“Carter, what the hell is going on?” I demanded.

“Sorry, it’s late, sir.”

The last thing I wanted was him to regret the call. If he was going to interrupt me, the least he could do was be confident about it.

“Don’t apologize. Just tell me.”

I walked into the bedroom and grabbed a T-shirt from the top dresser drawer. I kept the phone pressed to my ear. I pulled a pair of running shorts on and headed for the bathroom. I splashed my face with cold water, knowing full well I needed to soak in a damn ice bath after what almost happened on the balcony. My cock was a rod of steel and throbbed like hell. What the fuck was I thinking?

I paced, running my hands through my hair. She was sexy, gorgeous, smart as hell and somehow I had forgotten she was a reporter.

I felt my body go rigid thinking about what a damn disaster it could have been. I almost fucked the girl on my balcony. I shouldn’t be surprised. She was after something no one had ever gotten.

Too many drinks, I cursed, although I knew I wasn’t drunk. Far from it. I wanted her. I wanted my name on her lips along with my cock.

I wanted to fuck her on the balcony. I wanted to fuck her on her knees. I wanted that girl from the minute I laid eyes on her this morning.

“Sir?”

I was shaken back to the present.

“What, Carter?”

“Do you want me to send those files by courier?”

I exhaled. I hadn’t heard a word he had said. Only, that there were papers to sign.

“Send them down. I’ll be in Padre for a while.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll have them ready tonight.”

“Anything else?” I was scattered. Distracted. Why did I answer the damn phone?

“That’s all, sir. I’ll take care of it. Have a good night.”

I tossed the phone on the bed.

I dried my face then waited for Veronica in the living room. I thought maybe she would have come back inside by now. After a few minutes the door opened and she walked in. Her shirt was tucked in, her skirt back in its proper place. It was almost as if nothing had happened on the balcony. The only problem was I wasn’t going to be able to forget it. I could still taste her sweet honey on my tongue. Hear her moans in my ear.

“Sorry about that.” I cleared my throat. “It was my assistant from the Dallas office. He usually calls for a good reason. Usually.” I smiled. “I realize it’s late and you have a deadline. I apologize, Miss Strickland.” Using her last name reminded me this was supposed to be a professional exchange. Maybe it would remind me how much I hated the press.

Her eyes focused on the floor. “Thanks for being so concerned.” The sarcastic tone was tinted with something soft.

My chest tightened.

I had fucked this up. Whether she wanted to have sex or not, it didn’t matter. I slept with a lot of women, but not ones who could cause problems for my empire. And a business beat reporter could do just that. Only I hadn’t made all of that clear to her.

I should have stuck with my gut instincts and left her the hell alone, but I was feeling cocky from the deal and too many drinks. Shove a gorgeous woman in my hands, and there was only one way I was going to react. I wanted to kick myself for thinking it was okay to take her home. For thinking I could ignore who she was. Who I was.

I stood and walked into the kitchen. Kaitlyn had set me up with one of her fancy one-cup coffee dispensers. I threw in a dark roast, made the first cup and then a second. I walked back toward Veronica and handed her one of the mugs.

“Here you go. Drink this. It might be a late night.”

She took the mug. “Thank you.” Her eyes avoided mine.

“So, where do you want to start?” I asked.

She scooted back on the couch when I sat close to her. I couldn’t blame her. I had confused the hell out of both of us. But, no harm done. I stopped it before it happened. I would honor the promise I made to her and then this would be over. No need to see Veronica Strickland again.

“I-I need to get my notes.” She placed her coffee on the table and walked to the door where she had left her bag. She walked back through the room, flipping a few pages in the tablet. I waited for her to get comfortable on the couch.

God, I needed that cold shower. Watching her hair fall against her cheek, all I wanted to do was pull her under me and start over where we stopped. I could yank her off this couch and carry her to my bed right now. Fuck the interview. Fuck my rules. I only wanted to fuck her.

“How old were you when you sold your first property?” she asked.

I shook my head. The question jolted me back to reality.

“I was twenty-two.” I drank the coffee. I needed to kill the buzz her lips had created. She had tasted like the sun. Her skin was like warm light under my fingertips. And her breasts were gorgeous. I had to stop thinking about her body and how velvety perfect her pussy was.

