“I didn’t get a chance to say thank you,” Lindsay tells me, leaning in close. We’re in a conference room, and she took a seat right next to me, scooting the rolling leather chair as close as she could without bumping into mine. Friday night seems so fucking long ago, and I think back, going over everything quickly in my mind.

Lindsay asked me if I had a girlfriend that night. At the time, I didn’t, so I told her no. The whole situation is complicated, and just when things settled over the weekend—albeit they were made complicated from another issue entirely—a happily ever after was in sight. Ana is my girlfriend. I like her, she likes me. We have each other and the rest will fall into place.

Sitting here, surrounded by the big-wigs who run Black Ink, I feel like a fucking fool for thinking things will work out for me.

I’m fucking an author. My author. And I’m here at this big table, under the microscope and being inspected by every single person around me.

“It was a hectic night,” I reply.

“Yeah, that was. I heard the full extent of Gregory’s antics when I got home. I had no idea that stuff happens in real life.”

I laugh. “Luckily, it doesn’t very often. Most release parties we throw run smoothly and the authors are professional and incredibly grateful.”

“I bet you’re grateful Gregory is done writing.”

“He’s ready to enjoy some time off,” I say carefully. I don’t want to so much as look at Gregory Lawrence ever again, but I won’t say it. I keep my trash-talking thoughts to myself.

And to Ana.

Fuck.

Was it a mistake to trust her? I’ve spilled my guts to her on more than one occasion. She has dirt on me and if she went to any of the people at this table she could—stop. Ana isn’t going to run with an envelope full of drama and tattle on me.

I trust Ana, and I don’t hand out trust easily. Being betrayed by the woman I intended to spend the rest of my life with, to create and raise children with, kind of fucked with my head. But with Ana…it’s different. I told her she was an exception, and it couldn’t be truer. Everything about her exceeds my expectations. She’s the kind of woman I’ve dreamed about in the rare instances I let my mind and heart wander hand-in-hand together.

Strong.

Smart.

Kind.

Funny.

Caring.

Adventur—

“Let’s get started,” Caitlin’s voice cuts into my thoughts, pulling me back to the here and now. I didn’t realize I’d gotten so lost in my own mind that quickly, but I guess falling in love can do that to a person.

Whoa. Wait. Back the fuck up.

Did I really just think I was falling in love with Ana?

I did.

Because I am.

“I’m going to cut right to it,” Caitlin goes on. “You all know I’m retiring at the end of the year. Which means I only have three more months until I’m done. And you all know there are only a select few who are qualified to take my place. One of them is here with us today, and I’m going to let him take over.” Her eyes settle on me, and there’s no denying the thrill I feel at being handed the power to make this kind of decision. Caitlin mumbles something indiscernible about not wanting to be here and takes a seat away from the table, sitting near the door and pulling out an iPad from her oversized bag.

“You’re being considered for a publisher?” Lindsay whispers to me.

“Yeah.” I let myself smile and feel just a brief second of excitement. She’s the only one—besides those on the board—who knows. It feels fucking good to say it, to celebrate the possibility of my promotion.

“That’s awesome! You’d be great at it too.”

“Thanks.”

“We should go out for drinks to celebrate,” she suggests.

Shit. No. I don’t want to go out with anyone after this. I want to go home to Ana. Before I can come up with an excuse of why I can’t go out, Randal Meyers, one of the publishers, hands out iPads to us all and tells us to open the doc he prepared with info on this new imprint. For the next hour, we go over everything. My decisions count, and my input is valued. As the head editor at Black Ink, I always had weight on things like this; we can’t add a new imprint if there’s no one to edit the books, but being able to be more, to have power to create an entire new line of books, is fucking exciting.

I leave on a bit of a high. I didn’t want to tell anyone in case things didn’t pan out, but there’s no way I can keep this from Ana. She’ll be excited, and even though becoming a publisher will complicate the hell out of our relationship, I know we can work it out. Somehow, we’ll figure out a way to make it work. As a publisher, I won’t edit for her anymore, which takes that direct line of communication away. That’s a good thing, really. And when it comes to future deals…well, I’ll deal with her agent and not her.

The thoughts are jarring and almost stop me dead in my tracks. I get into the elevator along with Lindsay and two other board members. I’m plotting and planning for the future and imagining Ana in it with me.

