Brody Wolf is my kryptonite. His lips melt against my own like snow falling into the waiting arms of the Witch’s Cauldron. We’ve kept up our routine of lazy mornings filled with pancakes and copious hours of scanning our laptops, me riding in with him to The Sloppy Pelican, going home with him and pretending to be up for a movie when what we’re really up for is each other. Brody and I have made first base our new favorite place to be. I never knew that kisses alone could be so magical, so monumental, so outright necessary. And, even though he insists it’s fine that I’m not contributing to his mortgage, an immense amount of guilt has clouded me as of late, and I’ve made sure to do all the grocery shopping for the two of us, thus dwindling down my savings to just about nil. So as much as I don’t want to do it, I’ve begun to send my résumé out again. The only real problem is, just about all of my job prospects require me to travel an insane amount of time, and I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of living out of my suitcase the last time around. More than that, I can’t imagine saying goodbye to Brody and those steamy lip-locks. I wonder how long it would be before someone like Jessie filled the void? And more to the point, his bed.

It’s Thanksgiving, and The Sloppy Pelican is open to one and all. And that being said, most of the staff begged for the night off so it’s pretty much a skeleton crew. So to make sure things run smoothly, Levi, Axel, and Brody all agreed to spend their Thanksgiving at the restaurant. Lex and Axel are celebrating at The Pelican with their respective families. And my mother, my brothers, their shared wife-slash-girlfriend and baby Maxie will all be there, along with Brody’s parents and sister. The Mastersons and the Wolfs have spent more than one celebratory event together, but tonight is going to feel about as comfortable as a bed of blistering hot nails.

Brody and I drive out to The Pelican together, and that alone feels like a crime tonight.

We get to the oversized mahogany doors that lead into the establishment, and I pause a moment to pull him back. He’s so painfully handsome in his sports coat, his dark inky jeans, and his hair slicked back. The three-day old scruff he likes to tease me with has even been trimmed for the festive occasion, and for a second I think this is what it would feel like to be a couple, to be headed somewhere hand in hand, unafraid of the fact my brothers could gift him a lobotomy at any moment.

“We probably shouldn’t mention that whole kissing thing.” I wince because that’s not exactly how I envisioned this conversation starting.

“Darn it, you just ruined the little surprise I was going to sneak in during the toast.” He frowns. “Relax. Our dirty little secret is safe with me.” He gives my hair a slight tousle, and I feel about twelve again. “It’s not dirty, Raven.” His eyes bear hard into mine, and the moon highlights those lawn green flecks. “But I promise not to stick my tongue down your throat until we’re at least six miles out of range.” He takes a breath and sags, and suddenly the moment grows all too serious. “I also think that maybe when we get home we should talk a little about what’s been going on between us.” His eyes widen just a notch when he says us. “I don’t want anyone getting hurt, and when I say anyone, I mean you.”

“Good.” My insides seize because I’m half-afraid I’m going to get the emotional boot once we get back to the house. Of course, I am. I don’t put out. I’m so stupid. Brody isn’t going to make out with me forever. This isn’t high school and, for God’s sake, Brody most likely did way more than that in high school, too. I’m just wasting his time, and he’s done with it. Done with me.

Tears come instantly, and I blink them back. “Let’s go get our bird on.”

We step inside, and the thick scent of freshly roasted turkey hangs in the air like a culinary masterpiece just waiting for us to sink our teeth into. We stop by the elongated table near the front where Lex and her family are celebrating and wish them all a happy Thanksgiving. I can’t help but notice the way Lex keeps giving me an approving side-eye as if to say way to go. Little does she know I am going somewhere later, on my way out of Brody’s life. My heart wrenches in my chest, and every step toward the large table in the back filled with familiar friendly faces makes me ache ten times more. There is nothing worse than having to pretend like nothing is wrong during a family get-together. God knows I’ve done it more than once.

