I pace inside Summer and Sean’s beautiful home, going from room to room and pausing outside the nursery. My heart squeezes as I take in the intricately designed crib Jared made, one that will undoubtedly be handed down from generation to generation. It’s absolutely gorgeous and sends ribbons of longing through me.

Scout follows me around and when we reach the main room, she begins to whine. I’ve never had a dog before, even though I’ve always wanted one, and don’t know the first thing about taking care of one. I’ve filled her water bowl and fed her. What else could she need? She jumps around me and trots to the door. Ah, that’s it. She needs to go outside to do her business.

I open the front door, and she darts past me. “Scout,” I yell, but the thick fog rolling in off the ocean obscures my vision. Great, just great. Jamie counted on me to take care of Scout, and the first night on the job, I’ve gone and lost her. I tug on my flats and zip up my sweater, the night air cold this time of the year.

I grab Scout’s leash from the hook and hurry outside. “Where are you?” I ask. I see her outline on the grass and walk toward her. She finishes doing her business and comes running at me. “My God, you have a lot of energy.” She sees the leash in my hand and barks. “Want to go for a walk?”

She barks again, and I bend down and hook the leash to her collar. It’s dark and foggy as we head toward the beach. I probably wouldn’t walk it alone at night, especially if I were back in Atlanta, but feel a measure of comfort here in Blue Bay, where everyone knows everyone, and I can’t forget that I have Scout by my side. She’s big and has a ferocious bark that would scare away anyone who didn’t know her. She prances beside me, and I smile down at her. We reach the water and she nips at the rolling waves. I breathe in the salty brine as the cold water races over my flats.

I’m far, far away from the hustle and bustle of Atlanta, that’s for sure. But that thought dampens my mood. Soon enough I’ll have to go back to reality and face a future that holds little appeal. But I don’t want to think about that right now. I just want to live in the moment and enjoy the next few months. Scout starts barking and it pulls my thoughts back.

A shiver of unease works its way through my veins as she looks off in the distance and growls. I swallow against the tightness in my throat. She obviously sees or hears something I don’t. Alrighty then. Totally creeped out and not at all interested to see what, or who, might emerge from the shadows, I tug Scout’s leash and practically run all the way back to Summer’s home. I hurry inside, grab my purse and Scout’s big doggy bed, then rush back outside. Until Jamie returns, I’ll feel much more comfortable at my place with the alarm on. I don’t even know the code to Summer’s. I lock the door and pant heavily as I run a few doors down. Okay, that’s it. I need to get on the treadmill more often. Then again, my breathlessness could have more to do with the strange feeling I’m being watched.

I hurry inside, set the alarm, and pull the blinds. I probably shouldn’t be as frightened as I am. If there were anyone on the beach, they probably wouldn’t fuck with Jamie’s woman. Well, technically I’m not his woman, and no one really knows what we’re doing behind closed doors. Jamie obviously wants to keep our relationship a secret—judging by the way he backed away from me and acted distant when Gram and Summer came to pick me up for crib shopping, not to mention the way he immediately put distance between us when the car passed outside the hospital—and I’m okay with that. It’s just a summer fling and it’s none of anyone’s business.

I unhook Scout and set her bed out for her. But first, she must explore every inch of my cottage and sniff every piece of furniture. “Come lay down, girl,” I say and pat her big pillow. She walks to her bed, circles it a few times, then flops down to go to sleep. Damn I wish I could fall asleep that fast.

My cell phone rings, and I nearly jump out of my shoes. I hurry to my purse and grab it. When I see Jamie’s number I relax a bit, the coiled tension in my body evaporating.

“Hey,” I say, far too happy to hear from him.

“Hey yourself,” he returns, his deep voice falling over me, a velvet caress against my flesh. A moment of silence and then, “You okay?”

“Yeah, why?” Jeez, I can’t get anything him.

“You sound . . . off.”

For a second I think about telling him I was creeped out down by the water, but then decide against it. He’s not my protector, and really, this thing between us is just sex, right? “I was just out walking Scout and brought her back to my place. I set the alarm, but you know the code, right?”

“Yeah, why did you set the alarm? Most people don’t even lock the doors in Blue Bay.”

“Habit,” I fib. Back in Atlanta, I always locked and double-checked the doors. “How is Summer?” I ask, redirecting his focus. It’s pretty amazing that she has so much support. Every brother and cousin is camped out at the hospital awaiting news. She’s a lucky girl to have so many people love her.

