“What’s got you looking like someone stole your lunch money?” Jonathon asked as Declan slid into the booth.

“Fuck you, arsehole,” Declan said trying for casual, but probably sounding more like angry bear.

“It must be serious. Did the interest on your trust fund take a nose-dive?”

“Stop being a dick,” Declan growled. He was in a pissy mood. He had been for two days, ever since Brandi had left the suite and had been ignoring his calls. It was now Wednesday night and he hadn’t seen her or spoken to her since Tuesday morning when she had walked out of his life.

“Geez, what crawled up Declan’s arse and died?” Brooks said as he joined them.

Declan just glared at him and Brooks held his hands up in defence.

These were his friends but tonight they were really pissing him off. Normally he could fake his way out of a bad mood. He was the fun one of the group. Mason was the intense one, Brooks was the shark, Hunter was the one you wouldn’t want to come across in a dark alley and Jonathon was the lady-killer. Declan was the light-hearted comic relief. Usually. Not tonight though. Not when Brandi was avoiding his calls.

“It must be a woman,” Jonathon declared and Declan narrowed his eyes at his friend.

“What must be a woman?” Hunter said as he brought over a tray of beers.

“The reason Declan is Mr. Grumpy-Pants,” Jonathon said.

Hunter took a good look at Declan and his eyebrows rose. “Wow,” he said. “I don’t think I’ve seen Mr. Grumpy-Pants since he and Mason fought over Abby.”

“Who what now?” Mason asked as he pulled up a seat and looked around at them.

“We were just commenting on the new member of our group, Mr. Grumpy-Pants,” Jonathon said with a gleeful smile.

The five men had been friends since they had met at university. They had formed their own fraternity with just the five of them as members and had been a tight-knit group ever since. But right at this moment, Declan wanted to punch the smiling fucking expressions off their faces. He grabbed his beer and took a long drink, if only to keep his hand occupied so he didn’t do something stupid.

“Is this about the woman you met at the reunion?” Hunter asked.

“Why do you think this has anything to do with a woman? Can’t I just be in a bad mood? Maybe I had a bad day at the office, ever think of that?” He had, in fact, had a bad day at the office but it was more effect than cause. His bad day could be firmly placed at the feet of the bad mood he’d walked into the office with.

His friends considered his statement and then said in unison. “Nah.”

“It has to be a woman,” Brooks said. “Even bad days at the office don’t leave you this fucked up.”

Declan sighed. There was no way he could get out of sharing something about Brandi. These were his friends and he knew if it had been one of them coming in here with the same not-so-sunny disposition he had tonight, he would be the first one to call them out on it.

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s a woman.”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “A-nd another one bites the dust,” he said miserably.

Declan’s eyes snapped to his friend. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you are falling for a woman just like these other so-called confirmed bachelors did.”

“Bullshit,” he said.

So what if he missed her? So what if he wanted to spend every waking moment with her? It was just the sex. The incredible, amazing, fucking unreal sex. And the peace. The soothing calmness that he felt when she was near. He wasn’t falling for her. He didn’t do love and all that other mushy stuff. He couldn’t afford to fall in love, not when he knew that his life partner was already picked out for him.

“Are you sure about that, mate?” Mason asked and there was compassion in his eyes.

Declan forced a laugh. “Look at the lot of you. You’ve all turned fucking soft since hooking up. I’m not falling for Brandi. She’s hot and we have a good time when we’re together, but that’s all it is.”

“So why the foul mood?’ Hunter asked.

“She’s been blowing me off, not answering my calls.”

“Ah,” Jonathon nodded as if in understanding. “The great Declan Mayfield has been dumped.”

“What? No way man. She’s my date for the hospital benefit. She hasn’t dumped me.”

There was a stunned silence at his words. What had he said to give them all that shocked look?

“She’s your date?” Mason asked slowly. “As in, you’ve already asked her to be your date?”

