Voices coming from the other room woke me some time the next morning. I was alone in Kristian’s bed, and even though it was obviously mid-morning, I still didn’t want to get up. I was so comfy.

“Are you fucking her?”

My ears pricked at the question, the voice sounding like it came from Abbot. He’s obviously finished with his party girls.

“I haven’t touched her.” That was Kristian.

“Then what’s your deal? Why is she in your bed?”

I pressed up onto my elbows, listening. It was obvious they were talking about me.

Do they know how well sound carries in this house?

“Where else is she going to sleep?”

“The couch. Or, since I didn’t sleep here last night, she could have taken your bed and you could have had mine, or vice versa.”

“There is no way in hell I’d make anyone sleep in your bed. I know what you get up to in that thing, and God only knows when you last changed your sheets.”

“I see, so this is a hygiene thing?”

“Too right.”

“A hygiene and a vengeance thing—because this is all about teaching her a lesson for fucking with your wheels, right?”

“It’s about teaching her not to mess with what she doesn’t understand.”

“Cartwright pride, huh? You don’t think we taught her that lesson when we blocked their ability to profit from stealing cars?”

“I think we taught her boyfriend a lesson. If she learned it, she wouldn’t feel like she could call me a cunt via my car door.”

There was a pause, coupled with the sound of tapping, like something was being placed on a hard surface. I sniffed the air. Toast and coffee. They were having breakfast. My stomach growled, but I couldn’t exactly walk out there to join them because they’d know I’d been listening.

“And how long is this lesson of yours going to take?”

“I don’t know. It’ll cost a grand or two to fix the door, so a month?” It sounded like he was looking for confirmation from his brother.

“A month?” Abbot obviously didn’t think having me around for that long was going to work for him.

“It’s not cheap.”

“You can’t keep her here for a month.”

“Why not? Nate and Sam married Holland and Alesha to stop them from being a problem. This is way less drastic.”

“You can’t seriously be comparing the two situations.”

“Why not? Jazz wanted this one dead too.”

“Because she’s annoying. Not because she knows anything. You could cut this girl loose at any time, and you know it.”

“Then how is my Ute gonna get paid for? I let her go, she’ll never pay for it. She needs to stay and work off her debt.”

“All this trouble for a couple grand. Jesus, I’ll fucking pay for it. Hell, I’m pretty sure we could call in a favour and get it fixed for free if we wanted.”

“I’m not giving my wheels to a chop shop. I’ll never get it back.”

Abbot laughed, but in a disbelieving way. “You’re making excuses. Turn her loose, brother. If you’re not even fucking her, there’s no point in her being here. Unless, of course, you want her here… Do you like her, Kris? Is that what this is about?”

“It’s not about that at all. It’s the principle—”

“Then turn her loose. She’s a liability to the business and you know it.”

Fuck. My heart leapt into my throat, beating wildly as the pause drew out with no response. Then it came and the ground disappeared from under me.

“Fine.”

No. No. No. Not yet. I knew this wasn’t going to last, but I thought I’d have longer than a week. I pressed my hands to my eyes. God, I’m such a loser. Even my kidnappers don’t want me.

A chair scraped and footsteps echoed down the hall, getting closer. Panicked, I flipped over to my stomach, my hair covering my face as I forced my breathing even, pretending to sleep while my mind raced. What am I gonna do?

The door opened then closed and I could feel his presence pressing in around me. Nothing happened for a moment. It seemed like he was just standing there watching me sleep. Then he let out a sigh and went into the bathroom. The shower turned on.

I don’t want to sleep in my car tonight.

I sat up and looked around. I needed more time. Even a month was better than nothing. Maybe it would give me enough time to win them all over so Toby would follow through and help me find my feet like he said. I needed to stay.

With my heart beating like crazy, I got up and walked towards the bathroom. The door was ajar and when I pushed it farther open, I could see him in the shower, bracing himself against the tiles, his head bowed forward as the spray hit the back of his neck.

He was a fine specimen of a man. Tan and taut all over, muscles bulging, skin so smooth you wanted to lick it. It made what I was about to do so much easier.

I took a deep breath for courage, then I pulled my singlet over my head, quickly pushing my panties to the floor. I can do this.

As I reached for the shower screen, my hand shook, but I pushed through. The worst thing that can happen is he kicks you out. And from the sound of the earlier conversation, that was going to happen anyway. So I had absolutely nothing to lose.

Closing my eyes for a second, I pulled the screen open then stepped inside. Kristian froze, lifting his head from the spray as the cool air hit his skin.

“What are you doing?”

