“This is badass.” I sit up, holding it with care. “Where did you get it?”

Zoey smiles, the expression a beautiful combination of shyness and pride. “I made it. Well, I painted it. For you. Do you like it? I can do a different design if that’s not to your taste.”

“You …” My throat is suddenly tight with emotion, and I cough to clear it. “You’re gods-damn amazing. I love it.”

She grins wide, and I watch a beautiful red flush cover more than her cheeks. The tint traces down her neck and over her chest. That’s when I notice the other item she’s carrying. A damp towel, which she uses to clean herself. As the wet cloth wipes my cum away, I mourn the loss. My claim was temporary. Easily removed.

When will she let me mark her permanently?

What will I do if she never does?

39

ZOEY

My mind is occupied by a debate over the font choice for a client’s website when I pull up to the cabin. The mental back-and-forth has me so distracted that I don’t realize I’ve parked next to another car until I remove the key from the ignition.

What the hell?

In the weeks I’ve been in Pine Falls, my only visitor has been Warner. But tonight is the full moon, so he’s ridden off with his pack to go howl at the night sky and run around naked in the woods.

Or whatever they all do.

Tonight, I’m on my own. Or at least, I was supposed to be.

Any other day, I might have guessed that the visitor is Juliet. Only I just left the library, and she was halfway through a shift at the reference desk.

The mystery is solved the minute I climb out of my truck and get a glimpse of the SUV’s bumper. More specifically, the bumper stickers pasted all over it.

Rugby—No helmet, no pads, just balls.

Happiness is a good ruck.

Support your local hooker. Play rugby!

And the last one, my favorite: Be kind to animals. Kiss a rugby player.

My brothers are here.

And if I had any last bit of doubt, it’s blown to pieces by a shout from the front porch.

“Baby sister! You’re alive!” Carver, the most enthusiastically affectionate of my four brothers, comes barreling down the stairs and across the yard toward me. Soon, I’m wrapped in a bear hug, being swung around like a well-loved rag doll.

“Don’t break her,” Abram, the oldest of us all, scolds.

When Carver sets me down, Abram gives me a gentle but firm hug, then passes me off to Byron for the same. Donovan is satisfied with ruffling my hair affectionately.

“What are you all doing here?” I stare around at their familiar grinning faces, not realizing until this moment just how much I missed them.