I awoke in a strange bed, though that wasn’t an unusual occurrence lately. I had only begun to adjust to sleeping in my own home when I’d—temporarily—moved into Ryan’s. And even if I couldn’t clearly remember every moment of the night before, I would have known without opening my eyes that I wasn’t in my new room; I was in Ryan’s bed. The irresistible scent of him lingered on the bedding and I breathed in deep to take in more. I let it out in a rush, wondering what the hell was wrong with me.

After the way, he’d gotten angry after that first night, what on earth had compelled me to venture down the same road—the very next night? But then, last night had been different. It was like he couldn’t get enough of me, and that sent a thrill coursing through my veins.

Before I could decide whether to chastise myself any further, I heard light footsteps sounding down the hall toward the bedroom—Ryan’s bedroom. I was in Ryan’s bedroom, and I knew I just wasn’t lucky enough for Abby to walk right past.

The door swung open seconds later, confirming my assertion. She came bounding into the room and crawled up on the bed. “Did you have a sleepover with daddy, Emma? My old friend, Jenny, she had a sleepover at her grandma’s house.”

“Oh, no, Abby…I just…” How on earth was I supposed to explain what I was doing in her father’s bed?

Before I could figure out an adequate cover story, she patted my arm and looked up at me with sympathetic eyes. “Did you get lost, Emma? It’s OK, ‘cause it’s a big house. Come on, silly, I’ll show you where your room it.”

She started to tug on my arm, and if I hadn’t been painfully aware of my state of undress before that moment, it rose to the forefront of my mind as the sheet covering me started to slip down. I yanked it back up, frantically trying to remember where exactly my clothes had ended up. Had I had them on when we’d stumbled into his bedroom? No damn it, I clearly remembered then that they’d come off somewhere in the hallway. Now, what was I supposed to do?

And if the past few minutes hadn’t been bad enough, Ryan appeared in the doorway then, looking in the room with warring emotions crossing his features. He looked amused at my current predicament, but the tightness at the corners of his mouth told me he wasn’t pleased that Abby had found me in here either.

“I found Emma, daddy. Look, she got lost and ended up in your bed,” Abby said, though the declaration seemed unnecessary given that she was sitting right next to me.

Covering her mouth then and speaking in an overloud whisper to her father—presumably, to avoid my hearing the secret—she added, “And I think she lost her clothes, too.”

Blushing profusely, I patted the girl’s head, “If you’ll just turn around for a minute, sweetheart…” I figured my best choice was to wrap the sheet around me, but since it seemed to be tucked in at the bottom of the bed, I was going to have to yank it out first.

“Oh, it’s OK. Remember, daddy said it’s OK if you don’t wear a shirt,” Abby told me brightly as if that solved all my problems.

Could this morning get any worse? Fortunately, Ryan stifled a laugh and took pity on me. He called to Abby, holding out his arms, “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go check out what’s for breakfast while Emma gets up.”

“OK, but you’re not gonna try to make pancakes again, are you? ‘Cause I think those things are just too tough for you,” she said as she hopped down from the bed and scurried across the room. ”Don’t feel too bad. There are lots of things I can’t do yet, too. Maybe Emma can help you. Like yesterday, I couldn’t tie my shoes, but then Emma showed me how, and now I can,” Abby exclaimed, her eyes lighting with enthusiasm over her new topic.

“Wanna see?” she exclaimed as she started down the hall, no doubt darting off ahead of Ryan in search of a pair of shoes to tie.

He looked back at me, and I could see the heat flaring in his eyes despite his cool exterior, and I wasn’t certain if I wanted to hide deeper under the covers or tear them off and watch the fire blaze hotter. But he turned away then and followed his daughter down the hall, making the debate moot, and leaving me to scurry down the hallway wrapped in a bedsheet in a mad sprint for my own room.

Once dressed, I reluctantly made my way downstairs to breakfast, but if I’d have worried any awkwardness would linger between us, I would have been mistaken. Ryan was calm and cool. He spoke politely to me but paid me no more attention than he would have afforded any casual acquaintance. In the minutes I’d been gone, it seemed his interest in me had cooled.

I had no idea what to make of the change in behavior. Was that it? He’d had his fill and was ready to move on? But I didn’t want to move on. At least, not yet. I held no illusions about what this was—sex, plain and simple. But it was Pandora’s box; so long as it was something I’d never experienced, I didn’t really know what I was missing. But now that I’d had it…I wanted more.

* * *

I spent the entire day engaged in activities with Abby, and while the little girl’s pleasant company helped some to keep my thoughts at bay, they turned to them inevitably over and over again. I kept waiting for Ryan to say something, to do…something, but he didn’t.

