“I love you, Sis.” Mick stood from his chair, kissing his sister’s cheek and planting another peck on Hannah’s head. “You coming?” he questioned.

  It took a few moments, but I finally realized that he was speaking to me. “Oh, uhh, I think I’m just going to sit out here for a bit,” I managed, “enjoy the fire.”

  He looked at me confused, surprised that I’d declined. Instead, he pulled something from his pocket before grabbing my left hand to replace the ring. My heart sank, the heaviness of the carats and their significance weighing it down. “Almost forgot,” he mumbled as he stared down appreciatively at the ring, his thumb gliding across the stone. Even in the darkness, the surface twinkled proudly.

  “If you change your mind, I’ll be in the guest room…”

  “I won’t,” I interjected, possibly a little too quickly. “What I mean is-“

  “What she means is that she’s not the typical scum that you normally chase after,” Griff said sternly from my side. “And even with a ring on her finger, she won’t let you highjack her morals.”

  Mick’s stance signified he was ready to pounce.

  “Boys!” Sutter warned, her voice coming out as a stern hiss through her teeth. Always the referee.

  If Mick had wanted to protest, he didn’t. “Griff,” he mumbled instead as his parting, their shoulders intentionally clipping each other as he walked by.

  Griff growled a response into his beer before taking a healthy swig. Gone was the brief camaraderie that conversations of the past had conjured, the customary sibling loathing making its return.

  “Griff, do you mind taking Hannah inside?” Sutter questioned.

  He downed the rest of his beer, depositing the empty bottle into the garbage bag before pulling his niece into his arms and heading in the direction of the house. I watched his retreating form, my mind a mixture of uncertainty and lust.

  “It’s always hard to see him go,” she said from behind me, referencing Mick, not Griff. I had to remind myself of that. Reluctantly, I peeled my eyes off of Griff and turned my attention towards her as she took the seat in the chair beside me. “It’s even harder to believe that that’s his life,” she said chuckling.

  “I bet.”

  “I remember when he was a little boy…silly and shy, that one was. Something happened when he stepped on stage though, something magical. It was like, the music peeled away all of those insecure layers and he transformed into someone else entirely.” She looked off into the distance as she spoke, as if recalling memories of his childhood. “I think, over time, he’s come to embrace Mick the Performer,” she said sighing. “Most days, I don’t mind the performer. But I miss my brother,” she admitted sadly.

  “I have a famous sister,” I admitted. “Kole Masters.“

  “The tennis player?” Sutter questioned, her eyes showing familiarity.

  I nodded. “That’s the one.” I leaned forward to add a log to the fire. Even though the temperature hovered around the seventies, I still appreciated a good bonfire. Besides, it gave me something to do other than stew over the fact that I wore Mick’s ring again. “She struggled for a very long time trying to figure out who she was. There was the woman that the public expected her to be and then there was who she actually was – my sister…And my sister was very different from the public figure. So, I get it,” I explained.

  “Interesting. I suppose being in the public eye can do that to someone,” she mused. She drummed her fingers across the arms of the chair. “It’s kinda funny, actually. Used to, Mick couldn’t get a girl to save his life. Now every woman in the world is dying to be with him…”

  Her words lingered between us. Except you, they seemed to imply, which I think had been her intention. Sutter was intuitive enough to sense my hesitations, to understand that I wasn’t the least bit thrilled about being engaged to her brother…the famous one.

  “There’s plenty of people willing to capitalize on someone else’s fame,” I mumbled, wishing I could retract the statement.

  “But not you,” she countered. “Which is a pleasant surprise,” she rushed to admit. “But puzzling, nonetheless…”

  “I-“ I began, my mouth closing over a response. I didn’t quite know what to say to that without giving away too much.

  Her hand touched mine, my gaze rising to meet hers. “I’d tell you not to break his heart, but I’m not so certain that there’s one to break at this point in his life.” She frowned, as if coming to terms with the actuality of her statement and not liking it.

