Sera stared at Jason on the other side of her front door and wondered if she'd made a mistake. For their meeting, she'd worn leggings, a floppy one-shoulder sweater, zero makeup, with her wild afro gathered up into one giant afro-puff. Jason wore a button-down with the sleeves rolled up and dark designer jeans. He wore cologne. Not too much, but since she was normally around fragrances all day, she recognized it as an expensive French brand, Echloe. He'd also clearly had a haircut.

Usually, when she was on a date she knew about it. This was a first. She snuck a surreptitious glance toward the back veranda. Dylan had promised to stay out of the way. But maybe she should have asked him to hang around. "Uh, hey, I feel way underdressed."

His grin flashed and she could see why women were constantly lining up to go out with him. "I was going to head out after."

"Oh okay. I really don't think this will take more than an hour. I just want to nail down some of the specifics for the Go Girl event. I'll get you out in plenty of time to get to your thing. Hot date?"

She led him into the living room and cleared a spot for him on the couch.

"Uh, sort of. I'm feeling her out to see if she's interested."

Sera laughed. "The great Jason Stark is having to feel out a girl? Come on. I don't remember that ever being the case."

He shrugged. "First time for everything I guess."

"Well, you look great. The Echloe is a nice touch."

"You think so, not too pretentious?"

"No, it's subtle." Smiling at him, she offered up the campaign folders. "So for Friday, I've been thinking, we could also have the models share a personal story. It's one thing to have them up there, showing their Photoshopped images, and revealing that they’re real people with fears etcetera, but I think it's even more moving if they speak."

"You want the talent to talk? I mean, these are models."

The laugh burst out of her. "Uh, don't you date models?"

With a laugh he added, "I might. But I'm a shallow guy. I never really cared what they had to say or anything. But it's not like they have to work on their brains or personality. All said and done, most guys prefer someone who's funny and smart. Like you."

What the hell? She blinked up at him. Uh danger, Will Robinson. She shook her head and ignored the comment. "Well, we are championing women. This is a woman's campaign, remember. Women look at these models as symbols of perfection. So they need to share their own stories. Plus I hand-picked all these girls. They are seen in the industry as having these crazy features or perfect this or that. It helps to know they’re human."

His gaze narrowed a little and his smile faltered, but he nodded. "No, I get you."

For the next hour, they finalized the details.

When they were clearing up their stuff, Jason leaned back. "So, you and that guy?"

Sera shifted uncomfortably. What the hell was going on here? Was Dylan right? Because this situation was way awkward since he could no doubt hear them from the porch. "Uh, Dylan?"

"Yeah, I guess that's his name. The big guy. I mean how tall is he anyway?"

"Six-five," she answered automatically.

"Let me guess, some kind of quarterback hero?"

She laughed. "Basketball forward, actually. Why?"

"I guess I'm just trying to figure out what you're into."

Tread carefully. Tread carefully. Don't say anything stupid. "Uh, well, I wasn't really looking for anything. The whole thing sorta fell into my lap in a way. But he's, uh, he's great." Finally she just let her mouth take over. "What's all this, Jason? Because I'm getting the impression from what you're saying, and the clothes and the cologne, that I'm the girl you're interested in. And maybe I'm totally reading that wrong, because trust me, this would not be the first time I've read that wrong, but to be honest, it feels weird, especially since you didn't know my name before two weeks ago." Shit. Taj was right. She was going to order a muzzle posthaste.

A slow smile spread over his handsome face. "Okay, look, I knew your name. I might not have remembered you from college, but I knew your name. I mean, a hot girl starts at the office when I do… There's no missing that."

Hot. Pretty boy had called her hot. Focus. "Wow, this is so not how I pictured this conversation happening. "

"Look, I know you're seeing someone, but I don't really think he's the kind of guy that you're normally into. I feel this vibe between us and figured maybe I’d toss my hat into the ring before you guys get really serious and stuff."

