My attempt to put behind us the events in the pub isn't happening anytime soon because the same energy surrounds us. We're here again. Walls down, eyes open.

"I want to see you again," he says and settles himself between my legs. "Like we discussed."

"Yes. I think. It's just..."

"You think?"

"I mean, yes. We can if you like. See how we go."

Not happening. I shiver as he runs his fingers along my cheek. "I missed you, Riley."

"After two days?"

"I missed the feel-good I get from being with you." He places his lips on mine. "And you always feel good."

A hand runs up my leg, beneath the short dress and along my inner thigh. I clamp my thighs together so he can't move any higher, and as Nate leans in to kiss me, I close my eyes and know I'm lost.

For a man who says he doesn't kiss, he has talent. Our tongues battle for control the way we always do, and I match his urgent touch and grip. I relent first and drag his T-shirt upwards, running my palms against his hard back. My skirt hitches higher and Nate nudges my thighs apart with his knee.

My office phone rings, the shrill sound dragging me back to where I am.

"Nate." Pushing him away, I stand and straighten my clothes and glance at the door. "This isn't appropriate."

He fights a smile. "I love it when you're formal with me. Not appropriate? Because I'm a client?"

"And because we're in my office. Can you imagine the fallout if somebody walked in?"

"True. Wouldn't be very secret, then." Nate slides both hands up my legs again, hitching my dress upwards so he reaches my panties. "There's something f.u.c.king hot about the professional Riley who p.i.s.sed me off now letting me put my hands on her. Come on. Play."

I grab his hands as he slips a finger through the edge of the lace. "This was supposed to be secret; you shouldn't have come here."

"I didn't come just to see you; one of your minions wants to talk to me. I said no, but she keeps ha.s.sling me. Think they want some kind of press release on what happened." He steps back and straightens my skirt, brushing his hand between my legs as he does and the sensation trips lightning through. Jesus Christ. At this rate, I'll be on my knees. "Should I tell them the full story?"

I swallow down the disappointment and delusion Nate couldn't keep away and had to see me. He came for a meeting. I'm an afterthought; someone he'd try his luck with before his meeting "You know d.a.m.n well you can't."

Nate rubs his mouth with his fingers and something unreadable pa.s.ses his eyes. "True. Things would get complicated again."

"They would."

"But I still want to see how we go. However you want to do this."

"Slowly."

His mouth tips into a smile. "However you like it, Riley."

"Only if you play by the rules."

Nate rubs a hand across his mouth. "If you play by mine."

"One month remember. No s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g other girls."

"Hey!" He places a hand over his heart. "I was with Sophia for weeks and didn't touch anybody else. I can stay faithful when I want to."

I snort. "Faithful."

He frowns. "Why the doubt?"

"You're Nate Campbell."

"And you're Riley Sawyer. How about you and your random hook-ups? Don't you remember what you were doing when we first met? Meeting guys in bars for s.e.x?"

"Hypocrite. Anyway, I'm more selective than you."

"Of course. You won't want anyone else anyway." He runs a rough finger across my lips. "I bet you can't stop after a month."

"Try me."

"Oh, I will."

Nate pulls my hair back into a ponytail, snaps the band around, and tucks a loose strand behind my ear. "Catch you next week, Smiley."

He staggers backwards as I thump him in the chest. "Not if you call me that."

His eyes glint and he draws me to him, placing his mouth on mine. I put my hands on his chest, desperate to be pulled back into a kiss, but needing him to move away.

Somebody knocks at the door, and we spring apart as Jenna steps into the room.

"Ah. Sorry." Jenna eyes us, taking a brief glance at our clothes, which are thankfully intact. "Mitch.e.l.l wants to see you."

"Is it ten already?"

"No, he wants to chat to you before the meeting."

"He's out there?" I smooth my hair as she stares at Nate. Nate flashes her his grin.

"Yes. I can keep him entertained, if you like," she says with a small smile.

"All good, I'm leaving." Nate walks to the door and Jenna steps out of the way.