“Darling, you look beautiful!” Mom stands and offers me the requisite two-cheeked European kiss. I hug Meredith and baby Maxie who looks like a doppelganger of my brothers. Meredith is a red-headed stunner, but Maxie is a dark-haired beauty with my brother’s serious eyes. I kiss each of my brothers and wish the Wolfs at the other end of the table a happy Thanksgiving before making my way to Low.

My entire body bucks when she embraces me and leans into my ear and whispers, “Okay, I think that’s code for something is very freaking wrong. Wanna head to the restroom for a quick chitchat?”

I shake my head vigorously and take a seat between her and Colby, landing myself right smack across from Brody himself.

Crap.

I give a nervous smile to Low. God knows she has the power to drag just about anything out of me, and seeing that she’s now one and the same with my brother, I’ve kept her out of the loop concerning my nightly lip-lock romps with Brody.

The conversation at the table is lively and light with Brody and Levi sharing their adventures in the restaurant business, and Chip and Meredith filling us in on their shared legal duties since they both work for Axel’s father’s firm. And then there’s Colby who bubbles like a brook while spilling every nonsensical detail about her time at Hollow Brook Community College.

“But really, I want to be like you two.” She nods to Low and me. “Teagan and I are hoping to get into the same dorm and spend the rest of our college careers together. And now that Low’s a part of your family, you really are like sisters. I guess that means Brody will have to marry Teagan!” She spikes in her seat with the epiphany, and the table breaks out into a light round of laughter.

Despite Colby’s foibles, I love Brody’s family. Brody’s father, Dan, is a lifelong insurance adjuster. He’s always been an older version of Brody to me, with the same tired gold-framed glasses since I’ve known him, and he has a tendency to laugh a little too loud at off-colored jokes. His mother, Shelly, teaches English at Hollow Brook High and is a hoot to hang out with, but my mother has never gotten too cozy with her. I’m afraid my own mother, Bonnie Masterson, is a bit of an infamous snob. She’s been a socialite from the moment her own mother shoved a silver spoon into her mouth. She’s sort of an acquired taste, and in the back of my mind I’ve always feared I was, too.

I offer a silly grin over at Brody while he leans in and conducts a private conversation with Levi about something. He’s so handsome and strong. Even with that sports coat on, I can see his biceps bulging, begging to be let loose.

“What are you doing?” Colby knocks her shoulder into mine. “You look demented.”

“Oh, right.” I snap out of the spell, and Brody glances my way and offers up a sly smile of his own before getting back to Levi.

Colby sucks in a breath. “Hey”—she whispers—“there’s nothing going on with you and my brother, is there?”

Brody shoots a look this way, signaling he heard but doesn’t dare acknowledge it.

“Hell no.” I smack her on the hand for even thinking it.

How I hate it when Colby is right about anything. She’s the most unstable, loose cannon of a person I’ve ever met, and something about her pegging me for something I may or may not be doing doesn’t sit well with me.

Low leans in. “We need to find you a decent man.” She wags a naughty finger at me.

Colby scoffs. “What’s that supposed to mean? My brother not good enough for someone like her?”

The conversation around the table falters.

“What’s this?” My mother leans in, her penciled in brows are a touch too red and I’ll have to school her on selecting the correct shade later. “Raven, are you seeing Brody?”

You could hear a body drop, and right about now I’d volunteer Colby’s corpse for the effort.

“What? No.” I bat my lashes, roll my eyes, shake my head like a loon, and all the while I know full well that every single soul at this table could see through the forest full of lies I’d be willing to spew at them. Dear God, my finger-licking Brody Wolf goose is cooked. “I’m just staying with him until I can find a place of my own.” Liar, liar, hairless girl parts on fire.

“You?” My mother flinches as if it were an impossibility, and in truth, about six months ago it would have been. “Please, Raven. You don’t have anyone at this table fooled. You’re the most qualified person on the planet. You can certainly find another ad agency to work at. In fact, I’ll contact my friends in New York. Manhattan is where you really belong, not in Hollow Brook. Not at Brody Wolf’s home.” Well—thank God, she didn’t say hovel.