"I—" Oh man, she could feel the complete lock down of her brain happening, then the stuttering. "I-I… Uh, this is super flattering, but..." Her voice trailed off.

Leaning back he smiled wide. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just think you're beautiful."

Not sure of what else to say exactly, she settled on, “Thank you," and philosophically, she would have been interested at any other time in her life, but he was exactly like Aaron, if not in looks, then in demeanor. The good-on-paper guy. The one who seemed like a good guy. But ultimately a little Ken Doll for her. Zero edge, zero mystery. Not like Dylan. Hell, she'd deal with that minefield later. "But I—Dylan and I are—"

He nodded. "I get it. Maybe I missed my chance." Shrugging, he added, "I should have talked to you the first day. Instead, I was so caught up in my uncle's bullshit of perception and trying to shake off my last name that I didn't take my shot, and now you're with someone."

She cleared her throat and her eyes darted to the back porch. Where the hell was Dylan? "Well, uh."

Jason leaned forward again. "Unless maybe it's not that serious?"

"What?"

He scooted closer. "Because this whole time I've been talking, you haven't said a word about not being interested."

As he leaned closer Sera froze. Of all of the times for Dylan to be right. Sera didn't need tonight to be one of those times.

* * *

Dylan tried not to obsess about Casanova hanging on Sera's every word. He could see the them cozied up on the couch and it made him twitchy.

After Jezzie left yesterday, it had been too late to get into any lengthy conversations about them, that kiss, what any of it meant, if anything. And now she was sitting there with the guy who clearly thought of himself as competition. Yeah, keep dreaming, buddy.

To distract himself, he pulled up all the information Sawyer had given him. He been putting off calling Michelle for weeks now, but with every day that went by without him calling, the doubt and confusion pricked at his mind. Just call her and get it over with.

With one last glance at Sera, he picked up his phone and dialed. On the first ring he wiped the sweat from his palms onto his jeans. Easy does it, this is just an introduction. With the next ring, he stood and started to pace. On the third ring, he considered hanging up. Just as he was about to press the end button, a woman answered, breathless. "Hi, hello. Oh my god, I'm here. Hello?"

What was he supposed to be saying again? “Hi, Michelle?"

"Yeah, who's this?"

"My name is Dylan Donovan. This is so bizarre, but—"

Her voice was soft. "You're my brother."

"How did you—"

"Mom. She, uh, she always talked about you."

Well, that was a surprise. He would have liked the same information about her. "Oh." He hesitated for a moment. "I had all this stuff planned to say, but now I can't remember any of it."

"I've had your name and number on my board to call for years. You and Derek. I've never managed to get the nerve. I'm a total chicken shit."

He relaxed marginally. It helps to know that she was also nervous. “Okay, cool. We'll just fumble around in the dark together."

"Mom, she, uh, talked about you all the time when I was a kid. I convinced myself that you and Derek had superpowers by the time I was six."

"I always did want to fly."

She laughed. "Right? That was always my favorite power too."

"Derek always choses invisibility and I think that's—"

"Lame," she finished for him. "All you can do with that is sneak into places, but then you hear stuff you don’t want to know."

"Exactly." It was a small thing, but it helped his brain make sense of the fact that he had a sister. Another one. This was far more jarring than any of his siblings being adopted. "Listen, uh, I'm in San Diego for work. I was wondering if maybe we could meet. From what I understand, you're in Irvine?"

There was a beat of silence, then another. He worried she hadn’t heard him or had hung up. But then she said softly, "I'd like that. Yeah, it's just south of L.A."

"Okay, I could email you and maybe we'd do dinner or something. It's not every day you find out you have an adult sister."

"Yeah, I guess it's a little bizarre. How did you find me?"

"Your, uh, mom. She sent me a letter a few weeks ago. I started doing some research as I tried to track her down. Found you."

"Is she—" Her breath caught. "Is she okay?"

He frowned. "You don't know?"