I follow Nate across the room to where a tall man sits on one of the low, winged armchairs my clients use when waiting for me. He jumps to his feet and holds out a hand. This guy is taller than Nate, but slimmer built, his well-cut suit and neat appearance at odds with my rock star lover. Why the girls at the agency swoon over him is apparent; he has the clean cut look and eyes a shade of green I've never seen before. Perfect teeth and sculpted face, plus no air of arrogance; if he was my type, I'd find crossing the line between private and professional difficult too.

"Riley! Finally. How are you? Mitch.e.l.l Simmons." I shake his smooth hand and pull away from his firm grip. Mitch.e.l.l switches his attention to Nate and holds his hand out. "Mitch.e.l.l. Nate Campbell?"

Nate doesn't accept and rubs his nose instead. "Yeah."

Unperturbed, Mitch.e.l.l looks back to me. He gestures at my office. "Do you have ten minutes to run through the agenda? Cole's manager decided she wanted to sit in, and we'll need to have everything covered. She's awkward."

I resist poking Nate when he makes an amused sound, clearly directed at me.

"Of course, Nate was just leaving." I lift my chin and look Nate in the eyes. "Thanks for updating me, Nate. I'll get onto that straight away."

A smile plays at the edge of his lips and I tense, ready for his next comment. "Good to hear."

Nate strides away and I watch him go, annoyed by his rude att.i.tude to Mitch.e.l.l. My lips still tingle from Nate's kisses, and the panic we almost were caught. Next time, I'll ensure my door is locked.

Next time?

"Shall we?" Mitch.e.l.l stands in my office doorway and gestures for me to walk in first.

I smile to myself as I catch sight of Jenna staring at his a.s.s before closing the door.

Mitch.e.l.l doesn't mention Nate, or my enforced absence, instead running through the agenda as promised. With three weeks to go before the gala event, I'll need to work b.l.o.o.d.y hard to catch up. I'm lucky Mitch.e.l.l picked up the slack while I was away. I expected some kind of comment over my absence, but all Mitch.e.l.l is focused on is tying up loose ends.

I push thoughts of Nate firmly away, but they sneak back in.

Nate and me. This is really happening.

23.

NATE.

The day I returned from Yorkshire, I sat alone in my lounge confused as f.u.c.k, attempting to convince myself I'd made a huge mistake. I swore I wouldn't sink any further into the crazy feelings I have around Riley, but I couldn't accept what was happening. Agreeing to keep things going, even if it's just s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g her, is at least keeping my options open until I figure out what the f.u.c.k is going on in my head... and hers.

Will asked questions. Of course, I played the situation down. If I give the slightest hint to him something happened, I'll face two things: teasing, and Will interfering.

Will doesn't believe me when I tell him nothing happened.

Following four days living on top of other people, solitude is strange. Not seeing Riley is weirder.

I visited her at work instead of calling. I needed to judge if she was back to the old Riley, or if something genuinely shifted. Riley's funny, no different to any other girl when it comes to me putting the moves on her. Now she's dropped the hostility, there's little for me to bypa.s.s to put her off guard.

Or not. Since the day I went to her office, Riley turned me down twice. Every date I gave her, she couldn't make, using flimsy excuses. If a chick says no more than once, that's usually enough. But Riley has to come back. She doesn't get to be the one to end us.

Finally, the workaholic agrees to meet up with me at my place. Our options are limited due to hiding this, not only from the public but from friends. Besides, if we're hooking up, there's not much point heading out anywhere. What we want to do? Best done at home.

Riley drives over, which could mean one of two things. She's not drinking and going home later, or she's drinking and staying. I'm not bothered which, as long as naked s.e.x is part of the evening.

I open the door to a Riley wrapped in the coat she wore the day I crashed the car, her hair loose around her shoulders. She gives me a hesitant smile and kick-starts everything I've spent a week winding down. I occupied the last half of the afternoon with plans for this evening, in great erotic detail, but looking into the eyes of the real person throws in a new element.

This woman isn't a p.o.r.nographic replay in my head; she's a person who shares more than her body. Her cheeks are flushed from the cold, the colour warming the ice queen I melted a week ago. Her lips shine with gloss and not the heavy make-up she wears at work.

