Ariana snuggles into my chest, breathing deep and even. I’d been tempted to wake her when I finally recovered, but she looked so peaceful, I couldn’t. I have no need for anything like Viagra, but sometimes, I’d like to be able to rebound within less than three hours.

My iPhone buzzes on the nightstand with an incoming text. I grab it without moving so I don’t disturb her. It’s from Kegs. My brain is still heavy from the night before, and it’s taking a little longer to process. Jesus, what this woman does to me.

I squint at the screen, trying to process the code words. Motherfucker. Something’s happened. There’s activity, but they can’t track specifics because Ollie fucked up the surveillance.

I let out a deep sigh. This isn’t the first text he sent. There are others from last night, trying to find me, panicking about the plans. Why does this always happen? I let myself get consumed in shit that I know will compromise my ability to think, and then I miss shit because my focus is off. It’s what landed my ass in prison, and what’s going to make this scheme crumble before we can even start. Once Conlon makes his move, we have to be ready, or else we miss our window.

I missed mine once. I don’t intend to let it slam down on the fingers of one hand while I hold my dick in my other one. I need to be prepared. The innocent people who’ve been screwed by him and his criminal associates deserve payback. It’s been far too long. They deserve justice.

Just like I do.

I wasn’t fast enough the first time around when I was with the Bureau. I got anxious and acted too quickly, and they scattered like the cockroaches they are. But I couldn’t let it go, even after I’d been fired. I neglected my family when they needed me most to hunt a personal demon. I went in deep and gained Conlon’s trust, or so I thought. He’d committed countless instances of fraud through the years, collecting money from unsuspecting companies and pouring it into Hollywood to launder it. I needed proof to clear my name, but that slimy bastard knew who I was, even with my cover. I never had a chance against him. And after sitting around in a gray concrete cell for five years with my thumb up my ass, I’m going to make sure the world knows what crimes he’s committed. I’m going to watch his investment company implode, and then celebrate every single movie project that goes up in smoke because they’re all financed using dirty money that wasn’t his to invest in the first place.

I can feel Ariana’s warm breath against my skin, and it makes my head fuzzy with lust. It seems like those are the two extremes I experience these days – blinding anger and raging desire. Not that I know how to handle the latter. She’s Damon’s future sister-in-law, for Christ’s sake. She could be my kid, and I just fucked her within an inch of her life. That’s sick.

My cock twitches. Sick, yes, but worth every toe-curling second. The arms she has snaked around me tighten and her breathing becomes shallow. If that hand could just move a little bit lower and to the right—

It’s bad enough I’ve roped her and her client into this whole sting operation. Sex was never part of my plan. Sure, I’d fantasized enough about it to feel like I’d already plugged her, but now that it’s happened, my reality just became a little more bleak. It can’t go further than this room. Her father would probably pummel me into the ground for what I did to his daughter; although, it looks like the tight blonde piece he’s toting around can’t be much older.

I need to get back on my game. This is why fucking during jobs is a bad thing. It makes me think and feel all kinds of shit that take up precious space in my mind; space that needs to be reserved for details. If one detail gets missed, the whole plan gets decimated. And if that happens, I won’t have to worry about prison. Kegs and Rand will kill me first.

“Mmm.” Ariana murmurs, the vibration making my skin prickle.

This can’t happen. It has to be over. One more meeting to deliver the instructions to Scarlet, and we’re done. I’ll see her one more time at the wedding, and we’ll part ways. Period. No questions asked, no lingering feelings.

Her eyes flutter open and she rolls onto her elbows. I’m immediately lost in the deep, dark depths of her gaze. And I really don’t want a lifeline. I rake a hand through my hair and manage a half-hearted smile because I have to convince myself that this woman doesn’t mean dick to me. Even thinking that makes my chest tighten.

Because it’s bullshit.

“Sleep well?” The sound is muffled because she’s holding up the sheet against her mouth.

“Yeah.” Except for the hours I obsessed about being inside of you again.

“Me, too.” Her nose crinkles and I know she’s smiling behind the sheet. “Maybe we can do it again. Check out isn’t for a little while.”

It can’t happen again…last night was a one-time thing…Conlon is about to act, and the team needs me…

I can come up with excuse after excuse. None of them make me feel better about walking away, no matter how true they are.

But luckily, I don’t need to utter a single word. Her phone blares from her purse on the nightstand, and she rolls over to grab it. It must be a text, since she doesn’t answer, but whatever it is erases all possibilities for morning sex. She twists around to look at me – it’s an odd look, almost like regret or remorse.

“I’m so sorry. Something’s come up and I need to leave.” She runs a hand through her tousled waves, averting her eyes.

Looks like I don’t need to make an excuse after all. Seems like she’s already taken care of that part, and based on the way she’s looking in every direction but mine, it’s pretty damned obvious it has everything to do with me.

* * *

How fucking stupid can I be? This gives sleeping with the enemy a whole new meaning. I’ve never gotten dressed so fast in my life, avoiding even a second of eye contact with Jeff, who just watches me. It’s the only way to make sure I don’t launch myself at him again, before this whole thing snowballs to the point where I end up buried in the avalanche.

There’s no time to grab my bags and check out of the hotel. I have what I need for now. I hurry out of the hotel, looking like a complete skank with my makeup smudged and my previously done hair looking like I’ve just been screwed against a wall. I pull out a pocket mirror and peer into it, stifling a groan. I rub at the eyeliner below my eyes, creating a makeshift smoky eye. I grab my lip liner and reapply it, along with some pink gloss. A few fluffs of my hair, and I’m back to somewhat presentable.

