Damn drunk college kids.

I went outside and found Jace already pulling the guy down off the ledge. “Dude, go drink some coffee,” Jace said with disgust, and slapped him hard on the back.

“You know him?” I asked.

Jace shook his head. “No. Just wasn’t in the mood to watch anyone die tonight,” he replied, before taking a drink of beer.

“Thanks,” I said.

Anya walked up and wrapped her arms around Jace’s waist, smiling at me. Seemed she had moved on. Good for her.

“Anya,” I said, nodding a greeting in her direction.

“Rush,” she replied with a teasing grin.

“And I’m Jace,” he said loudly over the noise. “As much as I love fun and awkwardness, I think we’ll go on out for a little walk on the beach,” he said, before leading Anya toward the stairs that led down to the sand.

I headed back inside and toward the kitchen. I was going to get Blaire out of that damn room. She didn’t need to stay there all night.

“She already came out,” Grant said, walking up beside me. “Woods has her in the foyer.”

“Woods?”

“Yeah, dude. Kerrington. Surely you’ve figured out that by now, he’s spotted her on the course. He plays a shit ton of golf.”

I shoved past the people in front of me and headed for the foyer.

The shy smile on Blaire’s face, looking up at Woods as he led her into the living room, stopped me in my tracks. Someone was talking to me, but I couldn’t focus on what they were saying. The blush on Blaire’s cheeks had my complete attention. Woods’s hand touched her back in a possessive way, which bothered me. How well did she know Woods? Had I missed this completely? Blaire said something to Woods, and he stopped to look down at her. They were discussing something. Then he leaned in close to her, and my annoyance instantly transformed into being pissed off.

Blaire’s eyes shifted and locked with mine. They went wide with surprise, as if she didn’t expect to see me at my own house. Then she moved away from Woods and spoke to him quickly as she put more distance between them. She was saying something to him, but he seemed amused and ready to say whatever he needed to in order to get her to stay.

I knew exactly the kind of guy Woods was, because he was just like me. I wasn’t letting him touch her. He saw her as a conquest, and I would kill him before I let him use her. The idea of Blaire doing anything with Woods made my skin crawl. I started moving. I didn’t stop and think about it, and I didn’t give a shit if my sister saw me.

“There is nothing about you that is unwanted. Even Rush isn’t that damn blind,” Woods was telling her as he moved closer to her. She was trying to get away from him.

“Come here, Blaire,” I said, reaching out to take her arm and pull her against me. Woods needed to understand that she was with me. I was protecting her. He should look elsewhere. “I didn’t expect you to come tonight,” I said in her ear. If I had known she was going to walk out of that room looking like something good enough to eat, I would have guarded the damn door.

“I’m sorry. I thought you said I could come,” she whispered, her face turning bright red. I hadn’t meant to embarrass her. She misunderstood me.

“I hadn’t expected you to show up dressed like that,” I explained, keeping my eyes locked on Woods. I didn’t want to do this in front of her, but if he pushed me, I would. The little red dress clung to Blaire in ways that should be f**king illegal. Didn’t she have a mirror in that room? Hell, I couldn’t remember.

Blaire suddenly jerked her arm free of me and started moving toward the kitchen.

“What is your f**king problem, man?” Woods asked, glaring at me and making a move to go after her.

“She’s off-limits,” I warned him, stepping in front of him to block his path. “You need to stay the hell away from her.”

Woods’s angry glare heated as he stared at me. “You deciding to claim her now? Making family work at the club is low, even for you, Rush.”

I took a step toward him. “Stay out of this, and stay away from her. That’s your only warning,” I told him, before walking away to find Blaire.

Grant met me in the hallway. “She’s hurt. Go fix it,” he said, shooting me an annoyed look as he walked past me and back to the party.

Why was she hurt? What had I done other than keep Woods from using her? I ignored two people and shook my head at Nan as she made her way toward me. I wasn’t dealing with her right now.

“Are you going in there?” she hissed angrily at me.

