I lean back in my seat at the bar, sipping my whisky on the rocks. The nanny is back at the apartment, watching Alexa, and I can’t wait to see Everly.

I know maybe I shouldn’t be so excited, but I can’t help myself. I could see the desire in her at the ice skating rink, and I’m starting to get impatient. I want to take this to the next level, and I want to do it sooner rather than later.

Everly shows up not long after I messaged her. She smiles when she spots me and I motion for her to sit in the empty stool to my left.

“What’s the occasion?” she asks as she leans up against the bar.

“Nothing,” I say. “Just wanted to do something, and I wanted you to come with me.”

She smiles slightly. “Were you feeling lonely?”

I grin. “Never.”

“Well, one of us is busy, you know.”

“Don’t forget that I’m your boss,” I say to her. “I know exactly what you do all day.”

“Are you spying on me?”

I lean toward her and wink. “I’m spying on everyone.”

“Creepy.”

I laugh and lean back. “Want to get a table?”

She frowns and looks around. “It’s packed. And this place is really nice.”

“You’re with me. Come on.” I stand up, grab my drink, and head over to the hostess’s table. She spots me coming, smiles, and instantly picks up two menus.

“Right this way, Mr. Ray,” she says.

I grin at Everly and she rolls her eyes. Apparently blatant displays of wealth and power aren’t going to impress her, but I don’t care. The hostess takes us into the back of the restaurant and seats us at a little table tucked into a corner. It’s perfectly private.

We sit down and Everly shakes her head. “How do you do it?”

“Friends with the chef,” I say. “They know me here.”

“Of course they do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

She grins at me and shrugs. “You’re just from a different world than me, is all.”

“Not true,” I say. “I wasn’t always this rich and powerful.”

She rolls her eyes at that. “Oh, come on, Logan. You exist in a whole different stratosphere.”

I sigh. “I can’t deny that. But it’s not like I haven’t earned it.”

“I know. That’s true. I’m just not used to this kind of treatment.”

“Well, you’re with me, Everly. So get used to it.”

She can’t help but smile as I sip my drink and look at the menu. I already know what I want, but I’m giving Everly a chance to take a look and decide.

The waitress comes by and takes our orders not long later. I always get the pasta with mussels here, and Everly orders the chicken breast. It sounds boring, but nothing here is boring.

I sip my drink and watch her as she looks around. “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten in a place like this,” she says.

“A place like what?” I ask.

“You know what I mean. Expensive.”

“Is it expensive?” I ask, pretending. “I guess I hadn’t noticed.”

She rolls her eyes again. “You’re infuriating.”

“Sometimes, you have to pay for quality.” I lean toward her. “Like with you.”

She narrows her eyes. “What’s that mean?”

“You’re an expensive investment, but you’re worth it.”

“Please don’t talk about me like I’m some car.”

“Not just any car. An expensive, beautiful car.”

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No, no, stay.” I laugh and lean back. “I’ll behave.”

She sighs. “It’s fine. I just had a stressful day. Well, really just a stressful Skype call.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What happened?”

“I told my mother.”

It takes me a second to understand what she’s talking about. “Oh shit. How did she take it?”

“Not well, but not too bad, either,” Everly says. “I think I cut the call off before she could really freak out too much.”

“I’m sorry. That must be hard.”

“No, it’s okay. I could have avoided it entirely, since this isn’t going to last forever. But I just felt bad not telling her.”

For some reason, it bothers me when she says that this won’t last forever. I know that we have a literal contract stating that this relationship is going to end after Chester signs the land sale paperwork, but even still. I don’t know what’s fucking happening with me, but I like having Everly around, and I don’t want her to have to go back to her shitty little apartment over on the west side.

Our food comes not long later and the conversation naturally drifts toward Alexa and the shelter project. Everly is still the main person in charge of marketing for the whole endeavor, so we still have a lot of work to do together. The strain seems to have gone out of it, though, and the planning feels like it’s easier now that we have this arrangement.

Dinner goes smoothly, and although we’re talking business most of the night, I still have a good time. I don’t know what it is about her, but I like just having a conversation with her, even if it’s about business. She has this laugh that’s infectious, and little habits that drive me wild, like the way she bites her lower lip when she’s thinking.

Eventually I pay the check and we head out. “Let’s walk a bit,” I say to her. “It’s nice out.”

“Okay.” She seems like she’s in a good mood as we head out onto the sidewalk.

The apartment isn’t far from here, but I’m in the mood to go the long way. I cut down a side street and we head through the park, winding our way down the tree-lined paths.

“I was told never to go in here after dark,” she says to me.

I laugh. “Don’t worry. You’re with me.”

