Eva rolled over in bed, still unable to drag her eyes open. She felt suddenly chilly.

Great. Was the heater in her apartment on the fritz again?

Pulling the covers up to her chin, she realized this wasn’t her worn flannel comforter, the same one she’d had through twelve years of Catholic boarding school. As she stretched her toes, she heard the faucet for the shower twist on in the bathroom.

Jack.

Eva blinked open her eyes to see the crown molding of the Plaza hotel room above her, and pale morning light peeking through the small gap in the drawn drapes. Her stomach lurched as she remembered the circumstances that had brought her back here. Someone had broken into her apartment. Someone had managed to breach the Antonio Fiorini Fortress.

No matter how tough she’d tried to play it, Jack had to have realized she was afraid. She’d never been good at hiding things like that. Plus, Jack had good radar in that department. He’d always been protective, and he was also fiercely loyal to Antonio, even now that Antonio was no longer among the living.

That’s why she was here. She was Jack Bennett’s charity case. She’d known that the moment the words “You’re staying with me” had left his lips.

Last night, however, she’d been too tired to fret about it. Now, reality crashed into her as she remembered why she felt so cold this morning.

She’d slept in his arms in a king-size bed. There was plenty of room to stretch out, and holding her wasn’t something he was required to do. She was pretty sure spooning wasn’t part of sex education, either.

Interesting. Very interesting.

But she refused to think about it too much. How much she liked it. How safe she felt.

It’s only for a short while, she reminded herself. Don’t get used to it.

She glanced around the hotel room. Everything was just the way they’d left it after last night’s sexy lesson—the half-empty bottle of Dom propped in the ice bucket, the chair where Jack had watched her strip pulled out from the desk.

Last night, before the break-in, he’d driven her wild…

Yes, that was something much nicer to think about than her fear, or all the confusing emotions swirling in her chest. There was nothing mystifying about the way Jack made her feel when they were skin to skin.

She shivered again, suddenly very awake as she remembered the way he had felt against her, the hungry way he’d touched her, clearly wanting her every bit as much as she wanted him. As she lay propped up against the headboard, her hand instinctively travelled beneath the waistband of her pajama pants. She slipped her fingers under the fabric of her panties and touched herself, almost absently at first. She was already wet.

Hell, now that she knew what Jack could do to her, would she ever not be wet, thinking of him?

Her mind drifted to the electric touch of his skin, his hardness hot against her thigh, and she let out a sharp gasp. She’d been so close to having sex with him. She’d never been that close with any man, but even if she had, she couldn’t imagine that anything could compare to the enormity of having the man she’d lusted for since she was a teenager inside her.

She opened her legs wider, her fingers lightly grazing her clit as she recalled how his tongue had expertly and thoroughly explored her folds, the way he’d spread her apart, delving deeper and deeper until she thought she’d explode.

He was damned good in bed. Or so the rumors went. But until last night, she hadn’t really understood what that meant.

She hadn’t known anything could feel like that.

As she rubbed her clit harder, her chest warmed. He’d always been the hottest guy she’d ever seen, a fact that had been amplified a thousand-fold by the hungry way he’d recently begun to look at her. She thought of his eyes roaming the length of her body, the way his breath had hitched in appreciation when he touched her breasts. She breathed harder, faster, imagining him between her legs, licking and sucking and hungry for her, and she let out a low moan.

She was so close to the edge that it took her a moment to realize the water in the bathroom had stopped running.

When she did, she looked over to see Jack standing in the dissolving steam from the bathroom, wearing only a towel.

Watching her.

“Oh my God,” she mumbled, ripping her hand from her pajama pants, her face flushing hot enough to catch fire. It didn’t help that his towel was slung low on his hips, not nearly covered up enough to help her cool down. That trail of hair below his navel, like a neon sign pointing the way to his cock, made her crazy. She couldn’t look away, no matter how embarrassed she was right now.

Fresh wetness pooled between her legs, confirming she was becoming a hopeless sex maniac.

“Don’t stop on my account,” he said.

Her cheeks flamed even hotter as she snapped her legs together and started to tie her pajama bottoms. “Oh, no. I was just—” She cleared her throat and fought a hysterical laugh. “I wasn’t, um.” The laugh escaped. “I mean, I wouldn’t—”

“I mean it, Eva.” His hair was wet, and there were drops of water mingling with the fine brown hair on his broad chest as he prowled toward the bed and reached out, softly but firmly pulling the covers down toward the foot of the bed. “Don’t stop. Put your hand back between your legs.”

She sucked in a breath. Oh, God. From the time she could fantasize, every one of her fantasies had involved him.

She couldn’t. Not with him right here. Staring at her. “B-but I—”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed.” He sat on the edge of the bed, very gently encircling her wrist with his fingers and removing her hand from her abdomen. His other hand tugged the string of her pajama bottoms until the tie loosened. “Consider this your next lesson.”

She gulped. “What? Oh, no. I couldn’t. I mean.” Her blush had now spread to encompass her entire blazing, shame-heated body. “Wouldn’t y-you rather do it?”

“It’s clear to me,” he said, taking her hand, “that this is where we need to focus. Before you can please a man, you need to be confident pleasing yourself.”