Shelly huffs as if my mother just up and slapped her son. “What’s that supposed to mean? Brody is a fine young man, I’ll have you know.”

I glance to Brody and give a little shrug, and he winks back, melting my panties right off me.

“Ha!” My mother has the nerve to balk right back. “I’ve heard of his notorious conquests. You should have him vaccinated for all the latest and greatest STDs because that boy has had his share of Southern sleepovers, if you know what I mean.”

“Geez.” I sink in my seat and close my eyes as more gasps and barbs are tossed about.

“Okay, ladies.” Levi tries his hand at crowd control. “How about we get to the dessert portion of the evening without throwing pie in anyone’s face? Brody’s a good guy, and he has nothing but the most chaste intentions with Raven. Low and I would have her over, but—”

“No,” I’m quick to protest. “And don’t worry”—I look to my irate mother—“I won’t be at Brody’s too long anyhow. I’ve already begun the job hunt myself. So you can call off your friends in New York, whom I’m sure you’ve already texted.”

She offers a stern look, but I suspect I’m right.

Dessert comes and goes with stale conversation, no thanks to my mother and her unfriendly, better-than-thou outburst. No sooner are the dishes cleared than Colby and Teagan hit the dance floor. Chip helps Meredith get baby Maxie home. They’re living apart, and Maxie will know nothing but a life with two homes. At least they’re civil about it. Brody’s parents stand to leave, and I offer them both a quick embrace, assuring them their son is nothing but the best—kisser. But I leave that last bit out.

Mom barrels over and offers the Wolfs a cordial handshake before yanking me by the arm until we’re near the exit.

“Whatever you’re doing with that boy, I want you to knock it off.” Her bright eyes are laser-focused on getting her way tonight. My mother isn’t so much an older version of me in a motherly way as she is in a big sister sort of way. Years of Botox and all of the greatest fillers and lifts that modern science has to offer have rolled back the clock so far that in just a few years we’ll look the same age.

“I’m not doing anything with him.” I pull my arm away but don’t dare meet up with her gaze.

She curls a finger under my chin and lifts my face until she’s examining me with those lie detectors she calls eyes.

“Oh, Raven.” She all but tosses her hands in the air. “I want you cleared out of his place by morning, and I expect you to find another place to live. I know you have resources and friends and what you and Brody are doing is anything but friendly. You can stay with me.” She’s pleading with me on a level like never before, and it frightens me. For one, my mother does not believe in extending any sort of benevolence to her children. We were kicked out of the nest hard once we turned eighteen, and she expected us each to sprout wings and fly. For the most part, we did. Hell, we soared.

“No,” I snip back. “I promise you I have my life under control.” I walk her out of the restaurant and wave goodbye as the door offers a much-needed solace between us.

Once the Wolfs leave, I say a quick goodnight to Levi and Low and walk them out.

Levi nods me to the side as he gives the key to the valet. “What’s up with you and Wolf?” His words come out hard, sharp as a sword, powerful enough to kill their decades-long friendship.

“What?” I try my best to laugh off the implication, but his eyes continue to steady over mine. “You know I don’t date down. So, what if Mom was right? Besides, Brody is family.” I hate that it used to be true. Every word. A part of me still wonders if that’s why I like keeping Brody locked away in my heart like the best kept secret. Am I really ashamed to date someone without a seven-figure earning? It’s ridiculous. I shudder at the thought and silently judge myself for owning it just a little.

Levi glowers at me a moment before nodding as if accepting my truth before taking off.

Low comes over, and we shiver as we stand outside in the bitter cold. “That whole thing with your mother was pretty wild. Is that what had you up in arms when you got here?”

“That’s exactly it.” I glance down at my shoes. I can’t stand that I’m lying to my best friend. I blink back tears because most likely within an hour I will be all packed up from Brody’s and homeless once again. I can feel the let’s-be-friends-talk coming on like a cold—the flu—the one that sends your dinner coming out of both ends.