"No. I haven't seen her in a year and a half. Things were really difficult at home with her and my dad. She left. Moved to Denver. I used to hear from her twice a month or so, then once a month. It's been a couple of months now. I haven't been able to reach her for a while. I was going to head out there to see if I could track her down as soon as spring break hit. I'm really worried now."

So was he. His gut twisted. This didn't bode well if his sister hadn't heard from her either. "Listen, I'll find her. It's what I do." He just hoped he wasn't making a promise he couldn't keep.

When he hung up with his sister, he looked in on Sera and her non-date. Irritation simmered just under the surface as he watched Casanova make a move. "Sit any closer and you'll be in her lap," he muttered. And then he had an idea. She wouldn't like it, but Casanova needed to get a clue.

* * *

Jason angled his head and Sera sprang up. "Jason, I—" The water smacking her kitchen window startled her into jumping back. "Damn, it, the sprinkler."

Jason blinked in surprise. "What?"

"The stupid sprinkler system—it's on the fritz. The drought. I need to turn it off before I get charged. "

"Oh." His face fell. "I guess I should get going."

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Listen, I'll see you in the office tomorrow."

He blinked as if surprised she was asking him to go. Pretty Boy Ken Doll probably wasn't used to women turning him down. She hoped his ego would survive.

"Yeah, okay. I guess I'll see you." It wasn't so much that she shoved him to the door, but more that she was in a hurry to get to the back porch. She walked him to the door, and the minute he was off the porch, she charged to the back of the house. She was going to kill Dylan.

* * *

Dylan braced himself for Hurricane Sera. Geez she was beautiful with her eyes bright and her mouth set in that pissed-off determination. "How did your date go?"

She was adorable with her giant afro puff and her sweater dipping almost completely off her shoulder as she accused him. "You think that was funny? I was working."

"Yeah, that looked a lot like work to me. Dude was practically in your lap."

"He was not." She rolled her eyes. "And even if he was, it's not like you've been willing to talk about what happened on the ferry, so why are you jealous?"

Jealous? What the fuck? He wasn't—Oh yeah you are—okay, fine, so he was jealous. He shoved away from the porch beam. "I thought I was going to have to watch the two of you make out."

She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, well, for your information, even if he was hitting on me, not that I'm going to concede that, but if he was, I wasn't interested. Apparently I have a thing for difficult, stubborn, infuriating—"

He didn't let her finish. But backed her up against the door to the house. "You realize you talk too much?" Her breath came out in short gasping breaths and he watched the rise and fall of her breasts. "Sera?"

"I—I—"

"Breathe, baby."

As she melted into him, Dylan palmed her cheek, stroking his thumb gently down the side of her face. Her lashes fluttered closed and his lips hovered over hers for a long moment. This was what he wanted. He wanted to breathe her in. Wanted to take his time, enjoy her.

When he slid his tongue over hers, she gave a muffled sound of satisfaction. Her lips were butter-soft and tasted like the cotton-candy lip balm he'd found in the house. She was sweet and he wanted to play.

Dylan dwarfed her with his big body and she reached up to loop her arms around his neck, skimming her hands into his hair. One gentle rake of her nails over his scalp and he shuddered. Just like that, it was like turning on NOS, the fuel injector into his engine, and he changed the kiss, pouring in every ounce of tension, irritation, and desire from the last several weeks.

He lifted her up so her legs wrapped around him and he framed her against the door. When he dipped his tongue between her sweet lips, she sucked a little, holding on to her all-too-willing captive.

Dylan slid his hands under her sweater and Sera arched her back when he bracketed her tiny waist with his hands as if she were offering her gorgeous breasts on a platter for him.

Sort of an expert in the matters, he had her bra unsnapped in seconds. When he slid his hands up under the restrictive fabric, Sera groaned out his name and Dylan bit back a curse. Her breasts swelled in his hands and he tested their weight.

"Dylan."

