Reluctantly, I pulled out of Calista and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before hopping to my feet. Extending a hand, I grasped her fingers and pulled her up. She frowned and looked down at where my come slid down her legs, her expression quickly turning into a scowl. I tried incredibly hard, I swear I did, to keep the smug grin off my face. The deepening of her scowl when she looked at me made it clear I hadn’t succeeded.

Unable to resist, I pecked her lips once more. “Wait here, baby.” I jogged over to a table where fresh towels were stacked and snagged one, along with a bottle of water from a cooler sitting next to it. I gathered up our clothes, then returned and handed her everything before sweeping her up into my arms, ignoring her gasp of surprise. She weighed practically nothing, her body all lean muscle, and it was sexy as fuck.

“Put me down. I’m too heavy.”

I laughed straight from my belly. “Baby, you weigh about as much as a pillow.”

She sputtered as I stalked to an unmarked door across the room and held her tight with one arm while digging in the pocket of my pants for a key. I found it, tossed the slacks over my free arm, stuck the key in the knob, then twisted and pushed through the door.

We were in a large bathroom with travertine flooring, cream painted walls, a cream and gold swirled counter with a sink on the left end, and an enormous shower, the tiles made to match the floor. There was also a bench against the wall opposite the counter top and large mirror, and it sat next to another door. It was something of a cross between a locker room and an elegant bathroom. It was my private space, connecting my office to the gym. I set Calista on the counter, and she hissed at the cold on her heated, bare skin. I handed her the water, and she drank some as her wide eyes took in everything around her.

“This is awesome,” she breathed.

I grinned. “You’re welcome to use it anytime. I’ll have an extra key made today.”

Her brow furrowed and she shook her head. “No, no special treatment for the newbie. I need to earn my place here.”

Using my thumb and index finger, I pinched her chin to keep our gazes locked. “First of all, you are the most qualified security expert I have on my team. Second”—my eyes narrowed, my voice taking on a dangerous edge—“The way I handle my employees is entirely up to me. Third, this”—I pointed back and forth between us—“is not an illicit affair. I won’t hide it. You are mine, and I’m going to make sure every motherfucker in the state of Georgia knows it.”

“I’ll be branded as the woman who slept her way to the top!” she cried. “I’ve worked my ass off to earn the respect I’m given. We shouldn’t even be having a relationship at all!”

I swallowed an angry retort and sighed, cupping her face and kissing her nose. As much as I hated to admit it, she had a point. About the respect thing, not the relationship because that was definitely happening. “How about a compromise? We keep this low-key, not hiding it, but not a blatant show that we’re together either. And, I’ll start you out with jobs I would give a rookie”—I rolled my eyes at the ridiculousness of it all—“no matter how overqualified you are. And ignoring the fact that if you were just any other guy, with your qualifications, you would have automatically jumped to the top of the seniority list.”

She considered my words for a moment, the cogs of her mind almost visibly spinning. “Well, maybe not all the way down to rookie.” I laughed and let her face go to pick up the towel I’d brought with us. “It would be a non-issue if you’d just realize that working together while fucking is a bad idea.”

My head snapped up, and I glared at her. “Stop fighting what you know feels right, Calista. And, I may fuck the hell out of you at times, but we are more than temporary fuck buddies. I don’t want to hear you refer to us that way again.”

Irritated, I busied myself cleaning up our combined come from her legs and pussy, as well as my groin.

“Shit!” Her exclamation grabbed my attention, and I glanced around, looking for whatever it was that had upset her. But when I faced her again, she was staring at the towel. “We didn’t use a condom, damn it!”

“So?”

“SO?? We may not have to worry about pregnancy, but how the hell do I know if you’re clean?”

I latched onto her comment about pregnancy, but I decided to address her other concern first. “I was tested after the last time I had sex, and it was”—I fucking blushed. Seriously? Clearing my throat, I tried to shake it off—“four years ago.”

Her jaw went slack, and her eyes widened for a beat. Then her face softened, and her mouth snapped shut. She pressed her lips together, but I didn’t miss the subtle lifting of the corners.

“Um.” She couldn’t keep the small smile from forming once she started to speak. Her happiness at my lengthy, self-imposed celibacy made it worth it. “I’m clean too. I’ve only been with one—”

A deep growl rumbled in my throat as fury climbed to the surface. “Stop right there. I can’t handle the thought of anyone else touching you. It makes me want to hunt the motherfucker down and cut off his dick.”

She narrowed her eyes for a second, then shrugged and seemed to move past it. “Well anyway, I’m clean too.”

Now, about that other thing. “What did you mean when you said we didn’t have to worry about pregnancy?”

“I’m on birth control. In my… previous line of work, it was a necessary precaution. So, I’ve been on a shot for years.”

Fuck! That meant my hopes that I’d put my baby in her the night before were dashed. “How long does it last?”

She hopped down from the counter and started donning her underwear. “Three months.”

Being prepared, having a plan, those things were in my nature, something that was an asset in my field. Which led me to the need to calculate the time I’d have to wait before it would be feasible for me to knock her up. The answer would affect the jobs I assigned her, not that I was going to share that information. No need to piss her off unnecessarily. I began to dress as well, casually asking, “When was your last shot?”

She’d been tugging on her pants, but she stopped and looked up at the ceiling as she thought. Then her expression slowly morphed into one of terrified shock. “Motherfucker!” she shouted. She frantically tugged her pants the rest of the way on and scrambled for the rest of her clothes.

“Calista,” I snapped. She ignored me, so I grabbed her around the waist and slammed her bottom back down on the counter. “Why the fuck are you freaking out?”

She winced and watched me apprehensively. “I forgot to go in for my last dose.” Her face turned pleading. “I’m so sorry. I was recovering from being shot, and it slipped my mind. I’ll take care of it, I promise.”

Why the fuck was she apologizing? Did she think I’d be upset about it? I was the total opposite, my hopes springing to the surface again. It was entirely possible I’d gotten her pregnant last night. After four rounds, I’d certainly filled her with enough of my come to make sure one of my boys stuck. Our escapade on the gym floor—“What do you mean you were shot?!” I practically shouted as my brain caught up with everything she’d said.

“Calm down, Xander.” She adopted a soothing tone, but it bounced right off my wall of anger. “I’m fine. It was just a little nick.”

We weren’t done with that discussion, but I needed to know something else. “You’ll ‘take care of it’ means what exactly?” I inquired.

“I’ll go to the doctor and get a morning after pill and a new shot.”

“The fuck you will!”

Calista’s expression turned mutinous, her dark, espresso eyes narrowing. Some of her black hair had escaped the knot she’d put it in and floated around like a halo. She looked fucking gorgeous all riled up, and my cock had taken notice.

“It’s really none of your business,” she huffed. “I’ll report tomorrow for my first day.”

“It’s none of—” I almost choked on my wrath, my hard on forgotten—mostly—and before I could get another word out, she spun around and yanked open the door to the gym, letting it slam against the wall with a loud bang.

I followed her as she streaked across the floor, but I had the feeling that I wouldn’t win this argument by keeping her in the office and talking myself to death. Calista was a level-headed, unflappable person. Until it came to me, apparently. The thought made me grin, knowing I got to her. It was obvious she was also stubborn as fuck, and it would take action over words for me to win. And I. Would. Win.