I took the private elevator down to the lobby of my building to pick up the pizzas Max and I had ordered. He’d been traveling for the last week, and this was the first time we had a chance to hang out, so he wanted to do dinner and watch the Heat game at my place.

As I went around the corner of mailboxes and past the doorman’s desk, I saw James walking into the building.

Fuck.

She was only a few feet from me, and my eyes took in her small black bikini and the see-through cover-up she was wearing over it. I wished I hadn’t because, the second my stare landed on that tight, perfect body, my dick started to harden in my sweats. My hands twitched to touch her. My mouth watered to taste that delicious cunt.

“Brett?” she said, halting in front of me—a spot I’d hoped she’d avoid and go straight to the elevator instead. “What are you doing here? Were we supposed to meet or something?”

Scarlett had said the chances of us running into each other would be slim.

She couldn’t have been more fucking wrong.

“That’s Brett?” the girl standing next to her said. “As in, the Brett?”

The girls looked at each other, and James’s eyes widened, as though she were trying to silently say something to her.

Jesus Christ.

I turned toward the girl and extended my hand, knowing it was James’s stylist who had flown in from LA. She had on almost the same bathing suit as James and looked great in it but not as good as James. And, even though she was really attractive, she wasn’t as beautiful.

“Nice to meet you.”

“You, too. I’m Eve.”

Behind the girls, I saw the doorman take the pizza boxes from the delivery driver, and he came over to hand them to me in exchange for the fifty I had taken out of my pocket.

“Why are you getting food delivered to my building?” James asked as my attention returned to her.

“It’s my building, too.”

Her eyes widened even more. “You’re kidding.”

“No.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you lived here?”

I reached inside the box, grabbing a slice of pepperoni, took a bite of the end, and swallowed. “Would it have changed your mind?”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out of it.

As though Eve were reading her, she cleared her throat and said, “I have all of James’s outfits planned for her upcoming events. Why don’t you come over, so you can approve or nix the dresses?”

“Eve,” James said, hitting her friend’s arm, “I’m sure Brett’s too busy to come over.”

If that meant seeing some sexy dresses on the body I’d been thinking about nonstop, then I wasn’t too busy.

“Nah, I think that’s a good idea.” I took another bite. “I’ve got Max upstairs. I’ll grab him, and we’ll come down to your place.”

“Who’s Max?”

“One of the other agents,” James said to Eve. Then, she asked me, “Are you really coming over?”

I nodded. “You hungry, or should we eat before we come?”

“We’re hungry,” Eve answered.

James looked at Eve again. “I guess we’re hungry.”

I could tell James still hadn’t gotten over the shock that we lived in the same building. Hell, I hadn’t gotten over how fucking perfect she looked in that bikini.

But it seemed she wore that expression almost every time I was around her—whether it was in my office or when I’d rejoined her on the plane after my long nap.

She was struggling with the transition.

I was, too.

I’d been rubbing one out almost every morning in the shower and again when I got home from work. Sometimes, when she came in for a meeting, I’d even do it in the bathroom in my office after she left. And I would once more tonight after I saw her in those dresses.

“I’ll be at your place in a little while,” I told them.

Then, I headed toward my elevator, waving the fob in front of the reader and pressing the PH button as I got inside.

When I stepped into my condo, Max was on the couch, watching the Heat game.

“Get up. We’re going to James’s.”

In the kitchen, I grabbed a twelve-pack, knowing she probably didn’t have any beer at her place, and carried it into the living room. The motherfucker still hadn’t stood, but he’d turned off the TV, and he was staring at me.

“What?”

“Why the fuck are we going to James’s?”

“I just saw her downstairs with her stylist, and they need my approval on some outfits.”

“And what am I? A chaperone?”

I didn’t want to tell Max I had been doing everything I could to keep my hands off James and that having him there would ensure I didn’t touch her.

“You’re the fourth wheel.”

“Not interested.”

“Her stylist is hot as fuck. Trust me, brother.”

“Now, I’m interested.” He got up and took the boxes out of my hand. “It surprises me that you let the realtor move James into your building.”

“Why?”

“You won’t even bring the women you fuck back to your place because you don’t want them to know where you live, but you’ll let James be a neighbor.”

“It’s different.”

He smiled and laughed as we walked into the elevator, and I hit the button for James’s floor.

“What’s so funny?”

“Something tells me you didn’t mind running into her.”

“Jesus, don’t start with me.”

First, Scarlett, and now, Max. The only one left was Jack, and I was sure he would have said something similar if he were here and not on the road with one of his clients.

Max kept laughing and shook his head. “I’m not starting shit. I’m just saying, if a girl who looked like James lived in my building, I wouldn’t exactly be pissed off about it. But you’re not me, and going down to her apartment isn’t you.”

“She’s my client.”

“So, that makes this different? If anything, it should make it worse.”

“It makes her off-limits.” I’d been facing the door, but now, I turned toward him. “We’re going to her place to see some dresses. That’s it.”

“Something you could do in the office.”

“You’re fucking starting again.”

“And, now, I’m dropping it.”

I glanced away, not wanting him to see my eyes, and waited for the door to open. Since James had an end unit that faced the water, I headed east when I stepped out and knocked on the last door.

