As soon as I saw the dress laying on the bed, I should have said no. The slinky black fabric with its sexy slit was something I might have worn five years ago, and I knew it would only spell disaster.

Still, I slipped it on. It had built-in cups which kept me from having to wear my bra and tuck the straps in, but it was tight enough for my panty lines to show, and my own mother taught me that panty lines under a black dress were a grave sin. So I pulled them off and tucked them beneath my folded shorts and shirt.

I had no business going to dinner with Graham Porter. I had no business wearing this dress for Graham Porter, and I certainly had no business going out to dinner without a stitch of underwear on.

I wore no make-up, and the best I could do with my hair was to wet it slightly in the bathroom and run my fingers through it to loosen the tangles. When I checked my reflection in the mirror, my heart sank. God knows how much money Graham spent on this dress, and I looked like a child playing dress-up. He even had a pair of pumps waiting for me.

The grandfather clock struck seven, and I squared my shoulders. It shouldn’t have mattered to me what I looked like. This was supposed to be a business dinner and nothing more. Graham spent the past week ignoring me, and that should have been a clear sign. Despite the kiss and heavy flirtation in those first few days, he wasn’t interested in a woman with a kid and a mountain of trouble. My fantasies about tonight were far grander than reality.

As I descended down the main stairwell, the front door opened, and he stepped inside. For a moment, I froze, terrified of what he would think when he looked at me, but when he did raise his head, his face was expressionless.

“I don’t carry make-up with me,” I said in a soft voice as I hurried down the stairs. It was way too awkward to keep walking down like I was going to make a grand entrance. “The dress and shoes fit well. You’ve got a good eye for that kind of thing. I’ll make sure not to spill anything on it.”

“Julie,” he said in a low voice.

“I’ll keep it in pristine shape for the next woman,” I said as my tongue grew thick in my mouth. I was rambling, but I couldn’t stop. “Tyler is happily watching movies with your staff. They seem happy enough to spend the night with him, but I know it’s probably keeping them from their evening plans.”

“Julie.”

“He’s had a very exciting day, so he’ll pass out soon. I doubt he’ll keep them up much longer.”

“You look lovely.”

He reached out to touch my hair, and my nervous banter immediately stopped. “I feel pretty.” Lord, please tell me that did not just come out of my mouth. What was wrong with me? I was acting like a fifteen-year-old about to go on her first date. I expected him to snort in derision, but he just smiled.

“Good. I’m glad.”

Not a date. This is not a date. This is not a date.

I chanted the words in my head for the entire drive to the restaurant, and I chanted them some more as we sat down at the elegantly dressed table. White cloth. Lit candles. Sparkling wine glasses.

“This is not a date,” I blurted out suddenly. The hostess stopped short of putting the menu down, and I cringed. I was wrong. I wasn’t acting like a fifteen-year-old. The fifteen-year-old me would have been much smoother in this situation. I more resembled a babbling idiot.

“Just leave the menus, thank you,” Graham said as he nodded his head. The young and pretty hostess giggled before doing as he asked and sauntering away. “Are you a red or white wine drinker?”

“I’m a water drinker. Sometimes cola if I’m feeling daring. Of course, I usually have some juice and milk in the house.” Stop talking. “Either is fine. I’ve enjoyed both.”

He set the wine menu down and frowned at me. “Julie, I didn’t ask you out tonight to talk about work, but this isn’t meant to be romance and flowers. I don’t do dates. What I did want to do was treat you to a nice dinner and help you relax a little. When was the last time you were out with a man?”

The night Jonathan took me out to a waterside restaurant with just as much glamour and romance as this restaurant and asked for my engagement ring back. “Five years.”

“Tyler’s father?”

Oh, I so did not want to talk about that. “Yes. I feel like after everything you’ve done for me, I should be taking you out to dinner.”

Graham was apparently not going to let me off the hook that easily. “Why is Tyler’s father no longer in the picture?”

I had several choices. I could tell him the truth, but I wasn’t willing to trust Tyler’s well-being to Graham Porter. I could ignore the question, but then he’d just do his own digging. I could tell him mostly the truth, making it sound as boring as possible, and hope that he loses interest.

I chose option three.

“It’s not a new story,” I said with a shrug as I leaned back. “Jonathan and I had a whirlwind romance. He swept me off my feet and told me everything that I wanted to hear. Unfortunately, I found out that he wasn’t the man of my dreams. Things ended badly, and shortly after, I discovered that I was pregnant. I didn’t want Jonathan in my life anymore, so I chose not to tell him.”

“He could have supported you financially. Helped you out.”

Stiffening my back, I clenched my fists under the table. “I don’t need any help with my son.”

I knew that I sounded like a mother lion, but Graham didn’t back down. “He never found out?”

“I thought this dinner was supposed to relax me?”