He looked at the faces around him and knew he’d made a mistake.

“I needed a date for the benefit to throw my mother off, remember? I told all of you this when we played golf on the weekend.”

“And so Brandi agreed to be your pretend girlfriend?” Mason asked. “Or have you not told her that part?”

“Don’t be an arsehole,” Declan growled. “Of course I told her the whole situation and it just so happens she has a situation of her own. We have a mutually beneficial agreement. I pretend to be her fiancé to get this guy off her back that won’t take no for an answer, and she pretends to be my girlfriend in order to get my mother off my back.”

“Okay, so if you have an agreement in place and all of this is just pretend then why the fuck are you so pissed off?” Hunter asked.

“Because I haven’t seen her in two days!” Declan said frustrated that they didn’t seem to get it.

Jonathon rolled his eyes and turned away in disgust. The other three men looked at him intently.

“You do know it’s only pretend, don’t you buddy?” Brooks asked.

“Fuck you,” Declan said. They didn’t get it. They didn’t get that even though he and Brandi had an agreement, there was more to it than that. Yeah they were pretending but they were both having fun in the meantime. It wasn’t serious. It didn’t mean he was falling for her. It was just the sex. The fucking amazing sex.

Brandi looked up as her father walked into her office.

“Have you been avoiding Declan Mayfield’s calls?” he asked and Brandi had to swallow the gasp that burbled in her throat.

“Ah, no?”

“He just called me and said he hadn’t been able to get a hold of you over the last few days. He’s eager to meet with you to finalise the install of his software.”

Brandi barely managed to stop from rolling her eyes. Declan had stopped calling her but hadn’t given up. Instead he’d gone over her head.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “I’ll call him today and set up a meeting.”

“No need,” her father said as he turned and walked to the door. “I took the liberty of setting a meeting with him on your behalf. You need to be at his office in half an hour.”

Fucking Declan! Why was he doing this? Couldn’t he see that he was driving her crazy?

“Fine,” she said out loud to her father’s retreating back.

Brandi finished what she was working on and stood, grabbing her handbag and heading out the door. Peyton wasn’t at her desk, which Brandi was glad about. Peyton would want to come with her and Brandi definitely wanted to take this meeting solo. She detoured to the bathroom to touch up her makeup and on a whim, she slipped into a stall and removed her panties, stuffing them in her bag. She smiled to herself. Brandi was under no illusions as to the real reason Declan wanted to see her and if she was honest with herself, she was kind of glad that he hadn’t given up. There was a sneaky little thrill in knowing that he missed her enough to go through her father to get to her.

With a bounce in her step she headed for the parking garage and slipped into her car. The drive was short but hampered by traffic and she should probably have taken a cab except she didn’t know just how long this meeting was going to take and she wanted to have access to her car in case it went over long…or they reconvened somewhere else for a more intensive meeting.

Brandi tried to tamp down the excitement that fizzed under her skin at seeing Declan again. She had been trying to deny the attraction and thought if she could just stay away from him the chemistry would fizzle out. By her reaction to this meeting, her attempts had been in vain. It appeared the only way to get Declan out of her system was to ride this out to its conclusion. It flew in the face of everything she wanted - a steady relationship with an eye to the future - but the raw need that she felt demanded that she slake her lust with him. Plus, she wanted to and had been lying to herself over the last few days by denying that fact. She could blame her body and his all she liked, but the fact was she liked being with Declan. All the more reason to avoid him, because she knew that she would be the one to walk away with a broken heart. It didn’t matter how much she tried to tell her heart this, the heart wanted what the heart wanted and wouldn’t listen to her rationalisations.

She took the lift to his office and the receptionist greeted her cooly. Brandi was used to women taking an instant dislike to her and she sighed as she took a seat. Declan was a good-looking guy and no doubt a few of his employees held a torch for him. All the more reason for them to hate her. Why was it that when another woman looked at her she saw an enemy? It was the reason she had so few girlfriends. Other women saw her as competition. She just wanted someone to confide in and talk trash about boys with.

