Repeat (Larsen Bros, #1)

by Kylie Scott

I meet the eyes of a tall man covered in tattoos. Shortish, light brown hair, lean but muscular. He wears jeans and designer sneakers, a T-shirt advertising some band. For sure, he’d be handsome if he wasn’t scowling at me. Actually, strike that. He’s handsome period, irrespective of his glare. His angular jaw is covered in stubble and it frames perfect lips. Straight nose, high cheekbones. Unlike me, this man is a work of art.

His tattoos cover a variety of topics. A bottle marked “poison” with skull and crossbones set amongst roses. An anatomical heart. A tattoo gun (very meta). A lighthouse with waves crashing below. I wonder if it’s the Portland Headlight, the famous one at Cape Elizabeth. There was something on TV about it the other day. His tattoos are hypnotic in a way. As if, combined, they tell a story, if only you could understand.

There’s a reason why he always treated you like a precious doll.” “Why should I storm off?” I ask. “No offense, but I don’t know you. Your opinion doesn’t really mean a hell of a lot to me. Ed says you and I used to be close, though those days are clearly over.”

I was about to ask you to marry me and you thought I would do that to you, disrespect you and hurt you that way. I loved you more than I’ve ever loved anyone and yet you believed I’d fucking betrayed you.”

“You took one look at my dick and bolted,” he murmurs. “I’m not really sure what to do with that.”