Since he was a teenager, Jake had needed to run daily in order to burn off excess energy and clear his head, but two hours along the sloping gravel roads had pushed him past the point of exhaustion this morning. It still wasn’t enough to clear the memory of Clem’s soft body tangled up with his, offering herself like the shiniest present under the Christmas tree.

His lungs burned and legs ached as he came around the corner of the cabin toward the deck facing the water. With any luck, she would be off doing something fun right now and he’d be able to grab a shower and give himself a little more time before facing her again.

He stopped just before he reached the deck as her voice rang out in the quiet air.

“Would he use those ropes to tie her up? Force her lips open while she lay helpless and slide his…” She dropped the hand holding a little black recorder and cut herself off with a frustrated sigh.

Every molecule of blood in his body abandoned its mission to restore oxygen to his limbs after the crushing run, and beelined straight for his dick. Knowing she was thinking about him—his voice—while she read that stuff nearly killed him, but the sight of her relaxed against the Adirondack chair, long legs completely bare thanks to those tiny jean shorts, is what pulled the trigger.

Thank god he’d talked to her this morning before his brain cells had drained out of his head. If he ever got a taste of her, there’d be no way he’d stop until he’d stripped down all her defenses. Claimed her. And then he’d hurt her. It’s what he did.

Another time or place, he might rethink acting on his attraction, but she was still vulnerable after the break-in. Pretending to be in a relationship made it too easy to confuse their feelings. Their desires. He’d be an ass to take advantage of her now.

But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t let her sweet voice provide him with enough fantasies to last until he was ninety. He rested his forearms against the deck railings and watched as she twirled her right hand in the air and muttered to herself, oblivious to his presence.

“Get on your knees and open your mouth. Take what I give you.” She fanned herself, then dropped her voice another octave. “Take what I give you.”

What would she do if he walked up to her and repeated those words?

A piercing scream, followed by a loud splash coming from their dock, cut off his thoughts. He ran out to the front of the cabin to see what was going on.

“Jake, watch out,” Clem shouted.

Her warning came too late. A thick arm closed around his neck, another at his waist. The next thing he knew, Andrew and Mike carried him down to the dock and tossed him into the lake.

He swam to the surface, brushed his wet hair out of his eyes, and treaded water while he got his bearings. Control was not something Jake gave up willingly, but he couldn’t find the energy to be pissed off about being thrown in the lake, especially when the two guys cannonballed in after him. The early afternoon sun was already blazing hot and the cool water quenched his overheated skin.

“Oh my god, what if he couldn’t swim?” Chastity, who was obviously their first victim, said from the dock, ringing out her sopping wet shirt.

“We’d go after him. Eventually,” Mike answered shamelessly. Unlike the younger twins, Mike and Andrew were more easily identifiable from their differing haircuts and the giant scar on Andrew’s shoulder. “Besides, if he’s going to join this family, he better get used to it.”

Andrew pulled himself out of the water, then crouched down at the edge of the dock and held his hand out to Jake. “We haven’t scared you off, have we?”

“Nah. It’d take a lot more than that.” He bypassed the offer of help and hoisted himself onto the dock, not trusting that the other man didn’t have an ulterior motive.

Andrew stood up and crossed his arms with a smirk. “You’re gonna regret saying that.”

“Now that you’ve been initiated,” Mike added, striking an identical pose to his brother, “Time to prove you’re tough enough to date our little sister-in-law.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Test number one,” Andrew said. “We’ll start with something easy.”

“See that rock over there?” Mike pointed to an outcropping about a quarter of a mile out into the lake. “We used to race around it when we were kids. Last one there and back has to chop all the firewood for the rest of the week.”

“Unless he dies, in which case second loser has to do it,” Andrew said.

“I don’t mind chopping wood.” Hell, it would probably be a great way to relieve some of the unspent sexual tension ready to burst inside him.

“You saying you’re not willing to fight to prove you’re man enough to deserve Clem?” Mike asked.

Well, fuck. He was not good at backing down from a direct challenge, no matter how stupid, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to if Clem’s honor was on the line.

Clem jogged toward him on the dock, holding an oversized towel. “You don’t have to do this.”

“She’s right. They’re thirty-six-year-old fools with the brains and survival instincts of a toddler,” Chastity added with a scowl at her husband, who winked cheekily in response.

“Aw, babe, you’re just saying that ’cause you’re pissed you lost the scavenger hunt. It’s not my fault you don’t know the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel. Ouch.” Mike rubbed his side from where Chastity just elbowed him. “I bet our man Jake here’s willing to prove his worth to Clem.”

