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“I’m just gonna need a little more time, okay?”
“I can give you that. Anything you need.” Rubbing a strand of her hair between his fingers, he nodded. “Finish getting dressed. I’ll be waitin’ downstairs.”
They took the truck this time. Tanner was subdued, but Kellan was his usual smirky self. Arien sat between them in her flouncy short dress and the cowboy boots they got her for Christmas. She’d taken extra care to look nice for them.
“You wearin’ panties under that dress, baby cakes?”
“Course, I am.” She lifted the hem. “See?”
“Good girl.” Kellan squeezed her thigh. “You look real pretty. Don’t she, Tanner?”
“She does.” He took hold of her hand, interlacing their fingers. “I tell her all the time.”
A bonfire blazed in front of the big, old barn. Same as last time. And while the vibe was just as oddly sensual, everything seemed different. Maybe it was seeing Griffin locking lips with Cassie—and Shiloh. Maybe it was because Billy wasn’t kissing on Emily. He couldn’t, poor baby.
Birthdays. And Griffin and Emily recently had one. Cassie was in. Billy was out. Until he turned eighteen anyway. Stupid damn rules. It was going to be a helluva long year for him. He loved her cousin a lot, though. He’d get through it, just like Jake had. That’s what he told her, anyway. But watching him look at his brother with Emily, so forlorn and with such longing, Arien wasn’t so sure. She felt so badly for him.
“You okay, Billy?”
“Yeah, babes. This too shall pass, right? One year. That’s all it is. Jake’s been waitin’ a helluva lot longer.” He reached for her hand. “Can I say something?”
“Of course.”
“If you love ’em, don’t make ’em wait.” Then he squeezed her hand tight. “A man who can’t be with the woman he loves is missing a piece of his soul, Arien. I feel like I’m dyin’.”
“Oh, Billy. I’m so sorry.” She hugged him, paused, and pulled back. “Wait a minute…”
“Don’t be angry with him, Arien. Tanner needed to talk it out with somebody and he couldn’t do that with Kellan.” He pulled her in for another hug. “He loves you. They both do.”
I know.
They came back from the bar together. Tanner gave her a beer. Kellan slipped her a flask of Fireball and winked.
“You want to get me drunk?”
“Nah.” He gazed downward. “Just hopin’ I can get you to dance for me in them boots.” He leaned into her ear. “Naked.”
Arien gave him a good-natured elbow to the ribs. “How about we just go dance?”
“City girl like you? How many barn dances you know anyway, huh?”
“Asshole.”
“You know it.” His tongue tucked in his cheek, Kellan hooked his arm around her neck. Pulling her close, he lowered his voice. “Need me to prove it again?”
Please?
And with that, he kissed her.
Kellan didn’t just kiss, he claimed. Fingers sinking into her flesh, he hauled her onto his lap. Full, soft lips sealed her mouth and he groaned. She smelled the whiskey on his breath. Tasted it on his tongue. Cinnamon heat setting her on fire.
Beneath her dress, he kneaded the globes of her ass, pushing her against the hardness in his jeans. Fuck me, I want you. Silk panties riding on rough denim, Arien gripped his nape, deepening their kiss. The room, the music, the people, everything faded away. There was only him.
“Goddamn, I need a cigarette.” Shiloh’s skinny-ass sister lit up a Marlboro and exhaled, blowing smoke up in the air. “Never kissed me like that.”
“No offense, Cassie, but you were never mine.”
“Neither were you. None taken.”
