Well, this was a first.

I had read the same sentence over and over in the makeshift office Jaxxon had set up in my spare bedroom. This was a clear indicator I was, for the first time in my life, officially sexually frustrated. He was a machine in that office—all business. I couldn’t stop thinking about him just down the hall from me. The night after my Christmas party a few weeks ago kept running through my head, tormenting me.

Okay, I had hang-ups about him seeing me with no clothes on, but he’d said he’d work around it . . . I was pouting. Me! Pouting about sex, but since we hadn’t had sex yet, I was pouting about the sex we weren’t having.

Wow. New low.

He’d been here all week. Night after night, except Wednesday, when he’d seen his children. He’d locked himself in my office, and only took a break when I forced it on him. I’d have to knock on my own office door. He’d step out, indulge me for a few minutes, eat whatever I’d made for him, kiss me on the forehead, and head right back in—total focus.

He was adamant I didn’t go into the office until he had the framework completed, and he didn’t trust me not to peek. He’d gone so far as to change the doorknob and keep the key. That I’d even allowed something so invasive floored me, but he’d been dead on. The temptation to look would have been way too much for me.

The few times I’d see him each night tortured me. Having him in my home and not being able to spend time with him, and to my absolute horror, not being able to touch him—had become a constant tease with no release in sight. I’d come to crave his company. His humor. The hungry look I’d get anytime I did see him did nothing for my uncharacteristic state of lust.

I’d qualify the entire week as platonic, aside from the occasional hot look or kiss, so I had time to analyze . . . us. Jaxxon had uncoiled a part of me I’d kept wound tight, and I was now struggling to reel back in.

I ached for him. But what exactly did I want from him? I wanted more time with him. I wanted more moments like we’d had two weeks ago. But was that fair? Jaxxon was perfection, and not just physically, but as a man. It was a bitch trying not to get too attached to him, since we were both anti-commitment—not that I wanted that, but it was my reality.

I shut my laptop a little too hard and yanked the earbuds out of my ears. Tilting back in my chair, I looked out the picture window at the sun just about to set. Soft oranges and vibrant reds streaked across a fading blue canvas of a sky. Sunsets warmed me from the inside out, and usually calmed whatever chaos was going on either in my head or around me, but not tonight.

A part of me just wanted to get the sex out of the way. I wasn’t an idiot. We may have said no guarantees of a future, that we were just spending time with each other, but the chemistry between us intensified every time we locked eyes, every time we touched. The energy, the desire on both sides, ignited like fuel on a fire, pulsing between us.

But with him coming in and out of my home every night, me sneaking glances at him in the gym all sweaty, muscles pumped from a solid lift, I just fucking wanted him. I wanted his hands on me. I wanted to kiss him until neither of us could stand it anymore. I wanted—

“You ready?”

The question jerked me right out of my naughty musings and I jumped, losing my balance on the chair, and headed for a collision course with my floor.

Jaxx caught the chair before I hit the ground and raised an eyebrow as he set me upright. He exploded with laughter. “Your face right now . . . What exactly was going through your pretty head.” He turned the chair so I faced him and put both hands on the arms of the chair.

He leaned over as if to kiss me, but stopped just before our lips met. “No, sweetness. I won’t have sex with you right now. Jesus, woman. Patience.” He winked.

I squeezed my eyelids shut for a second.

He stretched a hand out to me while I died a little inside.

“Minx.” Pulling me up, he led me out of the room. “Close your eyes.” He glanced down at me. “I’m serious.”

Just a look from him liquefied my insides. I raised both hands over my eyes, not just because he’d asked me not to look, but also to cover my embarrassment. He ushered me down the hallway with a hand on the small of my back and grabbed my hips to stop me.

“Key.” He pried a hand away from my face to drop the key in my palm.

I fitted the key into the slot, turned.

“Open the door, close your eyes, and take five steps inside. Don’t look, Valentina, or I swear I’ll throw you over my knee and spank your ass until it’s redder than your face.”

My hand trembled as I opened the door. I’d like to say it was nerves, but the spanking comment lit me up like Christmas lights down a darkened street, which was so beyond wrong.

“Okay, baby. Take a look. What you decide from here will dictate what I do next.”

When I opened my eyes, the air lodged somewhere in my lungs, not allowing me to breathe. The three sides of my office that faced the ocean looked nothing like it did a week ago. Box-like shelves above the window in three rows ran from frame to frame along the eastern wall. The desk lay just beneath the windowsill as it always had, but the stylized wood base gave it a more balanced appearance, making the space appear larger, cleaner.

The main part of the desk now had drawers of various sizes under the desktop on both sides. The view of the ocean on that particular wall was the clearest from any point in the house. The L-shaped desk on both walls was long, with more than enough workspace and would allow me to move back and forth between the two areas.