The door to Declan’s office opened and her train of thought derailed as he looked at her with a stern face.

“Ms. Calloway,” he said and his deep voice sent a shiver down her spine and caused her nipples to bead under her shirt. “Come through.”

Brandi stood and smoothed down her skirt before walking over to Declan and past him into his office. He closed the door with a definite click and then she could feel him at her back. He didn’t touch her and her body cried out in frustration.

“You’re a very difficult woman to get ahold of,” he whispered in her ear and she closed her eyes.

Brandi breathed him in, relishing the subtle scent of his aftershave and the warmth radiating off his body.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“Yes,” she breathed and he spun her around so she faced him.

He searched her eyes before lowering his head and capturing her lips in a tender kiss. She couldn’t stop her arms as they wound around his neck and her body rejoiced as she pressed it against him.

“I missed you,” he murmured against her neck. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

“Self-preservation,” she said breathily as his hands roamed over her hips to cup her bottom and pull her even closer to him.

“I need you,” he said, his voice raspy. He either didn’t hear what she said or chose to ignore it.

“Okay,” she replied.

He walked her over to the credenza that sat along one wall of his office, not breaking the bodily contact between them. He lifted her onto the cupboard and nudged his way between her thighs, forcing her legs apart and causing her skirt to ride up and display her little surprise.

“Oh God,” he said as he looked down. “Did you do this for me or have you been at work all day without underwear?”

“This was for you,” she said, nipping at his neck.

“Fuck,” he breathed, drawing the word out.

“Yes please,” she said.

They fumbled with his belt and fly and then he rolled on a condom he produced from his pocket before he pushed into her, both of them groaning softly at the contact.

“You’re already wet for me,” he whispered as he slid out and back in.

“I’m always wet for you,” she moaned softly.

“I can’t get enough of you,” he said, almost to himself as he thrust into her.

She hooked her legs around his hips, crossing her ankles and squeezing him closer, deeper. She couldn’t get enough of him either.

He nibbled at her neck and his hand worked the buttons on her blouse until he had it open. He buried his face in her cleavage and took a deep breath. Brandi leaned her head back against the bookcase behind her and squeezed her eyes closed. This man could blow through all her defences without a thought. She both loved and hated the effect he had on her. Right now, she loved it.

He pulled down a lacy cup and sucked a nipple into his mouth and she hissed. He let the hard tip go with a pop.

“You need to be quiet, my love,” he whispered in her ear. “Or everyone in the office will hear you scream my name and as much as that would be incredibly hot, it would also alert them to what we’re doing in here.” He bit the lobe of her ear and she mewled quietly as her fingers gripped his shoulder. “Besides,” he said as he continued to pump into her, “all those sounds you make, they’re mine and I don’t want anyone else hearing them.”

She buried her face in the crook of his shoulder and moaned. She loved the way he talked to her during sex. She loved that he liked her noisy. The men in her past hadn’t appreciated her very vocal approach to sex, but Declan encouraged it - except when they were in his office. The constraint was another turn on, heightening the experience. The knowledge that anyone could hear them made her more desperate. The knowledge that anyone could walk in on them added a whole new layer to the experience as well and before Brandi could comprehend it, her orgasm was rushing towards her like a speeding truck. She clenched around Declan and he held her tight, his arms wrapping around her as he continued to thrust into her. She lifted her head to him and he kissed her, stealing her cries as she came. He followed her over, his body going taut as his cock throbbed with his release. He held onto her as they both panted in the aftermath of the intensity they had just shared.

Declan’s head reeled with his release. He didn’t think he had come so hard before or needed it so desperately. The days of radio silence had ratcheted up the agitation under his skin and it was only in this moment, while he was still buried inside her that he finally felt the calm that had been so elusive. He felt her relax against him, her body going boneless and he couldn’t help smiling. She had missed him just as much as he had missed her. Now he just had to understand why she had been avoiding him.

