Scott fit into the mix seamlessly. He was the quiet, grounded type, and he balanced Maggie perfectly. He was also so obviously head over heels for her that watching them together almost hurt.
Mrs. Blake—who insisted I call her Allison—was the kind of mother everyone wanted, the one who asked questions and actually listened to the answers. She radiated a love and acceptance that seemed effortless. I’d never felt so welcomed by someone in my life, not even when I joined the secret order.
Mr. Blake, on the other hand, spent half the day holed up in his office, and when he did come out, he spent most of the time talking to Hayden and Miles about hotels. He pretty much ignored Maggie, Scott, and his own wife completely, but I could feel him watching me with curiosity from time to time.
Maybe I was seeing everything through rose-colored glasses since this was my first trip with the Blakes, but it was easy to imagine them being my forever in-laws. I could picture us ten years from now—watching Maggie convince her brothers to team up with her inWorld Dominationeven though Hayden claimed she turned on them every single time, listening to Scott and Hayden talkabout house projects, throwing jabs back and forth with Miles, talking dresses with Allison.
The idea sent a pang of longing through my chest. I wanted that future. But I knew it was nothing more than a pipe dream.
FIFTEEN
Hayden
My father was staringat Danielle again. At least that was my excuse for pulling her against my chest and running my lips down her neck and over her shoulder next to the thin spaghetti strap of her dress. It was probably true. His attention was always on her when he was in the room.
I didn’t know if it was just curiosity about the wife of his oldest son or if he was planning something, but when it came to Danielle, I couldn’t give fewer fucks about his twisted games. The only things I cared about were staking my claim on her and making sure no one fucked with what was mine for as long as she was my wife.
She shifted her head slightly, offering me easier access to her bare skin, and my blood roared through my veins. My own skin felt too tight… and so did my jeans for that matter.
It would be so easy to press against her back and lether feel exactly what she did to me. But that would cross a line I’d vowed not to step over when I first learned she wanted to wait for marriage.
The worst part what was that I really didn’t believe Danielle was trying to torture me. She never did anything overly sexual or seductive. Hell, she didn’t even initiate any of our PDA.
She was far from the only woman I’d seen in little sundresses. But on her they looked different, like pretty wrapping paper hiding a present no one had earned the honor of opening before.
I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I didn’t get hung up on girls. Even sex wasn’t usually all that appealing to me anymore—it came with too many complications and simply wasn’t worth the trouble most of the time. So why couldn’t I stop picturing the face Danielle would make as I rocked into her virgin pussy?
I wanted to see her face flushed and her copper hair wild, to hear her scream my name as I made her feel things no one ever had before.
Again, what the fuck was wrong with me? I’d never cared about anyone’s sexual history before, but the idea that I could be her first, her only… It was doing something to me.
Reluctantly, I dragged my lips away from her skin, though I kept my arms wrapped around her waist like I was reassuring myself that no one could take her away from me. Sort of like how I’d been sleeping cocooned around her as if trying to ensure no one could steal her from me in the night.
Danielle had officially turned me into a possessivejackass. She didn’t seem to mind though. She leaned her head back against my shoulder as if she was perfectly comfortable in my arms, and I had to resist the urge to press a kiss to the top of her head.
If I did that, I wouldn’t stop there, and I was already walking way too fucking close to the edge of right and wrong where Danielle was involved.
“Are you going to join us, Hayden?” Maggie asked from the dining room table, which had been set up with two different board games and half a dozen notebooks where my sister had written down the complex set of rules for how to play the weird mashup of games.
We’d been doing this since we were teenagers. Maggie had deemed most normal board games either boring or not realistic enough. So she’d come up with her own versions and taught Miles and me how to play. I still wasn’t sure why we indulged her, but we always did.
Except for now.
“I’m good where I am,” I said.
“You can play.” Danielle attempted to remove herself from my arms.
I tightened my hold on her and lowered my mouth to her ear. “If you don’t quit squirming, I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and take you somewhere that I don’t have to share you with my family.”
I felt more than heard her sharp inhale right before she went still against me.
“Good girl.”
She jolted at my words, and I silently cursed. I was getting closer and closer to that damn line I couldn’tcross. I was blaming the dress… and her wildflower scent… and the warmth radiating off her skin.
I was losing my ever-loving mind. Spending every second with Danielle was driving me crazy. I needed space. Distance. Five fucking minutes where I wasn’t with her. Where I couldn’t smell her or hear her laugh or see her smile.
But I didn’t want to find out what would happen if my father got the chance to talk with her alone. So I was stuck.
