“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s your birthday, and we have plans to celebrate. I’m almost offended that you’d think I’d have an ulterior motive.”
She looks guilty as hell as she heads toward the door and slips on her black heels. I reluctantly follow her lead. It’s not often we get to dress up anymore. She’s either working or being a mom, and my job has been keeping me busier than ever.
I dusted off my favorite little black dress with a triangle cutout at my midriff and a thigh-high slit. If this doesn’t get me laid, I don’t know what will.
“What are you not telling me?”
“Wilderiscomingandhisbrotheriswithhim.” The words come out too jumbled for me to make sense of them.
“Say that again. Slower this time.”
She clears her throat, averting her gaze. “Wilder is coming, and his brother is with him.”
“Jessica Louise Hayes!”
“Don’t you dare use my full government name, Angelina Thalia Rossi.”
A knock sounds at my apartment door.
“That’s the guys,” Jess says. “Please be nice.”
“When am I ever not nice?”
She crosses her arms over her chest and cocks a brow at me.
“Fine. I’ll be on my best behavior.”
As soon as the door swings open, Wilder barrels inside and wraps Jess in his arms. “I missed you.”
She beams at him. “I’ve only been gone for two hours.”
“Two hours too long.”
She giggles as he kisses down her neck.
“How’s Emmy Lou?” she asks.
“She’s having the time of her life with your parents, which means we have an entire evening to ourselves for the first time in months.”
My thundering pulse drowns out the rest of their conversation as I stare at the man standing in my doorway. I’m tall for a woman at five foot eleven, and he still towers over me by at least a good seven or eight inches. He’s broad-chested and soft around the middle, with light brown wavy hair hanging down past his shoulders and a thick, well-groomed beard.
His eyes are a rich brown with flecks of caramel, and he’s staring back at me with unmasked hunger, dark and menacing in a way that sends tingles up my spine, causing me to press my legs together.
Being on the receiving end of his smile feels a lot like being cocooned in a blanket fresh out of the dryer. “Hey. I’m Griffin.” His voice is a deep rasp curling low in my belly.
My gaze flicks to the upturned palm that’s extended toward me. I slide my hand into his, and he brings it to his perfectly soft lips.
The skin prickles where he kissed me, and I momentarily forget how to speak.
Snap out of it, Ange. You’re a bad bitch. Act like it.
“I’m Angelina.”
If cowboy is the red flag, I’m prepared to paint it green,just for tonight.
My back hits the door with startling force, and suddenly he’s right there, lifting my dress off over my head. “Fuck, Angel. Been dreaming of stripping you naked since the second I laid eyes on you.”
