The office smelled like sex, but it was nothing a little Febreeze couldn’t fix. The bigger problem was the look that Kate leveled at me when she woke up after her fifteen-minute nap against my chest. She looked disoriented and her blue eyes went from drowsy to alarmed in the time it took them to blink them once.

“Oh my god,” she whispered, suddenly becoming aware of her surroundings. “What the fuck did we just do?” Her tone had an edge of hysteria, and I wasn’t sure if it was joy, fear, or shock that had a monopoly on her expression.

I arched an eyebrow at her and grinned. I was not about to let her spoil the afterglow with doubt or unhappiness. “Was I really so forgettable? Gosh, you know, that hurts my pride.” I wasn’t even willing to entertain the idea that she hadn’t enjoyed herself. She could lie to herself, but her body couldn’t lie to me. Those noises had definitely not been faked, and she’d clenched so tight around my cock when she came that I’d been pulled overboard right with her

But none of that seemed to matter to her now. Kate got to her feet and righted her clothing in a hurry before looking down at me and pointing with wide eyes. I followed her gaze and shrugged.

I still wasn’t wearing pants. No one had knocked on the door in all this time, so I saw no reason. Pants were overrated in general. Plus, I didn’t want to wake up Kate. She’d conked almost as soon as we finished. I’d always heard that was what the man did after sex, not the woman. I’d never seen a woman do it before, but I found it absolutely adorable. She just switched off like a little light. Apparently, she could switch back on just as quickly. Reluctantly, I got up and dressed.

“Are you ok?” I asked Kate, reaching out to touch her hand and feeling better when she came and leaned against me affectionately. She was hot and cold tonight, but she was so, so worth it.

“I was going to dump you when you came in,” she told me. Her voice was muffled against my chest. She looked up at me sheepishly.

“I really hope I fucked that terrible idea right out of you.” That comment earned me a rare blush and a little giggle, both of which pleased my ego. Her grin, however, didn’t last.

“I’m scared,” she said softly, “and I just think you should know. This could all go so horribly wrong.” She’d buried her face back into my chest, but her body trembled slightly against mine. I wrapped my arms tighter around her.

“It’s not going to go wrong,” I told her, squeezing her as if I could make her believe it through hug strength alone. Kate might have her doubts, but I’d never been surer of anything in my entire life than I was about her. This was meant to be. It maybe would have been six years ago if I just hadn’t been an idiot.

“I really want to believe you,” she whispered. There was still distrust in her eyes, but it was mixed with more optimism than before.

“I’m telling you the truth.” The fact that she still doubted me hurt, but I knew I deserved it. I was damn lucky she’d given us any kind of second chance, even if it was a halfhearted one.

“You don’t think anyone heard us, do you?” Kate asked, pulling away and pressing her ear flush against the door

“I really don’t think so.” I also really didn’t care, but that would definitely not have been the correct thing to say. Still, even from where I was standing, the music of the live band in the main room was loud enough to vibrate in my sternum. Despite her enthusiastic vocalizations, it would take some superhuman hearing to have overheard us unless someone was standing right outside.

Kate looked at the door with a worried little line between her eyebrows, but nodded solemnly after a moment, apparently accepting that I was correct. “I had better get back out there,” she eventually said. “I don’t want anyone to come looking for me.” She pulled the chair away from the door and was going for the handle when I pulled her back into my arms.

“Who would know if you just disappeared for a little while more?” I asked, kissing her again because I could, and because her plump, cherry colored lips were irresistible. She let me have a few seconds of her, enough to make me hard again. “Couldn’t we just… go?” I’d go anywhere with her. Anywhere we could be alone would do.

She shook her head wistfully. “I wish we could, but I do actually work here you know. I have to get back to work.”

I sighed heavily in defeat. I knew when I was beat. Kate was too stubborn to convince, and although my cock disagreed, I knew trying to get her to bail on her job was neither nice nor cool. “You might want to brush your hair at least,” I suggested, running one hand over her poufy locks. “Although the thoroughly just-fucked look really does suit you.”

Kate rounded the desk and pulled her compact out, grimaced at her reflection, and then went to work with a comb. “You did this,” she grumbled. “My hair looked nice before.”

“We did this,” I countered, coming up behind her and swatting her round, lovely rear end playfully. “And I really do think it looks nice that way.”

She rolled her eyes. “You have no idea how long it takes to set pin curls in my hair.”

“I know about how long it takes to destroy them now, though.”

“You’re way too happy about nearly getting me fired.” Her attempt to look stern was weak. She was happy. Even if she hadn’t been smiling from ear to ear, I could hear it in her voice and see it in every single movement she made. Just like me, she’d needed what we just did.

“Please. Ward wouldn’t fire you over a little coffee-break sex in the office. Although he might murder me…” The thought of Ward was unwelcome, although Kate just rolled her eyes again. She was just full of sass tonight. “Can we tell him we’re dating now?” I asked hopefully.

Her expression froze. “No.”

“But—” I started to argue, going mute when a knock at the door caused us both to freeze.

Emma poked her head in. “Oh!” she exclaimed when she saw us both standing there with guilty looks on our faces. Her eyes narrowed knowingly, her little upturned nose twitched, and her smile was smug. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to tell Kate that Ward and I are going to call it a night early because we’re driving up early tomorrow. Bye!” Her words came out as one continuous rush. She slammed the door shut again as soon as she finished talking.

“Great,” Kate said sarcastically, slumping down into the desk chair. “Well now Emma knows.”

I shrugged. I didn’t see that as a bad thing at all. “So, does that mean can we tell Ward now?”

Kate looked at me like I’d grown two heads. “Why do you want him to know so badly?”

“Because he’s my friend and I don’t like lying to him.” That much was true, of course, but it wasn’t just that. “And because I want the whole world to know. I’m happy to be with you. I want to shout it from the rooftops. I hate skulking around like we’ve got some dirty secret.”

A tiny smile tugged the corners of Kate’s lips upwards. She nodded. “Ok. You win. I’ll tell him, ok? Just let me do it my way.”

Victory coursed through me. Finally. “When will you tell him?”

She thought about it for a moment. “Next Sunday.”

More than an entire week from now? That seemed like a truly ridiculous amount of time to wait. I tried not to pout. “Why not tomorrow?”

Kate smirked at me. She shook her head at me like I was unreasonable. “Because Ward and Emma aren’t going to be here tomorrow, or for the rest of the week. They’re going to visit my mom in Plano.”

I bit back a sigh. “I guess that’s ok then.” I could wait a week. If I tried really hard.

Kate threw her purse back in the file cabinet she’d fished it out of, locked it, and laughed at me. “You’re so impatient,” she teased. I could tell she liked it though.

I’d waited years for this. Of course, I was impatient. “I just want everyone to know how hot my new girlfriend is,” I told her. The g-word produced a wide-eyed, openmouthed expression on her face. She hid it a moment later behind a smug smile.

“I never said I’d be your girlfriend.”

I paused, suddenly confused until I realized I’d forgotten to ask. “Oh. Will you be my girlfriend?”

She nodded, unexpectedly shy again. Only Kate could go from bold sex goddess to shy retiring flower and back again. She was a kaleidoscope of emotion, and I wanted to see every pattern, design, and configuration of her feelings, even if they were infinite. Especially if they were infinite. She was like a puzzle I’d never solve, but also never tire from.

I knew there was still doubt in Kate’s mind about me. I knew that I should have told her about the pictures that Eddie had. I knew I should have told her that I’d been in love with her for years. But I was still afraid of blowing it, and I figured if I could just keep her interested in me a little longer, the time for total honesty would come soon enough.