“Why don’t you let me worry about that?” I hold her chin and force her eyes to meet mine. “You’ve had to carry around all those burdens for so long. Why don’t you let me take care of you? I told you I’ve got you, Vanna.”
“I can’t ask you to do that.” Her mouth says no, but every inch of her is begging me to take the lead.
“You never have to ask.” I kiss her again, and she submits so beautifully. “All you have to do is tell me something.”
“What?” Her eyes are hooded as she melts in my arms.
“When are you ovulating?” My hand on her shorts slides between her legs, and I rub up and down.
“W-what?” She licks her lips and then moans when I hit that sweet spot.
“You heard me.” I lick the place under her ear and her head falls back.
“Oh god.” She moans louder, and then I stand with her in my arms.
“Something tells me it might be right this very moment.”
Just then I hear a sound that stops me cold. I peer around the deck and then curse as I put Vanna on her feet.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“It’s my brother.”
Chapter 11
Vanna
“Your brother?” I glance down at myself and see that my clothes are all wrinkled. It’s early, so his brother is going to know I spent the night, and this is not how I wanted to meet his family. They sound so perfect.
My hair is a wild mess, I'm not wearing any makeup, and I could use a shower.
Lawson doesn’t get a chance to say anything else before we hear the sound of the front door swinging open. There’s no doubting that this man, just as tall and broad as Lawson, is related to him. Although I might be biased, I think Lawson is more handsome.
“I see why you ran from the city. Megan Delanito is a fucking nut. You know she tried to…” He trails off when he sees me peeking out from behind Lawson.
Wait, was Lawson trying to escape an ex? I’m instantly jealous, even though I don’t have much right. Two days ago, I was engaged, but Lawson made a joke about how he hasn’t dated in a long time. He said he could be a monk at this point, which means he lied to me. What else has he lied about? I’m so stupid.
“Don’t you have court?”
“They settled. I thought I could come hang out and tell you about a new possible client. I’m sorry, I didn’t know you had company.” Lawson steps fully in front of me so I’m blocked from his brother's view.
Everything in me is telling me to run, but I’m a deer caught in headlights with the name Megan bouncing around inside my head.
“I do, so you can?—”
“You’re not going to introduce me?” His brother cuts him off before Lawson can finish telling him he should go.
Lawson takes a breath, and I can feel the agitation directed at his brother before he puts an arm around me. He tucks me close to his side, and I want to push him back. Who the hell is this Megan?
“Vanna, this is my oldest brother.”
“Ari,” I say when I remember Lawson telling me about the responsible older brother. He said he could be too serious, but maybe that was a lie too.
“Vanna, interesting name.” Ari’s dark brows pull together. “Are you the same Vanna that’s engaged to Nick Chambers? I thought you looked familiar.” My stomach drops. How does this keep getting worse?
“She’s not engaged to him.” Lawson’s hold tightens. “Have you two met before?” I shake my head because my throat is too tight to talk. If we did, I don’t remember.
“Yeah, but it was at a charity, and I only saw you in the distance,” Ari says. “Nick pointed you out when he told me he got engaged.”
