Chapter 6
I’m just a man, standing in front of a woman, asking her to not move in.
Flynn
“G otta favor to ask,” Weston says when I answer the phone.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times, I am not checking the rash on your dick. Go to the doctor.”
He chuckles. “Stop being jealous of my dick.”
“Awful hard to be jealous of something so small.”
“Last night’s mermaid didn’t have any complaints.”
“Was this before or after your sister beat her up?”
He barks out a laugh. “You heard? I thought you didn’t listen to gossip.”
I don’t. Unless it involves Sophia. It’s for her own protection. I won’t allow nasty rumors to spread about her again. I should have stopped them when she was a teenager. I didn’t then, but I will now.
“You kicked the mermaid out of your apartment with no clothes. She’s telling everyone who will listen about what a bitch your sister is.”
“My sister is not a bitch,” he grumbles.
“I know.”
Sophia doesn’t put up with shit – such as a woman calling her a bitch – but she’s not a bitch. She’s outgoing and fun and she’d do anything for her friends. Even moving back to an island she swore she’d never live on again to please them.
She’s also sexy as hell. But I don’t think her brother wants to know how I get hard when I imagine Sophia beating the shit out of his one-night stand.
“Funny enough, this is the reason I need a favor.”
“I don’t want your leftover mermaids.”
“Bro, no one wants leftover mermaid.” He clears his throat. “But, seriously, I do need a favor.”
“Out with it. Some of us have jobs to do.”
“I have a job. A very important job.”
I snort. “Picking up tourists while doing bullshit traffic spots is not an important job.”
“Someone’s gotta do it.”
“What’s the favor?”
“Sophia needs somewhere to stay while you work on her bathroom situation.”
My entire body tightens. Does he want his sister to stay with me? The sister I want to strip naked and spend hours worshiping? Bad idea.
My cock twitches. He thinks Sophia staying in my house is an excellent idea. She should stay in our bed where he can spend hours buried deep in the object of his desires.
I moan as I imagine tasting her pouty lips again, touching her curves, memorizing every inch of her.
“Bro, I know it’s a big ask.”
Bro. The word acts as a bucket of ice water to douse my desire. Sophia is forbidden. I can’t have her no matter how much I want her.
“Can’t she stay with one of her friends?”
Sophia has tons of friends. The woman has never met a stranger.
“She can, but I don’t want her to.”
I sit up. He has my attention now. “Why not? Is there a problem I don’t know about?”
“Nah. Nothing to worry about. I just want her somewhere I know she’s safe.”
And he thinks she’s safe with me? I guess I’ve hidden my desire for his sister better than I thought over the years.
“I don’t think Sophia wants to stay with me.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got it handled. Gotta go,” he says and hangs up.
I throw my phone on my desk and rub a hand down my face. This is going to be bad but what can I do? I can’t tell Weston his sister can’t stay with me because I want to fuck her silly. He’ll lose his mind and take a swing at me.
And I’ll let him. Any man who covets his best friend’s little sister deserves to be hit. More than once.
Gary strolls into my office. “Hey, boss.”
“What’s up?”
“The mayor phoned. She says she needs you.”
I groan. “What is she up to now?”
He chuckles. “She asked for you specifically.”
“Why doesn’t she ask for you? You’re not a completely ugly guy.”
He sorts. “Gee, thanks, boss. I’ll be sure to tell my wife you think I’m not an ugly guy.”
I push to my feet. “Maybe I should get myself a fake wife. It’d get the mayor off my back.”
“Not a good idea. Fake marriages always lead to chaos.”
I pause. “What are you talking about?”
He clears his throat. “My wife said something of the sort after she finished reading a book.”
His wife? I don’t think so. “Gary Simmons, do you read romance books?”
He shrugs. “Some of those sexy books give me ideas.”
“You need a book to give you ideas?”
“There’s more to life than wham bam, thank you ma’am, now get out of my house and leave me alone.”
“I don’t kick women out of my bed.”
He lifts an eyebrow.
“I let them put their clothes back on first.”
He slaps my shoulder. “I guess you’re better than your best bro who kicks them out naked.”
“According to him, she didn’t have any clothes on when he picked her up.”
“Weston Milton is more of a tourist attraction on Smuggler’s Hideaway than Mermaid Mystical Gardens.” The office phone rings. “It’s probably the mayor wondering where you are.”
