Sharon grinned. “Yep. That’s why I invited you. Trust me. None of my brothers are going to hit on you. They know my friends are off limits.”
“Good. Because I’m in over my head these days between work and training. The last thing I need is some guy flirting with me.”
Rebecca followed Sharon out to her car and tossed her stuff in the back seat before climbing in. “Thanks for inviting me. I hope your brothers are in as good a shape as you said because I need to put some hard miles under my belt this weekend.”
Sharon smirked as she started the car and pulled away from the curb. “Griffen—he’s the oldest—said the same thing about you.”
“He did, did he?” Rebecca wiped her palms on her thighs. This was going to be fun. Even if all four of them were sexy and fit, she fully intended to make them work. She’d done several long runs with the bubbly brunette next to her. She knew her friend was in excellent shape. But four older brothers? Surely she could make Griffen eat his words.
Chapter Two
Griffen swung his backpack out of the truck bed and set it on the ground. They were going to leave the truck and Sharon’s car at the base of the mountain and hike the long winding trail to the top.
“What time are Sharon and her friend supposed to arrive?” Trace asked.
Griffen glanced at his watch. “Any minute.”
“Have you met this girl?” Zachary asked.
“Nope.”
Logan stepped around from the other side of the truck, carrying his pack. “I can’t believe you agreed to this. We’ve never brought anyone extra along on this trip.”
Griffen winced. “Yeah, well you three weren’t the ones in a face-off with Sharon when she pleaded her case.”
Trace chuckled. “Dude, you’re such a pushover when it comes to her. Admit it.”
He shrugged. This was true. He couldn’t deny it.
As he lifted his backpack and turned toward the foot of the path, Sharon’s sporty, white four-door sedan pulled into the gravel lot. Good. The last thing Griffen needed was for his brothers to start grumbling about the women being late.
Sharon and her friend climbed out of the car and grabbed their belongings from the backseat while Griffen watched from several yards away. He blinked as Rebecca leaned over to pick up her pack. Her tight ass was sexy as hell, and her thighs and the rest of her long lean legs were right up there with her butt. She was indeed fit, as Sharon told him.
When she stood and turned in his direction, he swallowed hard. She wore her long auburn hair in two braids that made her look younger than twenty-four, although long didn’t really describe her hair. If it wasn’t braided, he suspected it would reach past her butt. As he watched, she tossed the two thick braids over her shoulders and shrugged into her backpack. Her tank top stretched tight over her chest, giving Griffen a fantastic idea of what her breasts were like beneath.
Damn. He hadn’t considered the idea Sharon’s friend would be sexy.
And then she smiled. Her full lips stretched across her face, showing off perfect white teeth and cute dimples on each cheek. Her skin was like porcelain, smooth and white with a scatter of freckles on her nose. She obviously kept the sunscreen industry in business with that complexion. Golden highlights in her hair sparkled in the afternoon sun.
She sauntered toward Griffen next to Sharon.
Griffen was aware of his brothers at his back, but they were amazingly quiet. Did they find her as attractive as Griffen did? He had a sudden surge of jealousy, as though he owned first right of refusal or something by being the oldest or having known her name before any of the others. He shook the ridiculous thought from his head.
A breeze blew across the parking lot at the same time as the ladies stepped closer.
Griffen inhaled at just the right moment to catch Rebecca’s scent.
For several heartbeats he stood frozen in his spot, unable to exhale that breath or blink. His eyes widened. He knew his mouth fell open. But the rest of his body was stuck in time.
“Hey, guys. This is Rebecca,” Sharon said as the two of them came to a stop a few feet from Griffen.
“Hi.” Rebecca gave a short wave in the general direction of all of them, her green eyes alight with friendliness. “It might take me a while to get your names straight. Sharon was quizzing me in the car, but she failed to mention that you all look alike.” She giggled.
Griffen still hadn’t breathed. He was afraid to. As long as he kept himself from inhaling ever again, perhaps he could avoid what he knew deep inside was true.
Rebecca Larson was his mate.
The sweet tinkle of her voice made his cock stiffen. Then she stuck out a hand. “Which one are you?”