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“Uhhh . . . and what do you think I am?” I ask, offended by the idea that I won’t be very much help.
“A hindrance,” Izaac teases before focusing on the asshole before him. “What do you say? I don’t plan on walking away from her, and I’d really fucking like it if I didn’t have to walk away from you.”
Austin groans and looks around at the piles of my shit scattered from one end of my apartment to the next. “We can’t just call a moving company and go and get a beer instead?”
“Nope.”
“Then fine,” he says with a heavy sigh. “But do me a favor and keep your hands off her until I’m out of sight. I’m not even close to being ready to see that shit again.”
A wide smile pulls at my lips, and while everything is still strained between us, I know everything is going to be okay, especially when I go to throw myself at him again and he quickly evades my affection. “Ughhh, get away,” he grunts, my playful, pain-in-the-ass brother is back from the dead. “There’s no telling where those hands have been.”
I can’t help but laugh as Austin rolls his eyes, and not a moment later, he has his car keys in his hand. “I’ll go find boxes and tape,” he says, turning on his heel, clearly not thrilled about being roped into helping us. “And when I get back, I swear to God, if I can smell sex in the air, we’re really going to have problems.”
Austin disappears out the door, and I burst into laughter just as Izaac grabs me and pulls me against his chest, his strong arms so perfectly wrapped around me. “I love you so fucking much,” he says and every syllable out of his mouth does things to me I never knew were possible.
His lips drop to mine, and he kisses me deeply. “Say it again,” I murmur against his warm lips, knowing with every fiber of my soul that I will never get used to how good it sounds to hear those words on his lips.
“I’m in love with you, Aspen,” he tells me, pulling back just an inch to meet my stare. “I’m done pulling away and denying what was right here all along. You’re mine and I’m yours, and I’m ready to start building a life with you. I’ve already wasted so much time.”
“You really mean it?” I ask. “We’re doing this?”
“Fuck yeah, we are,” he tells me, grabbing my ass and hoisting me into his arms. “Now, shut up and kiss me before I’m forced to throw you down on that coffee table and fuck you until you scream.”
My brow arches as I hold his stare, my core already throbbing. “Don’t threaten me with a good time, Banks,” I warn him, already getting wet at just the thought of what he could do to me. “Not unless you can back it up.”
He stares right back at me, a wicked grin stretching across his perfect lips as he turns and walks through the threshold of my bedroom. “Oh, I can more than back it up.”
“Prove it,” I challenge, the giddiness rocking through me as his hands tighten on my ass. “But you should know, I don’t plan on changing my mind until I’ve been thoroughly fucked, and something tells me that could take hours.”
“Your brother will be back in twenty minutes tops,” he warns me.
I grin wide, desperate to feel the way he so easily sets my body on fire. “Then you better lock the door because I don’t intend on making this a quick game, and I can guarantee that he’s not going to like what he hears when he walks back into my apartment.”
“You’re fucking trouble, Birdy.”
I hear the soft click of the bedroom door locking, and when Izaac’s heated gaze returns to mine, the air between us becomes electrified. He kisses me deeply, and not a moment later, he throws me down on my bed before shrugging out of his shirt. As my greedy gaze takes in his sculpted body, he comes down on top of me, more than ready to spend every minute of the rest of our lives giving me everything he’s got.
ASPEN
THREE MONTHS LATER
Walking through the door of Aspen’s, a wide smile breaks across my face. It’s Austin’s opening night and every seat is filled. There’s a line waiting out the door, despite the restaurant having been booked out months in advance. There’s media out front interviewing the people waiting in line and getting shots of the celebrities and socialites who managed to somehow score a booking.
Izaac’s hand hovers on my lower back, leading me through the restaurant and toward our table where my parents are already seated, and they quickly stand, welcoming us in. I walk around to Mom and she pulls me in for a quick hug, dropping a kiss on my cheek. “How are you doing, sweetheart?”
“Perfect,” I say, having graduated college a few weeks ago and now enjoying every minute of life with Izaac, despite how he forces me out the door every day to go to work. Don’t get me wrong, I’m working for one of the best PR companies in the state, and every second of it has been incredible, but leaving our bed every day is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
“Oh good,” Mom says before I lean toward Dad and give him a quick hug. He presses a swift kiss to my forehead, and after greeting Izaac, we all sit down. I see Austin rushing around the restaurant, visiting tables, and making sure everything is running smoothly for opening night. He stops by to say hi, gives me a kiss on the cheek, and calls me a loser before side-eyeing Izaac. It’s taken a while, and despite his ability to keep his mouth shut and be happy for me, the relationship between the boys has remained strained. But Austin is trying, and that’s all I can ask for.
He scurries away, making sure to get his best waitress to stop by our table and give us the kind of service that’s reserved for royalty. She takes our orders, and as we wait for our meals, I sip on a glass of wine with Izaac’s hand resting on my thigh.
“How’s work going?” my father asks Izaac, knowing how talking about his clubs always gets him excited. “Keeping busy?”
“Always keeping busy,” Izaac says, his gaze flicking toward me. “But there have been some new developments.”
My brows furrow, trying to figure out what the hell he’s talking about. I don’t think any of his clubs were going through any renovations at the moment, apart from the dark room at Vixen, which he decided to tear out completely to add more floor space for the VIPs, not that he’s been giving me many details about it. He makes a point not to bring it up unless I specifically ask, which I don’t.
Izaac keeps watching me as if trying to decipher my reaction, but all I can do is stare back in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
