His vacant eyes showed no reaction to my words. “What do you want, Viv?”

“I want you to come to your senses. Look at you. Look at this place. Obviously you sold your stuff to buy drugs.”

He glared at me, eyes narrowed. “I told you, I don’t answer to you or anyone else. Now if you don’t want anything, go away so I can get some sleep.”

Where was my clean-cut workaholic brother? He’d always taken pride in his place and now it looked like he was squatting here.

“This is crazy,” I mumbled.

He put a hand on my shoulder and steered me toward the door.

“Grayson, let me help,” I said as he opened the door.

“I asked for your help and you turned me down.”

“Not money. You need help. Rehab or—”

He put his hands on my back and shoved me so hard I stumbled into the hallway. The door slammed closed before I even had a chance to look up at him.

My hands shook as I buttoned my coat. Grayson had never treated me this way. I was more worried about him than ever, and torn over whether I should alert our parents or let him deal with the consequences of his actions himself.

He was thirty-one years old. I’d offered my help. Now I just had to wait and hope he took me up on the offer before it was too late.

I grabbed my phone and read Kane’s text again. He’d sent it four hours ago and I’d read it at least a dozen times. It still wasn’t old.

Kane: I’ll bring dinner tonight. Dress sexy for me.

Sexy. I’d gone through outfit after outfit trying for the right look. I wasn’t the type to open the door wearing nothing but a bra and panties, because my paranoia about it being one of my neighbors wanting to borrow a cup of sugar was too strong.

Every dress and skirt I’d tried on had been wrong. They reeked of trying too hard. I’d finally settled on dark jeans that fit just right and a silky black top that cut all the way down to the tiny freckle between my breasts. I wore a new lacy black bra and panties that made me feel super sexy. And ballet flats, since I was at home.

My hair was wavy and loose past my shoulders. I’d gone a little darker with my eye makeup. Getting dressed for the night had kept my mind occupied this afternoon when I’d been trying not to worry about Grayson.

The swirl of excitement in my belly wasn’t just from dressing sexy. I was dressed sexy for him. There was no one else in the world who mattered right now. I could put aside everything else and just escape into Kane tonight.

A knock sounded at my door and I dashed off a quick text to Cara as I went to answer it.

Me: He’s here!!! OMG I may finally get some!

I hadn’t slept with a man since before moving to New York, and every time I looked at Kane I grew more acutely aware of the drought.

When I opened the door, his gaze moved down my body, his eyes darkening with raw approval.

“Very nice, Viv,” he said in a low tone as he stepped inside and closed the door.

“Thank you.”

He wore his usual dark jeans, black t-shirt and leather jacket. The savory scents of steak and spices emanated from the paper bag he carried.

“Hungry?” he asked, his eyes fixed on me as he set the bag on a console table.

“Just for you,” I admitted.

The corners of his lips quirked up in a satisfied smile. “For me, huh? What would you like from me?”

“Everything.” The word spilled from my mouth before I even thought about it.

Kane’s dark eyes swirled with something I couldn’t place. He almost looked conflicted. But we were past all that. It had to be something else.

He put a hand on my hip, the warmth of it encircling me in a possessive way that made me shiver slightly. Eyes still locked with mine, he slipped his other hand into the low v of my shirt, his fingertips sliding past the edge of my bra. My lips parted and a small breath escaped me as he cupped my breast and ran his thumb over my nipple until it was hard.

I looked down at the thick erection straining the denim of his jeans. When I wrapped my fingers around it, his strangled groan made me bold.

“This is what I want,” I whispered.

His gaze grew predatory as he put his hands on my upper arms and moved them into the air. He pressed me back against the wall, pinning my wrists above my head with one of his large hands.

He dipped his face against my neck, his lips grazing over my jaw line. I let my head fall back against the wall as his free hand roamed beneath the bottom of my shirt, his touch on my bare skin making me break out in goosebumps.

He pressed his mouth to mine in a hard, demanding kiss. I tried to wrap my legs around him but he was so tall that he had to put a hand under my ass and hike me up on the wall.

“Oh . . .” I cried as his erection pressed against me. “Kane . . . you feel so good.”

He squeezed my ass and let me slide back down the wall. Keeping my wrists in the air with his hand, he pulled my shirt up and off over my head, letting it fall to the floor. When he dropped to his knees and pressed his lips to my bare midriff, I moaned and ran my hands over the short dark hair growing out on his head.

I grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it up and off. The wide planes of muscle and huge tattoo of an eagle on his back made me feel hot and needy for him. I ran my hands over his hard, bare shoulders and back as he kissed around my belly button.

“I want you so fuckin’ bad, Viv,” my murmured against my skin. “You don’t even know.”

The brush of his beard across my sensitive skin made me gasp and sink my nails into his shoulders. The growling sound he made as he ripped the button of my jeans apart was primal. He slid his hands down my hips, taking my jeans down to the floor.

I was shaking with desire as I stepped out of the jeans, still clutching his shoulders. He pressed his mouth to my wet panties and I cried out again. Then he ran his tongue up and down the seam of my opening through the fabric.

“Oh God,” I cried. “Fuck me now, Kane. Please.”

He slid his hands up my thighs, his fingertips gliding beneath the sides of my panties. When he looked up at me and our eyes locked, I saw reverence.

His hands stilled and he held my gaze. I waited several seconds, my body wound tight with eager arousal.

“Fuck,” he muttered, sliding his hands out from beneath my panties. “I can’t.”

He reached for his t-shirt on the floor and I let my emotions take control.

“No,” I said, ripping the shirt from his hands. “You’re not walking out on me again. Not now. No, Kane.”

He sighed heavily and pressed the heels of his hands over his eyes. “You don’t know, Viv. This isn’t right. Give me my fuckin’ shirt.”

“Not right? You lick me through my panties and then decide it’s not right?”

“Yeah, that’s what I decided,” he said, lowering his hands and glaring at me. His tone was filled with bitter anger. “It’s not right for me to fuck you, Viv. Not because I don’t want to.”

“Oh, don’t play that,” I said angrily. “Fuck that. What’s really going on?”

He leaned closer, his face just inches from mine. “I. Just. Can’t. You don’t know me.”

“I know enough,” I said, forcing myself to hold his steely gaze.

“You don’t.”

I threw my arms up in frustration. “Do you have . . . performance issues? Because it’s okay if you do.”

He shrank back, his expression horrified. “Performance issues?” He gestured at the giant tent shape jutting out from his jeans. “Does this look like an issue to you?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe you couldn’t . . . finish or something. We can work through it.”

His lips parted in shock. A second later he closed them and put his clenched fist up to his mouth, a vein in his forehead bulging ominously.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” he said. “My dick gets hard, stays hard and fucks well.”