“Nope, nobody needs to prove anything to me,” Clem said with a small hint of panic.

Something flared inside him. “You don’t think you’re worthy of being fought for?”

“I don’t think I’m worth dying for in some insane macho pissing contest.”

He was exhausted and could already feel a cramp forming in his left calf, but there was no way he was going to disappoint her again. He’d already given her the impression he was here out of pity, and if he had to swim to Antarctica to prove otherwise, he was damn well going to do it. He kicked off his shoes and pulled his soaked shirt over his head. “I’m in.”

“Ouch! That’s got to be an illegal move,” Clover said with a wince.

“Can’t be illegal if there’s no rules,” Chastity said, casually flicking the water with her foot.

Clem was inclined to agree that the elbow to the face Jake just gave Andrew bordered on vicious, but considering her brother-in-law had dunked him and tried to steal his shorts about a hundred feet back, she wasn’t feeling too bad about it. The pair were neck and neck as they surged toward the algae covered dock where she sat with her sisters, while Mike trailed a half-dozen feet behind.

“I don’t think Dad expected to lose so badly,” Olive said, dutifully keeping her baby sister safe behind them on the wide dock.

“That’s because he didn’t expect Clem to actually be dating a guy with a shred of athletic ability,” Chastity responded.

Clem nudged her older sister with her shoulder. “Well, it serves Mike right for trying to take advantage of Jake.”

“It’s just weird,” Clover said. “You’ve never been into jocks. The last guy you dated had the athletic ability of a drunk hedgehog. Since when do you date guys who’ve been in the reserve?”

Clem bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to defend herself, but not having any valid reason or means to do it. Hearing her own lie repeated back to her made it seem so much worse than it had at the time she’d uttered it. The fact was, she cared a lot more about connecting with someone on an intellectual and emotional level than a physical one, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate the fact Jake had an awfully nice six-pack and muscular shoulders that made her want to take a bite out of them. Then again, the last guy she thought she’d had a connection with had treated her like crap right before she dumped him. “Change is good,” she finally managed to say.

“Maybe this one will last more than a few weeks,” Clover teased.

Chastity scoffed. “I hope not.”

Clem’s turned to her oldest sister with her mouth hanging open. Chastity was blunter than a murder weapon, but she usually sugarcoated things a little better. This was like getting a mouthful of sour candies when she was expecting a gumdrop.

“Relax. I’m just saying that if things don’t work out with Jake, Martin would be perfect for you.”

“Why wouldn’t things work out?” She kept her voice level, cognizant of the fact all four of her nieces were lounging on their towels behind her. “You don’t think I’m his type?”

“Oh, honey. A guy like Jake? All slick and charming? I think anyone can be his type for a night, maybe two. And then he breaks your heart.”

The fact that Jake had pretty much rejected her after she offered herself to him last night made Chastity’s comment sting so much worse than it should have. Clem always hated the way her older sisters assumed they knew more about love and dating than she did, just because they’d both married the first guy they’d been with, but the truth was, Chastity hadn’t said anything different than what Jake had told her this morning. “He’s thoughtful and respectful and he treats me really well.”

“Good, because if that ever changes, I will castrate him myself,” Chastity said with a wry smile before jumping to her feet. “You can do it, baby! Swim hard!”

Mike had caught up enough to Jake to get a hand to his ankle, dragging him down. Clem got to her feet like everyone else on the dock, adrenaline rushing through her as she watched him free himself with a brutal kick to Mike’s face.

Andrew had pulled ahead by a few feet, but Jake was swimming hard. Clover crouched down and slapped her hands against the dock. “Go, Andrew, go! You can do it!”

Clem wasn’t sure what came over her, but she found herself screaming and clapping, too. “Come on, Jake! Kick his ass!” Dear god, men were idiots sometimes. These cavemen displays of machismo had always seemed ridiculous, but having someone to root for made it kind of fun.

Jake surged ahead by a small fraction and her heart kicked into overdrive with anticipation.

“I didn’t think he had it in him but it looks like he’s willing to prove himself to you, after all,” Chastity said to her amidst the commotion.

Clem’s mouth went dry. It suddenly felt like there was a whole lot more riding on this stupid race than a bunch of firewood.

Jake didn’t drown, but he came damn close. The stitch in his side felt like a dagger tearing through his ribs as he pushed himself the last twenty feet to the dock. He was determined not to let the twins beat him, but unless he picked up the pace, he’d be getting a little too acquainted with the ax over the next few days.

“Go, Jake! You can do it!”

