“I was gonna compliment you on the house until you opened the door.”

I looked at Sam questioningly as he stood on my newly painted front porch. Noting my look, he explained. “Don’t get me wrong. The house looks great, but you look a hell of a lot nicer.” His eyes swept over me from head to toe and back again, making me both pleased and self-conscious.

Assuming there would be no motorcycle death ride this evening, I’d opted for a sundress. The fabric was light and airy, and it was a deep shade of blue. Platform sandals finished the outfit, and my hair lay loose around my face. The red streak was barely noticeable anymore. I’d spent a ridiculous amount of time getting ready, but it wasn’t every day a girl propositioned a police officer. I wanted to look my best.

“Thank you, Sam. You look nice too.” Nice didn’t quite cover it. He looked freaking hot. His face was clean-shaven, allowing his sexy eyes and eyebrows to steal the show, and he wore a casual black button down rolled at the sleeves, with jeans and boots. His forearms were exposed, and my eyes gravitated toward his skin of their own accord. It was a few shades darker than mine and covered with the perfect amount of hair.

“You ready?” he said, saving me from doing something embarrassing like stroking his damn arm.

“Absolutely.” I closed the door behind me and made sure it was locked.

“Aren’t you going to do the bolt lock?”

How had I let myself forget Sam’s overprotective side in the last few days? Wordlessly, I pulled out my key and locked the top lock. Sam put a hand to my lower back and led me off the porch to a silver Jeep Cherokee. After opening my door, he crossed to the driver’s side and got in.

“How does dinner and music sound?” He started the car and looked over at me.

“Great. What kind of music?” I loved just about any genre of music, but try as I might, I could never get into jazz. Hopefully that wasn’t his preference.

“You’ll see,” was all he gave me.

We drove downtown and I asked him about his weekend with Sofia’s boys and Monica’s emergency. He pretended the boys hadn’t run him ragged, but I could tell he was lying through his teeth. I said as much.

“Not true. We had a great time.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that, but I’ll bet you were out of your mind by the time they went to bed at night.”

“I may have treated myself to a couple beers,” he finally admitted.

“How much damage did they do?”

His eyes swung to mine. “Have you been talking to Sofia?”

I laughed. “No. I just figured your place wasn’t kid-proofed. I know from experience what a three and five-year-old are capable of.”

He turned the car onto Elm. “Fine. One of them peed his name on the bathroom rug and the other fed glow-in-the-dark Silly Putty to the neighbor’s dog.”

I covered my mouth and tried not to laugh at him.

“And that’s just the beginning.”

We pulled into a parking spot on the street and he, once again, opened my door for me and led me with his hand resting lightly on my back. It sent a tingling warmth through my midsection, making me recall parts of my dream. We made our way to an Italian restaurant I’d been wanting to try. It was only a few doors down from Bistro Eleven. I hadn’t even thought about the possibility that Sam may have inadvertently taken me to my sister’s restaurant. Bullet dodged there. She would have watched us like we were bacteria in a petri dish.

The host seated us, and our waitress approached to take our drink order. We settled on a bottle of wine to share and were soon left to our date, each with a freshly poured glass on the table.

“A toast,” Sam said, holding his glass up. “To first dates.” He gave me a grin, but it dropped when he saw the uncertain look on my face. “What did I say?”

I played with my napkin for a moment, trying to work up the nerve to speak.

“Jenna,” he continued in a somewhat commanding voice. I had to talk now or who knew what he’d follow that with.

“About the dating thing. We need to discuss that.” I took a sip of wine to fortify myself before continuing. “See …” I began and then let out my breath. Okay, this was kind of embarrassing. Oh well. I’d just have to spill it all and let him know where he stood. It was only fair.

“So, Sam.” I bit my lip. “Here’s the thing.” I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. Just spit it out, Jenna! My words fell out in a rush. “I’ve only ever had sex with my ex-husband and I think in order to move on with my life I need to have sex with someone else. Then I can take control back and not let him own that one part of me anymore. But I am one hundred percent not ready to start any kind of relationship. I only want sex. And only till my girls come home in two weeks.” I grabbed my glass by the stem and practically chugged the contents, not daring to meet Sam’s eyes.

It was very quiet at our table. The diners around us chatted and the clinking of silverware and dishes could be heard. But our table? Fucking crickets.

As I was about to call for the check—or a large pepper grinder to hit myself over the head with—Sam finally spoke.

“So, you’re saying you want to spend the next two weeks having lots of sex with me. Do I have that right?”

I dared a look at his face and could not for the life of me discern his expression. “Yes?” I asked more than answered.

His hands were folded on the table in front of him and he eyed me for another moment before leaning back in his chair, casual as can be. “Okay.” He shrugged.

Okay?!

My chin drew back. “Just like that?”

“Sure. Why not?” He shrugged again.

