"Now that Lily's back, I want to introduce her to Jen," Noah continued, not seeming to notice Cameron's terrified expression. "You mind watching over my sister? I don't want any of the assholes here hitting on her."

"Ah. Sure," Cameron croaked. "No problem."

Noah gave me a one-armed hug around the shoulders before leaving to find his girlfriend.

"Lily?" Cameron asked, almost cringing.

I hadn't thought he'd be so taken aback. "Yeah, it's me."

"You look…"

I raised an eyebrow. "You better think carefully about the next words that come out of your mouth."

"Different."

"You mean I look like an adult now and not the little girl you remember?"

"I'm so fucking sorry," he blurted. His face was tinted vaguely green. "I never would have talked to you like that—"

"It's okay," I interrupted. "I know you're a flirt. Besides," I flushed, but forced myself to meet his eyes. "I liked it. It was flattering."

His eyes flicked down my body, as if seeing me for the first time. His gaze honed in on my legs. The ill look on his face slowly melted away, replaced by a simmering heat.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked.

"I—"

Was too overwhelmed by your gorgeous, sexy, god-like presence to put two words together.

"—didn't think it mattered," I continued.

"The hell it doesn't matter."

"It's fine. You flirted with me. Whatever. It doesn't mean anything."

To my complete and utter shock, Cameron Thorne actually seemed vaguely abashed. "When you walked in on me with that woman…"

Now it was my turn to feel abashed. "I'm so sorry about that. We can never mention it again if you like."

"No. We should talk about it. So I can apologize."

I blinked. "For what? I was the one who walked in on you."

"For all of it. Asking you to join in. Asking to hook up with you after the concert. Putting my arm around you." He ran his hand through his sweat-dampened hair, pushing it back from his forehead, expression pained. "I really shouldn't have done that."

"Why?" A pang of hurt hit in my chest. "Because I'm Noah's sister? I don't want to be treated any differently because of who my brother is."

"Unfortunately for you, you don't get to make that decision." Cameron looked disconcerted. "I just thought you were another fan looking to score with a rock star. If I'd known…"

"If you'd known, you would have treated me like everyone else does. Like a little kid."

"How old are you now, anyway?" Cameron closed his eyes and lifted his head upward. "Please for the love of god be legal."

"You don't need to have a crisis of conscience. I'm nineteen."

Cameron cracked an eye open. "With all that makeup, I'd have taken you for twenty-five." His gaze roved over me, from my glossy, raven hair to my high heeled shoes. He kept flicking back to my exposed thighs. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, nerves and anticipation flowing through me.

"So were you telling the truth before?" I asked.

"About what?" he murmured, eyes still locked on my legs.

Twisting the material of my dress between my fingers, I gathered the courage to ask my next question.

"Were you telling the truth when you said I was sexy?" My voice wavered slightly on the last word.

He pinned me down with a look that blazed with an inner fire.

A pulsing heat flared between my thighs at that look. My insides began to tingle, an unfamiliar feeling. A nervous fluttering started up in my stomach.

I'd had such a crush on Cameron growing up. I'd never in a million years thought he might ever feel the same way about me.

Maybe now that I was all grown up…

I took a step toward him.

The heat in his eyes extinguished just as quickly as it flared up.

"Fuck," he cursed, his mouth twisted. "Fuck, he's going to kill me." He shoved a hand in his hair, pushing back the strands that covered one eye. "I can't be here." He turned on his heel and stalked off.

"Cameron!" I called after him. "You don't need to—"

But he was already gone.

Disappointment welled up in my chest. I'd finally found someone who treated me like an adult. Finally found someone who saw me as a grown woman. Someone who might even return my long suppressed feelings.

Even without being present my brother still managed to scare him away.

I was still mourning Cameron's vanishing act when Noah returned with a young women in tow. Her wavy brown hair and light brown eyes both contrasted and complimented my brother's dark features. She was slightly on the short side. I was a bit taller than average for a girl but she wasn't so short I towered over her.

"Lily!" Jen threw her arms around me in an enthusiastic hug. "It's so good to meet you in person." She pulled back and gave me a beaming smile. "This is such a surprise, though. I wanted to throw you a welcome home party."

"I just couldn't wait to finally be home."

"Noah told me all about your summer program." She looked as excited for me as I'd felt when I'd got the acceptance letter. "I want to hear all about it."

"I'm just taking a few courses this summer before college officially starts. I'll get some first year requirements out of the way so I can concentrate on my art classes during the school year."

"No wonder they accepted you. You're incredibly talented. I've seen some of your art." She nodded to the tattoos on my brother's arms. "Using photos of your brother's body for your application was certainly unique."

"It was his idea."

I couldn't stop the yawn that escaped my mouth. My brother immediately looked concerned.

"I'm just tired." I told him. "It was a long flight."

Not to mention the ups and downs my emotions had been wrung through dealing with Cameron.

"Let's get you back to my place," Noah said.

"Your place?" Jen and I said at the same time.

"Lily's staying with us."

The surprise on Jen's face no doubt matched my own.

"I planned on staying at the hotel until school starts," I said carefully. "It'll only be for a few months. Then I'll be in the dorms."

I waited for his reaction. All I got was an eyebrow twitch.

"Why?" he said flatly.

"I just want some privacy."

"You think I won't give you privacy? I'm not going to snoop and read your diary."

"There's no need to be a Mr. Cranky-Pants," Jen laughed.

I shared the laugh. What a perfect nickname.

"I want to give you privacy, then," I continued. "Do you really want me to walk in on you and your girlfriend having sex all the time?"

Jen stopped laughing and flushed. "Maybe Lily's right. I mean, she is an adult. She can't live under her brother's thumb forever."

"I want to make sure someone's keeping an eye on you. The last time you were alone—"

"You don't have to keep reminding me." I tried to push down my rising unease. I didn't want to think about what had happened, but my brother seemed determined to bring it up again and again.

"You're tired," he said. "Let's go home for now. We'll talk about it later."

"Okay," I agreed. "Later."

I did want to spend time with my brother. I missed him as much as he missed me. But that didn't mean I wanted to live under his thumb. Staying with him for a while might be nice. But I was resolved. After boarding school dorms and spending the last six months living in a communal artists' retreat, eventually I was going to need my space.

A small trickle of dread ran down my back at the thought. I shoved it away ruthlessly.

I refused to let old fears control my life.