I slid my hand over the curve of her hip, then dug my fingers into her flesh to hold her in place as I slid inside. She was tight and wet and hot, everything I’d imagined and better. She moaned and whimpered, the sounds making me even harder. Everything had been building toward this moment, all the dancing around and flirting, the tension.

I reached out and took her hair, wrapping it around my fist. I pulled her head up so that I could see her expression in the mirror in front of us. So I could watch every nuance…

I jerked awake, my heart racing and my breathing ragged. The central air pumped cold air into the guest room, but my skin was still damp with sweat. I tossed the sheet aside, glowering down at the erection tenting my boxers. Of course, I had to have an erotic dream the night before I was supposed to see Paige again. Because it wasn’t difficult enough to not get a fucking hard-on whenever I was around her.

I stretched my arm out and snagged my phone from the bedside table. The alarm I’d set was still ten minutes from going off, but I knew that it wouldn’t do any good for me to lounge in bed until it did. It made more sense for me to spend a little extra time in the shower. My hand wasn’t exactly the attention my cock would’ve preferred, but it was the quickest way to solve my problem.

* * *

Paige’s text had only given me a time and an address, not an explanation of what the place was or what I’d be doing, so I was surprised when the taxi dropped me off in front of The Kamden McBride Foundation, a private organization that worked with veterans.

How had Paige figured out that I was connected to this place? No one knew about my yearly anonymous donations. I hadn’t even told my mom or sisters about it. I supposed Paige could’ve followed the money, but that would’ve taken some serious resources. Unnecessary ones at that since all she would’ve needed to do was ask me. It didn’t fit with what I knew about her. And Chester couldn’t have told her because he managed me, not my money, and certainly not my inheritance.

As long as Paige didn’t reveal my monetary contributions, I wouldn’t push the issue, but I was curious.

She was leaning against the front of the building when I arrived, absorbed in something on her phone, and I allowed myself a moment to appreciate how her skirt showed off her legs. Her hair was pulled up behind her head, a few waves left to frame her face, and the memory of my dream hit me hard. I could almost feel the silk of her hair across my palm.

This was going to be a long day.

But, apparently, a good one.

I didn’t have much time for things to think about my dream, or about the club I’d invited her to, because as soon as we walked into the building, she put me to work.

I talked to every veteran there, thanked them for their service, listened to the things that concerned them. And I shared about my father, how I remembered what it was like to say goodbye when he left for tours, somehow knowing – even as a kid – that he might not come back. I told them about the first time I remembered going to the airfield to pick him up, about answering the door when a pair of officers came to tell us that he wouldn’t be coming home again.

Talking about it wasn’t as difficult as I’d imagined.

I played requests, everything from “Happy Birthday” to “God Bless America” to “Sweet Home Alabama,” and for the first time in a long time – with the exception of playing for those kids – music was fun. And not just for me either. Everyone was smiling and laughing, including Paige and me.

For hours, I didn’t think about all the stupid things I’d done or what else I was going to need to do to get my career back on track. I even managed to keep from thinking too much about how much I wanted to drag Paige somewhere private and show her how good it would be to submit to me.

As things wound down, she and I finally had a couple minutes to stand back and breathe.

“Thank you,” I said quietly.

“Just doing my job.”

I reached over and grabbed her hand. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t pull away. “No, you could have set me up with some flashy publicity stunts and considered your job complete. You didn’t just gloss over what I’d done, give it a Band-Aid. You found things that I’d actually enjoy and be good at.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t need to change who you are, or re-vamp your image. People just needed a little reminder of why they liked you in the first place.”

“I needed the reminder too,” I said, squeezing her hand. “Thank you, again.”

For a brief moment, I thought we’d address the connection we couldn’t seem to shake, but then her phone rang, and it was over.

She turned to take the call, and I started to make my goodbyes. By the time she was done, I had a taxi waiting, and the two of us walked out together. I tried not to think of how similar this was to what had happened just a week before. I knew I couldn’t kiss her this time, and not only because the taxi didn’t offer us the same privacy. If I was going to see if the two of us could be something more, then I needed to play this right.

Which meant, as we pulled up in front of Paige’s apartment building, I leaned toward her. “About my reward…”