“That can be arranged.”

  Though, truthfully, she wanted to take a turn at the going-down part. Feeling that hard part of him pressed against her made her want to taste him again.

  But he was right. No time this morning.

  “Sure. I’ll come over, James.” She eased out from under his arm and climbed naked out of bed. “For now, we should go out there and join them for breakfast.”

  His gaze slid over her and he groaned. “I’ll be right behind you. Right after I take a quick cold shower.”

  She thought he was kidding until he hopped out of bed and disappeared into the bathroom. A moment later, the shower turned on.

  Maybe she should’ve joined him?

  Hmm. There’d be plenty of time for that later.

  She glanced around and realization sank in.

  Shit.

  Her clothes were in the other guest room.

  Tori opened the door to the room she was in, peeked out her head and hollered, “Hey, Kris?”

  Footsteps rushed toward her, like her BFF had been waiting nearby.

  “You need your clothes, don’t you?” Kris thrust the small bag forward. “On it.”

  “Thanks.” She took the bag and tossed it back in the room.

  Kris’s lip twitched. “Like kissing a cold dead fish, huh?”

  For a moment, Tori was utterly confused, and then she remembered the conversation from brunch a couple of months ago.

  Her cheeks heated. “Okay, so I might have lied about that.”

  Kristen leaned forward and whispered, “I want all the details later.”

  “Are you sure you want all the details? This is your brother we’re talking about.”

  “Ew, yeah. You can leave a bunch of stuff out.” Her friend’s expression softened into something like wonder. “I’m so happy it finally happened. This is like a year in the making.”

  Had it been?

  The shower turned off, and Kristen ducked back into the hall. “Okay, I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  “Thanks, Kris. We’ll be out in a few.”

  She closed the door and leaned against it.

  Had the whole sleeping with James thing been inevitable?

  Stop overthinking, Tori. Don’t worry about the future and just enjoy the present.

  And last night? Had definitely been a present.

  *

  “You have this picture?”

  James paused in the midst of cooking pork chops for dinner to glance over at Tori.

  She stood by the fridge in nothing but panties and his T-shirt, touching a picture that was held up by a magnet.

  It was the one Tori had taken last year at the coffee shop. It was an image of Blake, Kris, Tori, and himself. It was the night he’d kissed her for the first time.

  “Yeah.”

  Oh, damn, this could get embarrassing fast.

  “How did you even get this? Wasn’t it on my Instagram account?”

  He cleared his throat and threw his pride under the bus. “Well, you tagged Kris in it, and I took a screenshot and printed it out.”

  “Right. I remember now. I tagged her to make that other guy she liked at the time jealous.” Her lips curved into a small smile. “What made you decide to print it out?”

  “It’s a good picture.”

  “You’re scowling in it like Grumpy McGrumpy Pants.”

  “Well, I don’t have many pics of my sister and me.” Ah, fuck it. “Fine. I wanted to have a picture of you. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought you’d be half-naked in my kitchen staring at it one day.”

  She made her way over to him and slid her arms around his waist, placing a kiss to the side of his neck.

  “I’m not going to lie. I looked at the pic on my account more than a few times in the last year.” She nibbled his ear. “I’m not saying it was while I was masturbating or anything, but I’m not saying it wasn’t.”

  He gave a choked laugh. Dear god. Would he ever get used to how blunt she was? Hopefully not. It was one of the things that drew him to her.

  When she flicked her tongue over his earlobe, his cock twitched, even though they’d barely made it inside the apartment after work and had hard, fast sex against the door.

  Damn, there was just something about seeing her in those skirts at the office. If he wasn’t working, he was thinking about pulling up her skirt and lifting her against the wall.

  Which was how she’d ended up getting screwed senseless against the apartment door after work.

  It’d only been three days since the big realization in the hot tub, and they couldn’t get enough of each other. She’d slept at his place every night since. The only time they’d been apart was when she’d run home to grab some clothes and an overnight bag.

  Apparently, she slept naked, which was why she’d stolen his shirt to wear around the house after work.

  Both of which he had zero complaints about.

  “You smell different than you did at Comic Con.” She released him to go lean against the counter, propping her elbows on it. “I think that’s part of why I didn’t suspect it was you. The masks made both of our voices weird. And the scent you wore as Aidan was nice, but your everyday James scent is like crack to me.”

  “Crack, you say?” He made a mental note to buy more cologne to make sure he never ran out. “Actually, for Comic Con, I used some deodorant with Dragon in the name. You know, to really personify the character.”

  She burst out laughing. “You didn’t.”

  “I absolutely did.”

  He slid the pork chops onto the two plates that already had brown rice and broccoli.

  “Kudos to you for committing to your character. And this looks amazing. Thanks for cooking dinner. I can handle breakfast for us in the morning.”

  She grabbed the plates and carried them to the table, where they both settled in to eat.

  “Hey. Serious question.” James paused between bites. “Has Ryan said anything to you?”

  “No.” She took another bite of rice. “He thinks you’re giving me rides to and from work because my car broke down.”