The best part—a solid wood foundation sat under what was originally the third side of the desk. He’d built a large wooden insert that ran end to end, right under the windowsill, creating what now looked like a rounded window lounge.

He’d transformed my office into a sanctuary. The open windows allowed an unobstructed breeze to flow through the room, scented by the gardenias growing under the windows. Uncluttered, warm, and free. It was exactly what I’d wanted and couldn’t see.

I spun around and jumped into his unsuspecting arms.

He caught me just before I slid down his body and hit the floor, yanking me up to his chest. “Baby, warn me first.” He laughed. “You almost ate shit. So, what’s the call?”

All I could do was stare at him for several moments. “I . . . How—how did you know?”

Holding me under my ass with one hand, he reached up and swiped a stray hair out of my eyes. “From the way the house is laid out, you like open and unobstructed. You told me you picked this house because of the view, so it wasn’t too difficult. I figured the L-shaped desk on two sides was a large enough workspace, so I built up a base and turned the western side of the desk into a window box. Get some cushions on that thing and you’ll have somewhere to kick back. The sun sets to the west, so I figured that’d be the best spot.”

I grabbed his face and pulled him to me, caressing my lips over his as he squeezed me tighter and ran his tongue across the seam of my mouth. I opened for him, locking my arms around his shoulders. He licked inside my mouth and stroked his tongue against mine.

Leaning back just enough so we were centimeters apart, I ran a finger over his wet lips. “How do you see me so well? You barely know me.”

He kissed my nose and set me down. “I know enough.”

I looked the office over once more. That he cared enough to do this for me made my chest tighten. “It’s perfect.” I swung my head back to him. “How do I even repay you for this?”

“Feed me and we’re square.”

“Anything. Name it.”

His fingers under my chin forced my head up. When his eyes sparkled green through a brilliant amber background, they reminded me of tiger’s eye stones. “What’s on the menu?”

The drop of his voice set my blood scorching through my body, and that warm place between my legs began to throb to the point of discomfort.

He smirked as if knowing the effect he had on me. “Hold that thought. Let me run home and shower. I’ll be back in an hour and we’ll discuss . . . dinner options.” With a soft kiss, he grabbed his bag from the floor and held out a hand, intending for me to walk him to the door.

As soon as I placed my hand in his, he yanked me to him and wrapped his free arm around my waist. He took my mouth so fast and hard that I clung to him to stay balanced. The thrust of his tongue between my lips was a welcome penetration. I opened to him, savoring the flavor of him before breaking contact.

“You . . . you can take a shower here, if you want,” I mumbled against his lips.

His eyes locked onto mine. “You sure?”

I nodded, unable to speak through the raging inferno he’d set off inside me.

“I’ll use the guest bathroom. I won’t be long.” He kissed my forehead and pulled away.

I felt the loss of his body heat and the safety of his arms in my very core. “Use the master. It’s a lot bigger. Take as long as you’d like. I’ll start dinner,” I said, walking around him.

His hand on my wrist stopped me. “You strike me as someone who doesn’t like people in your space. I can use the guest bathroom. It’s a shower, baby. I’m good.”

I met his hot gaze. “You’re not just ‘people’ to me. You’re much more, and besides, I don’t think you’ll fit in the guest bathroom’s shower. Use my bathroom, and I apologize up front for all the girly soaps and shower gels. I don’t have anything . . . manly in there.”

He chuckled and pulled me close again. “While I’d rather smell like you because you’ve been rubbing all over me, I’ll settle for your soap. I can deal with smelling like a sugar cookie or fruit for a night; I’m secure enough in my masculinity.”

“As you should be.” I stood on my tip toes and he leaned down so I could give him a quick kiss. “Off with you. I’m going to play Emeril.”

Halfway down my hallway, he called to me, “I thought you didn’t cook?”

“I said I don’t cook, not that I couldn’t cook. I’m making an exception for you.”

Seeing him standing there in my hallway, taking up most of the space, bag over his shoulder, red shorts slung low and his hat backwards, I had an uncontrollable urge to see what he looked like soaking wet. I got an image of him all soapy and my hands all over him, running the length of, from what I’d felt so far, was a very impressive cock.

The laughter echoing down the hallway ripped me out of my shower porn fantasy.

“Sugar, never play poker. Either get in kitchen or I’m dragging you in here with me. Fully clothed.”

“On it.” I spun around and jogged into the kitchen. I’d never taken a shower with Rick before, so the fact that I even entertained that thought of showering, which necessitated being naked, with Jaxx was a little disturbing. Especially since the extent of our intimacy ended with a heavy make-out session on my couch, for which I still owed him, in my opinion. I’d cook my ass off, make some kind of awesome dessert, and hope he didn’t fall asleep.