"I can't believe this is happening. Apparently I'm the only one though. Maxi, the moms, Craig." She sighs. "Everyone else thinks we're into each other."

"Aren't we?" I ask and her gaze flies up to meet mine. We share another of those long, silent looks as I set my coffee aside and crawl towards her on the hardwood floor. Olivia's brows raise as I reach up my right hand and brush her hair back. Things are getting interesting now. Thirty-four years old and I've never met a woman like this, not even close. Arrogant, c.o.c.ky, confident, self-a.s.sured. I like Olivia Ashcraft. The thought had never occurred to me until now. I a.s.sumed getting her to sign a contract was the only way to facilitate any sort of relationship between us. This'll work so much better.

"What about Lara Caliper?" Olivia asks and my mouth turns down into a frown. Lara's offer makes sense in so many ways but one. I don't want her. It'll be interesting to see my father and grandfather's reaction to that news. "Maxi said your family's been courting hers for years."

I purse my lips and sit down next to Olivia.

"My family but not me," I tell her, liking the Lex Lyndon that wears jeans and leather boots. He's much less uptight than his counterpart. Willing to sit here and talk about whatever with Miss Olivia Ashcraft. "After she found out about the contract, she offered to essentially fulfill the role I was asking of you." I glance over and see that Olivia's mouth has tightened, almost imperceptibly but enough that I take notice of it. "Only instead of the money, she wanted to marry me." I look down at our legs, just inches apart and close my eyes, letting the heat of Olivia's body overwhelm me. "It makes good business sense."

"I see," Olivia says, but her voice is neutral. I can't read a thing from it.

"She's thirty-seven and I'm thirty-four. We could get married, merge companies, have children." I hear Olivia's clothing rustle and open my eyes, watching as she rises to her feet and sets the knife and her coffee cup down on the counter. I love that she's wearing heels with her jeans black, suede pumps that beg me to run my fingers over them, drop my tongue down and trace the line of the shoe.

"But you're not into that?" Olivia asks carefully, turning around and watching as I unfold myself from the kitchen floor. I will get her up to the rooftop garden if it kills me.

"I highly doubt she could rile me up the way you do," I say as Olivia moves towards me, slides her fingers under the bottom of my T-shirt. "You're so ... infuriating." She purses her lips and grabs the hem of the shirt, lifting it up and helping me pull it off completely. The black fabric gets tossed onto the floor near our feet.

"And you're an a.s.shole who happens to have a nice body. So what?"

"I'll call Lara Caliper in the morning and tell her no, in no uncertain terms, if that's what you want." Olivia sighs and leans her head against my chest. The feeling of her silken hair brushing across my pecs is enough to make me seriously question my own sanity. I could lay here all day and let her play with her hair across my skin. It feels that good.

"I don't know what I want, Lex," she says with a sigh. I reach down and tilt her head back, giving her a look that says I highly doubt the validity of that fact. I raise an eyebrow.

"You? Olivia Olsen Ashcraft? You don't know what you want? I find that hard to believe." She groans and turns away from me, s.n.a.t.c.hing her coffee mug up and draining the last few drops.

"Okay, okay, okay, I do know that I don't like that Lara b.i.t.c.h. The way she looked at me that day in your office, I knew right away that she was bad news. Besides," Olivia glances over her shoulder at me, "she fired me for good. So f.u.c.k her. Yeah. Yeah, go ahead and call her and tell her off."

"Are you jealous?" I ask as Olivia turns back to look at me again, eyes drifting down to my naked chest for just a moment. She gets in a good, long look at my muscles before meeting my gaze.

"Maybe."

I smile and hold out my hand.

"Come with me."

Olivia lets me guide her towards the stairs that lead up to the roof, pausing to duck into the bathroom for a moment. When she comes out, she doesn't look very happy.

"What the h.e.l.l is this?" she asks, holding out a small piece of fabric. It takes me some time to identify it. f.u.c.k. "Why are my panties ten times crunchier than they were when I left them here? And why do they have white stains on them, Lex?" I wrinkle my nose at Olivia and give her my best scowl. The answers to her questions are exactly as she thinks they might be. I m.a.s.t.u.r.b.a.t.ed with them, yes, and I touched them to my c.o.c.k and I even used them to catch. So what?

"I could buy you an entire lingerie store full of panties."

Olivia's mouth hangs open in shock.

"You're not even going to deny it?" she asks, her voice thin with disbelief. I cross my arms over my chest and stare Olivia down. She stares right back at me, and then she takes the wad of cotton and throws it right at my face. It hits me in the nose, bounces off and comes to land in a decorative bowl filled with sand dollars.

