“And over here, we have the atrium.” Sean followed the broker to a glassed-in area in the middle of the space. Sunlight poured through the ceiling. The broker flicked her fingers across a control panel and a sheath of tinted curtain started to slide across the skylights. “You can control all the skylights and windows in the space with an app, too, of course,” she said. “The one previous client used the atrium for corporate yoga classes every morning.”

“What do you think?” Sean asked. He looked over at Harper.

She scanned the sleek, midcentury modern office space. “I think it’s perfect,” she said. “The furniture, too.”

“I helped the previous client secure the furniture,” the broker said. “And I can promise you the furnished rate is an absolute steal. Almost all of the furniture is from local carpenters and designers. It’s the highest quality and, given the style, has incredible evergreen potential.”

Sean wrapped his arm around Harper. “Is it alright if we just hang out here for awhile?” he asked the broker.

“Of course! I’ll text you the code to lock up when you’re finished. But I should tell you, and this isn’t a sales tactic, if you want it I highly recommend you sign today. You’re the last person viewing it until tomorrow, but I don’t see it lasting on the market for long.”

“Thanks,” Sean said. “I’ll let you know either way this afternoon.”

He waited until they heard the click of the broker’s heels fade into quiet before he squeezed Harper and pulled her against his chest. “Tell me what you really think,” he whispered.

“What I really think? I think … I can see us both working here.”

“Did Connor offer you a job I don’t know about?”

“No,” she said. Harper nudged his chest with her chin. “I mean, Sophia said I can work from anywhere, and an office space would be a tax write-off anyway. So I was thinking … maybe I could lease one of the offices here.”

“You wouldn’t get sick of me?” he asked. “Seeing me every day at home and work both?”

Harper laughed. “I think if I was going to get sick of you, it would have happened when you were sporting that hot ankle bracelet and we were basically housebound together.”

“You might be right about that,” he said. “But don’t think I didn’t know when you made up excuses to stay out of the house more than was necessary.”

“You caught me,” she said. “But then again, the circumstances were a little bit different back then.”

“Not completely. One thing about our relationship has always been the same.”

“What’s that?” she asked as she looked up at him.

“No matter what was going on between us, or if I had an ankle bracelet or not, the sex was always fucking incredible.”

Harper blushed slightly. “What can I say? Ankle bracelets do it for me.”

“So, you’re absolutely sure about this place? Buying commercial space is a much bigger deal than leasing it.”

“I’m sure,” she said.

“Okay, that’s all I needed to hear. We’ll put in an offer now. But don’t be talking about leasing a space from me. You know it’s yours. Ours. Everything is, from this point on.”

They walked side by side through the atrium and into the sprawling open reception space. The marble tiled floors featured just the slightest of gray veins. Harper ran her hand across the long welcome desk with the thick living edge wooden top. “Aren’t we supposed to shake hands or something?” she asked. She looked up at him coyly.

“That seems a bit formal,” he said. “How about this instead?” Sean leaned down to meet her lips. Harper parted her mouth and eagerly welcomed his tongue. Before he closed his eyes, he saw the view of Los Angeles roll out before them. From the top floor, ten stories up, the magic of the city seemed anew. Palm trees swayed gently in the wind and the Hollywood sign peeked out of the green.

Harper let out a moan into his mouth as his hands slid down to her ass and squeezed firmly. As the tip of her tongue met his, he lifted her onto the reception desk. She struggled to open her legs, to pull him close, but the close cut of the skirt left her trapped. Sean gripped the hem of her skirt and tested the material.

She responded to his kisses, starved for more. “Please fuck me,” she whispered.

“Are you sure?” he asked. This kind of heat hadn’t boiled between them since before the hospital.

“Fuck me right now,” she demanded.

Sean easily ripped the material and created a slit in the skirt from her knee to her hip. As soon as she could part her legs, Harper dug her nails into his back and pressed him against her. Sean reached between her legs and was met with the heat of her folds, already slick with her wetness.

“No panties,” she said and smiled into his mouth.

“You’re full of surprises.” He hooked a finger around the rose gold collar and brought her mouth closer to his. With his other hand, he circled her opening until she wiggled in frustration. “Stop,” he said hoarsely. “I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge here.” He pulled firmly on her collar and her eyes opened.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“Lie back,” he said. He released her and unbuckled his jeans while she moved back on the table. “Spread your legs, hold them open,” he said.

Harper glanced briefly out the glass windows. Neighbors in nearby buildings could be seen as they bustled about in suits and dresses.

“Are you going to obey?” he asked, the belt buckle in hand.

Harper looked down at the metal in his fist, at the thick leather band, and held her thighs wide. Spread-eagle on the desk, she propped herself up on her elbows and watched him release his cock. Without thought, she bit her lower lip in desire.

“Now,” he said, as he bent forward and easily tore the white silk blouse out of the waistband of her white skirt, “you’re going to do as I say.” He tore open the flimsy material and hardened more at the display of her bare breasts. “You have been naughty today,” he said. “No bra either. Were you planning this?”

Harper’s eyes widened. “Not really … I mean—”

“Quiet,” he said. Sean slid his hand beneath the tightness of her collar and engulfed her porcelain neck in his hand. “You might not be able to speak much to use your safe words,” he said. “Tap my elbow if you want me to stop. Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” she said.

He increased the pressure slightly on her neck as he entered her. Sean could feel the moan in her throat. It vibrated into his hand. She was wetter than he’d ever seen her as he controlled her breath. When he looked down to watch his length slide into her pink center, he almost gasped at the rivers of wetness that rushed down her thighs and onto the rich warmth of the desk.

Harper kept her hands on her thighs to force them as open to his thrusts as possible. Sean sensed when she was close and pressed his thumb into her swollen clit. “Come for me,” he told her. She obeyed immediately. Halfway through her orgasm, he released her neck and she let out a low, animal keen. The sound was so wild, so naturally a part of her, that it forced him to come inside her. She clutched at his hips when she felt the release and pulled him deeper inside her.

“I think I ruined your table,” she said with a small laugh as he pulled out of her. Sean watched his come begin to spill out of her and onto the wood.

“I guess I really do have to buy it now, sweetheart,” he said. Sean leaned down to kiss her. “It’s a good thing I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she said. He pulled her up and she guiltily looked out the window to check for an audience. If anyone had seen, they pretended otherwise. She laughed. “Did you ever think we’d be here?”

He brushed some loose strands from her face. “I didn’t expect any of this,” he said. “But I have to say, even with all our hardships, I couldn’t have hoped or dreamed of anything better.”

Harper wrapped her arms around him, pulled him close, and rested her head on his chest.

From his darkest depths, his most secret of places, Sean’s heart swelled in a way he’d never known.