Fireweed Industries had recently reconfigured an entire operation in Willow Brook, Alaska, where we had previously run a mine. Our cousin Archer, along with our half-brother Chase, had been working together to transition it into a renewable energy business. They were finally ready to open it officially.

  “Ah, that’s right. Are any of us going down there for the opening? Also, would you like a beer?” At Rhys’s nod, I handed him our latest limited-edition run of blackberry coffee beer.

  He took a swallow, nodding in appreciation before he replied, “I’m going down there. Haven and McKenna will be with me. I believe Kenan and Adam are planning to go. I’m not sure about Wyatt and Griffin.”

  “I’ll text Wyatt. You never know.”

  “Wyatt actually called me the other day,” Rhys added.

  “Seriously?”

  Rhys nodded. “Yeah, just checking on that boat he bought. He stays in touch, even if it isn’t that frequent.”

  Haven slipped between a group of people standing behind Rhys and sidled up to him at the bar. She smiled up at him. “Hey.” My older brother’s gaze softened, and he gave her a lingering kiss.

  Her cheeks were pink when she glanced over at me a moment later. “Hi, Blake. Busy tonight.”

  “That’s always our goal. Anything for you?”

  “Just water,” Haven replied.

  I still couldn’t believe Haven was pregnant, but I was happy for her and Rhys. Once he’d adjusted to the news, he’d been thrilled.

  I was handing Haven her glass of water a moment later when McKenna arrived. “Hey!” She leaned across the bar, lifting her hand for a high five. After I slapped my palm against hers, I asked, “What’ll it be?”

  “Whatever the new seasonal mead is. I’m in the mood for something a little fruity.”

  “Coming right up. This week, we’ve got a new batch of blackberry,” I replied. “I hear you’re keeping Haven late.”

  “Just because we’ve got the big opening soon. Will you be there?” McKenna asked.

  “I’m sure I can make it. As long as it’s not scheduled when I have a tasting.”

  “These things pretty much run themselves,” McKenna replied. “It’s on a Friday, so that should work.”

  “That’ll work. Are you guys flying or taking the ferry?”

  “Flying,” Rhys said succinctly. “Much as I love the ferry trip, we don’t have time.”

  “And we’re flying commercial,” McKenna interjected pointedly. “In fact, we’re selling the private plane.”

  My brows hitched up. None of us used it much, but we owned it. “No worries on my end, but what’s the point?”

  “Pay attention to the news. Rich people with private planes are spewing gobs of pollution into the atmosphere. It’s embarrassing. Since we’re committed to making Fireweed Industries a leader in environmentally sound business investments and practices, we have to make some personal changes,” my sister explained.

  “I agree, but commercial flights send plenty of pollution into the atmosphere,” I replied.

  McKenna rolled her eyes.

  Kenan arrived, followed by Adam. They all lingered over in that corner by the bar. At one point, I dipped into the back and wondered if I could send Fiona a text. I knew it was her late night. I shouldn’t even care about her schedule, but I did. I slipped my phone out.

  Me: You’re working late tonight. No pressure, but if you wanted to see me, just reply. I’ll find you in the back storage area.

  My heartbeat kicked a little faster as soon as I hit send. Fuck me. I didn’t think Fiona realized just how much I wanted her. When I returned to the front, I was swept into a busy stretch.

  The last hour or so crawled by for me. The entire time, my attention was half focused on whether Fiona would reply. When I finally felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, I checked it to see her response.

  Fiona: Ok.

  That was it, but it was enough to rev the engine of my need.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Fiona

  I pushed through the double-wide swinging doors into the back hallway that led to the production area. Even though the kitchen area for the restaurant was quiet now, the cacophony of the customers in the bar area could still be heard. It was muted when the doors swung shut behind me.

  The first portion of this hallway had doorways leading to the storage areas for the restaurant. Beyond that was another set of swinging doors that led to production and distribution. There was a large warehouse at the end of that next stretch of hallway with a few offices along the way, including Blake’s.

  My pulse cantered along and picked up to a gallop as I slipped into the dry storage area. I held a notebook in my hand, the one I used to keep track of what we needed for the next day. I had already been back here once and gotten everything prepped. If anyone happened to come along before Blake, I had an excuse.

  Just thinking about Blake sent fiery pinwheels of heat through me. I knew this wasn’t sensible. It was the opposite of sensible. It was reckless, and careless, and had the potential to do more than ruin my career here. I also knew Blake could break my heart.

  Yet my heart was driving this recklessness. I wanted to blame it on lust, and we had plenty of that. The chemistry between us was a force I couldn’t contain. After years of trying to make good decisions, to walk that narrow path, no wider than a balance beam, where no one could question my choices, I stumbled and lost my balance. Being a young mother came with many downfalls. My daughter made up for all of them in spades. My love for her was bigger than anything I ever could’ve imagined. But I knew the way people looked at me. I was usually much younger than most mothers waiting at the school drop-off. I was young enough that people could confuse my mother for being my daughter’s mother rather than her grandmother.

