“ANDREW?” LILLIAN YELLED across the house. “Can you listen for the timer!”

“What?” He was all the way back in his bedroom and she could barely hear him.

Groaning, she started quickly toward his room while trying to unclip her hair from on top of her head. The clip was somehow tangled up in a mass of uncombed hair. She walked into Andrew’s room, battling to free her hair. “Andrew,” she said again, distracted by the pain on her scalp, “please listen for the timer on the oven.”

“Timer on the oven,” he repeated, staring at her. “Got it.”

“I’ve set it—ouch! Dammit! Sorry, I set it to go off before the lasagna’s done, so it can still do the last bit of cooking in the oven when it’s off. I know it’ll be hard for you to take out and put on the counter, so I’ve got it perfectly set up—dammit, this hurts—so when I get back with Cayden, it’ll be ready.”

“What about the vegetables? Want me to take care of those?”

“I’ll heat them up when I get home. It’s green beans. They’ll only take a few minutes until they’re ready.” She tried to twist her hair the other way around the clip, but it only made the tangle worse. “How did this happen?”

“Do you need help?”

“I don’t know.”

“Executive decision: I’m helping. Come here.” Lillian didn’t fight back and sat on the bed, letting go of the mess and letting Andrew have a go with it. He took the clip gently in his hands and worked with tiny strands. “What time does he land?”

She looked at her phone. “In about half an hour.”

“It doesn’t take long to get there. You won’t be late.”

“I hope not.”

“Even if you are, he’ll be fine.”

“I shouldn’t be gone more than an hour. The flight tracker says it’s due to land on time, so—”

“Hey, Lillian,” Andrew interrupted, looking at her in the mirror. “Calm down. I know you’re excited.”

She paused. “I’m not excited.”

“Oh, totally. You’re dreading his arrival. That’s why you showered, used body spray, and put on something other than that huge sweatshirt.”

“How do you know I put on body spray?”

“I’m sitting right next to you, Lillian.”

“Is it too much?”

Andrew gave her a sneaky smile. “It’s not too much. He’ll love it. Now, take a breath and relax. I’m almost done with your hair.”

She took a few deep breaths. “You sound like Amelia.”

“Well, I am her brother, so that makes sense.”

Lillian got a flashback of the three of them making a huge pallet of blankets when they were younger, staying up all night and watching movies. “Thanks for doing my hair. I don’t know how you’re already almost done with it. That’s the worst knot I can ever remember having.”

“It was pretty bad.” She felt something come loose and he handed her the hair clip. “Here you go.”

“You’re a miracle worker.” Lillian gave him a quick hug and stood up, prancing to the door. “How do I look?”

“Like a million bucks, as usual.”

“Liar.” She stuck out her tongue. “Please listen for the timer. I’ll be back soon. And don’t try to get the lasagna out by yourself.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ve got it timed, so it will finish cooking in the oven.”

“You literally just said that.”

“Oh.”

“I won’t try to get it out. And I’ll be listening while I answer these emails, so I can turn the oven off and make sure the house doesn’t burn down before you get back.”

“Good. Do you know how upset I’ll be if the lasagna is ruined?”

“How upset?”

“I’ll fill a thousand pools with my tears.”

Andrew clapped. “That’s very poetic.”

“Oh, my gosh. ’Bye.”

“Brush your hair!” he called down the hallway after her.

“I’ll do it in the car!” She pulled her coat on and ran out to the car, immediately cranking up the heat. The traffic wasn’t bad. On the interstate she set cruise control, and very carefully attempted to comb her hair with one hand. Some gut feeling told her she should stop and wait until she was parked at the airport. After living through both Amelia and Andrew being in life-threatening accidents, she had learned not to mess around with cars. Instantly, she stopped combing.

There was a little traffic congestion getting into the airport, but she managed to control her road rage and not yell at cutting cars. Pleased with herself, she parked in the temporary spaces and grabbed her brush. “Come on, hair, please cooperate.” Every thirty seconds she glanced at the clock.

Her phone beeped. Andrew sent a photo of the oven, which was off.

Thank you so much, she replied. I’m going in to get him.

Try not to get carried away with yourselves, he sent back. I don’t want this whole thing on my own.

She felt her face flush. Don’t you dare! See you in a bit. Locking the car behind her, she tried to do a graceful-looking jog into the arrival hall. Cayden had said to pick her up alone, but it looked like they wouldn’t be able to find that secluded parking space somewhere to get frisky.

I’ll get frisky with him later, she resolved. I’ll do something he doesn’t expect.

There was a good standing space in front of a café. She parked herself there and sent Cayden a quick text. Hey, I’m here in front of—

“Excuse me, Miss, are you waiting for someone?”

Lillian looked up and saw Cayden right in front of her, a big smile on his face. Forgetting everything, she threw her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his mouth.

