I sat in my office, staring at the screen listing all my appointments for the day, and sporting an erection that would’ve made a porn star blush.

Rebecca was out there, sitting at the front desk talking with super pregnant Mary, and they got on great. Which was perfect but didn’t help my situation.

I was caught between wanting to tug Becca into my office and fuck her raw on the desk and the guilt tearing through my stomach—I’d put off my moving plans. I hadn’t exactly asked to stay in my position, though Crown would no doubt be overjoyed, but the thought was in my mind.

It tore at me.

I hadn’t let anyone in since Tabitha, and that’d been an ultimate cock-up.

But the thought of leaving Stoneport at the end of the month seemed totally implausible now. I wanted Rebecca happy. I wanted her safe. I wanted her bent over my lap while I spanked her supple ass cheeks and played with her pussy.

My cock throbbed, and I gripped it. “Down, boy,” I muttered. “Now is not the time.”

But he was damn well insistent. He got what he wanted, much like me. I pushed back in my chair and touched a finger to my zipper. Christ, I couldn’t rub one out here. I could try in the bathroom, but—

A knock rattled my door, and I rolled forward in my chair again, affecting a stern expression. “Come in,” I called out.

The doorknob turned, and Becca stepped into my office, wearing those tight tailored pants, and that light sleeveless blouse. “Coffee,” she said cheerily and nodded to the tray she’d brought with her. She left the door open a crack and came forward to my desk. She placed the tray atop it, smiling. “What a morning,” she said and mimed swiping sweat from her brow. “I really can’t thank you enough, Mason. I mean, Doctor Dunn. This has been an awesome morning. Mary’s so sweet, and she’s been really helpful. All simple stuff, really, just scheduling, answering calls, the admin… Hey, are you OK?”

I grunted a nod in response. The rose-petal scent was too fucking much. If she didn’t leave now, damn, the animal would come out.

“Thanks,” I said and reached for the coffee just as she shifted the little sugar pot closer. Our fingers brushed, and electricity shot through the space between us. Fuck. Enough of this.

I shoved my chair back, breathing hard, and circled the desk.

Becca turned toward me. “Mason, you’re—”

I slipped my hand into the mess of curls at the back of her neck and walked her to the door, slammed her up against it, closing it with a snap. “I can’t fucking do this,” I growled.

“What?” She tilted her head back, looking up at me with bedroom eyes. Desire and nothing else. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she was mine.

“This,” I said and lifted one of her legs, wrapping it around my waist. I angled myself so that my cock, trapped as it was, rubbed against her warm, little box. “You can work here, but you can’t come into my office, Becca. If you do, I’m going to break our little friendship pact and fuck you so hard everyone in the office will hear. Got it?”

“Uh huh,” she whispered.

“So? Why haven’t you left yet?” I leaned my head against her, nosed the crook of her neck and inhaled her, grinding myself into her. Christ, I couldn’t take much more of this—I’d jizz my fucking pants at this rate.

Becca didn’t answer my question. She simply pressed her tits into my chests and ran her hand down my spine, and then along the muscles to either side of it.

I opened my mouth and latched onto her neck, suckled on her, fed on that unique fucking flavor that drove me so wild I couldn’t see straight. I worked my way up and down her neck, trailing wetness, then slipped my hand down her body, toward the top button of her pants.

“I want you,” she whispered. “Mason.”

“I know, baby,” I said. “Come bend over my desk. I’m going to worship your pussy, your body, like the queen you are.” My throat hurt from holding back. My dick ached.

“The—I—” Rebecca’s hands reached for my zipper. “I can’t think straight when you’re nearby.”

“Ditto.”

She unbuttoned the top button, went for the zipper next. “I want to taste you. Can I please suck your dick?”

“Jesus, you’re so fucking sexy when you beg.”

“Please,” she said, a hint of a smile lifting the corners of her lips. “Pretty please.”

I sucked on her earlobe and—

A knock rat-tatted against the wood behind us, the reverberation traveling through her body and mine.

Fuck.

We sprang apart, the spell broken, and Becca’s cheeks fired red. She looked down at herself, and straightened her shirt, her pants, then pointed to mine. I zipped up and hurried to my seat, lowered myself into it and busied myself with the coffee.

“If that’s everything you need,” Becca said, breathlessly.

“Not even close,” I replied. The knock came again, and I sighed. “Come in.”

The door opened, and the last person I wanted to see walked into my office. He halted, his classic jock face crinkling into a cheesy smile. His gaze switched from Becca to me, then back again. He appraised her openly, and she took a step back, folding her arms across her chest.

