It had been a long few days in Nashville. After spending the first night in my hotel room alone, I’d decided to go out with Shawn the following evening, and we partied until three that morning. Five hours later, I’d hopped on our company jet and flown back to Miami where I spent the rest of the day working on the contracts Shawn had chosen. I changed the terms of every agreement, and I asked for more money than had originally been offered. Now, I was just waiting to hear if they accepted or if they wanted to keep negotiating.

I was fucking exhausted by the time I closed the last folder and cleared off my desk.

Knowing I had to meet Samantha for dinner in less than an hour, I pulled out my phone and began to type her a text.

I left the office and went straight to my place, grabbing a beer from the fridge before I made my way into my bedroom. Once inside, I stripped out of my suit and brought the beer into the shower, setting it on the shampoo shelf. I turned the temperature as hot as I could stand it, put my arms above my head, and pressed my palms against the tiles. Streams of scalding water shot out of the ceiling and two of the walls, hitting me at every angle.

As my skin became drenched, I thought about Samantha.

Before I had known she had a kid, I had no problem visualizing my life with her. Now that I knew she was responsible for someone else, someone who would always come first, that changed things.

She should have fucking told me.

In fact, it should have been one of the first things she said, so I knew what I was getting involved in.

Whether I liked it or not, I was in neck deep with a girl who was already a mother, and that was a heavier situation than I’d ever been in.

I took the beer off the shelf and guzzled half of it. It tasted good. It felt even better, the freezing brew drizzling down my throat, the only part of my body that wasn’t being pounded with something that was scorching.

But it did nothing to help the thoughts, to give me any clarity, to justify Samantha’s actions.

I set the beer back, and I squirted some soap into my hands, rubbing my fingers over me, working up a thick lather. When my flesh was covered in suds, I shampooed my hair and beard. Then, I put my hands back on the wall, and I let the water wash it all away.

Once I finished, I grabbed the bottle, wrapped a towel around my waist, and moved over to the sink. I quickly rolled on some deodorant, sprayed cologne on my neck, and dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt.

By the time I walked out of my room, a ringing sound was coming through the tablet by the elevator, alerting me that the front desk was trying to reach me. I went over to the tablet and pressed the screen.

A picture of the doorman came into view. “Mr. Hunt, Samantha Cole is here to see you. Her identification has been checked, and she’s been processed into our system.”

“Send her up.”

Moving back into the kitchen, I grabbed another beer from the fridge, twisted off the cap, and tossed the metal into the trash. I was holding the bottle up to my lips when I heard the sound of the elevator opening directly into my condo. Footsteps followed. And, within a few seconds, Samantha was rounding the corner, holding two large bags from the sushi restaurant down the block.

“Since we were going for sushi, I figured you must like it. I just didn’t know what kinds you preferred, so I ordered a little bit of everything.” She set the bags on the island and came over to me, her hands falling against the tops of my shoulders. “Hi.”

I softly kissed her. “Thanks for bringing the food.”

She nodded.

I felt a change.

A distance.

That told me she’d had a conversation with Shawn. She knew that I knew about her daughter. Therefore, she knew, tonight, we were going to talk.

With her hands still on me, she took a quick look around the kitchen. “I like your taste. Whoever decorated did a wonderful job.”

“It wasn’t me.”

“I figured.”

She stood on her toes to reach my cheek, which she gently kissed, and I did the same to hers. And then she went to the island and reached into one of the bags.

From where I stood, I was able to see all of her, and I held the beer to my mouth and swallowed as my eyes drifted down her body. She was casual tonight in a pair of tight jeans and a tank top that she’d tied in the middle, so it now showed a sliver of her stomach. The pants she had on outlined those perfect hips and the gap between those toned thighs.

I wanted to fucking growl as I took her in.

But a conversation needed to be had first, and I didn’t know what that was going to do to us.

She took out the multiple containers that each held a different roll, and she opened them and spread them over the counter. As she finished, she put a pair of chopsticks, a large bowl of soy sauce, and chunks of wasabi and ginger in front of me.

She hadn’t forgotten anything.

The same way a mother wouldn’t.

Fuck.

“Do you want anything to drink?” I asked.

She nodded toward my beer. “I’ll have the same.”

When I returned from the fridge, she’d put a barstool across from hers, so we could face each other on opposite sides of the island. She’d also placed two small plates in each spot, moving the chopsticks right next to them.

More motherly shit.

I took a seat and opened the wooden sticks, looking at all the rolls. The first one I picked was covered in avocado. I dipped it in soy sauce before I popped it into my mouth. It was good as hell. So were the next two and the lump of ginger I took in.

“Jack…”

I looked up from my plate, and that was when I realized she hadn’t even opened her chopsticks. “Yeah?”

I knew what was coming.

I just needed a little food in me first because I’d been too busy to eat all day.

“I know my brother told you about Lucy. I can’t sit here for another second and wait for you to bring it up. I need to talk to you about it before I explode.”

I freed my hands and rested my elbows on the counter, using my palms to hold my chin. “Go ahead and talk. I’m listening.”