Eve answered, holding it open enough for us to walk in.

I went in first and heard Max introduce himself to her as I made my way toward the kitchen, grabbing a beer before putting the case in the fridge.

“James will be right out,” Eve said. “She wanted to take a quick shower before she tried anything on.”

I wished she hadn’t told me that. The thought of James in the shower, her body wet and covered in bubbles, made my cock hard.

Eve took a slice of pizza and sat on one of the ottomans while Max and I took spots on the other side of the couch.

“I spoke to your team and kept their recommendations in mind when choosing each dress,” she said. “Several are black, but more than half are in jewel tones, which look incredible with James’s skin tone. I understand the need to keep her in conservative pieces, leaning more toward mature than youthful, but I don’t want her dressed like a fifty-year-old either. There’s a balance, and we’ll find it.”

Max wedged his beer between his knees and started on his first slice. “When does the fashion show start?”

“Right now,” James said.

The three of us turned in her direction.

Holy fuck.

The dress she had on was a deep red, and it hit just above her knees, wrapping around her whole body up to her chest, leaving her arms exposed. It would keep the media quiet by covering what it needed to, but it was sexy and mature, making her look far older than eighteen.

This was how we would earn back the public’s respect.

Because this was how a woman dressed when she wanted to be taken seriously.

And, goddamn it, it looked gorgeous on her.

“This is what I call cocktail attire, and it would be perfect for one of the charity events,” Eve said. “She’ll pair the dress with the four-inch heels she has on, a black clutch, diamond jewelry, and I recommend she wear her hair up. Her shoulders are too beautiful to cover.”

James grabbed the wet hair that hung around her face and held it on top of her head.

I didn’t know how, but it made her look even hotter.

“Turn around, James,” Eve said.

The dress hugged her ass and the curve of her hips, and although it didn’t show what was underneath, in my head, I saw where her thighs met and the tight little cunt that sat between.

Feeling Max’s eyes on me, I looked away and walked over to the table to grab another slice of pizza.

“So, what do you think?” Eve asked.

I faced James again and said, “It’s good. Let’s see the next one.”

James disappeared down the hallway, and I went back to the couch.

“How many will she be trying on?” I asked.

“Twelve.”

Jesus, fuck.

I had to go through this eleven more times.

Max reclined into the couch, kicking his legs onto the ottoman. “Looks like we’re going to be here for a while, so I might as well get comfortable.”

If my cock wasn’t so goddamn hard, I would have done the same. But leaning back in these sweatpants would show everyone in this room what that fucking girl did to me.

* * *

James sat several cushions down, finishing her third slice of pepperoni. For someone so little, she could put down a hell of a lot of food.

I liked that about her.

And I liked seeing the grease on her fingers and a little more on her mouth and that she didn’t wipe her face after every bite. I didn’t want perfect, and James wasn’t trying to be.

“She’s a huge music fan,” James said, referring to Eve, who was standing on the balcony with Max. “She’s going to drill him until he can’t take another question.”

“He loves it, I’m sure.”

He did, too. I could tell by the way he was looking at her as she spoke.

Eve was his type. A little wild, extremely mouthy, and aggressive as hell.

She was the opposite of James.

“You didn’t say much about the dresses besides giving us your approval.” She turned her face toward me, pressing her cheek into the back of the couch. “I know they’re appropriate and all, but do you think they’ll be okay? I want the media to see me differently now. I’m not a kid. But I’m not the names they’re calling me either. I’m somewhere in the middle…in a very strange place.”

The last time I’d heard this tone was on the plane.

Then, I hadn’t been able to give her the attention she needed. My cock had been too fucking hard, and I’d had to get away from her before I tried to fuck her again.

She’d been hurting.

She was hurting now again, too.

The sex tape had stripped her self-confidence. She needed to be reassured, and she was looking to get that from me.

But I had to be careful.

“Don’t stress about them.” I slammed back the rest of my beer, knowing there was more in the fridge, but I didn’t want to leave her just yet. “You looked great in all of them.”

“Really?”

There was so much more I wanted to say, so many things that would put the biggest fucking smile on her face. But I couldn’t tease her like that. That was what Eve was for. She’d tell James how stunning she looked and how the dresses perfectly fit her body and how she would be the hottest woman at every event.

And, as for me, I had to get some sleep.

I had a meeting in the morning, and I had to fly to Alabama in the afternoon to visit a client on set. The director was a good friend of mine. He’d sent me his next three screenplays, asking if I had anyone to fill the lead roles. James would be perfect for one. He owed me a favor, and I was going to cash in when the time was right.

With her face still pointed at me, I saw the emotion in her eyes. I saw the hunger. The desire. And, so fucking badly, I wanted to reach forward and pull her toward me, so her lips pressed against mine.

But I couldn’t.

“I’ll see you at the office in the morning.” I went over to the glass door and opened it. “I’m going to head up,” I said to Max.

“I’ll be there in a little while,” he said.

I slid the door closed and walked past James on my way out, feeling her eyes following me.

“Brett,” she said as my fingers wrapped around the handle.

I turned around.

“Thanks for coming over.”

Her voice was so soft.

I nodded and went to the elevator, knowing, the second I got upstairs, I would head straight for my shower where I’d wrap my fist around my fucking cock.