”

  “Of course not. I’m not going to send you back to California if you don’t sign it. But if we’re going to be business partners, I don’t want this old baggage between us messing things up.”

  “Yeah, I bet you’d love having me as a co-CEO when you can order me to do anything you want and I have to obey you.”

  “You remember this contract better than I do,” Jace says, “It must have made an impression on you. Obviously, it’s not a permanent thing. I’m thinking maybe we amend the contract so that it lasts for…let’s say two months, and then you’re free, and we’re partners.”

  “You’re insane! I wouldn’t give anyone the power to just order me around, no questions asked. There would have to be some kind of safeguard.”

  “Is that a sticking point for you? Okay, we can revise that. I’m surprised I put that in there, actually. I must have been power tripping.”

  “Well, there’s no point in revising it, since I’m not signing the contract.”

  “Alright,” says Jace, “But just as a thought experiment, how would you revise it so that you felt more comfortable?”

  “Um…well, I’d need some kind of power to let you know if I was feeling really uncomfortable.”

  “Of course,” says Jace, “I wouldn’t want you feeling really uncomfortable. How about you say the word ‘yellow’ if you want me to back off and ‘red’ if you want me to stop?”

  That sounds kind of familiar…but it’s a good idea. Hypothetically.

  “Yeah, something like that,” I say.

  Jace can barely contain his laughter. Oh, gross, that’s some kind of sex thing, isn’t it?

  “Don’t bother changing the contract, though, I’m not signing it.”

  “Look, I wouldn’t be trying to get you to sign it if you’re eyes didn’t light up like a little kid’s on Christmas morning as soon as I brought it up. I think you secretly think it’d be fun, but you don’t want to give me the satisfaction of knowing that, and that’s the kind of thing that we need to deal with if we’re going to be business partners.”