“He is a stubborn prick, you had no chance.” He laughed, and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Women have no chance when a Crawford Brother gets you in his sight.”

“Very true.” His eyes softened, which would have been caused by Eden flashing through his thoughts. He shifted back in his chair and commenced staring at me.

Awkwardness flooded in, and I couldn’t hold his stare, so I looked everywhere but him.

“Are you happy?”

My eyes flew back to his, and a reassuring mix of concern and hope gazed back at me. It was a simple question, but the question that could be the hardest to answer.

For the first time in a long time, I could answer honestly and without hesitation. “Yes. Very.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you. If it’s my brother that gives you that, then I’ll be standing in your corner, but you’ve got to understand, if either of you fuck it up, I am in a shitty position. So please make my life easier, don’t fuck it up,” he said with a sincere smile.

“I was expecting you to completely lose your shit,” I admitted. It was true, I thought I’d come in here and face the wrath of Ky.

“I know Josh has a very colorful history.”

“Are you talking about that tag teaming you two did.”

He sighed loudly and glared. “Do you have to always bring that up?”

“Hey!” I put my hands up in surrender. “If you double bang a girl, it’s going to be brought up.”

“You are banned from giving any form of speech at the wedding.” He snickered and shook his head. “As I was saying, his history is colorful, and he has done some crazy shit, but he is a good man and I know he wouldn’t fuck up anything with you. I’ve had a sneaky suspicion he has wanted to make you his for a while.”

I smiled, and I knew my facade was fading. Ky leaned forward, resting his chin on his interlocked hands, and narrowed his gaze. I knew I should have sent him an email, because I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in now. I always got nervous under his stare, and today was no different. I felt myself losing control.

“I’m afraid Lachlan isn’t done with me. Even after the other night and his attack on Josh, I don’t think we have seen the last of him. He keeps texting, and I don’t think he got the point.”

“You should move back in with Josh for a while.”

“Ky, I am not being forced out of my apartment by a crazy ass ex-boyfriend. Josh has put in new locks, which I keep locked all the time, and only Josh and I have keys.”

Suddenly the worried expression that had covered his face disappeared, and was replaced with a smile I didn’t understand. “That’s damn cute.”

“Seriously? What is cute about that?” I gasped.

“You gave Josh a key,” he replied with a smirk.

“You have got to be kidding me. That’s all you got out of that conversation?”

His face went serious again. “I’ll speak to Dad and Douglas, and see what we can do about a restraining order. Have you spoken to Austin?”

“Josh called and informed him of what had been going on, but I’m not exactly sure what he knows. And before you say it, yes, I know it’s cute that Josh called Austin,” I said with a smile. It was definitely cute, because I fucked him like my life depended on it.

“Hey, I’ve got those reports to go through before we head to L.A.”

Josh halted as soon as he stepped into Ky’s office and found me, then he looked suspiciously between Ky and me. My eyes roamed eagerly over his body, which was covered with black slacks and a powder-blue shirt. God, he wore slacks better than anyone else.

Smiling at Ky, I pushed away from the desk. Then I grabbed my phone, shoved it in my pocket, and turned my attention entirely to Josh.

“I’m just leaving, but will I see you later?” I asked hopefully.

His face stilled and his eyes flashed quickly to Ky before falling back to mine. “I’ll call you when I finish work,” he said softly.

I placed both palms on his chest, and he stiffened under my touch, while his eyes locked onto me in question. Lightly, I brushed his lips with mine, and he sucked in a deep breath as what I was doing hit him. I was kissing him in front of Ky, without any reluctance or secrecy.

“I’ll meet you in your office,” I whispered, before stepping through the door.

The sense of freedom I felt was overwhelming, and I floated all the way to Josh’s office. I had barely closed his office door, when it reopened, and I was greeted with Josh’s deviant eyes raking over my body. I knew that look. I loved that look. It meant I was about to get kissed or fucked within an inch of my life. My body immediately shot to life. I dropped my bag onto the couch and crossed the office to reach him.

“You kissed me,” he murmured as his hands shot out and pulled me against his body.

“I did.”

“In front of Ky.”

“Yep.”

“Christ, Ashy.”

His lips crashed into mine, fiercely stealing any remnants of air from my lungs. I lost all sense of control as the thought of kissing this man took hold. My hands threaded around his shoulder, and my fingers sliced through the hair on the back of his neck, gripping it tightly the way I knew he liked. He lifted my leg and wrapped around his hip, as he started grinding his growing erection into my desperate and pleading heat. Before his tongue plunged into my mouth, he said my name in barely a whisper, which sent a shiver of pleasure cascading down my spine. The moment his tongue collided with mine, I felt myself grow wet. His tongue played with mine like a perfect symphony: brutal, honest, and with force. This kiss was about ownership, about pride, and about recognition, and I fucking loved it. I was panting against our joined mouths, and every breath I took, he stole with a sweep of his tongue. Someone could walk into his office at any moment, but that was all forgotten as his tongue continued its assault on my mouth.

“The thought of fucking you in my office has crossed my mind plenty of times, but in about five minutes Ky is going to walk through that door, and fucking you is something I do not want to share with anyone.”

“Hmm,” I managed, as all ability to put two words together faded.

He chuckled at my clear state of arousal, and pulled me closer to his chest. The rapid beat of his heart echoed through my entire body. I fitted so perfectly in his arms. My head rested on his chest, allowing him to rest his head on top of mine, and his hands fell to the small of my back while he cocooned me in his warmth.

“So, what does this mean? Why now?” he asked, repeating the same question I had asked. A question that set us on a completely different path.

I raised my head, resting my chin on his chest, and looked up at him. “It means that I get to kiss you whenever I want. It means I don’t have to live in fear of having someone overhearing me screaming your name when you fuck the life out of me. It means that I’m coming to my senses and seeing what I should have seen long ago. You and me, Joshy.”

“Ashy,” he whispered.

“But mainly, it’s because you, Josh Crawford, are mine, as much as I am yours.”

My body ached in delicious delight; every inch had been kissed and caressed until I fell asleep with him deep inside of me. Josh had decided to cancel his meeting with Ky, and we had headed back to his place where we spent the day in a marathon of sex.

After slowly untangling myself from Josh’s warm embrace, I headed to the bathroom, where I showered and sighed in contentment. As I wrapped a towel around my body, I chanced a glance in the mirror and couldn’t help but smile. Josh had won, but in the end I came out the ultimate victor, and the smiling girl looking back at me confirmed it. It would be stupid of me to deny that the fears had completely disappeared, but the bruises left by my past were fading fast, because the promise of the future was incredibly bright.