Page 6

Zoya

" C hrist on a cracker," I whisper, my eyes practically bugging out of my head as soon as we pull up outside the vineyard and my gaze lands on Jareth. That's it. That's the whole thought.

The man is shirtless and sweating. Who needs to think?

"Fuck me," Connor mutters from beside me, sitting upright to gawk at Jareth. At least, I'm pretty sure it's Jareth hoisting a wine cask over his head outside of the winery and not his twin, but I could be wrong.

How are there possibly two of them who look that damn good shirtless and sweaty? And trust me, this one looks damn good.

His golden skin glistens in the sunlight slanting across the vineyard. His torn jeans hug his muscular thighs, hinting at just how powerful he really is. Fully clothed, he's a beast. Shirtless, he's something else altogether.

Life at the vineyard has clearly done the man justice.

I am so screwed.

It doesn't help that it's picture-perfect here.

Literally. This is the kind of place featured on postcards in rest stops.

Row after row of grapevines stretch right up to the mountains on one side.

The ocean blows in from the other. The winery and restaurant are situated in the middle of absolute serenity, with an office building, cabins, and family homes scattered all around the property. It's breathtaking.

And Jareth is shirtless right in the center of it.

Help. Me.

"Oh, Jareth is already here!" Nadia chirps from the front seat, lifting her hand in a wave when his jade eyes land on Teo's Escalade.

Even through the dark tint over the windows, I feel them burning into me, beckoning me toward him.

Or maybe that's the rivulet of sweat running right down the center of his rock-hard abdomen that's coaxing me toward recklessness.

How did he get even damn sexier in the last few weeks?

"Sexual voodoo. It has to be sexual voodoo," I mumble, more to myself than anyone, really. But Connor hears me and snorts softly.

Of course he's enjoying my waking nightmare.

Doesn't he always when I rope him into one of my bad ideas?

Pretending he's my boyfriend for the next two weeks might just be the most ridiculous thing I've ever done.

But there's no way I'm going to be able to resist Jareth on my own.

I haven't even gotten out of the car, and my panties are already suspiciously wet. I need reinforcements.

"I take it that's your man?" Connor whispers, leaning his head against mine to keep Nadia and Teo from overhearing him.

I shoot him a death glare. "You're my man, remember?"

His lips curve into an amused smirk. "Whatever you say, cupcake. But I might have to leave you for him." He waggles his brows at me. "Look at him, Zoya."

Believe me, I am looking. Dammit.

"He's not that good-looking." Good girls go to heaven. Liars keep their dignity. It washes in the end.

Connor snorts, shooting me a look that tells me that he knows I'm full of shit. But he doesn't call me on it. Instead, he glances out the window as Teo pulls into a parking spot. The amused grin stretched across his face grows. "I think it's showtime. Your man is coming this way."

"Christ on a cracker," I squeak, peeking through the window again to confirm that he's right.

Jareth ditched the cask and is striding toward the car.

Still shirtless. I quickly grab Connor's hand, squeezing for dear life.

Not because I'm trying to play the part of his loving girlfriend.

It's more out of sheer self-preservation.

If I'm clinging to him, I can't crawl through the window and climb Jareth.

"You okay back there?" Nadia asks.

"Fine," I squeak.

Teo meets my gaze in the rearview mirror, grinning like he knows I'm up to something shady. As much as I hate to admit it…he knows me too well. It happens when you've known someone since you were in diapers.

Nadia hops out to meet Jareth as Teo kills the engine.

"You ready?" Connor asks me as Teo climbs out.

"No."

"Sucks for you. This was your plan." He taps me on the nose. "We're being summoned."

"Shit," I mumble, peeking out to see Nadia motioning for us to join them. My heart pounds like a jackhammer as Connor pops open the door and climbs out before reaching for my hand.

I try like hell not to look at Jareth, but I do anyway.

He's staring at me with his jaw clenched and his hands shoved into his pockets.

His eyes meet mine, full of the same heat that drives me crazy.

Only…there's something else there this time, too.

Possession, like he's looking at something that belongs to him.

My stomach turns a flip.

Connor pulls me from the SUV, and I swear I hear Jareth's jaw flex from here. He is so mad.

Maybe this was a terrible idea.

Well, it's too late now. We're committed.

