I drew in a breath before I pushed open the door to the gym, not sure what I was really doing here. When Benji had sent a text wanting me to attend a party with him, I thought about saying no. A great deal had happened between us over the last few days and I wasn’t so sure what path we were heading down with this relationship thing. But, my heart and curiosity won out, and I found myself coming to the gym, desperate to see Benji’s grinning face. He was all I had thought about.

Walking into the gym, the smells of rubber and stale sweat hit me full force. I passed by regular gym equipment and then these massive cages, the black fencing gleaming in the light. They were scary looking in person, and I hurried past them, the sound of voices luring me up the stairs. “Hi you must be Danielle,” a bubbly woman said as she greeted me on the stairs. “I am Hannah, Anthony’s wife. Come on up, we are just getting started.”

“I, thanks,” I said, following the woman who smelled like sugar up the stairs. She walked into a conference room, and I took in the faces before me, searching until I landed on Benji’s smiling face. “Hey,” he said, coming over. “I’m glad you were able to make it.”

“What are we celebrating?” I asked softly, wondering if maybe I should have brought a gift. He laughed and wrapped an arm around my waist like it was a normal thing to do. My good logic scattered and I wanted nothing more than to lean into his touch and beg for more. “They are throwing me a baby shower.”

“A baby shower?” I asked, touched. Clearly, there was a lot of love in this room if they had readily accepted Amelia like this.

“Yeah,” he answered with a chuckle. “I must be the first guy that has had a baby shower thrown for him.”

“But well worth the need,” Hannah echoed as she hugged a man to her left. “I told Tony here that that precious little girl needs things and this is a perfect way to get them to her.”

“You’re going to spoil her,” Benji said, though his expression was warm. “And I am going to have to buy a bigger place.”

Tony chuckled. “You have a whole fucking gym to store your shit in.”

I smiled, glad that Benji had such great friends. I hadn’t taken the time to make any friends when I had arrived in Chicago. The only friends I truly had were my co-workers, which wasn’t saying much. I didn’t go out with them after work or call them up on my day off. I just didn’t really care to do so honestly.

“Come on, let me introduce you around,” Benji whispered into my ear, his hand still on my waist. A tiny thrill went through me as he led me to the first couple, my mind drifting back to his hand on my waist. It was possessive, and I found myself not caring at this moment. So what if I was on the arm of a hot guy? Clearly, he wanted me here.

We walked around the room, meeting all of his friends before a redhead with a body to die for came into the room, her eyes on Benji. “Why the hell didn’t you tell me that you had a kid?” she demanded. Benji dropped his hand from my waist as he gave her a hug. “Angela, you didn’t ask.”

“Ask?” she said, her eyes roving down his body possessively. “Come on now Lomns. Who would have thought that you had a kid?”

I watched their interaction, my earlier warmth about being here starting to dissipate rapidly. She was definitely the type of girl that Benji should be with, bubbly and outgoing, not some quiet cop from his past. I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time. Benji had enough to worry about without my issues. He needed someone that could match him, someone, well, like her.

“Hey Angela, this is Danielle,” Benji suddenly said, grabbing my hand and pulling me against him again.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly, seeing the confusion in her eyes. “I, um nice to meet you.”

“You too,” she said, giving me a once-over as well, the gleam in her eye telling me she was sizing up the competition. “So where is the precious bundle?”

“At the babysitters,” Benji said, his hand wrapping around mine. I couldn’t help but feel thrilled as Angela’s eyes narrowed. Clearly, she hadn’t known of anyone in Benji’s life. Not that anyone knew, including me. “I thought she would be too overloaded with people here, so I’ll pick her up later. She’s fucking awesome Angela. I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

“I’m sure she is,” Angela said, her eyes sliding back to me. “Is this the mom?”

“What?” I blurted out, looking at Benji. “No, we aren’t, I’m not.”

“She’s not Amelia’s biological mother,” Benji interrupted as I struggled to form words out of my mouth. “She’s a friend.”

A friend. That was exactly what the redhead wanted to hear. The light returned to her eyes then, and she gave him a coy smile. “Then come find me later okay? We can toast to your daughter.”

“Yeah sure,” Benji said as she moved on. I swallowed hard as I tugged my hand out of his, wrapping my arms around my waist. “If you want to go now, you can.”

He looked down at me, surprise flickering on his face. “What?”

“You know, with her. I understand,” I forced out, wanting to pull her red tresses out of her head. She was the perfect girl for Benji.