“And was that one in Dallas?”

I nodded. “Yes. It was a warehouse that I converted into apartments.” I smiled. It was my first deal, and even though I didn’t walk away with much money, I walked away with enough to buy two more tracts of land. It was the start of everything for me. This was good. Talking about business kept my mind off the sweetness of her thighs.

“And why do you think you became interested in land acquisition and development?” She hadn’t lifted her eyes off the page.

I could give her the real answer or the canned speech that the public relations department liked to distribute.

“The truth?”

She finally looked at me, and I knew then how much I had fucked up. Her eyes were brimming with it. Hurt. Confusion. Anger. She was mustering together everything she had to conduct this interview. I had stripped her down on my porch, kissed her, held her, made her come hard and then I dropped all of it for a fucking phone call. There was a reason she considered me a prick.

“Of course the truth. I can’t print lies.” Her words were curt. I deserved it. I was a fucking bastard.

I slid closer to her and moved back against the cushion. “Look, let’s stop for a second. We need to clear the air. I’m sorry.” I exhaled.

She straightened her shoulders. “I don’t want to talk about it. I have an interview and then a story to write. It’s getting late. Can you please just answer the questions? This is all-business now. I get it.”

I couldn’t let it go. My fingers brushed against her leg. “It’s not that I don’t want you. Wanted. I do.”

“Stop.” She held up a hand. “It never hap—”

“Let me finish.” I stared hard. “We were seconds from this turning into a mistake. That phone call possibly saved us both from doing something we shouldn’t.”

Her eyes widened. “Wow. That’s your big speech? That makes it all better?” She threw her pad and pen on the floor. “I will add complete dick at apologizing to the headline.”

My forehead pinched together. “I said I’m sorry. I took it too far. I know I did. I let things get out of hand.”

“Well, if the mighty Aiden Thomas is sorry, then we’re all good.” She leaned over to reach for the pen, and I grabbed her arm.

“What? You don’t believe me?” I accused. “You heard the phone ring. I had a call.”

“Oh, I believe you thought it was a mistake. I know your type.” Her eyes narrowed.

“Type? What’s that supposed to mean?” I huffed.

“You think you can sleep with any girl you want and there’s no consequences to any of your decisions. You’re so gorgeous and sexy, women just line up to jump in your bed and you don’t give a shit about any of them. You’re nothing new, Mr. Thomas.”

She stood and I could see she was shaking.

I rose from the couch. “Hold on, sweetheart. I stopped things from going too far. I’m the good guy here.” I made an excellent point.

“Are you?” She glared at me. “I thought it was a phone call that saved us.”

“Yes. If we had—if I had—”

“What? You didn’t think I could take it? Did you worry I would fall madly in love with you? Fucking you would somehow change my life forever? Get over yourself,” she fumed.

I shook my head. I had lost complete control of this conversation. “No, I never said that. I just know how these things go.” There was a formula to one-night stands.

Her hands landed on her curvy hips. “Because you have so much experience fucking random women?”

“Yes—I mean no—that’s not what I’m saying.” I shook my head.

“I wasn’t trying to be your next girlfriend or move in with you,” she seethed. “I just wanted to fuck. Okay?” Her eyes bore into mine.

I sat on the couch, throwing my hands over my head. Why in the hell were women so damn confusing?

“You just wanted to fuck?” I looked at her, trying to stop myself from smiling. I hadn’t expected that from a pretty mouth like hers.

“Yes. Why is that so hard to believe?” She slumped onto the couch next to me.

“I don’t know. Because you don’t seem like a one-night stand kind of woman.” I turned to face her. Her cheeks were flushed from arguing.

“What kind of woman do you think I am?” she questioned.

“The kind who is determined and beautiful.” I moved a flyaway curl from her cheek. “The kind who can understand business and write about it.” I moved in closer. “The kind who is strong and independent enough to move halfway across the country to follow a dream. And is so fucking sexy I had to stop myself from asking you out three times today.”

Her eyes darted to mine. “What are you talking about? The entire day you avoided me like I was a case of food poisoning.”