  It was all worth it. I tried so hard never to make another reckless choice. I hadn’t even dated since Johnny and I broke up, not even once. I hadn’t wanted to. I was busy and usually running on fumes. I couldn’t even imagine how tired I would’ve been without my mother helping me. As it was, most days felt like a long country mile over bumpy dirt roads, and I was exhausted and weary at the end.

  Knowing all that was at stake, here I was, walking into the back, hoping this man I was falling for so hard and fast would be there. It felt like I was skydiving and hadn’t pulled the cord yet. I could only hope I wouldn’t crash land.

  My need to see Blake bordered on desperation. Knowing that his family owned the place where I worked only amped up my need. Not because I wanted the money or anything. I didn’t care about that. It felt naughty, forbidden. That had my body flush with arousal.

  If a full minute passed after I stepped into the storage room, I would’ve been shocked. I sensed Blake before I heard him. Every cell on my body fired sparks. I forced myself not to turn around, just in case I was wrong and it was someone else. I wasn’t wrong.

  Another second later, I felt him behind me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood. I felt his fingertips land at the base of my neck, the heat of his touch filtering through the thin fabric of my shirt.

  “Fiona,” he said, his voice a raspy whisper.

  His fingertips trailed down my spine. I felt each one like the lick of a flame on my skin.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  He leaned down, stepping closer to me. I felt the thick, hard length of his arousal press against me, nestling against my bottom. My pussy clenched, and I knew my panties were soaked.

  “We have to hurry,” I whispered.

  “I need you.”

  The next moments were a blur. He took me by the hand and led me down the hallway into his office. I didn’t even think about how risky it was that we walked down the hallway together. It wasn’t far, but still.

  The time burned like a flame racing down the wick on a stick of dynamite. We were in his office, and he was yanking my skirt up and bending me over his desk. His fingers delved between my thighs as he shoved my panties out of the way. I cried out.

  “Fuck me, Fiona,” he growled against my skin before he nipped lightly at the back of my neck.

  My senses were attuned to everything. Hearing his zipper slide down was like a match striking over dry flint. When he dragged his cock through my slippery wet folds, I cried out, his name a plea as he notched his thick crown at my entrance.

  He filled me in a single deep thrust, and I came almost instantly. My orgasm shook me to my very core.

  He held still as I rippled around him before withdrawing and sinking in once more. I felt the heat of his release fill me as he shuddered behind me. His fingertips pressed deep into my skin where he held me by the hips.

  I had never, ever come that fast in my life. But then, our foreplay started when I received his text earlier tonight. My body had been waiting for this moment, waiting to feel him joined with me. The sense of completion was more than physical. I felt it down to my bones, my heart setting a rapid drumbeat of undiluted emotion. The feeling was so profound that I almost didn’t recognize myself.

  My mind flickered back online as sensation spun through me in little eddies, a tide rushing out. My body felt like the air after a storm where it was cool and rinsed clean. Everything was brighter and clearer.

  Blake curled around me with his forehead pressed between my shoulder blades and one arm wrapped around my waist. Although the embrace was perhaps awkward, it felt exactly right.

  A few minutes later, he withdrew, and I missed him instantly. He helped me tidy my clothes. We stood in front of his desk. While a part of me felt bashful, I felt completely at ease on another level. It was almost too much. I couldn’t believe I felt this way with him. I had never expected this. Ever.

  I swallowed and lifted my lashes to look up at him. He studied me quietly. Although I knew him in many ways, in others, I didn’t, not at all. He lifted a hand to brush my hair away from my face.

  “I missed you.” His voice was low and gravelly. It felt as if he had reached into my chest to hold my heart in his hand.

  “I missed you too.”

  Just then, the sound of footsteps reached us. Time slowed as my eyes locked onto the doorknob of his office as it turned.

  I leaped back. Then the door was open, and his brother Kenan was walking in. “Hey, man, I was looking for you —” He came to a quick stop as he glanced back and forth between us.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Fiona

  Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.

  That was what replayed at double speed in my thoughts the following morning. That was all I could think when Kenan walked into Blake’s office.

  Blake had played it off and made a comment about chatting with me and David about some menu changes. Of course, that wasn’t something we did. David didn’t really check with Blake about menu things. Except for the weekly tastings, Blake was hands-off as far as the restaurant went.

  I hadn’t missed the speculation in Kenan’s eyes when he looked at us. I knew my cheeks were deeply flushed. Just now, as I looked up at myself in the mirror, I blushed all over again.

  “Mom!” Lia’s voice reached me.

  “Be right there!” I called.

  I swiftly brushed my hair back into a tight ponytail. I might be having crazy-hot, filthy, intimate sex with one of the owners of the place where I worked and trying to keep it a secret from everyone, but for crying out loud, my hair would be tidy.

  I hurried out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. Lia stood at the sink, looking up at my mother. “But I want pancakes,” she pressed.

  My mother arched a brow. “It’s a school day. Cereal.”

  I wasn’t about to dispute that point. Mornings were rushed enough as it was.

  Lia turned and looked at me. “Mom, can I have pancakes?”

  “Definitely not,” I said.

