I walked into the living room, and Trevor and Bryant were both sitting down, attention on paperwork, both focused.

“Gentlemen, I’m ready.”

“Miss Thompson,” Trevor said. “I have the contracts here for you to sign.” I walked over to them and stared down at the paperwork “The job is for three weeks. Two weeks of training, if you will, and then the final meeting with Patrick Spenser, the general manager of the Panthers. The goal of this is to make everyone believe that Bryant here is a doting boyfriend who is head over heels in love with you. At the end of the three weeks, once Bryant is made captain, we’ll let a few more weeks pass. Then you two will have a mutual respectful termination of your romantic relationship.” Trevor was going a mile a minute, and I was having a hard time keeping up with him. This seemed so much more complicated than we originally planned. He made it sound like I had to be seen with Bryant.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t appear in pictures. I have my daughter to consider. I really don’t want her involved in this, and with Bryant pretty high-profile, I’m afraid they’ll target her.”

“We can hide your face. We also have very good security.” Trevor stated matter-of-factly.

“You have my word that your daughter will not be exposed or touched by any of this,” Bryant said firmly.

“Thank you, Mr. Sommers. That is very kind. I accept the terms.” I looked over the paperwork. “It says here I’m working every night from seven to eleven, and Saturdays I owe you three hours. But Sundays are my own? Don’t most people spend Sunday with those they love and family? Wouldn’t that look strange?”

“I do spend Sunday with family. At the cemetery. I visit my parents. That’s where I’ve gone every Sunday for the last ten years.”

“Oh.”

Here he was telling me that his parents were dead, his Sunday dinner was in a cemetery, and all I could say was oh.

“You don’t need to feel sorry for me. I can see that look in your eyes, the same expression the social workers, cops, and doctors gave me after they passed away. They died a long time ago, and I have done okay. Let’s get this signed and get started.” I felt my heart race at his words. “Trevor is going to give you $10,000 tonight and the rest when the job is completed. Once all this paperwork is completed, he’s leaving and we’re having dinner.” Trevor handed me a cashier’s check, and I just started at the piece of crisp paper in my hand. For Bryant, that money might be peanuts, but it was a safety net I had never had. I was going to pay off my tuition for next semester and deposit the rest in the bank. For the first time in a long time, I finally felt the noose around my neck loosen.

“Well, I guess you're buying my time. Where do I sign?” The ink on the paper was not even dry before Bryant was kicking Trevor out of his house. I started to collect my coat and bag when Bryant grabbed my elbow and turned me toward him.

“You don’t leave until elven.” His touch was like fire, but his voice was ice.

“I wouldn’t dream of going anywhere.” My words were just as cold as his sudden attitude. Bryant turned me around, my back now facing his front. He moved my hair away from my neck and placed his lips just above my collarbone. In what seemed like the longest moment of my life, I heard nothing but the sound of his breathing. I felt nothing but the rhythmic beating of his heart. Then he moved his lips to the shell of my ear, his breath tickling me and causing all kinds of sensations to awaken I thought were long dead.

“Don’t lie, Holly. You feel it too. When I touch you, it’s fire.” He was right. I felt it. Every look, every touch, every moment I spent with the man, I felt the heat between us. I couldn’t deny it even if I wanted to.

Bryant Sommers was a flame, and I was a moth, mesmerized and captivated by him. I hated that he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on me.

“Bryant, I can’t get involved. I can pretend to be your significant other, but my life… It’s complicated. A man just isn’t in the cards. I have to finish my degree and focus on my daughter. Any other complications, I just can’t have.”

“I’m not asking for more time than you agreed to. I have never wanted a woman before. I’m thirty-four years old, and I’ve never even had a girlfriend.” His words hit me like a hammer. This man was telling me he didn’t do relationships.

“I get it. Why would a man like you commit? Doesn’t your type just basically move from woman to woman?” My voice was sharp. I was tired of his games. He needed to know I wasn’t going to be another notch on his bedpost.

He barked a laugh and walked over to the bar, pouring two fingers of scotch in a beautiful crystal glass. The glass and liquor looked expensive. They probably cost as much as two months’ rent. He passed me the glass and then poured himself another.

“Holly, I think you have me all wrong. I didn’t say I never commit. I said I never wanted a woman. I’m not the kind of man to randomly sleep with women. It has never been my style. You wouldn’t be another notch on my bedpost. You would be the only one. I’m too driven to be with women. I don’t allow myself to be distracted. I never have been…until you.”

“So, what are you suggesting?” I asked. My hands were shaking as I held the glass. Bryant stared at me like a cat wanting to pounce on a mouse. His smile came easily, and his dimples made my knees buckle.

He leaned against the ornate fireplace mantel, decorated like it belonged in a holiday film. He took a sip of his drink, his gaze taking me in. He didn’t answer right away, like he was playing some game letting the silence linger in the air. My words hovered between us, unanswered. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke.

“That for the duration of this relationship, you stay open to all possibilities.”

“Open to what possibilities? Like sex?” I felt insulted…and a little shamed. A small part of me screamed to jump him right then and there. He walked over to me, grabbed my drink, and placed it on the oak coffee table. He then wrapped my hair in his hand, supporting my head, and used the other one to pull me closer to him.

“All possibilities. But first, how about you let me taste that pretty mouth of yours?” And just like that, he had his lips on mine. My whole world burst with color. His tongue tasted like scotch and peppermint, a combination I should have found repulsive, but all I wanted to do was drown in it.

Bryant

Kissing her had my cock so hard, it could cut glass. I wanted to take her right up against the wall. I wanted her legs wrapped around me and my cock buried so deep in her we wouldn’t know where I ended and she began. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged, not enough to hurt her but enough to show her I was in control.

“I want you, but I told you nothing would happen until you begged for it. So instead of taking you here like an animal, something I think I’d really fucking enjoy, I’m going to take things slow and cook you dinner.”