"Jareth, you remember Zoya," Nadia says to him. "This is Connor." She pauses like she does not want to say the next part, but as far as she knows, it's the truth. "Her boyfriend."

"Hey, man. It's nice to meet you." Connor extends his free hand toward Jareth, who hesitates for a second before taking it.

They do one of those guy handshakes, where they pretend they're being civil but they're really trying to see who has the biggest dick. To Connor's credit, he doesn't even flinch despite the way Jareth is glaring at him like he'd rather set him on fire than shake his hand.

He doesn't say a single word to Connor before releasing his hand and turning to me. "Princess," he murmurs, his eyes tangling with mine again. His expression softens. "It's always a pleasure to see you."

I narrow my eyes on him, annoyed at the way he says that like he's seen more of me than he should be seeing. My annoyance only grows when he pulls me right into his arms for a hug, forcing me to drop Connor's hand.

"Let me go," I hiss beneath my breath.

"He doesn't fucking deserve you," he mutters, his lips brushing my ear.

"And you think you do?" I purposefully step on his foot before ducking out of his arms.

Connor looks like he's trying not to laugh as he wraps one arm around my waist, pulling me up against him. "Yep. This is going to be a shitshow," he whispers, his voice pitched so only I hear him.

I briefly consider stomping on his foot, too, before deciding I probably shouldn't. Jareth is still standing there. It'll look suspicious.

"Where are we putting these two?" Nadia asks Jareth, falsely bright.

I think she knows Connor and I aren't really dating, but I refused to admit it when she grilled me about him.

Just like I adamantly refuse to admit that her guitarist occupies far too much of my mind.

Just like I adamantly refuse to confess that we kissed.

Deny, deny until I die. It's my new motto.

"They're staying with me."

"Uh, what?" I whip around to face Jareth so fast I make myself dizzy.

His green eyes come to me, boring into mine. "You and your…boyfriend…are staying at my place while you're here."

No. He wouldn't.

"I already have rooms set up for you."

Jareth Grayson is the literal devil.

"Where's Nadia staying?"

"We gave her and Teo the guest house."

"I'd rather stay with her."

"Uh, no way." Nadia looks at me like I've lost my mind. "You are not staying with me and Teo for two weeks. We're getting married."

Why does she insist on betraying me?

"You won't even notice us."

"No way," my sister says. "I'm stressed out enough trying to do all the wedding things and deal with morning sickness."

"Please?" I turn puppy dog eyes on Teo.

"She's the boss," he says, grinning at me.

Jareth chuckles quietly, and I have to resist the urge to stomp on his foot again. We cannot stay with him for two weeks. There's no way I'm going to be able to keep up this charade twenty-four hours a day!

"It'll be fine," Connor says smoothly while I'm busy glaring at everyone. "We appreciate it, man."

Jareth just grunts in response.

I narrow my eyes at him. Does he have to be so rude to Connor? "Maybe we should stay with Mom and Dad."

"They're in one of the cabins. There's only room for them and your brother."

"What about…?"

"The rest of the wedding party is booked into the other cabins. I have plenty of room," Jareth interjects before I can ask about Innessa or anyone else. "You won't even notice I'm there."

Well, now who's the dirty liar? It isn't me.

I don't know what Jareth is up to, but I don't trust the innocent look on his face in any way, especially when he winks at me.

Connor was right. This is going to be a shitshow.

" W ill you stop pacing?" Connor asks an hour later, watching me from the bed in his room at Jareth's place. He's sprawled out across the tiny twin bed like he owns the place, clearly content with the situation.

I am not content. This room is basically a closet with a view.

The bed in the room Jareth put me in is plenty big enough for two people, but Jareth shoved Connor into this room like he couldn't freaking wait to get him away from me.

He acted all innocent about it, too, pretending like he was just giving us separate rooms to keep my dad happy.

Ha! Like I'm falling for that. He put Connor in a closet to keep him out of my bed, more like it.

"He's up to something," I mumble, turning to complete another two-step circuit across the hardwood floor.

Jareth's house is gorgeous. It's built like a cabin, with big windows looking out over the mountains, log walls, and gleaming hardwood floors.

It fits the vineyard like it sprung up from the ground.

It does not fit Jareth, however. I expected…

I don't know. Maybe empty beer bottles and notches on the bedposts, I guess. It's suspicious.

Jareth is suspicious.

The whole situation is suspicious.

