The storm showed no signs of letting up as Slade pulled his BMW up to the looming farmhouse on the edge of Bent Tree Road.

I could read the curiosity in his face as he studied the dilapidated structure, but I didn’t offer any explanation.

It was really none of his business…not yet anyway.

Probably not ever, I chided myself.

I don’t know why I felt such an intense attraction to a perfect stranger, but I could tell I liked Slade Payne.

It happened sometimes but I always had to remind myself not to get too invested.

That could only lead to bad things.

“Thanks for the lift,” I said, turning to him, my hand on the door handle.

“How did you get to my place?” he asked, his dark blonde eyebrows furrowing in confusion at the distance between his townhouse in the middle of Oriental and my remote location near Pierce Creek.

I grinned.

“A friend dropped me off,” I replied simply, throwing open the door with nonchalance.

I hadn’t expected the drive home.

Slade had seemed so flustered when I arrived to walk Rocco and I got the impression that he was running late but when I had gone to leave, he called out for me to wait.

He doesn’t want to let me go, I realized when I got into the car and I wondered if I had made a mistake agreeing to have dinner with him.

I had meant what I told him about dating – I was not a one-man woman.

“Maya,” he cried out as I stepped into the blowing rain and I peered at him.

“Can I call you tonight?”

A fission of alarm coursed through me, my instinct telling me to call off the date then and there, but I could read a naked plaintiveness in his startling blue eyes.

He needs someone, I thought, stifling my reservations. One dinner won’t hurt. I can’t give him what he needs but I can be his friend.

I was an empath.

It was bound to be my undoing and many times I had been sucked into an emotional vortex with people who leeched my energy, but it had never stopped me from being there for someone who needed me.

I wasn’t about to start with Slade Payne.

No matter how charming I found his smile.

“Sure,” I replied brightly. “But I’m teaching yoga tonight, so I won’t be around until after eight.”

His face grew even more perplexed, but I shut the door before he could ask me anything else.

As I had said, I had many talents.

He didn’t need to learn about them all in the same morning.

I bounced my way into the front door, stopping to shake the drops of water off in the worn but spotless entryway.

Slade was not the only client who had cancelled on me that morning.

In fact, if he had called, I would still have been in my pajamas, drinking a soy hot chocolate and relaxing by the wood burning stove in the kitchen.

“Hey, you’re home early.”

I turned my dripping locks to the side and watched as Malcolm strolled down the stairs lazily, his black hair a tousled mess.

“Just rolling out of bed?” I teased, and he grinned, shrugging.

“It’s the benefit of running your own business. I can roll out of bed anytime I please.”

I slipped off my running shoes and bounced up to meet him halfway up the steps, tossing myself into his arms playfully.

We tumbled to the floor, our butts hitting the stairs in unison.

“You’re soaked!” he squealed, and I laughed.

“You have no idea,” I replied teasingly, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

He paused and stared at me for a minute, gently removing a damp clump of hair from my face.

Slowly, he leaned in to kiss my lips gently and I parted my lips to allow his tongue to slither inside.

He gave me a shiver down my spine, even after two years and I could tell by the look in his eyes, I did the same for him.

I rose without allowing our mouths to part, straddling him as he remained on the step while he reached up to touch my back with his large, capable hands.

“Mm, I’m glad you’re home,” he told me, pulling his face slightly away. “I woke up with a huge hard on for you.”

The words, although crass, sent a spark of pleasure through my body.

I could always depend on Mal to be ready and waiting for me.

His palms made their way around the front of my sopping t-shirt and before he could replace his lips on mine, he pulled the top over my head, throwing it to the ground.

I sighed happily, rocking my hips against him gently to feel the erection he had spoken of.

Indeed, jabbing at me through my jeans was his member, growing with each flick of my tongue.

His mouth moved across my cheek to find the lobe of my ear, knowing exactly which spot to hit.

A chill tightened my small, hard nipples but Mal was waiting for them, dropping his face into my chest to manipulate them with his tongue easily.

My hands gripped his dark hair, pulling him closer to me as he sucked and caressed me, his movements tender but urgent.

I couldn’t deny the heat surging between my legs and with my breast still in his mouth, I rose again, eager to be free of my jeans.

I laughed realizing that it would not be an easy task with the dampness tying them to my long legs but Mal had no issue helping me along and in seconds, I had reclaimed my position on his lap, naked and covered in gooseflesh.

Malcolm’s hand made its way between the clef in my thighs, rubbing the pulsating button there and I moaned softly when one finger dipped inside me.

“Oh, you are soaked,” he growled. “That’s my good girl. Always ready for me.”

I stifled a smile.

It was Mal’s game to play – believing he was in control during our romantic interludes.

I allowed it, knowing that I held all the cards in the spot where his digit worked rhythmically.

My own palm freed his engorged organ and I slid myself over his shaft, sliding against him.

Our eyes locked and I bit down on my lower lip.

“May I?” I purred demurely, cocking my head to the side.