“Oh, hon, she’s just being her old battle-axe self. She loves you. She just doesn’t want to see you get hurt, that’s all.” Low blinks away her own tears as if she’s wishing for the very same thing. “That and she wants to see you have a nice Manhattan wedding to a stockbroker named Biff.”

We share a quick laugh, and she mimes for me to text her as they take off.

“Everything okay?” Brody comes over, and as soon as his familiar cologne hits me, I can’t help but collapse my arms around him. “Whoa. I’ll take that as a no.”

Levi and Low give a gentle honk and wave as they drive by, and I spot Levi’s smile dissipate quickly to disdain as they hit the road. So, what if he saw me giving Brody a hug? I hugged Brody’s father, too, and I’m pretty sure that doesn’t qualify me as a common street whore.

Brody and I drive home in silence. All the way there I dread the conversation he threatened me with earlier. My head is on the chopping block, and I can’t bear another single second of it.

By the time we hit the house, my adrenaline is shooting through the ceiling, my heart is palpitating so fast, I’m positive it’s just hit deadly levels.

“Okay!” I shout loud and caustic as I attempt to take off my scarf in haste and nearly lynch myself in the process. “Let’s have it.” My voice cracks, and Brody looks up from the door, stunned.

“What are you talking about?” He takes off his jacket and looks damn sexy doing so. It’s so not fair that Brody Wolf is essentially a god among mere humans, and now I’m left to go ten rounds with him on why I think we shouldn’t be friends.

“You said you wanted to talk.” I fold my arms across my chest and tap the toe of my stiletto nervously. “I suppose you want to address those kisses you keep initiating night after night.” That’s right. Tonight, we share the blame. Okay, so I may have pushed off all the blame on him, but he forced my hand. Brody isn’t exactly fighting me off when the moment arises.

His mouth opens and closes. He straightens a moment, searching my face as if looking for clues. Those serious eyes of his curve as if smiling—with a twinkle of laughter caught in each one. “Yes, I do want to talk about those kisses. Do you want to sit down?” His voice softens as he motions for the sofa, but I’m not biting. If I’m going down, he’s going to have to take me down standing. “Okay.” He steps in close, those glowing jewel lenses he sees the world through narrow in on me. “I don’t want to hurt you, Raven.”

“Did I look like I was hurting?” My voice staggers out in bumpy jags as tears spurt from my eyes, and I hate myself for it. I can’t help it, though. I’ve always felt a little too much, a little too strongly when it comes to Brody.

“You do now.” His features grow serious as he steps in, closing the gap between us. “This right here is what I never wanted to happen.”

“What, the tears? Who says I’m crying for you?” It comes out childlike, a weak attempt to shelter my pride.

“Look”—he pinches his eyes shut a moment—“you are my family. We never should have gone there. This is all my fault, Raven.” His voice breaks as he grits his teeth, struggling to hold back his own deluge of emotions. His fingers glide over my cheek, so soft and lovingly it only makes the tears fall ten times harder. “I care about you, Raven. I want you to know that you mean more to me than you’ll ever know. We can’t fool around like we have been. It was a complete boneheaded move on my part. You didn’t deserve this.”

“But I wanted it.” There. I just set the truth between us, heavy as a bowling ball. “I want you. I’ve always wanted you, Brody. Those kisses aren’t even close to what I wish I could do with you.” My body aches as my throat rubs raw. I couldn’t be more naked in front of him if I took off all my clothes. I take a deep, ragged breath because there is one last thing I need for him to know. “I love you, Brody.” I bear hard into those unblinking eyes of his. “I have loved you from the moment we met. I knew you were the one for me.” I give a slight nod as a single tear rolls down his cheek. Brody looks sorry for me, embarrassed perhaps. But right now, the only thing I feel is a complex mixture of love and hate.

“Raven.” He pulls me in by the fingers, and I yank myself out of his grasp.