“Am I interrupting something, Doctor Dunn?” Perry asked.

“Only the natural flow of order,” I replied then looked up at Becca. She was my calm in a sea of anger, but I couldn’t allow her to witness what would happen next. “Thank you for the coffee, Rebecca. Let me know when my ten o'clock is here.”

“Yes, Doctor,” she replied, then strode from the office, ignoring Perry completely. She shut the door behind herself and plunged us into awkward silence.

Perry Jackson, my once best friend, moved forward and took a seat in front of my desk. He touched a finger to the standing calendar on my desk. “I didn’t expect to find you here, Dunn,” he said. “I was under the impression you’d be gone by now.”

“End of the month,” I replied, stiffly. “And what the fuck do you know about it?”

“Everyone knows about it.” Perry’s grin was sharkish—too many teeth and too fucking white. “Everyone that matters, anyway. Crown called me a few weeks after you handed in your notice. He wanted me to be your replacement, can you believe it? But I said no, of course. Conflict of interests.”

“You’re goddamn right.”

“Aw, man, are you still bitter?” Perry sighed, and ruffled his dark hair. “You know, I would never have touched Tabby if she hadn’t been desperate for it. We fell in love. Surely you understand what that’s like?”

“Are you actually asking me that question?” My muscles corded under my shirt. It wasn’t the fact that Tabitha had cheated on me with my best friend that got to me. It was the fact that my best man—the one person I’d trusted—had betrayed me.

When I’d left Stoneport behind, gone to do my service, I’d asked Perry to look out for Tabitha. He’d broken my trust on every fucking level, and yet he had the audacity to sit in front of me like we were still buds.

Like I’d offer him a beer and we could talk about medicine, our studies, the good old times, as if nothing had happened.

This motherfucker was a demon. Too bad I was the fucking devil, and I would destroy him if I had the chance.

The quiet grew between us as Perry sat in the chair, larger than life, smiling at me. “It’s a good thing you’re leaving, Mason. That’s what you do best, right? When Tabitha needed you, you left.”

“For fucking Afghanistan, asshole.”

“Right, your service.” He gave a mock salute. “Soldier first, doctor second, husband last.”

“What do you want, Jackson?”

“Nothing. I’m just catching up, checking that all your plans are in place. I might not be your replacement, but I am interested in a position with this practice. I’m here for an interview, and, given that Crown has always liked me, I’m sure I’ll get the job.” Jackson put his hands behind his head and leaned back, grinning at me. “Especially now there’s that cute new assistant working here. She’s got an ass on her.”

I slammed upright, the tops of my thighs slammed into my desk, and the coffee cup jumped, slopping brown liquid over my desk pad. “Shut your fucking mouth,” I said and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t think I won’t break you, Jackson. Our friendship is nothing, our history is gone. It’s just you and me now, motherfucker, and I will wreck you so hard you won’t know which way is up by the time I’m done with you.”

Perry paled. He’d always been the smaller one between the two of us, the weasel-lookin’ motherfucker. Wiry muscle, short, but a fuckboy in essence, doctor or not. He sniffed and rose from the chair, brushing off the front of his button-down shirt. “Seems I’ve touched a nerve.”

“Get out of my office,” I replied, evenly. “You come back in here again, I’ll seriously fuck up your perfect hairdo, get it?” I’d scalp the motherfucker.

Jackson turned and headed for the door, and I held myself back from following him and ramming his face into it. He looked back at me. “It was nice seeing you again, Mace.”

“Go fuck a garbage disposal, Jackson.”

He let himself out of the office and shut the door softly. Everything he did was soft and sneaky. I sat back down, shut my eyes, and exhaled. It’d been a long time since I’d been that angry. It had been a week of testing my limits. My control.

I’d had more than enough of it.

Perry’s words flitted through my mind. He was here, not working at the practice up in New Orleans, and he was going to take a place with Crown. Christ, leaving Stoneport had never been as appetizing. Except for the fact that it meant leaving Becca behind too, and there were too many wolves around to do that.

“Shit,” I muttered and kneaded my forehead.

How the hell had I wound up in this mess? From lusting after my next-door neighbor to caring about her on a level I’d sworn I’d shut down a long time ago.

My desk phone trilled, and I lifted the receiver from the cradle. “Yeah?”

“Doctor,” Mary said, “your ten a.m. has just arrived.”

“Right. I’ll be right in.” I hung up and refocused. This was what mattered—work, helping people. I’d have to deal with all the other shit later.

Bottom line, Perry near Rebecca was out of the question.