“Wow!” he exclaimed. “I wasn’t expecting this enthusiastic of a greeting!”

“I missed you,” she whispered in his ear, giving his earlobe a quick nibble.

“Oh, man. I should come back more often.” The skin on his neck prickled. “Did you just get here?”

“Yeah, I did. Were you waiting?”

“I must have walked through at the same time you came in.” He adjusted his backpack and took her hand. “Let’s get home. Unless...”

“Andrew has dinner waiting for us.” She made a pouty face and then winked. “I’ve got some surprises planned for later, though.”

“Tell me more,” he growled, squeezing her hand.

“They’re surprises. You’ll have to see for yourself. Where’s your jacket?”

“Oh. I forgot it’s cold here.” He pushed open the door and the instant the night air hit him, he whistled. “Did it get colder this week?”

“Yeah, the temperature has been dropping.”

“I’ll say.” He reached into his backpack as they walked and pulled on a hoodie. “Maybe Los Angeles isn’t such a bad place to be in the winter.”

“We’ll have a vacation home there one day,” Lillian joked, but it caught Cayden’s ear.

“I like the sound of that!” he said, opening the car door for her.

“Thank you, sir,” she said as she sat down.

He bowed and crossed over to his side, rubbing his arms to warm up. “Turn that heat on! My body is in shock right now.”

Lillian winked at him. “I can shock you more later.”

“Holy crap, what’s with all the sexy comments lately?” He pulled her towards him and pressed their lips together. There in the darkness of the car, Lillian melted at the feel of his warmth and his musky scent. Cayden put his hand on the back of her head, the other on her thigh, slowly running it up to her hip.

She felt her heart drop to the seat, and moaned. “Damn. We need to go.”

“We can’t have a little playtime?”

“Later,” she said, giving him a little kiss on the cheek. “Andrew’s waiting.”

“He can eat without us.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Later, for real.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

“You think I would skip out on getting a piece of this?” She lightly tapped his abs; she could even feel them through his hoodie and shirt.

“If I were someone else, I wouldn’t miss out on this.” He puckered his lips.

“Exactly. We’ve waited almost a week, so waiting a couple more hours won’t hurt.”

“Fine, fine.” Cayden settled back in his seat, his hand still on her thigh. Neither of them said anything for a while until he leaned forward and started playing with the radio. They had gone through each station twice until he decided on the same one that the radio had been set to in the beginning.

“We’re home,” Lillian announced.

Cayden looked up, surprised. “Already?”

“Yep.” She parked the car and unbuckled. “Sorry you just found your station.”

“Good song, too.” He shrugged and popped his neck. “Thanks for picking me up, Lil.”

“I wish I could pick you up,” she murmured low enough that only he could hear as they walked to the front door. “That would make things a lot more fun.”

Cayden pushed the door open and gasped. “Is that lasagna I smell?”

“It is lasagna!” Andrew’s voice floated to them from the kitchen. “Come and get it, ladies!”

“Watch who you call a lady,” Cayden shouted, dropping his backpack onto the floor.

Lillian ran ahead. “I’ll fix the green beans now, and then we’ll be ready—” she stopped, her eyes resting on the stovetop. The green beans were already cooked, still on heat just low enough to stay warm.

“Problem solved,” Andrew said.

“You shouldn’t have! Thank you.” She blew him a kiss and got some plates down from the cabinet. “I’m glad to see you didn’t try to take out the lasagna, though.”

“I knew you would be pissed.”

“Yeah, and if you did, then it wouldn’t be done enough.” She slipped pot holders onto her hands and took out the lasagna. “It’s perfect. Hope you two are hungry.”

Andrew and Cayden looked at each other and nodded. “Yep, ready to eat,” they said at the same time.

“Airplanes are so stingy,” Cayden complained, sitting at the table. “I mean, I’m in the plane for a few hours and all they give is that tiny pack of peanuts.”

“I like it when they give you biscotti,” Andrew said.

“At least the biscotti is more filling than peanuts.” Cayden sighed. “I shouldn’t be saying all this in front of my new client. I should be endorsing the peanuts for the proteins and good fats.”

“But the biscotti tastes so much better.”

“True, there’s that.”

Lillian set their plates in front of them. Cayden started to ask where her plate was, but she answered before he could finish. “Mine is coming,” she said, scooping out her serving. “I’m all right.”

“Whipped,” Andrew whispered to Cayden.

Cayden flipped Andrew off.

“Behave!” Lillian lightly slapped Cayden on the head.

“Sorry, Mom.”

Andrew stifled a laugh. “Weird fetish you’ve got there.”

“Seriously, Andrew?” Lillian droned. Andrew burst out laughing, and Lillian looked at Cayden. “Ignore him.”

“Will do,” Cayden replied, scratching his ear with his middle finger. “Thank you for dinner, Lil.”