“Oh,” she said, wondering if that was true, even as another part of her screamed that she didn’t care if it were true, she still couldn’t do that in front of someone else. Anyone else, but especially not Jack. “But you’ll be late for work. You should go. Now. Maybe a few minutes ago even. Traffic is…trafficky in the mornings.”

Jack’s lips curved in a lazy, sexy-as-hell smile. “Your education is a priority to me, Eva. And as the boss, I can make my own hours to a certain extent.” He nudged her bottom off the bed and helped her pull the pajamas down over her hips. His fingers fluttered over her silken panties and paused.

He pressed his lips together, disapproving. “I thought I told you not to wear these.”

“I forgot,” she lied. The truth was, when she’d packed last night, she’d thought specifically of that. It was almost embarrassing, the weight she placed on everything he said. She hadn’t wanted him to know how she hung on his every word, or that a wicked part of her was ignited by the thought of wearing no panties, just for him, so like a good girl, she’d packed a few changes of underwear.

He made a tsk tsk noise with his tongue. “Disappointing.” Then he cast her pajama bottoms aside, kissed her knee, and said, “Do what you were doing before. Let me watch.”

“Jack, I can’t. I—”

“You can. And you will,” he said, holding her gaze, the heat in his eyes making her think he wanted this for reasons other than her sexual education. “Show me how you touch yourself. Show me how you make yourself come.”

She bit her bottom lip, summoning her courage—this was what she’d signed on for, after all—as she hesitantly slid her hand down over her abdomen, between her legs to the silky fabric of her panties. She touched herself, feeling anxious, panicked, and completely unsexy.

Jack watched her every move intently. “Not like that, Eva. Like you mean it, like you need it.”

Her breath rushed out. “I’ve never done this with an audience,” she whispered.

He leaned over and placed his palm over her eyes, so that her lids fluttered closed. “Close your eyes, then. Pretend you’re alone.”

She tried to focus on something other than Jack sitting there, to return to the fantasy that had nearly brought her over the first time, but her hand felt strange down there now. Cold. Stiff. And she could still sense him beside her. She inhaled the sweet spice of his aftershave, felt the steam radiating off of his body.

As hot as it was to think of him so close, wrapped only in a towel, it was also maddening. Only his hands on her would do.

Why couldn’t he see that? Why was he intent on making her suffer?

She heaved a sigh that she hoped would inspire him to take pity on her and end this lesson.

“Eva.” His voice was low, steady, and so close to her ear she could feel his breath warm on her cheek. “Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing hotter than a woman pleasing herself, knowing what gets her off. I want to know what pleases you, and I want to watch. I want to see your hand between your legs, you fingers slick and wet from slipping in and out of your pussy ”

As he spoke, his words awakened the desire in her again. She spread her legs just wide enough to slip one finger between them and ran it up along the damp satin of her panties, feeling her seam and the small curls of hair.

“That’s right. Now let me see you touch yourself, beautiful,” he said, emboldening her enough to lift the band and delve underneath. “Have you done this before?”

She nodded, the slightest, shy tilt of her head. “Mmm hmm.”

“Thinking of me?”

She bit her lip. “Mmm hmm.”

“And what did I do to you?” he asked, his voice husky and thick.

“Everything,” she whispered, as she found her clit and touched it gently. “You did everything to me.”

Rubbing her tender mound, she spread her legs even further. A moment later she felt him hovering over her, unbuttoning her top.

“Do you want to touch yourself there, too?” he asked. “Your nipples are so hard. I think they need attention, don’t you?”

As she continued to stroke herself, her other hand drifted up to her aching nipple. She cupped her breast in her hand, moaning as her fingertip brushed across her pebbled skin.

“That’s good…so fucking good,” he whispered. “Did I lick your pussy in your fantasies, Eva?”

She nodded, her breath coming faster.

“Did I fuck you? Did I make you mine, my cock working between your legs until you came so hard for me?”

Eva gasped for air, feeling like all the oxygen was being sucked from the room. “Yes, Jack. God, yes.”

“Perfect,” he murmured. “Pinch your nipple for me. Yes, just like that. How does that feel?”

“Incredible,” she said, squirming beneath her own hand. “It feels incredible.”

“Fuck, baby,” he growled. “Do you know how hot you’re making me? How much I want you right now?”

Shock made her hands go still for a moment. She was making him hot? By doing nothing but touching herself?

“Don’t stop,” he said in an almost pained voice. “Don’t stop until you come for me, beautiful. I need to see you come.”

Owning this newfound power she had over him, she began to rub herself faster, arching her spine off the mattress as she thought of him between her legs, fucking her, harder and faster. Warmth began to bloom deep inside her, radiating out to her limbs until she couldn’t believe she’d been chilly before.

“Do you want me inside you right now, Eva?” Jack asked. “Do you need me?”

“Yes. Oh, God, yes, I need you so much” she blurted out, rubbing even more furiously. Somewhere along the line she’d forgotten everything that had once held her back; now the liquid velvet sound of his voice drove her, making every inhibition disappear. Now, her fingers were coated in her slick heat. She inserted a finger into her pussy and thrust her pelvis against her own hand, imagining him gripping her tight and pushing inside of her. “Oh God. Make me come, Jack.”

