“Explain.” My father slapped a thin magazine down on my desk, the force of the action making me jump.

The cover of the magazine completely overshadowed the proposal outlined I’d been reading before he’d burst in. I studied the picture for several moments and re-read the headline and subtext four times.

Busty-VP of Cranbaby Organics, Paige Turner, steals bad-boy enforcer for the Seattle Sharks, Rory Jackson, from his widely rumored girlfriend, Linda Wallace, who has been a permanent seat warmer at the Shark’s stadium for the past two seasons. Perhaps this well-known-do-gooder isn’t as innocent as we all are meant to believe.

The words were laid above a picture of Rory gripping the hips of a blonde bunny I’d seen more times than I could count outside the Sharks’ locker room. A crack opened up in my chest just enough to sear. He’d said we were real. And before that, he’d signed a damn contract assuring me exclusivity.

Notorious player. Bed-hopping bad-boy. The names the media had often used to describe him flashed in my mind, each time filling my head with more and more doubt. Was he playing me?

“Well?” My father snapped before I could gather my thoughts enough to make a decision. He loosened the tie around his neck, and I put a lock on the tears threatening to escape my eyes. Now was not the time to show emotion. Not here. Not at work. In front of my father/boss.

“This picture could’ve been taken at any time before we met,” I said, rising from my seated position to match his stance. “He wasn’t attached when we started dating.” The emphasis I put behind my words was almost enough to convince my heart, but a history of Rory’s promiscuity had doubt seeping through every crack I had in the wall around my heart. The same heart that Rory had recently branded his fucking name on. “She could be a friend,” I added as I glanced down at the picture again.

Father rolled his eyes. “The article suggests a hell of a lot more than friendship, Paige. The other woman is quoted as heartbroken.” He paced in front of my desk.

My chest tightened at the words. Shit. “This is what the paparazzi do. Twist things. Rory wouldn’t do this—”

“He would! That’s who he is.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is exactly the reason I told you to stay away from him.”

“What? You told me I was a grown woman capable of making my own choices!” I was thankful for the desk between us because I had the urge to strangle him.

“Clearly I thought you were smart enough to make the right decisions.”

“You mean the decisions you’d make for me.”

He tossed his hands in the air. “Well, what would you have me think? Our public relations team has gotten over thirty calls about the situation, not even mentioning the angry consumer emails we’ve received, and this only released this morning! I won’t even discuss the forums on the blog because they’re downright malicious.”

I shook my head and pressed the intercom on my desk. “Get me, Kelsey. Quickly, please.”

“Right away, Ms. Turner.” I took my hand off the intercom and looked my father in the eye.

“I will handle this.”

“You have to. Regardless of the legitimacy of these claims we are now suffering a backlash. I’d suggest you issue a public statement as soon as possible.” He lowered his voice to the tone he reserved for getting his way in any sort of deal. “A statement denying real romantic ties to Rory Jackson would be the best avenue to take.”

I gaped at him for a moment before I shoved my cell in my purse. Kelsey walked through the door, saving me from going off on my own father. I motioned to the seat behind my desk, her eyes darting between my father and me as she sat down. “I need you to filter directions on all our social media sites—post my statement and run interference. Try to cool the heat hitting us.” I slipped my purse over my shoulder and walked around my desk.

“Of course.” Kelsey didn’t need to ask what about, yet another reason why I’d kept her for so many years—she was on top of everything, always. “What is your statement, Paige?” She held a pen over a scratch notebook I kept in my desk drawer.

I clenched my eyes shut for a moment preparing myself for the awful sensation of deliberately disappointing my father—it was sour and heavy in my stomach—but I couldn’t lie. Whether it was anyone’s business or not what I did in my personal life, I wouldn’t publically strip myself of Rory…not without hearing his side of the story first.

One crisis at a time.

I opened my eyes, locking onto my father’s but speaking to her. “Rory Jackson and I are in a happy, healthy relationship. The accusations of the articles are under investigation by my team, and I sincerely apologize to anyone the misunderstanding may have hurt in any way, including the referenced Ms. Linda Wallace.”

Kelsey nodded as she wrote down each word before looking up at me. “Anything else?”

“Yes. Track down the reporter who penned the article. The picture is real, but the words behind it are borderline liable. We need to see who he spoke with, if anyone, and why they’d want to sabotage Rory and me.”

Dad crossed his arms over his chest, the frustration in his eyes slowly ebbing with each firm action I took. “Rory will agree with your statement if they ask him for comment, correct?”

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. I had no idea what Rory’s reaction to this would be. If he’d lied to me and had been “cheating” on me the entire time, he might say anything to the papers.

He wouldn’t do this. You know he wouldn’t.