“What about me?” Andrew demanded through a mouthful of food.

“You, too, Drew.”

“Don’t call me Drew.”

“I’ll call you Drew whenever you make fun of my sex life.” Cayden flicked a piece of bread crust at him.

“All right, all right. We’re even.”

Lillian rubbed her face with her hands. “This is so much chaos for the dinner table.”

“Let’s be more serious, then.” Andrew sat up straight, and held his fork and knife very properly. “Cayden, how was your time in Los Angeles?”

“It was fine, as to be expected,” Cayden replied in a terrible British accent. “I found two replacements for my clients, which takes a large burden off me.”

“Excellent,” Andrew said, taking a tiny bite of lasagna.

“And how was your week, Andrew?”

“Much better than last week,” he answered, letting out a laugh. “Last week, if I recall, I was unconscious.”

“That is indeed true.”

“This week I have gotten used to my crutches and my new leg brace. As we can see by the perfection of these heated-up canned green beans, I’m faring swimmingly.”

“You two are ridiculous,” Lillian muttered, eating at her own pace while the other two joked.

Andrew clapped a hand over his mouth. “How offensive!”

“Go to your room,” Cayden commanded.

“Again, with the weird fetishes.”

“Shut up, Drew.”

“I don’t even know what to do right now,” Lillian pretended to be irritated.

“You can eat,” Andrew said. “As I was saying, this week I also began physical therapy, and I have been doing my exercises daily since the appointment.”

“Lies,” Lillian put in.

Andrew paid no attention to her. “I’ve also started working remotely, doing as much as I can from the comfort of my laptop.”

“He needs help with his exercises,” Lillian said to Cayden. “He doesn’t do them right. But he won’t listen to me.”

“I don’t see the point of some of them,” Andrew argued. “And why are you watching me?”

“There’s definitely a point to them,” Cayden said. “I’ll look at them with you after we eat. We’ll have an anatomy and physiology lesson.”

“This is getting too sexual for me, Cayden.” Andrew fanned his face with his hand.

At a loss, Cayden looked at Lillian. “Help?”

“Okay, I’ll settle down. Sorry.” Andrew shoved a bite into his mouth. “This is great, Lillian. Way better than the ones already made in the grocery store.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said.

“It’s really good,” Cayden agreed. “Hits the spot.”

“Which spot, Cayden?” Andrew giggled like a little girl, and Cayden thumped another piece of bread crust at him.

“I give up.” Lillian stood up and got a bottle of wine out of the fridge.

“How long has that been in there?” Cayden asked.

“I don’t even care. You two are too much to handle right now,” she said, taking a sip. “Ah. It’s not too bad. I don’t remember where this came from, though.”

“Have fun later,” Andrew winked.

Lillian groaned. “Can you leave?”

“You’re kicking out a cripple?”

“Just go to the living room. Cayden, can you help him?” Taking a gulp of wine, she waved them off. “You two do your thing. I’ll clean up.”

“We’re done already?” he frowned.

“Yes,” she said shortly, going over to him and running her fingers through his hair. “If you want more, you’re free to take it into the living room.”

Cayden thought about it. “I’ll have more later, I guess.”

“It’ll be here. We’ve got plenty left. Are you finished, Andrew?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied, pushing to his feet and taking off with his crutches. “Cayden and I will have more later. Shortest damn dinner in my life,” he muttered.

“Look at him go!” Lillian squealed, squeezing Cayden’s shoulder. “My little Andrew’s growing up!”

“Get in here, lover boy,” he called behind him.

Cayden kissed Lillian as he stood. “I guess you know where we’ll be.”

“I’m excited for later,” she winked.

“You’re excited?” He chuckled. “You’d better be dressing up in something bad-ass or whatever you’re planning. All this talk feels like foreplay. I’m going to be walking around with a woody all night.” Taking his drink with him, he kissed her hard before releasing her and going to join Andrew in the living room. Lillian heard them talking but didn’t try to eavesdrop. A few moments to myself, she sighed, swirling the wine around in her glass. I guess I didn’t realize how much of an introvert I am until my house suddenly had two extra humans in it. Humans who happen to be tall, built men. Andrew wasn’t nearly as muscular as Cayden, but he had height.

She scrolled on her phone while her glass slowly got emptier. Once there was no more left, she took her time cleaning the kitchen. The guys were still talking in the other room; she was curious what they had to talk about so much. I didn’t know his simple physical therapy exercises would spur so much conversation. But, then again, I know nothing about muscles and bones, or whatever it is Cayden knows about.

Hoping she wouldn’t interrupt, she walked to the doorway and stood there, watching the two of them interact. Andrew was sitting on the couch, his leg straight out in front of him. Cayden was supporting his foot, holding it about six inches above the floor.

“So,” he motioned around Andrew’s leg, “that’s the purpose of this exercise they gave you.”