"You're the one that left them here," I argue back with a shrug, moving past Olivia and disappearing into one of the guest bedrooms to grab some blankets and a pair of hooded Lyndon Realty Trust sweatshirts that were given out at our last corporate barbeque. I toss one to Olivia and sweep past her, unlocking the door to the rooftop staircase and pulling it open with a flourish. She yanks the sweater over her hood and narrows her eyes at me as she pa.s.ses by.

"You disgust me," she hisses out before hitting the stairs and disappearing into the darkness. I wait until I hear the door at the top open and feel a cool rush of air from outside. "Lex?" Olivia calls before I flick a switch and follow after her, waiting for a gasp or an exclamation, anything as she takes in the white lights and the flowers, the view of the city with its lights sparkling like diamonds. Instead, I hit the top step and move out after her, tossing the blankets onto a chair and finding Olivia glaring at me.

"Really? A rooftop garden lit up with strands of white lights? Do you bring all the girls up here? And is that before or after you ruin a perfectly good pair of panties with the sperms?"

"The sperms?" I ask, but Olivia just bursts out laughing, running the fingers of both hands through her hair as she makes her way to the edge of the room, picking her way between cedar garden beds that I absolutely cannot take credit for tending. Mavis, the cleaning lady, takes care of this, too. "Not the word I'd choose to use."

"Then what?" Olivia asks, glancing back at me, red hair blowing gently around her face. The white lights highlight her cheekbones, the rounded curvature of her lips, her long lashes. I toss the blankets onto a nearby chair and pull the sweater over my hood. It feels ... odd. Not something I'd normally wear. Paired with the jeans, the boots, my naked chest. The whole evening feels surreal and disjointed from my life but in a good way. "What choice of words would you use to describe the heinous crime committed against those poor panties." She points her finger in a random direction and then leans back, too close to the edge for my comfort.

"I don't know," I drawl out, taking the first of the blankets and laying it across the outdoor daybed with its orange cushions and brightly colored pillows. "Considering you're the one that lets me shoot it inside of you, I guess I'll let you make the final decision." I smile wickedly at her, trying to draw her away from the edge. It works. Olivia saunters over to me in her high heels and crosses her arms over the sweatshirt, watching as I make up a warm area for us to sit. It really is cold up here tonight.

"Feeling awfully full of yourself, aren't you?" Olivia asks as I sit down on the daybed and lean back, watching to see if she'll join me or if I'll end up looking like a complete idiot for trying to woo her onto the rooftop. "For a fourth date, this is getting pretty thick, Lex."

"And why's that? Because you've just realized how much you like me? Or because you're already scheming up a way to get more of the sperms as you lovingly phrased it?" She rolls her eyes at me and plops down on the cushion next to mine, grabbing the extra blanket and tugging it over her legs, hugging it against her chest as her eyes scan the wooden planter boxes, the stone flower pots, the small gazebo that perches like a gargoyle in the darkness. For whatever reason, the lights wound through it aren't working.

"I'm still not going to forget the loss of those panties," she tells me, and I feel a smirk twisting my lips.

"They can be washed," I respond, hating the empty s.p.a.ce between us and the cold draft that's cutting straight through my jeans. I tap my fingers against my jeans as I try to figure out what exactly it is that I should say to get her to scoot closer. I could reach out, wrap my arm around her and jerk her against me, but that wouldn't do me any good, not with Olivia Ashcraft. My mouth twitches. "Besides, what else was I supposed to do when you spent all week avoiding me?" Olivia doesn't answer, just stares out at the glittering sea of lights and sniffles against the cold. "Since you so begrudgingly admitted that we're dating, are you still going to ignore me at the office?"

"Yes."

I purse my lips.

"Are you going to stop by my place in the evenings?"

"I don't know. Maybe?" Olivia keeps her gaze straight ahead, but I can see amus.e.m.e.nt in her eyes, twinkling like a reflection of the city's brilliance. I try not to get angry, but the muscle in my jaw twitches anyway.

"If I stopped by yours, would you call me a stalker?"

"Most likely."

I sigh and Olivia chuckles, turning to me and staring at the words on my sweatshirt.

"You should consider not wearing suits occasionally." She pauses, and I try to take that as a compliment. "Not that there's anything wrong with you wearing suits, but this look works, too. Casual, something that reminds me that there's actually a human being in there somewhere." Olivia reaches out a hand and lifts up the bottom of the dark blue sweater, whistling under her breath as she flashes my abs and the V muscles that cut into my torso and disappear under the waistband of the jeans.