“Are you angry with me?”

It took me a second to answer. “I’m not angry that you have a child. I’m angry you didn’t tell me about her and that you weren’t comfortable enough to share something like that with me.” There was so much emotion in her face, in the way she was breathing, how she had her arms wrapped around her, and I knew this conversation wasn’t easy for her to have. “We went through an entire dinner where we talked about what’d been happening in our lives, and you said nothing about her.” I sighed, shaking my head. “And then I went on to apologize for how I’d treated you, I told you I wanted you back, and you still said nothing. I’m having a hard time understanding why you hid her from me.”

“It was wrong; I should have told you. I…” Shawn had said that Samantha’s daughter was her whole world. Now that the topic was on her, I could see that in her eyes. “I had no idea what was happening between us. You came into my life so quickly, and suddenly, I was seeing you and thinking about you and spending time with you. You have to understand, I’m extremely protective of her. I know it wasn’t right, but until I knew what was really happening between us, I didn’t want to bring her into it.”

“But she’s a part of you. I can’t decide to be with one without knowing about the other.”

“I know.” Her voice was so quiet. “It was wrong of me. That’s all I can say.”

“I went to your goddamn brother to talk to him about you, so you had to know I was serious.”

When her arms tightened around her, they pushed her tits closer together. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had any feelings for someone, and the last few days have been a lot to process.” She started to rock a little over the stool. “I didn’t expect this. I wasn’t prepared. And I didn’t handle it in the best way. I’m sorry, Jack. I really am.” Her eyes dropped to the plate in front of me. “I’m just trying to do the best I can.”

“She obviously changes things.”

Her eyes shot back up. “How?”

I almost laughed. “How? I can’t just come to your place whenever I want. I can’t steal you away for a weekend. I can’t get you to stay here for nights at a time. Our evenings together will have to be scheduled, so you can find someone to watch her.” I took a drink of my beer. “You’re a single mother; your daughter will always come first. I don’t want to be the dick who asks you to make me a priority, especially because it sounds like it’s just the two of you and her dad isn’t in the picture.”

Her eyes widened, and she paused for several seconds. I could tell she was fighting with her emotions. I could tell that even more when she got up from the island and threw something in the trash like she just needed a break from our conversation.

“He’s not,” she finally said when she turned back toward me, returning to her stool, her chest rising and falling so fucking fast. “But none of that changes how I feel about you. Can you say the same?”

I’d thought about that question from the moment I left the restaurant with Shawn.

Her daughter didn’t change my feelings, but she changed things between Samantha and me. Our relationship would be different than what I’d expected it to be.

Knowing I couldn’t spend as much time with her as I wanted was disappointing.

Knowing I wouldn’t come first was, too, and that was something I’d have to get used to.

“No,” I finally said. “It doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

She set her hands on the counter, and I saw how white they were from how tightly she’d been squeezing them around her. “I want us to have a chance.”

“Have you really thought about that? What it would look like?”

She nodded, following that with, “Yes.”

She’d apologized.

She cared about me.

And something told me she’d try to find a balance.

“You want this?” My feet pushed against the ground, my elbows driving into the countertop. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, Jack. You’re what I want. There isn’t a question in my mind.”

I stood and walked over to her. When she didn’t look at me right away, I put my fingers under her chin and tilted her head back until our eyes met. “I need to know you’re not going to hide things from me. That when we’re faced with something tough, you’re going to be willing to talk through it.”

She took a breath. “Jack…”

“Because if this is what you want, if I’m what you want, then we’ll find a way to make this work.”

“I do.” She chewed the corner of her lip, her eyes pleading with mine. “I really do.”

“Listen, I’ve never dated anyone who has a child. I don’t know the rules or the boundaries, but I’ll learn, and we’ll figure it out together.”

“That’s all I want.”

She seemed to be relieved, but I could still see so much turmoil in her. The only way I knew how to make her feel better was to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against my chest. So, I did, and I kissed the top of her head. I breathed her in until her face moved out of my T-shirt, and she gazed up at me. Her lips looked so soft and smooth. I leaned down and rubbed my bottom lip over them.

The scent of cinnamon had made it all the way into her mouth, tasting so good, I wanted to lick it off her. But, before I did that, I needed to know she was okay with the conversation we’d just had. And the only way I could do that was by making her come to me.

I held the sides of her face and said, “Kiss me.”

After a few seconds, she pushed her mouth on mine, and I felt her relax a little. I took in the small amount of tongue she had given me, circling around it.

Her hands went to my chest, her nails scraping my flesh during the climb. When she reached the top of my T-shirt, I felt her grip it as though she wanted to pull it over my head.

I broke our kiss, sliding back a few inches to look at her. “Fuck, I want you.”

“Jack, don’t make me wait.”

“Samantha—”

“I want more than just your fingers tonight.”

I gripped her harder, lifting her off the stool and wrapping her legs around me. “Kiss me,” I demanded again, and I carried her to my bedroom.

