Kylie stretched and yawned as she awoke, a ray of sun streaming across her face making her keep her eyes squinted shut. Something was strange; her bedroom window faced west and didn’t let the morning sun invade her privacy. She rolled over and bumped into a solid mass of bare flesh.

Gasping, she recalled the previous evening just as strong arms enveloped her and pulled her closer. “Good morning,” Jordan growled, burying his face in her hair.

She smiled to herself. Boy, had they enjoyed each other’s bodies last night! And this morning, she didn’t feel the least bit used or embarrassed of her own enthusiasm. In fact, she felt closer to him on a personal level, and she wondered if maybe things might evolve into something more emotional.

She said nothing about it but let the idea build as they showered and dressed and bantered over breakfast delivered by room service. As they walked back to the car a few blocks away, Jordan held her hand, and Kylie reveled in the sensation of acting like a real couple. She even saw something spark in his eyes other than lust when he dropped her off and kissed her goodbye.

The high lasted throughout the day and into the next. In fact, she was still walking on air when she went to work Monday morning and when she called Reesa to talk about it on her lunch break. But by Thursday, when she hadn’t heard from Jordan, Kylie’s euphoria faded, and she told herself she’d been stupid to start having expectations. She’d warned herself against it, but she’d fallen into that routine of thinking about the future, like she always did.

Hell, she was as bad about living in the future as Reesa could be about living in the past.

Resigning herself to a lonely dinner and wondering if maybe she should text Jordan, just to see what he was doing, Kylie turned on Netflix and settled into her couch. She heard her phone ringing in the kitchen but didn’t get up to answer. If it was Jordan, she’d just be overly excited. If it wasn’t, she would be disappointed, and she might mistakenly overstep her bounds reaching out to him in desperation.

But it kept ringing, and on the fourth attempt, she sighed and rose to go answer, hoping it wasn’t some emergency she’d ignored. It stopped ringing before she got to it, and she heard a knock at the door, forcing her to change directions. No one ever came over except Reesa. Maybe the guys were out of town and she didn’t know it.

Grumbling to herself, she reached for the doorknob and yanked it open. She didn't expect Jordan to slam into her with a demanding kiss. She was so taken off guard she lost her balance and nearly took him down with her, only saved as he turned them so they fell against the wall. Pain shot through her shoulder, but Kylie was already heating up, her body responding instantly to his attention and the need he fed into the kiss.

He broke contact and glared at her. “Why didn’t you answer my calls?”

She blinked up at him, trying to get her bearings. “You haven’t called in days. I didn’t feel like getting off the couch to be disappointed if it wasn’t you.” Well, that was brutal honesty. She pulled away from him. “I could ask you where you’ve been, you know.” For some reason, she was angry. His question sounded accusatory.

“I had some business to take care of and needed to catch up on sleep and clean my house,” he answered defensively. His eyes darted around the apartment as if he was searching for something. Scowling, he huffed out a breath. “I thought maybe you had company.”

‘Male company?” she asked, irritated. “Look, Jordan, I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve held up my end of the bargain. I haven’t pressed for anything more than you’re willing to give, and I haven’t been screwing around with anyone else. So, I would appreciate it if you didn’t act like you caught me with my pants down when you haven’t bothered to get in touch with me for days.” She felt a fight brewing now, a different kind of heat in her chest, and she wouldn’t let it go until she had the answers she wanted, the answers to questions she hadn’t even realized plagued her until now.

He scrubbed a hand down his face and tilted his head back to look at the ceiling. Sighing, he closed his eyes and let his chin fall to his chest. “I’m sorry, Kylie. There’s a reason why I’m not the kind of guy to settle down. It’s only half my choice. I’m just not good dating material. I forget to call, I don’t think ahead.”

Backing away, Kylie put her hands on her hips. “Sounds like a bunch of weak excuses to me.”

The contrite expression faded from his face, his jaw tightening and his eyes hardening. “Don’t act like we’re in some whirlwind relationship, Kylie. I told you, this is a lot of fun, and I really like you. But I’m not looking for anything more. Now, you can accept my apology, and we can move on, or we can go our separate ways if that’s what you prefer.”

An ache spread through her, and Kylie suddenly feared the idea of him walking away when things had just begun. She knew it was a bad sign; especially with his reminder, she shouldn’t form any real attachments. But she also knew it was too late for that. Even though they hadn’t spent all that much time together, she’d gotten used to having Jordan in her life. And if she had to deny her growing feelings to keep him around, she would put on her big girl panties and do it.

Swallowing her anger and trying to take her fear down with it, she nodded. “Okay, you’re right. I forgive you. Try to at least send me a text so I don’t start imagining you with some buxom blonde in Tahiti, okay? Because I can’t compete with that.” There, that sounded light enough, didn’t it?

His shoulders sagging as if he was relieved by her decision, Jordan smiled and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetheart. You’re sexy and feisty, and you have a great sense of humor. And you’re phenomenal in bed. You’d be the one no one can compete with.”

For some reason, Kylie wanted to cry. The words were kind and caring, and she wished suddenly with all her heart that they meant more to him, meant as much as they would coming from the love of her life. Stop it, Kylie. No more longing and future-tripping. “You really think so?” she asked, needing that confirmation, at least.

This time, he wrapped his arms gently around her waist. “I’m a lot of things, Kylie. Sometimes, I’m even a rotten bastard. But I’m not a liar. I wouldn’t say these things if I didn’t mean them.” He bent and kissed her lightly on the nose and then again with a simple brush of lips across hers. “Come on, let’s go finish that popcorn I smell and watch a movie. I’ve missed you, and I think tonight should be a good, quiet night.”

Part of Kylie protested, the part that still held the fuse he’d lit when he’d come barging in, all lust and libido. But Jordan was right, she needed a different kind of care and companionship tonight, and she would settle for sharing the rest of her pathetic popcorn dinner with him and maybe laugh over a good comedy flick. She could at least pretend to be a normal girl, dating a normal guy, for a few hours.

A normal, famous, smoking hot guy that turned her into a raging hormone every time he was close enough to smell.

Pressing her lips tightly together, Kylie led him to the couch and let him pull her into his lap as he settled in and grabbed the remote, ready to take over in true masculine style. She would have argued, but this was too real and too comfortable to want to screw it up.