  “He’s on a wild roller coaster,” I explained, glad that she hadn’t pressed me further, but feeling the need to defend his lifestyle. It was, after all, what I had aspired to be professionally and his careless actions weren’t too far from my own. “But I wouldn’t if I thought that it would go there,” I added, wanting to reassure her.

  She smiled knowingly over at me. “Yes, I know. My intuition has never been wrong.” My heart leapt at the compliment from someone that I’d grown fond of. “I guess, what I should be saying to you though, has very little to do with Mick and very much to do with Griff.”

  My fingers wrapped tightly over the arms of the chair, my heart rate kicking up a notch. “Griff?” I questioned anxiously, sucking the side of my cheek in between my teeth.

  Damned nervous habit.

  “Yes, Griff,” she confirmed.

  “What about him?” I stunk at being nonchalant.

  “Kennedy, you don’t look at Mick the way that you look at Griff,” she informed me.

  Son of a biscuit! My mouth fell open in surprise, her frankness catching me off guard.

  She laughed, the sound low and gentle. “He’s a big boy, Kennedy, I know, but he’s special to me.”

  “Sutter, whatever you’re thinking about me and Griff-“ I began.

  “Kennedy, I’m not chastising you. Quite the opposite,” she said in an obvious effort to reassure me. “I should be thanking you actually. You’re the reason that he finally got rid of Felicia.”

  “Well there’s that,” I began, hiding a blush. “But you’re basing this off of a hunch. You don’t even know that Griff’s interested. And the whole world thinks I’m engaged to Mick! How would that look?”

  “Judging by the look on his face as he watched Mick kiss you earlier today, I’d say he’s interested,” she said smiling. “And the heart wants what the heart wants,” she added.

  “She’s right,” Griff said as he approached, his form taking shape the closer that he got. My body tensed at the sight of him, heat radiating from my head to my toes. “I’m damned interested and there isn’t a person here who doesn’t know it.”

  “I think that’s my cue to leave. Be careful,” Sutter warned softly, patting me on the hand. I was left to wonder if the statement had been said for Griff’s benefit or my own.

  We both watched her leave, her form eventually enveloped by the darkness. My heart thudded nervously in my ears. We were alone for the first time since the morning in the condo. I waited for him to speak, long moments of silence stretching before us. The silence made me anxious, worried that whatever he did say when he finally spoke wouldn't be what I wanted to hear.

  "Griff, I handled today all wrong. What happened out there with Mick shouldn't have, but I hesitated because I'm not sure of what we are or how much you want me to say to him. I wanted to tell him how I felt about you, but-"

  “You’re right,” he agreed, taking the last few steps that closed the distance between us. “You could’ve handled it differently.”

  “But I-“

  “Didn’t expect he’d kiss you? Or propose to you in front of a camera crew? Or fly hundreds of miles to surprise everyone?”

  I stared up at him, unable to decipher whether he was angry or just frustrated, and whether that anger was directed at me or Mick.

  “Of course you didn’t,” he finally said as he released an irritated chuckle. “Nobody knows what in the hell he’s going to do next. He’s a frigging loose cannon. But I still don’t have to like it,” he mumbled, stooping down to his knees directly in front of me. His hand worked its way up to my face, his gaze zeroing in on my lip. “How’s it feel?” he questioned, running a finger over the small cut.

  “Stings but I’ve dealt with worse,” I admitted.

  He leaned forward, quickly sucking my lower lip into his mouth, the warmth of his tongue sliding across the wound sending shivers down my spine. He allowed his tongue to work its magic before sitting back on his heels. “I’ve wanted to do that all afternoon,” he admitted softly.

  “You’re not mad?” I questioned hesitantly.

  “At you? For Mick’s distorted view of reality?” he questioned. I shrugged in response. “No, of course not.”

  I released an audible breath. “Oh, thank God.”

  “You thought I was angry…at you?”

  “Well, we haven’t been alone to discuss everything since it happened…and I…when you said…” I stuttered, trying to find my verbal footing. “You said we’d talk in the guest room and I just kind of took that to mean-“

  “Good God, what kind of men have you been with?”

