With my hips bouncing to the band’s lovely beat, I stand in line with the rest of the party-goers, feeling lighter than I have in a long time. I’ve got my sights set on BBQ ribs, and I’m wondering if New Orleans does them differently than I’m used to. Ooooo, and there’s lemonade. I can’t wait to…

“Can I buy you lunch?” His deep voice sends tingles down my right side and I don’t have to look over to know the most handsome guy at the party is smiling down at me. But I sneak a peek anyway.

“I don’t think they’re charging,” I say, smiling into his dancing eyes. “You look happy.”

He frowns playfully, peering into the truck. “Hey guys! You take tips, right?” Through the rectangular window three guys in their twenties nod. Alec looks at me and repeats in a more intimate voice, the resonance doing things to my insides, “Can I buy you lunch?”

I laugh, charmed. “I’d love that.” Without warning, he grabs me and throws me over his shoulder. “Whoa!”

“It’ll have to wait.”

With my hands on the sinewy muscles of Alec’s upper back, I crane my neck to see Jenna and my brothers, but none of them are looking at us. Trepidation curdles my blood as I worry about the ramifications of this little kidnapping. “Alec, I thought…”

“Shh…” he hushes me, heading for the pool house meant for people to change their clothes and shower. I have a feeling he’s got more on his mind to do than that. The authority in his voice dampened the sweet space between my thighs, but still I’m worrying about if this is a good idea. I know it’s not, not after Jack and I finally buried the hatchet.

“Alec, really, I don’t think…”

He spanks my ass once, but firmly, the charge of it shooting vibrating sensations from where his hand hit. “Quiet, woman!”

Jack and Sean who?

He opens the door and orders out two couples who are mauling each other’s faces. “Everybody out!”

They scramble to leave without argument and, with me still over his shoulder, Alec locks the door behind them, turning to toss me on the purple couch as though I weigh five pounds. “Oof!” I bounce and stare up at those eyes of his. They’re charged with need for me and I gasp as he lunges and pins me easily with his masculine strength. In some ways, men and women are not equal and thank God for that! Tearing the thin t-shirt off over his head, he locks eyes with me and smirks that sexy fucking smirk of his. I stare at his chest as it comes into view; at the tiny hard nipples, the knots of his abs, that V I can’t stop touching. “Do you think I’d do this if I thought it would hurt you, or them?” he asks, hoarsely.

My eyes light up and I grin. “Are you serious?”

He gives a curt nod, wanting to dispense with talk of anything else. “I’m going to fuck you so hard.”

He lifts up my legs and wraps them around his hips, grinding into me. I moan, “Say it again.”

“I’m. Going. To. Fuck. You. So. Fucking. Hard.” He flips me over and before I even know what’s happening, he’s pulled up my dress, pulled my bikini bottoms to the side, unzipped his pants and plunged his cock into me, all the way in. I give a long moan and press into him as he claws into my hips with thick fingers, pulling me onto him, thrusting and grunting like an animal. I grip onto the cushions and bend to his will, arching my back as he hammers me. “You’re so fucking wet, Rue. I’m holding off but not for long. I’m going to cum. I’m not holding back when I do.”

“Well, it’s about time,” I tease him, moaning loudly as he goes ballistic, lifting me off the couch and holding me in the air as he takes me from behind. He growls and grunts as his body writhes and bends into me. My walls begin to shake, the folds so slippery, taking all of him in. “Oh my God!!” I cry out. A primal yell bursts out of him and he pounds me harder, stretching out the delicious spasms in my walls until I’m shivering. All of a sudden he yells out and shoots into me, thrusting his powerful hips and holding there as he throbs. I clench my walls for him and he growls and hammers into me more, driving us further over the edge until I’m gasping for air. He collapses onto me, reaching under and grabbing my breast, kneading it in his fingers and tweaking my nipple as we catch our breath. “Wow.”

“We’re just getting started,” he chuckles into my shoulder blades, kissing and biting them. “But first, some food.”

I groan as he pulls out slowly, the thickness of his shaft barely softening. “But we could go again?”

He chuckles and zips up his shorts. Stepping to lift me up onto his lap, he kisses me long and slow. “There’s a party going on. And a reason to celebrate. But don’t you worry. You and I aren’t even close to being done.”

Smiling all over, I kiss him. “And now we don’t have to hide like my mom and dad.”

He soberly looks into my eyes, quieting me. “We don’t have to hide anymore. You are worth claiming in front of the entire world, Rue Calliwell. And I’m proud that I’m the man who’s going to do it.”

Stunned, I let him lift me and put me on my feet. He takes my hand and leads me to the door. We walk into the sunlight holding hands for all to see, and Jenna, off in the distance catches sight of me. She shades her eyes with her hand and grins. I throw her a wave and follow my man to the food trucks, feeling that without a doubt, I am the luckiest girl in the world.