“Do you have some magical mugger repellent?”

“Of course I do,” he says. “All the rich people have it.”

She laughs and moves closer to me as we round a bend. I take the opportunity to grab her hand and pull her closer to me. She doesn’t seem to mind it as we continue walking.

“You know, I used to be afraid of this city,” she says.

“Really?” I grin at her a little bit. “Why?”

“I’m from a small town, and everyone back home thinks that the city is full of drugs and thieves and disease. Everyone thinks it’s like the worst place in the world to live.”

“Why’d you come here, then?”

She bites her lower lip, sending a shiver of desire down my spine.

“I guess for all the reasons anyone moves away from home.”

I nod my head slowly. “You wanted to get away. Start your own life.”

“And back home, I would never have had my own life,” she says. “It would always have been the life my parents wanted for me.”

“So you came to the big scary city.”

“That’s right. Packed up my bags and ran away.” She laughs softly. “I had big dreams, you know.”

“Look at you now. Married to a billionaire. Lucky girl.”

She gives me a look. “You’re the lucky one.”

“Please. You know how many women tried to lock me down over the years?”

“Gold diggers, every one of them.”

I laugh and smirk at her. “And you’re not?”

That makes her pause. “I mean, we don’t have a real relationship,” she says finally. “It’s a business transaction. So it’s okay if I’m only in it for the money.”

“I guess that’s true,” I say, but I stop walking.

She turns and faces me. “What?”

“You keep saying that you’re only in this for the money.” I cock my head.

She bites her lip again. “I know.”

“It’s not just that, though, is it?”

She hesitates. “I don’t know what you mean.”

I reach forward and pull her toward me. She doesn’t resist at all as I grab her and pull her body against mine. She puts her hands on my chest and looks up into my eyes as I smirk down at her.

“Pretend like it’s just a business thing all you want, little wife, but it’s more than that for you. I can see it every time you look at me.”

She glances away from my gaze, but I reach up and take her chin, pulling her back toward me.

“You don’t know anything,” she says.

“I know everything. And I always get what I want.”

“You’re arrogant.”

“You make me want to strip your clothes off right here and now.”

“Logan,” she says softly, eyes wide.

“You make me so fucking hard, Everly. Since the moment I met you, I’ve been wondering what it would be like to wind my fingers through that thick dark hair of yours while I fuck your tight little cunt from behind. I want to hear your moans as I slide my thick cock between your legs. Fuck, Everly. I know you want it, too.”

Her lips are hanging open, but she doesn’t say a word. I reach up and take her hair, grabbing it in my fist, and I kiss her hard and deep.

She kisses me back, melting against my embrace. Instantly I’m hard and I sink into the kiss like an iceberg. I need this so badly, and I can’t get enough of her incredible taste. I want to taste every single inch of her, I need every single inch of her, and she has no clue how badly.

Her tongue rolls against mine, and this is far from professional, but I don’t care. I need this girl. I want to fuck her right here, take her up against a tree, fuck her rough and right. Make her feel the way I need her to feel.

But just as the kiss begins, it comes to an end. Nearby, there’s a noise in the forest, a cracking of sticks. Everly pulls away, eyes wide.

“Did you hear that?” she asks.

I look around. “Not really,” I say, not wanting that kiss to end.

“Logan.” She hits my chest. “Someone’s coming.”

There’s another cracking twig, closer now, just off the path. Everly steps around behind me, gripping my arm, clearly afraid.

But as she steps behind me, a raccoon emerges from the trees. It looks up at us, moonlight reflecting off its eyes, and then scuttles away back into the underbrush.

“Told you I had mugger repellent,” I say.

“Asshole,” Everly says, laughing, clearly relieved. “I thought someone was coming.”

“Just a raccoon.” I take her hand. “Come on, let’s get back. Alexa is waiting.”

“Yeah, okay.”

We walk quickly back down the path, the moment over for now.

I can’t stop thinking about that kiss as we go back to the apartment. Even when we relieve the nanny and I check on little Alexa sleeping in her crib, I still keep thinking about that kiss.

I don’t know what Everly wants from this. But it’s becoming clear to me what I want: Everly’s body, pressed against mine, as she moans into my ear. And I won’t stop until I get what I want.

I head back into my bedroom to take off my work clothes and to change into something a little more comfortable. Once I’m finished, I go pour myself another drink in the kitchen. Everly is in her room, though I don’t know what she’s doing. Part of me wants to burst in there and take her right now, but I know better than that.

Just as I’m settling into the couch with my drink, I hear something. It’s a thud. And then she screams.

I jump to my feet. She screams again. I drop my drink on the floor as I run to her, all thoughts of anything but Everly banished from my mind.