Free Loving Vin (Barretti Security Series, #1) by Sloane Kennedy Page A

together for yourself.” He couldn’t help but reach out and take one of her hands into his.
    When she nodded and gave him a reassuring squeeze, he actually found himself leaning in so he could brush his lips over hers. But at the last minute he managed to remember he’d agreed not to kiss her again. Damn, that had been a smart move on her part.

Chapter 6
    “A sshole!”
    Vin bit back the smile as the irritated bird stretched out his wings and flapped them angrily. Mia glanced up at him and his insides did something funny when she smiled at him. She crooned to the bird on her arm and the cockatoo settled and then bumped his head against her fingers.
    “What’s his story?” Vin asked as he moved farther into her room. The kittens came running at him and he quickly scooped them up so they wouldn’t use his leg as their personal scratching post. He deposited them on the bed and kept an eye on them so they wouldn’t tumble off the edge.
    “Asshole!”
    “I’d say it’s pretty obvious what his problem is,” Mia joked.
    Vin did smile this time. “I meant his wing,” he said.
    “I guess his owner was pretty frustrated that Percy had only learned the one word.” She settled the bird back on his perch. “Apparently it was something the guy’s wife called him all the time and Percy picked up on it. The jerk grabbed Percy by the wing and threw him across the room. His wing snapped and by the time the wife took him to the shelter, the wing had already started to heal and it was too late to try and fix it,” she grumbled.
    “You have a way with him,” Vin said and was surprised when she came and sat next to him on the bed. “All of them,” he managed to get out as he tried to shift his weight discreetly to hide the effect her proximity was having on his body.
    “Do you think it’s something I could do someday? Like for a living?” she asked.
    “What? Take care of animals, you mean?”
    She nodded.
    “I don’t see why not. Riley does,” he pointed out. “I could invite her over if you want to talk to her about it.”
    He could see she was reluctant but he wasn’t sure if it was because she didn’t want to be around other people or if it was because the woman in question was one of her father’s victims – a lucky one since she’d managed to walk away mostly unscathed - but a victim nonetheless.
    “I’d like that,” Mia finally said. “Have you know them long? Her and her husband?”
    He shook his head. “That day was the first day I met either of them,” he admitted, hating the way she stiffened when he mentioned that horrendous day. But she recovered quickly.
    “But they were friends with Dom already?”
    “Yeah. Gabe and Logan went to college together so they’d been friends for a really long time. I’d only been back in the country for a couple of days when the kidnapping happened so I didn’t have a chance to meet any of Logan’s friends or his sister before everything happened.”
    “Where were you?”
    He tensed. Talking about Ren was always difficult for him. Not to mention Rafe. He’d failed not one but two brothers – it was a weakness he hated having to admit to.
    “Sorry,” she suddenly said and made a move to get up but he grabbed her wrist before she could escape and gently pulled her back down.
    “I was looking for my brother,” he began.
    ***
    M ia flinched at the heat that flared under her skin where Vin still had a hold of her. She should pull free of his gentle grip but his thumb was rubbing back and forth over the pulse point on her wrist. She wondered if Vin was even aware he was doing it. A little part of her wanted to believe he needed a connection between them as he told her about something that was clearly a painful subject.
    “What’s his name?” she prodded when he fell silent.
    “Ren. Lorenzo,” he said with a smile. “We all shortened the traditional Italian names our mom gave us so they’d be more American. Vincenzo, Dominic, Lorenzo and