If I could have taken a picture of Brooke’s face when Harper descended the stairs in my shirt and shorts, it would have been a fucking dream come true. In fact, I could die now and be completely okay with every shitty, underhanded, sneaky thing Brooke had ever pulled.

“What the hell?” Brooke said, completely shocked to see a woman walking down my stairs. That woman looked a tad scared, but she’d obviously heard the shit-show Ava was throwing and decided to help. It would have been easier for Harper to ignore the situation, but that would have been totally out of character for her. She was more of a jump-in-and-get-the-job-done kind of woman. If Brooke had ever been that kind of woman—she hadn’t—then maybe we would have had a fighting chance.

The way Harper’s hair floated around her reminded me of when I was a young teen and I’d get hard just watching those shampoo models on TV tossing their locks this way and that. Of course, there wasn’t much back then that didn’t get me hard. But no one could deny Harper looked like she was walking right into every teenage boy’s wet dream.

Ava zoomed off to her before Harper was all the way down the stairs. “Ooofff,” Harper said, clutching on to Ava’s small body so she didn’t topple backward. “What’s going on?” she asked the little cling-on.

“I waaaannn you curl maaaaa hair,” Ava bemoaned into Harper’s—my—shirt, wiping her teared-up, snotty face all over it.

Harper didn’t miss a beat. “Sweetie, I will.” She sat down on the step and put Ava on her lap, turning her so they were face-to-face. “But you need to go with Mommy right now. Next time you’re at Daddy’s place, I’ll bring my curlers, okay? I don’t even have them with me, and I doubt he has any. Or does your daddy curl his hair in the mornings? Oh, I know. How about we curl his hair, too? He’d like that, right?”

Ava laughed out loud at the imagery of me with curlers in my hair. “Daddy don’t want curls,” she said, her face suddenly sullen. But Harper was right there to counter.

“Then we’ll trick him into it, okay?” she said in a hushed tone, but we could all still hear her. “How about we put a movie on and then sneak so he doesn’t see us doing his hair?” That elicited another huge grin from the wee girl, and she nodded to her new friend. “But now it’s time for Mommy’s house. Give me one more hug first,” she said to my daughter before pulling her in for a tight embrace and kissing the top of her dark locks. A promise of future antics with Harper was good enough for Ava. She jumped down and toddled over to grab her mother’s hand.

“Well, wasn’t that heart-warming?” Brooke said in the most sarcastic way possible, her free hand finding her hip. If she could have ignited Harper on the spot, she wouldn’t have thought twice. I couldn’t blame her. Harper was ten times—no, one hundred times the woman Brooke would ever be. And if there was anything Brooke was good at, it was identifying a potential threat.

“Enough, Brooke. This is Harper. My girlfriend,” I said in rushed tones. Then I moved my arms out like I was trying to herd them toward the door. “Now it’s time for you guys to go home. Ava, I’ll see you next week, honey.”

Watching the wheels turn in my ex-wife’s head terrified me slightly, but I needed them gone so I could throw my woman down onto the bed and make up for lost time.

“This isn’t finished, Jack,” Brooke spat out before turning on her ridiculously expensive heels and walking out with Ava in tow.

Once the doors closed and I was sure they were gone, I made a beeline straight to Harper. “You stole one of my shirts again, I see,” I questioned with one eyebrow raised.

She smiled and stood up, holding tight to the hem. “I’m borrowing it. There’s a difference.” Her foot stepped back on the next stair, but she still faced me.

“Uh-huh. We’ve been through this already. You borrow my stuff, but I want it back. Now.” I stalked closer to her, only a few feet separating us.

The look on her face was difficult to read. This could go either way.

“Okay,” she said, and then quicker than I thought possible, she whipped the shirt off and threw it at me. That left her shirtless. As in bare from the waist up. Christ, she was beautiful. Her natural waves flowed around her perfect breasts, and that was all I could take. I stared up at her, stunned.

Faster than a jackrabbit, the little tease spun around and dashed up the stairs. A head start was kosher in these games, but I didn’t give her much of one. When Harper turned around and saw me chasing her, she let out the cutest fucking shriek I’d ever heard.

In the bedroom, I quickly removed my shirt and shorts while she stood there and stared, grinning ear-to-ear and out of breath from her exertion. Yeah, she’d be panting a lot in the next hour or two—you could count on that.

