Her arms came around my waist and held tightly. “I have to work today. They’re expecting me.”

That was Blaire. It was one of the many things that had attracted me to her. She wasn’t going to lie or ignore a responsibility. Letting her go, I stepped back and put distance between us. “I know. Run, Blaire. Run your cute little ass downstairs and get ready. I can’t promise you I will let you go if you stand here looking like that much longer.”

A grin broke out across her face, and she took off running for the stairs. Her laughter trailed behind her, and all I could do was stand there like a fool and smile.

I got showered and dressed quickly, then called Jace. I didn’t want to ask Blaire about her schedule, but I wanted an excuse to be at the club. I never went up there unless Nan wanted me to meet her for golf or dinner.

“Hello?” Jace said, sounding surprised that I was calling.

“Hey. Are y’all golfing today?” I asked.

“Uh, yeah. We golf every day. You know that.”

“I want in,” I said.

“You’re gonna golf?” he asked, shock in his voice.

I didn’t see what the big deal was. I had golfed with them before. I played with Nan and Grant on occasion. “Yeah, so?” I said.

Jace chuckled. “OK, sure. You haven’t played with us in forever. What gives today? Normally, you have to be dragged out onto the course by Nan or Grant.”

I wasn’t answering that. He didn’t need to get the wrong idea about Blaire. They would need to see me with her. I’d make sure they all knew how off-limits she was. “In the mood for golf,” I replied.

“All right, then. See you at eleven thirty. Woods has to be in a meeting this afternoon with his dad, so we’re playing early.”

I didn’t point out that most people thought an early tee time was six or seven in the morning. Not eleven thirty. “Thanks. See you then.”

I headed downstairs to see if Blaire had left yet. She couldn’t have had time to dress and eat. Not if she took a shower. I opened the door at the bottom of my stairs and looked to the right. Blaire’s door was open. She wasn’t in there. The lights were off.

I headed for the stairs and took them two at a time, hoping to catch her in time for a good-bye kiss. She was standing at the bar, with a bowl of cereal in her hands and a spoon lifted to her mouth. She was eating. Good.

“Don’t let me stop you,” I said, walking over to the coffee pot, not wanting to make her nervous. She seemed so jumpy. “Are you working inside today?” I asked. She shook her head no then swallowed.

“They need me outside today,” she said.

I turned back to the coffee pot before smiling. I would see her, then. I f**king loved golf. I noticed her cell phone lying on the counter and picked it up. She had forgotten it already.

I switched the pot on and watched her walk to the sink with her bowl. I stepped over and blocked her path and took the bowl from her, setting it in the sink behind me.

“Are you . . . is everything OK?” I asked, then slipped my hand down to gently cup the place between her legs, which I worried would bother her today. She had to work outside in the heat, and I didn’t want it to be painful.

She blushed and ducked her head. “I’m fine,” she said in a breathy voice.

“If you were staying here, I’d make it feel better,” I told her.

Her breathing quickened. “I can’t. I have to go to work,” she said, lifting her eyes to meet mine.

I slipped her phone into the pocket of her shorts. I wanted it on her all the time. “I can’t stand the idea of you hurting and me not being able to do anything about it,” I told her, slowly caressing the outside of her shorts.

“I have to hurry. I had to skip the shower, which is terrible, I know, but I couldn’t shower and eat. I didn’t want you . . . I wanted to eat so you would be happy,” she said.

She hadn’t showered. Well, f**k. I buried my head in the curve of her neck and inhaled deeply. “Shit, Blaire. I love that you’re gonna smell like me all damn day,” I admitted. Knowing that she hadn’t washed me off made my inner beast roar. I was getting out of hand.

“I gotta go,” she said, stepping back. With a small wave, she hurried for the door.

It wasn’t until I heard the door close that I realized I hadn’t gotten my kiss. She’d distracted me with the fact that she was still wearing me all over her body. The stupid grin on my face was starting to make my face hurt. I hadn’t smiled this much in a lifetime, yet that girl kept giving me a reason to.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Back on the cart today? As much as I like having you inside, this makes golfing a hell of a lot more fun,” Woods said to Blaire when she’d cart up beside the first hole.