The reassuring voice in the back of my head was growing smaller the longer I stood in my office, unsure and analyzing every encounter between Rory and myself for the past month. Had I been falling for him while he’d kept true to his playboy ways? Had everything he’d said, done, just been part of the role I’d hired him to play? Had he only been mine on the days we’d seen each other?

“Paige?” My father snapped me out of my thoughts, his tone soft for the first time since he entered my office.

“He wouldn’t do this. You don’t know him.” Dad’s eyes slowly closed as I walked out of my office and toward the elevator. I typed out a fast text to Rory.

ME: Meet me?

Rory instantly texted back: Anywhere.

ME: Leaving office. Closer to your place.

RORY: Halfway there.

I leaned my head back against the elevator, trying to calm my racing heart as I took the long ride down. At least he was willing to meet me. That gave what little hope that clung to my heart enough spark to breathe.

After a short drive and another elevator ride up, my hands shook as I reached up to knock on his front door. My knuckles didn’t get within an inch of it before Rory was there, jerking me into the loft with a frantic look in his eyes.

“It’s not true,” he said, his voice rushed as if he’d ran the whole way home from the rink.

The tears I’d held back since my father burst into my office filled my eyes. I was useless in Rory’s presence—I heard his voice, and it instantly stripped me of my strongest defenses.

“Promise me?” I demanded, but it came out sounding more like a question.

Rory timidly wrapped his arms around my waist, sliding his hands slowly across my back. “I promise, Red. I haven’t touched another woman since that night at the Four Seasons. How could I even think about another woman if I have you? Hell, even the possibility of having you was enough to keep away from anyone else.”

My heart flipped in my chest, the sincerity in his eyes shining through the swirling blues. “And Linda?”

He hissed, his hold on me tightening a fraction. “She’s a bunny.”

“Yours?”

“No,” he snapped before tilting his head. “Once.” He squinted in apology. “Okay, twice. But it was a year ago.”

I pressed my lips together, knowing about his past and having it slap me in the face were two very different things. “The picture?”

“A week before the Four Seasons.” I tried to tug out of his grasp, needing the room to breathe, but he held me close. “I was pushing her away. Telling her off. I’ve had to do it more than once. She won’t take the hint.”

I stopped pulling against him, the business side of my brain clicking on. “She’s the one who gave the reporter the picture and the details.”

“You think?”

“Who else would gain from this mess?” I shook my head, the anger stealing the tears away. Damn, I’m an emotional, hot mess. Is this what love does to a person?

“Fuck,” he snapped and released me. His fists clenched at his sides as he paced back and forth. “You believe me, don’t you?” The anger in his voice was mounting in a way I hadn’t heard before.

I cupped his cheek with my hand, stopping his movements. He was shaking again. “I do.” I forced him to look at me. “Rory. Breathe.”

He closed his eyes and sighed as he pressed his forehead against mine. “I love you.” I froze in his embrace, my heart soaring at his words and choking my airways. He kept his eyes firmly shut as he hurried on. “And I know I’m a selfish asshole for saying it. You’re so much better off without me.” He huffed. “Can you feel me, now? This rage? It’s in my blood, Red. It’ll always be there no matter what, just waiting for the perfect moment to seep out and ruin everything you hold dear.”

I swallowed hard. “Why are you so hard on yourself?”

He slowly he peeled his eyes open, locking them with mine. “It’s in my blood. Anger. Rage. My father, he…” Rory’s eyes shot to the floor as he gripped my hands in his. “His idea of welcoming me home from school was a beat down. For reasons I never understood. I only ever knew I was helpless against him. Weak. My mother blamed me. Said there was something in me that brought it out in him. That he’d been perfect before she’d brought me into the world. I left home the minute I could. I never knew what having a real family looked like, felt like until I met Gage.” He sucked in a deep breath as tears rolled down my cheeks. He glanced back up at me. “And now you. I didn’t think it was possible to want or love anyone as much as I love you, Red. But with who I am…what I can’t help but be…I know I shouldn’t be allowed to have someone as amazing as—”

I cut his words off with a crushing kiss as if I could force all the doubts he had about himself away with the pressure of my lips. After a few moments, I pulled back, shaking my head slightly as I pushed away some blond hair that had fallen in his eyes. “You’re not him, Rory. You’re a great man. If you weren’t…I wouldn’t love you as much as I do.” I said the last words as boldly and clearly as I could, not wanting him to doubt for one more second.

“Fuck, you do?” He chuckled. “Really?”

“Truly.”

He lifted me off the ground, bringing me to his eye level as he claimed my mouth. Heat unfurled in my core as his tongue stroked the edges of my teeth, successfully stealing my already erratic breath. Without moving to put me back on my feet, he pulled away just enough to look at me.

