The Enforcer (Untamed Hearts Book 3)(15)

“Tino—”

“Bri, no,” he cut her off before she could say anything, as if he heard a lifetime of pain and need in that one word. “You’re supposed to be sitting there thinking about what an * I am for taking you with me.”

She pulled back in surprise. “Is that what I was supposed to be doing for the past five hours?”

“Yes.” Tino looked at her as if he thought it was obvious.

“You’re stupid, Tino,” she huffed. “Really stupid.”

“Ditto, Brianna,” he snapped back. “You probably deserve an award for bad life choices.”

It wasn’t like she could argue with that.

So she just held up a hand and flipped him off as she went back to being silent.

After a while, they pulled into one of those small travel stops off the interstate, which was unnervingly empty now that it was dark.

Tino was predictably careless of imminent death at a mostly abandoned, super creepy travel stop as he turned on the dome light. He played with the GPS, searching for a place to stay. Then, after he found a spot and programmed it in, he turned to her. “We need to pool our supplies. What have you got with you?”

Brianna reached down and grabbed the travel bag. She handed it to him without saying anything, because she was still pissed off.

Tino sat back and put it on his lap, but then frowned. He pulled out the camouflage hat, arching one eyebrow curiously.

“Um—” She pointed at it and couldn’t help but laugh despite the tension. “That’s, um—”

“What the f*ck?” Tino went back to searching through the bag. He held up the Straight Shootin’ Country Girl tank top with a look of true bafflement on his face. Then his eyes widened in understanding, and a bark of genuine amusement burst out of him. “This is Carina.” He stared at the shirt in his hand again. “This has to be Carina.”

“Yeah.” She nodded, feeling a strange mixture of joy and sadness lodge in her chest. “We stopped at a place when we got into Kentucky and—”

“Madonn’, I miss my sister.” Tino’s voice was raspy as he looked back down at the bag, as though he was experiencing that same stab of joy and pain. “I’m always choosing between them. Between all of them.”

“I’m sorry.” Brianna reached over and touched his hand before she could stop herself.

He jerked away before she could comfort him. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It obviously does.” She tried to hide how much his reaction hurt her. They used to touch so easily. “You love them. All of them. You were always a great brother.”

“I’m not even sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing anymore. I guess it depends on which of them you ask. Probably won’t matter soon.” Tino dropped his head back against the headrest. “I’m tired, Bri. I’m being an * to you because I’m just so tired, and I’m sorry about that.”

“Me too. Very tired,” she whispered into the night, realizing he was the only other person who understood. Tino lolled his head to the side and stared at her for a long time after the confession, long enough to make her uncomfortable. “What?”

“Nothing.” He shrugged, his gaze running over her again, hot and possessive. “You look healthy too.”

“I’ve been doing CrossFit before the shows. Helps keep me nimble for the more physical scenes.”

A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth. “Do you need help being nimble?”

“There’s always room for improvement,” she reminded him. “You know that.”

“Mmm.” He reached out and caressed her hair, making her shiver against her will when he tucked it behind her ear. “I’m sorry for saying you make bad life choices.”

“Well.” She arched an eyebrow at that. “I did marry a man who tried to kill me. Can’t really fault you for calling it like it is.”

“So cynical.” He sighed, sounding miserable like he had when he thought of his sister. “I’m sorry life’s been mean to you, baby. I would give anything to make it stop hurting you. Not that I’ve had any luck in that department, but if I did, that’d be what I’d wish for.”

“Ditto.” Her voice cracked, betraying her. “I’m sorry I keep running to you to save me. Bad habit.”

“Don’t be sorry for that.” Tino tugged on her hair, forcing her closer. Then he slipped his hand behind her neck and swept his thumb over the fine hairs on her nape. He leaned in and breathed against her mouth. “Never be sorry for that.”

He kissed her like he couldn’t resist, and she eagerly parted to him in an unabashed need she couldn’t hide. She didn’t even see why she should. They both knew this trip could very likely end with one or both of their funerals, but they had this. They always had this.

With a low groan of defeat, he pushed his tongue into her mouth.

God, it felt good.

She had forgotten how much a kiss from Tino could make her ache. The way his tongue brushed against hers. The feel of his fingers tight in her hair. It was like being injected with a liquid pleasure that jolted her awake after what felt like a lifetime of unhappiness.

She wasn’t ashamed of the way she ended up grabbing at the lapels of his jacket, because he was breathless too. His chest rose and fell in sharp, hard pants of need, but he was pulling away too soon with a grunt of denial.