Twice.

For me.

And, damn it, why was she walking like that? All slowly, hips swinging, hair swaying? It did things to me. Things I was trying very damned hard to ignore.

She caught me staring, and grinned. I dropped my hands to my sides. “I bet you’re wondering why I’m here,” she said, her voice soft and teasing. “And what I might want…”

“Uh…” I blinked at her, tearing myself out of my thoughts and my fascination with her swinging hips. Was it just me, or was her tone flirtatious? Seductive? Irresistible. The years in the desert were obviously messing with my head, and I needed to get laid. ASAP. “Yeah, I am.”

After she’d made a lap around the room, she stopped in front of me. Too close for comfort. Especially since I couldn’t shake the suspicion she was flirting with me. “I came to collect on that offer you made. I believe it was something about screwing me until I never felt clean again?”

Well, shit. Had I said that? It sounded like something I would say. And do.

I swallowed hard, but it was like a giant cotton ball was stuck in my throat. For a second, I thought about grabbing her. Doing exactly that. But then I remembered I was trying to be a better man, and I couldn’t. “I…uh…Lilly…”

She burst into laughter, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Oh, my God, you should see the look on your face right now. I’m just kidding, of course.”

I had a feeling whatever look she’d been laughing at was gone now. “Ha-ha, you’re so funny.”

But the thing was…she was.

I wanted her to have grown up to be some sort of stuffy, spoiled little rich daddy’s girl, someone it’d be easy to ignore, but she wasn’t. She was teasing me. And it was funny. She was still naive as hell, and way more innocent than she tried to pretend, but I liked her. And that was a dangerous thing, considering I also wanted her.

“Thanks. I’ll be here all week.” She grabbed my hand, turned it palm up, and slid a gold key into it. Her soft touch made my pulse race. “But the real reason I’m here is because I’ve been thinking about what you said. About living here.”

I cocked a brow, not sure where she was going with this, but grateful she wasn’t here to talk about something I said when drunk, at the very least. “Why are you giving me a key? And how did you know what room I’m in?”

“The kind man at the desk was all too helpful in telling me which room my ‘husband’ was in, when I asked him and showed off a little cleavage.”

I curled my fingers into a fist, forcing my eyes not to wander down to see said cleavage. I already knew it was amazing. “Oh. Right.”

“Is that…?” She reached out gingerly, her hand trembling as she touched the puckered flesh marking the spot on my shoulder where the bullet from an enemy combatant ended my career. Her fingers sent a rush of something dark and raw skating through my veins.

“A bullet wound?” I glanced down at it. “Yeah. The one that sent me home.”

I was a sniper, and if you couldn’t aim accurately due to damaged muscles…well, you couldn’t be a sniper anymore. And they sent you on your way. It pissed me off that I wasn’t out there anymore, protecting my guys.

“O-oh.” Shaking herself slightly, she stepped back, letting her arm fall to her side again. “Mind if I sit?”

“Please. Do.”

She took her hat off and smoothed her blond hair. She shouldn’t have bothered; it remained as flawless as the rest of her. It still had that soft wave that had captivated my drunken attention the other night. Sober me was no different. I curled my fingers around the mystery key she’d given me. “I brought you coffee and a donut. Chocolate iced. Your favorite. Or at least it was. Is it still?”

She knew my favorite donut?

Hell, I bet my mother didn’t even know that.

I nodded, and she perched on the edge of the nasty couch. It was brown and mustard-yellow, and was probably straight out of the seventies or a porn movie…or a seventies porn movie. The material contrasted sharply against the paleness of her smooth skin. Skin I couldn’t ignore no matter how hard I tried to focus on the ugly porn couch.

It inexplicably made me wonder if she’d ever watched a dirty movie before. I had a feeling there were a lot of firsts she’d never experienced, and I wanted to give them to her. Show her how much she was missing out on. “Why did you give me a key?”

“Because…” She ruffled her hair. “Because I want to offer you a place to stay.”

I blinked at her. “Where?”

“When I was little, my dad owned a townhome for a few months, while our house was being built. We only lived in it for a few months, but I liked it so much I begged him not to sell it. To keep it.”

I ran my thumb over the key, catching on quickly enough. “You still have it?”

“We do. He does. And that’s the key to the front door.” She rubbed her biceps slowly. “I’d like you to stay there. Daddy doesn’t need to know. I won’t tell him.”

I wasn’t gonna lie. Getting out of this shithole sounded good. Wonderful, even. But it almost sounded too good to be true. And in my life, that usually meant it was. “What’s the catch? How much is the rent?”

“You don’t have to pay anything. You’re my friend, and my stepbrother, and I want to do this for you.” She stopped rubbing her arms and gripped them tightly. “But there is kind of a catch, and it might not be something you’re willing to do.”

I tensed. “What is it?”

“Well, you see, it’s not empty.” She bit her deliciously pink bottom lip. “I live there, too. Alone.”

Well, shit. That wasn’t going to work. I was barely able to control my annoying urges when it came to her in small doses. If I lived with her, I’d be screwed. “Lilly—”

“Wait.” She held a hand up. “Before you say anything, I think it would be a great idea. We could get to know each other, since as you pointed out, it’s been seven years. I like you, Jackson. I always have. And now I have a chance to help you out. Please let me. I want to.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” I said, keeping my voice flat, and set the key down in front of her. “What if your dad found out? He’d have a fucking conniption.”

She winced. “He won’t. He’s not exactly the type to stop by because he’s in the neighborhood. When Daddy wants to see me, he summons me. Not the other way around. He’ll never know.”

I scrambled for another reason it wouldn’t work. Anything but the truth.

But I came up empty.

“Just take it. And think about it.” She tossed the key back at me, and I caught it reflexively. “If you decide to go for it, you have the key. And you’re all set.”

I closed my fingers around it, securing it in my fist again. She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs, and I stared. No matter how much I tried to ignore the lust stabbing me in the gut, it wouldn’t leave me alone. “Thanks. But I’ve gotta be honest. I don’t think I should move in with you,” I said bluntly.

“Why not?” She licked her lips and uncrossed her legs, leaning forward on them. It did things to her tits. Things I shouldn’t have noticed—but I did. I’d have to be dead not to. “What’s got you worried?”

“Well, we’re not kids anymore.” Pushing off the door, I crossed the room and stood in front of her, with only the table separating us, and forced my attention to remain northward. “And we don’t really know one another, for starters.”

She shook her head. “That’s not true.”

“Yeah, it is. For all you know, I walk around my house naked all the time.”

“I—” Her lids drifted down. This time I not only felt it, I saw it. She opened her mouth, closed it, and her cheeks flushed a fetching pink. “Do you?”

Her voice deepened with that question. There was no doubt of that.

“Sometimes.” I shoved my hands through my hair, willing my cock to ignore the open invitation in her eyes. I wouldn’t mess this up. Wouldn’t act on my improper impulses. Not with her. “But honestly, it’s not like we’ve kept in touch or anything. We just lived in the same house years ago. The second I left home, I never saw you again.”