I was going to set that shit straight right f**king now. “Back off, Woods. That’s a little too close,” I warned, as I walked toward them. Blaire spun around with a surprised look on her face. She hadn’t been expecting me. She would soon find out she couldn’t get rid of me.

“So she’s why you suddenly wanted to play with us today?” Woods asked, sounding annoyed.

I wasn’t interested in answering him. My focus was on Blaire. Her hairline was wet from sweat already. It was hot out here today, and she could be suffering. If she was hurting at all, then Woods was going to let her go home. I’d throw her over my shoulder and leave with her if I needed to. I slid my hand around her waist and tugged her against me possessively before lowering my head so I could whisper in her ear. “Are you sore?” I asked her.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

I kissed her ear, but I wasn’t ready to let her go yet. “Do you feel stretched? Can you tell I’ve been inside you?” I asked. As much as I didn’t want her hurting, I wanted her to feel me there. To remember I had been there.

She nodded and melted against me. Little Blaire liked me talking naughty. I would need to remember that.

“Good. I like knowing you can feel where I’ve been,” I said, then leveled my gaze at Woods. I wanted to make sure he understood me.

“I figured this was gonna happen,” Woods said, sounding pissed.

“Nan know it yet?” Jace asked, and Thad, one of Woods and Jace’s close friends, nudged him as if to shut him up.

“This isn’t Nan’s business. Or yours,” I replied, glaring at Jace. He needed to listen to Thad and shut up. I would deal with Nan. They didn’t know shit.

“I came here to golf. Let’s not talk about this out here. Blaire, why don’t you get everyone’s drinks and head on to the next hole?” Woods said.

I didn’t like him bossing her around. He was doing it on purpose. The f**ker had better watch himself. His daddy would have me in his office real damn quick. Finlay money kept this place going.

I wouldn’t do this in front of Blaire, because it would upset her, but Woods was going to be set straight.

Blaire stepped out of my arms and went to get everyone’s drinks. She handed me a Corona without asking what I wanted. She handed Woods his beer, and he slipped a f**king hundred-dollar bill into her hands. I could see the way her shoulders tensed as she cut her eyes toward me and quickly stuck it in her pocket. I would not get pissed because he paid her well. He could afford it, and she deserved it for working for his sorry ass. Bastard.

I walked over to her and placed two hundred-dollar bills in her pocket, then pressed a kiss to her lips. I was staking my claim, and they’d all better f**king get that. I winked at her and headed over to the caddy. I wouldn’t look at Woods until Blaire was gone, because one smirk from him, and I would break his goddamn nose.

When I glanced back, I saw Blaire driving away. I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.

I’m sorry about Woods.

He had been an ass, and I was worried that she was upset. He was her boss. She needed to know he wouldn’t do that again.

I’m fine. Woods is my boss. No big deal.

Was she used to him acting like this? Yeah, he and I were gonna talk. Now.

“So, you and Blaire, huh? Didn’t see that coming,” Jace said, grinning like an idiot.

Woods let out a bitter laugh.

I stepped over to stand in front of him. “Do you want to say something to me, Woods? Because if you do, go ahead and say it now, because I sure as shit got something to say to you.”

The anger in Woods’s eyes didn’t surprise me. He didn’t like being reminded that he couldn’t intimidate me. He shook his head at me and looked out to where Blaire’s cart had disappeared over the hill. “She’s too good for you to f**k with. I thought there was some chance you’d have enough heart not to touch her. She deserves so much more than she’s gonna get from you. If she had so much as given me a chance, I would have shown her how she deserved to be treated. But you.” He pointed at my chest. “You, Finlay, you just crook your son-of-a-rock-star finger, and they come running to you. And you toss them away without a thought. Blaire isn’t worldly enough to handle that. She’s not that tough, damn you.” He looked like he would slam his fist into my face.

