Hailey couldn’t believe how well the promotion had gone. Most of the merchandise they’d pulled together had sold, as had a bunch of books and Kyla’s creations. She assumed that meant they had some much-needed breathing room. But the real revelation had been the guys. Jake had been amazing, schmoozing with people, charming them. Simon had been his usual gregarious self, and Miles had made everyone crack up with his dry wit. The stalker hadn’t shown up. Cressida had been radiant.

It was one of the best nights of her life.

“Thanks so much for coming by,” Rachel said to the guys, after the last fan had been escorted out and the CLOSED sign put up.

“No problem,” Miles said, obviously a little smitten with Rachel. Not a big shock there, Hailey thought, hiding a smirk. Rachel was stunning. Most people were smitten with her. Simon had been staring at her all night, it seemed.

“Are you sure we’ve never met before?” Simon pressed. Rachel laughed gently, even as Hailey rolled her eyes.

“Really, dude? That’s the best line you can come up with?” Hailey called out.

“It’s not a line,” he protested, and to her shock, he looked dead serious. “I swear, I’ve met her before. Somewhere.”

“I really can’t imagine where. Or when,” Rachel said. “Did you ever hang out down here, at Mount Si?”

“Not really.”

Rachel frowned, thinking, then turned a touch paler. “You didn’t . . . did you know someone named Ren?” She paused. “Renshu Jianlin?”

Hailey stopped smirking. Ren, the guy Rachel had been in love with. The guy who, ten years later, she still hadn’t moved on from.

“Nope,” Simon said, not realizing the import, and pain, Rachel was holding with that one name.

Kyla must’ve noticed, too, because she popped in. “You went to a private school, right? You didn’t go to Mount Si High with us.”

“I didn’t really make it over here much.”

“Private school . . .” Kyla mused. “Hey, did you know Mallory, maybe?”

Hailey was watching his face, and she saw the look of shock cross it. “Mallory Prince?” he said, and his voice shook.

“Yes!” Kyla smiled brightly.

“I . . . yeah. We knew each other,” he stammered. She’d never seen him tongue-tied.

Well, this is interesting.

“Mallory’s a friend of ours,” Rachel said. “I’ve known her since high school.”

“She was going to try to make it tonight,” Kyla added. “But she got caught up with some client work. She said she might try to stop by after, though.”

Rachel tapped her chin. “So, maybe we met . . .”

“That’d be it,” Simon said quickly, before she could finish. He looked at his watch. “Hey, it was great meeting you guys, glad I could help. Good luck with the bookstore!”

With that, he vanished out the door. Miles shook his head, distributing hugs all around.

“Sorry,” Miles said. “Snoqualmie makes him squirrelly, I have no idea why. If you need anything else signed, or anything, let me know, okay?”

“Thanks,” Hailey said.

Rachel and Cressida went to the kitchen with Kyla, cleaning up. Vic exchanged a look with Jake, nodded, then went outside.

“So we’re allowed to be alone now?” Hailey said, warming to the idea—alone with Jake, finally.

“The stalker’s been arrested.”

“Really?” She felt almost dizzy with relief. “Thank God!”

Then she realized: no stalker, no reason to stick around.

She swallowed hard. “Does that mean . . .” She cleared her throat roughly. “So are you leaving?”

“Not tonight,” he said.

“Did you hear back from your agent?”

“Still waiting,” Jake said, putting his hands in his pockets, looking at her seriously. “We’ve done everything we can. And I can’t thank you enough. Even if I don’t get my contract renewed, you’ve helped me more than you know. I’m getting all kinds of attention, new roles. Susie—my agent—is pretty stoked.”

“That’s great,” she said weakly.

Where does that leave us?

He squared his shoulders, took his hands out of his pockets, and reached out, pulling her to him.

“Come with me,” he said. “Spend the night. The deal’s behind us, there’s nothing between us but us. Spend the night with me.”

It was like lighting dry kindling. She went up in a blaze. She leaned forward, kissing him with all the passion she’d been saving up. All the wanting, all the yearning.

“Yes,” she breathed against his mouth. “Oh, God, yes.”

He swept her up off her feet, and she laughed.

Cressida came out, smiling gently. “You two are off, I take it?”

“I’ll have her home by morning,” he said, nuzzling her. “Probably.”

“I need . . .”

“You won’t need anything,” he said, eyes blazing.

He was right. They had everything they needed. And she’d waited long enough.

* * *

It was maybe ten minutes from Hailey’s house to the lodge on the waterfall, but to Jake, it felt like ten hours.

