“Whatever,” he says with a roll of his eyes.
We pile out of the car and Bran lays his hand on the small of my back, sending an electric thrill through my body. We follow as Destiny carries the plate of cookies up the long flagstone walk to the front door.
“Just walk in,” Bran says when Destiny reaches for the doorbell.
She turns the knob and the smells of pine and cinnamon and turkey hit me in the face. Before we’re even through the door, my mouth is watering.
“Destiny!” Vicky says, skirting around the island of a huge kitchen in an even more enormous great room that the door opens in to. “How have you been? I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m good,” my sister says, stepping into Vicky’s hug. She backs away and hands her the plate. “I know it’s not much, but I made some cookies.”
Vicky takes the plate and tugs the cellophane loose at one edge, taking a whiff. Her eyes widen and she plucks one out and takes a bite.
“Sweet Jesus in heaven,” she says with a roll of her eyes. “Smith! You got to taste these.”
A buff balding guy appears from a glass paneled doorway I can now see is a pantry. Bran has Vicky’s eyes and mouth, but everything else is his father’s.
Vicky holds out the plate and he tosses a whole cookie into his mouth. His eyes pop as he chews. “Holy shit.”
“I need your recipe,” Vicky says to Destiny.
Destiny cringes a little. “I didn’t really write it down, but it’s basically just a butter cookie with a little bit of nutmeg, clove and a drop of anise, because that’s what I had.”
“Christ, honey,” Vicky says, swiping another. “You should open a cookie shop.”
“Bran got me a job at Ambling Rose,” Destiny says, giving him an appreciative nod.
Bran holds up his hands. “That wasn’t me.”
“Well, based on this,” Vicky says, devouring the last bit of the cooking in her hand, “it’s the smartest move Molly ever made.”
Bran’s dad snatches another cookie and Vicky slaps his hand. “I’m Smith Silo,” he says, extending his free hand toward me. “Hear you’re the girl who finally tamed my son.”
I can’t stop my eyes from widening. “Lilah.” I take his hand. “And I didn’t tame anything.”
He gives me a firm shake and a wink. “If you say so, little girl.”
I cringe, really not liking his nickname for me and hoping to God it doesn’t stick.
“And you’re Destiny,” he says, shifting his hand to my sister.
“Nice to meet you, Smith,” Destiny says, shaking his hand. Then she turns to Vicky. “What can we help with?”
They all head for the kitchen and Bran takes my hand and pulls me back when I start to follow. He yanks me to him and plants a firm, unyielding kiss to my mouth.
Everything inside me turns to warm mush at the way he just takes what he wants. But, as if he reads my mind, he always gives me what I need: a squeeze of my waist and a brush of his thumb over my cheek as he threads his fingers into my hair make me feel more needed and wanted than I ever have in my life. But before the rest of them turn around, he’s let me go.
The door opens as we’re passing and Brenda comes through with a guy in tow.
“Hey,” Bran says. He tugs her into a quick, one-armed hug, then holds out his hand to the guy. “Good to see you again, Trevor.”
“Bran,” he says with a nod, shaking his hand.
Bran turns to me. “This is my girlfriend, Lilah,”
I can’t explain the jolt of panic up my spine at the word, except that Bran using it makes me realize this is for real. We’re really doing this.
“I don’t know what you did to my brother,” Brenda says as she swoops in for a hug, “but do more of it. I’ve never seen him so relaxed.”
“Um…okay,” I say.
“Brenda!” Vicky calls from the kitchen. “Get your butt over here and do whatever you do to these sweet potatoes to make them melt in my mouth.”
“Coming, Ma,” she calls and drags Trevor that way.
Bran and I follow.
“What you got for us, Ma?” Bran asks.
“If you can pick us something good out of the wine cellar, that would be great,” she says.
Bran takes my hand and tows me to a door under the curved staircase that leads to the second floor. He opens it and flicks on a light, and we wind down a stone staircase into a damp, cool basement. We reach the bottom and I shiver at the temperature change.
“Cold?” he says, pulling me against his warm body.
I smile up at him. “Not anymore.”
His smile is all sex as he leans down and kisses me. I kiss him back with everything I have, and before I know what’s happened, my back is pressed again the stone wall and Bran’s rock hard abs and pecs are crushed against the front of me. His kiss is ravenous and I let him devour me.