They both moved at the same time and she stifled a giggle. He kissed her tenderly, cupping her cheek and breathing her in before turning away so he could take care of the condom. When he turned back to her she had slipped off the credenza and smoothed down her skirt. Did it make him a deviant that the thought of her going through the rest of her day without panties and with his scent all over her gave him such great satisfaction? Probably, but he didn’t really care.

With a grin at her and her answering smile, they walked over to his desk and took their seats.

“You do know that I’ve been sending you email updates about your software daily, don’t you?” she asked as she smoothed a piece of hair back behind her ear.

“I know,” he said, “but it’s not the same as seeing you.”

She rolled her eyes. He leant forward, his elbows on his desk in an attempt to get closer to her.

“Why were you avoiding me?”

She took a breath and looked down at her lap. “I told you. Self-preservation.”

He’d heard her say that earlier but still didn’t understand it hearing it a second time. “What do you mean?”

She looked up at him and bit the corner of her lip. He wanted to reach out with his thumb and pull the plump flesh free and then kiss it. Why did he have this constant need to touch her, to have her close?

“This,” she said swirling her hand between them. “Us. It’s intense. I don’t want to get hurt.”

“You think I would hurt you?” He was offended that she would think that despite him having a very bad track record when it came to women. Brandi made him want to try the whole relationship thing, not that he would ever admit it out loud.

“I don’t think you would do it on purpose,” she said softly. He watched as she took a deep breath and appeared to straighten her shoulders like she was going into battle. “We need some ground rules,” she said and he nodded, holding his breath. He wasn’t ready to let her out of his life yet and if she told him he couldn’t see her anymore he wasn’t quite sure how he would deal with that. “I can’t spend every night in your bed.”

“I’m happy to spend them in your bed,” he replied and she quirked a smile at him.

“That’s not what I mean,” she said.

“Well then, I at least want you to spend the entire weekend in my bed.”

She shook her head. “I have commitments on the weekend. I visit the hospital on Saturday and I have a party on Sunday.”

“But not at night,” he said. “Those you can spend with me.”

“The hospital benefit is tomorrow night,” Brandi said.

“So?”

“Our agreement was that we would each pretend to be each other’s significant other for the night. That was it.”

“That won’t be enough to convince my mother that we are in a relationship,” Declan said, his mind firing desperately, trying to find a way to keep her in his life longer. “She will want you to attend Sunday brunch and there will no doubt be a family dinner thrown in for good measure.”

“Declan—”

“And I’m sure your Dr. Shane won’t be convinced by just seeing me once. I should come to the hospital with you on Saturday. You can introduce me to Caitlyn.”

He held his breath as she searched his gaze. He couldn’t let this weekend be the end of their rela—…ah, no, he couldn’t even think the word let alone say it aloud. She sighed and lifted her eyes to the ceiling.

“Fine,” she said. “You get this weekend.”

He fought the smile and then gave up letting it break across his face which made her chuckle and shake her head. He couldn’t help it. He was happy.

Brandi stood and he frowned. “Where are you going?”

“Isn’t our meeting over?”

“But we haven’t even discussed the software—”

“Declan,” she said in a long-suffering tone, “you didn’t call this meeting to discuss the software. Everything you need to know is in the emails I sent you, which you already knew before you called my father.”

“But I don’t want you to go yet. At least have dinner with me.”

“It’s two o’clock in the afternoon. I have work to do.”

“Lunch?”

She laughed and walked around the desk, planting herself on his lap and straightening his tie. His arms wrapped around her holding her in place as she looked into his eyes. “You are going to be very, very bad for me,” she whispered before kissing him.

As her soft lips teased his, he knew that the feeling was mutual. She was going to ruin him and right at that moment he didn’t give a fuck.