After all of the waiting, and the bullshit, he’d finally be with Hailey. It seemed fated: after their first near encounter, then striking the fake relationship bargain, he’d had the weirdest week of his life with this woman. She was . . . there weren’t words for how he was feeling.

All he knew was that he wanted to be with her.

He didn’t believe in love at first sight. And he hadn’t fallen in love with her—when he’d first seen her. But damn if he didn’t feel strongly about her now.

Don’t label it. Don’t overthink it, he counseled himself, as he checked in and grabbed the key card, taking her to his room.

The door closed behind them. They had a balcony. It was too foggy to see the falls, but he could hear the roar of it outside. The force of it, the great rushing volume, felt like his bloodstream roaring in his ears. He turned to Hailey, staring at her like she was fresh water and he’d been trapped in a desert for years.

She was wearing a dress today, midnight violet-blue, just about matching her eyes. Something with a flouncy skirt and a tight, fitted top. He wanted to rip it off her, but got the feeling she’d kick his ass if he did.

He grinned at the thought. She was formidable. He kind of loved that about her.

She smiled back. “Feels like it took us forever to get here,” she said. “I don’t know if I should jump you or search the room for stalkers or paparazzi or something.”

“Nobody here but us,” he assured her, stroking her cheek, like he had when they’d slept next to each other in her room. “Hailey . . .”

She kissed him. It wasn’t the hot, frantic kissing they’d indulged in that night at the casino. It was . . . sweet. Tremulous.

“You have done more for me in a week than most people I’ve known in my whole life,” she said. “I’ll never forget it.”

He gripped her arms. “I don’t want you doing this—doing anything—because you feel gratitude.”

Her eyes flashed, and she nudged him, hard, until he landed butt first on the bed.

“I feel grateful,” she said. “But I’m not sleeping with you because of it. I’m sleeping with you because I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anyone in my life, damn it.”

Her disgruntled tone would’ve been funny, had it not been for the equally sharp desire, riding him like a damned jockey with a whip. “I know exactly how you feel.”

Her deep violet eyes clouded. “I doubt that,” she murmured, unfastening the tiny buttons, opening her bodice. “I can’t get a grip on my feelings. I’ve never been like this.”

“Me neither,” he said, and tugged off his shirt in a fluid motion. “You’re special, Hailey. Amazing. You’re—”

“Shh,” she said. Now that the dress was undone, she pulled it over her head, tossing it to the ground. She was wearing navy-blue panties and underwear, and looked like a stormy goddess. She smiled, those brick-red lips pillowy and pouting. “No more talking. Just . . . have me.”

She reached behind her, undoing the bra, taking it off. Her breasts were amazing, more than a handful. His breathing went shallow. She shimmied out of her panties as well, then stretched out. Actually stretched, arching her back slightly.

His mouth went bone dry. God, he wanted her.

He stripped out of his pants and boxers, socks and shoes, desire making his hands clumsy. Her eyes followed his every motion, and she licked her lips, just the tiniest bit. It shot through him like an arrow.

Now he stretched out next to her, feeling her soft skin stroking against his own. She felt like hot satin. She writhed slightly, brushing against him. Her nipples were pebbled, hard and erect. Her breathing was shallow, too. He stroked his hands down her, cupping her breasts, feeling the span of her waist. He kissed where his hands had been, following the trail they’d traced. Then he reached down, between her thighs, parting the soft curls there.

She gasped, her hips jolting, arching beneath him. She was already wet. He sucked gently on her breasts as his fingers found her clit and pressed, gently at first, then flickering his fingers on either side of it.

Her corresponding cry of pleasure was louder, and she pushed her hips against him insistently.

He leaned down, kissing her stomach, kissing lower. She smelled delicious.

“Jake,” she said, her eyes hazy and unfocused. “Wait . . .”

“Let me,” he breathed against her mound, pressing hot kisses. “Please.”

She watched him, wary. Then he saw her nod, and lean back, throwing an arm over her face.

He dove in, licking the top of her slit, working his way lower until he tasted her. She tasted like spice and sweetness, and God, he wanted her.

She cried out, her thighs tightening on either side of his face. He groaned, flicking her tight bud with his tongue, sucking gently but with gradual insistence. Then nibbling, ever so carefully, with his teeth.

“Jake, Jake,” she moaned. “Oh, my God.” She was panting hard, her head thrashing back and forth.

He pressed harder, sucking, circling, drinking her in. Then, as she was shaking beneath him, he pressed a finger inside her.