She opened her eyes to see him studying her, completely rapt. He was naked, absently stroking his hard cock, and it was that hungry look that made her lose it.

She cried out as she came, hard, against her own hand, bucking off the mattress, waves of mind-numbing pleasure rendering her limp and useless.

Her body quivered as he leaned over her, his mouth finding hers in a deep, probing kiss. “You are so fucking sexy,” he whispered against her lips, his voice throaty, as his fingers lightly grazed her side.

For once, she didn’t even think about covering up. If he keeps this up, I might even start to believe that.

A moment later, as she was thinking about all the ways she wanted to make Jack come, he rolled off the bed and silently began to dress.

His cock was still rock hard.

“Um, don’t you want to…” She motioned toward his raging erection. “Do something about that?”

He smiled as he reached for his Rolex on the night table. “I’m late enough as it is.”

“Oh.” Embarrassment began to seep in again. She buttoned her top and reached for her pajama bottoms.

He kept his eyes on her as he tied his tie. “But the answer to your question is yes. Hell, yes. I do want to. I want to explore every inch of your body, fuck you until you’re too weak to get out of that bed for days. But that will take time I don’t have right now.”

As hard as it was not to beg him to stay just a little longer, she hadn’t waited this long to lose her virginity with a quickie. “What time is it? I should probably—”

There was a knock on the door. Eva pulled on her pajamas as Jack went to answer it, checking his watch on the way to the door, “Nearly nine.”

Nearly nine. Nearly nine!

“Shit! I have a sales meeting this morning!” She rocketed out of bed and dove into her bag, rummaging for her work skirt and blouse. She grabbed the first pair of underwear she could find and piled it all together, wondering if she would be able to go another day without washing her hair.

When she turned around, ready to make a mad dash to the shower, she nearly bumped into a giant room service cart. She smelled bacon and coffee—heavenly, considering she hadn’t had anything to eat since lunch the previous day. Her mouth began to water.

She looked questioningly at Jack, who stood there in his three-piece suit, looking every bit as delicious as the food smelled. He said, “I thought you’d want breakfast.”

She lifted the cover on one tray to reveal a pile of fruit-filled Danish. “Me and what army?”

“I’m sorry. I know you love Danish, but I wasn’t sure if you were a bacon or a sausage girl.”

He knew she loved Danish? It was true, she absolutely did, but she couldn’t recall having eaten breakfast with him recently. During the brunch meeting where they’d made this arrangement, she’d been far too nervous to eat a thing.

But somehow he remembered, making her wonder if Jack had been paying closer attention to her all these years than he’d let on.

“Are you eating?” she asked, feeling shy again, though she’d just bared herself to him in a way she never had to anyone else.

“I’m not hungry,” he said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He took a sip of it, stretched the kinks out of his neck, then checked his watch. “And I’m afraid I’m late enough already. I’ve got to go. But stay as long as you’d like. You had a hard night. Maybe you can cancel your meeting and get a massage at the spa, enjoy yourself.”

She wasn’t sure why that made her spirits plummet. Maybe because she could think of nothing she’d like better than to spend a long, lazy day in bed with Jack, enjoying that breakfast and each other. She pushed aside the thought of them making love, laughing, feeding each other Danishes like they were part of some cheesy Hallmark channel movie.

What part of “he has sex for sport” or “he’s late enough already” don’t you understand, dumbass?

She straightened and said, “No, I have to go, too. The head of finance is coming in with a big…” She trailed off. Since when had he ever cared about Eva’s Organics? She waved a hand. “I’m swamped today. Lots of meetings.”

They stood there regarding each other in an awkward silence, as if neither knew how to say good-bye.

Jack, not knowing what to say? Impossible.

Finally he slipped his briefcase off the table and started toward the door. Before he could reach it, though, he turned back to her. “My penthouse is in the West Village. Nine Barrow Street.” He fetched a key ring from his pocket, then pulled a key off it and handed it to her. “I won’t be there until later, I’m afraid. Will you be all right on your own?”

She laughed nervously. “Of course. This city is my home, too, Jack.”

“I understand that. But after last night, I want to make sure you’re safe.”

She hugged her clothes to her chest, touched by his concern. “You heard the officer. It was just a burglary.”

“I have a great deal of respect for the NYPD, Eva, but I’m not sure I believe their wait and see plan is the best course of action.”

Her brows drew together. “What would you do?”

“For one, I wouldn’t line up to be a victim.”

Victim. Was that what she was now? “Well, I don’t want that, either.” She also didn’t want to think about it anymore. “Anyway, thank you for letting me stay in your apartment. I appreciate the offer. It’s very…” Out of character? Strange? Intriguing? “Generous of you.”

He must have realized what she was thinking, because he shot her a wry smile as he reached into the pile of clothing she’d been holding to her chest, and pulled out the pink lace thong she’d put there. He crumpled it in a ball and deep-sixed it in the garbage can.

“Have a great day,” he said coolly, giving her one long, last smirk before disappearing out the door.