“Take off your shorts. Well, technically, they’re my shorts,” I reiterated and half-smiled at her. This time she didn’t hesitate, and my shorts dropped around her feet. If I wasn’t rock hard before, I sure as fuck was now. Finally, I had a naked Harper in my bedroom. “You’re too far away. My dick’s big, but not that big.”

A tiny cackle burst out of her candy-pink lips that I could not wait to taste again. Tentatively, she roamed over to me, eyes raking my body as she moved closer.

When she finally got within arm’s reach, I snapped up her hand and pulled her into me. “Fuck, I missed you,” I said and took her mouth. She willingly gave me everything I wanted and, damn, did I want it. My poor, neglected cock throbbed against her stomach as I plundered her mouth, showing her with my tongue what I would do later to her sweet pussy.

She gasped at the intensity of my attack, but I couldn’t help it. I loved this woman, and I needed to show her how much. Her hands locked around my neck, and I took the opportunity to palm her heavy breasts. Her head fell back with a, “Mmmm,” as I squeezed her nipples, then dropped my head and sucked one into my mouth. Her hands grabbed my hair, pulling me closer, letting me know she liked what I was doing.

Slowly, I walked her backward to my bed until her legs hit the mattress. Then all bets were off. My hands went under her armpits and launched her onto the awaiting sheets. “What the…” was all she got out before I was on her, kissing her, and grinding my hardness on her. I kissed and licked down her neck, smelling my soap on her soft delicious skin. Thinking of her naked in my shower, using my soap on all those wonderful parts of her body made me crazy with desire.

My lips nibbled their way down to her breasts again, and I laved and sucked until she begged, “Jack, I need you. Please.” Those words were music to my ears, but I wasn’t done playing yet. One hand wandered down to her pussy, and I felt her wetness there.

“Are you ready for me?” I asked needlessly, licking her nipple with the tip of my tongue.

“Please,” she repeated as her hands traveled down to my ass and squeezed. I smiled against her chest, loving how responsive she was. It was time to put her out of her misery.

“Spread your legs farther, sweetheart,” I requested, and she gladly obliged. As I lined up with her core, I asked her one more question, “Ready?” Again, I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear her say it. I needed to hear her say it.

“So ready for you. Please,” she said as she offered herself to me. My hips thrust forward, and as soon as I filled her, I reveled in the moment. Goddammit, she felt like home. “Jack? Are you okay?” she asked, concerned. Her hands rubbed up and down my back.

“Twenty days, Harper. Twenty days of not knowing if I’d ever be here again. Give me a second,” I said and kissed her worried face.

“I missed you so much,” she whispered and lightly bit my shoulder, licking it afterward. I reared back and gave her what she wanted, what we both needed.

The sound of the shower filled the bedroom. Jack hadn’t closed the bathroom door all the way. I’d been invited to attend but, hell, if I could find the energy to stand up. Hands stretched above my head, I yawned and enjoyed the feel of Jack’s sheets.

Sex with Jack was like I’d never believed it could be. Of course, he made it sensual and hot, but what I really loved was how playful he was. The man loved to chase me, and I loved letting him. In bed, he was sweet and attentive, always watching and paying attention to what worked and what didn’t. For Jack, it wasn’t just something to do to get your rocks off. He took his time doing things. And then he did them again, if needed.

Needless to say, my body was completely sated. Until he came out of the bathroom with a white towel hanging off his hips. Water glistened on his still wet body as he rubbed his hair with another towel. Someone take a picture. Good God, I had to squeeze my thighs together as I watched his muscles flex and pull while he moved.

“You going to stay in bed all day?” he asked, throwing his hair towel onto the floor. He swaggered to his dresser and went to the drawer I was getting more and more familiar with. The hip towel fell next as he stepped into clean shorts. “Harper?” I was so involved in the naked wet muscle show, I didn’t answer him.

“I don’t know. Maybe?”

“Good,” he said and moseyed over to me and gave me a sweet kiss. “I’ll warm up some lunch. The remote is on the side table.” He pointed to the demon rectangle with unrecognizable symbols and abbreviations. I swear it mocked me every time I glanced at it.

“I’m not a rocket scientist,” I yelled at him after he left the room. Sheesh. Curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the stupid thing anyway. Button after button was pressed to no avail. Geez, I was hopeless. At least when the TV started making horrible noises, I figured out where the volume was.

