But I never pushed too hard. I never really tried. Wanting her was an addiction, and that was why I’d never made my move. I wanted her in my head more than I wanted her in my bed. I never wanted the chase to end.

Until I’d had a taste of her in the weight room. Then everything left my control.

“Are you serious?” she screamed, loud enough to hear over the party music.

I stood outside, leaning on my car with a group of people around me including Madoc and Fallon as we watched the two cops confront her about the noise as they all stood in the doorway of Tate’s house.

I grinned, and everyone started laughing around me as she stormed past the cops in her cute little pajama shorts, short T-shirt that showed a sliver of her stomach, and bare feet.

Her arms swung back and forth as she stomped right toward us, growling the whole time. “Keeping me up for hours with your racket, and you file a noise complaint on me?” she shouted. “I’m going to make you hurt, Jaxon Trent!”

My chest shook with laughter. Damn, she’s so cute when she acts like she’s five.

She rushed up, straight toward me, swung her hand back, and I ducked just as she was about to slap me. Crashing myself into her thighs, I hauled her off her feet and swung her over my shoulder, her ass rubbing against my cheek.

“Whoa, Tiger,” I chided, rubbing the back of her thigh.

She kicked her legs. “Put me down!”

I tightened my grip around her knees and looked at the cops. “Thanks, guys. I’ll take it from here.” And I jerked my chin, letting them know they could leave.

“Seriously abusing our friendship here, Jax,” Wyatt, one of the officers, grumbled as he walked away with his partner.

“Put me down!” She slapped my T-shirt-clad back and I grunted, struggling to hold her as she thrashed.

Turning around, I walked up the steps and into the house, the tremors of the music pulsing through my feet and up my legs as we walked in the door.

“Listen up!” I called out, ignoring her shrieks. “This is K.C. She’s queen of the castle tonight. She tells you to fuck off, you fuck off. Got it?”

I didn’t wait for responses as I swung K.C. back over my shoulder, plopping her on her feet again. Before she even had a chance to react, I circled her neck with my arm and yanked her in close, nose to nose.

“If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” I said, and reached over to yank a Seagram’s Jamaican Me Happy wine cooler out of the tub of ice by the door. Twisting off the cap, I shoved it into her chest and turned to Fallon and Shane, having noticed that everyone had trailed in behind us.

“Fallon and K.C. You remember each other, right?” And I looked at K.C., hooding my eyes in a warning as I spoke to Fallon and Shane. “Get her drunk, ladies. But don’t let her take any drinks from anyone other than you, Madoc, or me, okay?” I smirked at K.C.’s narrowed eyes and mouth hanging open. “Have fun,” I whispered to her, and walked away.

Even though I knew she was pissed at me, I also knew she’d stay. Fallon and Shane were there to hold her hand if need be, and it just so happened that I had just planted her favorite alcoholic beverage in her grasp.

And even though I barely ever got wasted, I was very interested in seeing her get a little loose tonight. Maybe she’d finish what she had been doing to me in the car last week.

When Shane had finally trailed over a couple of hours ago, she mentioned K.C. being upset about seeing her mother, something about journals she wasn’t able to get back, so I decided to lure her out. Every time she called to file a noise complaint, I got word of it and jacked up the music more.

Now here she was, friends at her side, drink in her hand, and—I looked over as she and the girls plopped down on the couch—a smile on her face.

Score. God, I’m good.

I tried not to grin as I played pool with Madoc and snuck glances at her from time to time. K.C. was such a little thing. Not so little that you’d mistake her for a child, but she was definitely more petite than Tate, Fallon, and Shane. Her small, flat waist would take absolutely no effort to circle using only one arm. Which I proved in the weight room. I swear her legs had absolutely no fat and she possessed the sexiest damn toned thighs I’d ever seen on a woman. Even her calves were toned, and her tanned feet and peach toenails had me drinking in every naked inch of her body.

I liked that she dressed colorfully, and I liked pretty things. I’d seen too much darkness growing up, and K.C. was like a red flag to a bull.

Her dark brown hair, the color of chocolate, spilled to the middle of her back and was parted in the middle, swinging in her eyes every so often. I’d never thought green eyes were attractive, but K.C.’s were beautiful. Like summer’s first grass with the sun shining on it. Light green with gold glitter.

I squeezed the pool stick clutched in my fingers, having a sudden urge to haul her upstairs and take a shower with her.

What the fuck? That was random.

“So you’re still into her, huh?” Madoc’s voice broke into my head, bringing me back.

Turning back to him, I leaned on my upright pool cue and evened out my expression. “K.C.?” I clarified, trying to sound casual as I grinned. “I might still like to do a few things with her.”

“That’s what I thought about Fallon.” He nodded. “It was like ‘whoa, this is fun!’ Now it’s like ‘whoa, I’m married!’ ” He gave a shaky laugh, and my chest shook with amusement.