It was too damn early, even for my standards.

As I walked through the dark hall toward my office, the automatic lights flickered to life. I rubbed my eyes, stifling the yawn I’d been holding since I woke up that morning. I’d slept like shit, just like I had on Friday and Saturday, and if I didn’t get a cup of coffee soon, I was sure I’d collapse right here on the drab beige carpet.

Stepping into my office, I made quick work of setting up my one-cup coffee maker and booting up my laptop. Through my windows, the lavender-salmon dawn was starting to light the spring sky, and a deep tinge of red ran through the clouds like blood.

But then, ever since Friday night, it felt like I saw the same shade of red everywhere I went. It was on my dishes and in street signs. The color of stoplights and even my car. All of it matched the damn tiny skirt Piper had been wearing on Friday night—the skirt I’d yanked up to her waist and used as an anchor as I thrust into her over and over again.

My groin throbbed at the memory, and I took another step toward my brewer, where I grabbed my mug and took a long sip. Every time I’d closed my eyes all weekend long, I’d been assaulted by the memory of what Piper and I had done—the way her pliable little body had submitted to my will.

A few times, I’d even been tempted to call her and demand an answer to my proposition. But I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, show that kind of weakness.

The truth was she was going to give me one of two answers—either she would agree to casually screw me on the side or she wouldn’t. Her choice ought to have made no difference to me. After all, it wasn’t like there was a shortage of women who wouldn’t jump at that arrangement.

But fuck, it just did. It mattered to me—immensely.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that when I tried to close my eyes at night, it was with the mental image of Piper climbing on top of me and riding me hard and rough while her breasts bounced and her wild hair fell loose around her shoulders.

Pushing the thought away, I took another sip of my coffee, settled at my computer, and tried to focus on work. The merger was getting closer every day, and God only knew I had plenty to do before then. Everyone else in the office building would start pouring in in an hour or so, and it would help to get a head start on things before the administrative meeting that was to take place first thing this morning.

I glanced at the variety of boards Piper had laid out for me and then opened my email and scanned for her name. Nothing. I checked my phone, but there were no new messages. Not one.

At least that would make it easier to concentrate.

I opened the first email and scanned it quickly, but before I could tap out my reply, I glanced at the corner of my desk and stopped. The picture frame that normally sat there was gone. I blinked, wondering what might have happened, but then, in another flash, I remembered the clatter of it falling to the ground as Piper gripped the end of the desk, her body bumping against the lacquered top.

It would be on the floor. Wheeling over, I bent to pick it up and set it right, and then shook my head and tried to focus again on the message opened in front of me. In the corner of my eye, I could see a few people already starting to shuffle in as more lights flickered into existence.

I swallowed hard.

Okay, back to work.

A notification popped up in the corner of my monitor, and I clicked on it to find a reminder about the administrative meeting. Piper had linked her calendar with my own, and I could see that she would be there as well.

The rest of her day, like mine, was busy, and I spotted a small window of time between the administrative meeting and her lunch break that looked tantalizingly free. Clicking on the empty space, I typed instructions to her to meet me in the lounge of the hotel around the corner.

It was presumptuous, I knew that, and it was more than enough for her to sue me for sexual harassment if things didn’t go my way…

But damn if I could focus on that when every time I looked at my own desk, it was with the memory of her breasts pressed against the counter as I worked her from behind. No, when it came to Piper, I had to take risks, and today I was going to take the biggest one of all.

I snatched up my laptop, made my way to the conference room, and waited until one by one, the other assistants from around the office building filed in. Each of them glanced at me curiously as they entered with their coffee and tea, but other than the odd good morning, none of them bothered to question me.

Not that I could blame them for their wondering expressions. In all the years since I’d opened this branch of the company, I’d never once bothered to show up to these meetings. But today was different—for more reasons than one.

Sally, my HR nemesis, entered the room and offered me a warm smile for once, probably because I hadn’t fired my new assistant yet. But as she greeted me, my peripheral vision snagged on the one person I’d been waiting to see.

