Page 142 of Fire Fight

As we continued our trek, I pointed out places that had been scenes of mischief in my and my siblings’ youth. The place where I’d gotten in the accident that ultimately led to my addiction. The stretch of river that Aria had fallen into once before she could swim and nearly drowned before we caught her at the next bend. The field that still had a bonfire pit scorched in the center from all the parties we’d held out there over the years.

“Your souls are woven into the fabric of this land,” Aspen said, a soft smile on her lips. “Your roots are planted so deep there’s no you without the land, and vice versa. It’s a beautiful thing.”

She said it like someone who didn’t have a connection of her own to any place that truly mattered to her, so I reached over thecenter console and placed my hand on her thigh, squeezing gently.

“You can put down roots right alongside mine, little phoenix.”

thirty-seven

. . .

ASPEN

“To what doI owe the pleasure?” Birdie asked when Crew and I trudged up the front steps a half hour later.

“We’re moving in,” he said.

Her brow creased. “For how long? And why?”

“To be determined. My house was just broken into, and we need a safe place to land for a while.”

Birdie’s mouth opened and closed a few times while she grappled with what to say. Ultimately, she snapped it shut and ushered us inside.

“I don’t need to tell you where to go,” she told her son as we stood in the foyer, my hands empty because Crew insisted on carrying all of our stuff. “And I suppose you’ll be sharing a room.”

“Yep,” Crew said cheerfully as he started for the stairs, and I trailed after him.

The old farmhouse was sizable, and my eyes drank in every little detail as we made our way through the living quarters. This was the first time I’d been up here, and I was awed by how spacious it all felt.

“My parents added on once they started having more kidsthan there were bedrooms,” Crew said. “Even so, growing up, we all shared rooms, except Aria. I bunked with Lane until he’d gone off to college.” He jerked his chin at another set of stairs leading up to a third level, and I followed him up. “This is it.”

I blinked in surprise, excepting some sort of teenage boy special, a time capsule maintained as an ode to the children Crew and his brothers had once been, but the room was immaculate. There was a king-sized bed topped with a plush white comforter and mountain of pillows. Gauzy curtains bracketed the windows, and an antique dresser was pushed up against one wall. Two night stands rested on either side of the bed.

“It’s gorgeous,” I breathed, then narrowed my eyes at Crew. “Did your mom help you decorate your house?”

He snorted as he dropped our bags near a door in the corner, which I assumed was a closet. “Of course she did. You should’ve seen this place ten years ago. There used to be two full beds in here. We each had a dresser, but shared the closet, which usually led to arguments when one of us would take up more space than the other.

“Sounds…cozy,” I smirked.

“Once Lane left for college, I had the whole place to myself. I started using his bed as a catchall for laundry I didn’t feel like folding, filled his dresser with all my drug paraphernalia, and snuck out to parties through the window.”

He moved over to it and I joined him, peering outside at the gentle slope of the roof and the tree beyond. The branches were spaced perfectly for easy climbing.

“You little rascal.”

“That’s actually my horse’s name,” Crew chuckled.

I wrapped my arms around him and tucked my hands into his back pockets, giving his ass a squeeze. “Appropriate,” I murmured, rising onto my tiptoes to press my mouth to the column of his throat, working my way upward until he bent togreet me. “Tell me, hotshot. How many girls have you had in this room?”

Skating his hand along my neck and notching his thumb under my chin, he tilted my head backward until I met that crystal blue gaze. “None.”

Blinking in surprise, I fisted my hands in his shirt, drawing him closer until his pelvis pressed into me, the thick length of his cock digging into my stomach through his jeans. “Not a single one?” I questioned.

“I didn’t get my rocks off in this house, Aspen. I found my pleasure elsewhere, usually in some corner at a party, both of us high out of our minds.”

I didn’t like the image that painted in my mind, and I darted my eyes away lest he saw the jealousy surely taking over my expression.

“Hey, no,” he said, forcing my attention back to him. “I was a dumb kid, and that was a long time ago.” His free hand came to rest over my heart, which tripped and sped under his touch. “You’re all I want now. Forever, if you’ll have me.”