Inferno - Chelle Bliss by Chelle Bliss

“She’s okay,” I reiterate. “At least Mammoth found the device before Jeff had a chance to do something bad. She’s relieved.”

“That punk needs a taste of his own medicine,” Gigi says as she walks by my station. “He needs more than that, but a little beating is good in my book.”

Pike leans back in his chair, staring at his wife. “You going to do it, Rocky?”

Gigi laughs, pushing her hair behind one shoulder. “I could.”

Pike bursts into laughter. “Darlin’, you punch like a—”

“Say it,” Gigi says, lifting her chin like she’s about to throw down with him. “Go ahead. Light that firecracker.” Her face is so serious, but just like Pike, I can’t hold in my amusement.

She spins on her heel to face me, and I immediately sober, trying to force my face to stay emotionless. “You got something to say?”

I lift my hands, not trusting myself enough to speak. The last thing I want is my cousin pissed at me, and if I say anything about women being the weaker sex, she isn’t the only one in the shop who will form a line to beat my ass.

“You better walk that back, big guy,” Rebel tells Pike with her hands on her hips, looking no happier than Gigi.

“Baby,” Pike says in a loving tone, trying to defuse the situation. “I know you can kick some major ass.”

Gigi’s tapping her high black boots, glaring at her husband. “But…”

“No buts,” Pike tells her, shaking his head. “Weren’t we talking about Stone and Opal?”

I narrow my eyes at the sellout. “Asshole,” I mumble.

“Did you stay with her at the police station?” Lily asks, falling for Pike’s redirection.

“Yeah.”

“Longer?”

“Maybe.”

Lily gasps. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

I don’t answer right away, which is as telling as coming right out and saying yes.

“He’s shot,” Pike says from the other side of the room. “Dude’s a goner. Look at him.”

Gigi, Lily, and Rebel stop moving and stare at me. I can feel the weight of their gazes as they study my face for any sign of what I feel inside.

“I slept with her. Happy?” I turn my stool around to hide my face, hating the way they’re looking at me like I’m an exhibit at a sideshow. “I’ve slept with plenty of women.”

“You think he’s a goner?” Gigi asks to the room.

“You ever see him this way?” Rebel adds.

“No,” Lily answers. “Typically, he’s high-fiving himself over his performance.”

“That’s not true,” I grumble, but it’s not a lie either. My skills even impress me sometimes. Even on my worst day, I’m better than most men with their mediocre ability to make a woman orgasm.

Lily slides her stool to the other side of my station, leaning over so she can see my face. “Stone, it’s okay if you like her. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

That’s what she doesn’t get.

I’m not ashamed. I’m fucking petrified.

This is uncharted territory for me. I’ve already spent more time with Opal than I have with anyone else who isn’t related to me and has a pair of breasts.

And the really fucked-up thing is, I’m sitting at work, thinking only about her and wanting to be with her. I want to protect her and make sure she’s okay. Who does that? A man who’s so damn pussy-whipped he can’t focus on anything else. And right now, that man is me.

I stop moving, dropping the cleaning rag on top of the table. “Why would I be ashamed, Lily?”

Lily shrugs with a crooked smile. “I’m just saying, it’s okay.”

I lean back, stretching my arms wide, trying to work out whatever stress is in my body. “Is it, though?”

Lily’s nod is quick. “Yeah. Of course.”

“I’m not ashamed,” I repeat.

Lily scoots closer to my table, leaning her upper body over the top. “No, baby brother. You’re not. You’re falling in love.”

“Am not,” I bark, snapping forward until my forearms are on my knees. “I don’t even know what love feels like.”

Jett walks up next to my sister, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Baby, maybe he needs some time to process everything.”

“There’s nothing to process.”

“Man, you got a lot to process,” Jett tells me. “And when you come to whatever realization you’re working through, you’re going to be a bigger fucking mess.”

“Don’t you people have somewhere to be?” I ask all of them. “The shop closed a half hour ago.”

My last appointment went longer than I scheduled. My family should’ve been long gone, but nope, they had to stay to ask me a bunch of questions and be nosy as hell.

“We wanted to stay to talk to you,” Lily tells me.

“Lucky me,” I mumble.

“Who wants to stop for a bite to eat?” Gigi asks. “I’m starving.”

“Count me out,” I say, wanting some time alone and not to continue the line of questioning about my feelings and personal life.

“You’re such a baby,” Rebel teases me.