“My brain is melting,” Andrew said.

Cayden didn’t seem to hear. He was in his element. “You don’t want to lose your range of motion when you heal. That’s what the ROM means. Range of Motion. It’s short form.”

“Aren’t you smart?”

Cayden rolled his eyes, but tapped Andrew’s foot in warning. “If you lose ROM when you heal because this muscle hasn’t healed in its proper place, you’ll walk with a limp for the rest of your life.”

Andrew huffed. “I don’t know, man. It just doesn’t feel good when I do that.”

“Of course, it doesn’t feel good. Your femur’s broken and your ACL is torn.”

“Let me rephrase: it doesn’t feel right.”

“Don’t be a wuss.”

“I’m not a wuss. I’m being serious.”

Lillian giggled from her place at the door. Neither of the guys noticed.

“You can’t not do these just because you don’t like the way it feels.”

“That makes me sound petty.”

“That’s literally what you’re saying to me, though.”

“I’m just saying some of these are what old people do,” Andrew protested. “I don’t feel like I, as an able- bodied man, should be doing those same exercises.”

“Able-bodied?” Cayden sat back on his butt, propping Andrew’s heel on his knee. “Can you get up and do a jig for me, to demonstrate how able-bodied you are?”

“You know what I mean.”

Cayden shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean. Physical therapy isn’t a compromise of manhood, Drew—uh, Andrew.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re not less of an ‘able-bodied man’ for doing these little exercises that seem silly right now. You’ll be so glad you did them when you’re healing twice as fast as you would be if you weren’t doing them. Trust me.”

“Twice as fast?” Andrew perked up.

“Definitely faster than if you just sat here waiting for your body to heal.”

Andrew scratched his chin. “Now you’re getting my attention.”

Lillian, deciding now was an appropriate time to enter the scene, walked over. “Hello, men,” she greeted, sitting next to Cayden.

“Lillian,” Andrew said, “your boyfriend has told me that I’ll heal faster by doing these ridiculous exercises.”

She nodded. “I agree with him.”

“Because he’s your boyfriend?”

“Because I’ve seen how he works with his clients, and I know he’s the best at what he does.”

“I’m not a physical therapist, Lil,” Cayden said.

“No, you’re not, but you understand the body and some of the same stuff a therapist does. How muscles heal and where they are, et cetera.”

“But twice as fast?” Andrew asked again.

“More efficiently, let’s put it that way.”

He sighed. “I guess I’ll have to give it a try, then.”

Lillian held her hands up. “Finally. I never thought he would say this.”

“He is dangerously convincing,” Andrew pointed at Cayden. “You’d better watch out, Lillian. He might tempt you to do things you never thought you would do.”

She smirked. “He already has.”

Andrew made a gagging noise. “I was joking about your sex lives earlier. Keep it to yourself. Help me up; I’m going for a shower and a nap now.”

Cayden helped him stand up and get his crutches situated. “See you in the morning, then?”

“Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed,” Andrew replied, heading off down the hallway. “Goodnight, you two.”

“Goodnight, Andrew,” Lillian said. “Call me if you need anything.”

Cayden yawned. “That was exhausting. He’s a tough one.”

“I warned you.”

“I think he’s got it now, though. I’ll go through everything with him in the morning and try to work my convincing magic.” He kissed her on the forehead. “I think I’m going to head to my place for the night.”

“Ah, a location switch?”

“Yeah, let’s switch things up. I haven’t slept in my own bed in a long time. You coming to join me?”

“I’ll meet you over there in a little while. I’m going to wash my face and change.”

“Oh, I understand you have a sweatshirt of mine.”

Lillian nodded.

“Can I have it back?”

She shook her head.

He blinked sleepily. “I figured, but it never hurts to ask, right?”

Lillian opened the back door for him. “I’ll come find you in a bit. Keep your door unlocked. And don’t fall asleep.”

“You’d better hurry, then. I’m fading fast. It’s been a long day for me.”

“I will.” She watched him walk across her yard into his. “Keep it unlocked!”

He gave a thumb’s up, and she closed the door, shivering. Even the cats didn’t want to be near the cold air. She scooped up Gray Cat. “It’s freezing out there, isn’t it? You poor, silly, domesticated feline.” The cat squirmed to be free and jumped down from her arms, bolting into the other room. Turning on a little lamp, Lillian retreated into her room. The shower was going in Andrew’s bathroom, and she heard him let out a huge yawn that echoed off the tile walls.

She washed her face and bundled up in a warm bathrobe. As soon as she heard Andrew shut off the shower, she called out, “Andrew, I’m heading out to Cayden’s.”

“Have, uh, fun.” He sighed loudly. “I’m hitting the hay. Don’t tell your boyfriend, but he’s going to kill me with these exercises.”