  “I-“

  He placed his hands suddenly on my thighs. “Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

  I hadn’t planned on it. Especially since I could now compare what a real man was like to all the losers I’d dated in the past and the two didn’t compare at all. Not in the slightest.

  "You ready to define this?” he questioned, his fingers enveloping my thighs. He squeezed softly, urging me into response.

  "What's that?" I questioned, gripping the arms of the chair.

  "Us. You and me,” he clarified.

  “But I thought you were clear on wanting to take things slowly, one day at a time.”

  “I was,” he said roughly as his hands slid up my thighs, his fingers dangerously close to my center. “Right up until I saw his mouth on yours.” His voice had sunk into an all-out growl again, his words chillingly bitter. “The thought of it was unnerving, but the sight? The sight was enough to bring my blood to a boil.”

  I sunk back into my chair, the placement of his hands throwing me off kilter. "I think you know how I feel. The other night, in the condo, I told you…"

  "Then say it again," he cut in. “But this time, let’s be a bit more clear.”

  Very little separated Griff’s fingers from me. I was, however, thankful that my bathing suit was still a little damp. Maybe then he couldn’t attribute all of the moisture between my legs to the effect he was having on me.

  "I-I…dammit I want you, Griff," I whispered, my tongue flicking out nervously to lick my lips. "I can't recall ever wanting anything more and I'm not just talking about sleeping with you. I want something that I'm not sure you're willing to give, something I've never wanted before."

  "Oh, I’m certain that that’s not true," he said, his face being illuminated by the fire. I'd never seen anything more handsome in my life. “Because there’s not a single thing that you couldn’t ask me right now that I wouldn’t be willing to give you. I want all of you. Every last piece and it scares me how far I'd be willing to go to get it."

  My stomach tightened at what I was hearing, his words confirming further that we were both on the same page. I’d never been around a man like Griff – so sure of himself, so willing to say what he felt with no reservations, without pretense. “So, where does that leave us?” I questioned hesitantly.

  "I don’t know exactly, but here’s what I do know,” he said, his fingers sliding beneath the thin fabric. He ran a thumb over my sensitive need, the suddenness of the feeling that it provoked causing my head to jerk backwards and my body to arch up towards him. “I know that this is mine,” he mumbled, dipping a finger inside of my wet folds to prove his point. “You are mine,” he grumbled as he jerked my body down until it rested awkwardly on the edge of the chair. His eyes met mine for little more than a millisecond before he leaned forward, his fingers being replaced by his lips as he pushed the elastic fabric to the side.

  The tip of his tongue traced across my folds, tickling the skin, creating a furious stirring within. My fingers gripped the arms of the chair for balance as he parted me with such force I thought it’d knock both me and the chair over, the sensations rushing through me with the speed of lightning.

  “Griff,” I gasped, barely able to speak, much less breath.

  He pushed the bathing suit cover-up over my hips, his fingers working to untie the strings on either side of the bikini bottoms. I lifted so that he could remove the item of clothing completely. He gripped the fabric hungrily in his palm before resuming his position between my thighs. Free from the limitations of the bathing suit, his mouth closed over my clitoris, clamping down hard before settling into a circular pattern. His hands made their way to my bottom, gripping the cheeks roughly. With every possessive grasp he performed on my backside, it drove his tongue harder onto my center. I was hit with a wave of sensation that I hadn’t prepared myself for, my body jerking chaotically, nearly sending us both sprawling onto the floor.

  He worked to steady me, a mischievous gleam dancing in his eyes. “Easy, Baby.”

  I blushed, unable to respond. My senses took over instead as I pushed off of the chair, knocking him backwards onto the grass. He landed with a loud oomph, my hips grinding down reflexively on the erection that I felt between my thighs. He moaned, grabbing for my hips to impede them.

  “You’re killing me, Kennedy.”

  “That's exactly what I'm afraid you're going to do to me with this thing,” I said, grinding down onto him again despite his requests for me to do the contrary.