Piper was walking into the room, her shoulders hitched high around her ears as she fidgeted with the papers in her arms. Today she was wearing one of her usual staid outfits—a white button-down shirt with a sensible olive skirt—and her wild hair was pulled into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

It didn’t bode well for what I was hoping she had to tell me, but after I extended a cheerful “good morning” to Judy from Human Resources, I opened my computer and got down to business.

With the clearing of her throat, Judy started the meeting, and I listened quietly and intently until someone from the finance department got up and launched into a diatribe at the end of the table.

Then, opening the messenger on my computer, I typed out:

For a long moment there was no answer, and then three little dots appeared, letting me know someone had seen my message and was responding to it. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, studying as she typed and deleted and then typed and deleted again before finally sending:

I smirked.

I blinked at my screen and then glanced over to see her adjusting her screen nervously. The girl from finance sat down, and when Judy began to speak again, I dived back into my mission.

I glanced over and caught sight of a pretty pink blush spreading over her cheeks.

I shot a surreptitious glance her way and nearly grinned as she fumbled frantically at her keyboard.

I cleared my throat to choke back my chuckle, and Judy looked over at me, startled.

“Mr. Dane?” she asked.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if I might borrow my assistant? Something very important has just come up.”

“Always.” Judy nodded, and I gave Piper a significant look as I rose from my seat.

“You’re sure this can’t wait?” Piper asked pointedly, but I gave her a single shake of the head. “I hate to waste everyone’s time.”

“It can’t.”

Without so much as another glance in her direction, I stepped from the room and led the way to my office, holding my door open and motioning for her to step inside.

When she followed, I clicked the door closed behind us and drew the blinds to ensure nobody would be able to see what happened next—and I had a few ideas of how I was hoping it might go.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded.

“I think I’ve made myself clear,” I shot back, already feeling better just being close to her than I had all weekend. “You had the weekend to decide, and now I want an answer.”

“So you decided to crash my meeting?” She shook her head. “You’re incredible.”

“But you like it. So tell me, what’s it going to be?”

“I should say no.” She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

“You should, which means you don’t want to.”

She was silent for a long moment, her gaze trained on the floor, but then she met my eyes again. “Look, I’m not going to deny there’s something here. Some…chemistry or something.”

“Good start.” I shrugged.

“And I enjoy being with you in a physical way.” Her pink cheeks burned brightly, but rather than commenting, I smiled at her, encouraging her to continue.

“So, I’m interested in continuing our…arrangement. On one condition.”

“And what’s that?” I asked, a fresh wave of triumph sweeping over me.

“I want to be monogamous.”

“You what?” I blinked.

In all the affairs I’d had, of course women had asked me this before, but I had always out-and-out refused. For a man like me—with so many business trips and so little time for enjoyment—I’d never liked the idea of limiting my options.

“You heard me. While we’re in our arrangement, I don’t want you sleeping with other women.” Her chest heaved, and her lively eyes were snapping fire.

“Look, if this is about safety, I always wear a condom. I don’t see what the problem here is. We had a good time, and—”

“I don’t want to be screwing you and sending flowers to other women. It’s awkward and weird,” she shot back.

“I thought we agreed on this being casual,” I cautioned.

“We did.” She nodded. “But I want to only be with each other. The same would go for me, of course.”

“And if I say no?” I challenged.

“Then the deal is off. I’ll see other people. You’ll see other people.”

I considered this. The idea of watching her come and go in front of my desk, some random man picking her up and taking her out. Some other man inside her…

“What if you were monogamous and—”

She cut me off with a laugh. “Ha! Nope. Both of us or nothing.”

I clenched my fist but gave her a solemn single nod.

“Fine, then. We have a deal. But if you check your calendar, I think you’ll also find we both have an appointment to keep, and I don’t like to be kept waiting.”

It was out of character. Totally nuts, whatever this thing we were doing was.

But fuck, I couldn’t wait to start.