The Viper (Untamed Hearts #1)(33)

Marcos tugged the blanket down just enough to see the slope of her bare tits. He admired them for a long moment, but then the urge to touch got a little too much, and he rolled out of bed and went on a search for his clothes instead.

They were on the floor by the door where he’d pulled them off in a mad rush last night. He picked his up, finding them still wet from the rain, well on their way to smelling musty. His underwear was clean enough, but the rest needed to be washed. He picked up hers too, before he headed toward the washer. There were other clothes in the laundry room, so he sorted through them, finding more darks, and did a full load of laundry because he could hear his mother’s voice from the past.

“Ay, chico, water costs money.”

Hopefully Katie wasn’t one of those women who was weird about guys touching their dirty clothes. He doubted it. She was pretty easygoing. He leaned back against the washer after he was done and looked to his phone that he’d pulled out of his jeans, finding a text message from Chuito.

3:12 a.m.

Where the f*ck are you?

Marcos wondered if that was how long the gringa was in his room before Chuito got wise and figured out Marcos had bolted.

He thought of saying something smart about taking off after Chuito’s church girlfriend nearly blinded him with her virginal, see-through nightgown, but that was a little too juvenile, and it gave the impression that Marcos was jealous of him, which he wasn’t. Certainly not of the skinny gringa when he had a real woman wrapped up in pink sheets, still rosy from f*cking him. And who gave a shit if Chuito had two championship belts and several million bucks in the bank and no f*cking criminal record? He didn’t care that his cousin had actually made himself into a man who deserved a woman like Katie.

Okay, maybe Marcos was a little jealous of the last part, but that wasn’t Chuito’s fault. What did it matter if Chuito was playing whatever the hell kind of game he was playing with his neighbor?

He finally settled on texting him the truth.

At Katie’s.

’Cause Marcos didn’t play games.

Chuito texted him back right away, even though it was early for both of them.

WTF, Marc! I thought you were going home.

Marcos snorted.

Love you too, pendejo.

His phone rang a second later, but he sent it to voice mail. Chuito sent another text rather than leave a message.

Did you f*ck her?

He grinned as he replied.

No, I took a leaf out of your book. We just talked all night.

His phone rang again, and again he sent it to voice mail. The next text wasn’t friendly at all.

Fuck. You.

Marcos decided sarcastic and juvenile sounded like fun after all.

Why don’t you ask the skinny gringa to help you out with the anger-management issues? She seemed willing last night.

He scowled when he saw Chuito’s response.

Because I think before I do dumb shit.

Maybe it was the dream, but Marcos started to read more into the texts. Chuito had always been more levelheaded than him, more prone to think before leaping. Marcos had run out of the house that night into a barrage of bullets, hoping to kill the motherf*ckers trying to hurt his family. Chuito had the foresight to stay behind and try to protect everyone in the house.

It hadn’t worked out for either of them.

The regret of it all was starting to wear on him. Maybe that was the difference between them. Marcos just didn’t have anything else. He needed Katie, and he wanted to convey that to his cousin, who had obviously succeeded in forgetting where he came from. Marcos couldn’t even fault him for it. He was jealous, but he sure as hell didn’t blame him as he typed.

That’s right, muchacho. We both know it’ll be me taking the next bullet. Might as well enjoy the ride.

He looked up to see Katie standing in the kitchen, wearing a nightshirt she’d obviously slipped on when she got out of bed. She frowned when his phone started ringing in his hand. “Are you going to answer it?”

Marcos looked at the screen, seeing it was Chuito, and shook his head. “No, it’s just—” He turned off the ringer and went to put it in his pocket before he realized he was standing there in his underwear. “It’s nothing. Old bullshit.” He slipped it into the waistband of his boxer briefs as he gave her his full attention. “Did you sleep good, chica?”

She nodded, giving him a sleepy smile, looking properly disheveled with her hair flowing wild and curly over her shoulders. “Very well. Thank you.”

“I did a load of your clothes.” He pointed back to the washer. “Mine were wet, and I went ahead and found some of your darks and—”

“You did my laundry.”

“Is that okay?”

“I’ve never met a man who knows how to do laundry.” She laughed. “I have to go to my father’s house twice a week to do his. Grayson’s been taking his to the dry cleaners since we got divorced, and I’m pretty sure my brother got married just to have Lily do his.”

He pulled back. “How hard is laundry?”

She shrugged as she tucked a strand of curly hair behind her ear. “Do you have any other hidden talents?”

“I wouldn’t call washing a few clothes a hidden talent.”

“I would, especially in Garnet.” Katie looked at him, her gaze running over him hotly, making the back of his neck warm and his cock swell. “But the laundry wasn’t the hidden talent I was talking about.”