Page 7 of After You Returned

Blossom isn’t a nerd or an introvert the way Jaxon is, but she is obsessed with time management. She’s allergic to beinglate. Seriously, she breaks out in a rash when there’s even a possibility of her not arriving on time.

I throw my arm around her. “And this way, we can become better acquainted.”

Jaxon growls. “Keep your hands off my wife.”

Blossom giggles. “He’s riling you up to get his mind off how Hazel will be at the bar.”

I glare at her. “You’re my least favorite sister-in-law.”

“Technically, I’m your only sister-in-law since none of the other Raider brothers have gotten married yet. Engaged doesn’t count.”

I scowl at the reminder of how we are no longer those shit-stirring Raider brothers having fun, attending Mermaid karaoke, playing pranks on each other, and drinking way too much moonshine. I miss those days. It’s no fun drinking by yourself, and the amount of pranks has slowed to a crawl.

We arrive at the bar and everyone piles out. Zane is waiting for us at the end of the alleyway with his baby, Adele. Rhett and Dakota are standing next to him.

“Good,” Zane says. “You’re here.”

“I don’t know why we’re here,” I whine.

He scowls at me. “I need your moral support.”

“Whatever,” I mutter and motion him forward.

We arrive at the entrance to the bar.Rumrunneris a speakeasy. You can’t just walk in. Even if you are a native of Smuggler’s Hideaway.

Zane knocks on the door and the bouncer, Trent, opens the sliding peephole in the middle of the door.

“Uh oh. The Raider brothers have arrived,” he mutters before opening the door for us to enter.

Landlubbers have to solve a riddle to enter the speakeasy, but as locals, we can enter without solving the riddle. Although the riddles aren’t difficult. The answer is usually a mermaid, or a smuggler, or Prohibition. All the things Smuggler’s Hideaway is famous for.

We enter the bar and Zane makes a beeline for the bartender to ask for Sloane, who works here. He totally fucked up with her and she left his ass. I would have left him, too. But he realized he messed up and now he’s here to beg her forgiveness.

Which is why all of us brothers are at the bar with him. Whenever a Raider needs support, we come running. No matter how much we may want to avoid a certain red-headed mistake.

We gather in a corner of the bar to watch the reunion. And to heckle if the chance arises. I help my brothers shove tables together until there’s enough room for all of the Raider family.

“I need a drink.” I take everyone’s orders before making my way to the bar.

On the way there, my gaze snags on red hair. Hazel must be a siren because my feet automatically change directions until I’m standing in front of her.

“What do you want?”

Her anger does nothing to detract from her beauty. On the contrary, her green eyes are entrancing as they blaze with fury. And wrinkling her nose only makes it more adorable. I love thefreckles that spread across her nose and cheeks. I’ve kissed every one of them as well as those not visible when she’s dressed.

And then there are those pouty, pink lips. Her frown can’t diminish how sexy her mouth is. I love tracing those lips with my tongue before melding my mouth to hers.

“Hello?” She snaps her fingers in my face before I have the chance to drop my gaze to her body, which is curvy in all my favorite places. “I asked you a question. What do you want?”

What do I want? I want to throw her over my shoulder and drag her out of this speakeasy. But based on how she’s fisting her hands at her hips, she’d probably punch me in the face if I tried.

“Can we talk?” I ask instead.

“Talk?” She snorts. “You don’t want to talk. You never want to talk. You want to get into my pants and then forget all about it the next day.”

“Not true.” I can never forget about Hazel. I’ve spent the past weeks laying in bed imagining how it felt to have her in my arms again on New Year’s Eve. How good she smelled. How crazy she goes for me when I kiss her lips.

My cock twitches. It remembers how it feels to be buried inside her.