“Ever wonder why?” My hand slid against her throat, tracing the lines of her neck. Her pulse quickened under my fingers. I couldn’t help myself. Her skin was addictive, just like her lips.

“I thought it was because you hated reporters,” she smarted back.

“I do,” I growled against her ear as I grazed my teeth against her skin.

She pushed against my shoulder. “We can’t start this up again. You don’t know what you want.”

My free arm wrapped around her waist, drawing her against my chest. “It’s not obvious?”

My cock was rock hard again. I only wanted one thing.

Her muscles tensed. “Let’s just blame it on the tequila.” She sighed. “I’ll finish the article and we can be done.”

She was right. The call with Carter had thrown me off balance. I had chosen work. No more back and forth. No more starting and stopping. No more second-guessing. I wanted her. Plain and simple. I had to have this woman and know what it was like to be buried inside her.

“This is what I know.” I tipped her chin toward my gaze. “I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight if all I can do is think about these lips.”

“Sorry to hear that. I’m not doing this again.” She untangled herself from my arms. “I don’t like feeling like a conquest or accessory for the night. You left me on your balcony. Naked.”

“I’m sorry about that. I am. It wasn’t intentional. I’m running a billion-dollar company. Calls late at night tend to be important.” How did I explain? “Look. I didn’t know about your attitude about sleepovers. I think we might be on the same page. More of the unattached types.” I had gotten her back in my hands. I couldn’t stop a second time.

“Sleepovers?” she laughed. “That’s what you call it?”

My hand ran along her thigh, shoving her skirt up. “What do you want to call it?”

“I want to call this an interview.” She tugged on the hem, moving my hand back to my side of the couch. “I shouldn’t have let things get out of control on the balcony either. I’m sorry too. Let’s get back to work.”

I could see it in her eyes. She was where I was. Her breath was heavy, her eyes were gleaming with desire. Only she was tapped into her rational side.

“You didn’t like coming in my mouth like that?” I taunted.

She turned red. “Not the point.”

“Prove it,” I challenged.

“Prove what?”

“That you can sleep with me and walk out the door in the morning completely unattached.”

“What in the hell are you talking about?” she questioned.

“You said that was all you wanted. Prove it.” I crushed my lips against hers, not giving her a chance to protest. I heard her purr under my tongue as she moved her mouth kissing me harder than before. It was an angry kiss. Defiant even, but it felt fucking incredible.

Her hands snaked around my neck and I moved to pick her up and carry her to my bed. “You better not stop this time,” she groaned as I laid her across the sheets.

“I swear I won’t stop until you beg me to.” I descended on her, pinning her arms over her head. She looked like a goddess, sprawled across my bed. Her lips parted slightly. Her hair cascaded in waves on the sheets. Her eyes lifted to mine with expectation. I realized then that I might be the one who wouldn’t walk out of here unattached. Something unfamiliar stirred under my ribs.

“You promise?” she teased.

“I fucking promise. My phone is turned off for the night. No more interruptions. No distractions. You have my full attention, Miss Strickland.”

“Veronica,” she whispered.

I chuckled. “Veronica. Demanding, aren’t you?”

I pulled the T-shirt over my head and stepped out of my charcoal pants. I crawled forward on the bed as her fingers lingered over the lines of my abs. I kissed behind her neck, making my way to her shoulder. Inhaling her. Memorizing her.

Her back arched gracefully, smoothly, as I worshipped her skin with kiss after kiss. A woman as beautiful as Veronica deserved to be adorned with one pleasure after another. I intended to give her a night in my bed she’d always remember.

I wriggled the skirt off her hips and tossed it back to the floor where it belonged. I pushed her shirt out of the way until it was tangled somewhere on the bed. I sat back, leaning for the bedside table and grabbed a condom from my stash. I left it on the bed, waiting for the moment when we needed it. Now, I just wanted to play.

The lust in her eyes was almost too much. She bowed off the bed to meet my mouth with a feverish kiss. Our tongues tangled in a frenzy. I wanted her. Needed her.

“Veronica,” I growled.