His cock throbbed at the sound of his name on her lips. God damn. He had every intention of taking it slow. Taking his time to savor and explore every inch of her body. But his dick had other plans.

Yeah, fuck slow.

Sera rocked her hips against him and the slide of her hot center over the length of his erection made him shake. Impatient, desperate need was at the helm now.

He dragged her sweater and bra over her head and the streaks of moonlight lit her breasts like an offering in a shrine. "God, you're beautiful. Every last inch of you."

With his thumbs, he traced circles over her tight nipples and he watched her reaction intently. First her eyes went wide, then hazy and unfocused. Then screwed shut tight as she rocked her hips with his.

His cock throbbed painfully and all he wanted to do was bury himself inside her. He lifted her and lowered his head until his lips hovered over a nipple.

"Dylan. Oh my God, please."

With a frustrated growl, she dragged him to the stiff peak and let out a low, keening, moan as he gave her what she wanted by wrapping his lips around her nipple. Fuck, she tasted so good. He sucked the soft tip into his mouth until she writhed in his arms, then he paid proper homage to the other nipple.

She canted her hips and Dylan couldn't think. All he wanted was Sera closer. Hot, slippery, and in his arms for hours. He set her back down, then turned her around so her hands braced the door. Slowly, he dragged down her leggings.

When he dragged down her thong, she shook in his arms.

He whispered, "Turn around again." When she complied, she licked her lips. He couldn't help himself, he needed another taste.

While he sucked on her bottom lip, he picked her up again and had her back up against the wall. This was what he'd been dreaming about. This was how the other night had ended in his head.

The frenzied kissing had him so desperate for her. With a thumb and forefinger lightly pinching her nipple, he reached between them and teased her sex with his knuckles. Like he'd done that day at lunch.

Except this time, he could feel just how wet she was. How hot this was making her. With one finger, he gently tested her readiness. His eyes crossed as her inner muscles squeezed around his finger, pulling him in. On the slide and retreat of his finger, she sucked in a shuddering breath.

"Damn, you are so soft and tight all at the same time. I don't know if I can hold off. I just—"

Sera dragged his head back to her nipple before she slid her hands between them and tugged at his belt buckle.

Yes. Hell yes. Using his body to brace her in place, he helped with the buckle before grabbing his wallet and yanking out a condom.

Sera slid her hand into his boxers and his knees about gave out. Holy fuck that felt good. He had to drag his lips from hers to put all his concentration into not coming right then. Dragging in first one deep breath, then two, then another, but he kept sliding along that razor edge of lust.

The soft swipe of Sera's tongue on his neck had a tingle of excitement zinging over his skin. Sealing his lips over hers again, he removed her questing hand and with fumbling fingers, made quick work of the condom.

He told himself that next time he'd take it slow. Next time he'd take the time to enjoy her breasts. Next time he'd take the time to kiss every inch of her. Hell, next time he'd bother undressing them both first, but right now, he might die if he wasn't inside her.

Gripping his cock, he lined himself up to her sweet center. Sliding his other hand into her hair, he tugged her head back so she met his gaze. Sera dragged half lidded eyes open and her dark eyes bored into his soul as he sank into her.

Her lips parted and she lay her head back against the door. "Oh my God."

Dylan squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ward off the orgasm that barreled toward him at an epic pace. Jesus, she was so tight. On retreat, she hissed and he stilled, worried she was in pain, but she dragged her nails over his shoulder, urging him deep.

"Fuck, Serafina…so tight." Those were the only words he could put together.

As they moved together in frenzied heat, she clung on, her whispers like a caress over his too-tight, too-heated skin. She was too tight. He wasn't going to last. Reaching between them, he brushed his thumb over her clit. Once…twice… She clamped around him as he drove into her and he muffled her cry with a kiss.

Clamping a hand over her ass, he held her in place for another deep stroke. Then another and then he was flying over the cliff of bliss, burying himself into her.