"You got this. You know it's what you want." AJ's thumb stroked back and forth over my cheek as he held the back of my head. We'd snuck off to a stock room for a private moment before I met with my dad and gave him my notice that I was leaving Durdee Work.

Oh god. I couldn't breathe.

"Hey." AJ's voice was sharp, pulling me out of my head.

I leaned my forehead on his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. "What if he's mad?" I pulled at AJ's belt loops, just for something to do with my hands.

"We talked about it last night. If he's mad, he should have given you more of a shot here. And he's a good guy, even if things are weird with him right now." His lips grazed my temple. "He'll get over it and be happy for you. You're his daughter."

I'd spent most of the previous day going back and forth with Ryan via email. We'd fine-tuned my job description until it fit their needs and my experience. I'd been too jittery with excitement to sleep, which had been of great benefit to AJ. He hadn't gone back to his place until we'd finally exhausted each other around 2:00. There were definitely worse ways to work off nerves.

Filled with that same edgy energy now, I sought his mouth with mine. He groaned and slid his hand into my hair. I tangled my tongue with his, losing myself in the pleasure of the kiss. AJ could work magic with his lips, exciting me, yet calming me deep inside at the same time.

He pressed soft kisses along my jaw and down the side of my neck, then turned his head to rest it on my shoulder. "You should go talk to your dad before he finds us in another compromising position."

I didn't let go of AJ. I dreaded that aspect of my meeting too. Other than the pitch at MacArthur on Monday, I'd avoided Dad for three days. I suspected he'd deliberately done the same. This was the first time I really had to talk to him since he'd walked in on AJ and me.

"Thanks for bringing that back to my mind." I poked him in the side.

He laughed as he straightened up, away from me. "Sorry."

I turned the knob on the storeroom door but his hand on my wrist stopped me. When I looked up at him, his brown eyes were serious. "What?"

He searched my face for a moment that stretched out just past the point of comfort.

"What?" I repeated.

He shook his head, as if clearing away a thought. "Nothing." He kissed my cheek quickly then stepped back to let me open the door. "I'll be out back, unloading a shipment. Come let me know how it went."

I nodded stiffly, then headed for my dad's office.

He sat at his desk, typing in his hunt-and-peck manner that drove me nuts. I wanted to shove him out of the way and do the typing for him.

I mentally added irrational irritation to the list of emotions causing my guts to feel like a tornado was ripping through me.

"Dad." I hovered in the doorway, afraid to go in. Which was stupid. I'd walked into his office and sat waiting for his attention a million times.

But today was different. Today I was changing what we'd both seen as the future of Durdee Work for the past decade.

No pressure.

"Dad," I repeated, louder this time.

He looked up and started to smile. Then it was like he remembered all the reasons he was upset with me and his face drew into harsh lines. "Yes, Claudia. What do you need?"

I drew in every ounce of courage I could suck out of the air, and stepped into his office. "I need to talk to you for a few minutes."

* * *

I stared at the printed email in my hand, but could barely read it, I was shaking so hard. I'd totally fucked things up.

AJ took the page from my hand and read it. As he did, he pulled me down on his couch next to him and slipped an arm around me.

I collapsed against his side, still trembling. I pictured kneeling before my dad's desk, begging for my old job back, but only part time. Because I needed money.

AJ set the paper on the coffee table, pulled me onto his lap, and wrapped me in his arms. "Hey, what's the matter? This looks exactly like what you told me it would be."

Ryan had emailed me the official job offer an hour ago. And it was, as AJ said, exactly what we'd discussed. With the exception of one key detail that either Ryan had failed to mention or I had somehow overlooked.

"It's only part time. Twenty hours a week." Sure, the pay rate was a few dollars more than we'd initially discussed. But when I had calculated my salary and assumed it would cover my expenses, I'd figured on full time. Not half.

"And that won't be enough for you?" AJ leaned back on the couch, pulling me with him. He ran his hand up and down my arm, making me shiver.

I shook my head, biting my lower lip to keep it from trembling. This was stupid. I'd been the one to jump to conclusions. I'd been the one to quit Durdee Work before I had the official offer, with all the elements, from MacArthur.

I was the idiot who jumped in without thinking it through.

"So you'll get another part-time job." AJ kissed my temple. "The email says they'll transition you to full time within six months if it's working."

Because my brain was an irrational mess, I latched onto one detail. "If it's working. What if it's a disaster? What if they hate me? What if I can't do the work?"

Using his index finger, he coaxed my lower lip free of my teeth. "They created this job for you. They clearly don't hate you. And I know you can do the job." His teeth replaced mine, scraping over my lip.

Suddenly desperate, I grabbed the back of his head and mashed my mouth to his. He caught my frenzy and returned the wild kiss. I sensed he would just as soon have slowed down, but he was letting me have the reins.

But really, who knew how much time we had? We rarely hooked up at his place because Huan was around a lot more than Teresa.