I grab my baseball cap from the hook on the wall and hurry out of the trailer on the job site before I’m forced to explain to Lana why I didn’t rush to her aid after she rang the first time. The mayor is a pain in my ass.
A crowd is gathered on the street in front of city hall when I arrive. I barely make it out of my truck before Lana, Jennifer, and the rest of the mayor’s office rush me.
“We need your help,” Lana declares.
I tip my cap at her. “Always happy to be of service. What did you stuff down the toilet this time?”
“No toilet.” Jennifer motions toward the crowd. “Follow me.”
The crowd parts for Jennifer and Lana as they lead me to the cause of the problem.
“Sammy?” I raise an eyebrow. “You demanded my presence because of Sammy? You know how to deal with him by now.”
Sammy is a very naughty seal that doesn’t realize he’s not a human. He was released from a Sealife sanctuary, but Sammy has no interest in going back to the ocean where he has to fend for himself. He’d much rather spend his days goofing off in Smuggler’s Rest where the tourists feed him. Judging by how big he is, they’ve been feeding him too much.
“The tourists are filming,” Lana says with a big smile on her face. “I can’t be caught on film yelling that I’m going to sic the dogcatchers on a seal. People love seals.”
Threatening to call the dogcatchers is the one surefire way to get Sammy to get off the road.
“Hey, Sammy,” I greet the seal. He lifts his head to bark at me. “Time to get going.” I shoo him toward the beach. He lays his head back down.
I step closer.
“Hey!” a tourist yells. “You shouldn’t get this close to a seal. They’re protected animals.”
“Did you hear what he said, Sammy? You’re a protected animal. ” I make sure to emphasize the word animal. I swear if seals could snort, Sammy would snort at me now.
I kneel in front of the seal, making sure not to touch him. Sammy may love being around humans, but the tourist is correct – he’s still a wild animal that shouldn’t be touched.
“Come on, Sammy. Get going. Don’t make me look bad in front of the tourists.”
“Is he touching the seal? I’m filming this!”
I glare at the tourist. “I’m not touching him. I’m trying to get him to relocate of his own accord, so he doesn’t get hurt by a car.”
A woman saunters forward. “How can I help?”
“You can get him to remove his shirt,” Jennifer shouts.
The woman’s brow wrinkles. “How does him being shirtless help the seal?”
Jennifer shrugs. “We’d have something pretty to look at.”
“I’m contacting animal control,” the annoying tourist says and lifts his phone as proof.
I sigh before standing and approaching him. “I’m Flynn.” I hold out my hand.
“Jason.” He shakes my hand.
“I appreciate your help, Jason, but the nearest animal control is an hour's drive away.”
He purses his lips. “You don’t have animal control on the island?”
“Nope. We don’t have any animal problems except this guy that doesn’t realize he’s a seal.”
“Does this happen more often?”
“It’s nearly a daily occurrence during tourist season. He’s a bit of an attention hog.”
“How do you deal with him?”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
He leans close. “Go ahead.”
“We threaten to call the dogcatchers on him.”
“But you just said there are no dogcatchers on the island.”
“Which is why it’s harmless.”
“Ah. I get it.” He motions to Sammy. “Please proceed.”
Thanks for your permission. I return to the seal and kneel in front of him. “Do you see the man over there?” I point to Jason. “He’s phoning the dogcatchers. The dogcatchers.”
Sammy barks before hobbling toward the side of the road.
“Show’s over, folks!” I announce to the crowd.
They disperse except for one woman who approaches me. “You were good to it.”
“Him,” I correct.
“Him.” She clears her throat. “Do you want to grab a coffee with me?” She points to Smugglers’ Cove .
“Sorry, darling. I need to get back to work.”
“Dinner?”
“I’m going to have to pass. I have a new roommate moving in tonight.”
“Ah, okay. I’m staying at the Mermaid Motel if you change your mind.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.” I wink and she blushes before hurrying away to meet her friends.
“Who’s your new roommate, Flynn?” Lana asks as she follows me to my truck.
Jennifer rushes after us. “Are you going to remove your shirt for her?”
I climb into my truck and drive away without answering any of their questions. They know damn well who’s moving in.
But I won’t be removing any clothing for Sophia. I will keep my hands to myself even if it creates the worst case of blue balls in recorded history.
I won’t touch my best friend’s little sister. I will not disrespect the man who is the only family I have left.