Page 140 of Nobody's Girl

“I know. See you on Monday when we come back. We’re going to stay the weekend in this mansion he rented and send his fake family home. You get to have some real fun now that the lying is over. Love you, sis.”

“Love you too,” Jess said, then ended the call. She found Griffin putting away his phone. Then he turned to look at her.

“You knew about the bet all along, Jess?” he asked her, afraid to pull her into his arms the way he yearned to.

“I did,” she said and took a step closer to him. “And we made up the phony marriage thing to see if you guys would run. But you didn’t.”

Ethan looked at her with a sheepish grin. “We all kind of adore you girls. And we all took you on these horrendous dates to make you think none of us were great marriage material.”

“So, the bull-jacking thing is bullshit?” she asked him as she took another step closer.

“It’s a load of it. We do have machines that take care of that task. Can you ever forgive me for almost making you touch a bull cock?” he asked, as he wasn’t sure she’d forgive him or not.

Jess closed the gap between them, wrapping her arms around his neck and gazing at him in a new light. An honest light. “If I’d had to touch one then I can’t say for sure. Since I didn’t have to, the answer is yes. I forgive you, Griff. And can I ask you to be honest about how you feel about me?”

His hands tangled in her long blonde hair as he whispered, “I’m crazy about you, Jess. That’s the truth. And how do you feel about me?”

“Oh, I think you’re just about the best thing since sliced bread, Griff.”

He kissed her then. Their first honest kiss. Neither had expected the fire that ripped through them as their tongues danced and their bodies stretched, trying to feel every part of the other’s.

Griff pulled his mouth away and said, “In the spirit of being honest … What are the chances you and I can go up to my bedroom and spend this entire weekend making sweet love to one another?”

Jess winked at him. “I’d say there is a one hundred percent chance of that happening.”

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Griff picked his girl up and carried her away with him. It hadn’t been that long in reality, but it had seemed like forever since they’d met. And things were finally going to be real between them. Griffin was set on making Jess see how he really felt about her.

Chapter 34

Pulling the truck to a stop just outside the gate that secured Phoenix’s oilfield, he looked at Cait as he blurted, “We had a bet. Whichever one of us got laid first would win. It was stupid; and this whole lying to you thing is stupid; and I just want to end it. I know about how you and your sisters want to trick us into marrying you. That’s why I brought you out here. I don’t want to live out here at all. But I don’t know if you and I will work out, either. The fact that you’re a scheming little witch is a thing I can’t take.”

“Whoa!” Cait gasped. “Okay, first of all. You used me in a bet. Second of all, you lied first. That’s why we came up with our lie about getting you guys to marry us. We knew about your bet, and we came up with something to run you all off. Only it didn’t run any of you off.”

Phoenix blinked at her a few times. “You knew about the bet? Since when?”

“Since the beginning of it. Our cousin overheard you guys and told us about it early on. So, we fooled you all into thinking you were going to get lucky.”

“Then you ditched us.” Phoenix nodded as he recalled it all. “You little sneaks.”

“Um, hey, you guys started it,” Cait reminded him. “So, do you want to take me home now or what? Are we done?”

“Is that what you want?” he asked her as he found his heart pounding.

“Is that what you want?” she asked him as she watched his face go blank. Cait had no idea what he wanted, but she knew she wanted to see where things would go with the man.

When he shook his head, she smiled. Phoenix got out of the truck and went around to her side. Opening the door, he pulled her out of the truck and held her tight. “Cait, I think I might love you.”

“That’s nice to hear. I think I might just love you too, Phoenix. Now, how about we go to your beach house and spend this weekend in a more appropriate way? You know, playing fetch with your dog.”

He laughed and hoisted her up, then kissed her hard. When he released her lips, he said, “How about I let the neighbor continue to take care of him so I can play some sex games with you, my little Caity-cat?”

“I say, okay. Take me to your lair; make me your woman.”

Phoenix hoisted her back into the truck and groaned as he ran his fingertip over the top of her breast. “I’m going to rip those clothes off you and not allow you to get dressed at all for the next two days.”

“Promise?” she asked with a grin. “Climb up in this truck and take me home, baby.”