“I woke up and heard the shower on,” I said in a soft murmur. “Thought you might like some company.” Placing my hands on his back, I then slid them around his torso, pressing my body against his, skin to skin. His muscles quivered beneath my fingers, giving me the confidence to keep going. “I had a dream about you last night,” I lied. “It was a lot like this. You were there. I was there, and you were”—I slid my hand lower, triumph and relief flooding my system when I found him—“hard.” My hand barely managed to wrap around his girth. He was even bigger aroused than he was au naturel. It set my entire body on fire, imagining what it would be like to take something so big inside me, what it would be like to take him in my mouth. I hummed with pleasure as I slid my hand along his length and his breathing changed. My clit pulsed between my legs as my own excitement intensified, then his hand clamped down around mine, stopping me.

“This isn’t why you’re here,” he said, his voice thick, strangled.

I pressed my lips against his back, running my tongue up his spine. “I know that. But this could be an added benefit. We’re both adults. We have needs. It doesn’t have to mean anything. Just”—I tightened my grip from beneath his hand, feeling his cock pulse against my palm—“two people who don’t hate each other having a good time.” He groaned and released his hold on me just a touch. When I moved my hand, he moved his with me, as if he could handle this more if we jacked him off together.

It was ridiculously hot. I hadn’t realised how much I wanted him until I started touching him. Now I couldn’t think of anything but. My body ached with need.

As we stroked his cock, his breathing increased and my insides tightened. I relieved some of the pressure by rubbing my breasts against his back, satisfying my need for friction.

“Fuck,” he groaned, suddenly pulling my hands away and turning around, pinning me against the tiled wall by my wrists. “What are you trying to do to me?”

His erection pressed into my stomach and I rolled my body against it. “Nothing that you aren’t doing to me.”

“This isn’t—”

“Why I’m here, I know,” I whispered. “But it’s what I want.”

His heated eyes flickered then dropped to my mouth before returning to my gaze. He was fighting it.

“Don’t you want it too?” I asked, rolling against him again. “It feels like you do.”

He growled and then his mouth landed on mine, brutally taking control of the depth and angle of the kiss. I felt…consumed, the intensity of what was happening between us far bigger than I’d expected.

His hand slid down my side, pulling at my thigh then lifting me so I was wrapped around his waist, his cock resting firmly against my core as he pressed against me, his shaft gliding up and down through my juices, over my clit. It was the closest you could get to fucking without actual penetration. The friction sent me into a mind-numbing frenzy. I moaned into his mouth, whimpering and quivering, my sounds echoing off the walls as he kept moving, both of us getting lost in the sensation.

“Fuck me, Kristian. Oh God.” I threw my head back, hitting it against the tiles as his movement increased and the pressure at my core reached bursting point. “Holy fuuuck!” I screamed, coming undone against his shaft, just as he twitched and his warm cum squirted between us, landing on my stomach and his.

“Shit,” he hissed, dropping his head against my shoulder, his hot breath hitting me in the neck. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

“Why? That was the best non-fuck I’ve ever had,” I gasped, a little shocked that someone who could be such a jerk could kiss me like that.

He laughed. “The wettest dry-hump on record?”

“Yeah. And it was…unexpectedly intense,” I returned, fishing to see if he’d felt the explosive power of what we’d just done the same way I had.

His brow knitted as he nodded, his eyes searching mine. “Unexpectedly intense,” he repeated.

I nodded, my body still wrapped around his.

“Fuck.” I wondered what that expletive meant as he lowered me to the ground and helped me get cleaned up before shutting off the shower. He even wrapped the towel around me and secured it at my chest when we were finished.

“It’s OK if you want me to go,” I said as he secured the towel around his own hips. Something about his silence told me he was deep in thought, the discussion he’d had with Abbot was obviously weighing on his mind. “I don’t want to be in the way.”

“You heard us talking?”

I nodded. It was probably dumb to admit I’d overheard them talking. But Kristian was a smart guy, he’d figure it out on his own.

Letting out a sigh, he ran his hands through his dark hair causing his muscles to flex. My insides jolted, and all I could think about was tasting every part of him.

“Fuck, you’re good-looking,” I whispered, unable to stop the words bursting out of my mouth.

The corner of his mouth quirked and he moved closer, hooking his finger underneath my chin. Oh God, please kiss me. “Two people who don’t hate each other, huh?”

I smiled. “Yeah.”

“OK,” he said. Then he lowered his lips to mine and kissed me until I was a puddle of need at his feet.

“Kristian,” I whispered, my hands resting against his chest.

“Hmmm?” He moved his mouth so he was sucking beneath my jaw.

“Please tell me you have condoms.”

“I do.”

“Good. Then get one and fuck me.”