Cayden really wore him out, she laughed. Now it’s my turn to wear Cayden out. Sitting on the floor in front of her dresser, she opened her lingerie drawer and searched through it. “Where are you?” she asked a particular item, trying to feel for it in the back where the light didn’t reach.

At last the tip of it touched her fingers, and she gently pulled it out. “Oh yeah,” she grinned, holding the silky nightgown in front of her and looking in the mirror. It barely went down to the bottom of her butt and was low-cut enough that Cayden wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off her. “You look good.”

Nervously, she slipped it on and ran her hands down her body. Dang, I forgot how good this feels. I should wear this more often. Opening her door just a little, she listened for Andrew’s snoring. By the sound of it, he was knocked out.

I can’t believe I’m about to do this. She ran through the house, pausing by the back door. Coat or no coat? Cayden’s sweatshirt? Quickly, she decided to wear nothing besides this gown. I’ll just hop into his bed really quick. If he’s in there, he’ll be lucky, and if not, he’ll get a surprise. Win-win situation.

Bracing herself for the cold, she darted into the night and practically flew across her yard. In an instant she was inside Cayden’s house, which felt like a sauna compared to outside. She didn’t hear anything. Locking the door behind her, she tiptoed into his room.

He was lying in bed, typing something on his phone with a scowl on his face. She poked half her head around the doorway, concealing the rest of her body. Seeing her out of the corner of his eye, he put the phone down.

“Have you snuck out again?” he asked.

She nodded, still so cold she was giggling.

“You know you’re not supposed to, right?”

Her feet felt like ice blocks, but she was so nervous she couldn’t reveal herself.

“I happen to like rebels,” Cayden said in a low growl. “Come be rebellious with me.”

Summoning the nerve, she jumped onto his bed and sat on top of him. His eyes widened so they were nearly popping out of his head. “Whoa! Hey there, sexy-thang!” he exclaimed, immediately putting his hands on her waist. His fingers trailed down to the lace hem. “How long have you had this?”

“A while,” she said, winking. “I just thought about it tonight.”

“I’m definitely glad you remembered it.” He wrapped his hands around her, pulling her down on top of him. “Geez, Lil, you’re freezing.”

“It’s cold out there.”

“You ran over here, no coat?” He whistled. “Get under here with me.” He threw back the covers and she laid her body along his.

Suddenly she froze. “Oh, damn.”

He grinned. “What is it?”

“Are you naked?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be naked?”

Feeling her body grow hot against his warm skin, she straddled him and put her hands on his chest. Cayden felt her upper thighs and finally dared to feel under the hem. “Just checking it was for me.”

“Are these new?” he asked, rubbing her lace panties between his fingers.

“Maybe.”

“I like them.” He played with the lace a little more. “But I want them off.”

“So, take them off,” she dared.

He didn’t need to be told again. In one swift move he rolled her onto her back, so he hovered above her. Somehow with one hand he managed to slip her panties off, letting his hands roam free on her legs and belly.

“You’re amazing,” he breathed.

She felt goose bumps rise on her neck. “You sure about that?” She was self-conscious about her skimpy outfit.

“You’re beautiful. Hot. Everything I fucking ever wanted.”

Her tongue flicked out to wet her lips. Her hips rolled down against his, her body shifting to rock against him, rubbing his cock against the place where she was already wet. Fuck.

Cayden groaned. “Damn, baby.” His thumb rubbed circles against her thigh, and then he let the hand slide upward, fingers tracing up her belly to the underside of her breast. She moaned softly. The roll of her hips grew faster, needier.

She gasped. “Stop. Damn it.” Except she was sure he knew what she meant. But she hadn’t said it and so his hands stopped, stilling against her skin. Her eyes, half-lidded, snapped open, and she swallowed hard. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“I’m only doing what I’m told.” Cayden winked.

“I wanted you to stop teasing,” she bit back.

His fingers dragged against her inner thigh. “You mean that?”

“Damn you.”

He laughed, and finally gave in, leaning in again to bite gently at her collarbone, mouth moving slowly downward until he could pull her nighty down and catch one of her nipples between his teeth, his tongue quick to follow suit. His other hand dipped between her legs, the back of his index finger pressed against her folds.

She moaned, and he echoed it. Fuck, she was so wet for him. So ready.

Cayden stroked his fingers up to her clit, whispering an ‘I love you’ against the valley between her breasts. She said it back, the words mixed up in another soft moan.

His fingers pressed into her, filling her, and she writhed against them.

“Tell me what you want,” he said. “How do you want me, baby?”

“More,” Lily begged. “Fuck. Anything. Just more.”

He stroked his fingers against her inner walls. “More, like that?” It was meant to be teasing, but he didn’t quite hit the right note. His thumb rubbed over her clit, and he slid another finger inside.

