I cut her off by sealing her lips with a kiss. By the time we break apart, we’re both panting, and I’m hard again.
“Come home with me.”
She nods, and before she can protest, I pick her up in my arms and carry her the rest of the way to the truck.
As soon as we pull out of the parking lot, my phone is ringing. “Hey, Kane, what’s up?”
“You wanna watch the game tonight?”
I look over at Sam. “Sam and I are heading to the house. We’re going to pick up dinner?—”
Sam points at me, and I read her lips, telling me to invite him.
I was hoping to have her to myself, but maybe this is a good thing. The sooner everyone thinks of Sam and me as an item, the better off we’ll be. “Why don’t you come over? We can all hang out together.”
“I’ll bring dinner,” Kane says instantly.
I groan. “Something besides pizza. Sassy needs something more nutritious than just pizza.”
“I’ll bring her a salad with the pizza.”
“That sounds good,” Sassy chimes in.
“We’re in Jasper, heading to the house. See you soon.”
I hang up, and Sam sits tensely beside me. I reach across the console. “You okay?”
She tenses. “I am, but maybe we should talk before we get home… I mean, to your house.”
I pull her hand toward me and rest it on my leg. “Talk.”
She sighs. “I think we need to keep whatever this is under wraps. Chances are the people in town are already going to be talking, but I don’t want my brother?—”
I cut her off. “You embarrassed of me, Sassy?”
She rolls her eyes. “No, don’t be ridiculous. I’m just saying I don’t want things to be weird between the two of you, that’s all.”
“Nothing’s going to be weird, and Kane already knows.”
She perks up at that. She sits up a little taller and turns to me. “What do you mean? What does Kane know?”
“He knows that I want to date you. I figured I owed it to him to talk to him about it first.”
Her mouth drops. “You told my brother you wanted to date me?”
I nod. “I did. I also told him that whatever he said was not going to stop me, but I wanted his blessing because I knew it would be important to you.”
“Elijah…” she starts and then trails off.
She doesn’t have to finish. I know what she’s going to say. She’s going to talk about how this is temporary, no strings or expectations. All the shit I don’t want to hear.
But she surprises me.
“How did he take it?”
I smirk. “Well, after a few cuss words, he was fine with it. I mean, he threatened my life and all that, but all in all, he took it better than I thought he would.”
She leans her head back and closes her eyes with a smile on her face.