“Still waiting. I think it’s going to be a long night.”

“Should I keep Scout here with me or bring her back to her place?”

“You should tell me what you’re wearing.”

I laugh, but his words do reinforce that our relationship is physical only. Good, cause that’s what I want too. “You can’t be serious?”

“Yeah, why not?” The heat behind his words goes right though me, and my body quakes, aching to see him naked again, run my hands over his hard body as he enters me. I remember the way his hard muscles bunched under my touch, the way his cock tightened in my mouth. I swallow against the dryness in my throat and search for my voice.

“Because you’re at the hospital,” I counter.

“All the more reason to tell me,” he whispers, his voice so deep and hungry, it torments the needy spot between my legs. “Where are you right now?”

I walk to the sofa and sit. “I’m sitting on the sofa.”

“Lie down for me.”

I shake my head, as a little thrill moves through me. I’ve never had phone sex before, but hey, I’ve come this far with Jamie and have been having a lot of fun, so why not see where this takes us?

Straight down the road called trouble.

Ignoring that thought, I stretch out on the sofa. “Okay.”

“You lying down?”

“Uh-huh.”

“What are you wearing?”

“I’m in my sundress. The one I was wearing at the party.”

“You look hot in that. You look hot in all those sexy dresses you make.”

I chuckle, a nervous little sound that catches in my throat, but there is a part of me that is touched by the compliment. “Thank you,” I say for lack of anything else. “What are you wearing?” I ask, even though I already know. The vision of Jamie in his low-slung jeans and snug T-shirt is something fantasies are made of.

“Same as earlier,” he says. “But I wish I was naked with you right now. Are you wearing panties?”

“Yes.”

“Where are your hands?”

I lift my head slightly to gaze over my body. “Well, one is on the phone and the other is resting on my stomach.”

“Show me.”

I shake my head even though he can’t see me. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“Let’s Skype.”

“Jamie, you’re at the hospital,” I say, my voice full of reprimand, even though I find the idea perfectly delicious.

“I found a supply closet,” he says, his voice soft. Positively intimate. “I’m in it alone, and all I can think about is fucking you again. Since I can’t be there, I thought the best way to be close was like this.”

This is all terribly inappropriate, but when it comes to Jamie, I just can’t seem to help myself. I want to do all the dirty delightful things from the rough and tough guy who fucks like a god.

“You’re crazy, you know that,” I say and wrap my fingers tighter around my phone, lowering my voice to match his even though no one other than a snoring Scout is within earshot.

He gives a soft laugh, a dark, dangerous sound that triggers a needy reaction in me. Honest to God even though we’re miles apart, a volatile sexual tension—enough to light up the string of houses on the beach during a blackout—still hangs heavy between us. This kind of electricity doesn’t come along every day . . . or maybe never.

“That’s one of the nicer things I’ve been called,” he growls.

I roll my eyes. I don’t believe that, of course. He’s a dangerous guy with a sweet side, no matter what he says.

Careful, Kylee . . .

“I’ll text you my Skype name,” he says, and I hear a rustling noise. What is he up to now? “Hang on.”

I wait until the text comes in and then when his beautiful face materializes on my screen, his lusty green eyes a shade deeper, I shudder uncontrollably. My heart pounds faster, a fever burning through me.

“Can you put the phone somewhere so I can see all of you?”

I tug the coffee table closer and brace the phone up against the flowered centerpiece. Then I take my sweater off and toss it aside.

“How’s this?”

“Good.”

“I want to see all of you too,” I say, trying not to sound as needy and desperate as I feel. He places the phone on something and backs up until I can see his body. God, he is so good-looking, it’s utterly insane. Why hasn’t some woman snatched him up by now?

“Pull your dress up.”

I do as he says and pull it up to my waist. The air is cool against my flesh, but despite it my body grows hotter. I bite my lip, a tremble moving through me as I expose myself.

“Put your hands in your panties for me.”

“Oh, God,” I whisper, but since I’m too far gone into playing out a fantasy to turn back now, I slowly slide my hand down my stomach and dip inside my lacy white panties.

He blows his hair off his face and I can almost feel it fall over my damp skin. “Stroke yourself for me.”