  Springing forward, he pulled me against his chest as he thrust upwards. "So I measure up to your standards?"

  "I'm not certain that I've ever had someone as large as you," I admitted, the words bringing another blush to my cheeks.

  "I'll be sure to take it slow the first time," he assured me. Sighing roughly, he pulled me into a delicious kiss, our tongues doing what our bodies couldn't. “Let’s get out of here,” he whispered against my lips.

  "Where are we headed?"

  "Somewhere that we can be alone."

  However reluctant I was to give up my position over top of him, I did so anyway. We were a safe enough distance from the house for foreplay, but not near far enough for the real thing. I stood quickly, helping to pull him into a standing position before readjusting my cover-up to hide what wasn’t hidden underneath. He picked my bathing suit bottom up off of the ground, curling it into his fist.

  “Aren’t you going to give those back to me?” I questioned, embarrassed at the thought of going commando to our unknown, intended destination.

  “Of course,” he said, “as soon as I’m done with you.”

  Good Lord, he was going to be the death of me. I’d never had someone make me feel so devilishly sexy, but embarrassed at the same time.

  He grabbed for my hand, leading the way as we did a large sweeping circle around the house in an effort to remain covert. We made it to his truck, my voice breathless with anticipation. "But won't they ask questions?"

  He shrugged. "Frankly, I don’t really give a damn. I’m so horny and pent up, I could hunt with this thing,” he said, referencing the erection pressing angrily against his jeans. “And if they do, I'll be more than happy to tell them exactly where they can go with their questions."

  Chapter Fourteen

  Griff maneuvered his Ford down the dirt road that I'd attempted on foot weeks earlier, the remnant scars on the bottom of my feet serving as a reminder of my journey. We split off from the main road onto a smaller one about a half a mile from his house. As we drove along in silence, my mind reeled from the previous events and the promises that he'd made about what was still to come.

  We came to a stop in front of a beautiful, country-style home, twice the size of his. A porch hugged the entire outside, rocking chairs lining the front. Painted a stark white with light blue window boxes and shutters to match, the outside said antique southern charm in the most elegant way. Vines climbed up the wall on one side of the house, reaching towards the fading black roof. The lower window boxes contained a host of freshly planted flowers, showing the first signs of the wilting process. It reminded me of a bed and breakfast I'd stayed at in Savannah, Georgia once, only a little less loved.

  It was perfect.

  The sound of the truck door opening beside me brought me out of my trance. "Griff, it's beautiful," I whispered, feeling the enormity of the moment.

  "It was Mom and Dad's," he said simply, reaching out to take my hand.

  His words hit me like a wrecking ball. He eased me out of the truck, my feet landing moments before my gelatin legs. They still hadn't recovered from the events lakeside. I hesitated. Something inside of me told me that my presence here wasn't quite as casual as he was making it seem.

  "You okay?" He used our intertwined fingers to tug me snuggly into his side, cocking a concerned eyebrow down at me.

  I nodded, too afraid that my shaky voice would give me away. I'd never been emotionally tied to a man before, never had a single desirous bone in my body that wanted to be claimed, to be taken. Not before Griff, at least. But now, I wanted him so desperately I couldn't see my life going in any other direction than the one that I was currently headed.

  I squeezed his thick fingers between mine, smiling convincingly over at him. "I'm fine. Just trying to recover from the things that your mouth just did to me."

  He pulled me up the steps and onto the front porch, our bodies fusing together when we reached the top step. I'd been tugged into a Callahan's chest before, but this time the set of muscles belonged to the right brother. This time, it felt right.

  "Baby, I plan on doing a lot more than that to you with these lips of mine," he mumbled, placing a kiss over the tip of my nose. "So, if those knees of yours can't handle it, you better let me know now."

  "Will the sturdiness of my knees decide this relationship's fate?" I joked. My arms slid around his waist, my fingers sliding across his backside as they roamed over his snug jeans. He shifted suddenly, the muscles beneath my fingers moving in response. When you had a butt like Griff's, there was no need for rhinestones.