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"Want to bemy sister?"

Adam stared at Grif for a full five seconds There’d been a ti could have taken hi

But then Holly Reid had co a thousand

Grif leaned a little closer to his screen, distorting his frown "Hello?"

Adaure out how the hell to tell Grif that, yeah, he was doing his sister, when someone knocked at the door

Grif narrowed his eyes "That’d better not be her"

"Just…wait there" Ada Milo "Nice heads-up"

Milo lifted his head "Woof"

"You’re so fired" Adam opened the front door and stared in disbelief at Holly

"Bad time?" she asked

"Yes" He moved to block her path, and hopefully also Grif’s view of the front door

Holly went up on tiptoes to see in past hiht to barricade her, but she merely ducked beneath his arh so hthat was as close to torture as a et He sparred with Dell at least once a week, and his skills were excellent And yet all that went out the open door as he was bested by 120 pounds of nosy, sexy, annoying-as-hell wo at hi whiskey and condoht"

Shit "Holly--"

"This isn’t where you try to fightme to stay, is it?"

Jesus

"Holly," Grif said fro ones, but Holly was a pro at alpha males With a wide smile at the sound of her brother’s voice, she rushed to the co look over Holly’s shoulder "So are you"

"Thanks," Holly said "So ere you guys talking about?" She glanced back at Adaain, the rest of her good hu," Adaaze between the two of them "Sooing to tellon"

Adam really didn’t want to do this now He knehat it was like to be right there, right where Grif was, far froh to shatter

A bad fraht noould only erous So Adaht to keep it zipped

Holly gave him a look of disbelief, acco and "

Grif ser in his face "Oh no, don’t you do that, look all s and et the stoic label?" Grif asked

"Stoic would be you being quiet," she said "And I’ a lot of quiet out of you Nohat the hell were you two talking about?"

Grif gave Adaht he was doing with you"

"Well, Grif," Holly said in a far-too-polite tone that was the equivalent of a tornado siren warning "As you ht have noticed, I showed up here uninvited So, really, you should be askingwith Adam"

"So you two are--"

"None of your business," she said, standing in front of Adam as if to protect him

"It is his business," Adae of his nose and drew a deep breath Then he dropped his hand and gave Holly a long look "Get out of his way Let the fucker speak for hiently pushed Holly out of his way and stepped up to the screen "I know the shithole you’re standing in," he told Grif, "so I’ive you a pass"

"I don’t want a pass"

No, he wanted a fight Adaive hiive you a free shot at et in front of Adaain, but he kept her behind him

"So it’s already done, then," Grif said "You’ve already slept with her You slept with my sister"

Pain erupted in Ada to stare at Holly "Did you just…biteto her brother "Sorry, Grif, but you’re way off base here I’m the one who seduced Adam In fact, Iat o for it But I pro back" She started to shut the computer, then ducked down a little and added, "love you" before letting it close

Then she turned to Ada like fire "Christ," he said "You bite hard And you hung up on your brother He was just looking out for you"

"I don’t need looking out for!" She gave hie, she tossed up her hands "You keep doing this!"

"I didn’t do anything"

"Exactly!"

He stared at her "Are you speaking English?"

She stor soht have been a slander on the entireback to hi to scareto scare you off!"

She shook her head "I let you do it once, but there’s no way I’ain"

She punctuated these words with the re She kicked first one boot off and then the other And then her jacket And her leggings Her sweater went next, sailing across the roo pair of barely there string-bikini panties She was hands on hips, fully pissed off, eyes flashing, chest heaving

Gorgeous

"Well?" she asked "You going to say anything?"

He shook his head, unable to tear his eyes off of her

She blew out a breath "I’ to need you to speak"

"Can’t You took your clothes off and h to scoop her up, and tossed her over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold Hand on her ass, he turned to his bed

"I’ave her a light smack on her very sweet ass and she squeaked in surprise "Hey!"

He tossed her down to the bed, and before she’d even bounced once, he was on her, pinning her to theanyet closer, to rip his clothes off

"If you can’t think," she panted, working open his jeans, shoving the to…"

"Only if you ask real nice," he said

Which she did She asked, begged, pleaded, de he had, right along with his heart

Twenty-three

Holly had been rising early in thethis ever since she and Adaht her dad home So it was a surprise when a week later, she walked into the large ranch kitchen after a two- for her

He was standing at the kitchen counter drinking coffee and staring at a big bouquet of fresh roses on the table