"Something I can help you with, Miss Ashcraft?" I ask, feeling my body heat up and my c.o.c.k stiffen in response to her examination. The majority of our interactions have consisted of disparaging remarks and scowling. It's nice to see her willing to show some appreciation for me.

"Can I ask you a random question? I mean, since this is now officially a date." Olivia makes a pained face as she asks the question. For once, it seems like I'm the one that's less afraid of some sort of commitment. It's usually women throwing themselves at me more than likely because of the numbers in my bank account so it's odd to see someone like Olivia look terrified of the prospect of a future anything together. I wonder, if like Lara Caliper, Olivia would accept a ring as a sort of contract between us? Or maybe I'm thinking too business minded again? Asking someone like Olivia to marry me after two weeks would not go over very well.

"Go ahead," I tell her as she lays her fingers across my abs and I suck in a harsh breath. Would it be too much if I asked her down to the bedroom, begged her to stand on my back in her high heels and then ride me like she did earlier this week?

"How do you even get these? I mean, what are they exactly?" Olivia pokes at the V shaped indentations on either side of my crotch. "Maxi calls them the tasty V, but says only a.s.sholes and personal trainers have them." Olivia smacks my stomach and withdraws her hand. "So. Question is, what kind of workouts do you have to suffer to get these?"

"A myriad," I say, which is true. Olivia narrows her eyes at me. I meet her gaze and we share another silent look. When she realizes what's happening, she groans and drops back into the daybed, turning towards me closing the gap between us. When her hips and legs brush up against mine, I have to clench my teeth to keep still. "I have a personal trainer," I say when she leans in close, still glaring at me. "I don't know what he makes me do. I just tune out the pain and do it."

Olivia laughs at me, kicking off those beautiful heels of hers and curling her knees up next to me. A moment later, I put my arm around her and she doesn't gouge my eyes out this is a good sign.

"You really are a spoiled brat, Lex Lyndon." I grit my teeth, but it's hard to argue with the truth. Unfortunately, I think Olivia is right.

"What do you want me to do about it?" She just shrugs and then leans her head in against my shoulder with a yawn. The movement makes me stiffen, gazing down at her red hair splayed against my sweatshirt with no small amount of l.u.s.t.

"Nothing. It's just who you are, I guess." Olivia yawns again. "This Peter and the Wolf thing we're going to, do I have to dress up like a corporate yuppie goon?"

"No. Like a corporate G.o.ddess. I'll select a dress for you."

Olivia scoffs.

"Like h.e.l.l you will."

"May I remind you, Miss Ashcraft," I pause, "Oli, that you were able to choose my outfit for tonight's dinner party."

"You call that a dinner party?" she asks and then sighs. "But you do have a point. You know what? You wore the feminist T-shirt, so I will wear whatever dress you want, but only so that we're even Stephen." Olivia yawns again and lets her body sink more heavily against mine. I have to curl my fingers on my right hand into a fist to keep still. "I am so freaking tired right now."

"And so f.u.c.king beautiful," I purr, but Olivia doesn't respond the way I want, yawning again and doing her best to get me to feel tired along with her, despite the recent cup of coffee.

"This rooftop deck thing is pretty, but cliche I hope you know that." I purse my lips together but don't bother to argue. "I bet most people you bring up here eat this s.h.i.t up, huh?" Another yawn. "I'm difficult, aren't I? But then, so are you," Olivia mumbles, and when I glance down at her, I see her eyes are closed. She's falling asleep. My c.o.c.k is sorely disappointed, but the rest of me doesn't seem to mind. This is one of the reasons that I know Olivia is different from anyone I've ever met. Not only does she speak her mind, act loopy and admittedly quite odd sometimes, but she's also the only woman I've ever let simply sleep at my house. And she's also the only one I've brought up to this deck. The bedroom is a good place to f.u.c.k, but up here? This is set up for romance, and I don't just waste that on anyone. That bit of information is twice as cliche as the rooftop itself, so I decide not to mention it.

"Olivia?" I ask, and she doesn't respond. A few seconds later, she starts to snore, and I decide then and there that it may be one of the most beautiful sounds I've ever heard.

I wake up with a start, to the smell of spicy sweetness and flickering lights.

Candles. Again.

I crack my tired eyes and gaze around Lex Lyndon's room. How I got down here, I'm not sure, since the last thing I remember is laying my head on Lex's shoulder. Not sure why I even did that. I mean ... our date I have to mentally choke this word out hadn't exactly gone as planned. Lex didn't run for the hills and I made the terrifying discovery that we communicate like the moms, with just our eyes.