  It sounded logical, but still James frowned as unease twisted in his gut.

  “Do you think he buys that?”

  “I think so. He has no reason to assume otherwise. I mean, we’re super-cautious at work. We barely even acknowledge each other. Are you worried he might find out?”

  “I don’t like the way he tried to incite you into bed.” He finished off his pork. “It’s wrong and sleazy on every level.”

  “Agreed. You know, since I’m in HR, I debated about talking to Grace about what happened.” She hesitated. “But his word choice was kind of vague. I could ‘go far.’ He’s ‘a good person to know.’” She sighed. “I feel like I need more than that to report a partner at the firm who basically hired me. He has a lot of clout.”

  “Yeah, as much I hate to agree, I do.” James leaned back in the chair, watching as she finished her meal.

  “Do you think he’ll be jealous if he finds out about us?”

  “Well, he did call dibs on you.”

  And you should’ve never admitted that aloud, James.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Dibs?” She pushed away her plate, even though it was still half-full. “Like I’m the last beer?”

  “It’s total bullshit,” he agreed.

  “Is that why you didn’t make a move on me?”

  “What?” He shook his head. “I mean, we were also at each other’s throats the whole time.”

  “Or had our tongues down them.” There was a hint of irritation in her tone now.

  Crap.

  “I know how it sounds. But there’s also this whole Bro Code thing. If your friend—or in my instance, cousin—likes a girl, you can’t go after her. And he really seemed to like you.”

  “Not this Bro Code shit again. I heard all about this with Kris and Blake.” She rolled her eyes. “What’s our code that we’re breaking? Bros before hoes?”

  “More like cousin before lovin’,” he joked. “Or something like that.”

  “Oh, you think that’s funny?”

  Shit, he was making it worse.

  James stood and lifted her into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” She didn’t struggle, though, as he carried her to the couch and plopped her down.

  “You’re mad.”

  “Well, I’m not happy.”

  He sat beside her and leaned down to catch her mouth in a slow kiss, using his tongue to tease away that pout.

  It only took a moment before she gave a small murmur and kissed him back.

  When he lifted his head, he met her gaze. “I can’t say much except I’m sorry, and I was being stupid.”

  She grunted. “Like, incredibly stupid and immature.”

  He eased a hand up and under his shirt she wore to cup one naked breast. Her nipple peaked into his palm immediately, and she exhaled softly.

  With a smile, he eased off the couch to sit on his knees in front of her. He slid his palms up her thighs to catch her panties and dragged them down and off her legs.

  “What are you doing?” She raised a brow.

  “Making sure you’re happy and apologizing for being such an idiot.”

  And then he buried his face between her thighs. His tongue flicked into her folds to find her already wet and warm.

  God, it’d always been like this. The fighting always made them hotter for each other.

  Tori slid her fingers into his hair and tugged slightly.

  “You know, you can’t just go down on me every time we argue.”

  He flicked his tongue over her clit, and she gasped.

  With a knowing smile, he lifted his mouth from her. “I’ll stop if you really want me to.”

  “Well, no need to be rash. Besides, I am trying to get better at accepting apologies.”

  She gently pushed his head back between her legs and sighed when he sucked the sensitive nub.

  “Yes. Like that.” She gasped again and then gave a weak laugh. “You’ve really been such a JILF since the day I met you.”

  That made him pause. “What?”

  “When we first met, you were a JILF. A jerk I’d like to fuck.”

  Really? Should he be offended? He continued to swirl his tongue over the firm bud—the taste of her going to his head again.

  He’d been kind of an asshole, so it was probably warranted.

  “And now you’re the James I like to fuck. Same JILF, different meaning—oh, god, yes. That feels so good.”

  Definitely not offended, but his ego was inflating.

  He paused in his ministrations. “Maybe you could put that JILF thing on a T-shirt for me?”

  “Anything you want. Just please, don’t stop.” She pushed his head back down.

  He sucked her clit again until her hips were bucking and her moans turned into sharp cries of abandon.

  Stop?

  They had all night, and he was just getting started . . .

  *

  “So. You and my brother, huh? How’s it all going?”

  Tori grimaced, even though she’d been expecting the inquisition from her best friend.

  They were about fifteen minutes into their mani-pedi appointment, which would be followed by brunch.

  “It’s going well,” she admitted honestly.

  Had it really been a week since the party that had set the ball in motion?

  Kristen glanced away from her toenails that were getting painted a lime green and up to Tori.

  “Yeah? So, I’m assuming you guys have seen each other again since the party?”

  “I, uh, yeah. I’ve spent four nights at his apartment since it happened.”

  “Wait a minute . . . you guys have only been apart three nights?”

  “No. He came to my apartment the other nights.”

  Kris’s eyes rounded, and her jaw fell. “Are you seriously telling me you’ve been together every night? I don’t think I’ve ever known you to be like that with a guy.”

  “Probably because I haven’t,” she admitted honestly. “We’re just having so much fun.”

  And so much sex.