I rub my clit, slide the pad of my finger over my swelling nub, and arch my back as delicious sensations rocket through me. I angle my head toward the phone when I hear the hiss of his zipper, and my heart speeds up. I can’t believe he’s going to get himself off in front of me, too. I watch, transfixed as he takes his gorgeous cock into his hands and strokes from base to crown. My throat tightens at the hot image. Seriously, though, that has to be the single most erotic thing I’ve ever seen. And to know he can’t wait another second to be with me, that he had to find a supply closet, well, that just does something to me on a whole new level. I’ve never felt so wanted before. Never felt my stomach clench with this kind of need before either. It’s scary how much I crave him. I’ve never needed another man’s touch the way I need his, and the thing that really scares me is that when this is over, I fear this bad boy is going to ruin me for any other man—yet here I am, bending to his desires and giving him anything he asks for.

Just don’t give your heart to a guy who doesn’t want it.

“Jamie,” I whisper and our eyes lock, the connection between us hitting like a damn sucker punch and driving all the air from my lungs. My God, this man . . .

He braces one hand on the wall, and continues to rub himself. “I need to see your breasts,” he murmurs. I sit up and peel my dress over my head. I brush my thumbs over my nipples through the lace, just to tease him a bit, then unhook my bra.

“You are so fucking gorgeous,” he says, his hand clutching his cock tighter and working the long length of it faster. It’s seriously the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. “Wet your finger and rub those pretty pink nipples for me.”

I put my finger into my mouth and suck on it for a bit. Jamie’s tortured growl curls though me and triggers a deep craving inside me. A desperate sort of ache takes hold. I watch his hand stroke, see the hunger in his eyes. I slide my hands to my breasts and cup them. I swipe my wet finger over my hard nipple and close my eyes against the sensory overload.

“Tell me how they feel.”

“So good, Jamie,” I murmur. “But missing you.”

“My mouth is watering for a taste,” he says. “Pinch them.”

I pinch my nipples and my skin grows tight, little goose bumps breaking out on my flesh. Sensations blaze through me and I moan, the needy spot between my legs growing slicker. A low growl of longing sounds deep in his throat and pleasure forks through me.

“When I get back I’m going to slide my cock between your pretty tits, Kylee. I’m going to fuck your beautiful breasts and fill your mouth with my cum.”

I gasp, his dirty teasing words sending heat straight to my sex.

“Sit up and face the phone,” he commands softly. I swing my legs over the side of the sofa, the position affording him a better view of my naked body, and continue to stroke my nipples. Jamie grins at me.

“Fun, huh?”

“Yeah,” I say. Even though we are having fun, oddly enough this feels far more intimate than anything we’ve done before—and we’re not even in the same room. There’s a new closeness between us, one that I can’t explain, yet I can feel it in every fiber of my being—and that’s not good. Not good at all.

Pushing those worrisome thoughts to the recess of my brain, I say, “I just wish it was your hands on my body.” His breathing changes, becomes heavier, and when it occurs to me how hot I’m making him I continue with, “My nipples ache for you, Jamie. They’re so hard, all I can think about is you putting them in your mouth and sucking.”

“Fuck,” he grumbles, a new impatience thrumming through him. “Spread your legs, show me your pussy,” his voice deepening to a growl.

I slowly spread my legs open, giving him an up-close view of my sex. “Touch yourself.”

I slide my hand between my legs and stroke my clit, slowly circling my finger around it. As I stroke myself I stare at his hand and the hard way he’s fisting his cock.

“Tell me about your pussy, Kylee. Are you wet?”

I rub my finger along my clit and then dip inside. I make a mewling sound and he grunts harder. I love watching his hand work his cock. Cum pools on the crown and I can almost taste the tang.

It’s making me insanely wet. “I’m wet and hot for you.”

“Close your eyes for a second. Pretend it’s my tongue on you.”

I do as he asks, and moan as my orgasm approaches. “I want that, Jamie. I want your tongue on me.”

“You hurting for me, baby? You need my hard cock inside you?”

“I do,” I manage to say as I push a finger inside my drenched sex, then brush it over my engorged clit.