“I’m just trying to figure you out, Julie. You’re a hard woman to get to know. Usually women are throwing themselves at me, but I kiss you once and you don’t even want to be in the same room as me.”

Remembering that kiss sent waves of heat through me. “That wasn’t a romantic kiss,” I reminded him.

“It wasn’t meant to be.” He cocked his head. “But it was heated none-the-less, and I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I’ve been thinking of doing it again and again.”

I needed a distraction. Any distraction. A fire in the kitchen would have been wonderful. Where the hell was our waiter? “You were the one who disappeared for a week.”

“Just trying to stay away from temptation.” His smooth voice sent delicious shivers down my spine, and I ached in places that I shouldn’t be aching. Not wearing panties was making things very uncomfortable.

“We can’t.”

“We can, Julie. As long as you aren’t looking for a happily-ever-after kind of ending, we can have all the fun we want. I promise that you’ll enjoy every single second of it.”

I didn’t doubt that. “I work for you.”

“So I won’t touch you during work hours.”

“My son.”

“I’ll give you a nice, long lunch break.”

“Welcome to Terrance!” The chipper voice broke whatever spell I was under, and I jumped as if she’d just poured cold water on me. “My name is Jenny, and I’ll be taking care of you. Can I get you started with a bottle of Chateau St. James Merlot or perhaps a La Prima Chardonnay?”

Graham smoothly ordered something that I’d never heard of before and sent her on her way. “Where were we?” he asked with a lazy smile.

Feeling more in control, I picked up the menu. “I was just about to ask you what’s good here. I’m famished.”

He didn’t object to my sudden change in subject, and even though we kept the conversation running smoothly through dinner, I knew that he wasn’t finished with me just yet.

Sure enough, when he slipped into the driver’s seat of his car and pulled away from the valet station of the restaurant, his hand settled on the bare skin of my thigh just above my knee. I could have pushed it away, but it had been a long time since a man had touched me, and I just couldn’t do it. When he pulled into the drive and parked in front of the mansion, I noticed that no one came out to greet us. We were completely alone, and his hand slid up higher.

“I knew it,” he muttered in a thick voice. “No panties.”

“Graham,” I whispered.

“I’ll never make you do anything that you don’t want to do, Julie. Say the word, and I’ll never touch you again.”

His words lingered in the air, and I knew that he had to feel the heat emanating from my center. Just a touch higher, and he’d find out just how much I wanted him. I should have said no. Getting involved with a man like Graham Porter would not end well, but I was already too far gone, and when I widened my legs, he groaned and caressed his fingers over my slick folds.

Pleasure shot through me, and I jumped, but he was already leaning over the console. Just like before, the kiss wasn’t gentle. Instead, it held the promise of everything that he might do to me.

“Wait,” I gasped. “Tyler is waiting for me.”

With a groan, he pulled away and rested his forehead against mine. “You’re killing me,” he said hoarsely.

“I’m sorry.” His fingers moved ever so gently against my sensitive clit, and I moaned. “Graham, you’ve got to stop, or I’m going to lose my mind. I want you, but I can’t do this in the car when my son is waiting for me inside.”

“You’re right,” he sighed. “I need more room to maneuver anyway, and I want to be able to take my time with you. Find out just what makes you moan.”

Scrambling for the handle of the car, I practically fell out. If I didn’t get away from him now, I’d end up straddling him in his ridiculously expensive car and making a mess all over his leather seats.

Not bothering to look back, I hurried up the steps. Daniel opened the door and smiled. “Ms. Dennings. We all had a wonderful time with Tyler tonight. He’s a brilliant child.”

Afraid that the butler might know what we were up to, I smoothed my hands nervously through my hair. “I appreciate you looking after him. Is he asleep?”

“Yes, ma’am. He fell asleep about an hour ago in the downstairs guestroom.”

“Thank you.” I tried to compose myself as I walked swiftly to his room. The door was cracked open, and there was a soft nightlight illuminating his sleeping form. Sitting down by the bed, I smoothed my hand over his hair and gently woke him up.

“Hi, baby,” I whispered. “Are you ready to go home?”

“Hi, Momma. Can we stay here tonight? I’m so tired, and the sign keeps me awake at night.”

Pain squeezed my chest. I thought that he slept through the night, but obviously I was wrong. Would Graham let us spend the night? “Of course, baby. Let me talk to Mr. Porter, and then I’ll come sleep next to you, okay?”

He wrinkled his nose. “I’m not a baby, Momma. There are plenty of other bedrooms.”

Chuckling, I kissed the top of his head. “It’s a strange house, Tyler. What if you get scared in the middle of the night?”

“Mr. Daniel taught me how to use the iPad on the wall if I need anything. And I won’t get scared. I like this house. He says that in the morning, he’ll teach me to make donuts. Can I make donuts?”

