Sinners' Playground (The Harlequin Crew #1) - Caroline Peckham Page 0,97

rest of us were pissed as fuck over that and I'm pretty sure Fox used it as inspiration material for a long time, if you know what I mean." He mimed jerking himself off as if I might have been too dense to pick up on that and I snarled internally.

"Whatever. I'm still perfectly capable of fighting my own battles," I said stubbornly.

JJ caught my hand and tugged me to sit on the stool beside him with a look that said back off, while I gave him a returning look that said never.

"If you wanna agree to be my girl, then you can have more freedom," Fox said as he leaned back against the work surface and looked over the kitchen island at me. "Every Harlequin in the city will watch your back no matter where you go."

"That sounds like hell on earth. I don't want to be watched," I snarled and JJ's hand landed on my knee beneath the worktop as he gave me a squeeze that could have been a warning but also sent warmth warring beneath my skin.

"Is that the only reason you're saying no?" Fox demanded. "The public recognition of your position if you're linked to me like that? What if I'm just asking because it's what I want?"

"I don't see why you would. We've done nothing but argue since the moment I was dragged through your door." I opened my mouth to go on, but JJ shifted his hand on my thigh beneath the table and the only thing that escaped my lips was a surprised breath as he gently caressed me with his fingertips and little zaps of electricity raced right to my core from his touch.

Fox tsked as he took a long swig from his shake before striding out of the room in the direction of the stairs.

My gaze moved from his retreating form to JJ's honey brown eyes and the moment they did, he smirked at me and pushed his fingers beneath the hem of the t-shirt I was wearing.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"You seem stressed, sweetheart," he replied in an equally low voice. "I'm just trying to help. Besides, I'm pretty sure you aren't wearing any panties under here, but I need to make sure.”

My lips parted to tell him to stop, but as he continued to shift his fingertips along the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh, I found myself momentarily lost for words. The last hands I'd had on my skin were Shawn's and as much as I was attempting not to give that asshole much thought, I felt weirdly dirty for knowing he'd been the last man to claim my body. Like I wanted to feel someone else possessing me to wipe away the stain his hands had left on my flesh.

Fox reappeared with a black shirt on and a gun jammed into the back of his pants. I'd once watched a documentary that happened to mention how doing that put you at risk of accidentally shooting your butt cheek off, but as this was Fox, I wasn't going to warn him about that. Although I did have to admit that it would be a damn shame to fuck up an ass as nice as his.

"For the record," Fox said as he strode back to the counter where he'd left his protein shake and picked it up again. "The only reason we are arguing is because you want to act like everything the four of us used to share means nothing to you now."

"Five," I growled. "I don't care if you all hate Maverick now, you can't just deny that he was a part of us too. But I guess you don't care about making things up with him because he doesn't have a pussy. And as far as I can see it, Fox, the only reason you wanna fix things with me is because you've cooked yourself up a little fantasy about owning mine."

JJ moved his hand right up to the apex of my thighs and I stifled a gasp as he very nearly touched my core, my heart leaping with the thrill of the idea of him doing so right under Fox’s nose.

"That's where you're wrong," Fox snarled.

"Oh yeah?" I taunted while trying not to pant with how much I wanted JJ to close that last little bit of distance between us and I tipped my thigh to the side to give him better access.

"You’re mine, Rogue,” Fox said in that takes no