“Might be. Just a little. But not so much that I can’t make you feel good.”

He nuzzled against my neck, leaving wet kisses on my throat, and desire surged through me.

“That okay, princess?”

“Yes.” I gasped, willing to agree to anything in that moment. I just didn’t want him to stop.

Cannon stripped out of his clothes, shedding them beside my bed, and then he moved over me, entering me with a soft sigh on his lips, muttering how perfect I felt.

Mixed emotions competed inside me. I wanted this, wanted him, but I wanted it to mean more than a quick midnight fuck to relieve stress. I wanted to wake up next to him, make breakfast together, kiss his perfect lips before I left for work, and share a glass of wine together in the evenings.

A tiny piece of me still held out hope, but most of me had resigned myself to the fact that I’d gotten myself into this situation—Cannon’s secret fuck buddy. I wanted to be more than a warm, wet hole, and at the thought, I started to get angry. Angry that he’d shown up drunk looking for sex, angry at the lack of foreplay.

Cannon lifted my bent knee, tucking my leg up beside my ribs so he could get even closer, thrust deeper than ever before. This side of Cannon was new—he wasn’t the gentle, attentive, playful lover whispering dirty things while he watched for my reactions. He was taking, pushing me further, fucking me harder.

“Are you going to come for me?” he whispered against my neck, his hips pummeling mine.

I buried my face against his throat and nodded.

“I love you, princess. Always have. Always will. I fought it for the longest time. But now that I’ve had you like this, I can’t go back. Won’t.”

I sobbed against his throat as his hips continued bucking against mine. “Cannon . . .” My cry was ragged and broken.

Every bit of anger melted away. It was replaced by a love so bright, it blinded me to everything else. We’d figure this out. We had to.

• • •

A noise in the living room woke me, and since I could feel the weight of Cannon’s hand resting across my waist, I knew he wasn’t the one stirring.

Blinking open sleepy eyes against the harsh light outside, I reached over to nudge Cannon’s shoulder and whispered, “I think Enchilada needs to go out.”

He grunted something unintelligible, and I could only smile. I felt the exact same way, overtired and completely sated. We’d stayed up half of the night making love, and I didn’t want to move. The first time was fast and rough, and I’d never forget Cannon whispering his love for me as he took me. The second time was slower, softer, and so meaningful. I had no idea what today held for us, but I knew we’d need to talk about what was going to happen next between us.

I stretched and noticed Enchilada lying beside the bed, still asleep. Then a voice in my living room called Cannon’s name, and I bolted upright in the bed.

Footsteps drew closer. Someone was in my house, and they were headed down the hall.

I tugged the sheet up to cover my breasts as Allie appeared in the doorway.

“What the fuck is this?” she shrieked.

Cannon’s eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed next to me, tugging the sheet up around his hips to conceal himself.

We had literally been caught red-handed. We were naked and in bed together—it didn’t get much worse than that.

Allie’s hands were shaking as she brought her fingers to her lips. “No.” She shook her head as if she wanted to wipe the image she was seeing from her brain. Her gaze locked on mine, and the hurt in her wild eyes was unlike any I’d ever seen. Her expression was more shocked and devastated than when she found out her fiancé was cheating on her.

“You’re fucking my brother?” she managed, her voice breaking on the words.

My heart plummeted, and I felt sick to my stomach. I never meant to deceive my very best friend, but here I was, in bed with her brother. It felt like the worst betrayal.

“Al, give us a minute,” Cannon said after a few seconds of tense silence. His voice was devoid of emotion, so unlike how he’d been last night, and my heart sank further.

Allie spun and stomped off down the hall. I was sure I had about thirty seconds to get dressed before she started throwing things in the living room. Lord knew I deserved every bit of her wrath. It wasn’t just that I’d started seeing Cannon; it was the fact that I’d done it behind her back. Maybe if I’d been honest with her from the start, admitted my feelings for him and sought her blessing . . .

I tugged my panties up my legs and stepped into my jeans. Slipping my discarded shirt from last night on over my head, I smoothed my just-fucked hair back in a low ponytail. Cannon pulled on his jeans, going commando beneath them.

Not daring enough to meet Cannon’s eyes, I held my breath and headed out, not ready to face Allie but unable to hide out in here with his stony silence.

“Hey.” Cannon gripped my elbow, stopping me in the doorway. “Why don’t you let me talk to her. Give her a chance to cool down.”

I shook my head. “No, it’s all right. I got myself into this mess, and it’s my responsibility to deal with the consequences.”

He nodded, his expression darkening. There was some kind of wall between us, but rather than try to figure out what was happening between us, I headed out to find Allie.

She was sitting in the center of my couch with her hands balled into fists in her lap. My first thought was that she was angry, but when I looked at her face and saw the tears dampening her cheeks, I wasn’t sure. She was obviously hurt too.