Great. My four-year-old was enjoying the lap of luxury. That’s just what every poverty-stricken mother wanted to hear. “Sure, baby. That sounds fun.”  He settled back in the bed, and I tucked the covers around him and stayed until his breathing evened out. Quietly, I slipped out of his room.

Graham was waiting for me. “He wanted to spend the night,” I said as I took a deep breath. “I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s fine.” His voice was even, but his eyes were anything but. “I assume that you’ll be sleeping with him?”

“I thought that as well, but he seemed insulted by the idea. I can just sleep on the couch or maybe grab one of the spare rooms upstairs.”

Before I could stop him, Graham slipped into Tyler’s room. I watched silently as he did something to the iPad before quietly walking out and closing the door behind him. “The tablet can work as a monitor. If he wakes up in the middle of the night, we’ll know about it.”

“We?”

Graham took my hand and pulled me towards him. When his lips settled on mine, I had nothing left to argue. Tonight, I would be his.

Breaking off the kiss, he led me up the stairs. My senses whirled as I climbed each step. Since the moment Tyler was born, I hadn’t had much time to think of myself sexually. For the first two years, I was too exhausted to think of doing anything else that would keep me from sleep, and in the next two years, I’d stopped thinking of myself as a sexual being altogether.

Graham had awakened something in me that I could barely remember. I felt sexual. Powerful. Feminine.

Opening the door to his bedroom, he pulled me in and pushed me up against the wall as he kissed me again. His tongue thrust inside, hot and demanding, and my knees weakened. I could feel his hard erection against my belly, and all I could do was wrap my arms around his neck and hang on.

“What do you like, Julie?” he whispered, his breath hot in my ear. “Tell me what you like.”

I liked whatever the hell his tongue was doing to my ear. “Don’t stop,” I pleaded.

“That’s not an answer, sweetheart. Has it been so long that you’ve forgotten?” He picked up my hand and kissed the inside of my wrist. My senses came alive, and I gasped at the spikes of pleasure.

He laughed, low and throaty. “I guess you like that. Let’s see what else makes you moan.” His lips were on my neck, kissing and sucking as he worked the zipper of my dress down. It cascaded down my body and pooled to the floor leaving me to the mercy of his questing hands.

They slid up my naked sides, caressing, teasing, and I couldn’t do anything but tremble under his touch. I wanted him just as naked, but if I let go, I’d slide bonelessly to the floor.

“Graham,” I cried out as his fingers reached my nipples. “I’m going to fall.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Before I knew what was happening, he’d picked me up and nuzzled the crook of my neck as he carried me to his bed. When he reached for the lamp by the bed, I grabbed his arm.

“Don’t.” Surrounded by luxury, I could only imagine how plain I would look. I wanted to keep this in the dark where I could pretend that I belonged in his bed, even if just for the night.

He moved, his face catching the moonlight. “I want to see you.”

“Not now. Just fuck me. Please.”

Something changed in him when I begged him. His face hardened, and he suddenly left me. Bewildered, I raised myself up on my elbows and listened to his clothes rustling in the dark. “Graham?”

“I’m here.” His voice was almost cold as he covered my body, and bit my bottom lip.

“Did I say something to upset you? I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing for everything, Julie. Just lie back and enjoy.” I wanted to ask him what I’d done wrong, but his fingers were on the inside of my thigh, and all my insecurities fled. He stroked me and played me until I sang for him, and all the while, I touched him. His skin was smooth and warm under my touch, but his muscles were taut with restraint. I reveled in the feel of him, all that power inside one man. He wanted me to relax, and I just wanted him to lose just a fraction of that cold control.

When I wrapped my hands around his cock, he hissed in the dark, and I smiled as I squeezed.

“Fuck, Julie,” he groaned. “You keep that up, and it’ll be over before it begins.”

He reached across me to the nightstand, and I heard him rip the foil. It took him only seconds before he was over me again, his lips on mine and his thumb circling my clit. Tension built inside me as he pressed and circled and released, and it wasn’t until I was on the edge of chaos that he slammed into me with a hoarse cry.

Pain and pleasure ripped through me, and I let out a strangled moan. “Oh, God,” I hissed.

“Fuck, Julie.” He froze over me and gasped. “Baby, you’re so tight. Why didn’t you tell me? I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Why was he stopping? I wiggled my hips under him, and he exhaled a shuddering breath. “You’ve got to stop moving, sweetheart. Give yourself a minute. I can’t hold out much longer...ah...goddammit!”

His control snapped, and he withdrew and thrust. Wrapping my legs around him, I cried out as my first orgasm broke, a wave of pleasure cresting through me. He knew, and flicked my nipples and licked my skin until I was flying high again. Each thrust was more powerful than the last, and the entire bed shook as he pounded inside me. I could barely breathe as he controlled every inch of my body, and when I shattered again, he buried his face in the crook of my shoulder and cried out my name as he came with me.