Julian, with his charming, easy-going personality, managed to defrost even Turner. By the time dinner was over, the two had discussed everything from extraterrestrials through to the multiverse and string theory.

“Julian is very bright,” Turner said as they retired to their bedroom.

Bridget kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed to pull off her pants. “Coming from you that’s a big compliment.”

He rubbed his hand over the back of his head. “I enjoyed myself.”

“You sound surprised.”

“I am. I wish I had as much to talk about with Douglas. It would have made our relationship much easier.”

“What is he like?”

“The all-American boy next door. He is a good man, but all he wants to talk about is sports and who won which game. We bore each other. After an hour together we can’t wait for it to be over.”

No wonder Turner saw his son only twice a year. “Maybe you should make an effort to learn a thing or two about what interests him.”

He rubbed his scalp again. “I should, shouldn’t I?”

Not wanting to distract him, Bridget waited to pull off her shirt. “It should take you no time at all to learn everything there is to know about sports.”

“True. But I’ll be faking interest. I don’t like doing it in my personal life. I do enough pretending in my work.”

She walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This is for a good cause. Take your son to a game. Buy tickets to some sports event that is sold out. Who knows, maybe you can find something you both enjoy. Maybe he would like to go to an MMA fight. Or maybe both of you will find wrestling entertaining.”

Turner grimaced. “Wrestling is fake. It’s all about the entertainment.”

“That might be true, but think about the upside. While watching whatever sports event, you guys don’t have to talk.”

He pulled her close and kissed her lips. “Where have you been all of my life? I could have used this advice years ago. Douglas and I might have been best of pals.”

Was he mocking her? Often, it was hard to tell.

“Right. Let’s not get carried away. But perhaps you could start afresh and see each other more than twice a year.”

“I’ll take it under advisement, madam councilwoman.” He cupped her butt cheeks and squeezed. “The best ass to ever occupy a council chair.”

“Shh, Julian is in the next room, and you know how good our hearing is,” she whispered.

By the hard press of his lips, Turner didn’t like it one bit. “Can we go to a hotel?”

“Don’t be silly. We can be quiet.”

“I don’t want to. Hell, I don't want you to be quiet. I love those feral noises you make.”

She arched a brow. “Feral?”

“You growl like a tigress.” He waggled his brows. “It’s sexy as hell.”

She didn’t know that. Did her moans sound like growls?

It was embarrassing. Bridget thought of herself as a lady, and ladies didn’t growl or hiss or make any kind of animal noises.

“I’ll have to cover my face with a pillow,” she whispered.

“Over my dead body. Let’s go to my apartment. I don’t care if it’s messed up. We can take the plastic cover off the bed.”

Bridget laughed. “Evidently you haven’t checked on Ingrid’s progress. She had all the wall-to-wall carpeting removed in the bedrooms, and the marble flooring in the main areas is gone too. Except for the bathrooms, she is replacing everything with hardwood. Not that the bathrooms remained untouched. They are getting new stone and tile. Soft earth tones are going to replace the gleaming white.”

He winced. “I had no idea she would go so far. I don’t like mess, and I don’t really care about the decor, so I preferred not to look. Besides, how did she manage to do it so quickly?”

“That’s how she does things. Don’t forget that she works for Kian. He wants everything done yesterday.”

Victor looked worried, so Bridget continued with Ingrid’s update. “She says not to worry about the cost. When she is done, your apartment will sell at a premium price, and she says it will more than cover the cost of everything she is planning to do.”

“I’m not worried about the cost.”

“So what was that look for?”

“I’m still trying to figure out where we can have sex without worrying about being overheard.”

Talk about a one-track mind.

A moment later, Bridget’s phone pinged with a new text.

“I hope no one needs me at the clinic,” she said as she took it off the charger.

The message was from Julian. Going clubbing with Ed and Charlie. Will be back late.

Turning the phone so Victor could see the text, Bridget let him read it. “Coincidence? I think not. He must’ve overheard us.”

Victor took the phone out of her hands and put it back on the charging dock, then pulled her into his chest. “Whether he did or not, I’m going to exploit this opportunity to its fullest. Who knows when we will have privacy again?”

She put her hands on his shoulders. “What do you have in mind?”

Victor pushed into her, letting her feel how hard he was. “Lots of noise.”

She arched a brow. “Yours or mine?”

“Yours.” He turned her around and pushed her face-first into the wall, his body enveloping hers from behind. “I want to hear you scream my name as you come,” he whispered in her ear.

Bridget glanced at him over her shoulder. “Are you going to frisk me?”

His hand in her hair, he tilted her head to the side and kissed the spot where her neck met her shoulder, his other arm going around and cupping a breast. “I’m going to do much more than frisk you. Put your hands up on the wall.”

The tone of command in his voice went straight to her core. It tingled with need, already moistening in preparation for what was coming.

“Higher, above your head where I can see them.” He waited for her to obey. “Now take half a step back and spread your legs about two feet apart.”

Those were very precise instructions. She wondered what he had in mind.

“Push your fabulous ass out.” He kissed her throat before moving back a few inches.

She did, grinding against him.

He sucked in a breath. “Behave.” A hard slap landed on her ass.

Bridget opened her mouth to protest, but all that came out was another moan.

His body enveloped hers again, and he leaned to whisper in her ear, his hot breath fanning over the side of her face. “You like this, don’t you.” He nipped her ear.

“Oh. Fates, I do.”

“And I like that you’re honest with me.” Victor rewarded her with a flurry of kisses down the column of her neck, then dropped down to his knees and unceremoniously tugged her pants down.

“Lift up,” he instructed, holding her foot, freeing one leg and then the other, leaving her nude from the waist down.

There was something both vulnerable and erotic in the position, and as his warm palms coasted upward her inner thighs, Bridget felt herself grow wetter by the second.

But Turner was in no hurry, going slow, deliberately prolonging her anticipation. When he gripped her buttocks, his fingers digging into her flesh almost painfully, she groaned, clenching her sheath in a desperate attempt to relieve the tingling itch to be filled.

When Bridget finally felt his velvety lips on her, kissing softly, reverently, she was rendered undone, and as his hot tongue speared into her, she would’ve collapsed if not for his hands propping her up.

“Fates, Victor, I’m about to come.”

His tongue retreated. “Not yet, I want you to climax when I’m inside you.”

Damn, if he didn’t want her to come, he shouldn’t have said that. Bridget took a deep breath and tried to hold off the impending orgasm by going through the parts of the lymphatic system in her head. But it was no use.

As his fingers replaced his tongue, the orgasm blasted out of her on a scream. She hadn’t waited as he’d wanted her to, but she’d given him what he’d asked for—shouting his name as she came.

The sound of Victor’s pants coming down was like a promise of a wish coming true, and as he entered her in a single hard thrust, she came again. And that was even before he started pumping into her like a man possessed.

Bracing her hands against the wall, she took the pummeling, backing into him and giving as good as she got. Victor didn’t last long, his climax rising fast and pulling another one out of her.

“That was a hell of a lot of noise,” he groaned as he collapsed against her back.

Bridget smiled. “Happy to oblige.”