“Call me when you’re ready to take a cold dip in the lake.”

He walks out.  Nora closes the door behind him, then walks back to me.

“Why would your father do that?” she asks softly, her hand curled around my arm.

I shrug. “Who knows?”

But I know.

And Nora is fully aware of that.  She stares at me knowingly.

“All right. I won’t pry. For now.  But what will you do?”

I shrug again, because this time I really don’t know.

I don’t know what I’ll do.  My mother probably doesn’t deserve anything. But it’s not in my character to let an old lady get kicked to the street. Even a cold-hearted old lady like my mother.

“I have to think about it,” I finally answer.  “It’s not about swimming out to the buoy.  It’s about… what message I want to send to my mother.”

Nora stares at me, her blue eyes understanding.  “I don’t blame you,” she answers softly.  “I wouldn’t lift a finger for my father.”

She turns around and walks away before I can ask her why.

Within a minute, she returns with her purse.  “I’m going to run a quick errand, and then let’s get out of here for the day,” she suggests.  “I’ve got cabin fever already.”

“You don’t have to stay here with me,” I remind her.  “There’s no reason for both of us to be bored.”

She rolls her eyes.

“After the line we crossed last night, there’s no place I’d rather be.”

She winks and I shake my head.

“Last night doesn’t change anything.”

She leans up and nips at my ear lobe.

“Last night changes everything.”

With that, she walks out to her car and I can’t help but watch her tight ass sway as she walks away.

With a sigh, I know that she’s right.

It changed everything.

And honestly, I’m tired of fighting it.

Chapter Eleven

Nora

It takes forever to find a car rental place with a convertible, but I manage.  Over an hour later, I pull back up to the cottage in a sporty red convertible with the top down.

Brand is reclining on the porch steps, his legs stretched out in front of him as he waits in the shade.  His eyes widen a bit as I round the car and walk toward him.

“What did you do?”

I giggle. “Well, I didn’t sell the Jag or anything.  I rented this for the day.  Let’s drive around the lake with the wind in our hair, then have a picnic.”

Brand raises an eyebrow. “Did you cook any part of the lunch?”

I roll my eyes.  “No.  It’s already in the car, pre-bought.   All I need is you now.”

The corners of his mouth twitch, but he doesn’t argue. He just picks up his crutches and heads toward the car.  His bulging biceps flex as he takes each step.

I gulp, remembering how they’d flexed as he’d balanced above me last night, how his skin had glistened in the moonlight, how he had groaned into my neck.  Warmth gushes into my panties.

Gah.  

Brand glances at me. “What?”

My cheeks are burning.  And he noticed.

I shake my head.  “Nothing.  Are you ready?”

“Always.”  His lip twitches again. He drops into the car, and puts the crutches in the small back seat.  “Ready.”

I fasten my seatbelt and pull my hair into a quick ponytail, before I drive out of the driveway and down the road.

The breeze from the lake is fresh and clean this morning, blowing gently against our faces.  The sun gleams on the top of the water and the temperature is absolutely perfect.

I stick to roads that hug the lake, rather than drive on the highway.   We leisurely drive, chatting about nothing and everything, as though we don’t have anything more important to do at all, as though his dad wasn’t conniving and hateful, as though he doesn’t have that stupid will hanging over his head and I don’t have a hateful job waiting for me at the end of the summer.

It’s really nice.

Brand glances over at me.  “Why did you go to law school?”

The question surprises me.  “Why did you go to the Rangers?”

He shakes his head.  “That’s not the same thing.  Being a Ranger suited me.  Being a lawyer doesn’t suit you.”

My mouth drops open as I look at the road again. “Why do you say that?”

Brand shrugs.  “Because you’re not cold-hearted or ruthless.  It’s a strange occupation choice for you, that’s all.”

I feel my cheeks flush again, and I wish they wouldn’t.

“You don’t know me,” I tell him firmly.  “If the situation calls for it, I can do what it takes.  My dad has drilled that into my head since I was a toddler.  Be a good Greene, Nora. Do what it takes.  It’s worked out okay for me.  I was valedictorian of my senior class, and then I graduated Stanford Law School with a perfect GPA.”

“That’s nice,” Brand smirks.  “We can put that on your gravestone after you work yourself into the ground.”

I scowl. “What does that mean?”

Brand levels a gaze at me and I look away. “It means that there is more to life than striving to be someone you’re not.  I get that you want to please your dad.  I saw him back in the day, back when I worked at the club.  He’s a…commanding person.  Intimidating.  I can see why you’d want to please him.  But your life is your own.”

I swallow hard, because a lump suddenly formed in my throat.  “And now you’re an expert?”

Brand shakes his head and looks toward the lake.  “Nope.  I’m just observant.”

I take a deep breath.  I’ve got to change the subject.

“Well, then, observe this.”

I slide my right hand along his inner thigh, and his athletic shorts that he’s been wearing because of his knee brace give me easy access.  I slip my fingers under the hem and up along his thigh, my fingers grazing his bare skin.

I hear his breath suck in.

I feel the velvety skin beneath my fingers.

I feel my pulse bounding right out of my veins.

Warmth floods my panties again.

This man is like crack to me.

For real.

I stroke his thigh, enjoying his quick breaths.

He doesn’t stop me.  I feel his hardness, and the way he engorges even more, growing harder and harder by the moment. I feel his dick grow against the back of my hand.