Taivon: Book Three of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Twenty-Two

“Sure.”

“Then I'll be ready.”

                                                                                 ***

“No, no, no, no. This won't do,” Alix said to him, frowning at the shirt he had in hand. “There are rules to this.”

He adjusted the shirt and set it down onto the couch. “Rules?”

“Yes. Rules. And one of the rules when the girlfriend comes over to do artsy stuff is that she only wears it during the painting. Not before. But maybe after. Otherwise, I'll look like a bum off the streets.”

Her hair was in a messy bun, and the shorter tendrils fell around her face, the sunlight catching the strands just so. She looked cute in the morning light; she'd look even cuter wearing his shirt. Right about now.

“You'll look like a cute bum. Now, come on, put it on, so I can be the giant protective boyfriend I was meant to be.”

“Fine.” She shrugged out of her own shirt, exposing an undershirt and bra underneath. When she turned back around, her arms were held out, and Taivon took that opportunity to get one arm in a sleeve and then the other.

He buttoned it cautiously, holding his breath for some reason he didn't know. His knuckles brushed against her skin with every button. She noticed it, too, he could tell. By the way her breathing had picked up, she was just as turned on as he was. From simply making her wear his shirt.

As he stepped back, Taivon couldn't help but grin. She'd been right when she'd said it'd be too big for her. Becuase it was huge on her. The sleeves went way past her hands, and it didn't even touch her waist.

“I told you,” he said. “It looks cute.”

She flapped her arms around. “And you expect me to paint like this? I can't even see my hands.”

“You didn't give me time to finish, darlin'.”

“Go ahead, then.” Alix gave him an expectant look and made her arms look like a nervous penguin's once again. “Finish.”

Although he wasn't too sure about what type of “finish” she was talking about, Taivon still took a step closer and began rolling up the sleeves. The tiny hairs on her arms felt silky against his hands, the friction feeling undeniably good.

What the hell was happening to him? Years and years of self-control, and freaking arm hair was making him hard as a rock? She was changing him, that was for sure. Making him a terrible person while at the same time, a better one.

“Ready to go?” he asked as soon as he was done, conscious to put his hand back into his pocket.

“Sure.” They both went into the garage and into his vehicle, and she asked, “So, what colors do you got picked out?”

“Don't know.”

“You don't know? How can you not-”

“I just don't,” Taivon answered. “I kinda...just want this to be a me-and-you type of thing. I want it to be surprising, just a little different.”

“So you want me to pick out the colors?”

“Yes. That'd be great. Just as long as it isn't gray or yellow...or white,” he added, as an after thought.

Taivon just wanted a little bit of change in his life, not too much, but he'd give himself this. He tried not to connect it in anyway to Holly, and he didn't want to think about his reasons behind it, so he kept his mind on the road and listened to Alix talk.