  Her dark brown eyes narrowed. “But I want pancakes.”

  “It’s a school day. It’s just like Gigi said. Cereal on school days. Is this why you were calling me?”

  Lia let out a beleaguered sigh. “Yes.”

  “Sorry, but no pancakes.”

  Because she was a fairly good-natured kid, after one more huff for good measure, she chose her favorite cereal. We didn’t let her have “sugar” cereal, as she called it.

  “Do you have your lunch money?” I asked.

  Mornings were a well-oiled machine of rush. I sometimes wondered if anybody who had children got away from having insanely busy mornings. I just didn’t know how anyone managed it without the madness.

  By the time I pulled up to the drop-off line at school, I felt nearly breathless. The most relaxed part of my morning so far was the actual drive. During the drive, Lia peppered me with questions about dinosaurs. Needless to say, I was not an expert on dinosaurs.

  When it got to be our turn, Lia unbuckled her seat belt and reached for her backpack on the floor between her feet. She smiled up at me. “Love you, Mom.”

  She blew a smacking kiss in my direction. I caught it with my hand, tossing it back to her in the air. “Love you too. Have a good day.”

  She scrambled out of the car and was gone in a flash. As I drove away, I smiled to myself, remembering when she’d started kindergarten and how nervous I was to get the drop-off line wrong. There were rules. Social media made that clear. Not that I had much time for social media, but I’d heard about people getting schooled for taking too much time.

  Time was something I didn’t have, so I never wasted it. I returned to the apartment, leaving the car for my mom. I planned to hurry upstairs and drop the keys off without dallying. I knew if I was around my mother for too long without the distraction of my daughter, she would pick up that I was unsettled inside. I wasn’t ready for her questions because I was afraid I would end up blurting out the truth.

  I’d already disappointed my mother enough in this lifetime. I didn’t need to make things worse. I had just turned the car off when I felt my phone vibrate in my purse. It was sitting against the console on the other side so the whole console vibrated with the sensation. I slipped it out, and my stomach dropped. It was a text from that very number. I had labeled the contact Go to hell.

  Hi, Fiona. This is your friendly reminder that you need to shut up. We know where you are and we know you work for the family that owns Fireweed Industries. If necessary, we know where to turn.

  Dread coated the insides of my stomach, and I swallowed through the sting of nausea welling in my throat. I tapped the side of my phone to close out the screen and put it back in my purse. I wanted to jump out of my skin and run away from my life. I didn’t know how to solve this.

  I had a meeting at work, but I’d go tell Mike at the police station as soon as I could. There. I could at least do that.

  This worry took my mind off Blake. I couldn’t even think about anything other than this spinning concern.

  I got through the weekly staff meeting at work. I was distracted, but I managed to offer some feedback about menu items when David was checking in on the flow of planning with the line cooks. As the group dispersed in the break room, David lingered. He was busy jotting notes in a notebook he always carried.

  I slipped into the bathroom and checked the time to see that I had a full hour before I needed to be back for my shift. That would give me plenty of time to walk down to the police station. When I came back out, Kenan happened to be in there. Like Blake and the rest of the Cannon brothers I’d met, Kenan was handsome. Tall and well-built, he had brown hair and blue eyes. He had a hand resting on the back of one of the chairs by the round table in the corner, gesturing with the other as he talked with David.

  As soon as I took a step, they both glanced over. I felt Kenan’s gaze on me like an unwelcome blast. I didn’t sense any judgment there, but I definitely felt his curiosity. It wasn’t as if I needed a reminder that what I was doing with Blake was stupid, but the anxiety churning in my stomach reminded me just how foolish it was.

  “Fiona, do you have a minute?” David called over.

  I swallowed, willing the nervous feeling inside to dissipate as I approached the table. “Yes?”

  “Any other changes you want to make for the special menus coming up?” he asked.

  “I think everything sounds great.”

  Kenan glanced back and forth between us. “David, you’re handling this adjustment better than I expected.” His voice contained a hint of laughter.

  David sort of glowered at him. “I told you I was ready to shift to just management. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that Fiona handles the kitchen these days. My knees appreciate it, even if I miss the pace sometimes.”

  Kenan shifted to look at me. “It seems like it’s working out well.”

  “It is. I’m really happy to be here.” I took a quick breath. “If you don’t mind, I have an errand to take care of before my shift.”

  I was relieved when David stood from the table. “See you when you’re back. Kenan, come with me. I want to chat with Blake about his production schedule.”

  “Are you taking that over?” Kenan sounded genuinely surprised.

  “Hell, no,” David retorted as I walked toward my locker to get my purse out. “I want to get up to speed on any seasonal options that may be coming up so we can incorporate them into our specials.” His voice faded as they disappeared down the hallway.

  Moments later, I was walking down the sidewalk when a new thought struck me. What if Kenan commented to David about finding me in Blake’s office late at night?

  “Oh my God!” I shout-whispered under my breath.

  Knowing there was absolutely nothing I could do other than panic, I kept walking toward the police station. A few minutes later, Mike was reading the text on my phone. “I don’t like this,” he said, almost as if he were talking to himself.