“I don’t need you to try to pull us out of this awkward moment by making up a bunch of stupid lies about how much you care for me like a friend.” My voice hikes to the ceiling. “I get it. We’re friends. We’re family. That’s all we’re destined to ever be.” I run back to my bedroom and begin tossing my clothes onto the floor in a pile. “I’ll be out of here in an hour!”

“Raven, dammit—” He stalks in and pulls me to him, his face just inches from mine. “You have never been a good listener.” His features are stone-cold, and I have no idea where he’s going with this. This would be a lousy time to discover the fact that Brody has a dark side. His breathing grows erratic, and his gaze is locked tight to mine. “I don’t want to be friends with you,” he grits the words out like spitting a sour taste from his mouth, and it crushes me. I feel smaller than a parasite. His features soften, and that sad smile he wears so well takes over. “I want everything with you.” His eyes flush red as they grow glassy with tears. “But I don’t know how to do this with you. You’re not just some girl, Raven.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls my body to his.

A mountain of relief fills me, and I tip my head back and groan just drinking down the beautiful words he just spoke.

“Look at me,” he says it low and demanding, and I snap right back to attention. His eyes are wild. The light pouring in from behind him makes his hair glow like a halo. “I love you, Raven Masterson. I love you like I’ve never loved any other person before. You stole my heart a long time ago. You’re the very reason I never gave it away to anybody else. I couldn’t. It was already taken. When you came back to Hollow Brook, it was like I could breathe again. You lift me to places I didn’t know I could go. You make me feel things that for a long time didn’t feel right.” His lips pull into a tight smile. “But I don’t care about right or wrong anymore. All I care about is you—and me, together.” His brows furrow. “You’re too quiet. You don’t think we can work.”

“No!” I bounce on my tiptoes. “I know we can work. In fact, I know this because we do work.” I wrap my arms around the back of his neck and pull him closer to me. The ache to have his lips over mine is building, and I can’t wait another moment. “You really love me?” I can’t help but lift my shoulders to my ears. Just the thought of holding Brody’s heart in such a sacred way makes me melt into a giant puddle of Valentine hearts.

A naughty grin rises on his lips. “Yes.” He dots my lips with a kiss. “Hell yes. I love you, Raven. I don’t see you as a sister. I don’t think I ever have.” His gaze steadies over mine once again. “I haven’t had a chaste thought about you in years.” He wraps his hand around the length of my hair as if it were a leash, and every cell in my body erupts with heat of its own. Brody Wolf has always had the power to arouse me, and this one quick motion, his declaration of love for me has set my titillation factor on high alert. He tilts his head to the side, his lids hooded low. “I’m going to kiss you now.”

I shake my head, teasing him just a little bit longer. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you get away with a simple kiss, Animal. Tonight, you’re having your way with me, and I fully expect you to live up to that dirty, dirty nickname.”

A slow grin digs into his cheeks. “I’m not going easy on you.”

My eyes flash wide. “I’d be disappointed if you did. I expect equal amounts of pleasure with my pain. Rumor has it, you leave the girls with a smile that lasts for weeks.”

“On you it’ll last years.” His hand slides up the back of my sweater, skin on skin, and I suck in a quick breath with the feel of his heated flesh over mine.

“I guess I’ll believe it when I see it. Right now, it sounds like you’re all talk and no action, Wolf.” I press my lips together at the dig. It’s always thrilled me to be a little bit mean to him. I guess I have a touch of Lex in me after all.

“Raven.” He touches his forehead to mine. “We’re not doing anything you’re not ready to do.”

“Well, then I’m in luck. I want to do everything.” My chest bucks when I say it for no reason. “I’m excited.” My words come out hoarse, lower than a whisper as if maybe I’m not. “I’m frightened. And as scary as this might seem, I’m here with you, Brody. You have never let anything awful happen to me. Remember when the Stephensons’ demon-possessed dog got out and it went for me, but you blocked it and ended up with stitches?”