He laughed. “Well now, are you jealous Danielle?”

“I’m not jealous,” I muttered, though swirls of ugly jealousy flowed through my veins. “We’re friends.”

Benji pulled me toward him, his hands resting on my hips, that crazy sexy grin on his lips. It would be difficult to stay mad at him once he threw that grin out. “You’re jealous. I can see it in your eyes.”

I didn’t say anything as he leaned down and brushed his lips over mine, sending sparks down my spine. “I fucking like it,” he whispered against my lips.

Oh, dear God.

* * *

I was on edge the rest of the party, attempting to get to know his friends while trying to figure out what was going on between us. He had been right. I was jealous. I didn’t want to be, but the thought of any woman touching him in any manner that was beyond just friendly had me all in a tizzy. I hated it.

Finally, Benji walked over to me, a grin on his handsome face. “You wanna go grab some food?” he asked.

I slid my arms around his neck boldly, seeing the flare of surprise and heat in his eyes. “I don’t want food.” I was making my intentions known. I wanted him. I wanted to touch his body all over, feel those feelings that came with sex with Benji. I wanted him to make me forget. “How long do you have the babysitter for?”

He didn’t answer immediately, his eyes searching mine. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, unable to trust my own voice. Of course, I was sure. I had been dying to have him again.

He swallowed hard and grabbed my hand, pulling me into the hall and into another office, complete with a desk and a leather couch. I swallowed as he shut the door, forcing myself to turn to face him. I had made this happen, and I wasn’t about to back out now. Benji advanced on me until I was backed up against the desk, the edge biting into my ass. He leaned down, pressing a hand on each side of me, trapping me against his body. “I can’t wait to have you again,” he said, his knee wedged between my legs, pressing against my very heated core. “Can I have you here Danielle?”

My boldness fled as I stared at him, knowing I should say no while I still could. I had never had sex of any kind outside of a bedroom so the thought of doing it here, with Benji, had my pulse racing, curious to know what was going to happen. “Yes,” I whispered right before his lips covered mine, devouring me. I gasped, and his tongue slid into my mouth, ravaging it. My body lit on fire as I slid my hands up his chest to his shoulders, pulling him close between my legs. Benji growled and pulled back, pressing his forehead against mine. “God, you are going to kill me slowly.”

“I-I hope not,” I gasped, my hands gripping his shirt before successfully pulling it over his head. Leaning in, I kissed his naked chest, my tongue swirling around his nipple until he groaned. It was an exhilarating feeling to know I was the one giving him that feeling. I slid my hand down his body and worked on his jeans, successfully undressing him in a matter of seconds. His cock sprang out from his body, and I sucked in a breath, my hand touching him lightly, caressing him.

“Dear God,” he hissed, leaning into my touch. “I love it when you touch me.” Benji’s hand landed on top of mine and stilled my movements. “But you are going to finish this before we even get started.”

I gave him a grin as he leaned down and kissed me hard, his hands suddenly all over my body, tugging on my jeans. I helped him wiggle them down over my hips, my pulse racing at what we were doing, with all those people just a few feet away. His fingers touched me, and I sighed in contentment.

“You like that?” he asked, breathing into my ear. “Come for me, Danielle.”

“It won’t be long,” I gasped as his finger slid inside me. He chuckled and kissed my jaw, one finger on my throbbing clit while the other moved within. Before long I was moaning into his mouth as my body shattered around his finger, my cries swallowed by his mouth. He flipped me around as my body quaked with the aftershocks, the sound of a condom wrapper filling the air before he pushed into me from behind.

His hand found my breast as I arched against him, the fullness taking my breath away.

“Yes,” he said, moving against me, in and out, his hands gripping my hips hard. “Come for me, Danielle.”

I moaned, biting my lip so I wouldn’t scream out as he pounded into me, our movements becoming frenzied, not caring who heard us. The orgasm shook my body, and Benji stiffened, shouting out.

For a moment, I laid there, my body half draped over the desk, my ass hanging out in the air as Benji started to ease out of me, our breathing mingling in the small room. “Damn,” he said a moment later, his hand caressing my ass. “What you do to me.”

I could say the same for him as well. I opened my mouth to say something, and then we heard the faint chuckle and clap through the door, my face reddening as I realized we were a heck of a lot louder than I thought.

Peeling myself off the desk, I turned to see Benji grinning at me, clearly not worried about being heard. “No one can say I don’t know how to draw an audience.”