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I DROPPED MY TOWEL in the hallway and set my gun on the edge of the kitchen sink. That woman had seen me in my towel. She wasn’t a threat. She wasn’t a suspect. She wasn’t even important. She had just been one of Derek’s exes who was trying to exploit their past relationship for her own personal gain.

And she had seen me in my towel.

My client’s most important ex-girlfriend had seen all of me but my most sensitive areas.

I was supposed to be keeping this professional, keeping my distance and getting the job done. I was supposed to be protecting this man and figuring out who the hell was trying to kill him. And instead, I was lusting over him. I was drinking in how he looked at me. I was bucking up to him while simultaneously wondering what it would be like to consume him, to give myself over to him and the pleasure my body knew he could grant me.

My distraction was going to get him killed.

I scrubbed my skin down, trying to wash his eyes from my body. I tried to wash away the warmth his gaze had brought when he saw me in the hallway, dripping wet and nothing clothing me but that measly little towel.

What the hell was going on with me?

I heard movement, and I tensed, ready to grapple at a moment’s notice. My hand wrapped around the knife I had with me in the shower as my ears listened out for Derek. Was he okay? Had someone gotten the jump on us? Fuck, I was slipping. I was slipping dangerously, and it was about to cost me my career.

“I see you reaching for something. It’s just me, Sam.”

I released the breath I was holding when I heard Derek’s voice. Until I came to my senses. I was in the fucking shower, and Derek was in the bathroom.

“What are you doing in here?” I asked.

“Joining you if you’ll let me.”

I watched his frosted form slide his suit jacket from his body as he dropped it to the floor.

“What do you mean, joining me?” I asked.

“In that shower. It looks pretty relaxing.”

“Are you insane? Get out of here,” I said.

“Is that what you really want?”

I watched his form staring at me through the frosted panes of the walk-in shower. My hand trembled around my knife as my fingertips released it. Was it what I wanted? Did I really want him going away? What was he offering? A shower buddy? A little bit of fun?

Something more than that?

The silence was deafening as the steam filled the bathroom. The water was beating down on my shoulder as I sighed. My entire body wanted to relinquish to him, to feel his skin against mine, even though I knew it wasn’t right. Even though I knew it was going to be a mistake sleeping with my client.

But I wanted it more than I was willing to admit.

“The hot water’s going to run out soon,” I said. “Better hurry.”

I watched him remove the blurry pieces of clothing from his body before the door opened. He stepped into the shower, the steam encompassing him as his eyes danced along my form. He was taking me in, his eyes drifting along my muscles as I took in his. I reached out for his rippling abs, my fingertips grazing over each one of them as I watched the swell of his chest move with his breaths.

His body pressed me into the bathroom tiles as his hands planted beside my head.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Miss Williams.”

My eyes found his as his lips feathered the tip of my nose.

“Will you let me taste you?” he asked.

I felt my entire body rise to his every want as my pelvis began to heat.

His kisses were soft and feathery against my skin. I tilted my head off to the side, opening my neck to him as my hands slid up the strength of his torso. His hands slid down the bathroom wall as his tongue traced outlines upon my skin. Soft and sensual. Much unlike the man I had come to know.

And I loved every second of it.

I felt his hands flutter along my hips as I rolled into him. My body begged for friction. Any part of him I could feel against where I wanted him most. I peered down at him as the water dripped from our bodies, his hands pressing my knees apart as he eyed my pussy. He licked his lips as his gaze met mine. I watched as he kissed up my thigh, causing me to tremble.

It was like he knew what buttons to press before I told him what I needed.

His tongue snaked between my folds, and my knees grew weak. I grasped my breasts, massaging them as his hands pinned me to the wall. His grip was firm, yet gentle, stilling my body so he could properly taste me.

I felt him swirling around my clit as my legs grew weak. He guided my thigh over his shoulder, propping me against him so he could move me. His hands rolled my hips, his tongue raking over my pussy as I tugged at my nipples. I was losing myself in him and in the feel of his skin against mine and the warmth his mouth brought me.

It had been years since I’d allowed myself this and let my guard come down enough to trust a man with my body.

And oh, the things Derek made me feel.

My hands flew to his hair as I pulled him closer to me. He pressed expertly into my body as I shook and moaned. I bit down on my lip, trying to keep some semblance of control as my eyes screwed shut.

“Let me hear you. Let it go, Sam. Give yourself permission to enjoy it.”

