“You ready?” Joe, the cameraman, asks as I finish buttoning up my dress shirt. It itches a little. They barely gave me time to rub down with a towel before herding me in here half dressed.

“Hold your ball sack,” McKayla Quinn growls at Joe as she finishes combing my hair back. For my first confessional, she popped up and said she’d be fixing me up so I don’t end up on TV looking like ass crack. Her words, not mine. “I’m almost done.”

“And I’m almost ready to tell Emily she can forget about this one,” Brad Cooper, the make-up artist, says as he steps back and peers at my face, practically salivating for me. “There’s a saying—too hot for TV—and this fine piece of man is definitely pushing that line.”

I try not to laugh as the two artists finish and begin bickering with each other on the sidelines. After I check myself over once, I give Joe a nod and he begins the countdown to taping.

“I don’t think I can find enough words in the English vocabulary to describe Emily,” I say, staring straight into the camera and giving my best smile. “She’s smart, sweet, funny . . . and undeniably sexy. I just don’t know what it is about her, but I find myself having the best of times whenever we’re together.

“Learning about Emily on our first date really showed me what a great person she is. I love how much she lit up when she talked about helping kids and how much she wants to be a teacher.

“But damn, when she put on that bikini.” I shake my head. “Listen, I know I’m supposed to be a gentleman and everything but . . . she’s fucking hot.”

* * *

I give myself a look in the mirror before I hustle out of my room into the suitor’s hall to head down to breakfast.

It’s mad early for breakfast, but since ending our date, I’ve felt like I can’t get my mind off Emily. As I’m rounding a corner, I see her, dressed in a tank top and shorts, her sexy legs on display, heading into a door ahead. A grin spreads across my face as I rush up the hallway and sneak in behind her.

I try to be quiet as I come through the door, but Emily immediately senses my presence, and she turns around with a gasp, her eyes as wide as saucers. “Hayden, what are you doing in here?”

I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself. I move in closer, crowding her body with my own. Her breathing slows, becoming heavy and a little ragged. In that moment, I know she wants me. It’s only my enormous self-restraint that keeps me from seeing just how far I can push it.

“I dreamed of you last night,” I tell her, my voice a soft growl. “And I wake up today, walk out of my room, and here you are, right in front of me like a figment of my imagination. I had to follow you to see if you were real.”

Emily bites her lower lip and looks away for a moment, blushing. “I might’ve thought about you last night too,” she admits. She spreads her fingers inches apart to indicate just how much. “Just a little.”

Desire courses through my veins as I move in even closer. “Oh, really?” I growl. “And what did you think about?”

She’s practically shaking, and the corners of my lips curl up into a grin as she searches for words. “Nothing. Just . . . our date.”

I arch an eyebrow, placing a hand on the small of her back and pulling her closer. “Are you sure that’s all?”

“Y–yes.”

She’s lying, but it doesn’t matter. I’ll let her off the hook.

“I had a great time talking to you yesterday,” I say, “and you know . . . after.”

“After?” Emily asks breathlessly. The smell of her desire is in the air, her warm, lush body making me hot as hell. “What do you mean—”

I lose control of myself, giving in to what we both want. If we get caught, damn it all. At least I can go home a happy man. I close in, kissing her passionately, and with a growl, I pull her to me by her hips. The feeling of her ass under my hands is electric and my cock surges to full hardness, sandwiched between our bodies.

She moans, her hands moving over my shoulders to tangle in my hair at the nape of my neck. Spreading her legs slightly, she grinds against me. She already wants it hard and deep, and I’m more than happy to oblige.

Kissing down her neck, nibbling and licking, I move my hands to cup her breasts, teasing her already hard nipples. I slip the strap of her cami tank top off her shoulder and suck her nipple into my mouth, teasing it in tight circles with the tip of my tongue. “Oh, God, Hayden,” she whines in my ear, trying to be good but unable to help herself. “Hayden . . .”

I move up, whispering in her ear. “As hot as it is to hear you say my name like that, we need to be quiet. Can you be quiet for me?”