  She didn’t add that to spare the ladies doing their nails the extra details.

  “So it would seem.”

  “What about you?” Tori turned the tables super-quick, before they could get into the TMI topics. “How’s married life? The job? School? All the things? You knocked up yet?”

  Kristen choked on a laugh. “Um, no. That whole school and job part you asked about means we’re talking years before we even start trying.”

  Tori had figured as much, but her questions did a great job at changing the topic.

  “So, the job is good. I work with some great people. School is challenging, but I’m excited to be working toward my master’s.” Kristen sighed and her expression turned whimsical. “And married life with Blake, as cliché as it sounds, is still absolute bliss.”

  Just the tone of Kristen’s voice and sappy expression left little doubt in Tori’s mind that her friend was living her best life. And with the love of her life.

  “So, back to you and James. Do you think it’s getting serious?”

  Tori laughed, but something inside her stomach fluttered nervously at the word, serious.

  Damn, Kris was persistent at turning the subject back to where she wanted.

  “Again, it’s been a week.”

  She hadn’t even let herself consider it. But there it was now. That word hanging above her.

  The image of James flashed in her head and everything inside her softened. She felt a little sappy and vulnerable.

  Kind of the way Kris had looked when talking about Blake.

  “Look, I know you don’t really do serious, but maybe it’s only because the right guy hasn’t come along.”

  Even if it was the right guy, it meant opening your heart to someone and risk getting it broken. She’d learned her lesson all those years in foster care, and she was pretty much a rock star at guarding it with men in intimate relationships.

  The term relationship was used loosely. Usually, she’d just had sexual partners without the emotions to tangle things up.

  Kristen lowered her voice. “Not everyone is as big of a douche as that Leo guy.”

  “I know.”

  “Good. It’s time to give someone a chance. Let someone in.”

  “James and I are taking it slow.”

  “Um, every night at each other’s apartment isn’t slow. It’s pretty much the fast lane.”

  God, she was right.

  “Have you guys even talked about it?”

  “We’re not at that stage yet.”

  Tori’s pulse quickened. She knew her friend had intended this conversation to be encouraging, but it seemed to be doing the opposite.

  It was making her anxious.

  Now Tori was all too aware of just how quickly things had been moving.

  Did James even want a serious relationship? Did she? Or was this just a fun physical thing they were both indulging in?

  The twisting in her gut made her realize that it might not be so casual on her end.

  “Just keep an open mind and heart, okay? James is a good guy. I can vouch for him, being his sister and all.”

  Sure, Kris knew him. As a sister. She couldn’t vouch for how he was in relationships. And the last one hadn’t worked out so well.

  Plus, you’re also the rebound for the only serious relationship he’s ever had.

  The awful little voice in her head loved to kill any joy Tori could find.

  She shoved it aside and told herself not to overthink this. To just let whatever happened happen.

  She bit her lip and stared at the black cherry nail polish being put on her toes. It was a bold and sexy color, and the very image of what she always tried to project but didn’t always feel.

  “I’m open to see where it goes,” she promised her friend.

  But what if it led her down the path to a broken heart?

  *

  It was official. Litigation was sucking away more and more of his soul each day.

  James sat at his desk, trying to catch his breath after a busy morning of depositions. He spent the next half hour checking emails and voicemails.

  Only his stomach growling had him checking the time to realize it was already two and he hadn’t eaten lunch.

  His cell buzzed, and he scooped it up to check the message.

  It was from Tori.

  Hey. Saw you come in a while ago. If you didn’t get lunch, I saved half my Thai takeout for you. It’s in the fridge under my name. Have at it.

  It was like she could read his mind.

  While the rest of his afternoon was looking just as busy, he definitely needed a few minutes to grab some food.

  He smiled and typed a quick message back.

  You’re an angel. Thank you. I’m totally stealing your Thai. Don’t suppose you can get away to meet me in the lunchroom for a few?

  He dropped his phone into the pocket of his suit and made his way to the lunchroom.

  Not surprisingly, it was empty at this time of day. He found her leftovers, grabbed a paper plate from the cupboard, and went about heating the food in the microwave.

  He was just about to pull the phone back out to see if she’d replied when she strode in.

  His blood quickened, and his heart softened at the sight of her.

  Today she’d skipped the tight skirts that she usually wore and instead had on a long flowy dress with a cardigan and colorful ballet flats.

  Where he was used to sophisticated, sexy Tori, this style was more of a bohemian and girl-next-door combo.

  She pulled off both looks easily. She was gorgeous.

  It was always his first thought when he saw her. Quickly followed by how the hell had he gotten so lucky that she was in his bed almost every night?

  “Hey there.” While her greeting was cheerful and casual, her gaze was much more intimate.

  It took everything in his power to not grab her around the waist and haul her against him. Let her kiss take away all the stress of the week.

  Instead, he forced a brief smile before glancing back at the microwave.

  “Hello, Victoria.”

  Maybe he overdid it on the formality, but they knew to keep things cool. While they were alone in here, who knew when someone could walk in at any minute?