Jack seemed to be taking a long time, so I tiptoed out of bed and into the hall. He was on the phone with someone. Someone he didn’t care for that much.

“Jesus, I told you it’s none of your fucking business. Any sleepover visits I have ceased to be your business three years ago,” he barked into the phone. His back was facing me, and his free hand scratched his head. Was he talking to his ex-wife? “It’s not casual sex, Brooke. Have you ever seen a woman over here before? Exactly. Has Ava ever mentioned anyone?” Long pause. “Exactly, because she’s never met anyone. Ever. I love Harper, and she’s in my life. Get used to it.” I stood there, naked and shocked in the hallway, leaning on the wall for support. Did he just… He did. My legs were like wet noodles, but I couldn’t have moved them anyway because my heart stopped beating.

“Okay, don’t then. I really can’t say I care what you do. You want to keep being a miserable bitch about everything, that’s your choice. Goodbye.” He tossed his phone onto the couch across the room. “Fuck,” he snapped and turned around to see me.

His eyes narrowed. “Cold?” he asked, still pissed off from his phone call. I felt so guilty. They fought about me. If I hadn’t come out of his room, that never would have happened. Perhaps I owed him an apology.

“No, just lonely,” I said and started walking down the stairs. I prayed nobody would suddenly show up in the elevator, or they’d get an eyeful. Jack watched my every move intently. To say I was uncomfortable would be an understatement. “I feel like I’m in a Miss Naked America Pageant,” I said and smiled at him.

“You’d totally win, honey. Wait.” He cocked his head to the side and smirked. “Is there a Miss Naked America Pageant?” He put his hands on his hips and kept his dark eyes on every inch of my body. I couldn’t stand it anymore and burst out laughing.

“Probably somewhere.” I snorted, doubled over with my hands on my thighs, thinking about that kind of pageant. “I guess you could do a search for it?” I suggested, still laughing.

“I don’t really want that on my browser history, thanks.” He grinned his sexy as hell smile at me. My body and mind relaxed now that it seemed like the phone throwing portion of the afternoon was over.

“I got you in trouble. I’m sorry. I should have stayed in your room. You told me to stay there so this wouldn’t happen, but when I heard—”

“Shhh.” He strode up and hugged me against his bare chest. His fresh from the shower smell drove me insane, and I inhaled his masculine scent. “In no way is Brooke being a bitch your fault. She’s choosing how to behave. Right now, her nose is out of joint. Seeing you in my place, in my shirt, shocked the shit out of her. That’s never happened before. She wants me to be alone and miserable the rest of my life. You’ve put a wrench in her dream,” he said and kissed my lips. “Plus, she’s going to be pissed when she finds out you’re Miss Naked America.”

“All my friends are jealous, too. What can you do?” I said and shrugged. His body shook with laughter next to mine.

“It’s a curse, I guess.” He held me tight for a minute and said, “I was so mad a second ago, and now you have me laughing. You’re incredible.” Lips kissed my shoulder, and I shivered at the contact. “I want to pick you up and put you on the counter, but there’s no room. And I don’t think I’m in the right frame of mind to fuck you next to day-old chicken strips.”

“I’m stepping in crunched-up cookies, so I’m not feeling it either.” We both laughed at the absurdity of the situation.

“Get your hot ass upstairs and back into my bed. I’ll bring lunch up.” He kissed me one more time and slapped my ass when I turned around.

“Is that any way to treat Miss Naked America?” I said in a fake shocked voice. His laughter warmed my heart the whole way back upstairs.

“Lemme guess. It takes place in a bakery?” I rolled my eyes as I shoveled in the reheated supper from last night. We were in Jack’s bed, watching some random rom-com.

“Close. A flower shop.” He chuckled and watched as I picked up the remote. “What are you doing with that?” he asked, all the fun draining from his face.

“Relax, I’m just turning up the volume,” I said, about to aim the remote at the TV.

“Uh, maybe you should give it here,” he said, holding out his hand, wiggling his fingers. He’d lost his faith in me after spending five full minutes trying to fix the TV after my experiment. His constant chant of, “What the hell did you press?” didn’t exactly help.

“Fine,” I snarked and tossed the remote over to him. Whatever. I never wanted to touch the stupid thing in the first place.

“This one is really good. Ten bucks says you cry at the end,” he said, turning up the volume after the opening credits. I just shook my head at the crazy man and silently wondered how many times he’d watched this movie.