The only reason I let him stand there and yell at me was that he didn’t understand. He thought I was using her. He wanted to protect her. He wasn’t gonna get to, because I wasn’t letting him near her, but I appreciated the fact that he saw what I did. Blaire was precious. I shoved him back enough to get him out of my face. “Do you actually think I would have touched her had I not known all that? You think I would have threatened my sister for just anyone? No. Blaire isn’t just another girl for me. She’s it for me. She. Is. It.”

Saying the words out loud didn’t just shock everyone around me, it shocked the hell out of me, too. She was it.

I would never want anyone else.

Ever.

Just Blaire.

“Motherfucker,” Jace whispered from behind me. “Rush Finlay did not just say what I think he said.”

Woods’s angry glare slowly dissipated. As my words sank into his thick skull, I saw disbelief and then acceptance cross his face. “Shit,” he finally said.

I stepped back and shrugged. “You said it yourself. Except you were wrong about one thing. She isn’t special. She’s f**king perfect.” I turned around, then stopped and looked back at him pointedly. “And she’s mine,” I said, loudly enough for all of them to hear me. Swinging my eyes in a warning glare to the other two, who were watching me as if I had lost my mind, I repeated, “Mine. Blaire is mine.”

“Well, shiiit,” Thad finally said. “Guess I shoulda paid more attention to the new girl. She’s got the biggest player I know tied up in knots. Day-um, I’m impressed.”

This time, Jace shoved Thad. “Shut up,” he hissed.

“Let’s play some golf,” I said, taking my driver and heading for the tee.

I had a late lunch with Grant and then headed home to shower and decide what to do with Blaire tonight. Although sex was pretty damn high on my priority list, I knew she needed to take it easy. I also wanted to talk. There was so much I didn’t know about her. I wanted to know everything. I wanted to sit and listen to her talk to me. Tell me things.

Taking her out was an option, but I was greedy. I didn’t want to share her yet. I wanted all her attention. I didn’t want to know that others were getting to look at her. I just wanted it to be us here in this house alone. Together.

Then, of course, I wanted to kiss her all over her body and taste the sweetness between her legs again. But first, I wanted to talk. I didn’t want this to be a sexual thing only. For the first time in my life, I wanted to let someone in. I didn’t want to keep Blaire out. She needed to love me. For me to survive this, she would have to love me. How the hell I would get her to fall in love with me I didn’t know. Getting to know her would help. Eating her pu**y wasn’t the way to her heart. I had to remind myself that my addiction to tasting her couldn’t take over. Did I love her? I hadn’t ever been in love. Other than my dad, Nan, and Grant, I couldn’t say I had ever loved anyone else.

Would I choose her over one of them?

Yes.

Would I die to protect her?

Hell, yes.

Could I live if she left me?

No. I would be shattered.

Was this love? It seemed so much stronger than something as simple as love.

A knock on my bedroom door broke into my thoughts. Shit. It wasn’t Grant. Nan was here. Not who I wanted to deal with right now. I took my time going to the door. Her banging just got louder.

Jerking the door open, I was greeted by my sister’s tearstreaked face. She wasn’t allowed in my room. I hadn’t actually told her that, but it was understood. I stepped into the hallway and closed the door behind me.

Nan was pointing at the room Blaire was sleeping in . . . or, rather, keeping her things in. She would be sleeping with me from now on.

“So it’s true! She’s in there. You let her move up here? Are you f**king her, too? Is that what this is? She’s not that attractive, Rush. It isn’t like you can’t have anyone you want. She’s just another pretty face. Why can’t you not f**k her? Do you have no control over your damn dick? She can’t be that good in bed!”

“Stop!” I roared before she said any more. Nan was pushing me. I hated that she had been crying, but with Nan, you never knew if those were real tears or not. I hadn’t seen her actually crying, so I couldn’t be sure. But I didn’t want her upset. I just wanted her to let me be happy. For once in my goddamn life to let me make a decision for myself. Not for her.

“Don’t yell at me!” Real tears filled her eyes as she started crying again. OK, so maybe she really was upset. I didn’t yell at her often. She didn’t normally piss me off so bad. “Since . . .” She sniffed. “Since she got here, you’ve been yelling at me. All the time. I can’t . . .” She let out another sob. “I can’t stand this. You’ve turned on me. For her.”