"When's Huan home?" I asked as I yanked AJ's shirt over his head.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, glanced at it, then put it on the table. "Working for a couple more hours."

I needed no further encouragement. I sat up just enough to get my own shirt and bra off, then fell back on the cushion and pulled AJ on top of me. Another minute and we were naked.

His mouth drifted to my breasts, sucking and teasing a nipple until I squirmed and cried out. It felt good. So good. Another day I could have been happy to let him play for hours.

But apparently self-frustration and disappointment made me horny, because I was already wet and ready for him. I didn't want to wait. I needed him inside me, his weight crushing into me. I needed the escape from thinking that his body gave me.

I gripped his chin and pulled his mouth back to mine. "I need you. Now."

"Are you sure?" he asked, even as he kneeled to get a condom from his shorts and roll it on. He stroked a finger between my legs and I moaned, lifting my hips to him.

"Damn, Claudia."

I responded with another moan when he circled my clit. Sometimes it seemed like I never wasn't ready for AJ. I lived in a constant state of wanting him; if not actual sex, at least being around him. I preferred it when we were together. More than I had before we started sleeping together.

Before I could think too much about that, he fell on me. My legs went around his hips and in one steady thrust, he was inside me. I buried my face in his neck and clung to him as he drew back, then drove home again. It didn't take more than a minute until I exploded, shaking, holding him deep inside me as sharp pleasure knifed through me.

"Fuck, Claudia. You are so hot."

I sealed my lips to his as he resumed moving. But he wasn't content to let me off with one and done. He yanked away from my kiss and pulled my nipple between his teeth. "Again." He sucked hard enough to make pinpricks of white light dance through my vision.

He pounded into me as I climbed right back up the slope. I was going to come again; I didn't just want it, I needed it. I needed him.

Not caring how rough I was, I yanked his mouth back to mine. The kiss was wild and desperate and sloppy, our teeth clicking together until he tilted his head and plunged his tongue deep into my mouth. The way his cock plunged deep into my body.

His shoulders shook as I ran my hands over them. He wouldn't last. I was close, but I needed more. I hitched my leg over his arm, opening myself even wider. Holding his wrist, I guided his hand to my ass. He groaned deep into my throat, and I felt it vibrating all the way to my toes.

His fingers took over, sliding up and down my crease, making me squirm. His pelvic bone caught my clit with every thrust, his finger pressed against my back entrance, his tongue tangled with mine; still I needed more.

I pushed down against his finger. "In," I panted.

Lifting his head, he faltered in his rhythm, though his hips ground against me to make up for it. I gasped, eyelids fluttering open to find him starting down at me as he resumed thrusting.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Please, AJ. I need to come. I need…" The word caught in my throat. After everything, why couldn't I say it? To say I needed the person who was fucking me into oblivion was hardly an admission of everlasting love. Yet the way the word you refused to break free, it might as well have been.

"I got you." His forehead rested against mine, his brown eyes nearly black as he slammed in, pulled back. And as his finger pressed against me, working in a steady circle until it popped through, his gaze never left mine. He stared, unblinking, as if he could somehow get inside me a third way.

Another thrust, this time swinging his hips in a circle that ground against my clit; at the same time, he swirled his finger inside me.

And I felt bliss. Pure, elated pleasure unlike I'd ever had before. It tore me apart, sent me flying. For one beautiful moment, nothing existed except the perfection AJ had given me.

When I finally came back to myself, AJ was still driving into me, braced on one elbow, his other hand stroking up and down the back of my thigh. His forehead still rested on mine, but his eyes were shut, his face a tight grimace.

"AJ," I breathed across his ear. I wrapped my arms and legs as tightly around him as they could get and pressed my mouth to his shoulder. "Let go."

It never ceased to amaze me, how such a big, strong man could become so vulnerable, that I could do that to him. But every time he gave up his control to orgasm, every time he shook in my arms, I was overwhelmed by my ability to reduce him to that. He was hardly the first guy I'd made come, but with AJ it felt like a privilege in a way it never had before.

Panting, he collapsed on top of me, forgetting to roll to the side like he usually did. Which was fine. His weight was a comfort, not a burden. I smoothed my hands along the lines of his shoulders, down the ridges of muscle in his arms, until I wrapped my own arms around his waist.

"Jesus." He exhaled heavily, his breath blowing through my hair. "I'm not quite sure what got into you, but if you figure it out, let me know so we can do it again."

A startled laugh pushed up from my chest. "Job frustration. I'm sure there'll be plenty of that to go around over the years."

He chuckled, then lifted himself off me. He gave me a quick kiss before straightening, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

As I watched him walk across the room for the bathroom, I realized why. Over the years. As if we were in some kind of long-term relationship.

But he didn't know if he was staying in Milwaukee. Even if he did stay, it wasn't like we'd discussed the possibility of moving past friends with benefits.

It wasn't like we were in love.