I roll over, towards Lex and find that he's still fast asleep, despite the fact that there's sunshine streaming in through the curtains. It illuminates a perfect square s.p.a.ce of floor, making me wonder what time it is. I'm still wearing my T-shirt, but no jeans, just my panties. Panties. I think of the crispy critters I found in the bathroom and wrinkle my nose. f.u.c.king Lex.

I force myself to sit up and sweep my hands down my face. If there's anything worse than falling asleep at a guy's house after s.e.x, it's falling asleep at a guy's house with no s.e.x. What excuse do I have for my actions? I felt comfortable enough to just doze off on his roof? Wrapped in his arms?

I sigh and Lex shifts, the blankets falling back and revealing ... a whole lot of him. Including that ma.s.sive c.o.c.k that keeps coming up in conversation. And it's already hard. d.a.m.n it.

I should climb out of this bed right now, find my pants, sneak off before Lex wakes up, but now I'm tempted to stay. He groans in his sleep and drops his hand to his d.i.c.k, wrapping his fingers around the base and mumbling under his breath.

"Lex," I growl, poking him in the shoulder. "Lex." He snaps to and blinks at me like he's as confused about my being here as I am. Then he notices where his hand is and jerks it back with a small snarl. "You were masturbating in your sleep. Do you need my panties again?" He narrows his eyes on me.

"I'd rather have your p.u.s.s.y," he grinds out, rolling over and taking hold of my hips, pulling me on top of him to straddle his midsection. My initial reaction is to panic, to run back to my place, to hide. But that won't do me any good, will it? Besides, that's not exactly in my personality. Running? Bleh. If Lex and I are now somehow seeing each other, then fine. Whatever. Like I said to him last night, I can date like a bada.s.s. No big deal. The only thing that's big in this room right now is Lex Lyndon's erection.

"Charming," I tell him, but when I scoot back an inch, I feel the firm press of his desire against my a.s.s. His gray eyes are tired but sparking with arousal, and his muscles are tense and solid beneath me thighs. Much as I hate to admit it, it really is a tempting proposal. When Lex opens his mouth again, I clamp my right hand across it and reach back with my left, pushing my panties aside and finding Lex's c.o.c.k. When I slide it in, grinding my hips down into his pelvis, he bites my fingers. It's just a gentle nip, but it p.i.s.ses me off. And turns me on. I jerk my hand back and give Lex a slap. He looks shocked at first, but then he rolls with it, scowling at me and taking hold of my hips, helping us work up a steady rhythm as I pinch his face with my fingers hard. When he gets too rough on my hips, I give him another slap. See? I could get used to this dominatrix s.h.i.t. Maybe I'll even Amazon Prime ship myself some fancy leather boots with five inch stilettos, make Lex shine them up with his tongue. Maybe this whole dating thing doesn't have to be so traumatizing? Provided he doesn't ask me to sign another contract, this could actually be good.

"I want to hear you say my name," he growls at me, but I refuse, clamping my mouth tight and moving my hips with a ferocity that's surprising. Maybe I really am starting to like the boss? When he's not acting like the CEO of a major real estate investment group, he's a h.e.l.l of a lot easier to get along with.

"Fat chance of that happening," I whisper, leaning down and crushing our mouths together. I'm still holding his face, squeezing it tight, taking control of him and letting my eyelids flutter as our tongues dive into one another's mouth, our bodies slipping and sliding together as wetness blooms on my thighs. I work really hard at holding myself together, fighting an o.r.g.a.s.m it's a shame, I know and jamming my hips against Lex's until he groans into my mouth and his body spasms beneath mine. I take great pleasure in sitting up straight, splaying a hand on his chest and riding him as he growls and bucks beneath me. A smile teases my lips as he struggles to pull in enough air to catch his breath.

"Oli," he says, and I clench tight at the sound of my nickname. Lex groans again. "You're a devil in disguise."

"Maybe," I say, sliding off of him with a groan of my own and nestling into the pillows. I glance over at Lex and find him staring at me with rapturous attention. If I said I didn't like it, I'd be lying. "Now. Get your a.s.s down there and clean up the mess you made." His dark brows rise up and a smirk curls his lips, but Lex doesn't protest. He really does drag the covers back and take hold of my panties, sliding them down my hips and off, tossing them aside for later, I guess. I take a tight handful of his hair and try not to think of the elevator situation, shoving him down between my legs and groaning as his tongue slides hot and wet against my heat. I know what he's tasting down there my arousal and his, mixed together into a heady concoction. I just want him to f.u.c.king eat it.