When I set her on the bed, I broke our kiss to take off her tank top and do the same with her shoes and jeans. Now, she was only in a pair of red panties and a matching bra.

Goddamn it.

She was fucking gorgeous. Exactly the way I remembered, but her body was tighter, her skin a little tanner, her curves even sexier.

“You’re perfect.”

“Come here,” she said, reaching for me from between her legs.

She gripped the waist of my sweats and let them drop to the floor, doing the same with my T-shirt, and now, I was standing in front of her in just my boxer briefs.

I knelt on the bed, my lips pressing on the middle of her stomach, and I kissed across her navel, up to her bra, and back down to lick the top of her panties.

More cinnamon.

More lace.

They reminded me of the first pair I’d ripped off of her eight years ago.

Slowly, I yanked them down her legs, my mouth diving straight to her pussy. I grazed over her clit, my tongue spreading the wetness, the tip of it flicking across the very top of her, which I knew was one of her most sensitive places.

She grasped my hair and twisted it around her fingers. “Jack, don’t stop.”

I groaned in response, my fucking cock so hard, it was grinding into the bed. I reached down and gave it a few pumps, the need to be inside her causing me to lick even faster.

“You taste so goddamn good.”

I lowered a few inches, my nose pressed into her lips, and I inhaled.

That fucking scent.

I wanted it to be the first thing I smelled every morning when I woke up, her pussy the first thing that touched my tongue long before I even brushed my teeth.

I inserted two fingers, and she immediately started to ride them. It was the hottest sight to see them buried deep within her, her clit so wet from my tongue.

Pleasure spread across her face. “Jack,” she breathed.

She didn’t have to tell me. Her pussy was clenching me so hard, it was as though my cock were inside her, and she was trying to milk the cum out of it. But then she tightened even more, her stomach shuddering, and I knew she’d hit her peak. So, I pointed my tongue at the top of that hard bud, and I licked it as hard and as fast as I could.

Her hips bucked, her breath released in short screams, and her body quivered.

When she finally stilled, I pulled out of her, and I moved her higher on the bed.

I didn’t join her right away. I walked over to the nightstand first to grab a condom and I let my boxer briefs fall to the ground while I rolled it onto my cock. Then, I climbed over her body.

“I forgot how good your tongue was,” she said.

I wiped my hand over my beard, drying all the wetness before I pressed my lips against hers. “If I didn’t want to fuck you so badly, I’d remind you all night.”

“My God, you’re incredible.”

I moved in between her thighs, and while I kept them spread, I aimed my dick at her entrance. Her pussy was so wet, I knew I didn’t need to add any more to it, so I gently tilted my hips and drove in a few inches, letting her get used to what I felt like again.

Her head leaned back, and her mouth opened. “More.”

Slowly, I continued to bury myself until she had all of me. “Fuck,” I hissed, pausing to let her loosen, feeling her muscles constrict around my cock.

She was still so fucking tight.

So wet.

So goddamn warm.

When her stare connected with mine, I lifted her back off the bed, and I pushed her higher until it hit the headboard. Then, I gripped the top of the wood and used it to rock my hips forward.

“Ahhh!” she yelled.

I gave her another thrust, and the same noise shot out of her.

“Too much?”

“No.” She gnawed into her lip. “Don’t you dare stop.”

That was the answer I wanted.

I stroked in and out, easily finding a rhythm, pushing my way through her tightness.

She felt so fucking good.

“Hold on to me, baby,” I told her once I felt her cunt start to contract.

Her hands slid to my back, her nails pressing into my skin. She could dig all she wanted. The only thing it did was show me how much she liked it, and that turned me on even more.

She groaned so loudly. “You’re going to make me come again.”

She barely had the words out before I felt her get wetter, her clenching causing my own orgasm to work its way through my balls.

I reared my hips back and pounded into her.

“Jack!”

“Say it fucking louder.”

When she did, I looked down and ordered her to, “Kiss me.”

I was met with her lips and a moan that I could taste on my tongue.

When I knew she was lost in sensations, her body trembling through each wave, I emptied myself inside her.

Finally catching my breath, I pulled away from her mouth and wrapped myself around her body. “You feel so good.”

She nuzzled her face into my neck. “I’ve missed you. No one makes me feel the way you do.”

I fucking loved hearing that.

I especially liked knowing that no one but me could give her body what she wanted. I knew most of her spots, the ones she liked touched and the ones she preferred to have licked. I planned on learning the rest very soon.

Possibly even later this evening, which got me thinking. “Do you have to go home tonight?”

“No.”

“Good.” I grazed my nose across the side of her hair. “I need to toss this condom, and then we have some sushi to eat.”

“God, I forgot all about the food.”

I kissed her cheek and the tip of her nose and the center of her forehead. “You need to eat.”

She let out a light laugh. “Why?”

“Because you’re going to need fuel for what I plan on doing to you all night.”

“You’re just as naughty as you were eight years ago.”

“Oh no, Samantha.” I bit down on her bottom lip, tugging it between mine. “I’m much worse now.”