His words hit me like a punch to my chest. I released my lip and opened my mouth as foreign sounds poured from it, sounds I didn’t know myself capable of came sliding out as my body trembled and shook. I could feel my pussy pouring its arousal out into Derek’s mouth as his hands gripped me firmly. My toes were curling, and stars were bursting in my steamy vision. I felt lighter than air and solid as a rock all at the same time.

I felt myself growing weak, collapsing into him as he caught me in his arms.

He carried me from the shower to the bed and spread my body out for his pleasure. I was still trying to catch my breath, reeling from the orgasm his tongue had dealt me. His lips dipped to mine, allowing me a taste of myself on his skin as our bodies dripped with water.

I could feel every chiseled piece of muscle he had on his body, and I wanted to run my fingers along all of them.

I spread my legs for him, and he dipped down slowly. His cock was throbbing against my leg as my hands ran up and down his back. Our tongues collided, and our lips swelled. Like an orchestra of instruments all tuned to the same note. My toes slid up the backs of his legs, feeling him trembling against me as I clung to him around his neck.

“Should I get us something to prepare ourselves?” Derek asked.

I looked up into his eyes and shook my head.

“I’m protected enough,” I said.

Then, I rolled my hips up and captured his dick, shivering as he groaned into my lips.

Our bodies moved as one while his hands explored my skin. I rolled him over and planted my hands on his chest, bouncing on his hips as he watched. His hands gripped my breasts, tugging at my nipples like he’d seen me do in the shower. He was studying me, finding what I liked so he knew exactly what to do.

And it was working.

He rolled us back over, and I was hanging off the bed. His large hand was cradling my head, holding me upright as he slid into my wetness. My body was humming for him as our eyes stayed connected, looking at one another through one of the most vulnerable moments we would ever be in together.

I felt the urge to kiss him, but before I could make the move, his lips descended to mine.

Almost like he knew what I wanted before I did.

He picked me up into his arms and settled his back against the headboard. His cock was throbbing deep within me, pulling at a part of me he had stroked with his tongue in the shower. I rolled into his hips, feeling his hands squeezing my ass as he guided me toward what he wanted. I could feel him bucking up into me as my hands gripped his shoulders. I felt all his muscles working for my pleasure as our foreheads connected in exhaustion.

We breathed one another’s air as our bodies writhed. We bucked and bounced. Moaned and whimpered. He grunted with exertion as the beads of water turned to beads of sweat. My skin was flushed from head to toe, and my nipples were puckered to peaks that were almost painful. I felt my toes curling again as that brushfire started in my gut, flaring out over my entire body while I buried my face into the crook of his neck.

I moaned into him, my words escaping me as I shuddered and jolted in his lap.

My pussy fluttered around him, triggering his own orgasm. He sank deeply into me, his dick trembling with every pump that filled my body. I leaned into him as his arms covered my back, hiding me from the darkness of the world I inhabited on a regular basis. Derek was this shimmering beam of light, trying to expose me to the positivity of the world he lived in and to the strength he possessed as a man, to the pride that had enabled him to climb the ranks of his life he had thus far.

I took a chance and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him into me as his cock began to dwindle.

As the orgasmic haze of our little adventure began to clear, sanity rushed back to my mind. I scrambled off his lap, leaving him bare to the room as I tugged on the sheets of the bed. I quickly wrapped them around me and shook my head, trying to clear it as the smell of our sex wafted around my head.

“Sam? Everything okay?” Derek asked.

“This can’t happen again,” I said.

“Sam, we had a good time. There isn’t anything to be—”

“This was a mistake,” I said as my eyes met his. “And it can’t happen again.”

I saw the disappointment cross his features as he nodded his head. His face set itself into stone, throwing up the same wall I’d encountered the first time we ever met. It punched me in the gut to see him bring it back up, but it had to be done. I couldn’t be this distracted by a client if I was going to save his life.

“Distractions mean dead clients,” I said. “This is bad for business.”

“That language I can understand,” Derek said as he slid from the bed. “No worries.”

“This has to stay professional,” I said.

“I hear you.”

“Never again.”

“Got it, Sam.”

The harshness of his voice pulled me from my train of thought as he skimmed by me. He gathered his clothes and made his way to his room, not bothering to change before he did so. I got an eyeful of the beautiful body I had felt on top of mine not moments ago, and I shivered at the heat ricocheting up my back.

I watched him step into his room and shut the shared door between our living space. I walked over mindlessly and cracked the door, slipping back into protective mode. I could see the outline of his body as I closed my eyes, resolving myself to yet another shower to try and scrape him off my body again.

I’d enjoyed what we’d done.

The issue was, I enjoyed it a little too much.