She was so fucking tight, he thought, as the orgasm hit her. His cock twitched hard, dying to dive into her, to feel her clench around him. She was incredibly responsive, and a pleasure to touch, to taste, her jasmine scent going to his head like some kind of drug. But it was so much more than her body. He knew her, and everything about her—her strength, her heart, her passion, her loyalty—seemed to be imbued in her every physical detail.

She was so fucking perfect, and he wanted all of her.

He wiped his mouth, moving up on top of her. She was hiding her face from him, so he licked one nipple, then the other, until she giggled, moving her arm. Her eyes were dilated. She looked shocked.

“I’ve never done that with anyone before,” she said.

He felt strangely proud that he’d given her something no one else had, that she’d trusted him enough to let him do so. “Why not?”

She shrugged, hiding her face again.

“Too intimate,” she finally said. He saw the blush covering her neck, her chest.

It was intimate. He wanted it to be intimate. He wanted to be intimate with her.

“How about you?”

His cock was all for it. But he didn’t want a blowjob, not right then, because he didn’t want to wait. “I just want to be inside you,” he said. Close to her. He wanted to feel like a part of her.

She sighed, reaching for him.

He grunted and reached for a condom he’d dropped on the bed, tearing the foil, rolling it on. He positioned himself between her legs, his cock aching, straining. He stroked the broad head against the nub he’d just sucked, flicking at the bundle of nerves with a sure motion. The sensation made him groan and shudder.

She cradled him, her legs spreading. She arched her back, resting on her elbows. “Jake, please.”

He entered her with one long, slow, deep movement. Then shuddered again. “Hailey,” he groaned. “Goddamn, Hailey.”

She whimpered, and shimmied her hips. The swirling, clutching movement nearly made his eyes cross.

She wrapped her legs around his, bringing him taut against her. “Go deeper,” she said. “Give me everything you’ve got.”

He was helpless to deny her. He withdrew, then drove himself deeper. Hearing her mewling gasp of pleasure drove him wild.

“Yes,” she breathed, her hips pushing against his. “Yes.”

He withdrew and plunged, again and again, while she angled her hips and met his every thrust. He lifted one of her legs, balancing it against his shoulder so he could go even deeper.

She grabbed one of his hands, putting it against her breast. He squeezed, gently. She tightened around him, and he thought he’d die from the pleasure of it.

It was like lighting a fuse of dynamite. He bucked against her. She was panting, grasping at the sheets, grasping at his hips. Her pussy gripped him mercilessly, and he pounded into her as she gasped and sighed and panted.

“Jake . . . oh, God, Jake, I’m so close . . .”

He was close, too. He was losing his grip. He wanted to draw it out, make it last as long as he could.

“Come with me,” she whispered.

He felt her rolling, rippling release, and he couldn’t have stopped if a gun was to his head.

“Hailey,” he yelled, the orgasm shooting through him like a shotgun blast. “Hailey!”

They shuddered against each other, their hips spasming. It was like they’d blurred into each other, fusing. He wanted to feel this close to her forever.

He released her leg. “That was way too fast,” he rasped, a bit embarrassed. He kissed her, hard, then took care of the condom, tossing it out in the bathroom. He felt weak, but also exhilarated, as he came back to bed, spooning her and nuzzling her neck. Their lovemaking had been white-hot, an explosion of passion. Now, curling up against her, feeling her soft skin and her heat and the way her breathing slowed, felt more like slipping into a perfect hot tub—comforting and encompassing.

“That’s okay,” she said, her eyes glowing with humor. “You’ll make it up to me. Next time.”

He smiled, then kissed her. He lingered, nibbling her lips. Licking her throat, softly. Pressing hot, tiny kisses along her jawline. Nipping at her earlobe.

She sighed. “You’re good at that.”

He was momentarily swamped with overwhelming emotion. “I could do that to you forever.” He breathed against her, wishing more than anything for the opportunity to do just that.

“Would you want to?” she asked in a tiny voice, then threw her arm over her face again. “Gah. Never mind. Don’t answer that.”

He moved her arm. She looked embarrassed . . . and hopeful.

“What if I said yes?” he whispered back.

She kissed him . . . slow, and long.

“I don’t know,” she said. “But tonight . . . I’d believe you.”

He kissed her. Then whispered again, against her lips.

“Yes, Hailey,” he said. “Forever.”

* * *

The next morning, Hailey was still reeling from the night she’d spent with Jake. She should be exhausted, but she felt strangely energized. Or maybe she was just afraid to go to sleep—afraid to lose any moment with this man.

It wasn’t just the sex, she realized, as she watched him sleep. Like a creeper, she thought, with a bemused smile.

She’d never watched a guy sleep before.