At least, he didn’t until Abby was fast asleep. I heard a knock at my bedroom door just moments after I’d left him with her to tuck her in. And with just one look at him when I opened the door, I knew why he was there even before he strode forward and lifted me clear off the floor. And if there could somehow have been any doubt remaining, it fled the moment he laid me down on the bed and tore the dress I was wearing right off me. He was naked in a flash, and I couldn’t help but stare at his exquisite naked form. He was chiseled muscle everywhere; a broad torso that tapered to his hips; powerful thighs; and his shaft was rock hard, jutting out proudly and making my mouth water.

His cock sheathed in a condom seconds later, he towered over top of me, and I knew with absolute certainty I was already ready for him. Without a word, he thrust inside me, but I could tell by the way his muscles quivered that he was holding himself back, forcing himself to go as slow as he could.

But I’d gotten caught up in his urgent desire, and I didn’t want slow. I wanted hard and fast and deep. So, I wrapped my legs around his hips and drew him in deeper. He looked down at me with a question in his eyes, and I nodded. Yes. God yes, this is what I wanted.

“God damn it, Emma, you feel so good,” he whispered as he increased his pace.

Time ceased to exist as he thrust inside me over and over again. I had no idea if seconds had passed, or minutes, or even hours. I was conscious of nothing but the man and the way he was driving my body higher and higher. I was so close, teetering on the brink when he leaned down and I felt his lips against my neck. And then I felt more—suction, and then his teeth. He wasn’t hurting me exactly, he was…oh god, there was no way to describe it. But all at once it was too much, and the spring that had coiled tight inside me sprang loose, releasing wave after wave of exquisite pleasure from my core.

Before I’d even begun to come back down, he thrust hard once more and then stilled; and his groan a second later sounded like pure ecstasy.

A moment passed, and then one more, and then he withdrew and rolled next to me. I wasn’t sure what to do, but it felt entirely natural when I rolled toward him and laid my head against his chest. He wrapped his arm around me and his fingers drew light, lazy circles down my back.

And why at that precise moment, I’ll never know, but a thought came to me then, and I knew it couldn’t be put off any longer. I was supposed to have set the record straight long before then, and if I left it any longer, it would grow into something more than a little misunderstanding. It was time.

“Ryan, there’s something I have to tell you.”

His hand stilled in the middle of its path. “This isn’t the part where you tell me you used to be a guy, is it? Since as much as I hate to admit it…I’m not sure I’d care.” He laughed and resumed the light caress along my skin.

Well, if he could handle that, this should be a breeze then, I thought wryly, and then propped my elbows up on his chest so I could look at him.

“The other day when you came next door, and you found me in the garden…” Jeez, it was such as stupid thing to have wound up in this big misunderstanding. “The thing is…I’m not really a gardener. I didn’t know how to tell you that. I know I should have set the record straight right away, but I wasn’t sure what to say. And then after—the next day—you opened your front door in that towel…” My voice trailed off as I remembered the image clearly.

He didn’t say anything, but his hand continued its path, and that had to be a good sign, didn’t it? If he was rip-roaring angry with me, certainly he wouldn’t still be caressing my body and making me ache for another round.

“So, if you aren’t the gardener,” he started, his voice still just as calm as it had been. That was definitely a good sign. “What were you doing there? Do you wander into people’s gardens often?” he asked, warring notes of amusement and perplexity in his tone.

“Um, just mine,” I replied, figuring that would tidy up my explanation nicely.

“Yours? You mean you live in the house next door?”

“Well, I suppose at the moment, I live here,” I tried to joke, “But yes, up until just a few days ago, I lived there.”

“And you just didn’t know quite how to tell me?”

“Exactly. Well, that and I found you incredibly distracting,” I confessed honestly, though a prickle of heat warmed my cheeks.

“OK,” he said all of a sudden, so easily that I wasn’t sure if I should feel relieved. I waited for him to say more, but it seemed no more words were forthcoming.

“OK? Just…OK?”

“Did you want me to say more? Get mad, maybe? It seems to me that it was a simple misunderstanding. If anyone should be feeling bad about it, it’s me, Emma, not you. I mistook you for the hired help. But if it’s any consolation at all, I thought you were the most incredible looking hired help there ever was,” he laughed ruefully. “But I get why you didn’t set it straight right away. And you have now, so I don’t see any reason to get angry.”

“Oh.” I’m not sure what I expected, but I suppose I’d been mentally preparing myself for something…more—not that I was complaining.

“And if I happened to have you so frazzled you couldn’t think straight…well, I’m not going to complain about that,” he said a split second before his hands settled under my arms and he pulled me up on top of him.