“Cay...” She didn’t get the rest out, whatever she wanted to say. Her thighs trembled against his, and her body bucked.

“Let it come. I want to watch you. Feel you come.”

A surprised gasp escaped her lips and suddenly she was coming, fingers clutching at his shoulders, and he leaned up to swallow the sounds she made.

When she pulled back, he gave her a moment, let her catch her breath while her heartbeat slowed. But they weren’t done. Once wasn’t going to be enough for her. She wanted him between her thighs. She wanted to watch him come, too. She looked down at him, knowing how she must look—her kiss-swollen lips parted, her hair falling loose around her face, her lace half on her shoulder. “Cayden, I want you to fuck me. I need you filling me up.”

He rolled her over, so she lay on the bed, and slowly kissed down her body to her thighs, letting her feel his breath across her skin. She squirmed under him. Her hands tangled in his hair and pulled just enough to give him very blatant direction.

He grinned up at her, and then his mouth was on her, his tongue sliding between her folds, slow as though he had all the time he could possibly desire, as though he was simply enjoying himself. He flicked the tip of it over her clit, and Lily whimpered. He licked circles around her clit and then rubbed it with the flat of his tongue. She moaned, clutching at his shoulders, his hair.

She couldn’t get enough of him. Cayden mouthed at her outer lips, feeling the smooth skin and dipping his tongue to trace between them, tasting her wetness and going up, grazing her clit just barely. Lily felt ready to explode again. She whimpered against her bicep, her fingers tugging against her own hair.

His hand shifted down to spread her open and he pressed in with his tongue pointed, tracing her opening. His tongue moved briefly over her entrance before moving up to circle her clit, lightly, teasingly, not touching, making her needy, desperate, begging, waiting till he could give it all to her. Another stroke of his tongue over and around the sensitive little bundle of nerves and then he flicked lightly over it. If it weren’t for his hand on her hip holding her in place, she would have bucked up against him, chasing his mouth with the low sound of pleasure in her throat.

“Cayden, please.”

He didn’t pay attention to her, though, his tongue ignoring her clit, his hand squeezing rhythmically at her hip. She gasped his name again, and he slid two fingers inside her. It was an easy glide; she was so wet for him. He licked slowly and firmly at the place she wanted it most. Then he closed his mouth on her clit, sucking and flicking it with his tongue. She thought she was going to die from the pleasure he sent through her body.

His hands curled around her thighs, holding her open, holding her still as he teased again, tracing lines over her clit, down along her folds to where she was wet and wanting and empty. He drew circles around her opening with the tip of his tongue until she was begging in words that stumbled over each other.

“Dammit, Cayden. Please fuck me. Please.” Her voice grew loader. “Now!”

And that was it. Cayden finally listened. He spread her legs wide, and leaned down over her with his fingers under her knees to hold them there as he pressed inside.

Her arms wrapped around him, dragging him close, and they both groaned.

She gasped. “Fuck. Yes.”

He moved inside her with long, slow thrusts, and she met them with the roll of her own hips, taking him as deep she could. Like this, she could look up into his eyes, read the pleasure moving across his face, and knew he wasn’t going to last. She moved faster, harder.

Time narrowed down to just the two of them, her body arching tight against his own. Her cry was muffled against his mouth as she fell over the edge into orgasm once more. This time Cayden followed, pleasure exploding through him, leaving him panting on her shoulder.

“One week feels like forever,” she whispered.

“It won’t always be like this,” he murmured. “Well, the sex, hell yes. But the distance and time away, hell no.”

They lay there, wrapped in each other’s arms, forgetting about the cold outside.

“You know,” she muttered, her eyes glued to Cayden’s chiseled face, “this warm light on half your face makes you look like a sculpture of a Greek god.”

She could see instantly that he was pleased. “I wonder if the rest of me would look like a sculpture in this light, too.”

“It looks like a sculpture in any light, babe,” she purred, burying her face in his chest and biting his skin a little. “I’m going to leave a mark on your chest. Label you mine.”

“Really?” When she grinned at him daringly, he hesitated. “I don’t know. Sometimes I work out shirtless.”

“I have to mark my territory, right?” She kissed his chest, nibbling his skin and tickling it with her tongue, until she felt it was adequate. When she pulled away, they both looked. “Oh, shit!” she said, holding her finger next to the red mark. “That’s bigger than I thought.”

He burst out laughing. “Too late to fix it now.”

“I like it, though.”

“Just to show that I’m very clearly taken?”

“Obviously. The sexy Los Angeles women need to back off.”

He turned on his side to face her. “I’m not looking at any women besides you, Lil.”

“Not even Katharina?”

“Katharina’s my client. And she’s definitely not my type.” He leaned forward and kissed her on the mouth. “Are you jealous?”

“No way,” she said out of reflex, but Cayden stared at her. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“Well, don’t be. You’ve marked me, remember? I’m your property now.”