She smiled, rocking her hips against my waist. Every movement she created, made my cock twitch. Harder. Longer. Thicker.

I groaned into her hair, cupping her cheeks.

“Aren’t you going to take these off?” Her fingers slid under the band of my boxer briefs. My cock strained against the black cotton.

As I moved back to my heels to toss the boxer briefs, Veronica completed a flip to her stomach. Fuck.

I ran a hand over her back, following the line of her spine. My fingertips traced the soft skin, dipping at the hollow of the small of her back. I met the top of her thong. I couldn’t stop there. She wiggled, encouraging me to follow the line between her legs. The fabric was soaked. Double fuck.

I groaned, wanting to take her this way right now, but I wrapped my arms under her, squeezing her breasts. I leaned into her soft frame. My body shielded hers. Covered hers. Molded to the curves and valleys. I braced my weight on one arm.

“Ohh,” she purred, grinding her hips upward.

With my free hand, I guided the condom over my shaft and with the other I teased her sweet pussy. I ran my fingers back and forth until she wiggled her bottom in the air.

“Fuck, you have the most gorgeous ass.”

She looked at me over her shoulder, biting her lip like a sex kitten. My sex kitten.

I pumped a finger inside her as she whimpered. The frenzy between us was building. From the deck, to our argument, now to my bed, the tension was about to snap us in two if we didn’t give in to the madness. The sexual fury was palpable. I snatched her thong to the side and pushed my cock to her entrance.

“Oh shit,” she whispered.

“I know, baby.” I smiled. I pushed, widening her, stretching her. I gave her a moment to adjust to my size. To let her body enjoy the newness of the sensation.

My fingers dug into her hips. I couldn’t hold back. I wanted to bury myself inside her. I thrust, slamming until my balls were nestled against her clit.

“Fuck,” I groaned. I closed my eyes and her walls wrapped around my cock with her lava heat.

She braced herself on the bed, rising to take the headboard in her hands.

“Hold on tight,” I instructed as I slammed into her again, driving deeper a second time.

“Oh shit,” she cried. “It’s so good.” I watched as she fell into a rhythm of being taken from behind. She met every one of my thrusts, with an equally powerful one. She panted with satisfaction.

“You want me to fuck you harder?”

She smiled lazily. “Yes.”

“Say it,” I commanded.

“Fuck me harder,” she begged.

I didn’t know my cock could have a life of its own, but her words awakened it. She took my shaft to a new level.

Our bodies found a rhythm we couldn’t ignore. We climbed higher and higher as we rocked together. In and out. Faster. Harder. Her tits bobbed and bounced over the pillows.

I pushed inside her, twining my fingers between hers as I used the headboard for extra traction. I could go deeper like this. I found new angles. New positions that drove us both wild.

“Aiden!” she screamed my name as I hit her walls with precision.

“So fucking perfect.” I kissed her ear. The sweat dripped from my brow.

I reached forward around her waist, twisting her clit as she bounced wildly. “Yes. Oh God, yes. Don’t stop.”

I pumped, losing all control. I’d never wanted a woman like this. I raced to the finish as if I could make her mine the deeper I was inside her. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more from her.

I yanked her fingers from the headboard, flipping her on her back. I wanted to look in her eyes when I came.

But it was a mistake.

I hovered slightly before I slid in. We both moaned as she clenched my cock and my world came into focus in a way it never had. I thrust again as she began to vibrate around me. Her skin was dewy and flush. Her name was on my lips over and over.

I didn’t dare think. I didn’t analyze what the fuck was happening. It was like being inside a carnal hurricane. This woman held my attention. My body. My mind. I pulled out and slowly pushed inside.

“Ohh, Aiden,” she whispered.

My eyes lit. My ribs ached. Everything I had thought this experience would be, couldn’t be farther from the truth. Veronica’s nails dug into my back as she spiraled into another orgasm. I watched in awe. I’d never felt heat like this.

I sank inside her as the hold on my spine shot straight to my cock. I roared toward the ceiling and my release hummed like a lightning strike. I pounded into her wildly absorbing every second until finally, succumbing to my orgasm.

Veronica’s arms wrapped around me and I kissed her before collapsing on her chest.