He lifted his head between strokes to see Clem on the dock, surrounded by her entire family, cheering him on. Fuck, he didn’t want to let her down. He might not be the right guy for her, but he was determined to show her the kind of man she deserved while he was here. Someone who would fight for her. Drown for her. Nail her brother-in-law in the face with his elbow for her.

Okay, it was a cheap shot, but considering Andrew had held him under the surface and tried to rip off his shorts about fifty feet back, he felt pretty damn justified.

His body felt like a rusted out car on its last ride, but he drew on every last reserve of his adrenaline to slap his hands against the swaying dock and declare his victory seconds before Andrew and Mike caught up, and dragged himself out of the water. He flipped onto his back like a dying fish, closed his eyes, and sucked in a lungful of air.

He felt Clem’s presence next to him before he even opened his eyes. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”

“Yeah, an idiot who won. Your honor was on the line.”

Yep, seeing Clem’s face light up as she crouched beside him was worth almost drowning.

“Still an idiot.” She leaned closer and dropped her voice to a whisper. “It means a lot to me that you’re trying to fit in with everyone. Thank you.”

For some inexplicable reason, that made him feel like he’d just won an Olympic gold medal.

Andrew pulled himself onto the dock, followed by Mike a half second later, both of them groaning like they’d been run over by a truck.

“See, baby?” Mike said, gesturing lazily toward Chastity. “I fought for your honor, too.”

“Next time do it with diamonds.” She bent down and laid a kiss on Mike’s mouth that made even Jake blush. Mike wrapped his arms around his wife and dragged them both into the water in a fit of laughter.

Andrew rose to his feet and zeroed in on Clover. “C’mere, sweet cheeks.”

“Oh no! Not a chance.” Clover turned to run off the dock, but Andrew caught up to her, tossed her over his shoulder, slapped her on the butt, and launched the both of them into the lake.

When the laughter died down, Jake realized everyone was looking at him and Clem. Expectantly.

“What’s the matter, Sis? Aren’t you going to congratulate your man for winning?” Chastity asked, eyes narrowed as she wrapped her arms around Mike to buoy herself in the water.

Shit. Clem’s older sister was already suspicious. They’d been here for almost two days and barely showed any sign of affection. Barely touched.

Most new couples couldn’t keep their hands off each other. He looked at his pretend girlfriend and it was obvious by the way she held her breath with a panicked expression on her face that she had the same worry.

“Oh goodness. We’re half an hour late for lunch! Stopping messing around and get a move on, kids,” Darlene interrupted, saving him from what would have been the most awkward moment of the trip.

The sun was so hot, there was no need to change before heading to Darlene and Frank’s deck for lunch. His clothes were almost dry by the time he sank into his designated lawn chair to watch Mike get started on chopping wood for the fire with the grace of an angry Viking. Mike slammed the blade through a thick slab of elm, splitting it down the middle and sending the pieces flying.

“Hurry up and use those muscles, babe. We’re getting hungry,” Chastity teased from a safe distance, bouncing Poppy on her lap.

“How was I supposed to know fancy-pants art dealer would actually be some kind of athlete?”

“Not an athlete,” Jake said, stretching his aching arms in front of him. “Just really a stubborn guy who doesn’t like to lose. Besides, if I’d known I was up against a gym teacher and a personal trainer, I wouldn’t have agreed in the first place.”

“Just be glad you didn’t face off against Clem,” Chastity said.

“Why?”

As if in slow motion, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him. He looked to Clem for a hint as to what he just did to land in the twilight zone, and how to step back out. A flush spread across her cheeks and neck.

“Seriously?” Chastity tugged a branch out of Poppy’s little mouth. “She was a state champ in the 200-meter freestyle. Geez, it’s almost like you guys aren’t a couple at all.”

His gaze shot to Clem’s. Her jaw clenched as she swallowed, trying vainly to hide her worry. “It’s not something I like to brag about,” she said quietly.

“Well, you should. That’s amazing. Besides, getting my ass kicked by you would be way more fun than beating these two guys.”

The color on her cheeks deepened to a rich crimson that made her green eyes stand out even more. God, what was it about that sweet smile of hers that made him want to find a million different reasons to put it on her face?

“We have a whole shelf in her old bedroom filled with her trophies,” Frank said.

Darlene wrapped her arm around her husband’s waist. “Oh, I remember those days. We used to pack everyone into the van and cheer her on at all those competitions. Do you remember the shirts we used to wear?”

“Yes. And the giant banner with my name and a picture of my face, too.” Clem shifted in her seat, curling into herself and looking like she wished the chair would come to life and swallow her whole.