She inhaled deeply. The way his sheets and pillows smelled made her feel so cozy.

“Yeah,” she said, her voice low as sleep began to drift over her. “You’re mine.”

***

SHE WAS SO WARM. HER skin felt as good as it ever did in the summer when she was at the beach. She didn’t have to open her eyes to know it was the sunshine that brought so much warmth to her skin; it was a feeling very distinct from anything else. She felt herself smile. The beach, she thought, seeing the ocean and sand in her eyes. I should go to the beach when I wake up. We should all go. I’ll tell Cayden.

Slowly, she rolled over and let her arm flop down on the other side of the bed. It hit the mattress.

“Hey,” she yawned, moving her hand around to feel for his body. “Hey, we should go to the beach.”

She couldn’t find him. Thinking he had inched to the very side of the bed—she was pretty sprawled out, as was her bad habit—she opened her eyes to figure out where he was.

He wasn’t there.

Alarmed, she bolted upright, looking frantically in every direction. The sun was happily streaming in from the window beside the bed. A glass of water sat on the bedside table. Her nightgown was draped on the pillow next to her.

“Cayden?” she called, projecting her voice so he could have heard it anywhere in the house. Having been jerked awake so suddenly made her mind spin in extreme directions. Did he go back to Los Angeles suddenly? Is it past lunchtime? Did something bad happen? Did he leave me? Where’s Andrew? He’s still alone at home! Oh, shit!

She pulled the nightgown over her head in a split second and ran through Cayden’s house, looking for him in every room. He was nowhere. Cayden can take care of himself. I have to go see about Andrew!

Flinging the back door open, she started to jump down the steps and run over to her place, but stopped. The day wasn’t just a nice, sunny day. It was exceptionally bright. And she was wearing this silk nightgown that barely covered her butt.

Now is not the time to look sexy, she told herself. Put on one of Cayden’s shirts.

There’s no time! yelled her other inner voice, and she listened to that one. What if Andrew had fallen and hit his head? She couldn’t waste time finding one of Cayden’s shirts to cover up her thighs!

Just make a run for it. Throwing all these thoughts aside, she slammed the door behind her and darted across the yard onto her back porch, her feet moving so fast they barely touched the ground. Without stopping, she pushed against her door with all her body weight and almost skidded to a stop.

Cayden and Andrew, in the middle of doing one of his stretches, stared at her, their eyes as big as dinner plates. Andrew was sitting on a gym ball, bouncing very slightly up and down. Both guys looked her up and down before bursting into laughter.

“Good morning to you, too,” Andrew howled.

Cayden let go of Andrew’s leg to cover his mouth as he laughed—and also to conceal the redness that was rising to his face.

“Did you sleep well?” Cayden hooted. Andrew slapped him on the back, almost crying from laughter.

Lillian couldn’t make herself move. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two guys, who were half-blind from laughter and half staring at her nightgown.

“Lillian, I didn’t know you owned—”

“Don’t even go there!” she warned.

Andrew snorted.

Cayden’s eyes rested on her chest. “I mean, not complaining or anything, Lil.”

“You’re more than welcome to join us for exercises!”

“Hey, man,” Cayden’s voice deepened, turning to look at Andrew intensely. “Quit staring at my girl.”

“It’s hard not to.”

The humor in Cayden’s eyes was obvious, but there was still a hint of seriousness. “Don’t make me kick you in the balls.”

“Cripple me further, why don’t you?”

“Is that a dare?”

The adrenaline finally kicked in and Lillian sprinted down the hall to her room. “Hey, Lillian,” Andrew called, “could you make some breakfast in that get-up?”

“Dude!” She heard Cayden boom, followed by some muffled banter. Feeling so embarrassed she was shaking, she collapsed onto her bed and closed her eyes, focusing on taking deep breaths until she had recovered enough to put proper clothes on.

At last she got the nerve to come out, and emerged back into the living room. The guys were finished with their fake arguing and were back to work on Andrew’s physical therapy. Cayden was deep into an explanation about how one of the stretches was good for the hamstring, but stopped when she sheepishly walked in.

“Don’t even say anything.” She held a hand up at him. “I’m just going to make breakfast for us like the good woman I am.”

“Don’t be sexist, Lillian,” Andrew said with a smirk. “You know I would make breakfast if I could.”

“Then consider this a special gift from me to you.” She walked into the kitchen and absentmindedly gathered a smorgasbord of breakfast foods onto a couple of trays. Her mind would not leave the nightgown incident; she was mildly obsessing over it, but the humor of it all was setting in. As she waited for the coffee to brew, she thought about what it looked like from a third-person point of view and giggled to herself quietly. Amelia would have found it hilarious. That’s like something out of a sitcom! she would have laughed.