“Go enjoy your very expensive party, little sister.” I opened the pantry door and closed it behind me, locking it. I didn’t want someone following me inside.

I didn’t knock on her door. I knew she wouldn’t open it. I opened it instead and stared at her as she stood there, trying to unzip her dress. She let her hands fall back to her sides as she stared at me, then took a step back, bumping into the bed and sitting down. There wasn’t much room to move in here, which made me angry. How was she living in this tiny space? I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

“How do you know Woods?” I asked. The anger in my voice hadn’t been intentional.

“His dad owns the country club. He golfs. I serve him drinks,” she said nervously.

I knew all that already. I just wanted to make sure that was the only way she knew him. I couldn’t stand the idea of her spending time with him. With anyone. “Why did you wear that?” I asked, looking down at the dress that was going to star in my late-night fantasies of her.

Blaire shot back up, and her eyes turned from nervous to heated fast. “Because my mother bought it for me to wear. I was stood up and never got the chance. Tonight you invited me, and I wanted to fit in. So I wore the nicest thing I had. I’m sorry that it wasn’t quite nice enough. You know what, though? I don’t give a shit. You and your uppity, spoiled friends all need to get over yourselves.” Then she shoved me with her hand as if she wanted to knock me over. I didn’t move, but she’d put some force behind it.

She didn’t get me at all. She didn’t understand, and holy hell, she thought she wasn’t good enough. Was she kidding me? She was so damn near perfect it hurt. I closed my eyes tightly, trying not to look at her. I had to get away from her. This room was so small. She smelled so good . . .

“Fuck!” I swore, before burying my hands in her hair and covering her lips with mine. I had to taste her. I couldn’t control myself. We were alone and too close, and she smelled like heaven.

I had expected Blaire to fight me, but she melted into me so easily. I took what I could while she was still too shocked to slap me. Her mouth moved under mine, and I licked at the swell of her bottom lip. “I’ve been wanting to taste this sweet, plump lip since you walked into my living room,” I told her before taking more. I slid my tongue between her lips, and she opened for me. Each dark corner was better than warm honey. I could get drunk from her taste.

Her small hands grabbed my shoulders and squeezed. I wanted more. I wanted her. She caught on, and her tongue began to move against mine. Then she bit down on my bottom lip. Holy hell.

I grabbed her waist and put her on the bed behind her before covering her body with mine. More. I needed more. More of Blaire. More of her smell. More of her taste. More of the sounds she made. Just f**king more.

When I settled my obvious arousal between the open V of her legs, she moaned and threw her head back. My pulse sped up, and I felt my control slip even further. More.

“Sweet, too sweet,” I whispered against her mouth, and I realized I was almost done. I wouldn’t be able to stop. And she was sweet. Too f**king sweet for this. I tore myself away from her and backed up off the bed and stared down at her. The sexy red dress was up around her waist, and the pink satin of her panties was right there. The wetness that had darkened them made my blood roar in my veins. “Mother f**king shit.” I slammed my hand against the wall to keep from reaching for her. Then I opened the door. I had to breathe air that wasn’t filled with Blaire. Her smell was all over me. I had to break free.

She was too much. The word more kept pounding in my head, reminding me how willing she had been to let me taste her. To touch her. And mother of God, how wet she’d been. I slammed out of the pantry and headed for the door that led outside. Fresh air. Air with no Blaire. Fuck. I wanted her. More. I wanted so much more.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

I hadn’t slept. All damn night. I had walked for miles along the dark beach and then went to my bedroom and paced the floor. A cold shower hadn’t helped, either. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw those pink panties and heard Blaire’s sweet sounds. I had to get her out of my head.

I needed to get laid. I hadn’t slept with anyone since the incident with Anya. That wasn’t like me. Tonight I had to work this out of my system. Keeping Blaire at a distance was all that would keep her from being hurt. It was only a matter of time before she knew and before she hated me.

I grabbed my phone and scanned the numbers I had saved until I found one that I knew was safe for a one-nighter with no strings. She’d require a dinner and some attention first, but Bailey had been trying to get my attention since she’d come to one of Nan’s parties. I’d taken her number and said I’d call sometime.

