Two days after that soul eviscerating kiss, Zephyr groaned as his dick throbbed again. Sunlight streamed into his apartment, but he couldn't be bothered to wake up. His mind was too focused on that kiss. Yeah, he really didn't think that through. First mistake was going anywhere near her. The second mistake was actually touching her. Sliding his fingers over her skin. Getting so close to her, he could taste her. Rookie mistake. And then like an idiot he'd kissed her. Hell, that hadn't been a kiss. That had been a claiming. No going back from that. But he had better find a way to go back.

Because now she knew she had the power to fuck with him. Because he'd unburdened his soul. Flashes of memory of her taste played tricks on his tongue.

You should have kept your mouth shut. He'd pressed against her heat, felt that possibility for combustion. Dude, get your head in the game. Never mind they'd pretty much fucked with their clothes on.

The Tanashis had basically swooped in and saved his ass. He couldn't fuck this up.

He scrubbed a hand over his face. This was fine. Friends. They could be friends. Completely manageable. They had to find a way to keep things completely professional from now on. His phone rang on the nightstand and he sat up to grab it.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Donovan? This is Harry McMenamin from Maids at Your Service. I'm sorry to inform you we had a change of scheduling with one of the usual cleaners. Would you mind terribly if we came by to clean your unit this morning? If it's too much of an inconvenience, we'll schedule someone else."

Maids at Your Service? Why did that sound so familiar? If they’d been cleaning his place since he'd been here, there had to have been a card or something. And then he remembered. He’d seen a company pin on Malia’s backpack. She worked for this company.

"Actually, would I be able to make a request for someone specifically to clean my apartment?" What are you doing? He felt like shit thinking of her cleaning his place. But the whole point was he didn't really need her to clean. He could pick up after himself. He told Tanashi Corp. as much. But they insisted on having a cleaning service.

But, if Malia was here, then they could talk. Work out that insane business from the hotel. Yesterday morning they'd gotten on the road with Tom in tow. If he’d noticed the tension between Zephyr and Malia, he hadn't said anything. Malia had spent the whole ride talking to the kid. Then she'd run off right after they returned.

Not that he blamed her. He figured they could talk it through. He had her number, but right now he was pretty certain she wouldn't answer if he called her.

"Yes, of course. You can request anyone."

"Fantastic. I'd like to request Malia Adams."

The man on the other line chuckled. "Well, as luck has it, she's your assigned cleaner. She has been cleaning your place for the last several weeks."

Oh shit. She had already been cleaning his apartment. She knew he lived here? Of course; she’d done the math. The pictures were everywhere. He wasn't sure what felt worse, her cleaning his place or her not saying anything. They were definitely having a conversation. "That's fantastic. She has been doing a great job. I just didn't know if you’d switched out staff," he said, trying to cover.

"Normally we don't. We're actually switching because of a scheduling conflict. And she wanted more hours, so you’re in luck. I usually don't let students have more than ten hours a week."

Zephyr frowned. She worked for this guy ten hours a week, and she worked the bar as well. And the dorm. And he could've sworn he heard her say something about the Sober Car, and a front desk job. Damn, how many jobs did she have? “Great, thank you.”

Not your business.

Except it was his business. He was her mentor. He was supposed to be able to guide her, give her direction. Just how much did she work? It had to be killing her. Now he had a viable reason to worry about the workload of what needed to be done for these projects. Except this time you're going to keep your opinions to yourself. Stay out of her personal life.

"You can expect her this morning. Probably around ten or so."

"Yeah. That's perfect." He hung up with Mr. McMenamin and quickly got ready for a run. If he was lucky, he would get a couple of miles in and then grab a shower before she arrived.

They would talk about this. Like adults. And he would keep from mauling her. He liked her. She was the best he had on the team. He just wanted to make sure that they understood each other. The thing that happened in the hotel? That couldn't happen again.

He needed to apologize. Yes. Better yet, he was going to lead with saying he was sorry. He wanted her. But he needed Tanashi.

* * *

Stop being a coward. Just go inside.

Malia raised her hand to knock on the door, but somehow she couldn't do it. "Come on. Get this done." They said that Zephyr was definitely going to be gone by ten. He wasn't here. And the guy wasn't a slob so it would really only take an hour to clean up. Easy peasy. In and out. He would never even know she'd been here. Malia inhaled a deep breath for some kind of fortification. Then she knocked. "Hello, this is your maid service." No one answered.