Balancing one tray on each arm, she carried breakfast and coffee into the living room. Cayden stood and took one from her, setting it down gently on the coffee table. He and Andrew, too preoccupied by the food to make any more jokes about what had happened, thanked her and dug in.

As they ate, Cayden continued explaining about muscles and building strength. Andrew really seemed to be listening; Lillian sat back and watched them as she curled up in the corner of the couch, warm mug of coffee in hand.

Finally, they reached a stopping point in the conversation. “Well,” she said, “it’s good to see you two not arguing anymore.” That was a lame attempt at making light of earlier.

“You aren’t in a silk nightdress anymore,” Andrew said. “What is there to argue about?”

“Hey.” Cayden pushed him enough that he nearly fell off the gym ball.

“I’m just saying!”

“How’s it going? All this, I mean.” She waved a hand at Andrew’s leg and the exercise instructions from the therapist.

“I think I’ve finally convinced him that this is all worth it,” Cayden replied.

The silliness faded from Andrew’s face. “He has, actually.”

Lillian gasped. “Is Andrew being serious about this?”

“I am,” he said. “I mean, your boyfriend has told me enough horror stories about bad recoveries from either not doing these dumb exercises or from doing them wrong, he could have struck fear into anyone.”

“So, you’re saying I scared you into recovering well?” Cayden asked.

“Something like that. The stories combined with what you say will happen if I don’t do them right—not being able to bend my leg much and limping and all—” he shook his head. “Really, there’s no other option now except to make sure I do this right.”

“I guess this is one of the few times that the fear tactic does work.” Lillian winked at Cayden.

“Whatever tactic I use, it always works,” he gloated. “This is a pretty inconvenient injury, but there’s absolutely no reason why he wouldn’t make a full recovery.”

“Awww,” Lillian grinned at Andrew. “Am I sensing a little bromance here?”

“No,” they said at the same time.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, whatever.” Standing up, she stacked the plates on the trays. “You two have fun. I’m going to read until there’s something more fun planned.”

“Oh, there will be,” Andrew kidded in a mischievous tone. “It might not involve me, but it will definitely involve both of—oof!” He grunted as Cayden hit him in the chest. “What was that for?”

“Just for good measure, Drew,” Cayden replied simply.

Lillian, with a little chuckle, carried the trays into the kitchen, leaving the guys to their own devices. I think it’s going well, Amelia, she thought, hoping Amelia’s spirit would hear somehow. I think things are finally working between the two of them.

***

“ARE YOU ON THE PLANE yet?”

“Not yet.” Cayden sounded tired, but happy. “We’re lining up for boarding. It’s not moving yet, though. Are you driving?”

“I’m actually just sitting in the car, enjoying the sunshine.” She pushed her sunglasses up and leaned the seat back. The wind was blowing like crazy outside, but in here she was enjoying the warmth. “I’ll leave in a minute. I’m meeting Claire around lunchtime.”

“Is that the lady who always makes food for you?”

“Yeah. She likes to feed me. It’s sweet. It doesn’t make her any less draining to be around, but she’s very sweet.” Lillian yawned. “Are you meeting any clients today?”

“I’m heading to meet Katharina after I land.”

Lillian thought about the photos he and Katharina had taken together last week, and frowned. “Oh. Cool.”

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“Thinking?”

“Lil, she’s a client. Nothing more.”

“She’s a really hot client.”

“I’m not into her.”

“You just look so good with someone who’s as beautiful and refined-looking as she is.” In her mind, Lillian compared Katharina’s model self to her own fragile appearance.

“You’re welcome to think that, but I don’t agree.” His voice was hard. “I think I look best when I’m next to this sexy, mysterious, goofy—”

“Oh, stop,” she tried to interrupt.

“—successful person named Lil, who’s a world champion house organizer.”

“Stop feeding my ego,” she joked.

“When you miss me or when you start to think something ridiculous like that,” he said, “just remember last night.”

She hummed. “Oh, boy. Last night was fun.”

“Yes, it was. Can we do it again when I come back?”

“I wish we could do it again right now.”

“Don’t make me leave the airport and run out to your car.” In the background, a voice over the loudspeaker sounded and people started talking. “Hey, Lil, we’re starting to board now. I’ll text you when I get there, okay?”

“All right.”

“Drive home safe, okay?”

“I will. Have a nap on the plane.”

“Definitely. I’m still tired from last night, you monster.”

She smiled. “What can I say? You make me wild.”

“That was so corny, Lil.”

“I know,” she admitted. “Go board. I’ll talk to you later.”

“I love you.”

His voice saying those words still made her heart flutter every time. She never knew how to respond immediately, getting overwhelmed by the butterflies.

I have a big crush on this guy, she thought, feeling her mood rise to meet the fast-drifting clouds in the sky.

Knowing he was about to hang up, she took a little breath and felt her lips curl into a smile.

“I love you, too.”