"Hey," she says in a soft voice.

"Come in."

Riley steps past me, and her perfume and orange-mingled scent reminds me this is my Riley from the snow. She looks around my hallway, at the shoes dumped in the corner by the stairs, next to piles of papers, and at the bare walls. I cross my arms, unsure what to do next. With a small shake of her head, Riley takes her coat off and pa.s.ses it to me. I don't move, and hold the coat by the collar, staring at how the b.u.t.ton on her shirt is undone enough to catch a glimpse of the lace beneath.

This woman tears me apart. Riley has no clue about the power she holds over me. Every time her soft lips meet mine, each time the taste and scent of her surges through with a kiss, Riley destroys me further. I crave her. Need the rush she gave me before, and I'm prepared to chase the high at any opportunity.

f.u.c.k it.

I throw the coat onto the stairs and seize Riley's face in both hands. She stumbles as I claim her mouth, seeking the taste I've missed, the place I want to lose myself with her. Riley immediately responds, gripping my head in return and not holding back. I'm skilled at removing girl's clothes quickly, and hers drop to the floor.

As I unclasp her bra, Riley grabs my hand. "You do live alone, don't you?"

I laugh and push her hand out of the way. "Yeah."

I lift her against the wall, sliding my hands across her smooth skin as she tightens her legs around my waist. I push myself between her legs, hardening against her. Riley grasps me around the neck and my mouth closes over hers, our kiss fevered as we tangle tongues. Riley's sweetness, the first step towards claiming her as mine again.

She moans into my mouth and I press harder against her, crushing her to my chest. I kiss along her neck as she lifts her head back, her pulse racing against my lips as I work to the edge of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. I close my mouth over her peaked nipple and swirl my tongue. A sound escapes Riley's lips, which wipes the last civilized part of me away.

Roughly, I yank her panties to one side, c.o.c.k straining against my jeans as my focus shifts to one thing, being inside Riley. When I stroke a finger along her, she moves allowing me to push the finger inside. Her hands slide into my hair, and her fingers tighten as I hold my palm against her. There's no doubt Riley wants this as much as I do.

Riley slides a hand between us and brushes her fingers against my bulging c.o.c.k as our mouths meet again. She deftly undoes my fly, her hand curling around my length. She drags her mouth away, eyes dark and lips swollen, the pink creeping along her neck to her chest. I rest my head against hers; her hot breath strokes my lips.

"Nate."

"Mmm?" I hitch her higher, my length pressing against her soft centre instead, and her breath rushes out.

"Not yet."

"Why?" Whatever she says, her body tells me the opposite.

"I want this, but-"

"But we talked about this s.h.i.t," I breathe, frustration edging in. "I'm clean. You said you were on some pretty serious contraception."

We had the conversation the afternoon in the snow, Riley, her practical self, as we outlined the rules for our whatever the h.e.l.l this is. Talk about awkward conversation but , I'm not complaining.

I hold the tip of myself against her, ready. "Say no if you don't want this." Riley's breath rushes from her lungs and she grips my shoulders, and I wrest control back. "Say no or I'm gonna just f.u.c.k you now."

Her eyes snap open. "And if I say no?"

"I'll make you come anyway," I growl. "And you'll be begging me for more."

I wait for a laugh, a protest; but she shifts against me. "How can I say no to that?"

I pull Riley's legs up, dig my fingers into her a.s.s, and push hard into her. Her fingers dig into my back and her lips meet mine. She kills me. This woman drives me insane. I don't hold back, can't. She's tight and hot surrounding my c.o.c.k, so f.u.c.king wet, and I drive into her again and again, seeking the rush and release only Riley can give me.

I part her legs wider; she could be weightless in my arms, because all I can take in is the scent of Riley and s.e.x, the way our skin slides against each other. The s.p.a.ce between us disappears in the moment. The Nate and Riley who still hold back from each other don't exist. I urge her on, as she matches my movements with hers, and enjoy how she grips my shoulders tighter, murmuring with her loosening control.