The valet pulls up in front of me. I hand him a ten and jump into the driver’s seat, peeling out of the driveway. I try to calm my pulse with a few deep breaths. This is not the way things were supposed to happen. Ending up in bed with Jeff puts everything in jeopardy, including his livelihood. Goddamn champagne.

Twenty minutes later, I turn off the main road and head past wrought iron gates into an estate set back into the Calabasas Hills. My phone has pinged at least five different times since I’ve been driving, but I don’t want to look. I’m afraid to see who the texts are from, and what they’re about to tell me.

I have enough to deal with right now, and I need answers, or else we’re all fucked.

I grab a black jacket from the backseat to minimize my semi-whorish appearance and open the car door. I tiptoe over the cobblestone path to the massive front entrance. I stab the doorbell and chomp the inside of my mouth. Keep it cool, Ari. You know what you need to find out. Get the information and get the hell out of here.

The door opens and I’m greeted by the grim face of one Trey Conlon.

“Ariana, I’ve been waiting for you. Please, come in. We have a lot to discuss.”

I nod and step through the archway. “Of course.”

The door slams behind me, and for one tiny second, panic consumes my mind. Does he know? Was he watching? Am I still safe?

“I like your outfit choice. I hope it’s in response to the many requests I’ve made to fuck you senseless against my desk.”

I manage a tight smile. “Actually, I have an event early this afternoon, and there wasn’t time to run home and change.”

Trey just stares at me, and a shiver slithers down my spine as his eyes slowly rake over me. I could seriously throw up right here in the foyer, especially since his wife and kids may be somewhere in the vicinity.

I put my hand on my hips and flip my hair over my shoulders. “So, you said you had some information for me.”

He folds his arms over his chest and leers directly at me. In my heels, I’m actually his height. He’s short and stocky, and while he isn’t completely unattractive, his disgusting innuendos make my skin crawl.

“Let’s go inside. I want to make sure we’re alone.”

As if. If he really were the ruthless businessman that he claims to be, he’d know that’s never true. But that will eventually be the cause of his demise.

My heels click on the terracotta floor tiles. This place is really one of the most luxurious that I’ve seen. Too bad every square inch of it was paid for with dirty money; money that in a very short time will be half-mine.

He leads me into a wide, airy room with brightly colored works of art arranged in a mural over the walls. Real? Yeah, I’d say so. Fucking A. People worked long and hard so those paintings could live here. The curtains are all open, allowing natural sunlight to flood the room, reflecting off the shiny light colored marble accents.

He rounds the desk in the center of the room and sinks into his fancy ergonomic chair. There are some papers on it that he shuffles through, until he locates a specific folder. One with my name on it. He picks it up, dangling it in front of me. “In a week, everything will be taken care of, Ariana.”

“Tell me again how it will happen.” I shift in the chair opposite him. “I need to make sure you have everything covered.”

“You don’t trust me?”

I force my lips into a fake smile. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. But I think we both know if word of my involvement gets out, I’ll be soliciting my body on Hollywood Boulevard.”

“You’d never fit in down there, Ari. You’re much too classy to be in that crowd. This ain’t Pretty Woman.”

I cock an eyebrow. “Well, then, you know how much confidence I need in this plan. Tell me. I want to know exactly what’s going to happen.”

“I knew I was smart to partner with someone who’ll keep me on my toes.” He folds his arms and sits back in the chair. “But you really don’t need the details. All you need to know is that in about a week’s time, your bank account will suddenly become very inflated. That’s our cue.”

“And I’m supposed to then transfer it to the offshore account you gave me?”

“Exactly. The one in Scarlet’s name. You acting on her behalf is perfectly legal, since you’re her hired representation and have permission from her agent and manager.”

I nod. “And where will the transfer be coming from?”

His lips curl into a wicked smile. “Why don’t you suck my dick and I’ll tell you?”

“If you want me to walk out that door right now, leaving your whole plan dangling like your saggy balls, you will never proposition me again!” I grit my teeth. Fuck, it felt good to say that, even though it was just in my head. So, instead, I give him a wider smile. “Trey, I really have to get to this event.”

He shakes his head. “How come you’re always blowing me off, but never sucking me off?”

I give a half-shrug. “You like the chase. And I don’t typically allow myself to be caught. You knew that when you first came to me.”

“I was hoping you would have changed your mind, maybe given me a taste since I’ve been lining your pockets for the past couple of years.”

“I just want to know exactly what to expect. This job is different because you’ve involved Scarlet without her knowledge. I’m risking a lot partnering with you, giving you legal access to my systems.”

“Nobody is watching you, Ari. Except me,” he sneers. “I like what I see, but don’t think your tight little ass is enough to keep me satisfied. I’m a business man, and trust me when I say there are plenty of others like you who would be very happy to have me plundering their systems.”

“And if anyone leaks our arrangement?”

“Won’t happen. I’m extremely careful about who I involve and at what point in the process. You don’t need to think about anything other than the plethora of zeroes that will be sitting in your bank account a week from Sunday. Consider it an investment in your future. I mean, let’s face it, how else do you think you would have gotten those overpaid and talentless twits to sign on the dotted line for your firm to represent them?”

My chest tightens. Yes, he’s financed a hell of a lot for me, but I did the hard work. I laid the foundation for my company. How dare he take all that credit? This sonofabitch is going down, fast, hard, and in flames. “Your help has been so appreciated.” I take a deep breath. “And I see us doing amazing things together in the future.”

“Oh, yeah. Just wait. We’re gonna own this town, sweetheart.”