“I’m sorry it all came out this way.”

I tilted my head.

“I wanted to tell you…I don’t know, over a romantic dinner or something. Not in response to an external threat.”

I had completely forgotten Linda and the picture and what had brought this all on. “I don’t care how you came to say it,” I said, planting a soft kiss on his lips. “I’m just glad you did.”

“You’re the perfect woman.”

“No. Neither of us is perfect. We’re both jagged in different places. We just fit.” And now that I knew he felt the same way, everything else in comparison seemed small and so far away. Linda, the reporters, his dark past, my impending takeover of the company—I could handle it all with Rory at my side.

A smirk shaped his lips, the blue of his eyes turning molten. The look was enough to melt my panties. “What are you thinking?”

“You’re here. We’re in love. Let’s do something dirty.”

I laughed, loving that he was capable of making me feel light as air on a day that had been more than heavy. “Pick a number between one and twelve.”

“Two,” he instantly said.

I clenched my eyes shut. “You would.” I shook my head. “Two is the one thing on the list I absolutely can’t do. Not now.”

“Not now what?”

“That I love you.”

“And before?”

“The idea was entertained with the help of Jeannine, Bailey, and a great deal of margaritas.”

He chuckled, the hard planes of his chest vibrating underneath me. “What is it?”

Heat flushed my cheeks. “Have a threesome.” His eyes popped wide, and I arched an eyebrow at him. “Not going to happen.”

He licked his lips, playfully teasing my lower lip. “You think I’d ever share you, Red?” After a moment he set me gently on my feet. “Come with me.”

“Where?” I asked as he pulled me toward his front door.

He paused when he opened it. “Do you trust me?”

A warm shiver danced across my skin just as it had when he’d first asked me. “Yes.”

“Then you’ll see.” He intertwined our fingers and guided me out the door.

After fifteen minutes of being kissed senseless outside Rory’s building, a black Cadillac Escalade pulled in front of us. Its headlights exposed the way our bodies were practically melded together, and I quickly put distance between us as if my parents had just walked in on me making out in my room.

“Dave has been my driver for years,” Rory said and opened the door to the third row of seats, deliberately putting a row of space between the driver and us.

“You always sit back here?” I slid in and buckled my seatbelt. What was he up to?

“It’s the best seat for us tonight.”

A rush of adrenaline soared through my blood as I gauged the distance between us and Dave the driver. There was no illusion of privacy except for the fact that he kept his eyes firmly planted in front of him.

“Oh my God,” I whispered, registering the devious glint in Rory’s eyes. “You’re not serious.”

Rory shifted to get closer to me. “You hired me to help you check off items on your list. I’m nothing if I don’t do my duty.” He teased me, slipping his tongue between my lips for a brief second before pulling back. The challenge was clear in his eyes, almost as clear as the hesitance as he waited to see if I took the bait or not.

“Dave,” I spoke up and found it incredible that he didn’t glance in his rearview to look me in the eye. “Will you drive us to my house please?” I rattled off the address though I knew he’d dropped Rory off before. The distance between our places would be just enough time.

“Yes, Ma’am,” Dave replied.

I turned my attention back to Rory who gazed at me with a shocked look. “You started this,” I reminded him with a wicked grin. I slipped my hand underneath his shirt, relishing the feel of his hard abs and smooth skin. Working lower, I managed to get my hand beneath the waist of his jeans. He was already on his way to a raging hard on, and my thighs clenched at the idea of him getting off with simple touches from me.

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I scooted toward him until I could straddle his lap.

“Paige,” He groaned, looking over my shoulder. “Wait. I didn’t think this one through. It isn’t exactly safe.”

I tilted my head and re-plunged my hand down his pants. “That’s sweet. The good man in you worrying about me, but I’d like to speak with my bad boy, now, please.”

He nipped at my bottom lip.

“Unless he’s checked out of the game?” I stopped the stroking of his now fully hard cock.

Rory ran his hands up my thighs nestled on either side of him, sliding my dress up until it flared around his lap. “Oh, he’s here. Right. Here.” He accentuated the word with his fingers pressing expertly against my clit.

I hissed and moved my hips against his touch, the motion placing my breasts at the perfect angle for his mouth. He kissed the modest cleavage that my very innocent gray dress showed, and I leaned my lips to his ear. “We’ve got fifteen minutes before we reach my house. You think I can make you come before then?”

His eyes locked with mine. “Have I ever lost a challenge?”

“This will take number eight off the list right alongside number two.” Anticipation flared in my chest with the challenge. “And nothing is impossible, Rory.” Hell, the notorious player had fallen for me. And I had fallen right back.