Score. He wasn’t home.

Not that she was a coward.

Maybe just a teensy bit of a coward. She certainly wasn't ready to see him so soon. The kiss in the hotel was still at the forefront of her mind. The way he kissed her, the way he tasted. Like vodka, with a hint of spice. That man smelled too good. Every time she was anywhere near him all she wanted to do was lean in and inhale. Although, yeah, that was way up on the creepy scale.

She popped her earbuds in as soon as she was in the apartment, turned on her favorite dance music, and got to work. She made quick work of the living room. Honestly, Zephyr was so neat, he really didn't need a service. After dusting the television, she headed for the kitchen.

Where in the world had he put the sponges? She put several under the sink in the kitchen the last time she was here. Maybe he moved them into the bathroom? That might explain why the bathroom was so spotless. A man who cleaned up after himself. Shocking. But hey, it made her job a lot easier. Especially on days like today where she had to get to class. She loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the counters before heading to the bathroom for the sponges.

When she stepped into the bedroom, she paused. What was that sound?

And then she froze. That sound was the goddamn shower. Oh shit. He was home. What was she supposed to do? Run? Hide? The moment she tried to back out, the bathroom door opened and steam billowed out. One second. Two seconds. Then Zephyr stepped out.

In all his birthday-suit glory.

In situations like these, she wished she could channel Emily. Emily was cool under pressure. Emily would've had something to say. Something pithy. Malia though, she froze and stared.

The man was perfection. A golden tan covered his whole body. His muscles were on full display. And dear lord he was wet.

Don’t do it. Do not look down.

She knew she shouldn't. But her gaze shifted lower and she swallowed. For the love of God. The guy was a walking ad for magnums.

The slogan would be, ‘Malia tested and pussy approved.’

She licked her lips. Honestly, what the hell was she supposed to do?

"If you keep staring at him, he's going to want you to do something with him."

"What?"

"Malia, my eyes? They're up here. As much as I like the idea of you staring at me, that's probably not going to help the situation. So maybe you want to hand me the towel on the bed?"

He was saying words. Definitely, there were words. The problem was all the processing power in her brain was currently being taken up by the visual cortex. He was—Wow. Yeah, he was tall, but the guy was like carved out of stone or something. Chiseled abs, check. Some beautiful scrolled, tattooed writing along his ribs. And yeah, then there was his dick.

It wasn’t like she'd seen that many up close. Well, okay just the one. And honestly, the few times they’d had sex it had been in the dark. So she didn't have much to compare to.

Well, now that wasn't true either because as much as Emily dated, she got sent a variety of dick pics. Malia was always her go-to person to laugh with. Malia vaguely registered him walking toward her. Long strides. Strong legs. Jesus, what sport did he play?

He had to play a sport because you didn't get that agile prowl by sitting around. When his finger tucked under her chin and lifted, her eyes snapped to meet his gaze. "Oh. Sorry. What?"

"I was asking you to stop staring at my cock. Otherwise I was going to have to do something with it."

A flash of heat singed her nerve endings. "Oh my God. Sorry. Oh my God." The problem was, with him so close now, the thick, long length of him brushed against her belly. And then well, okay, so the whimper wasn't exactly her fault. It was involuntary. Damn it.

But as soon as she whimpered, Zephyr’s pupils dilated, and he groaned low. For a long moment, she thought he was going to kiss her again. But then he deliberately stepped back.

The break of contact was exactly what she needed to bring her brain back online. Immediately, she spun around and out came the word-vomit. "God-I-am-so-sorry-I-didn't-think-you-were-home-I-knocked-there-was-no-answer-They-said-you-wouldn't-be-home-Oh-my-God." Blindly, she ran for the door.

“Malia. Wait. Let me get some clothes. I want to talk about what happened. Just give me a second."

Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit. He'd been naked. All the way naked. And she’d stared. Holy hell had she stared. Not only stared but, like, openly stared. She’d licked her lips. Oh my God. What the hell was wrong with her? She needed help. So much help.

Behind her, she could hear him opening drawers and things. Her brain finally processed what he’d said. He wanted to talk. After what she'd just done, there was no way. How cowardly would it be if she ran? The thing was she couldn't have a conversation with him. Not now. Because all she would be thinking about was his enormous dick.

The name of the game was survival. She didn't wait for him to find clothes. As a matter of fact, she left her cleaning supplies exactly where they were, and she ran.