The desire in his dark eyes was vivid and I already knew the answer before he nodded reluctantly.

I pressed my tightness against him, feeling his palms grasp my small buttocks to spread my cheeks wider.

Inside me he was, and I bounced against him, tentatively to start but he grunted, wanting to fill me fully and he thrust himself upward.

I cried out, feeling him deep and I knew he wanted to cum, but I wasn’t ready; not yet.

Placing my chest at his mouth, I guided my breast into his mouth again, encouraging him to lick and suck the taut skin while I rocked against him, our hips gyrating together.

I could feel his unit rigid and wanting, adopting every inch of my drenched core.

He bit on my nipple and I felt my toes curl against the stairs, a familiar sensation growing inside my gut as my frame tensed.

“I’m cumming,” I gasped, nails digging into Mal mercilessly.

“Good, baby. Cum hard for me,” he groaned, and I could tell he was trying to hold back but it was a losing battle.

Together we exploded, a gush of juice slipping over his hardness as he poured his own hot streams against me.

I shuddered, trembling and Mal embraced me close to him as he, too, shook with his orgasm.

If I could, I would have purred with contentment.

Outside, a crash of thunder caused me to start in surprise and Mal laughed.

“Jumpy?” he asked playfully, and I sat up.

“It’s storming out there,” I replied. “It feels like a hurricane.”

Mal shook his head as we disentangled from one another.

“Not likely,” he replied but how would he know? He was from New York.

“Oh, for the love of God! You two are worse than rabbits!”

I glanced up at the second-floor landing where Chase glowered at us with his arms crossed.

“Want in?” I joked, and Chase’s mouth puckered into a pout.

“You’re not my flavor, Red,” he retorted haughtily, and I had to chortle.

“Don’t worry, Chase. I saved you some,” Mal called, dropping his chin back to stare at the gangly man upside down.

“You two are awful!” Chase yelled. His blue eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing home? Why didn’t you call me for a ride?”

I found my t-shirt and slipped it over my naked chest, shaking my head.

“My client drove me home. Everyone else canceled because of the storm.”

Chase descended the stairs, sidestepping us as he did.

“I’m going to make breakfast, and if you two are done humping in the common area,” he said sarcastically. “You can help me.”

I nodded, scouring for my underwear which I slipped on, but I left my jeans on the stairs.

I followed Chase into the kitchen to help him prepare breakfast for the household. It was his day, but I didn’t mind assisting. Chase would do it for me.

Mal followed begrudgingly but I knew he wasn’t going to help. He was going to watch us work.

But we were used to it.

It was Mal’s house after all and while we were committed to living and working equally, Mal played his landowner card as often as he could.

“I have tickets to Cirque de Solei tonight,” Chase announced. “So, I will be staying in Raleigh overnight.”

“You’re driving to Raleigh to watch the circus?” I demanded, aghast. “And those shows treat the animals so –”

“Please!” Chase ordered, holding up a hand as if to command silence. “I do not need a lecture. I was going to ask if you wanted to come but I can see I have my answer already.”

I swallowed my righteousness and blushed.

“Ah, no, sorry,” I mumbled, glancing at Mal as he sat looking bored at the kitchen table. “I’m teaching at the yoga studio…and I have a date.”

Both men perked up at the word.

“A date?” Chase drawled, casting Malcolm a knowing look. “Could he be the one?”

“Shut up, Chase,” I laughed but the question annoyed me.

Despite our open way of living, I could not help but feel like the other members of the house wanted to see me settle down with someone.

Sometimes it’s like living with mom. A happier, pot smoking mom, I thought wryly.

Or maybe I was just carrying a chip on my shoulder.

In any case, it was something which seemed to follow me from each walk of life, no matter how diverse.

“Who is it?” Mal asked with interest. I knew his curiosity was not based on jealousy. Our relationship was not like that.

We were friends with benefits and we preferred it that way, no matter what Chase or anyone else thought.

“The client who drove me home,” I replied. “His name is Slade.”

Chase chortled in his usual, flair for the dramatic way.

“Slade?” he echoed, saying it with a British accent for panache. “Is he gay?”

“Hands off, sister,” I growled. “I found him first.”

“Maya, a client?” Malcolm interrupted, and I saw a glimmer of concern in his eye. “Is that a good idea?”

“It’s just dinner, Mal. There’s no harm in meeting him for dinner.”

But Mal’s expression told me he was not convinced.

“You have gone down this road before,” he reminded me, and I bristled at the memory.

“I have learned from my past mistakes,” I retorted. “Anyway, I laid it all out for him and he understands it’s not going anywhere.”

“He says that,” Chase mumbled. “They always say that and then when they find out there’s another one or two or three –”

“Why do you guys always have to rain on my parade? It’s a freaking dinner date. Stop getting your panties in a knot.”

My cell rang in the front room and I hurried to answer it, not wanting to discuss my personal life with them further.

After all, what the hell did they know about anything?