“Twenty-seven.” He holds up his hand where the damage occurred, and I can still see the ghost of the scar.

“It took you months to recover. And that time I went out on my first date and hated the guy? I called you and you came to the movie theater pretending that I needed to leave for a family emergency.”

He gives a solemn nod. “You said if you asked your brothers they would have made you suffer to teach you a lesson—scare you off from dating.”

“Well, that part worked.” My hand slips up the front of his shirt, and we both sigh at the very same time. “I know that you care about me, Brody. I know that you always have.” I suck in my bottom lip to keep my emotions from getting away from me once again, but the world warbles through my blurred vision, and it’s too late for that. “And now I know that you love me. And I know that I love you.” A warmth explodes in my chest, radiating out to each of my limbs as a fire burns in me, bright and new. Desire like a tidal wave pushes through me, and my mouth covers his. My fingers work off his dress shirt button by button, working feverishly to evict his clothing. Brody tastes like mints, like beer, like something I’ve been craving to have for a very long time. He lifts my sweater right off my body and pulls back to get a better look at me.

“You’re beautiful.” There’s an innate sadness in his eyes as he drinks me in, and I watch as his Adam’s apple rises and falls. “You know they’re going to kill me.” His gaze meets up with mine once again, and he offers a dirty grin. “Just know I died happy.”

A robust laugh tumbles from my lips as I yank him close to me by the belt loops. “Off with your clothes, Animal, and that is an order. Tonight, you either live up to your name or I want you out of my bed by sunrise.”

His eyes sharpen over mine as he offers a dark smile. “Listen up, Tater Tot, and listen good.” He flicks my chin with his finger, forcing my head to tip up a notch. “The only thing you’re going to beg me to do at sunrise is give you more—harder, faster, longer.” He sweeps his thumb across my cheek. “And I’m going to give it to you because I’m a nice guy.”

A dark laugh rumbles through my chest. “That’s too bad, Wolf, because I’m not really looking for nice right now.” I slip out of my clothes in less than three svelte moves and stand before him, naked and exposed, just watching him watching me. His eyes rake over me, searing and hot, and I can feel his gaze as tangible as his touch as he rides up and down over every exposed inch of me. My fingers fumble with the zipper on his jeans. “I always knew you were a slacker.”

Brody helps evict himself from every stitch of cotton, and my gaze rides slowly down his body. Brody Wolf is trim and cut in all the right places. His six-pack is easily an eight, and my eyes follow that hard V down farther. A breath escapes me, rendering me speechless. Wow and oh my God. I’m no math whiz, but I’m pretty sure width plus girth and length equals a no go in our present situation.

“Come here.” He tucks a kiss under my ear, pulling me over him as we land on the bed. “You feel so good.” He presses me in by the small of my back, his hardness teasing my thigh. In all honesty, I would be terrified to be doing this with anyone but Brody. He’s my safe place. He’s always been that. And while I was busy globetrotting, I felt anything but safe—but in Hollow Brook, in Brody Wolf’s arms, not a thing could possibly harm me.

Brody lavishes me with kisses, the hot strike of his tongue lashes even the most intimate of spaces. And as much as I cringe, I want that much more. I watch as his head moves up and down my body, deliberately loving each and every square inch as if the inside of my elbow were just as important as the inside of my thighs. He parts my knees with his own as he lands over me, his eyes glowing like marbles that someone put a flashlight to.

“You going to make it hurt like you promised?” I meant to tease him, to add some levity to the situation, but it comes out more like a frightened child.

That greedy grin glides off his face, and he bows down and lands a heated kiss over my lips. “I’m going to make it memorable. For the both of us.”

Brody Wolf loves me carefully, slowly at first, then greedily and feverishly in the exact same rhythm of his kisses. Brody is on me, in me, filling up all the empty spaces that craved him for so long.

It’s been a bumpy road to get here, but every cell in my body agrees Brody Wolf was worth the wait.