Once I had set a date for tonight, I got ready for my day with Nan. We were playing a round of golf today, her birthday request. I was hoping we would miss Blaire, but if not, I could handle buying a drink from her. I just wouldn’t breathe her in when she was near me. Or look at her. And I would not think about her panties. Fuck. I needed another cold shower.

Nan was standing with her arms crossed over her chest and a pout on her face when I walked up to the clubhouse ten minutes late. “Sorry I’m late,” I told her, and bent down to kiss her on the cheek to soften her up a bit.

She shoved at my shoulder. “That’s not why I’m upset. I just got here,” she said, rolling her eyes at me. “Why did I have to hear from Bailey that you asked her out for tonight and not from you?” she asked me, looking annoyed.

Because tonight was about f**king Blaire out of my head. Nothing more. “Didn’t know you cared about who I planned to f**k tonight,” I replied with a wink, as I pulled my bag out of my Range Rover and handed it to the caddy, who had rushed over to greet me when I drove up.

“Rush, really?” Nan snapped at me.

“When she gave me her number, she knew what she was doing. But if you want to call her and warn her of my plans, then be my guest. I’d much prefer she canceled on me now so I could find a replacement.”

Nan shook her head and let out a sigh. “You are horrible.”

“You love me,” I told her, then grabbed her hand, tugging her with me toward the golf cart. “I want to drive, and I don’t need someone to get my clubs for me. Are you good with just me, or do we need a caddy?” I asked her.

She climbed regally into the passenger seat and shrugged. “As long as you intend to get my clubs and clean them, then I don’t mind.”

“Diva,” I muttered, and handed the caddy a hundred-dollar bill for his time, then climbed in and drove us to the first hole.

“Princess, Rush. I’m a princess,” she reminded me.

“No, sis, you aren’t. You’re a spoiled diva. Marrying a royal would be the only way you could be accused of being a princess,” I teased.

Nan slapped at my arm and laughed. This was the sister who was easy to deal with. The one who was my friend, who I could be myself with. The one who didn’t demand things of me that I couldn’t do. “Bailey is really nice. Her daddy is a heart surgeon, and she’s designing her own clothing line. I think you’d like her if you gave her more than one night in your bed.”

I parked the cart and got out. “She won’t be in my bed. I don’t ever take them to my bed. My sofa, maybe, possibly my kitchen table. Hell, I may try out the washing machine tonight. Once I figure out where the hell it is. Have you ever washed anything in my house before?” I was trying to change the subject. I didn’t want to hear about Bailey and have any guilt over using her body tonight.

“You are impossible!” Nan walked out to the tee, expecting me to get her club. She had been serious about that. She liked to play, but she had no idea what club to choose for each shot.

“I’m horny, and Bailey has some nice tits,” I told her.

Nan frowned at me. “I’m warning her that you’re a dog. She needs to know.”

I handed Nan her driver and smirked. “She knows, sis. She knows, or she wouldn’t have given me her number.”

Nan waved her hand at me and took the driver.

I had turned to get my own driver when the golf cart coming our way caught my attention. I noticed Blaire’s blond hair. Her eyes were focused on me. Shit. I’d known there was a good chance I would see her, but I had hoped that talking about the sex I intended to have with Bailey tonight would cool me down.

I looked away from her. I wasn’t going to let her get to me. I could ignore her. Get a drink and act like she was just an average cart girl.

Bethy one of the other cart girls, was in the front seat with Blaire. She was staring at Nan as she talked. I cringed, thinking of what Bethy might know that she could tell Blaire. I wasn’t sure how close the two were. Surely not very close. Bethy was nothing like Blaire. Innocence had long left Bethy.

“You’re kidding me. Woods hired her?” Nan hissed. I glanced over at my sister and saw that she had noticed the drinks cart arriving.

“Don’t,” I warned her, and walked over to stand close enough to Nan to control her if needed.