“Wet your lips for me.” I run my tongue over my lips and he says, “Wet them with your juices.” He pulls on his cock and seeing him this aroused—for me—rattles me to my very core. “When I get back I want to taste you on your mouth.” As pleasure sharpens and deepens between my legs, I pull my finger out from my sex and slide it over my mouth. “Fuck that’s sexy. I’m going to put my cock in that sweet mouth of yours and fuck it. You’re going to take me into your throat, Kylee, so fucking deep you’re going to choke a bit. You want that? You want to choke on my cock?”

I whimper and nod, my hair tangling beneath me, but I don’t care. No, all I care about is the heat in my body and the filthy things this man is saying to me as he strokes his cock, hard.

“Good, now open your legs wider, and put your finger inside you.”

I spread my legs as far as they will go, and push two fingers inside. My muscles swell around my probing fingers and my entire body breaks out in a hot flush. I close my eyes, pretend it’s Jamie’s cock, but I moan in distress, wanting the real thing.

“Fuck your fingers for me,” he orders his voice rough.

I do as he asks, lift my hips as I slide my fingers into my sex and use my palm against my clit. For a long while he says nothing as we both moan and lose ourselves in our bodies like we’re in a trance of sorts.

He finally breaks the quiet and asks, “Feel good?”

“Yes, but I need more,” I respond, hungry for his hard cock, to be filled the way only he can fill me. “I need you.”

“I’m going to fuck you so hard tonight, you’re not going to be able to walk for a week,” he says, the tendons on his neck so tight they look like they might snap. “I promise you that.”

“Walking is overrated,” I say and continue to plunge two fingers inside me. I rock my hips, pleasure intensifying between my legs.

He chuckles, but the sound is strained. “Keep touching yourself. I want us to come together.”

I hiss as I work my fingers over my inflamed clit, a steady pulse of pleasure taunting me. I press down harder, rubbing with a maddening pace as I chase an orgasm.

“Fuck yeah,” he says. “My dick is so hard for you. I can’t wait to get inside you.”

I can’t believe we’re actually doing this while he’s in a supply closet at the hospital. It’s dirty, naughty, and downright sexy. I love every second of it. I grind against my palm and his arm flexes as he strokes his cock.

“That’s it. Rub yourself harder,” he says and I swear to God I could come from his deep voice alone. “Work that sweet pussy for me.” I squeeze my sex muscles, and the pleasure deepens. “Tell me how much you want my cock in you.”

“Jamie,” I cry out. “It’s all I can think about.”

“I’m going to fuck you everywhere, Kylee. Your mouth, your tits, even your sweet ass. I’m going to fucking ruin you, and you’re going to let me.”

His filthy words excite me. “Yes,” I say, the thoughts of him taking me all those ways stealing my breath as I fixate on his hard cock. “I need that too.”

He grunts. “I’m going to make you so hot, you’re going to beg me to take you.”

My mind spins, my body edgy, out of control, burning hotter than it ever has before. I whimper and writhe on the sofa, every muscle in my body tightening. “Jamie, I’m going to come.”

“Me too.” He grunts and it’s followed by a loud moan.

“Show me,” I say, completely exhilarated by what we’re doing. My muscles clench hard, and I cry out as an orgasm rips through me. Jamie lifts his shirt and when he spurts cum all over his stomach, a second orgasm rolls through me.

Oh, my God, that is hot.

I sink back onto the sofa and struggle to breathe. Jamie’s face comes into focus as he steps closer to his phone. His grin is dirty, mischievous, as he takes shallow breaths with me. We both go quiet for a long time, just looking at each other. I take in the sheen on his forehead, the dampness in his hair. My gaze goes to his beautiful mouth, and he wets his bottom lip. My body ignites again. He looks away for a second, his body stilling.

“Shit, I have to sign off. Someone’s coming.”

Reality comes crashing back and I see him reach for something from the shelf. He quickly wipes himself clean, then does his pants back up. I shiver to think that any staff member could have walked in on him. How very risky of us, and so out of character for me. This man has flipped a switch on me, turning me from the good, obedient daughter to the naughty girlfriend willing to try anything once. Girlfriend? No, more like girl he’s simply having a summer fling with.

As though reading my thoughts, he gives me a dirty, devilish grin that holds so much promise. “I’ll see you soon, Kylee.”

“Yeah, you will,” I say, and lay boneless on the sofa, counting the minutes until he knocks on the door and fulfills all the promises he’s made to me.

I shouldn’t want him this badly. I know it. But God help me, I’m going to let that man ruin me in far too many ways.