I want her in it with me.

“My aunt is roping me into dessert and drinks at her place,” Lindsay says apologetically when we get off on the main floor. “Rain check?”

“Yeah, sounds good,” I say, mentally telling myself that whenever she comes to cash in that raincheck, I’ll take Ana with me. “Have a good night.”

“I will. Bye, Cole.”

We go our separate ways and I step out of the building, getting hit with chilly fall air. I look to the street, still busy and full of life, for a taxi to take home. And then I see him, sitting on a bench down the street.

To anyone else, he’s not out of place. They’d pass him by and not think twice. It’s chilly, so the hood pulled down to his eyes is fitting. His head is down and he’s listening to music, holding his phone in front of him and looking busy, as if he’s waiting for someone to get out of a nearby office.

But the screen on his phone is dark.

He’s not innocently passing time. He’s watching. He’s waiting.

For me.

My blood pumps through me, full of rage. I ball my fingers into fists and spin around, marching over to him. I have no plan in mind other than to hit him in the face. Hard. And more than once.

I come to a sudden stop at the edge of the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding walking into oncoming traffic. A bus rumbles by, and by the time it passes, he’s gone. I look around, heart hammering so loud I can hear the blood pumping through my body.

People mill about the sidewalk, and a steady flow of traffic obstructs my vision. But he was there. Right fucking there.

Steven.

Not taking my eyes off the spot he last sat, I pull my phone from my pocket, panic rising inside. I look down for a second to unlock my screen and call Ana. The phone rings once. Twice. Three times. My heart beats faster and faster and scenes from that thriller I’ve been editing flash through my mind.

“Hey, baby,” her voice comes through the phone. I close my eyes in a long blink and exhale. “Cole?” she asks. “Are you there?”

“Yeah. I just left the office.”

“Oh, good. I made cookies.”

I hold out my hand to hail a cab. “That sounds amazing.”

“And I’m naked.”

I slide into the cab and shut the door. “Stay that way.”

“What are you going to do if I put my clothes back on?”

I flick my eyes to the driver and give him the address.

“Ohhh,” Ana coos. “You’re in the taxi. Talk dirty to me once you get home.”

“I can do that.” I look at the passing street, wondering where the fuck Steven went. “How was the rest of your day?”

“Rather uneventful, but good. I got fifty-two hundred words written after lunch.”

“That’s impressive.”

“Once I get really into a storyline, I can’t stop. Seriously, I want to keep writing. My poor characters are suffering greatly though. And I’m laughing at their pain.”

“Spoken like a true writer.” I want to probe further on her day, ask if she saw anything unusual. She’s not familiar with the neighborhood though. Unless something was outrageous, she wouldn’t be able to tell.

“I’m starting to feel like one. Remember how I said I don’t feel worthy of even being called an author?”

“I do. That was the first time I ever saw you. I had no idea what you looked like before that, by the way.”

“Were you pleasantly surprised?”

“Very much so.”

“Good answer. Anyway, I meant what I said. But now that I’m almost done with another book, I really do feel like a real writer. The fact that I’m in New York and am sleeping with my editor adds just enough drama to my life to make me feel like I could be on a cool show about publishing too.”

I laugh. “I’m glad I can help with that.” She sounds so happy right now. I don’t want to tell her that I saw Steven outside the office. I think back to the man. It was him, wasn’t it? I didn’t see his face directly, but I knew it was him. I’ve never been one to claim I have anything remotely like a sixth sense, but as soon as I laid eyes on that guy, something hit me. Almost like a chill but instead of shivering from the cold, red-hot anger filled me and I wanted to hit him in the face until he was nothing more than a swollen pile of torn flesh over blood and bone.

“Do you think you could help me with something else when you get home? I need some inspiration for a sex scene. I feel like there are only so many ways to describe a blow job.”

“So, you’re saying that you’re going to…” I trail off, only alluding to my hope that she’s going to suck my dick. The cabbie is listening, after all.

“Yes. I need to try out a few positions if you don’t mind. I spent a good portion of this evening looking at porn on Tumblr and want to try it before I write it. Someone did tell me that the rather extreme sex scenes should be tried out, after all.”

“You’re in luck. As your editor, I’m legally obligated to try them all out. I had your agent amend the contract to include that.”