In all his years, he’d never seen anything like the kind of pride beaming from every one of Clem’s relatives. When he’d told his parents he wanted to open his own business, he’d only gotten a dismissive shake of the head and a lecture about how a craft brewery was bound to fail in a town with so much competition, and how restoring an old church was a pointless expense when he could build something new for much less cost. But Clem seemed to have trouble breathing whenever someone complimented her.

“Aunty Clem, will you take us swimming this afternoon?” One of the twins asked. With their matching outfits and identical blond pigtails, he still hadn’t figured out the secret to telling them apart.

“Oh, but you’ll miss out on the camping Olympics we had planned for this afternoon,” Darlene moaned. “You already missed yesterday’s croquet tournament, and now your team is twenty points behind! You’ll never catch up.”

He could see from the way Clem worried her bottom lip that she wanted to make the little girls happy, but if they didn’t start showing up for the preplanned family activities, the pressure would start coming through like a dam cracked open. “What if I stay, and Clem can take the girls for a swim?”

“You can be on my team,” Olive said with a grin. “Grandma Jean wants to sit this one out.”

“Grandma Jean wants to drink her lemonade and keep her hip in one piece,” the older woman shouted. “I’m old. I’ve earned the right to judge all of you from the sidelines.”

Clem gave him a smile and silently mouthed the words “thank you” to him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he was getting a little too addicted to seeing her look at him that way.

Jake managed to stay upright when he jumped over hula-hoops in a burlap sack and didn’t even stumble with one leg tied to Olive’s as they circled the obstacle course, but the moment he saw Clem pull herself out of the water in that black bikini, he tripped over his own feet, sending the raw egg on his spoon crashing to the ground in a splatter.

He heard Olive groan from the finish line just a few feet away, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from Clem. She was so stunning, it knocked the air from his lungs. A tiny waist with broad shoulders and hips that formed a perfect hourglass. Her skin was pale and soft, with incredible breasts cupped together by the halter neckline of the stretchy black material. His eyes were drawn to her with the kind of force that overrode gravity.

“From the way you’re ogling my sister, you’d think you’d never noticed she’s got a smokin’ body beneath those baggy clothes,” Chastity said from the sidelines where she’d just blown past him with her raw egg intact.

Shit. Clem’s oldest sister was too smart. Too suspicious. He needed to get his act together soon or he’d ruin everything. “She’s beautiful.”

“Leave that boy alone, or I’ll disqualify you for unsportsmanlike conduct,” Jean shouted. “Besides, that ain’t the look of a man discovering his woman has a bosom for the first time. That’s the look of a man who’s been smacked in the face by love.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but anything he said would only be another cinderblock tied to his ankles while he tried to swim out of this mess. Why shouldn’t he just let their misconceptions do the dirty work for him?

Because it might not be a misconception at all.

The thought stilled him. He didn’t know where it came from, but it was absurd. Sure, he was attracted to her, and yeah, he liked her. Who wouldn’t? She was smart, funny, kind. But he wasn’t capable of anything deeper. Certainly not love. Hell, the fact that thought even passed through his mind was proof he was a lying son of a bitch when it came to relationships. He was so good at it, he was starting to fool his own brain.

How many times had he told Kelly he loved her over the years, only to argue with her about something inane a few minutes later? No matter how ridiculous, how inconsequential, neither of them could let go of any fight. The last time had been about him shaving before going out to dinner. She’d been excited to go to a new steakhouse in town—not because of the food, but because it was a place for the wealthy folks in town to be seen. He’d refused. Looking back, he didn’t even know why. Maybe he was pissed because she’d never deigned to eat at the Holy Grale. Maybe it was because he just felt like being an asshole that day. It sure as hell wasn’t because shaving was a hard thing to do. He’d discovered Kelly in bed with Greg the next day.

He couldn’t imagine treating Clementine the same way.

He was so transfixed by her, he didn’t notice Chastity grab a beach towel and shove it into his arms. “I think my little sister forgot her towel. Why don’t you bring it to her instead of watching her from afar like a lovesick puppy?”

Jake barely registered the amusement in her voice, but there was no question she was still suspicious. There was only one way to fix that. “Yeah, of course.”

As if on autopilot, he marched down to the dock where Clem was watching the twins splash in the water wearing their bright yellow lifejackets. His excuses for staying away from her seemed to fade away with every step closer. Every warning sign telling him this was a bad idea drowned out by the thrum of desire pounding in his chest.

He needed to end everyone’s doubts about his relationship with Clem once and for all.

She turned to him and started to say something, but the words died on her lips. He wrapped the towel around her shoulders and used the ends to pull her into him. Without a word, he knotted his hand into her wet hair and lowered his lips to hers.