Kiss by Kiss (Riggins Brothers 3)

“Hey, do you—” Grant turns and stops talking. He takes the time to let his eyes roam over me before grinning. “Are we playing it like that?” he asks.

“You started it.” I point to his sweatpants.

“Come here, Aurora.” He crooks his finger, summoning me to come to him, and I do without hesitation.

I don’t know who this person is, being so open and free, but I like her. I like her a lot. “Hey!” I screech when his hands land on my hips, and he lifts me to the kitchen counter.

His strong arms surround me as he rests his hands on the counter. “I like this,” he says, kissing the corner of my mouth. “You here in my home, in my bed. I like it a lot, Rory.”

“Yeah?” I slide my arms around his neck. “Me too,” I confess softly.

“You should leave some stuff here. I hope this is a new normal for us.”

I nod. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Good.” He kisses me again. “Now, as much as I love you in nothing but my shirt, Conrad is on his way to pick me up, so you need to get dressed.” The words are barely out of his mouth before he lifts me into his arms and carries me back to his bed. Together, we get dressed before making our way back to the kitchen, where I finally get my coffee. Grant makes us some toast, and we both slather it with strawberry jelly. It’s one of the best mornings I’ve ever had.

“Con should be here any minute,” Grant says. I’m sitting on the counter, and he’s standing between my legs.

“Yeah, Aspen too.”

“You coming to Sunday dinner with me tonight? Aspen is welcome too.”

“Yeah, we’ll be there.”

“I love you,” he says, pressing his lips to mine. My heart soars with his words. I never thought I would trust those three little words from a man again, but Grant, he proved me wrong.

“Yo!” Conrad yells out as he enters the kitchen. “Damn. Another one bites the dust,” he says, grinning. “Morning, Rory.” He smirks.

“It’s Aurora, asshole,” Grant fires off. There is no way that he knows my family calls me that. The smirk tells me he thinks he’s made it up on his own.

“I like Rory.” His grin grows wider. “You don’t mind if I call you that, do you, sis?” he asks me.

How do I say no to that? Besides, I like it. I feel like Aspen and I are a part of this big, crazy, loving family. I’ve missed this feeling of… family. I miss my parents. Mom keeps asking when they can come and visit, and I realize now that we need to make that happen. “Sure.” I shrug.

“Traitor,” Grant whispers against my lips.

“You coming with us?” Conrad asks, making himself a cup of coffee.

“No. Aspen is on her way to pick me up.”

“I could have taken you home,” Grant grumbles.

“Yes, but now you don’t have to. You guys can leave from here,” I tell him, just as there’s a knock at the door. “That’s probably Aspen.”

“I’ll get it. You two”—Conrad points at us—“get all of that out of your system so we can head out.” He’s laughing as he goes to answer the front door.

“It’s really hard for me to pull away from you right now,” Grant says, wrapping his arms around me.

“I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yeah,” he says, leaning in for another kiss.

“Be warned.” I hear Conrad tell my sister. “It’s sugary sweet with lots of canoodling in there,” he says, his tone falsely serious.

“Oh, good. I didn’t miss it.” I hear Aspen clap her hands as they step into the kitchen.

I roll my eyes at my sister as Grant pulls away and turns to face our siblings, his back resting against my front. “Show’s over,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Damn it.” Aspen laughs. “I always miss the good stuff.”

“Hang out with this group for long, and you’ll get your fill. Marsh and I are the only two normal ones,” Conrad tells her.

“Normal? You telling me you don’t like a good make-out session, Conrad Riggins?” Aspen asks, placing her hands on her hips.

“I’m all for a good make-out session.” He winks at her. “But this—” He points to Grant and me. “—it’s nauseating.”

“You’re just jealous,” Grant fires back.

He looks at me and winks. “I mean, if I had a woman who looked like Rory here, I guess I could understand it.” He’s grinning like a fool knowing that he’s goading his brother.

“Fuck off, she’s mine,” Grant says, turning to the side and wrapping one arm around my waist.

“Aw,” Aspen coos.

“Come on, lover boy. We’ve got furniture to move,” Conrad says, draining his coffee and placing his empty cup in the sink.

“I’ll be right out,” Grant tells him. He doesn’t wait for them to reply, or to leave for that matter, when he cups my face in his big hands and kisses me slow and deep.