“I’m going to hold you to it. Don’t make me report you for a breach of contract, mister.”

I smile, getting turned on at the thought of her. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m glad you’re always professional, Mr. Editor. So I’ll see you soon, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be home in just a few minutes. Leave the house armed.” Dammit. I shouldn’t have said that.

“I planned to.”

“Good.” I let out a breath, glad she didn’t ask why. I’m not lying to her, but not telling her that I’m pretty damn sure her ex was sitting outside my office building feels like one. I was the one who encouraged her to go to the police after all. Steven knows we’re together. Maybe he was expecting her to be with me?

He’s a shitty stalker if he missed that detail, and as much as I’d like him to be, I know from the few things Ana told me about the fucker, he’s not. He knew Ana wasn’t in the building.

So what the fuck did he want?

* * *

“Honey, I’m home,” I say when I step into the house. I disarm the system only to arm it again as soon as the door is shut and locked. I came through the front, and kick off my shoes by the door, forgoing putting them away like I usually do. Being neat and orderly brings me a weird sense of satisfaction, but it also gave me something to do.

After the breakup with Heather, my life took a shit. I hated Luke and had to deal with canceling everything we had planned for the wedding. Calling the venues and the travel agent to say the honeymoon was off was one of the lower points of my life. The shit I did after that was my lowest.

Ana doesn’t answer and for a moment, my heart stops. There’s no way something could have happened. I spoke to her only minutes ago and the house was still armed when I got here.

“I’m in the kitchen,” she calls and I let out a breath. She’s here, and she’s all right. God, if I’m feeling this much fucking anxiety, I can only imagine how she felt.

And still feels.

“Those cookies smell—” I cut off as soon as I step into the kitchen. My eyes widen and my lips part. “Amazing.”

I can’t get over to Ana fast enough. She’s standing at the counter, wearing nothing but a short bathrobe that’s hanging off her shoulders. Her hair is twisted into a messy bun at the nape of her neck, and she’s dropping spoonfuls of chocolate chip cookie dough onto a baking sheet.

“Hungry?” she asks as my arms go around her. She spins around in my embrace, holding up a spoonful of cookie dough.

“Fucking starving.”

She smiles coyly and puts the spoon in her mouth. “Want some?”

“Later,” I growl and put my mouth to her neck. I kiss her hard, sucking on her skin. Ana drops the spoon onto the counter, and the metal clatters against the granite. She leans back, pushing her hips into mine. I slide my hands over her body and she puts her hand over my cock.

“I love feeling you get hard,” she purrs. “Hard for me.”

“You are so fucking hot.”

“Do you want me?”

“You know I do. I want you so fucking bad.”

Suddenly, she puts both hands on my chest and shoves me away. “Take off your clothes,” she orders.

It almost hurts to peel my hands off her body, but I do what I’m told. I’ve never had a woman take charge like this, and it’s getting me so fucking hard. I look right into her eyes and slowly untuck my shirt before moving my fingers to the buttons. She licks her lips and a slight flush comes over her cheeks.

Slowly, I undo one button at a time. I start to lose patience myself and move onto my pants, taking my belt off first. Ana steps forward and grabs it, pulling it free from the loops and letting it fall to the floor.

And now we’re tangled together again, lips pressed against one another’s. I push my tongue into her mouth and dip her backward, holding her steady with one arm while I try to undo the tie on her robe with the other. It takes a few tries, but I get it free. The fabric billows its way to the floor, and Ana is naked before me. I run my eyes over her and am overcome with lust all over again.

She cups her hands around my face. “Hang on a second,” she says softly.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect. I just want to remember this.”

“Remember what?”

“The way you’re looking at me. I don’t want you to stop. I want you to always look at me this way.”

“I will. Always.”

Three words. Three little words. When separate, they don’t mean much. Together, even, they could carry different meanings. But right then and there, Ana and I are on the same wavelength. I know what she wants, and she knows what I want.

It’s the same thing: each other.

And not just for tonight.

Not just for tomorrow.

We want something serious, something that lasts.

Always.

I don’t want to be with anyone else. It’s Ana or no one, because as hard as I tried not to, I fell for her. I pull Ana to me and kiss her. I don’t say it, but I think she already knows.

I am in love with her.