In all the time they’d been together, he’d been thoughtful. Protective, even, she thought as she remembered his insistence on staying together after the stalker kerfuffle. But he’d still let her be her. He’d accepted her, rather than trying to get her to change her looks or her behavior or her beliefs.

She’d never had boyfriends, never wanted them. She was devoted to her family, to her own well-being. But with Jake—there was something else there. She didn’t want him to be hurt. She wanted him to have what he wanted.

It scared the hell out of her.

She was closer to him, emotionally, than she’d ever been to any man, ever. She wasn’t sure what that meant, what she should do about it.

Just have sex, she told herself, and she smoothed her hands down his back, watching his lips curve into a smile.

“You giving me a massage?” he said, his voice sleepy-rough and sexy. “I could use it. Damned woman, you wrung me out.”

“You loved it,” she said, feeling a shiver of apprehension.

Loved it.

He rolled over, kissing her. They’d only made love an hour before, but she wanted to again.

Wait. Making love? She frowned as she processed the thought.

She chastised her subconscious. Still, she couldn’t call it something crude, a term that she would’ve used with any of the other guys she’d fucked and forgotten. It was so much more than just sleeping together, or having sex. She hadn’t understood that before.

She’d opened up to him, trusted him, cared about him.

They’d been acrobatic, crazed. Now, after hours and lack of sleep, he was languid about it. He kissed her, like he could kiss her for days. He touched her like he was worshipping her.

She returned the favor, tasting him, savoring him. She reached over, getting a condom, teasing them both as she slowly rolled it over his length. Then she eased herself over him, fitting him to her. Glided over him with a sigh.

It was like waves against a beach, she thought, as they slowly moved together, ebbing and flowing, until the building sensual pressure made their breathing uneven, their bodies less graceful, more desperate. The orgasm caught her unaware, leaving her shuddering helplessly around him. His cock answered with its own release, pulsing inside her with frantic thrusts.

She collapsed against him, breathing hard. And kissed his chest, just above his heart, so softly that she doubted he’d notice.

He tugged her up, kissing her thoroughly. “Hailey . . . I . . .”

He looked confused, overwhelmed.

She knew just how he felt.

His phone buzzed, and he looked at her with regret.

“Welcome to the real world,” she said, rolling off of him. “Go ahead. You should get that.”

He picked up his phone. “It’s a text,” he said. “From Susie.”

Her body felt cold without him warming her. She tugged the blanket around her. “What’s the news?”

He tensed. Then looked at her, his eyes unbelievably cold.

“They . . . I didn’t get my contract picked up,” he said, sounding as stunned as he looked. “They’re either replacing me or writing me out. Either way, I’m not part of Mystics anymore.”

She felt the pain that he was showing. She hugged him gently. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” she said. “I know how much it meant to you.”

He held her tight, and in that minute, she fiercely wanted to scream at those stupid producers. Or beat the shit out of them. Yeah, that sounded better. Anything to punish them for putting that look of pain in her man.

She stopped dead in her mental tracks.

Her man.

“What are you going to do now?” she heard herself ask, even as she steeled herself for the response. “Go back to L.A., or San Diego, I guess?”

He was quiet.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I wasn’t able to help you at all, and you tried so hard. So damned hard.”

“That’s not true,” he said quickly, his blue eyes cutting to hers, reproving her. “You helped me more than you know. My agent’s gotten all kinds of offers since you helped boost my Q Score.”

She should’ve felt happier about that, she realized. But she felt like a failure.

“In fact—there’s a movie offer. For Bernardo . . . I forget the guy’s last name. He won the Oscar last year.”

“Oh, I know that guy!” Hailey said. “He’s really hot right now, right?”

“So she says,” he answered. “Anyway, the leading man for his latest production dropped out, and he wants me to step in. It’d be a lead role in a major film.”

“That’s fantastic,” she said, hugging him hard. “That’s wonderful.”

He was still quiet. “It’s in South America. Brazil.”

She stilled against him. “Oh.”

“I think it’s a three-month shoot.” He squeezed tighter. “And I’d have to leave immediately. Like, tomorrow.”

“So soon?” she asked in a tiny, weak voice.

So that was it. That was all.

She was losing him.

He pulled away from her, so he could look into her eyes. She tried to get her shit together, so she didn’t look so damned pathetic. She knew this arrangement between them was temporary. Feelings be damned, she knew this was just a bounce. A transaction. A short-term gig.

A con.

He kissed her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen after this,” he said. “But I know one thing. You and I aren’t done.”

She couldn’t help it. She smiled.

“That’s why I want you to come to Brazil with me.”