“Pretty much. The rent I make on the building covers the taxes and insurance and then some.”

“That building had to cost a mint.”

“I actually got it by assuming the tax bill.”

My lips parted as I looked up at him in admiration. “Very savvy.”

He grunted skeptically. “I don’t know about that.”

I watched as he picked up a pink checkered dishtowel and dried his hands off on it. His hands were big, the dark hair on his corded forearms ending just past his wrists. There was something very sweet and sexy about seeing those hands on such a dainty towel.

He hung the towel back up and leaned back against the counter, arms folded. Excited anticipation swirled in my stomach.

I was suddenly self-conscious as I stood before him. I sensed he wasn’t a novice in the bedroom. I wasn’t, either, but still . . . would I measure up? Not just to the other women he’d been with, but to his vision of what I’d be like. When he looked at me, his dark, fiery gaze full of hunger for me, I felt sexier than I ever had. He made me feel like I could undo him with a single touch. And I wanted to, more than anything.

“You’re nervous,” he said, reaching a hand out and wrapping it around my hip. He pulled me close and slid his other hand around to my backside. “Don’t be.”

I rested my palms on his solid, warm chest. I’d never been so overwhelmed by my attraction to a man, and I’d also never felt something so undeniably right. Kane had let me inside his walls. He’d shed his armor of intimidation, exposing himself to me in an intimate way. I didn’t know him extremely well yet, but I knew he was letting me see the real him. The non-defensive, non-pissed off at the world him.

Sometimes I felt like I was still finding the real me, even at the age of twenty-eight. Whoever I was, I wanted Kane to see me. When he touched me and spoke in that low, sexy voice of his, I felt a little closer to knowing myself. I wanted him. I didn’t care how right or wrong anyone else thought we were together.

He kissed me, nipping at my lower lip and brushing the tip of his tongue against mine. Everything else disappeared as I let myself get consumed by him. There was only the hard warmth of him, the sweet smoky smell of him and the minty taste of him. He’d slipped a breath mint in somewhere. Sneaky.

I let my hands wander up the bottom of his t-shirt in front, over the ridges of ab muscles to his taut, defined chest. It was hairy and I liked it.

The low rumble of his groan reached my fingertips and I pulled back, about to suggest we go to my bedroom.

But a series of sharp knocks on my door made me jump slightly instead. I gave Kane a puzzled look. No one ever came to my apartment but Cara, and she knew he was here so there was no way she’d show up unannounced.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, running a hand over my hair to make sure it was still in place.

I rounded the corner to the living room and opened the front door, still slightly breathless from Kane’s kiss.

“Viv, you’re here.” My brother Grayson stepped through the doorway. “I need some money.”

“Again?”

“Yeah. I can’t explain right now.”

His dark, usually neat hair looked unwashed and his shirt was wrinkled. Though it was cold outside, he didn’t have a coat on. But none of that worried me as much as the dark circles beneath his eyes and his frenzied expression.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “You’re worrying me.”

He looked from side to side. “Look, I can’t. I don’t have time.” He saw my purse hanging from a coat hook near my door and grabbed it.

“Hey, I don’t have another five hundred dollars to give you,” I said as he reached into an open pocket of the bag.

“I’ll take whatever you’ve got.”

“The hell you will,” Kane said in a deep, ominous tone. I turned to see him coming toward us. “Grayson.” He said my brother’s name in a familiar, disgusted tone, his dark gaze fixed on him.

“Kane,” my brother croaked. My purse slid through his hands to the floor, its contents spilling onto the carpet. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“A better question is what the hell are you doing here?” Kane said, looking back and forth between me and Grayson.

Grayson turned to me, eyes wide with fear.

“He’s my brother,” I said. “How do you know him?”

Kane’s expression hardened. “How do I know you, Grayson? Want to tell her?”

Grayson sighed and shook his head. “I just need some money, Viv.”

“You need to stay here and come down,” Kane said, still looking at Grayson.

“Man, fuck you,” Grayson snapped. “This is between me and Viv.”

“Fuck me?” Kane covered the last few steps between himself and Grayson. “Watch yourself, asshole. You’d be swallowing your own fuckin’ teeth right now if you weren’t her brother.”

Grayson turned to me. “What is he doing here? Are you . . . is he your boyfriend? Oh, Jesus. Tell me you’re not seeing him, Viv.”

My mind was spinning with confusion and questions.

“What’s going on here?” I said, my voice raised. “How do you two know each other?”

Kane looked at Grayson, his lips set in a thin line.

“He owns a club and I used to go there.”

“Till you stiffed me for six grand. Haven’t seen you since, have I?”

Grayson narrowed his eyes at Kane. “Not since you almost broke one of my ribs, no.”

“Pay your fuckin’ bills and you won’t have to worry about that anymore. Stop chasing the next high. It’ll never be enough?”

“High?” I cried, glaring at Grayson. “Are you using drugs?”

“No,” he scoffed. “Kane’s a lying asshole.”

“Asshole I’ll own, but I’m not a liar,” Kane growled.

I grabbed my brother’s arm and looked into his eyes. “Don’t lie to me. Why are you such a mess? Are you on drugs or not.”

“I told you, no.”

“You’re so lit right now,” Kane said, shaking his head in disgust.

“You’d know, wouldn’t you?” Grayson shot back.

Kane shrugged. “I would, yeah.” He turned to me. “Don’t give him any money.”

“You need to mind your own fuckin’ business,” Grayson said, his expression so desperate and angry I didn’t even recognize him.

The tic of a muscle in Kane’s jaw gave away the fury behind his cool expression. “You’d better get the fuck out of here, man. Consider yourself lucky.”

“I need the money.” Grayson turned to me, his plea nearly a whine. “I owe some people money, Viv. Please.”

I looked at Kane, who just shook his head.

“I don’t have any money to give you,” I said to Grayson. “But you need to stay. We’ll figure this out. Maybe Mom and Dad can help you repay this debt.”

Grayson pulled his arm back and punched the wood frame of my front door. I jumped with surprise and Kane stepped in between me and my brother.

“I can’t ask them,” Grayson said, hanging his head.

“You’ve got two seconds to get the fuck out of here,” Kane said. “You’re scaring her.”

“But I don’t want him getting hurt,” I said. “If he owes bad people money, maybe he needs to stay here.”

“No.” Grayson reached for the door handle and opened it, his shoulders sagging with defeat. “I have to go.”

And without another word, he did. I looked up at Kane helplessly. When I moved to follow my brother, he grabbed my forearm.

“Don’t,” he said softly. “He’s not himself right now.”

“No, he’s not. But I have to help him.”

“You can’t, Viv. All he wants is money for another hit.”

I swallowed against the lump in my throat, my eyes burning with tears. “You really think he’s using drugs?”

Kane closed the door and looked down at me. “I know he is. I’d bet my bank account on it. He can’t think about anything but getting high right now. His body won’t let him.”

I walked over to my couch and sat down, putting my head in my hands. “I don’t even know what to say. I never would’ve suspected.”

With a heavy sigh, Kane came and sat next to me.