Emily nods, biting her lip to keep herself quiet, and I lower back down, sucking her right nipple into my mouth, rubbing and pinching the other. Pulling back, I catch her eye. “Emily, I need to touch you. God, can I touch you?” She dips her head once, and I slip a hand up the loose leg of her shorts, cupping her pussy through her cotton panties. “Mmm, you’re soaked.”

Emily nods wordlessly in reply as I slip a finger into her panties, pulling them to the side, and run my finger across her delicate folds. So hot and wet, her pussy almost feels like warm caramel. Emily can’t hold back her soft moan, her hips pressing forward, searching for more. I ease my finger into her, curling up toward her front wall. In and out, I press, adding another finger to fill her and using my thumb to rub across her clit. “Hayden, I’m so close. Don’t stop.”

I feel her tight pussy squeeze as she gets ready to come, and just in time, I cover her mouth with mine, muffling her cries as I feel her coat my fingers with her orgasm. I keep swiping my thumb across her clit, prolonging her pleasure until she bucks at me, letting out a big, happy sigh. When it’s over, I pull back, looking into those wide, sexy eyes. “That was the sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

Emily smiles, shaken by the intensity of what just happened. “Wow . . . that was—”

She stops mid-sentence as she realizes I’ve moved my fingers from inside her to my mouth, sucking at her juices. I meet her eyes and let her watch as I run my tongue around and around. “Sexiest fucking thing I’ve ever tasted too.”

She smiles, moving forward to kiss me. After a moment, she seems to remember where we are. “Shit. McKayla and Brad are gonna be here any minute!”

I help her adjust her clothes back, and just as I meet her lips with mine for a goodbye kiss, the door opens behind us.

“Girrrrlll . . .” a high falsetto voice gives me half a second of warning, and I turn around and see McKayla and Brad, both of them grinning at us with matching raised eyebrows.

She points to each of us as she speaks. “All right, we are supposed to be in here. She is supposed to be in here. But you are not supposed to fucking be in here.”

Brad smirks, his eyes glued on my crotch a little too much for my comfort. “Or be fucking in here.”

Emily is turning redder by the moment, stammering to cover up what just happened. “No, uh . . . we were just talking about our date last night.”

“Don’t even try it, naughty girl. Even I know what a just-Oed woman looks like. And it’s . . . that.” He pauses, moving his hands around, indicating Emily’s entire body. “I can't blame you, though. He’s hotter than a habanero tamale.”

I have to do the right thing and try and keep Emily out of trouble. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s not Emily’s fault. I snuck in here to talk to her. Don’t rat on her, okay?”

McKayla and Brad look at each other, then McKayla speaks up. “What are your intentions with my girl here?”

Her girl? Interesting. “Uh, aren’t we all here to see if we’re a match? Last night was great and I just wanted to tell her that. One thing led to another, just not what you’re thinking.”

McKayla gives me an appraising staredown for a moment, and I can tell she’s running me through her bullshit detector. With a nod, McKayla steps away from the door. “Uh-huh. Well, y’all got damn lucky there’s no cameras in here or you’d be all over the production room right now.”

I feel Emily jerk. “Oh, God, I didn’t even think of that.”

McKayla smirks. “Mmmhmm, must’ve been other things on your mind. From here on out, do the dates, see if you’re a match, and skip the impromptu outings. Capiche?”

I nod once at McKayla and turn to Emily. “I’m sorry about that. I’ll see you in a bit for our date?”

She nods, and I figure we’re already in deep, so I lean in, meeting her eyes, and cover her mouth with a quick kiss. Moving to her ear, I whisper, “Sexiest fucking thing ever.”

With a smile, I slip out the door, hearing the immediate chatter start behind me as McKayla and Brad laughingly interrogate Emily. “Bitch! Tell me everything.”

As I make it down the hall, I can't help but smile. That was awesome, even if it could’ve gone really wrong there when we got caught. But I wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe if we’d ended with me filling her body with my still-aching cock until she moaned my name into my ear. That would’ve been better. We’ll have to be more careful next time. Because there’s damn sure gonna be a next time. With that promise made to myself, I head out to meet the rest of the suitors and the production team for today’s date setup.