What does he think he's doing?

"You think?" Connor laughs at me. "He was ready to rip my head off when he saw us holding hands."

"Exactly!" I cry, spinning to face him. "He was so rude to you, and you just agreed to stay with him for two weeks! He's probably going to murder you in your sleep and then chain me to his bed. I bet that's why he put us in different rooms. It'll be easier to overpower us if we're isolated."

"Uh…why are you complaining? Being chained to that man's bed sounds like a good time to me. And it's not like you want to share a bed with me anyway."

He's not wrong, but still. I launch a pair of his socks at his head on principle.

He snatches them out of midair like an annoying Batman, chuckling. "You must really like him if you're this worked up."

"I do not like him."

"Right," my best friend says, smirking at me. "And I don't want Jessup to blow my back out."

"Why do I even try to talk to you?" I groan, settling down onto the foot of his bed. "It's useless. You're way too chipper and horny."

"Well…yeah. Someone has to balance out all the attitude and aggression coming from your side of this friendship."

"I am not aggressive."

"You're right. You're not. You just hide behind a facsimile of it because admitting that love scares the shit out of you is absolutely not your style. You'd rather rip off your own fingernails than do that."

He might have a point.

"I don't hate love." What? I said he might have a point, not that I was going to admit it.

"Didn't say you did. I said it scares the shit out of you."

"And it doesn't scare you?" I arch a brow at him.

"You talk about getting laid all the time, but you never actually do it.

We both know that isn't because you're afraid everyone will find out that you're gay.

" Most days, I'm not entirely sure he cares if anyone knows.

He doesn't hide the truth because he's ashamed of it.

He hides it because telling the world severely limits his future options.

Sometimes, this world sucks.

"Touche." He locks his hands together behind his head. "Maybe I'm waiting for the right one."

"I thought you wanted Jessup to blow your back out?"

"Everyone with eyes wants Jessup to blow their backs out, Zoya."

"Not me." I wrinkle my nose at the thought. Jocks are not my type.

"Everyone with eyes except you wants Jessup to blow their backs out, Zoya," he corrects with a lazy grin. "The man is hot. It doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to think it'll actually happen. He's straight. I'm not. I'm not signing up for that shitshow."

"Why do you think Jareth put us in different rooms? He's up to something."

"Or maybe he put us in different rooms because your entire family is here and he's trying to be respectful." Connor rolls his eyes at me. "You're stressing me out with all this overthinking."

"I'm not overthinking." I'm totally overthinking. I huff out a breath, trying to get myself together. It's easier said than done when I know Jareth will be sleeping right down the hall. Probably naked.

Dammit. Why did I have to think about him naked? Why do I keep thinking about him at all? Like Connor said, I don't do love, and I'm absolutely not falling for a man who probably doesn't even remember the names of everyone he's taken to his bed. Hell no.

"Do you really think I'm afraid of love?"

"No," Connor says, hopping up from the bed. "I don't think you are. I know you are. The shit that went down with your sister and Teo didn't just scar them. It scarred you, too, cupcake."

"You didn't see her back then," I whisper, staring down at my hands.

I still remember when they were afraid she wasn't going to make it after her accident.

I remember Teo back then, too. I think if she hadn't made it, he wouldn't be here now, either.

He was a zombie with hellfire burning in his eyes.

That kind of pain…well, I'm not sure I'm strong enough to survive it.

Nadia almost didn't, and she's always been far stronger than I am.

And if anyone can screw up a relationship, it's me. "It was bad."

"Not every story happens like that, Z," Connor says softly.

"Sometimes, bad shit happens to people in love.

Sometimes, it doesn't. But you'll never know what your story contains if you're too goddamn afraid to live it.

" He strides toward the door and then pauses, glancing back at me.

"I bet if you asked her, she'd tell you that it was worth it. "

"Maybe," I acknowledge, and then frown at him. "Where are you going?"

"You said there are cousins. And a motherfucker wants to know if they look as good as your man does." Connor grins at me. "Have fun avoiding Jareth."

"Connor! You can't just leave me here."

"He isn't even here, Z. He left as soon as he showed us to our rooms. You'll be fine. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

" Is there anything you wouldn't do?"

"Not much." He grins at me before sailing through the door.

I groan, flopping backward on the bed. This is going to be the longest two weeks of my life.