He works his mouth expertly around my opening and then back up, towards my c.l.i.t, teasing it with a very, very light sc.r.a.pe of teeth and then a flutter of tongue that makes me go cross-eyed. And the really nice thing about Lex? He doesn't do a rush job. He takes his time, putting me into an almost trancelike state before he finally inserts a pair of fingers and f.u.c.ks me slowly, swirling his tongue in circles around my c.l.i.toris until my stomach muscles start to flutter and gasps break from my throat like musical notes. A steady, even beat plays out until I find my back arching and my vision blurring, the candles flickering around me like fireworks.

"Lex," I groan, and then realize as I'm doing it that I just f.u.c.king gave the a.s.shole what he wanted. "d.a.m.n you!" I scream as Lex pulls away with an infuriating smirk, moving back up to lay beside me. I punch him, right in his man t.i.t and he grunts. Little beads of sweat streak our bodies as I move over and lay in the crook of his arm. See? Dating equals not such a bad thing. There's no better way to kick off a weekend than with a nice, big, fat o.r.g.a.s.m. "That was a cheap move."

"I a.s.sure you it wasn't. How was I supposed to know you were going to moan my name?"

"Whatever. Go f.u.c.k yourself." Lex reaches a hand down, but I manage to grab his wrist before he actually gets started. "Stop trying to sneak extra s.h.i.t in under the guise of following orders. You're a c.r.a.ppy sub, Lex. I told you, you weren't really that interested in it."

"I just want a partner, apparently," he rumbles and I sigh, blowing hot air across his skin and making him shiver. I hate how comfortable the jacka.s.s makes me feel, like it's okay to just lay here with my head on his chest. "That is what you said, isn't it?"

"Don't even," I begin, but he's not done.

"What if I said I thought you might be right?" I'd be turned on because there's nothing I like more than knowing I'm right. I clear my throat. This conversation could go bad, very quickly.

"I'd say good for you for realizing that. But I'd also warn you not to stick me into that category."

"But you yourself said we were dating last night, Olivia. We have fun together."

"We fight constantly."

"The s.e.x is good."

"The s.e.x is great."

"What are you trying to say to me right now?" I ask, sitting up and staring at him. The sunlight behind the curtain shifts, most likely from clouds rolling in off the bay. I wonder what time it is?

"In the real estate world, when you find a property you think is a good investment, what do you do with it?" I raise an eyebrow and stare down at Lex. His strong jaw and sharp cheekbones make it a h.e.l.l of a lot more difficult to concentrate properly.

"Uh, if this is a hint about the Eugene, Oregon property, then don't worry about it. I am on it as soon as we get back to the office on Monday." Lex frowns at me, probably wondering if I'm being willfully ignorant. I may or may not be.

"Olivia," he begins, but I wave his words away.

"Okay, fine, I'll bite. When you find a good investment, you swoop down on it, make the purchase before anybody else does. If you wait too long, you risk either losing the property or getting into a bidding war with other investors." Lex's mouth turns into a smirk, and I wait for the punch line of this joke. I'm not going to like it, am I?

"Exactly. That's why I want to ask you to seriously consider what's happening between us as a relationship in progress."

I blink at him stupidly for several seconds.

"Wait, did you just compare me to a real estate investment?"

"When I see something I want, I go for it. Olivia, I've decided now that what I want is you."

"No!" I groan, rolling onto my back and putting my hands over my face. "You seriously did not just say that. What did I tell you I would do if you said that in the parking garage? That I'd run over your feet and drive away. That's it Lex I am driving away right now."

"I hadn't realized what I was feeling in the parking garage, Olivia. The reason I so adamantly wanted that contract was because I wanted you to be mine. I want to be yours."

"O. M. f.u.c.king G. Lex Lyndon, you are thirty-four years old, worth billions of dollars, attractive, please don't do this to me right now."

"Because you're tempted? I hate long, drawn out courtships. Let's consider this official."

"I can't even believe this is happening. I hate to sound s.e.xist because I'm absolutely one hundred percent not, but you sort of sound like a stereotypical, societally influenced girl. Didn't we just reluctantly agree last night that we're dating. Dating. Not getting married or shacking up together, dating."

"f.u.c.k dating. I had all of last night to consider this, Olivia. I see what I want. I've decided to go for it."

"You are unbelievable, Lex. Absolutely unbelievable."