I withdrew my hand long enough to unbutton and unzip his jeans, and he shifted in his seat to wiggle them down slightly. I then pushed his hand away from working over my clit, instantly missing the pressure, but needing more.

His breath hitched as his eyes followed my hand, touching myself beneath my panties, coating my fingers in my warmth. I reclaimed his cock with my properly slicked hand, massaging it with a gliding ease. He groaned and arched his head back as I strengthened my grip, picking up the pace of my strokes.

“Try not to scream,” I whispered in his ear. “Don’t want to distract the third person in this ménage, your driver.” I glanced over my shoulder, finding Dave’s eyes still dutifully on the road. I enjoyed the power I had over Rory in the moment. The fact that I held him in pleasure-filled agony not ten feet from his driver. It was my turn to get him off in a place he least expected it—and since he said it would never happen, I only wanted to do it more.

He pulled on my hips in an attempt to settle my wetness over him, but I resisted, shaking my head. “Not yet,” I said and circled the tip of his cock with my thumb.

“Damn it, Red. Your scent. It’s all over me. I want it in my mouth.”

I contemplated the acrobatics of that request before dismissing it. The act of which, again, only seemed to turn him on more. I held on strong despite his thrusts against my hand and his near primal need to get inside me making my already steaming thighs hotter.

“How bad do you want it?” I asked against his lips, turning the tables on him. How many times had Rory made me speak my needs before he’d made me fly apart?

He jerked down on my hips but remained silent.

I circled the outside of my center with his tip, rewetting it. I was rewarded with a gentle bite on my lip.

“Say it, Rory. Or I will end it.” I demanded the words from him as he had me so many times already. The surge of control went straight to my head, and the tension low in my belly tightened, twisted, and knotted.

“Paige—” He groaned. “Now.”

Good enough for me. I released his cock and wrapped my arm around his neck. He plunged inside me as I bucked against him. He growled so loud I shoved my hand over his mouth, silencing him. The action made him thrust harder, and I clenched around him, his cock fitting so perfectly inside me. The friction against my walls pushed me toward the edge.

I jerked against him, rocking forward and back so hard it almost hurt, but the pleasure derived from each clash of our bodies far outweighed it. The events of the day—the worries and doubts and demands that hit us from all angles drifted away with each pump, replaced by nothing but need.

He grew harder, tightening in the already snug pace, and I locked eyes with him. The shock wasn’t hidden in his molten blues, and it made me fly apart.

Rory’s hand covered my own mouth as I moaned, unable to contain the explosion of ecstasy inside me. I came long after he’d finished but he kept slowly lifting my hips and bringing me back down, drawing out my orgasm until I was dizzy.

My thighs quivered as I came down, breathing deeply to reorient myself. He licked the tips of my fingers as I withdrew my hand from his mouth and slid off of him and back to my seat.

He shook his head as he zipped up and I smirked at him. I couldn’t help but notice the closer I grew to Rory, the more I got dangerously close to succeeding as a very bad girl.

“Here we are, Mr. Jackson.” Dave’s voice startled us out of our silent stare down, and heat rushed all over my skin.

A loophole threesome had been accomplished and while I tried to convince myself the driver was oblivious; I knew there was no way.

“Thanks, Dave,” Rory said, sliding out of the car behind me.

My legs shook as I walked toward my front door, my muscles still quivering from the orgasm Rory had perfectly orchestrated.

“What’s number eight?” Rory asked as he shut the door behind us.

“Hmm?” I asked, my head buzzing with pleasure.

He chuckled, pushing my wild hair back from my face. “You said we’d check off number eight, too. What was it?”

“Oh,” I said, laughing. “Have sex in a car.”

Wrapping his arms around me, he molded my already pliant body against every hard plane of his. “Can’t wait to finish the list.”

“In a hurry to get it over with?” I teased.

He nipped at my bottom lip. “We’ll make one together once I satisfy yours.”

“Mmm,” I moaned, planting my lips against his. “You are really good at satisfying me.”

“Careful, Red. Keep talking like that, and I’ll spout off another number.”

I went slack in his arms, and he caught me easily. “I want you in my bed, but more in a NetflixandChill sort of way.” I squinted at him. “Is that okay? At least for an hour?” I needed time to recharge. Sex with Rory—no matter how long or how quick—spent every ounce of my energy to the point of turning me into a puddle.

He nuzzled my neck with his nose before sweeping an arm behind my knees. He cradled me to his massive chest and walked toward my bedroom. “We’ve got all the time in the world, Red.”

The truth behind his words caught up in my heart, sending it flying as high as it had when he’d said he loved me. The three-month term didn’t matter anymore. Rory was mine.