“Oh. Okay. Great.” I picked up my wine glass again but it was empty. Sam leaned forward and poured me another portion from the bottle resting in a wine chiller on our table.

“I don’t mind being the horse you get back on, so to speak. I don’t mind at all.” The sides of his mouth crept up in a sly smile.

“And it wouldn’t be weird?”

He shook his head. “Fuck no. These young kids do it all the time—friends with benefits or some such shit.”

I paused with my glass halfway to my mouth. “Are you aware you talk like an elderly sailor? It’s the oddest combination.” I shook my head slightly.

He barked out a laugh and suddenly my jangled nerves settled and we were just two people enjoying each other’s company over wine and dinner. The fact that we happened to be embarking on a somewhat unusual arrangement was of no matter. I gave him a smile and we both opened our menus.

After way too much food and just the right amount of wine, Sam took my hand and we walked down the street toward what I assumed was his chosen music venue. His hand was big and warm, his grip firm. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d held a man’s hand, yet it felt completely natural.

We turned the corner and I paused, causing Sam to come to an unexpected stop. Ahead of us was a line of people waiting to enter a place called The Station. It was a combination nightclub and small-concert venue, and often featured touring bands. One look at the billboard showed that Judah & the Lion was playing tonight. I had no idea who that was, but from the size of the line, they must be good.

Sam looked back at me and noted my trepidation. “Trust me,” he said, pulling me with him to the front of the line.

“Sam! We can’t just cut in line!” I hissed at him.

He winked and grinned at me. “Sometimes it pays being a police officer.” Then he approached a very muscular bouncer and they engaged in hushed conversation. I looked apologetically to the couple waiting at the front of the line. They ignored me. When I glanced back at Sam and the giant bouncer, he still had his back to me and he was gesturing toward something or someone behind the guy. Another minute passed and Sam finally returned.

His hand rubbed the back of his neck and his eyes didn’t quite meet mine.

“Let me guess. Now isn’t one of those times?” I raised my eyebrows and he finally met my eyes.

“It seems not.” He threw his hands out to the sides. “I am so sorry. My buddy Mack is supposed to be working the door tonight.”

I pointed toward the bouncer. “I take it that’s not Mack.”

“Nope.” His hand went back to his neck.

“That’s okay.” I shrugged. “We can just wait in line with everyone else.”

“Um …” Sam’s face began to color. “The people in line already have tickets. Something we don’t have …” he trailed off.

I bit my lip to hide my grin. Poor Sam, trying to impress me and having it blow up in his face. I placed my hand into his and tilted my head in the direction we’d come from. “It’s okay. We’ll just do something else.” I took a few steps and he finally followed, looking a bit hangdog.

Once in the car, he regained some of his swagger. We went to a bar and talked some more while I ordered another glass of wine and he requested a cup of coffee. “Thank you kindly, ma’am,” he said to the waitress who, thankfully, appeared to be somewhere in her sixties.

“Are you going to explain to me how you developed your weird speech habits?”

He smirked. “You’re really hung up on this, aren’t you?”

I just raised an eyebrow in response. He put both hands on the table and spoke. “English isn’t my parents’ first language. When they moved to the States, they learned the language from watching television—mostly older shows. My dad talks like a Latin Andy Griffith. I guess some of it rubbed off.”

I pictured that in my head and it brought an amused expression to my face. “So that makes you Opie, then?”

“That’s Officer Opie to you.”

I sucked in a breath. That’s Officer Hottie to you. His words were so close to my dream, a flash of heat ran through my entire body. Sam must have noticed the change and his brows drew together.

“What’s the matter?”

I waved him off, entirely unconvincing. “Nothing. I was just reminded of something.”

“Something that makes you blush? Feel free to share.” Our drinks arrived and he thanked the waitress, calling her ma’am again. No surprise there. Happy for his momentary distraction, I crossed my legs to quell the sensation forming between my thighs, but it only made it worse. My newly bare skin brushed against the satin of my panties and I almost moaned. Jesus, I was seriously afraid I might purr if he touched me right now.

“Tell me more about your family.” I hoped the subject matter would make him behave. He considered me and decided to give me a break. I heard about his parents and siblings and I shared a bit about my family in return. He’d spent most of his life in Sunview and seemed to have a close relationship with his entire family. I also got to hear some stories about Sofia that would be perfect blackmail material if I ever had need of it. We left thirty minutes later and headed toward my house.

My nerves made a spectacular comeback as we approached the front door. I had absolutely no idea how to do this. Did we just go inside and strip? Did we wait for the next time we saw each other? I was at a complete loss.

Sam took the keys from my shaking hand and reached around me to unlock both locks. When he stepped back a bit, I turned to face him. “Thanks for—” I didn’t get any further. His mouth covered mine and my body was pressed firmly between my newly-painted front door and Sam’s firm chest. Hot damn!