“We had sex four times and didn’t use protection.”

That’s how Sasha greeted me when she answered the door wearing just a white satin robe, her face make up free, and her wet hair hanging over her shoulders.

“I mean, I’m protected, and I always make men wear condoms. Like always. You were the first man I had sex with that I didn’t use a condom with. I got majorly carried away at your place.”

I put my hand on her stomach and pushed her back into her house, silencing her with my mouth on hers. As I kissed her, she kept mumbling against my lips, so I deepened it and silenced her with my tongue invading her mouth. Then the whimpers came, and I fucking loved every second of it. Her fists clenched my shirt as I walked us into her living room. My hand moved from her stomach and into her hair. Wrapping her blond locks around my fist, I tugged it gently and her whimpers transformed into moans. She was going to be my undoing.

I softly bit her bottom lip after breaking our kiss. Our breathing was heavy, the air around us thick. “I’m clean, sweetheart. I knew you wouldn’t have let me in if we weren’t covered,” I admitted, my lips resting over hers so she could practically taste every word I spoke. “I fucking love hearing that I was your first, and the way you’re going, I’m going to want to be your last.”

“You can’t say things like that,” she whispered, her flushed cheeks giving her away. “I’m glad we sorted that out.”

“Is that what you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yeah.” Her gaze dropped to my mouth. “You should probably go.”

“I think we should talk about our fifth time.”

She rolled her eyes and bit her lip. Attitude and need, all rolled into one.

Sassy, playful Sasha went into battle against hesitant, nervous Sasha.

An hour later we experienced our fifth time.

I got Sassy, playful Sasha.

* * *

“We’ve got to stop breaking the rules.”

Sasha’s blonde hair covered my chest as she rested against me and laid her head over my heart. After christening her couch, she grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her bedroom, both of us naked, still breathing heavy, and covered in a sheen of sweat. Her bedroom looked like something out of one of those house and garden magazines Dee always had lying around her house. A huge bed with a white comforter and red and purple cushions took up the majority of the room. There was a white dresser, and two matching bedside tables sat on either side of the bed. Bright artwork hung on the wall, and candles were featured on every surface. It was totally Sasha.

It was her time to lead. As soon as we entered her bedroom, we moved to her bathroom and showered. We didn’t say a word, each of us lost in our own thoughts. My intrigued gaze drank in every move she made. My eyes had slammed closed when she gently turned me around and washed my back with her orange-scented body wash, before turning me back around and focusing on my chest. Even though I wasn’t inside her, she was deep inside me. If I was being honest, it rocked me. No woman had stampeded me the way she had. I’d never met anyone like Sasha Hamilton before.

After we’d showered we climbed in bed, and I pulled her onto me as I lay on my back. We lay in silence, but our gaze was locked. I had no fucking clue what she was thinking, but I knew I was fighting a losing battle. She had slid her body up and kissed me softly before something switched on within her. Our kiss shot from soft to intense, from gentle touches to digging fingers and nails down skin. It was gasps and moans, and cries and whimpers. It was making out like I’d never experienced before, and I gave her that. The fact that we didn’t have sex made the intimacy even greater. My hand had found its way into her panties, and I gave her the release she wanted. When she came, she whispered my name, buried her face into my neck, and kissed my throat. I felt that kiss on every fucking inch of my body, and it seared itself into my memories forever.

“There are no rules when it comes to us,” I murmured into the air. “Thought we covered that after we broke your rules the first time.”

She stilled against me, and I waited. Waited for her to pull away from me, and for me to lose her again. Just like on Sunday. My fingers dug into her hip and her body relaxed against me, then her fingertip began drawing on my chest again.

“We’ve got to work on that,” I declared into the darkness.

She shifted until her chin rested on my chest and her eyes looked up at me through the darkness. “Work on what?”

I looked down at her and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You pulling away. I’m not a huge fan of losing you when I’ve just had you.”

“I’m not pulling away, I’m just tired.”

“Bullshit.” I grinned down at her, and in the moonlight I saw her roll her eyes.

“You wear me out,” she pressed on.

“You giving me the keys yet?”

“I have no clue what that means.”

“You’ll figure it out.”

I felt her shake her head. Before she drifted off to sleep, she kissed my chest, and I knew one day she’d hand them over.

* * *

“You’re the friend, aren’t you?”

My head shot up from scrolling through my phone and I recognized the hostile voice behind me immediately.

“Depends who you’re talking about.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Hunt.”

“Well, stop fucking with me, Hamilton.”

Drew Hamilton stepped into view and took the seat opposite me. It was early morning at Missy’s, and the fact that he was here and not giving a fuck who saw us told me that he meant business. We locked in a fierce stare, and I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t been waiting for this moment for a long fucking time. We weren’t strangers, but we definitely weren’t the closest of friends. He’d been in the year above me at school, and we were both on the football team. Nine months ago, we got onto each other’s radar in Salt Lake City, and it had nothing to do with football, but everything to do with Edward O’Leary.

“What are you doing about the O’Leary bullshit?” he said low. “He had his hands on Sasha, and that does not sit well with me. Now she has a bruised cheek. It isn't a coincidence that this shit has happened since he came back to town. This changes a lot of fucking things.”

Hearing him talk about O’Leary touching Sasha made my blood boil. “You wanna tell me why you were having lunch with him?”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, Hunt.”

“You have no fucking clue who you are dealing with when it comes to O’Leary. Do not get involved with this.”

He leaned in, eyes blazing with anger. “I grew up with him. I know exactly what I’m dealing with. I witnessed firsthand him changing into the asshole he is today. Do you honestly think I wasn’t there when his shit hit people I cared about. Sasha and I spent years being affected by his bullshit. I’m done with it. I am so fucking done.”

“The moment your sister gave herself to me was the moment I got fully involved. That moment changed a lot of fucking things. So yeah, I’m done with his bullshit too, and my patience is wearing thin. I’m barely holding the fuck on.”

He slid out of his seat and stood beside the table. “Sasha isn't involved in this,” he warned, low. “She gets hurt, and I will tear down whoever is at fault. I don’t give a fuck who it is.”

“Keep your warnings to your fucking self,” I hissed, trying desperately to reel in my anger. “And don’t forget what I do for a fucking living. I don’t take nicely to threats, no matter who they come from.”

A shit-eating grin spread across his face. “Right now you aren’t a cop. You’re the man sharing my sister’s bed. So take it as a fucking warning.”

“Hamilton,” I called after him.

He stopped and looked back, his body tight with frustration. “We leave for Salt Lake in three hours. Don’t be late.”